VSC Processing

[Chet 0]

It appears that our politicans have their own priroities, which explains why they don't help you worth ####### when you ask for it. When it comes time to vote, I will be sending a note to my congressman and senators informing them that I will NOT vote for them and as many people as I can convience for their lack of care for family. When they ran for office, almost everyone preach the value of family. The fact that they allow VSC to process H-1B visa over US CITIZEN who wants to be with his/her family indicate the true liar they are. They are basically saying our wife/husband/children are of no concern and is why our petition is a low priority.

I may overstep my comment, but I would hope that my citizenship should have precedence for adjudication over a non-citizen applying for a H-1B visa.

[Dr. Nick 0]

Don't know why is it always that the people who are thru with the wait at the USCIS are always somehow justifying the delays, like wise older brothers/sisters, please don't help us....I have yet to hear someone in the middle of the process being happy with USCIS. If the rest of this country was functioning like the USCIS you'd see the descendants of those original settlers going back to EU where their ancestors came from, forget about immigration - there would be none. If there is something wrong with an agency it should be pointed out, and in this case USCIS is in a bad shape, the unreasonably long processing times for family based petitions are not acceptable, they are hurting families, putting their lives on hold, causing many headaches, sleepless nights, worries. That's why we have media, to bring up any issues, and internet is just one aspect of it. If you find these wait times OK and acceptable please provide arguments why instead of attacking people for expressing their opinions which are often backed by facts too.

Just because it's a US agency it doesn't mean it's in a good shape. It's terrible, and needs a major revamp. I just don't get it why is it acceptable to wait 9+ months for a few name checks? Their former employee wrote here on VJ that petitions can be processed in as little as 15 minutes. Are we waiting 9 months for our 15 minutes of glory? And why not tell the truth, tell it like it is? At least we still have that right - if we can't change anything at the USCIS.

[rebeccajo 14]

Dr. Nick -

If you are referring to my post when you refer to 'older/brothers sisters', I'd like to invite you to research my timeline (all of it) and my posts.

My husband and I spent 17 months waiting for a greencard because of a namecheck. If you care to research my posts at that time, (November 2005 to May 2007) you'll find many of them critical of USCIS. You'll also find many of them wherein I 'defended' the service.

Whenever you read me, try to read literally and not between the lines. It's true that the service is pathetically slow. It's true there are many inequities. It's true (as Leah says above) that the paper based system is arcane and is one of the major factors for the snails pace of the process.

My posts are never meant to 'pooh pooh' any concerns. They are only meant to explain what I have learned. As an 'older sister' I've researched this process. I've also had some excellent teachers (many of whom remain here as posters and many more who now post elsewhere). At the end of the day, if you want to marry someone who was not born an American citizen, and you wish to reside with them in the US, then this system is all we have. There are no other avenues and no other choices.

I've had many a dark night spent worrying about immigration. And like many here I long for the day when the system changes. In the meanwhile, there are usually explanations for why things work the way they do. I offer those as some comfort to those who care to read my posts and really think about them. To those who seek political change, I would point you to lobbyist groups already working for change on Capital Hill. They are out there and they have the muscle and the dollars. Look for them and put your shoulder to their wheel.

Edited July 11, 2008 by rebeccajo

[rebeccajo 14]

Yes, the family based petitions are at the bottom of USCIS priorities, especially so at the VSC, and we can see (and feel) the results. Our government doesn't think our families are important, and doesn't care about our plight either. I don't think any government in the EU would be able to get away with it....but for some reason they do get away with it here in the US. Waiting 9-10 months for something that EU countries complete within 30 days is unacceptable. Our voices are not being heard, everybody talks about naturalization delays, 10+ millions illegal immigrants, but nobody mentions families of USC's. Even USCIS director said that our delays are due to the visa caps, which is not applicable in case of spouses of USC's, that's how much they know and care. Even when I'm out of this mess, I will never think these terribly long processing times are acceptable, THEY ARE NOT if we live (and want to live) in a civilized country.

