~ EXPEDITE TIPS ~

[Army_Wife 2]

OK guys, I'm back to earth now following the exciting week of tracking my expedite from the initial fax to the Senator's office .... to approval at VSC. I want you to know that I've far from forgotten you all and have put together some expedite tips.

Some of you guys are really suffering and probably don't realise that you are in a position to apply to have your case sped up.

For those that think me posting this on VJ is bad .... I'm not listening!

All I see is K1's and H1-B's getting all the attention while the I-130 filers are getting forgotten.

We on VJ are a very small section of overall filers ... and there's a lot of people on here who don't have the confidence to apply for what they are entitiled, due to their circumstances.

Let's look at the USCIS Expedite Criteria:

* Severe financial loss to company or individual

* Extreme emergent situation

* Humanitarian situation

* Nonprofit status of requesting organization in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States

* Department of Defense of National Interest Situation (Note: Request must come from official United States Government entity and state that delay will be detrimental to our Government)

* USCIS error

* Compelling interest of USCIS

Now the USCIS Criteria for Expediting the FBI Name Check:

* Military Deployment

* Age out cases not covered under the Child Status Protection Act, and applications affected by sunset provisions such as diversity visas

* Significant and compelling reasons, such as critical medical conditions, and

* Loss of social security benefits or other subsistence at the discretion of the USCIS District Director.

If you take both sets of criteria into consideration you'll be more likely to have a better outcome.

* Financial is the first one that springs up in both

If your spouse is living anywhere that is not a third world country, this one shouldn't be too hard, as the US Dollar is so weak right now, it can hardly stand. Financing a home in the US and one in the UK for example is going to drain your finances and fast ..... so it's not hard to prove this one against your US income.

Get copies of the foriegn spouses rental payments and other bill payments and have it converted into US Dollars on the documentation too so it shows the extreme situation more easily. Get copies or documentation to show your US income.

I went for a letter stating my Husband's US income from work and got a letter from my rental company in the UK stating how much my rent was and got them to write it in US Dollars too.

If you have children to support in a foreign country, this will only add to it ... don't skip anything, and collate it all!

If your finances are suffering badly and you're left with no money .... try this.

* Extereme Emergent Situation/Humanitarian is also covered on both (significant and compelling reasons)

These are obviously tagged together for the FBI name check expedite. The more you have the better. We've all noticed that your spouse living in a dangerous country counts under this .... get info from google and print it off, get a police letter from your spouses local police department stating the dangers of living where she/he does .... go to the Dept of State website and see what info is posted on that particular country .... if there are warnings, print it off!

Sometimes you don't need the info to back up the facts .... but you don't want to take any chances when applying for expedite .... let them see just how bad the situation is.

Don't forget to state that you are frightened for your spouses life!

A close family member having a severe medical condition would also come under criteria too ... but unless a parent is dying, it probably won't work as a stand alone case ... so you'll need more.

Get the worst prognosis in a the form of a doctors letter and have it state the need for your spouse to be there for support etc.

The situations which would come under this are not exhaustable .... but I'm just listing 2 for examples.

* Department of Defense of National Interest Situation is an easy one as it covers Military Deployment immediately. All military must have no further stress added to their lives when being trained for deployment, being sent on deployment or are on deployment. They are who keep the US safe and cannot make mistakes due to unnessary stress.

If you do not have orders for deployment, or are not on deployment .... go to your Commander (the higher up the better) and explain the situation. This immigration thing is very stressful and I'm sure your CO will understand and help you by writing a strong letter requesting your case be expedited under this criteria. Make sure it has military headed paper.

I would suggest adding other criteria into the mix too and discussing them with your CO, as if he adds them to the letter it will back your case up more.

National Interest could also cover a multitude of government jobs .... if you work for the government stop and think about this one .... what would happen if you make mistakes on your job due to the stress of this process ??? What could be the outcome ??? ... especially if you're in the line of keeping the living alive.

Write them down and discuss it with your government boss .... get a strong letter drawn up on government headed paper requesting an expedite under this criteria. If you don't try, you won't know.

* USCIS Error are you past the processing dates on the website with your NOA1 date ??? or infact with your filing date ??? if so, try this.

The more criteria you have the better ..... do not give them any 'wiggle room'. Remember, each case is looked at on it's own merit and there is no standard way of doing this.

Once you've gathered all of your information. ... you need to draw up a cover letter explaining it all, section by section. Keep it to the point! Try not to be too emotional about it as they will only base your expedite on facts .... not emotions!

Missing each other will not count.

Take your time and get it right .... and get someone who is not in your situation to read it all and see what they think .... as they will not be as distressed as you and will be able to see things more clearly.

Research your State Senators .... go to Google and check out the Senator's website. Don't forget you have Congressmen too for your state.

