Family visa - F1 not moving, how long to opt-out to F2b ?

[Srie]

I'm in the same boat guys. I converted from F2b to F1 more than a year and a half ago when F1 was still ahead of F2b. Today, my PD is current under F2b. In light of recent movement, or lack thereof, to be more accurate, in the F1 category, do you think it is possible for me to opt-out now? I know a poster here did it, but his situation differs from mine in that I converted to F1 a very long time ago, unlike him who informed the NVC of his decision right before the conversion.

Your input will be greatly appreciated

Hello,

Has anyone else got welcome letters from NVC ? If you update this thread then it will help others to understand the time line for this process.

Thank you,

[Harry Cheema]

Hello everyone
My parents fill my petition on dec2009
Now they become citizens
And we got letter from nvc with the case no
Can any body pls tell me how much time it will take to get visa ??

Regards

[Srie]

Hello everyone
My parents fill my petition on dec2009
Now they become citizens
And we got letter from nvc with the case no
Can any body pls tell me how much time it will take to get visa ??

Regards

Are you talking about the NVC letter sent after your parents filed for you in 2009 or have you got the NVC letter asking you to pay fees and choose an agent to file for visa? When did you get the letter ? Answer to your question depends on which letter you are talking about.

[Harry Cheema]

It's just case no mention on that letter
Nothing else. But my mom fill my paper in dec 2009 and now 1 week ago she recive a letter from nvc

[jadeng96]

F1 is catching up.

Hi Srie,

I was able to finally get through on the call with the NVC and they basically asked me to write a letter / email to them stating that we would like to retain the F2B category instead of the conversion to F1. I sent them the letter, haven't received any confirmation yet on this..!

Also, even though the current date is 22nd Feb 2008 and my priority date is May 22nd, 2008 I haven't received any notifications/letters yet.

Does anyone know whether they only start processing after the priority date is current ?


Couple of things to note that might be helpful to others:
1. There is no automatic conversion of category from F2B to F1 when anyone naturalizes. NVC has no idea and they need to be informed. Eventually they would know when they start reviewing the application. But when F1 is moving faster than F2B, please ensure to change your category by sending a written request.

2. Opt out provision exists and to do that one needs to send out a request to NVC.

3. Email doesn't quite work. I have sent multiple emails and haven't received any responses yet !

Priority date for F2B is 2008? Where did you get that info? The priority date for F1 is Feb05 while F2B is Apr04. Seems like F1 processing time is catching up fast. My parents filed F2B case for my sister last 2012. I'll check this priority dates from time to time and if F1 will continue to move fast, I'll tell my parents to get US citizenship so the case will be automatically moved to F1. Check both links below:

http://travel.state.gov/contenthttps://www.immihelp.com/usa-visas/english/law-and-policy/bulletin/2015/visa-bulletin-for-april-2015.html

http://travel.state.gov/contenthttps://www.immihelp.com/usa-visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/approved/checkdate.html

[liberal_always]

Hello liberal_always,

Thank you for replying. I wrote to the NVC with a copy of the naturalization certificate as soon as we became citizens. They replied and sent a letter confirming the move from F2B to F1. Her priority date is July 29th, 2009.

The current priority dates for F2B are Feb 22nd, 2008. If your lawyer manages to get you back to F2B from F1, please let me know. It will be greately appreciated.

Regards,

Hi Srie,

Picking back on this thread. Were you able to move the petition from F1 to F2B ? Did you receive any communication ? My son's interview finally got scheduled for end of July. But there is one thing that concerns me. In the letter we received from the NVC it states: "In order to obtain approval to opt-out and remain in the F2B preference category, the principal applicant must contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The principal applicant's letter should request the benefits of the opt-out provision. Please note that opt-out provisions are administered solely by DHS. This petition is now eligible for further processing...."

I sent a letter to DHS / USCIS, but did not hear back on anything yet.

So, I am thoroughly confused on what will happen during the interview.

If you can provide your experience, maybe it will help. I will post this again on the thread to see if any one else has gotten this !

Thanks again,

[Srie]

Hi Srie,

Picking back on this thread. Were you able to move the petition from F1 to F2B ? Did you receive any communication ? My son's interview finally got scheduled for end of July. But there is one thing that concerns me. In the letter we received from the NVC it states: "In order to obtain approval to opt-out and remain in the F2B preference category, the principal applicant must contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The principal applicant's letter should request the benefits of the opt-out provision. Please note that opt-out provisions are administered solely by DHS. This petition is now eligible for further processing...."

