ATTENTION JULY FILERS!

[chris4gretchen 1]

All july filers should rally in front of the USCIS and demand our visas be processed now.

probably unfair to the people that have been waiting 120 days for their NOA2, or the april and may filers still waiting. I think now that they have new fees, they need to deposit all the checks. get it all in there from all the petitions waiting in the containers out in the parking lots etc. then start hiring more staff so they can catch up every one. If you can approve a petition in 15 minutes, how much training do you need?

Chris

[Bill y Bella 0]

I did finally get to speak to a human on the USCIS line.

I first told her that I had received the notice asking me to resubmit my application, told her about the postmark issue and what USCIS had on their website. Like I had expected she said she did not take care of these issues and could not help me with that. I then asked her who would be able to help me with that. She said there wasn't really anything I could do about it or appeal the rejection, or send the petition back without the new fee. Basically, they would just send it back. So I asked her what I COULD do to get me out of this. Her answer "Do what the notice says" If it asks you to resubmit with the new fee then do it.

I also asked her about my two year deadline mark. At first she said it would be fine but then I think she understood exactly what was going on and she told me that I would have to meet that requirement. "If a rejection notice is sent to you, even if it is just for the fee it is considered as never having been filed." So basically like everyone here said - start over. She said that if by applying now we do not meet the requirement for question 18 B then we should apply after we meet the requirement. But she also added that she had no way of knowing or telling me if they would make an exception for a case like this.

I said, " well what can I do to contest the postmark date memo on the USCIS website or if the issue of an RFE arises after I resubmit?"

She said "get advice from an attorney, community assistance, state bar association or get an infopass appointment."

No help. She did not seem to know or be of any help any more than all of you here. USCIS National Customer Service reps do not handle these cases and will not tell anyone any more than someone else who has memorized the book of USCIS rules. Its almost as if they have prerecorded speeches about the policies.

The first appointment I could get with an attorney is next Friday. Have send out several emails as well. I am going to try and see if I can get in touch with one sooner. Regardless of what the attorney says or can do, I have started preparing for a trip to India. If thats what its going to take now then thats what its gonna take. I did get in touch with a couple of other people who received the same rejection notice for wrong fee. They seem to have gotten nowhere yet either. Will keep you all posted.

OK, I hate to say I told you so about USCIS, but...

Now, will you please contact your congressman and / or senator? It seems to me you are wasting time. The attorney route is going to take a long time and cost you money. And what can the attorney do? You are not going to take the USCIS to court. So the most he can do is write a letter. Trust me, the same letter coming from a congressman or senator will help you a lot more.

If you want to follow the attorney path fine, but there is no reason you should not ask for FREE and potentially very effective help from your elected representives at the same time. A letter from your senator with your package when you send it back may be just what you need to get past the contract employees, get you placed in line where you belong and eliminate the 2 year problem.

Just my 2 cents. I wish you well.

[Bill y Bella 0]

Maybe I am a little web-based spreadsheet-challenged. But how does one add to such a sheet? Do we send information to a moderator? Not that mine would count any more in the July filers but for future reference.

Currently you need to send your info to weedebz in a private message and she will enter it.

[Rob & Jin 0]

I hadn't thought about it until now, but the spreadsheet for July filers (which is brilliant, by the way) includes some 30th and 31st July applicants. I have no idea whether these are receipt dates and therefore whether they are old fee or new fee applicants.

I think we agreed to use the dates on the NOA1 hard copies but then again... who knows - it isn't regulated so

In that case I'm not a July filer. Not even a September filer at this stage

No NOA-1 yet ?

[Courtney 1]

Has anyone noticed on the VJ processing time charts show that anyone filing for I-130 has a shorter wait time than people filing for the I-129F?

I wonder how long this trend will last- considering I-129F has historically been faster....

[bakofoil 27]

I hadn't thought about it until now, but the spreadsheet for July filers (which is brilliant, by the way) includes some 30th and 31st July applicants. I have no idea whether these are receipt dates and therefore whether they are old fee or new fee applicants.

I think we agreed to use the dates on the NOA1 hard copies but then again... who knows - it isn't regulated so

In that case I'm not a July filer. Not even a September filer at this stage

No NOA-1 yet ?

