Good news from Nebraska?

[Lori]

I read this post on the latin board:

I am totally busting! I received my first NOA 03/21 and the approval for the I-129F yesterday 04/14. The first NOA said to expect the processing to take 70-100 days... I have nothing but good things to say about this new lady director of the service centers - I am going to send a letter of recommendation to her boss... Go Big Red!!!

I have read in the past that Nebraska is the slowest INS office. Can a new director really make that much of a differance?

[Danny]

... in response to Good news from Nebraska?, posted by Lori on Apr 17, 2001

I received my 1st NOA from the NSC on 2/15, along with the same notice that it would take 70-100 days.  My 2nd NOA came on 3/28.  I thought it was because I contacted my Senator(Dewine-OH), but maybe not.

[greg]

... in response to Good news from Nebraska?, posted by Lori on Apr 17, 2001

Have you met your Mahal yet? I thought the fiancee visa rule states that we must first meet our Mahal before filing. greg

[Lori]

... in response to Re: Good news from Nebraska?-Lori, posted by greg on Apr 17, 2001

asd

[greg]

... in response to we meet in June...n/t, posted by Lori on Apr 17, 2001

But. I thought the Fiancee Visa rule is for You and your Mahal meet first(June), then send the I129f application to INS. greg

[Lori]

... in response to Re: we meet in June...n/tLori, posted by greg on Apr 17, 2001

And I plan to start the paperwork soon after I return. Right now I am just studying the process, and getting things ready.

[Dave H]

... in response to Re: we meet in June...n/tLori, posted by greg on Apr 17, 2001

Greg,

I believe you are correct in Lori's case.

I-129F (Rev. 2/08/01) states:

1. Who may file?

 B. You and your fiance(e) are both free to marry, and    
    have met in person within two years before your  
    filing this petition unless:

  1) The requirement to meet your fiance(e) in person  
     would violate strict and long-established customs
     of your fiance(e)'s foreign culture or social
     practice; or
  2) It is established that the requirement to personally
     meet your fiance(e) would result in extreme hardship
     to you.

5. What documents do you need to prove you can legally    
  marry?

 C. Copies of evidence that you and your fiance(e) have    
    personally met within the last two years, or if or if  
    you have never met within the last two years, provide  
    a detailed explanation and evidence of the extreme    
    hardship or customary, cultural or social practices    
    which have prohibited your meeting: and

I believe that Carl was able to bring Vemila to the US on the I-129F Visa, without meeting in person first. I don't believe that these exemptions would apply to Lori, since she will be visiting Thai in June.

Dave H.

[greg]

... in response to Lori ?, posted by Dave H on Apr 17, 2001

Your correct. Lori, you supposed to meet your Mahal first before you can send in your I129f application.  greg

[Dave H]

... in response to Re: Lori ?DaveH, posted by greg on Apr 18, 2001

Hi Greg,

I misread Lori's post at first too. She read the statement about the Nebraska INS Service Center on the Latin Board.

Lori...hurry up and get over there! Nebraska is looking very good at the moment. You will probably beat me. I am dealing with the Texas Service Center. Slowwwwww! (( Maybe I will get lucky and they will pull my packet out from the bottom of the pile. I made my packet very colorful. Then again, they may want to keep it around to show everyone. Having worked for the government(FEMA) like Steve, I always expect the worst and am pleasantly surprised when things glide through quickly without snags. And no...they don't give bonus points for former employees.

Dave H.

[SteveG]

... in response to Good news from Nebraska?, posted by Lori on Apr 17, 2001

Lori,
 I work for the Government so I see the red tape every day, don't count on anything going fast where the INS or any Government agency is involved!!   We do the same things over and over and each time it is sheer and utter chaos!  LOL   Well, maybe not that bad, but the processes and bureaucracy can be like a giant anchor dragging you down at times and the INS is a leader in red tape and confusion so expect the worst and then be pleasantly surprised if your paperwork comes sooner.
                                       SteveG

[Tim]

... in response to Good news from Nebraska?, posted by Lori on Apr 17, 2001

There is another (more probable, to my thinking) possibility.

Occaisionally, an I-129F petition packet will be pulled from the middle or the bottom of the pile "for training purposes" to instruct new examiners (my understanding is that this occurs at all the regional INS centers). A person lucky enough to have their petition "pulled" for this training usually has a significant reduction in wait time before learning of their approval/disapproval/rfi.

So until we hear more reports about fast processing at the NSC, I wouldn't hold my breath that they have made any significant improvements -- new director or not.

Regards, Tim

[Ray]

... in response to Not Necessarily..., posted by Tim on Apr 17, 2001

That did sound rather fast for Nebraska. However, they apparently are catching up. Their processing time report for 3/31/01 shows that they are working on I-129Fs received on 3/19/01 (12 day lag), so somebody must have kicked some butt over there.

California is running 34 days behind.
Vermont is current.
Texas is sucking the big green one with 90-100 days lag.

http://www.shusterman.com/toc-sc.html

Ray

[Pinzmog]

... in response to Not Necessarily..., posted by Tim on Apr 17, 2001

Well, TX Ser. Ctr received mine on 01/26 and after getting my Congressman involved, found it will probably be the End of May before it's approved going by current timelines.  In Feb. they were doing 12/05/00 dates,  now they are doing 12/15/00 date!!!!!!!  Can you believe they are that slow?  Congressmans office says most people approved through TX in the last 6 months have waited 90 days just for Approval......8 months until Fiance arrives........

Congratulations Lori,  best of luck,