USCIS Time Estimates for Application approval

sooner or later, you’ll get a receipt notice from the USCIS service center in response to your first inquiry or in the normal course of processing. The notice will give you your receipt number, which you can use to check the USCIS website for information on its processing. Look at the upper-left box in the sample receipt notice below—you’ll see a number that begins “WAC.” Go to the USCIS website (www. uscis. gov), under “Hot Topics,” click “Case Status & Processing Dates.” Then click “online” under “Finding the Status of Your Case.” You’ll see a box for entering your number.

Even without using your receipt notice, the USCIS website can tell you whether they’re still dealing with ap­plications filed earlier than yours—and therefore can’t be expected to decide on yours yet—or have moved on to applications filed after yours, in which case there’s a problem. On the home page (www. uscis. gov), under “Hot Topics,” click “Case Status & Processing Dates.” Then click “here” under “Obtain­ing a List of Processing Dates.” Choose your Service Center, click “Processing Dates,” and follow the instructions.

3. delays Beyond UScIS Time Estimates

The service center won’t want to hear from you with more inquiries about your application until the number of process­ing days predicted on its website has passed. But if that date passes with no results, it’s time to write a letter like the one below.

If you hear nothing from USCIS af­ter four weeks, write another, similar letter. Write another every two weeks until you get an answer. It’s best to start with very polite, short letters, and then get more insistent as time goes on. Be careful, however—-although eloquent and justified outrage may eventually get USCIS’s attention, never insult or threaten a government official. This will get you nowhere and, if your letter is interpreted as a threat, may lead to a criminal pros­ecution as well as a quick denial.

4. Scheduling the Interview

After all your paperwork is submit­ted, you’re ready for an interview—but you can’t predict how long it will take before your interview is scheduled. For interviews in the United States, waits of a

Sample I-129F Receipt Notice
Department of Homeland Seeurity U.S. Citizenship nnd Immigration Services
I-797C, Notice of Action
КШ1П MMBKK WAC-05-041-0C о о о CASE TYPE I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E) November 18, 2004 PRIORITY DATE PETITIONER ANDERSON, CHRISTA NOTICE DATE December 1, 2004 PAGE 1 of 1 BENEFICIARY CUEVAS, BERNARDO ILONA BRAY : Receipt Notice ,RE: BERNARDO CUEVAS 950 PARKER ST. BERKELEY, CA 94710,Amount received: $ 165.00
Receipt notice - If any of Che above information la incorrect, call cuecomer service immediately. .4 Processing time - Processing times vary by kind of case. - You can check our current processing time for this kind of case on our website ac uscis.gov - On our website you can also sign up to get free e-mail updates as we complete key processing steps on this case. - Most of the time your case is pending the processing statue wllk not change because we will be working on others filed earlier. - Me will notify you by mail when we make a decision on this-case, or if we need something from you. If you move while this case is pending, call customer, service when you move. - Processing times can change. If you don't get a decision or update from us within our current processing time, check our website or call for an update.
If you have questions, check c contact us about this case.
website or call customer service. Please save this notice, and have it with you If you
Notice to all customers with a pending 1-130 petition - USCIS is now processing Гопа I-IJO, Petition for Allen Relative. * as a visa number becomes available. Filing and approval of an 1-130 relative petition Is only the first step in helping a relative immigrate to the United States. Eligible family members must wait until there is a visa nuoRjer available before they can apply for an immigrant visa or adjustment of statue to a lawful permanent resident. This process will •How USCIS to concentrate resources first on cases where visas are actually available. This process should not delay the ability of one's relative to apply for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status. Refer to www.state.gov/travel <http://www.state.gov/travel> to determine current visa availability dates. For more information, please visit our website at www.uacls.gov or contact us at 1-800-375-5283. Always remember to call customer service if you move while your case is pending. If you hava a pending 1-130 relative petition, also call customer service if you should decide to withdraw your petition or if you become a U.S. citizen.
Please see the additional information on the back. You will be notified separately about any other cases you filed. IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION SERVICE CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER P. 0. BOX 30111 LAGUNA NIGUEL CA 92607-0111 Customer Service Telephone: (800) 375-5283
Form I-797C (Rev. 08Я1/04) N