No news at all. We keep checking the bank to see if the check has been presented, but nothing as yet. I looked on the USCIS website update for CSC and it said they had dealt with all forms delivered before the 28th August so I am a little concerned (understated). I figure a phone call is going to do little at this stage with the problems the service centers are facing.

[Bill y Bella 0]

I hadn't thought about it until now, but the spreadsheet for July filers (which is brilliant, by the way) includes some 30th and 31st July applicants. I have no idea whether these are receipt dates and therefore whether they are old fee or new fee applicants.

I think we agreed to use the dates on the NOA1 hard copies but then again... who knows - it isn't regulated so

In that case I'm not a July filer. Not even a September filer at this stage

No NOA-1 yet ?

No news at all. We keep checking the bank to see if the check has been presented, but nothing as yet. I looked on the USCIS website update for CSC and it said they had dealt with all forms delivered before the 28th August so I am a little concerned (understated). I figure a phone call is going to do little at this stage with the problems the service centers are facing.

If it is any comfort, there are 9 VJ members who sent petitions to CSC between 8/8 & 8/14 inclusive. One could assume that their petitions arrived in CSC at roughly the same time as your's or a few days before. Only one of them has reported receiving their NOA1.

I am thinking the USCIS website is not telling the whole story.

[bakofoil 27]

I hadn't thought about it until now, but the spreadsheet for July filers (which is brilliant, by the way) includes some 30th and 31st July applicants. I have no idea whether these are receipt dates and therefore whether they are old fee or new fee applicants.

I think we agreed to use the dates on the NOA1 hard copies but then again... who knows - it isn't regulated so

In that case I'm not a July filer. Not even a September filer at this stage

No NOA-1 yet ?

No news at all. We keep checking the bank to see if the check has been presented, but nothing as yet. I looked on the USCIS website update for CSC and it said they had dealt with all forms delivered before the 28th August so I am a little concerned (understated). I figure a phone call is going to do little at this stage with the problems the service centers are facing.

If it is any comfort, there are 9 VJ members who sent petitions to CSC between 8/8 & 8/14 inclusive. One could assume that their petitions arrived in CSC at roughly the same time as your's or a few days before. Only one of them has reported receiving their NOA1.

I am thinking the USCIS website is not telling the whole story.

I am sure you're right about the USCIS website. Do you know whether these VJ members have had checks cashed at all? I'm ignoring the NOA1 issue completely now as I've read that many people never receive theirs. I figure the check is the biggest indicator that my application is filed on the system finally.

I'm trying not to get too down about this since you mentioned the received date on the NOA1 being the effective queue date. At least that means that I'm only a couple of weeks behind where I thought we would be. But, what concerns me most is that the petition is 'lost' and that we will have to resubmit the petition. When should we make the decision to resubmit? We are already 7 weeks down the line from where we thought we were. I know if I phone for progress it will be a waste of time...if the check isn't cashed then it's unlikely anyone has touched the application at all.

Maybe I should be reading the August filers thread to get a gauge on how things are doing. I am reluctant to give up my July filer status especially since you made me so welcome here

[StillThePrettiest 3]

I'd call; what can it hurt? worst scenario is you don't know anything at the end of it, and that's where you are right now... worth a shot, I think

[Bill y Bella 0]

I am sure you're right about the USCIS website. Do you know whether these VJ members have had checks cashed at all? I'm ignoring the NOA1 issue completely now as I've read that many people never receive theirs. I figure the check is the biggest indicator that my application is filed on the system finally.

I'm trying not to get too down about this since you mentioned the received date on the NOA1 being the effective queue date. At least that means that I'm only a couple of weeks behind where I thought we would be. But, what concerns me most is that the petition is 'lost' and that we will have to resubmit the petition. When should we make the decision to resubmit? We are already 7 weeks down the line from where we thought we were. I know if I phone for progress it will be a waste of time...if the check isn't cashed then it's unlikely anyone has touched the application at all.

Maybe I should be reading the August filers thread to get a gauge on how things are doing. I am reluctant to give up my July filer status especially since you made me so welcome here

Since a lot of people get their case # off of their cancelled check and then get their NOA1 date on the USCIS website, I am assuming that no one else has a cancelled check either.

The August forum does not look very active or organized. Why don't you do some timeline searches and monitor it that way? It is a quick way to extract the information you want. I can help you if you need some guidance on how to search the timelines.