Though I am waiting for a K1 Visa, when I saw the thread title I thought I'd bring in my experience as a citizen of a EU country. In Italy, keeping a legally married couple separated for months would be against the Constitution, which mentions families as the basic unit of society. Anything of the sort would also bring the wrath of the Catholic Church over any government - I am not a fan of the CC by any means, but I have to admit that sometimes its presence on our territory can be useful. Of course, it has happened time and again that immigrant couples have been separated, but nowadays it cannot happen if one of the parties involved is an Italian citizen.

Sounds like it might be better for you to live in Italy then.

As an American citizen, it gives me more than a little heartburn when any church involves itself in legislation.

Good point. I love it whenever someone has something critical to say about the US. The default response is always "Well then why dont you go live in (insert socialist country here.)" Forget the fact fact maybe something can be learned from that other country. Congress should just do away with the first amendment. It is very annoying.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Yeah. Darn that old First Amendment anyway.

"The phrase separation of church and state is generally traced to a letter written by Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to the Danbury Baptists, in which he referred to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution as creating a "wall of separation" between church and state. The phrase was then quoted by the United States Supreme Court first in 1878, and then in a series of cases starting in 1947." -wiki-

Which is kinda what I was referring to.

[Monica&Isha 0]

Thanks for sharing this with us!

But it makes me angry to see the expected processing times... Is not only bad math but also BS since this works more like a lottery. I'm praying and trying to be positive that I'll be there in October... But if they really consider that I'm not from one of the US favorite countries neither my husband is the favorite petitioner since he is from PR... I'm screwed if I believe in this officer!!

Sorry! I just got a little mad!

Hopefully the officer you spoke to is not the one taking care of my case. I wish someone nicer!!

Hi All,

I spoke to an immigration officer named Agee yesterday using the RFE trick. Here are the questions I asked and responses I received:

1] What is the expected processing times for I-130 petitions at VSC?

Answer: 9-10 months minimum.

2] Does VSC still follow the FIFO procedure when it comes to adjudicating the petitions? If so, then how come petitions filed after me have already been adjudicated?

Answer: Every case is different. Some cases are worked upon quicker due to expedite request. I cannot say why some non-expedited cases which have been filed after your case are already adjudicated. There are several factors involved ranging from beneficiarie's country, petitioner's origin, accuracy and completeness of documents submitted, time taken to perform background and name checks. For certain individuals verification of these things can take short time for others a bit longer. It just depends on a lot of things.....

3] Why is it that VSC is showing July 30, 2007 date for I-130 petition for the past 5 months?

Answer: VSC received a directive from Washington DC to give priority to the N-400 citizenship applications. Plus the I-129 non-immigrant worker petitions (H-1B visas) will ALWAYS take priority over spouse visa petitions.

4] If N-400 and I-129 (H-1B visas) are given priority then when can I expect my case to be worked on?

Answer: I cannot really say but USCIS has hired several new immigration officers who are currently being trained on I-130 petitions. Processing may become quicker over the next couple of months.

5] But since my I-130 was filed in Feb 2008 and I-129F in Mar 2008, can you give me a REALISTIC estimate of when my petitions will be processed?

Answer: Since VSC is processing I-129F from Dec 2007, your I-129F petition MAY be assigned to an officer by end of September 2008 or first half of October. By that time, no matter what the processing date is shown for I-130, the I-130 will be pulled out and processed concurrently with the I-129F.

[Steve Y Jessica 1]

Don't know why is it always that the people who are thru with the wait at the USCIS are always somehow justifying the delays, like wise older brothers/sisters, please don't help us....I have yet to hear someone in the middle of the process being happy with USCIS. If the rest of this country was functioning like the USCIS you'd see the descendants of those original settlers going back to EU where their ancestors came from, forget about immigration - there would be none. If there is something wrong with an agency it should be pointed out, and in this case USCIS is in a bad shape, the unreasonably long processing times for family based petitions are not acceptable, they are hurting families, putting their lives on hold, causing many headaches, sleepless nights, worries. That's why we have media, to bring up any issues, and internet is just one aspect of it. If you find these wait times OK and acceptable please provide arguments why instead of attacking people for expressing their opinions which are often backed by facts too.