I sent a letter to DHS / USCIS, but did not hear back on anything yet.

So, I am thoroughly confused on what will happen during the interview.

If you can provide your experience, maybe it will help. I will post this again on the thread to see if any one else has gotten this !

Thanks again,

Hello liberal_always,

I called NVC few times, it was very difficult to get them and they told me to send an e mail requesting the opt-out. I did that in April end and have not got a response so far. I called NVC again and they told me it will take about 2 months for them to respond to e mails ! If I do not receive a reply by end of ths month, I am going to write to them by regular mail.

I think you have acted correctly by sending your request to opt-out to DHS as instructed by NVC. Since your son has time till July for his interview, I am sure his letter to DHS would be taken in to consideration by that time. I do not think you need to worry now.

Will you be able to send me the DHS address that you were instructed to send the opt-out letter to ?

Many thanks,

[liberal_always]

Hello liberal_always,

I called NVC few times, it was very difficult to get them and they told me to send an e mail requesting the opt-out. I did that in April end and have not got a response so far. I called NVC again and they told me it will take about 2 months for them to respond to e mails ! If I do not receive a reply by end of ths month, I am going to write to them by regular mail.

I think you have acted correctly by sending your request to opt-out to DHS as instructed by NVC. Since your son has time till July for his interview, I am sure his letter to DHS would be taken in to consideration by that time. I do not think you need to worry now.

Will you be able to send me the DHS address that you were instructed to send the opt-out letter to ?

Many thanks,

Hi Srie,

So here is what I did:
1. Sent an email to NVC (They never replied to this)

2. sent a fedex mail to NVC (I would strongly suggest you do this. Dont rely on emails. By the way, did you get a confirmation that your case was transferred to the F1 preference category when you originally made the request ? Where did you get the letter from ? NVC or USCIS ? )

3. Sent USPS mail to USCIS (as Fedex does not deliver to P.O Box and USCIS has P.O Box)

4. Called NVC multiple times - no one had any clue on what this even means. One officer asked me to contact Mumbai consulate

5. Emailed/Called Mumbai consulate and got a standard reply from them saying the case is at NVC so I should contact them.

6. Called USCIS twice and they had no idea about this. All they said was since the case is approved we dont have any control on it and I should contact NVC for further action. They did not even know what CSPA is.

7. Upon a friend's suggestion, I scheduled in-person appointment with USCIS officer at local office. Its an InfoPass appointment and scheduled for June 30th, so will find out more on what happens there.

At this point, beyond this I have no idea what else I can do, so going to just trust and believe in God that it will all be fine. !

Mailing address for USCIS can be found on the I-797 Approval letter that they sent you. Since I am in California, my address for USCIS was the California Service Center.

HTH,

[Srie]

Hi Srie,

So here is what I did:
1. Sent an email to NVC (They never replied to this)

2. sent a fedex mail to NVC (I would strongly suggest you do this. Dont rely on emails. By the way, did you get a confirmation that your case was transferred to the F1 preference category when you originally made the request ? Where did you get the letter from ? NVC or USCIS ? )

3. Sent USPS mail to USCIS (as Fedex does not deliver to P.O Box and USCIS has P.O Box)

4. Called NVC multiple times - no one had any clue on what this even means. One officer asked me to contact Mumbai consulate

5. Emailed/Called Mumbai consulate and got a standard reply from them saying the case is at NVC so I should contact them.

6. Called USCIS twice and they had no idea about this. All they said was since the case is approved we dont have any control on it and I should contact NVC for further action. They did not even know what CSPA is.

7. Upon a friend's suggestion, I scheduled in-person appointment with USCIS officer at local office. Its an InfoPass appointment and scheduled for June 30th, so will find out more on what happens there.

At this point, beyond this I have no idea what else I can do, so going to just trust and believe in God that it will all be fine. !

Mailing address for USCIS can be found on the I-797 Approval letter that they sent you. Since I am in California, my address for USCIS was the California Service Center.

HTH,

Hi liberal_always,

I did get an e mail response from NVC last friday. In response to my e mail which gave the NVC reference number and petitioners' name and applicants' name, they sent me a standard e mail saying that I have NOT submitted the required information - NVC reference number, Petitioners name and applicant's name and requesting them again!!! This took one and half months and they did not even read my e mail before sending a standard response! Honestly, I don't know how these places function.

So I replied and gave the information again and I am sure it will take another two months for a reply. In the meantime I will wait for the next two months' visa bulletin to see how F1 and F2B move and send a letter by post. I am also thinking trying the InfoPass and make an appointment to see someone in USCIS in Philadelphia.