I think you need to temporarily stop thinking of yourself as a July filer and think of yourself as a mid August filer until you get your NOA1. As a mid August filer you have lots of company. Even looking at the larger group of those who sent their petitions 8/1 - 8/15, 10 of 19 are still without NOA1. Hard to believe but true.

You surely do not want to send a new petition now when so many others are in the same boat. I think it is extremely unlikely that your petition is lost.

[bakofoil 27]

I am sure you're right about the USCIS website. Do you know whether these VJ members have had checks cashed at all? I'm ignoring the NOA1 issue completely now as I've read that many people never receive theirs. I figure the check is the biggest indicator that my application is filed on the system finally.

I'm trying not to get too down about this since you mentioned the received date on the NOA1 being the effective queue date. At least that means that I'm only a couple of weeks behind where I thought we would be. But, what concerns me most is that the petition is 'lost' and that we will have to resubmit the petition. When should we make the decision to resubmit? We are already 7 weeks down the line from where we thought we were. I know if I phone for progress it will be a waste of time...if the check isn't cashed then it's unlikely anyone has touched the application at all.

Maybe I should be reading the August filers thread to get a gauge on how things are doing. I am reluctant to give up my July filer status especially since you made me so welcome here

Since a lot of people get their case # off of their cancelled check and then get their NOA1 date on the USCIS website, I am assuming that no one else has a cancelled check either.

The August forum does not look very active or organized. Why don't you do some timeline searches and monitor it that way? It is a quick way to extract the information you want. I can help you if you need some guidance on how to search the timelines.

I think you need to temporarily stop thinking of yourself as a July filer and think of yourself as a mid August filer until you get your NOA1. As a mid August filer you have lots of company. Even looking at the larger group of those who sent their petitions 8/1 - 8/15, 10 of 19 are still without NOA1. Hard to believe but true.

You surely do not want to send a new petition now when so many others are in the same boat. I think it is extremely unlikely that your petition is lost.

I've changed my timeline to reflect my application receipt (i.e. 15th August) and there's a window of applications received at CSC between the 10th and 24th of August, none of whom have received NOA1's. Unless this is due to members not updating then it looks likely that there IS a box of petitions sitting waiting for processing at CSC.

Thanks for advising using the search timeline thing. I had no idea I could do that I should really keep watching those August forums.

[weedebz 0]

it's all gone very quiet this weekend.

[Jeraly 4]

Maybe we're just hitting a bit of a slump - waited long enough to get fed up but know the end isn't really in sight at the moment... Realistically we all know that the chances of us getting our NOA2 is (understatement) highly unlikely but it doesn't stop us all wishing anyway

Def think more people need to be employed though - like Chris said - if it only takes 15 minutes to approve a petition (that doesn't have added complications) then why can't they just employ more people and get on with it?!

[done 0]

If there is so much disagreement between us over the definition of the wording it is no wonder that USCIS staff are dealing with applications differently. Those who are getting petitions returned need clarification on this, nonetheless, so thanks to those of you who are providing advice on how to interpret this.

I personally don't see the ambiguity in the wording at all although 'otherwise' should perhaps have been made more transparent. It has to be postmarked by US Mail or proof provided of an alternative delivery method before the 30th July. Delivery on the 30th July or later should not discount an application from the old fee schedule provided there is proof that the petition was submitted to an official intermediate body before that date.

It would be useful to hear firsthand from anyone submitting under the old fee schedule who has experience of this, i.e. had an application returned or received NOA1 or had their check cashed with a delivery date on or after the 30th July.

Just making my weekly view of the thread, so much going on but here - I got my NOA in my signature - it's dated July 30, receipt was July 23rd.

I should still be on the spreadsheet as a July filer, I paid the previous fees.

[Masha2008 0]

Let's have hope everyone! I know it sucks so much to wait so long time. I sent my application and received in July 28th and got NOA1 in August 6th. Got touched in August 10th, but nothing happened since. I hate to be waiting, but that's all I can do now. I do not know it will take up to 120days for us to get NOA2 because a lot of folks are getting NOA2 less than 120days. But, we never know. Well, I really hope that USCIS will hurry up. Does anyone get touched from USCIS?