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Sample Letter for Delayed USCIS Decision 344 Noview Drive Fremont, CA 90000 (510) 555-1212 September 31, 20xx USCIS/California Service Center P.O. Box 10130 Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-0130 RE: Petitioner: Joe Citizen Beneficiary: Tana Tanzanian Processing Number: WAC 01-55-54321 Dear Sir/Madam: I filed a visa petition for the above-named beneficiary on May 1, 20xx. I got your receipt notice on June 1, 20xx. According to the USCIS website, I could expect a decision from you within 90 days. A copy of my receipt notice is enclosed. It has now been approximately 120 days and I have received neither a decision nor any requests for further information. Please advise me of the status of my visa petition at the above address or phone number. I look forward to your response. Very truly yours, Joe Citizen Joe Citizen Encl. (Copy of USCIS receipt)
year or more are common; if you’re outside of the U.S., it’s not unusual to wait several months for an interview at the consulate. There’s no harm in trying to find out when you’ll be scheduled, however. The information desk at your local USCIS or consulate may also be able to tell you
about the usual wait, even if they can’t access your application. Sample inquiry letters regarding delayed consular and uSCIS interviews are shown below. Note that the letter to the consulate was sent to an address in Texas, although the consulate is in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. (The consulate picks up its mail in El
Paso.) If you don’t have the address of the consulate handling your case, you can locate your consulate via www.travel .state.gov/links.html; or call the state Department’s Visa services office in Washington, DC, at 202-663-1225. □,Your case number is on the letter,from the National Visa Center that you received with your packet of forms. It usually starts with the three-letter abbrevia tion for your consulate. In the case below, CDJ stands for Ciudad Juarez.
Sample Letter for Delayed Consular Interview
333 Plaintree Drive Tucson, AZ 90000 (520) 555-1212 July 8, 20xx
Consulate General of the United States Visa Unit P.O. Box 10545 El Paso, TX 79995-0545 USA RE: Case Number: CDJ 2000xxxxxxx Petitioner Name: SMITH, Sandra Beneficiary Name: CARCAMO, CAMPOS Jorge Dear Sir/Madam: I am the beneficiary named above. I mailed Forms DS-2001 and DS-230 Part I to the NVC in January of this year, over six months ago. I believe the NVC has transferred the case to your office. Please see the attached copy of the return receipt that I received after sending these forms by certified mail. I have still not received my visa appointment. Enclosed is an additional copy of the previously submitted forms, in case the first set was misplaced. Please advise me if you need anything further. If not, please schedule me for my visa appointment as soon as possible. Thank you. Very truly yours. Jorge Carcamo Campos Jorge Carcamo Campos Encl. (Return receipt from post office and copy of forms and documents)

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The sample letter below was mailed to the USCIS office in Chicago, to which applicants must send their adjustment of status applications.
 Sample Letter for Delayed USCIS Interview 888 Windy Road Boston, MA 02000 (617) 555-1212 January 5, 20xx U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services P.O. Box 805887 Chicago, IL 60680-4120 RE: A#12345678 Petitioner: Larry Local Beneficiary: Zelda Zelinski Dear Sir/Madam: I am the beneficiary named above. I turned in my application for adjustment of status in October of 20xx, approximately 16 months ago. Please see the attached copy of my receipt notice. Although I was called in for fingerprinting five months ago, I have still not received an interview appointment. Please let me know the status of my application and schedule me for an interview as soon as possible. Thank you. Very truly yours, Zelda ZeAn&ki Zelda Zelinski Encl. (Copy of U.S. Postal Service return receipt)
answers. You might get through to a con-sulate after many tries. But USCIS almost never gives out phone numbers, except to its main information line, which is probably miles away from where your application is stored.
Telephone Calls You’ll no doubt be anxious to just pick up the phone to ask about the progress of your application. Unfortunately, phone calls often produce frustration instead of

The USCIS service centers, where most initial visa petitions are decided, are a unique case. The good news is that these service centers have their own telephone information lines. The bad news is that after you spend many hours trying to get through, the person (or machine) who picks up the phone usually has no access to your file. usually, the most they will do is read from a computer screen, telling you that your case is pending. However, if the computer shows that the service center sent you a request for more documents or actually denied your case, the phone call will be worth the effort—but count on many hours of effort.

Lawyers can be helpful in this re – gard—they will sometimes have inside email or phone lines to use in case of extreme delays.

Updated: 18th July 2015 — 3:10 pm