Tom and SooGyeong

Yes, our NOA was also on January 26, 2018, and today we received a letter from USCIS informing us that our previous Biometrics would be used and that we do not need to vane them retaken.
Our official NOA of No Biometrics Needed is May 5, 2018

Follow-up Report:
 Regardless of the claim made by the Tier 2 Representative that we spoke to when we called USCIS on April 11, the Officer at the Application Support Center in Aurora Colorado does NOT allow walk-ins for Biometrics. He Requires an appointment letter WITH Bar-code, before he will allow Biometrics to be taken. 
He very kindly took us into his office and entered my wife's A number into his computer and showed us the result. 
The result is that the California Service Center hasn't even scanned our I-751 petition into the system yet.
THAT is why there are no Biometrics appointments being generated at CSC. 
The last action showing on my wife's A number account is the issuance of her green card in April of 2016.
The Biometrics appointment date and letter can Only be generated after the I-751 petition is entered into the USCIS tracking system, Because when they generate the appointment, it creates a special Bar-Code that is associated specifically with Your petition. Without that Bar-Code, there is no way to associate any Biometric data with the petition that is on file.
He further clarified that When the Biometrics appointment letter (with barcode) is generated and sent to the petitioner, If the petitioner happens to be our of country, You can come for your Biometrics (with appointment letter in hand), within an 89-day window past your appointment date. 
We were told that nothing is done to a petitioner's application, just because the biometrics appointment is missed, UNTIL 90 DAYS PAST THE APPOINTMENT DATE. 
So, if any of my fellow CSC filers in 2018 are postponing or delaying an out of country trip because you are waiting for your Biometrics appointment, you are indeed safe to travel. If your appointment letter is delivered while you are gone, you can just walk in to your local ASC office with the appointment letter (within 89 days) after the Appointment Date and STILL get your Biometrics done.

Follow-up Report:
 Regardless of the claim made by the Tier 2 Representative that we spoke to when we called USCIS on April 11, the Officer at the Application Support Center in Aurora Colorado does NOT allow walk-ins for Biometrics. He Requires an appointment letter WITH Bar-code, before he will allow Biometrics to be taken. 
He very kindly took us into his office and entered my wife's A number into his computer and showed us the result. 
The result is that the California Service Center hasn't even scanned our I-751 petition into the system yet.
THAT is why there are no Biometrics appointments being generated at CSC. 
The last action showing on my wife's A number account is the issuance of her green card in April of 2016.
The Biometrics appointment date and letter can Only be generated after the I-751 petition is entered into the USCIS tracking system, Because when they generate the appointment, it creates a special Bar-Code that is associated specifically with Your petition. Without that Bar-Code, there is no way to associate any Biometric data with the petition that is on file.
He further clarified that When the Biometrics appointment letter (with barcode) is generated and sent to the petitioner, If the petitioner happens to be our of country, You can come for your Biometrics (with appointment letter in hand), within an 89-day window past your appointment date. 
We were told that nothing is done to a petitioner's application, just because the biometrics appointment is missed, UNTIL 90 DAYS PAST THE APPOINTMENT DATE. 
So, if any of my fellow CSC filers in 2018 are postponing or delaying an out of country trip because you are waiting for your Biometrics appointment, you are indeed safe to travel. If your appointment letter is delivered while you are gone, you can just walk in to your local ASC office with the appointment letter (within 89 days) after the Appointment Date and STILL get your Biometrics done.

We are still planning to make a month-long trip to Korea, and do not want to have our plans ham-strung by the maybe/maybe not biometrics waiting game.
4 weeks of trying to get an online infopass appointment to get it done yielded nothing. It always said that no appointments were available.
  So, today we called the number, 800-375-5283 and after stepping through the [ press 1 for English; press 2 to make an appointment; press . . .. ] were surprised to be connected to a representative after only 1 or 2 minutes of waiting. I explained the No CSC Biometrics Appointments in 2018 situation (after my wife gave permission to the Rep to speak with me), as well as not being able to successfully make an online infopass appointment to get elusive biometrics behind us so that we can plan our trip and book our flights soon; (the ticket prices have gone up $200 each in the past week alone).
  We were put on hold for another 2 minutes while he looked up our case number,  and he came back with these 3 options for us:
1.) we can continue to wait without a clue in perpetuity . . .
2.) he could refile our case inquiry (from early February) which has still not been answered
3.) we can do a walk-in at the local ASC (Application Support Center) and ask to be worked in for our biometrics (he reminded us to take our NOA)
     He further stated that if we chose option (3) and were unable to be worked in, the ASC supervisor would make us an appointment and we could come back at the appointed time.
 
