Raptor1

I would appreciate any thoughts, comments or opinions regarding the timeline
comparison below, specifically, why has Sheila and Clive already received their visa
and myself and Manee have not, even though we received our 1st NOA one day before
they did. Maybe it has to do with the countries involved (U.K. vs. Thailand), but I
thought these cases are handled in the order in which they are received. Be advised,
I put together a very organized package and was very thorough with this process. I
had been expecting some news during the last three weeks so I sent Manee the I-134
(Affidavit of Support) on August 17th. Earlier in the process I wrote to the U.S.
embassy in Bangkok with some questions but I felt is unwise to request the opening of
a provisional file before being approved. Last Friday I talked to a "real person" at
the TSC and they told me it would be another two months. I can only hope this was a
"low level" employee who didn't know what she was talking about. Any comments would
be appreciated.

Sheila (U.S.C.) Clive (U.K.C.) Texas Service Center / London Embassy

6/17/02-Mailed I-129f petition to TSC from the United Kingdom
6/18/02-Received first NOA from TSC
6/19/02-Mailed London Embassy paper work off to open provisional file
6/20/02-Received 2nd NOA from TSC
6/21/02-Received Interview date for London on 9/03/02
6/22/02-Received Visa


Tom (U.S.C.) Manee (Thai citizen) Texas Service Center / Bangkok Embassy

6/23/02-Mailed I-129F petition to TSC from Kennesaw, Georgia, USA
6/24/02-Received first NOA from TSC
6/25/02-No word, still waiting for 2nd NOA

cbernard

thailand can be pretty tight on visas because of all the flase marriages that take place. It really sucks, but that's life (i'm there with you)





after

Jim Bess

"Raptor1" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]
om...
    > I would appreciate any thoughts, comments or opinions regarding the timeline
    > comparison below, specifically, why has Sheila and Clive already received their
    > visa and myself and Manee have not, even though we received our 1st NOA one day
    > before they did. Maybe it has to do with the countries involved (U.K. vs.
    > Thailand), but I thought these cases are handled in the order in which they are
    > received. Be advised, I put together a very organized package and was very thorough
    > with this process. I had been expecting some news during the last three weeks so I
    > sent Manee the I-134 (Affidavit of Support) on August 17th. Earlier in the process
    > I wrote to the U.S. embassy in Bangkok with some questions but I felt is unwise to
    > request the opening of a provisional file before being approved. Last Friday I
    > talked to a "real person" at the TSC and they told me it would be another two
    > months. I can only hope this was a "low level" employee who didn't know what she
    > was talking about. Any comments would be appreciated.
    > Sheila (U.S.C.) Clive (U.K.C.) Texas Service Center / London Embassy
    > 6/17/02-Mailed I-129f petition to TSC from the United Kingdom
    > 6/21/02-Received first NOA from TSC
    > 7/23/02-Mailed London Embassy paper work off to open provisional file
    > 7/24/02-Received 2nd NOA from TSC
    > 8/08/02-Received Interview date for London on 9/03/02
    > 9/03/02-Received Visa
    > Tom (U.S.C.) Manee (Thai citizen) Texas Service Center / Bangkok Embassy
    > 6/17/02-Mailed I-129F petition to TSC from Kennesaw, Georgia, USA
    > 6/20/02-Received first NOA from TSC
    > 9/09/02-No word, still waiting for 2nd NOA

I wouldn't worry about the timeline difference. My fiance also came from Thailand.
You can see our timeline at www.skidogs.net One
thing you'll find when talking to a 'real' person and getting a timeline from them is
they will quote you the 'worst case' timeline... It makes sense! If they tried to
give you the ACTUAL date and missed it by a day you would (of course) tie up their
resources by calling them and trying to find out WHAT HAPPENED. Sometimes (by luck of
the draw) the person reviewing your file may be the ONE person in that office that
wants to check over EVERYTHING or takes a short leave with your file in their desk or
is using your file to train a new person with... WHO KNOWS? Files are generally
processed in order (there are some exceptions) but every file is unique and is
treated that way.

Since you said your dealing with the embassy in Bangkok, I did discover that they
will give the 'packet #3' to your fiance if she goes in and asks for it... She can
then have all the data ready that she needs (don't get the med exam til THEY tell her
to) and if you want FASTER processing... Once you get the 2nd NOA with the approval,
make a copy of it and send the ORIGINAL via Fed-Ex to your fiance in Thailand. She
can take that to the Embassy and they will let her get the Med Exam and schedule her
for her interview BEFORE they get the approval notice from the INS.
Note: They WILL NOT give her the visa in the passport until they have recieved the
notice of approval via official channels from the INS, but this save apprx 2
weeks if you are in a hurry! :-)

Good Luck!

Craig

Opening a provisional file before being approved is no problem at the U.S. Embassy in
Bangkok. I had read this advice below on a previous posting so I had my wife
go in to pick up packet three. They gave it to her, plus they checked the data base
to see if the 2nd. NOA had yet to arrive, which it had not. She has already received
her police report, plus had her medical exam. I think she is rushing things but it
was the lady at the embassy that told her to go ahead and take care of it now. I had
sent a copy of the 1st NOA to show when asking for packet 3 in case there were any
questions. If you have questions for the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok it may take
two weeks for a reply but they will reply to your email. As far as timeline
comparisons go some centers (VSC) process the paper work quickly, as does England.
Try to squirm too much waiting out the days. Our time will come.


---from a previous post She is welcome to stop by the Embassy to pick up the packet
three here; we have open hours on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1-3pm. If she
comes in during that time, she can speak briefly with an officer and get all of the
required paperwork


Timeline

Sent I-130 (CSC) June 22, 2002 Received 1st. NOA July 06, 2002

Sent I-129f / K-3 July 17, 2002 1st. NOA July 22, 2002