When to chase NOA2

[Georgia16 2,858]

Me too, maybe we'll hear something the day before the 5 months are up. Not having to go through extra hoops would certainly do wonders for my well-being.

I know hopefully very very soon!!!

[LionessDeon 2,060]

OP, let me know if you find something that works. We have called USCIS, made a case inquiry, had our congressman get involved...and nothing just have to wait they say. "Its in processing" they say.

[jpiz777 3]

USCIS have a window of 5 months right now. All we can do is be patient even though I'm getting impatient

[Gary Whitfield 0]

Here is my confusion.... I appreciate USCIS having a window of 5 months. I have also read that they work on the applications as they arrive in Chronological order.

This website is fantastic. Where the USCIS are not transparent on their timings, this website gives indications of who has received their DAO2.

It does pose questions as to why some are taking longer than others, even when the country is low risk.

I will take this websites advise and call them. I have a job offer and so I am eager to hasten the application in any way.

I will report back and let you know of the result. It has been 73 days so far so nothing ventured nothing gained.

[yuna628 9,676]

All,

Thank you for your responses.

I have completed my timeline thus far and it does suggest that I contact them directly:

"Based on timeline data, your I129f may be adjudicated between April 19, 2016 and April 23, 2016*.

If this date range has passed or your application is past due per USCIS processing times then you should consider calling the USCIS to inquire on your petition. If you have been approved please update your timeline."

I thought they work through applications as they come, but it seems more problematic maybe?

Either-way... We will contact them directly.

Thank you again for your support. It is not easy trying to guess where things are and when you are trying to organise work and wedding.

Please understand that VJ's estimates have nothing to do with the official USCIS processing time. VJ's timeline estimate revolves around having it's users put in correct data, which is frequently not done. No matter what your timeline estimate says, it matters very little -- the USCIS processing time is 5 months standard, and as such you are within that waiting period. Calling them will not help. Arguing with them will not help. You can literally do nothing until your 5 month wait is up.

Last year a lot of us watched as our VJ timeline estimate surpassed our wait time. Then we watched as it surpassed the USCIS processing time. Then, we waited as it surpassed their excuses. Then, maybe 300+ days later, people felt like touching files. Your wait won't be as long as this. Usually a few months for CSC, maybe a little longer due to the fact that CSC is the sole processor of K1 cases now.

Think of it like this.... your application most likely goes into a giant bin. It might be on the top or it might be on the bottom depending on where it gets dumped with thousands of other cases. Maybe the immigrant officer will pick it up, maybe they won't. Maybe they'll have your case in a stack of other cases on their desk, maybe they don't. Maybe they picked it up, but then got distracted playing Candy Crush. Or maybe their office looks a little like a disorganized mess from hell.

Your country of origin has nothing to do with it. Your risk factor has nothing to do with it. The USCIS barely looks at your file. It goes through a checklist process to see if you've done everything correctly, including I assume if you have have been okay'd on background checks. Their handling of your file literally takes somewhere between 10-20 minutes so I've read, before they move on to the next.

Once you get out of the USCIS part of things, provided the USCIS passes your case file over to the NVC in a timely manner (sometimes they are not prompt to do this at CSC), then your country of origin and risk factor (as judged during the interview) comes into play for the embassy process. London is an easy consulate to deal with.

Edited May 3, 2016 by yuna628

[LionessDeon 2,060]

While they take petitioners in chronological order (if you believe that), adjudicators do not all work at the same pace. Then there are worksite vacations, medical leaves, etc to factor in. Some petitions may be more involved than others..taking more time to adjudicate. So there are many factors to consider. Also, the information on Igor's list and the timelines is only as accurate as those who enter it. There are many many VJers who never complete timelines.

This maybe helpful. It gives a little insight as to what has been going on at USCIS and the american immigration lawyer association that is complaining about it.

http://aila.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=285482eaa25f6af572462f19e&id=24c0ce8555&e=1437a81cd1

Edited May 3, 2016 by LionessDeon

[yuna628 9,676]

While they take petitioners in chronological order (if you believe that), adjudicators do not all work at the same pace. Then there are worksite vacations, medical leaves, etc to factor in. Some petitions may be more involved than others..taking more time to adjudicate. So there are many factors to consider. Also, the information on Igor's list and the timelines is only as accurate as those who enter it. There are many many VJers who never complete timelines.

This maybe helpful. It gives a little insight as to what has been going on at USCIS and the american immigration lawyer association that is complaining about it.

http://aila.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=285482eaa25f6af572462f19e&id=24c0ce8555&e=1437a81cd1

That is an interesting letter the AILA sent out. However, what they are requesting the USCIS look at are visas that have nothing to do with K1s or CR1/IR1s which as you know are handled by different service centers and processes. IMO, going to Rodriguez will only get you so far at the USCIS. The only way the USCIS ''budged'' the last time was to go over them and to the highest office in this country with hard data. Perhaps the AILA should try that.

