C_C

Hi all,

I've posted the story on our July/August DCF filers thread too, but I thought I'd start a separate thread to get some advice from the "more experienced" people too.

So, the main story is: my husband filed I-130 on my behalf in London (DCF), which was approved on October 21. The approval letter (like any other I-130 approval letter) states that the approved petition has now been forwarded to the Visa Unit, which I thought was the case. Up until a few hours ago.
Since it's now been more than 3 weeks of the approval, and I need to have my medical by early December, I thought I'd contact the Visa Unit to request my case number to allow me to do so.

I called the Visa helpline this morning and the guy couldn't find me on the system but told me not to worry, sometimes case numbers don't get uploaded on the system very quickly, so he gave me the code for the week and I emailed the Visa Unit directly. Within just an hour or so they emailed me back and very politely said that they hadn't yet received my approved petition!!

Now THAT made me worry. More than 3 weeks since the approval date, same Embassy, and they haven't received it yet. Are such delays normal? Do they happen to people quite a lot and is there a certain reason for that? Or can my petition have been lost somehow between the two departments, which is what I'm fearing now??
I've emailed USCIS London to ask about the whereabouts of my petition - hopefully they'll shed some light. The automatic email said they'd respond within 72 hours, but since it's almost the weekend, it wouldn't surprise me if I heard mid-next week.

My biggest fear is: what if USCIS claims that they've forwarded the approved petition to the Visa Unit, and the Visa Unit insists that they haven't received it? Would do I do in that case?
I'm feeling really nervous about it right now!! That scenario hadn't even crossed my mind before today.

meauxna

Stop worrying. For basically traveling across one city block or less, it sure takes a long time, doesn't it?
Gives new meaning to 'snail mail'.

C_C

Hmmm...yes, but 3 weeks+1 day seems too long even for snail mail to travel to the next block

Then again, another member got their case number in the mail today, and their approval date was just a day before ours!
I know of course that other members with earlier filing/approval dates are still waiting too.

I wish I hadn't found out this late in the week, and that I've had some more time to "investigate". Now I'm stuck with the weekend ahead and can't do much of anything till next week

meauxna

That's right, so the wisest thing to do is put it aside and enjoy your weekend.

It's not an uncommon wait, as you've seen.

londonmale2008

i am in a similar situation to you and haven't received the number yet so dont worry. i guess prepare all the other documents to push things through as fast as possible!