EJDBV

I didn't get an email or text ( which is what I was expecting), but just checked the website today and saw we were APPROVED! At long last!! Strangely, it said we were approved on the 19th... but I've checked the website daily and it only just now showed up...

Hello- Do you possibly have a draft of what you sent to the Ombudsman? I'll send something similar I just want to make sure we're all reporting the same data.

As happy as I am, truly, for all of the December and late November filers who are currently being approved at CSC, the unfairness of the situation -- the huge black hole of petitions left stranded between July and November -- makes my blood absolutely boil.

I am truly thinking that our letter-writing campaign a few weeks ago added to the pressure CSC must already have been feeling, and that we therefore unknowingly contributed to their idiotic decision to process filers from only 4-5 months ago -- to bring down their AVERAGE processing time and thus show that they are working efficiently. It's absolutely sickening.

At the beginning of April I had sent a very informative letter both to Donald Neufeld but also the USCIS Ombudsman (paper and email copies both). The email to the Ombudsman got a reply, from an actual human, as several of us reported. I then followed up to that reply and got this further confirmation, back on April 3, about the water damage and situation at CSC:

Given that reply and the absolute FALSE claim that CSC is working in date order, I replied this morning yet again to the Ombudsman. I pointed out the current situation of December filers being approved quickly, the huge increase in processing and therefore the staggeringly WRONG average that will be reported in the coming weeks. I specifically linked to Igor's List because I want them to see that we KNOW what is going on. I did not even mention my case number, because this is not about me -- this is about the ridiculous manipulation of ALL of our petitions.

I have not yet received any reply. My earlier emails (on April 2-3) were answered within an hour, so I don't know why there has been no answer after a full day.

I would urge ALL of you who are outraged by recent developments to email the Ombudsman, where we know they at least read (and sometimes reply!) to our correspondence. The email address is OLUInquiries <OLUInquiries@uscis.dhs.gov>.

I hope that another deluge of emails will force them to at least acknowledge the situation, if not change it.

Hello CSC filers,

I think we need to take some collective action to resolve this backlog. I propose calling and/or sending an email to your representatives today or Monday. If we can bring the issue to the attention of our representatives they can put some additional pressure on CSC to get moving.

Google " find your representative" ( for some reason I cannot post the link on here)

I called mine this morning (after emailing and hearing nothing), asked to speak with the person who handles immigration issues, explained the problem, gave him my name and case number, and he said he would get in touch with USCIS right away.

Another option is to get your family and friends to email their representatives. Since they cannot submit information for your specific case, I drafted a generalized email that I will be sending to people.

The Honorable (full name)

(Room #) (Name) House Office Building

United States House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Dear ___ ______:

Currently, the USCIS California Service Center (CSC) requires assistance dealing with the large number of visa applications it received in the summer of 2012. It is experiencing a backlog of around 4 months processing K-1 visas, visa for a foreign fiance. This backlog is pushing the average wait time from 5 months to over 9 months for US Citizens who filed in July/ August/ September of 2012. While CSC says it is processing applications filed on July 18, the Vermont Service Center is processing applications filed in late September and October 2012.

I understand that wait times are estimates and are not always accurate. However, the official processing time for CSC has not changed in 4 months, sufficient enough time to find a solution and resolve the issue.

I request that you please inquire with USCIS about why the CSC office is experiencing such a heavy delay in processing visas from July/ August/ September and actively help them resolve the issue.

Sincerely,