Folinskyinla

Hi Matt:

It pays to remember that a Servcice Center can "finish" processing of an I-751 by referral to the local district. No notice is given of this. IMHO, if it is past the SC processing time by 60 days, an INFOPASS or 800-misinformation inquiry is in order -- you just might learn the WHERE the file is.

BTW, I do NOT do affidavits when the documenation is strong. I think they are often of little weight.

Mattias Hembruch

In article <[email protected]> ,
Trent <member19517@british_expats.com> wrote:
    >> Pretty darn accurate in my opinion (of course, those who get IBIS hits
    >> and never know that they did might disagree, or other weird situations
    >> where a case gets derailed somewhere along the time).
    >> An IBIS check is where they run the petitioner's and beneficiary's
    >> names to see if there is a record of arrest, or warrant outstanding.
    >> That sort of thing. So if you know you have ever been arrested
    >> before, "OR" if someone with the same name has been arrested before,
    >> than the case will get an IBIS hit. I feel sorry for petitioners
    >> named Bob Smith.
    >I was wondering if the processing dates are accurate, how come some get
    >the response earlier than their posted date? For example, NC Penguin (a
    >user of this forum) filed I-751 in Jan 2004 and got his approval in Dec
    >2004 while the TSC processing date for I-751 still shows that they are
    >working on Oct 31 2003 application. That makes me think these dates are
    >not as accurate as one thinks they should be. Any thoughts?

Think of it this way: applications are piled onto people's desks in stacks,
earliest first.

Just because EVERYONE has hit October 31, doesn't mean SOME got a mix of
later applications with a few Octobers in the mix and thus got ahead to
December.

There's NOT one central pile such that everytime an application is finished,
the case worker goes to the pile to get the next case in line,
chronologically. There are multiple piles, each of which moves at its own
speed. The published dates are the processing dates of the SLOWEST case
workers. It's quite possible some are faster.

And the odd time, some are slower even than the published dates, I would
suspect.

Mattias

Matthew Udall

Hi Folinskyinla,
Yes, I've had a few I-751s referred to the local office for a final interview and adjudication. Most of the I-751s that I've submitted at each of the service centers are approved at the SC's, but occasionally one will be transferred to the local office for final processing. It doesn't happen that often (and around 10% of the I-751 are referred to the local office for sheer quality control purposes… at least that's what I've been told while touring some of the Service Centers), but when it does happen, I usually get a letter from the SC notifying me that they transferred (or will soon be transferring) the file to the local office.

But I also agree with you that sometimes a case can be in a place where you might not think it is.

As for the affidavits, it's just a matter of taste for me. And of course, not all affidavits are created equal. I like to help my clients choose people who are credible and have detailed information about numerous activities they have engaged in with the couple in question. Affidavits from church members are nice (for example, as they would likely interact with the couple on a weekly basis). And I like each affidavit to be substantially different from the other (different relationship to the couple, and citing different events). I can also appreciate the weight (sliding from more, to less) that could be given to this type of evidence. I just like to put them in as I think it’s a nice touch to a well-rounded submission. Of course, there is usually much stronger evidence that goes into my I-751 submissions (stronger that the affidavits).

Johndoe

Has anyone ever heard of cases where I-751s have been denied, and what were the circumstances?

It would appear to me that the I-751 process needs to be streamlined, so that applicants can track their applications online.

==================================

Ap

In article <[email protected]> , member19517
@british_expats.com says...
    >
    > > Pretty darn accurate in my opinion (of course, those who get IBIS hits
    > > and never know that they did might disagree, or other weird situations
    > > where a case gets derailed somewhere along the time).
    > >
    > > An IBIS check is where they run the petitioner's and beneficiary's
    > > names to see if there is a record of arrest, or warrant outstanding.
    > > That sort of thing. So if you know you have ever been arrested
    > > before, "OR" if someone with the same name has been arrested before,
    > > than the case will get an IBIS hit. I feel sorry for petitioners
    > > named Bob Smith.
    >
    > I was wondering if the processing dates are accurate, how come some get
    > the response earlier than their posted date? For example, NC Penguin (a
    > user of this forum) filed I-751 in Jan 2004 and got his approval in Dec
    > 2004 while the TSC processing date for I-751 still shows that they are
    > working on Oct 31 2003 application. That makes me think these dates are
    > not as accurate as one thinks they should be. Any thoughts?
    >
    > Here's a link to the original post from NC Penguin:
    > http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=270253
    >
    >

Our application was processed by TSC as well. Our I-751 date was end of
January 2004. We received letter on November informing us that our case
was sent to local office. We just received letter scheduling us for
interview.