Contact them one at a time and see if they would be willing to help you ... be calm and collected and explain the situation in a nice way .... a lot of them have departments who deal with USCIS .... and you will be expected to fill out a release form for the Privacy Act 1974 so they can work on your behalf with your case and your information.

USCIS also have to reply to these guys within 48 working hours ... so you'll know quicker.

They can also put pressure on to get your expedite approved .... if your reasons are compelling enough.

Using a Senator/Congressman makes USCIS more transparent in this process and USCIS are likely to take you more seriously.

Don't forget, that without your vote, these guys wouldn't have their Senate or Congress jobs .... they are there to work for you .

Some people I notice do get their expedites when calling USCIS direct .... if you want to try this, go ahead .... these are the expedites that are very rare .... but they do happen. If you're going to do this, I would suggest faxing your information which you've collected to them too for black and white proof.

Don't be afraid of applying for an expedite if you have a compelling reason to do so.

I know there's a lot of you on here who feel as though they won't be heard and are suffering immensly.

If you have something dire going on and this application process to be with your spouse is affecting it, gather the info and try ..... you have nothing to lose!

No expedite application carries a guarantee .... so keep this in mind .... however, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I hope this helps and gives some of you a bit more confidence to try ... and if anyone has any other tips they can think of, please post them.

[kns123 0]

Hi Sarah,

I Thank you for all the VJ members who will be benefited by these tip. Thank you for taking your time to post this.

Good luck to you...!!!

[ruby_jade 0]

hey sarah thanks for this info..

PS. i want to PM you but ur inbox is full.. maybe u can delete some messages,

[NicoleX08 1]

thank you for the Info Sarah!!

[S_AL_ 1]

Thanks a lot for this post Sarah. Its great to know you have been approved! All the best.

[Army_Wife 2]

Thank you for the good tidings my friends.

I truly hope more of you get out of the grip of the USCIS .....

Don't forget to put your packages for expedite together as if your lives depend on it .... if your packages are 10 pages or 20 pages or 40 pages, it doesn't matter .... your cover letter will be the clincher!

The rest of it is to back you up and show proof of what you're asking for ..... and is still important, but that cover letter must grip them first.

Do not be afraid to ask your employers for letters to help you too ... the more you get the better

[F1Belle 0]

We were also successful in having our expedite request approved with the help of our senator. My tip is that if you know that you will need an expedite, enagage your senator as early in the process as possible. This proved invaluable in my situation.

[Army_Wife 2]

I agree, we wouldn't have got the expedite probably if it wasn't for involving our Senator ..... we just called them .... they emailed a release form and we faxed the release form and our package to them ..... Vermont sent an email approving the expedite approx 36 working hours later (we had to wait over the weekend).

[Army_Wife 2]

Here's what we did in contacting the Senator's office in a little more detail:

USC Husband called the Senator's office .... spoke to the immigration team at the state Senator's office .... explained we needed help with our expedite thru USCIS ..... they emailed a release form (immediately) for The Privacy Act 1974, and we faxed that and our package to them ..... my USC Husband drew up a cover letter (for the package) basically stating that he was a resident of that state and requiring help ..... explaining when we sent our file to USCIS ..... the case number etc ..... then stated which expedite criteria we were applying under ... and an outline of each of the situations under the criteria ..... they were listed very clearly ..... the letter was catchy, to the point, not emotional, very factual, and wiggle room free ..... then thanked the Senator at the end for his help on this matter and said that it would be an unforgetable act for our family.

The Senator's office then called my Husband and said he'd hear from them soon ..... we sent our stuff on a Friday.

Monday afternoon, there was an email from the Senator's office with a very brief one line email from Vermont attached .... expedite approved.

[o0pink0o 3]

* Department of Defense of National Interest Situation is an easy one as it covers Military Deployment immediately. All military must have no further stress added to their lives when being trained for deployment, being sent on deployment or are on deployment. They are who keep the US safe and cannot make mistakes due to unnessary stress.

If you do not have orders for deployment, or are not on deployment .... go to your Commander (the higher up the better) and explain the situation. This immigration thing is very stressful and I'm sure your CO will understand and help you by writing a strong letter requesting your case be expedited under this criteria. Make sure it has military headed paper.

I would suggest adding other criteria into the mix too and discussing them with your CO, as if he adds them to the letter it will back your case up more.

National Interest could also cover a multitude of government jobs .... if you work for the government stop and think about this one .... what would happen if you make mistakes on your job due to the stress of this process ??? What could be the outcome ??? ... especially if you're in the line of keeping the living alive.