I pointed out to the Rep that it was stated clearly online that you cannot walk in without an appointment. He clarified that this is true Only for the local Field Office, which is the only option available to choose from when trying to book an Infopass online. He also clarified that the ASC is normally in a different location than the Field Office, and that it is at the ASC that the biometrics are taken anyway.
 
So, this Friday, we intend to be at the Denver ASC office when the doors open at 8:00 am, and will attempt to get worked in for our biometrics, and if not, we hope to secure an appointment date to come back. 
 
Will report back on Friday afternoon what the outcome of the day was.

Follow-up Report:
 Regardless of the claim made by the Tier 2 Representative that we spoke to when we called USCIS on April 11, the Officer at the Application Support Center in Aurora Colorado does NOT allow walk-ins for Biometrics. He Requires an appointment letter WITH Bar-code, before he will allow Biometrics to be taken. 
He very kindly took us into his office and entered my wife's A number into his computer and showed us the result. 
The result is that the California Service Center hasn't even scanned our I-751 petition into the system yet.
THAT is why there are no Biometrics appointments being generated at CSC. 
The last action showing on my wife's A number account is the issuance of her green card in April of 2016.
The Biometrics appointment date and letter can Only be generated after the I-751 petition is entered into the USCIS tracking system, Because when they generate the appointment, it creates a special Bar-Code that is associated specifically with Your petition. Without that Bar-Code, there is no way to associate any Biometric data with the petition that is on file.
He further clarified that When the Biometrics appointment letter (with barcode) is generated and sent to the petitioner, If the petitioner happens to be our of country, You can come for your Biometrics (with appointment letter in hand), within an 89-day window past your appointment date. 
We were told that nothing is done to a petitioner's application, just because the biometrics appointment is missed, UNTIL 90 DAYS PAST THE APPOINTMENT DATE. 
So, if any of my fellow CSC filers in 2018 are postponing or delaying an out of country trip because you are waiting for your Biometrics appointment, you are indeed safe to travel. If your appointment letter is delivered while you are gone, you can just walk in to your local ASC office with the appointment letter (within 89 days) after the Appointment Date and STILL get your Biometrics done.

Follow-up Report:
 Regardless of the claim made by the Tier 2 Representative that we spoke to when we called USCIS on April 11, the Officer at the Application Support Center in Aurora Colorado does NOT allow walk-ins for Biometrics. He Requires an appointment letter WITH Bar-code, before he will allow Biometrics to be taken. 
He very kindly took us into his office and entered my wife's A number into his computer and showed us the result. 
The result is that the California Service Center hasn't even scanned our I-751 petition into the system yet.
THAT is why there are no Biometrics appointments being generated at CSC. 
The last action showing on my wife's A number account is the issuance of her green card in April of 2016.
The Biometrics appointment date and letter can Only be generated after the I-751 petition is entered into the USCIS tracking system, Because when they generate the appointment, it creates a special Bar-Code that is associated specifically with Your petition. Without that Bar-Code, there is no way to associate any Biometric data with the petition that is on file.
He further clarified that When the Biometrics appointment letter (with barcode) is generated and sent to the petitioner, If the petitioner happens to be our of country, You can come for your Biometrics (with appointment letter in hand), within an 89-day window past your appointment date. 
We were told that nothing is done to a petitioner's application, just because the biometrics appointment is missed, UNTIL 90 DAYS PAST THE APPOINTMENT DATE. 
So, if any of my fellow CSC filers in 2018 are postponing or delaying an out of country trip because you are waiting for your Biometrics appointment, you are indeed safe to travel. If your appointment letter is delivered while you are gone, you can just walk in to your local ASC office with the appointment letter (within 89 days) after the Appointment Date and STILL get your Biometrics done.