AP

RICKRGRS

Well said; and the litigator's corolary: "The lawyer's job is to make it as easy as possible for the judge to rule in your favor."

Taterbug

[QUOTE=Folinskyinla]Hi Matt:

It pays to remember that a Servcice Center can "finish" processing of an I-751 by referral to the local district. No notice is given of this. IMHO, if it is past the SC processing time by 60 days, an INFOPASS or 800-misinformation inquiry is in order -- you just might learn the WHERE the file is.

BTW, I do NOT do affidavits when the documenation is strong. I think they are often of little weight.[/QUOTE

Hi Mr. Folinskyinla, Is it 30 or 60 days past the SC processing date that you can contact your congressman regarding I-751 status? I had heard 30 but was not sure if this was true. Thanks.

NC Penguin

My personal thoughts as to why my I-751 application was approved in a more timely manner than the processing dates suggest are:

I submitted only a small handful of documentation to substantiate my continuing marriage to the USC.

No affadavits were enclosed.

Documentation showing joint ownership/responsibility was submitted. i.e. rental agreement, utility bills, bank accounts.

I think I may have submitted perhaps as many six documents with the application.

The main reason for my I-751 application being approved so quickly is mostly down to the minimal number of relevant documents sent. I sense that when staff see a pile of applications, there'd be a tendency to tackle the slimmer application first before a thick wad of documentation attached to an application.

I took this approach when obtaining the I-130 using DCF at the US Embassy in London without a hitch and I did the same for my I-751 and it was approved pretty quickly.

The only stumbling block at this time is getting INFOPASS to offer me a time to go to Charlotte office for passport stamping, etc.

Johndoe

what you say here makes sense. Well I sent a mountain of documents. I wish I knew this a little in advance. I think I sent 30-34 items.

========================================

sphyrapicus

When I sent my I-751, I made sure to affix the stamp precisely 4.3 mm from the right hand side of the envelope. My I-751 was approved. It must have been because of my stamp placement.

Johndoe

Thats funny Sphy.

===========================

passion

Did ya know, that had the stamp been at "precisely 4.2mm" you would have received an approval and USA citizenship at the same time!!!!!!!!!!!!

NC Penguin

Your 30-34 items may be wholly relevant and necessary for your circumstances. I'm not saying six documents is appropriate for all. It was for me taking into consideration my circumstances...

sphyrapicus

Perhaps your I-751 arrived on a Wednesday and that's why it was approved?

You have no idea why your petition was approved. Your statement "The main reason for my I-751 application being approved so quickly is mostly down to the minimal number of relevant documents sent". There is absolutely no way for you to know this. We could all guess why it was approved but without speaking with the adjudicator, it is all idle speculation. And, I also find it highly unlikely that all adjudicators are clones of one another. What one may find satisfactory may have no bearing on what another finds satisfactory to approve the I-751 without interview.

It would be best to frame your response as "Here's what I submitted and my case was approved" rather than trying to speculate on why it was approved (i.e. stating it was because you submitted only six documents).

Matthew Udall

Hi Pen,
I tend to have a different opinion about your theory above (but I don't discount your opinion as we are all entitled to our opinions).

The bulk of the time that it takes for a case to be adjudicated, is the time it spends working its way from the back of the shelf to the front of the shelf (to eventually be assigned to an officer). The actual time that it takes an officer (with experience) to look over the file and examine the evidence, is probably in the order of 5 minutes or so. It does not take that long to read a 1 page affidavit.

Some people take the same approach as you, and submit minimal documentation with their submissions. That's OK, and I too try to achieve a balance between a "well documented" submission and overkill, and for submissions with minimal documentation… well, that's what RFE's are for.

Now with that said, I tend to agree (to a certain limited extent) with your comment about picking a "slimmer" application. When an officer needs a new batch of cases, he or she orders them from a Contract Worker who wheels his or her hand truck into the file room to collect some more cases from the front of the shelf in question (case types are grouped together on their own shelf in the file room). The Contract worker certainly doesn't discriminate as far a file thickness is concerned. They simply take the cases that are at the front of the shelf and put them into a box (They use the opaque white cardboard'ish boxes that you see being used at the Post Office… these boxes "are" from the post office and have the Postal Service moniker right on the box). Most of the time, approximately 25 case files fit into one of these boxes, however there is the occasional "fat" file that has made its way to the front of the shelf.

Now once the box is delivered to the officer's desk, then "at that time" it is possible that an officer would put off adjudicating the fat file for the end of that box of cases. I had an officer at the CSC (while I was touring the facility) once point to a file that was in her daily que, that was around a foot thick, and she said she'll do that one after knocking out some of the thin files first. But even with that, she'd be getting to all of those cases (fat one included) during her shift that day.