CA Service Center

[Rob & Jin 0]

Just wondering if the California service center is running par with the other service centers at the moment, or faster, having problems, etc?

(Applying for K1...)

Many thanks.

There are only two services centers and they are both extremely slow right now!!!

Thanks for getting back to me. I thought there were a bunch - Cali, Vermont, Texas and Nebraska? 2 of them closed? Why are they so slow right now? Thanks.

They are backed up because of all the people who filed to beat the fee increase July 30, 2007.

USCIS is hiring more peeps to deal with the deluge of petitions but it looks like it will take awhile to get back to "normal". NVC is jammed up also!

Used to take a few days after service center approval [NOA2] to pass petitions on to embassies. Is now taking over a month for NVC to acknowledge receiving them.

Nebraska and Texas dont process K1/3 any more, the I-129 they process are non-immigrant worker visas.

Edited October 17, 2007 by Rob & Jin

[andrewmeier 0]

**I'm posting this again as I'm afraid no one will notice it on the previous page...**

Hey guys,

Thanks a lot for your thoughts/posts. It does seem like a mess... It's a shame to think of all the pain so many people are having to go through just so the govt. can save/make some $$$ and change procedures as they please. I understand them wanting to make sure a potential marriage is legit, but making a couple wait up to a year to even see eachother again is just outrageous.

I'm a student finishing up here (this week) and the main thing I'm trying to figure out is whether to get married now and just file for AOS, or go home and file for K1. It might seem like an obvious choice as the first option would be considerably faster, but I do miss my family and friends (it's been a while), and I don't like the idea of rushing a marriage...

Thanks again.

[Jodinjames 0]

Well, I was in the same delima....my fiance and I considered getting married but we felt it was too rushed...so opted for the hard way....had we known we would be apart for a year, we both wish we would have gone to vegas! Something to think about.......

Hey guys,

Thanks a lot for your thoughts/posts. It does seem like a mess... It's a shame to think of all the pain so many people are having to go through just so the govt. can save/make some $$$ and change procedures as they please. I understand them wanting to make sure a potential marriage is legit, but making a couple wait up to a year to even see eachother again is just outrageous.

I'm a student finishing up here (this week) and the main thing I'm trying to figure out is whether to get married now and just file for AOS, or go home and file for K1. It might seem like an obvious choice as the first option would be considerably faster, but I do miss my family and friends (it's been a while), and I don't like the idea of rushing a marriage...

Thanks again.

[Seattle2Cebu 0]

I see people saying that there file has been "touched" how do you know when that happens?

thanks

Hey guys,

Thanks a lot for your thoughts/posts. It does seem like a mess... It's a shame to think of all the pain so many people are having to go through just so the govt. can save/make some $$$ and change procedures as they please. I understand them wanting to make sure a potential marriage is legit, but making a couple wait up to a year to even see eachother again is just outrageous.

I'm a student finishing up here (this week) and the main thing I'm trying to figure out is whether to get married now and just file for AOS, or go home and file for K1. It might seem like an obvious choice as the first option would be considerably faster, but I do miss my family and friends (it's been a while), and I don't like the idea of rushing a marriage...

Thanks again.

[andrewmeier 0]

I see people saying that there file has been "touched" how do you know when that happens?

thanks

Dude make your own thread if you have an unrelated question...

Edited October 18, 2007 by andrewmeier

[sj5 4]

I think.. they have so many applicants

Edited October 18, 2007 by SJ

[jundp 191]

I see people saying that there file has been "touched" how do you know when that happens?

thanks

Dude make your own thread if you have an unrelated question...

bwahahahaha. Touched means just that they have literally touched your application or updated it. You can tell because your date changes online (on your case). It's under the guides.

Andrew, here's a thought. You do miss your family and friends back home and you and your fiancee aren't sure if you are ready to rush now. The process can be lengthy, especially now, and it can be daunting. This is obviously a personal decision for you, but here are my thoughts. Listen to them, trash them, whatever

1. Consider how long you've been together already and if you've had any long-distance experience before (long vacations, etc.)

2. Will you be able to visit during the time you are waiting for your K1 to process? This has been an important factor for my fiance and I because we've not had to go more than 5 months without a visit. Some on here have gone far longer, but for us, it wasn't an option we wanted to consider (though if we had no choice, we would of course deal).

3. Has she met your family or could she come for a visit.

4. Are your family accepting of you being required to have a wedding ceremony in the US?

These are just a few issues that I thought of when we decided to embark on our journey. The difference is that he's at Uni in Germany and we started out long-distance.

Probably more than you wanted but you did ask

[andrewmeier 0]

Not too much info at all jundp, thanks for your thoughts. We have had some LD experience several times, but only two months at a time and although we dealt with it, neither of us were all too happy. We'd be able to visit each other whenever her job or the job I'd potentially have would let us, but it's not like I could come here (I know it's actually a grey matter, but I'd rather play it safe and not even try it). My family has met her already, and no they wouldn't object to a wedding ceremony here.

I dunno, it's just a tough call. I really feel like I need some grounding right now and that "home" is the only place I could do it, but spending some undetermined amount of time apart that's averaging 9 months is an ugly thing to think about. I've been churning this over in my head for over a week now...nooo sleep for me