Keep in mind that VJ is a totally voluntary membership, and all CSC 2017 timeline data posted is by the filers. I pulled all of the listings from the information posted, as gathered sorted and collated by the VJ website (from the individual timelines), from this VJ link http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/liftlist.php?op6=California+Service+Center&op1=&op2=&op3=&op4=1&op5=&cfl=0 
In total, there were 683 filings to CSC, (after anomalies were removed). Each month had filers that appeared to be waiting for their biometrics, but if you check the date of when they last logged on, it indicates that they likely just haven't returned to update their data. So, not all 'missing' biometrics dates are truly still waiting. Many may just have not voluntarily filled in their date after receiving their appointment letter. That being said, I still had the data in hand, and dropped it onto Excel and sorted, stacked, packed and racked it. These were the average wait times for 2017 for CSC:
Jan.~ 26 days;  February ~23 days; March ~ 26 days; April ~ 30 days; May ~ 28 days;  June ~ 27 days;  
July ~ 25 days;  August ~ 38 days;  September ~ 23 days;  October ~ 28 days;  November ~ 23 days;  December ~ 19 days.
January 2018 filers have been waiting anywhere from 48 to 77 days, and still no biometrics appointments. We are WELL Past last years averages, and well into the Twilight Zone. Logging onto VJ, only to hear the wind whispering in the trees, and tumbleweeds rolling past is a bit discouraging. If CSC has decided to pull old (previously submitted) biometrics data to use, once they verify that a filer's biometrics are on hand, and applicable to this I-751 petition, they should send those filers a notice to that effect. Leaving us twisting in the wind, waiting for a biometrics appointment that may never come, is inexcusable, unprofessional, and crass. 
  Then again, it's the federal government, They specialize and excel at under-performance, under-achievement, and generally don't give a damn about the peons who are required to jump through their hoops and dance to their tune. It's like the DMV on steroids. To them, we are just a bunch of numbers. 
  As I stated on an earlier post, USCIS started 2017 94,000 I-751 petitions BEHIND on processing. Their inefficiencies landed them 166,000 cases behind at the start of 2018. 
1 step forward and 3 steps backward, they are quickly advancing to the rear. In this digital-everything age, where we can talk instantly around the world for free with  hand-held computesr we call cell phones; . . .where I can check the weather at my In-laws house in Gwangju South Korea, while sitting at my desk in Denver;  . . . where data from the ends of the Earth is at our fingertips INSTANTLY . . .it STILL takes 14+ months to adjudicate a simple stack of evidence? 
  The Magnitude of That Level of Inefficiency is Staggering.
 

Some of you may remember 14,400 baud rate dial up Internet. It was way back in the early 90's, but it was the fastest thing going. 
By comparison, the 70 Mbs internet speed that I currently enjoy is almost 5,000 faster, and allows me to stream movies. Things are very quick these days, thanks to modern technology, digitalization, etc. USCIS seems to be stuck back in the 14k Baud rate, without reason. Also remember, it is the squeaky wheel that gets greased. USCIS receives in total over 2.2 million petitions of different types annually. So long as those of us who are required to pass through their gauntlet and waiting game sit by quietly, there is No Incentive for them to streamline their system. Further, if I go to a restaurant (that requires me to pay for my meal in advance), and I watch for hours as others come, pay, are served, eat their meal, and go . . . while I sit at my empty table, I am going to get a bit grumpy. If after inquiring of the waiter, 'What's taking so long?', he informs me that perhaps my meal will arrive next week; Then I am going to be a bit MORE than just grumpy. 
 While I realize that 'Time Marches On', and sunrise follows sunset, etc... And I could just go about my daily life and be 'surprised' when as if by magic, our petition is approved and all is well... I am unable to synchromesh that quietly into the gears of my heart and mind. All of my working life has had schedules, fluxuating workloads, deadlines, sudden demands for overtime, innovation, and pulling the occasional rabbit out of my hat to get the job done.
Excuses are like arm-pits . . . everybody has a couple and they usually stink. I am not geared towards 'hurry up and wait'. It is inexcusable, and unacceptable. The status-quo needs to be updated... This is ridiculous.

SWJI89, 
You're not trying to make sense, or state the Obvious, Are You? 

Sometime in the next few years, certainly before this 'Permanent' (10-year) resident alien card expires, My wife and I plan to relocate to South Korea to live. Then I'll be the one with the resident alien card. Any guesses as to how long That process will take? Anyone . . .?
 