Write them down and discuss it with your government boss .... get a strong letter drawn up on government headed paper requesting an expedite under this criteria. If you don't try, you won't know.

hi ,

thanks for this info. I have a question in regards with the quoted statement above. Does that covers the ex-military? lol! i know thats a silly question. My husband is an ex-military (he was in the military for 9yrs) and i am just looking on a way on how can are petition be faster lol!

PiNk

[Army_Wife 2]

hi ,

thanks for this info. I have a question in regards with the quoted statement above. Does that covers the ex-military? lol! i know thats a silly question. My husband is an ex-military (he was in the military for 9yrs) and i am just looking on a way on how can are petition be faster lol!

PiNk

Not a silly question at all. Is he in the Reserves now? .... if he is in the Reserves, then yes.

If he is fully out, then no

..... if he is fully out, does he have a government job with a lot of responsability ?

In which case, he can try it with that ..... but always send a letter from the government boss etc on government headed paper stating the importance of removing the delay in this USCIS process is of National Interest.

[o0pink0o 3]

hi ,

thanks for this info. I have a question in regards with the quoted statement above. Does that covers the ex-military? lol! i know thats a silly question. My husband is an ex-military (he was in the military for 9yrs) and i am just looking on a way on how can are petition be faster lol!

PiNk

Not a silly question at all. Is he in the Reserves now? .... if he is in the Reserves, then yes.

If he is fully out, then no

..... if he is fully out, does he have a government job with a lot of responsability ?

In which case, he can try it with that ..... but always send a letter from the government boss etc on government headed paper stating the importance of removing the delay in this USCIS process is of National Interest.

he is a nurse that works in a private hospital so i really guess we are not qualified to expedite are petition anyways we will just wait patiently and i'm glad that u got approved

PiNk

[SomeGuy4186 0]

what if you lost your job? i send my wife 100 dollars bi-weekly, and i was recently laid off. she depends on that money because she really doesnt mae much at her job(3rd world country pay? like 200 a month..) can i apply for financial hardship now because i'm eventually going to be broke? i have joint sponsers for NVC so i dont have a problem there...

[Army_Wife 2]

he is a nurse that works in a private hospital so i really guess we are not qualified to expedite are petition anyways we will just wait patiently and i'm glad that u got approved

PiNk

I would get him to discuss his situation with his bosses, and say that it's affecting his job and ask them to write a letter on headed paper stating that lives will be affected if the case is not expedited and fast!!! .... due to unnecessary stress.

Get them to write that they want the case expedited under National Interest and an Emergency situation due to lives of Americans being affected as he works directly with the sick and injured and cannot afford to have his attention taken by other stress .... he also needs his wife with him for support so he can do his job properly.

Then send it via a Senator or Congressman .... it's worth a shot and you guys have nothing to lose!!

what if you lost your job? i send my wife 100 dollars bi-weekly, and i was recently laid off. she depends on that money because she really doesnt mae much at her job(3rd world country pay? like 200 a month..) can i apply for financial hardship now because i'm eventually going to be broke? i have joint sponsers for NVC so i dont have a problem there...

Sounds like financial expedite to me .... but you'll need a shed load of paperwork to back it up .... and proof that your wife will not become a charge due to you not having a job.

[mrs. hooks32 1]

OK guys, I'm back to earth now following the exciting week of tracking my expedite from the initial fax to the Senator's office .... to approval at VSC. I want you to know that I've far from forgotten you all and have put together some expedite tips.

Some of you guys are really suffering and probably don't realise that you are in a position to apply to have your case sped up.

For those that think me posting this on VJ is bad .... I'm not listening!

All I see is K1's and H1-B's getting all the attention while the I-130 filers are getting forgotten.

We on VJ are a very small section of overall filers ... and there's a lot of people on here who don't have the confidence to apply for what they are entitiled, due to their circumstances.

Let's look at the USCIS Expedite Criteria:

* Severe financial loss to company or individual

* Extreme emergent situation

* Humanitarian situation

* Nonprofit status of requesting organization in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States

* Department of Defense of National Interest Situation (Note: Request must come from official United States Government entity and state that delay will be detrimental to our Government)

* USCIS error

* Compelling interest of USCIS

Now the USCIS Criteria for Expediting the FBI Name Check:

* Military Deployment

* Age out cases not covered under the Child Status Protection Act, and applications affected by sunset provisions such as diversity visas

* Significant and compelling reasons, such as critical medical conditions, and

* Loss of social security benefits or other subsistence at the discretion of the USCIS District Director.

If you take both sets of criteria into consideration you'll be more likely to have a better outcome.

* Financial is the first one that springs up in both

If your spouse is living anywhere that is not a third world country, this one shouldn't be too hard, as the US Dollar is so weak right now, it can hardly stand. Financing a home in the US and one in the UK for example is going to drain your finances and fast ..... so it's not hard to prove this one against your US income.