Please give us an update of your meeting so it will help everyone in this forum to take the next steps in each of their situation.

Good luck!

[sana1976]

Hi:

I am in the same boat as most of you guys.
I have sent mail and email to NVC asking them to opt out since one month and a half.
SO far, I didn't hear back.

Srie/Liberal_always can you please give us updates?

Thanks;

[johnkoshy]

mr. john

hello friends. my priority date was on January 3, 2008. i have opted out from F1 category and choosed to F2B category by calling directly to NVC according to CSPA act. But at interview time they suspended my visa. They said that my category was still in F1 category and i need to wait for F1 category to become current. i have no idea what was happened in my case. just see the NVC authorities only changed the category from F1 to F2B since F2B was current but in consulate they refuses my visa. i am 32 now. what actually the CSPA act meant for?

[sana1976]

hello friends. my priority date was on January 3, 2008. i have opted out from F1 category and choosed to F2B category by calling directly to NVC according to CSPA act. But at interview time they suspended my visa. They said that my category was still in F1 category and i need to wait for F1 category to become current. i have no idea what was happened in my case. just see the NVC authorities only changed the category from F1 to F2B since F2B was current but in consulate they refuses my visa. i am 32 now. what actually the CSPA act meant for?

Hi Mr John

how where you able to change it with the NVC? by mail, email, or just phone call? If it is by mail or e-mail please can you share the address you sent your request to.
As for the embassy, i am guessing you also need to send a request to the consulate that has USCIS division responsible for your country. I read this thing in different forums. for example Delhi is responsible for different countries within its region.

[armjay2000]

Hi Mr John

how where you able to change it with the NVC? by mail, email, or just phone call? If it is by mail or e-mail please can you share the address you sent your request to.
As for the embassy, i am guessing you also need to send a request to the consulate that has USCIS division responsible for your country. I read this thing in different forums. for example Delhi is responsible for different countries within its region.

Hello Everyone,

I just want to let you all know that NVC has no authority to grant you a conversion from F1 back to F2B category. Do not contact NVC, as it's a complete waste of time. I am in the same situation. I contacted NVC with this request over the phone. They told me to send them an e-mail with an opt out request. After I sent the email, I got a reply 2 months later saying that NVC cannot process my request, and only DHS has such authority. I am searching for DHS mailing address on their website, and it's very confusing where regular mail goes to. If anyone has contacted DHS and has their address, please post it.

Thanks!

[armjay2000]

Opting out from F1 back to F2B

Hi Mr John

how where you able to change it with the NVC? by mail, email, or just phone call? If it is by mail or e-mail please can you share the address you sent your request to.
As for the embassy, i am guessing you also need to send a request to the consulate that has USCIS division responsible for your country. I read this thing in different forums. for example Delhi is responsible for different countries within its region.

Dear All,

I am in a similar situation. My mother petitioned for my brother when she was a permanent resident. After she became a US citizen, she informed NVC, and they changed the visa category from F2B to F1.
I contacted NVC over the phone requesting an opt out from F1 back to F2B. They told me to send them an email with this request, which I did. They replied 2 months later saying that NVC has no authority over it, and I should contact DHS (Department of Homeland Security). I have been looking for DHS mailing address, and I can't find it on their website, it's very confusing. If anyone has contacted DHS, would you please post their mailing address?

Thanks!

[Srie]

Dear All,

I am in a similar situation. My mother petitioned for my brother when she was a permanent resident. After she became a US citizen, she informed NVC, and they changed the visa category from F2B to F1.
I contacted NVC over the phone requesting an opt out from F1 back to F2B. They told me to send them an email with this request, which I did. They replied 2 months later saying that NVC has no authority over it, and I should contact DHS (Department of Homeland Security). I have been looking for DHS mailing address, and I can't find it on their website, it's very confusing. If anyone has contacted DHS, would you please post their mailing address?

Thanks!

Hi,

I have written to NVC and have not heard from them so far. I mailed them a letter too, with a letter from my daughter agreeing to opt-out of F1 and be considered as a F2B. I sent the letters few days back.
I read your's and Mr John's comments and called DHS twice just now. The first person answered did not even know what an opt-out was. He said there is nothing the DHS can do, and asked me to contact NVC. On my second call, the person knew what was an opt-out and she told me, DHS do not handle it, and for me to contact NVC. I am very confused as to why some get transferd back to F2B and others not.

Here is the DHS number I called: 1 800 375 5283