2 to 3 weeks. South Korea ROCKS when it comes to using technology to speed things up to a modern level of efficiency. 

Meanwhile, the 'Not-Knowing' is Rather Inconvenient. My wife would like to travel back to Korea to visit Family and friends, but because we might get the biometrics appointment at any time . . . (or not at all), we cannot risk buying a $1400 round trip ticket for her to fly back to her home country, and then have to scramble to get her back to the US in time for a bio appointment, should the proverbial letter arrive shortly after she flies out. Surely they should at least be able to ascertain whether or not a petitioner's old biometrics data will be used or not, and let the petitioner know something. Making petitioners wait in silence for something that may or may not ever come is quite unprofessional, inexcusable, and unacceptable.
Wait a minute....
I Forgot. It's the government.
Unprofessional, inexcusable, and unacceptable is their Standard Operating Procedure. 
 
Ok, whining done. I feel better now. 

Congratulations! 'Bout Time Too!

The estimated dates of adjudication is an automated algorithm that factors in when your NOA1 was, how many days you have been waiting, the weekly rate of adjudication at TSC, (which can vary from only 5 to 300) and how many files still remain trailing in the wake of TSC's impossible inefficiency. That number will change weekly.
Watching or even noticing it can only cause frustration and anguish. The dates will yo-yo closer one week, and farther away the next week.
Imagine a prisoner in a prison cell, reaching through the bars towards the key to the cell door. That key is dangling on a string from the end of a cane-fishing pole . . . just out of reach. A TSC Tier-2 Customer Service Representative is holding the pole, and keeping the key juuuuuuuuust out of reach of the desperately outstretched hand of the prisoner locked away in the cell. Every time the prisoner's arm begins to drop in despair, the key will slowly lower until it is almost within reach, and the prisoner will lunge against the bars, and strain once again to reach it ... but will never succeed.
It's Sadistic.
I watched not only my case file and 'Possible Adjudication Dates', but also many others. Those dates blow around like dry leaves on a blustery fall day.... I know of people who received their approval, and on that very day, their 'Possible Adjudication Dates' were already a month passed! While others still showed many weeks of waiting still ahead.
THOSE DATES ARE WORTHLESS.
PLEASE DO YOURSELF A HUGE FAVOR AND NEVER LOOK AT THEM.
Absolutely no measure of hope and no prognostication of processing status can be found in those ridiculously fluctuating dates.

Just My Opinion:
Last Thursday was the first day of mysterious 'No Approvals'. Friday was the same, and Hannah of IF was confused. Then on Saturday, all Case Status pages went blank for a few hours, even those already approved and sent on to DOS. They came back online a few hours later, and mine went from 'Approved' before the crash, to 'Sent to DOS' after the crash, and then back to 'Approved' about an hour later. Since then, almost ZERO Approvals.
My guess:
I am an AutoCAD and Tekla user, and work on a workstation computer that is tied into a Network Server. I think that Adjudicators at TSC work in the same way. However, if the Network Server goes down, it is possible to continue working on individual Desk Workstations as if nothing was broken, and only the overall accumulation of Data at the Server is delayed. I think that the TSC server that handles the Approvals is having issues, and a work order is in the works. I think that Approvals are still happening, and the data is on individual workstations at the many Adjudicator's desks, but cannot be updated and entered into the system until after the Server is repaired. If my supposition is correct, when the problem is eventually corrected, we may well see what appears to be a miraculous record number of Approvals in a single day. Normal approval rate was hovering around the 50 per day mark, so look for an accumulation of about 50 per day coming forward from last Thursday, up to the day of the Server coming back online.
Or, maybe they're in the midst of a Pinochle Championship, and just don't want to do their jobs.....
Just my 2-cents worth.