Get copies of the foriegn spouses rental payments and other bill payments and have it converted into US Dollars on the documentation too so it shows the extreme situation more easily. Get copies or documentation to show your US income.

I went for a letter stating my Husband's US income from work and got a letter from my rental company in the UK stating how much my rent was and got them to write it in US Dollars too.

If you have children to support in a foreign country, this will only add to it ... don't skip anything, and collate it all!

If your finances are suffering badly and you're left with no money .... try this.

* Extereme Emergent Situation/Humanitarian is also covered on both (significant and compelling reasons)

These are obviously tagged together for the FBI name check expedite. The more you have the better. We've all noticed that your spouse living in a dangerous country counts under this .... get info from google and print it off, get a police letter from your spouses local police department stating the dangers of living where she/he does .... go to the Dept of State website and see what info is posted on that particular country .... if there are warnings, print it off!

Sometimes you don't need the info to back up the facts .... but you don't want to take any chances when applying for expedite .... let them see just how bad the situation is.

Don't forget to state that you are frightened for your spouses life!

A close family member having a severe medical condition would also come under criteria too ... but unless a parent is dying, it probably won't work as a stand alone case ... so you'll need more.

Get the worst prognosis in a the form of a doctors letter and have it state the need for your spouse to be there for support etc.

The situations which would come under this are not exhaustable .... but I'm just listing 2 for examples.

* Department of Defense of National Interest Situation is an easy one as it covers Military Deployment immediately. All military must have no further stress added to their lives when being trained for deployment, being sent on deployment or are on deployment. They are who keep the US safe and cannot make mistakes due to unnessary stress.

If you do not have orders for deployment, or are not on deployment .... go to your Commander (the higher up the better) and explain the situation. This immigration thing is very stressful and I'm sure your CO will understand and help you by writing a strong letter requesting your case be expedited under this criteria. Make sure it has military headed paper.

I would suggest adding other criteria into the mix too and discussing them with your CO, as if he adds them to the letter it will back your case up more.

National Interest could also cover a multitude of government jobs .... if you work for the government stop and think about this one .... what would happen if you make mistakes on your job due to the stress of this process ??? What could be the outcome ??? ... especially if you're in the line of keeping the living alive.

Write them down and discuss it with your government boss .... get a strong letter drawn up on government headed paper requesting an expedite under this criteria. If you don't try, you won't know.

* USCIS Error are you past the processing dates on the website with your NOA1 date ??? or infact with your filing date ??? if so, try this.

The more criteria you have the better ..... do not give them any 'wiggle room'. Remember, each case is looked at on it's own merit and there is no standard way of doing this.

Once you've gathered all of your information. ... you need to draw up a cover letter explaining it all, section by section. Keep it to the point! Try not to be too emotional about it as they will only base your expedite on facts .... not emotions!

Missing each other will not count.

Take your time and get it right .... and get someone who is not in your situation to read it all and see what they think .... as they will not be as distressed as you and will be able to see things more clearly.

Research your State Senators .... go to Google and check out the Senator's website. Don't forget you have Congressmen too for your state.

Contact them one at a time and see if they would be willing to help you ... be calm and collected and explain the situation in a nice way .... a lot of them have departments who deal with USCIS .... and you will be expected to fill out a release form for the Privacy Act 1974 so they can work on your behalf with your case and your information.

USCIS also have to reply to these guys within 48 working hours ... so you'll know quicker.

They can also put pressure on to get your expedite approved .... if your reasons are compelling enough.

Using a Senator/Congressman makes USCIS more transparent in this process and USCIS are likely to take you more seriously.

Don't forget, that without your vote, these guys wouldn't have their Senate or Congress jobs .... they are there to work for you .

Some people I notice do get their expedites when calling USCIS direct .... if you want to try this, go ahead .... these are the expedites that are very rare .... but they do happen. If you're going to do this, I would suggest faxing your information which you've collected to them too for black and white proof.

Don't be afraid of applying for an expedite if you have a compelling reason to do so.

I know there's a lot of you on here who feel as though they won't be heard and are suffering immensly.

If you have something dire going on and this application process to be with your spouse is affecting it, gather the info and try ..... you have nothing to lose!

No expedite application carries a guarantee .... so keep this in mind .... however, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I hope this helps and gives some of you a bit more confidence to try ... and if anyone has any other tips they can think of, please post them.

hello sarah how are you question,,, about the house rent bill it should me the recipts or just a letter stating the amount we pay every month.. do it need a budgeting summary?we are going to the senator and filing the privacy act,,, my inlaws was going to fax the documnts for review of the immigration guys in senator desk..

im crosssed cos rear d cant help us out,,,,..i have talked to military help line too and they gave me a service reference # for the request of expedite,,, pray that this expedition will push thru///