Tag: bcis

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A *good* government experience?

This morning Yoli and I headed off to the local USCIS (formerly known as the BCIS, and before that as the INS) sub-office in downtown. We took with us Yoli’s application for an adjustment of status to permanent resident (read: green card) and her application for a temporary work permit (that lasts until she gets the green card).

We were expecting the visit to take hours or even all day. Surprisingly it took just a few minutes. There was hardly anyone in the office that day, and since our papers were organized and clearly labelled, we got in and out quickly.

We’ll return to the office on Friday for Yoli to have her picture taken and the work permit issued. The green card paperwork will take longer… probably 6 months to a year. But please pray with us that the process would be expedited.

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No NOA yet, but hope springs eternal

While we still haven’t gotten our second “Notice of Action” from the Nebraska BCIS service center, I know from checking several other websites that they are processing case numbers close to ours. I hope and expect to hear something within 2 weeks.

Once our case moves out of the black hole of Nebraska, it will move to the NVC (Nevada Visa Center, I think). There they will run our names through the FBI and CIA databases and make sure there are no red flags. This process should take a couple weeks. After that, we get approved and a packet of stuff will be sent to the American embassy in Bolivia.

Yoli will have an interview there, and if all goes well, she’ll get the visa in hand, and our wedding will proceed!

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Past the “expiration date”

Today is day 180 (6 months) since our K-1 Fiancee Visa request was received by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly the INS).

Unfortunately for us, because I live in Missouri, I had to submit my visa to the Nebraska BCIS service center, which is the slowest of all the service centers. Though they send out notices that say it will take “150-180” days to process the visa application, the truth is that they are much further behind.

I’m planning to call the office of my senator, Jim Talent, to ask for help. But I know ultimately I just have to wait a little longer. Hopefully I’ll have a result on our visa by the end of September.

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The interminable wait

I’m learning lots about patience these days, far more than I ever wanted to know.

You see, to bring Yoli here to the U.S. so we can marry is not a simple task. It involves forms and interviews and evidence and other stuff.

Our first order of business is to get her a “Fiancee Visa” which will allow her to come here and marry me. We applied for this visa at the end of March. The tough part is that our application was sent to the slowest of all the visa processing centers in the U.S.
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