Just because it's a US agency it doesn't mean it's in a good shape. It's terrible, and needs a major revamp. I just don't get it why is it acceptable to wait 9+ months for a few name checks? Their former employee wrote here on VJ that petitions can be processed in as little as 15 minutes. Are we waiting 9 months for our 15 minutes of glory? And why not tell the truth, tell it like it is? At least we still have that right - if we can't change anything at the USCIS.

And if you were talking about me, I in no way supported anything about the USCIS. I agree they are broken.

I replied to the comment of the person saying how the immigration process in the EU was so much faster. And I pointed out why there was a reason for them being faster.

So unless you are going to actually read what people are saying, you should not respond to them.

[nunyab 0]

well.... all I know is a my husband has a friend that got married to a woman from England the same day my husband and I got married and his friend is living in England with his wife. To boot I put our paperwork in to USCIS weeks before she did.

Also, my husband only had to wait 3 weeks to get a work visa and residancy visa for an EU country. I don't know how many people are migrating there but I do know two cases that only took a few weeks not a few months or years.

[ad345 0]

USCUS is ###### up!!! ###### ####### work there who doesn't do ####!!! They increase their fees and this is the service we get!!

[ad345 0]

VSC is f***d up!!! With increased fees service has gone downhill. This only happens in America.

[HighwayStar 0]

Yes, the family based petitions are at the bottom of USCIS priorities, especially so at the VSC, and we can see (and feel) the results. Our government doesn't think our families are important, and doesn't care about our plight either. I don't think any government in the EU would be able to get away with it....but for some reason they do get away with it here in the US. Waiting 9-10 months for something that EU countries complete within 30 days is unacceptable. Our voices are not being heard, everybody talks about naturalization delays, 10+ millions illegal immigrants, but nobody mentions families of USC's. Even USCIS director said that our delays are due to the visa caps, which is not applicable in case of spouses of USC's, that's how much they know and care. Even when I'm out of this mess, I will never think these terribly long processing times are acceptable, THEY ARE NOT if we live (and want to live) in a civilized country.

Though I am waiting for a K1 Visa, when I saw the thread title I thought I'd bring in my experience as a citizen of a EU country. In Italy, keeping a legally married couple separated for months would be against the Constitution, which mentions families as the basic unit of society. Anything of the sort would also bring the wrath of the Catholic Church over any government - I am not a fan of the CC by any means, but I have to admit that sometimes its presence on our territory can be useful. Of course, it has happened time and again that immigrant couples have been separated, but nowadays it cannot happen if one of the parties involved is an Italian citizen.

Sounds like it might be better for you to live in Italy then.

As an American citizen, it gives me more than a little heartburn when any church involves itself in legislation.

If we have chosen this route, we have very serious reasons, which I don't have to explain to you. As for the influence of the Catholic Church, I do agree with you that it should NOT be involved in any kind of legislation (I think I made it clear in my post). I don't want to start a flame war, but I don't like it when people offer arguments such as, 'if you don't like it, stay where you are'. You don't know me, or my particular situation, so that doesn't give you the right to tell me what to do. I commented on a remark in my capacity as a EU citizen, and didn't deserve to be rebuked in that way.

[rebeccajo 14]

Yes, the family based petitions are at the bottom of USCIS priorities, especially so at the VSC, and we can see (and feel) the results. Our government doesn't think our families are important, and doesn't care about our plight either. I don't think any government in the EU would be able to get away with it....but for some reason they do get away with it here in the US. Waiting 9-10 months for something that EU countries complete within 30 days is unacceptable. Our voices are not being heard, everybody talks about naturalization delays, 10+ millions illegal immigrants, but nobody mentions families of USC's. Even USCIS director said that our delays are due to the visa caps, which is not applicable in case of spouses of USC's, that's how much they know and care. Even when I'm out of this mess, I will never think these terribly long processing times are acceptable, THEY ARE NOT if we live (and want to live) in a civilized country.