Just My Opinion:
Last Thursday was the first day of mysterious 'No Approvals'. Friday was the same, and Hannah of IF was confused. Then on Saturday, all Case Status pages went blank for a few hours, even those already approved and sent on to DOS. They came back online a few hours later, and mine went from 'Approved' before the crash, to 'Sent to DOS' after the crash, and then back to 'Approved' about an hour later. Since then, almost ZERO Approvals.
My guess:
I am an AutoCAD and Tekla user, and work on a workstation computer that is tied into a Network Server. I think that Adjudicators at TSC work in the same way. However, if the Network Server goes down, it is possible to continue working on individual Desk Workstations as if nothing was broken, and only the overall accumulation of Data at the Server is delayed. I think that the TSC server that handles the Approvals is having issues, and a work order is in the works. I think that Approvals are still happening, and the data is on individual workstations at the many Adjudicator's desks, but cannot be updated and entered into the system until after the Server is repaired. If my supposition is correct, when the problem is eventually corrected, we may well see what appears to be a miraculous record number of Approvals in a single day. Normal approval rate was hovering around the 50 per day mark, so look for an accumulation of about 50 per day coming forward from last Thursday, up to the day of the Server coming back online.
Or, maybe they're in the midst of a Pinochle Championship, and just don't want to do their jobs.....
Just my 2-cents worth.

Only 4 Approvals yesterday. . . . this shortly after a zero day approval. . . We KNOW They're not lacking for files to adjudicate.... Some that have been waiting 230+ days. . . .So how do they justify their paychecks...?

(blushing)... thank you so much! Stories that are well told, and have a good message are easily remembered.
(tip of the hat)
Tom

I pulled the timelines of 100 petitioners who were Approved in the months of July and August, then peeked at their timelines one by one.
Snapshot:
a majority of files leave TSC for NVC in about 7 days after approval.
a majority of files arrive at NVC (from NOA2) in about 14 days, ( so 7 days of travel)
a majority of files are given their new NVC number 3 days after arrival
a majority of files leave NVC for their respective consulate 3 days after getting their number
Summary:
all files have different sequencing, but on the whole, the best guess is NOA2+14+3+3
or if there is a delay in a file leaving TSC, NOA3 (sent to DOS) +7+3+3
That should give you some idea of when to mark your calendar to begin calling for your number, if that is what you wish to do.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spinachsoftware.immigration.uscis.casestatus&hl=en

After the past week...
Unlikely
Source of
Correct
Information
Suckers….!!!
'nuff said...
Wow! I feel better.

I am keeping a close count. March 3rd had 99 files, and so far only 37 are approved. So, there are some left yet...

Tom is 100% correct. Immifairy tagged my file as 3/23, but the real NOA1 date was 3/17. This had something to do with the maintenance issues the USCIS had on its site where case updates just disappeared for over a month. I called the USCIS and elevated my question on NOA1 date to a tier 2 officer. She assured me (annoyed though) that the receipt date on the I-797C is the NOA1.

You're a gem!

Thrilled? Hmmmmm..... no, not really. Even though TSC approval was the highest obstacle to cross, it is still not the last one. Also, I have found that time marches on. No matter the situation, time marches on, and things will change. If times seem dark, I remember that 'where there is a shadow, there must be a light'. I have been through some uncomfortable situations. They always fade into the distance as time moves forward.
As in math, in which all numbers can be either positive and negative, depending on which sign it placed before it, so in life each situation can be either positive or negative, depending on how you choose to receive it.
While waiting in the so-called 'black hole', I have met some interesting and kind-hearted people I would have never encountered if there was no backlog and no wait time. I have spend much time encouraging my fiancee, and because of those very emotional conversations, she and I are now closer than when we began this Journey. It's not, 'Is the glass half-empty or half-full'... rather, it's time to give thanks for even having a glass.
I choose to select the good and positive things from every situation, and use it to better myself, and be a better person to those around me. It gives me an increase of spirit, and that leaves more to share with those around me.
Yes, like everyone else, I may sometimes complain loudly, or stew in temporary depression at the trial I face in the moment.... but as my wise and wonderful Soogyeong said:
Life viewed up close is usually seen as a tragedy, but viewed from a distance, is often a Comedy.

So Smile Friend, and find someone next to you who does not have a smile, and give them yours...

Tom

감사합니다 . . .
We were approved last week, but were remaining quiet. When you are among starving people, and you are given food, it is insensitive to eat in front of them.
Too many people that I have come to think of as friends are still hoping and waiting. I am uncomfortable shouting from the mountaintops that I finally achieved that goal, while my friends continue to stew, and wait, and hope, and wait, and stew. . . .. Some are encouraged by hearing that a friend receives good news, others are not. Since I have no way of knowing everyone's personal capacity to endure, I felt that it is more merciful to remain quiet and remain among 'the waiting', and encourage those that I can.
Tom