[LionessDeon 2,060]

That is an interesting letter the AILA sent out. However, what they are requesting the USCIS look at are visas that have nothing to do with K1s or CR1/IR1s which as you know are handled by different service centers and processes. IMO, going to Rodriguez will only get you so far at the USCIS. The only way the USCIS ''budged'' the last time was to go over them and to the highest office in this country with hard data. Perhaps the AILA should try that.

It's all relative as to what is going on at USCIS. It speaks to how all catagories are being affected. I am currently awaiting an I-601 response and even though that is not specifically mentioned in the letter (well just a sentence at the end), I can identify with many of the same issues. I have also read many of the same circumstances in other categories. And in fact, at the end of the letter it talks about back log of processing times and transperancy in general. I think its reflective of what's going on with all USCIS processing.

I am sure as with any other corporation, there is a chain of command. This association wanted to start to bring awareness and attention to the issue. This could be just their beginning.

Edited May 3, 2016 by LionessDeon

[Pennycat 880]

Here is my confusion.... I appreciate USCIS having a window of 5 months. I have also read that they work on the applications as they arrive in Chronological order.

This website is fantastic. Where the USCIS are not transparent on their timings, this website gives indications of who has received their DAO2.

It does pose questions as to why some are taking longer than others, even when the country is low risk.

I will take this websites advise and call them. I have a job offer and so I am eager to hasten the application in any way.

I will report back and let you know of the result. It has been 73 days so far so nothing ventured nothing gained.

Yes, they (probably) work on them in more-or-less chronological order but there are a lot of factors that can make some a little faster than others, and some a little slower than others. This is the reason that USCIS gives a "goal time" of 5 months, but in reality has been doing them much faster-- they don't want to field calls like this all the time, and they would if they gave more accurate data. The VJ data is also really just a guide-- you can't predict if you'll be on the faster end of the average or the slower end of the average. And while YES it stinks to be on the slower end of the average, you're looking at a difference of maybe 2 or 3 weeks within a service center, not a difference in months between service centers (which has happened before and which advocates from right here at VJ made STOP happening).

Imagine that the Lockbox boxes up petitions as they come in, and then ships the boxes off to CSC. They'll be in rough chronological order (not perfect but close). Jim, Bob and Sue all work at CSC. They open a few boxes, and Jim takes Feb 1 through Feb 3, Bob gets Feb 4 and half of Feb 6, Sue gets the second half of Feb 6-8. They all start working at the same time. Sue's second half of Feb 6 gets done on the same day as Jim's Feb 1 and Bob's Feb 4. Then, imagine that Sue us faster than the other guys naturally, and Bob got unlucky with a really bad batch of handwritten applications. Jim's kid got pinkeye this week so he had to stay home two days, and Bob's been putting in 10 hour days because he's taking next week off because his daughter is getting married in Hawaii. ALL of this will break any sort of strict chronological order, but it will still be more-or-less at the same(ish) time-- within a week or two.

Then add in the applications themselves. Some ARE more complicated than others, or have more things to check. I have LONG thought, and have little proof except for anecdotes, that applicants who HAVE traveled to the US before take slightly longer than those who have not. Seems strange at first until you realize that they probably check with CPB to take a look at entries/exists looking for any funny business. That, for all we know, could be an official request they need to put in and it could be dependent on CPB's workload, too-- sometimes they get it back next-day, sometimes CBP has a week or so backlog. This, again, is a total guess based off of years working for/with the government-- I wouldn't be surprised if I'm right but could easily be wrong.

Either way, you know almost for sure that you will have your NOA2 much quicker than USCIS's 5 month goal, and honestly I'd personally bet this week. You can go ahead and call but I really don't recommend it. There's a 50/50 chance they'll give you the wrong information that will enrage or confuse you and there is *nothing* they can do for you away. You could apply for an expedite but you are extremely unlikely to get one (job or no job-- they've turned down people with life-threatening illnesses and pregnancies etc) but even that takes a few weeks and you're all but guaranteed to hear this week anyway.

Get your hands on the checklist for your embassy, start gathering everything you need for embassy stage now (this could save weeks!) see if you can arrange your medicals now (could also save weeks!). Instead of trying to move something that seriously just won't move, get yourself ready to jump into action the moment they DO move-- that's the part you have control over-- how quickly you can knock out the embassy checklist!

[Gary Whitfield 0]

Well... it is day 96 in big brother house... and still no news. We listened and put off contacting them. Feeling good about this week so we will wait and see. Fingers crossed.

[Meg&Andrew 297]

Well... it is day 96 in big brother house... and still no news. We listened and put off contacting them. Feeling good about this week so we will wait and see. Fingers crossed.

Have you joined the Febuary filers thread? There's more people there that are in the same shoes as you.

[Gary Whitfield 0]

Yayyyyy.... I took the advise to be patient and we now have our NOA2! It is like waiting for a Disney ride which is so exciting and knowing you now have only X long until the ride starts!!