Though I am waiting for a K1 Visa, when I saw the thread title I thought I'd bring in my experience as a citizen of a EU country. In Italy, keeping a legally married couple separated for months would be against the Constitution, which mentions families as the basic unit of society. Anything of the sort would also bring the wrath of the Catholic Church over any government - I am not a fan of the CC by any means, but I have to admit that sometimes its presence on our territory can be useful. Of course, it has happened time and again that immigrant couples have been separated, but nowadays it cannot happen if one of the parties involved is an Italian citizen.

Sounds like it might be better for you to live in Italy then.

As an American citizen, it gives me more than a little heartburn when any church involves itself in legislation.

If we have chosen this route, we have very serious reasons, which I don't have to explain to you. As for the influence of the Catholic Church, I do agree with you that it should NOT be involved in any kind of legislation (I think I made it clear in my post). I don't want to start a flame war, but I don't like it when people offer arguments such as, 'if you don't like it, stay where you are'. You don't know me, or my particular situation, so that doesn't give you the right to tell me what to do. I commented on a remark in my capacity as a EU citizen, and didn't deserve to be rebuked in that way.

I'm not looking to start a flame war either. I commented on your remark in my capacity as an American citizen. (I also suppose I have some of my opinions as my husband is from a nation wherein two religions have warred over government for 600 years, causing untold death and terror.) I've always been fascinated by the US Constitution and the way it was crafted. It mentions nothing about family - the forefathers were interested in crafting a government which protected all of its Citizens regardless of their 'classification'. Where it erred (towards women and slaves) the proper amendments have been added for correction. When you speak of the Constitutionality of any government you need also remember those protections are afforded the CITIZENS of a nation. Immigration is what it is - a nation admitting a foreign born person to its shores. Marriage shouldn't be used as a tool or excuse to 'change' the rules for admittance. As I mention ad nauseum in these threads, the US government already issues marriage visas in unlimited number (an exception not afforded to other immigrant categories). I don't believe it is our governments intention to purposely keep families apart. I do believe the system is crippled due to antiquated technology that cannot keep pace with demand.

I'd also like to draw your attention to the following news article which reflects the current Italian governments frame of mind toward immigration, which is well known round the world to be currently one of the most 'radical'.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/22/europe/migrants.php

"And in the eyes of many Italians, for whom immigration is a relatively new phenomenon, immigrants also have a central role in this. Under a law proposed by the far right wing of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's new government, it would become a felony offense to come to Italy illegally, punishable by prison.

"These days on the streets, you see a lot of policemen, sometimes in plain clothes, stopping people and demanding their documents," said Pilar, 31, a Peruvian here illegally who takes care of a 76-year-old Italian woman. She would not give her full name for fear of being deported. "If they stop me, then what will I do?" she said.

The law would be one of the strictest in Europe - and the proposal has drawn strong opposition from center-left political parties, human rights organizations, the Vatican, the United Nations and Italian prosecutors worried about overwhelmed courts."

Edited July 11, 2008 by rebeccajo

[HighwayStar 0]

I am quite well-versed in the current affairs of my country, thank you - and I absolutely LOATHE our current government and what they are doing, not just to immigrants.

That said, since one of the posts in this thread mentioned the EU, I mentioned my own country, which is still the one I know best (in spite of having lived in another EU country for almost six years). Whether you like it or not, no EU country behaves as the USA do to the spouses of their own citizens. This is a fact, as is the norm in our Constitution that protecs the family. If it is a crime to notice the discrepancies between those different ways to dealing with family-based immigration, then I'm guilty. However, I'd appreciate if I was never again told to stay where I am, because it is needlessly hurtful - especially since I know the reasons why I am trying to get to the US, instead of having my SO come here. I didn't attack you personally, and I don't see why you should do such a thing to me.

As regards the EU not having the same amount of requests for family-based visas as the US, well, there might be a reason for that - if I had married a man from France or Germany, he would've needed nothing even remotely resembling a visa, and the same would have applied to me in the reverse. Seen as the EU numbers over 400 million inhabitants nowadays, this probably cuts down quite a lot the number of visa requests.

[Dr. Nick 0]

Every time I check USCIS web page it's like 'OMG there were so many millions of applications, we didn't see it coming at all" and "we are hiring additional employees.... bla bla".. Is there anyone at USCIS analyzing trends and trying to predict the number of applications (it should not be that hard)....and exactly how many of those 1500 new employees have they hired so far since summer 2007? Why don't they post those numbers?

Those of you that found yourself in my previous post, well it was you who thought that I was referring to your posts, its up to you if you find yourselves among the 'naysayers' I mentioned.

I don't think that the citizens of any EU country would ever put up with what we have to put up here in the US with USCIS, there would be an outrage. I mentioned EU just as an example of developed nations and how they handle immigration, the fact is that most countries in the world have better and more efficient USCIS type of agency. Shouldn't we strive to improve our agency too, or put up with it forever?

May God help us if the immigration bill ever goes thru and there is additional 10+ millions of currently illegals that would need to be processed. I bet USCS is going to be 'surprised' when this happens....and have some other ####### on their website explaining the new delays....we should consider ourselves lucky for waiting only 10 months or so.... Is that how we want the USCIS to operate??

[Steve Y Jessica 1]

Ok, and again let me start by saying that I in no way am saying there is not a problem with the USCIS that needs to be fixed. There are huge problems there!! They do need to look at the operation and do something to fix the process.

That being said, you cannot compare the immigration process of the United states to any other country. And yes, there is also a law in the United states about families not being together, this is why they do not put a cap on the number of family based visas!! The United States receives a HUGE amount more of visa petitions than any other country in the world. So yes, the processing time is going to be longer for the United States than another country. Could the USCIS do something to improve this? Yes they can, and they need to!!! Because the system, as it is now, is broke. BUT, you cannot compare apples to oranges.

Also, the way they operate with the visa process causes spikes in the number of visa applications. IE, when they set a date for a certain type of visa petition. And when they stop approving the visa petitions after a certain point, this induces a spike in the petitions that they receive. They need to have a way that eliminates these spikes in the number of visa petitions.

The area of my degree is in business. And the USCIS has to operate as a business. Some companies will look at where they have spikes in workload and hire temp workers. Some companies will not. You cannot staff your business for the spikes in workload, it does not make financial sense. You have to staff for the average. Otherwise you will have everyone busy during the spikes in workload and people sitting around getting paid for doing nothing during the low workload times. And you cannot always hire temp workers. Depending on the job, it costs alot of money and time to train someone for a particular job. And again, depending on the job, it does not make financial sense to spend this time and money to train someone for a temp job. Instead, you perform a financial analysis to determine the optimal number of workers that you need and the cost benefit of hiring more or less employees. Like it or not, the USCIS has to operate as a business. BUT, there are things that they can and should do to repair their operation.

As for the 15 minute processing times. Yes, this is for the basic petition. Like it or not, everything did change after 9/11. It is a fact that there are countries in this world that do pose a greater security risk than others. And there are greater possibilities of fraud. These countries do cause a longer process for accomplishing the security checks.

The people who commited the acts on 9/11 were here in the United States on student visas, studying in the US. I remember the outrage when this came out. People were asking how our government could let this happen? Now that they are doing something to try to prevent it from happening, like the people demanded, they are complaining about it. I'm sorry but you cannot have it both ways.

Again, I do not support the the way the USCIS is being run, it is terrible!! They need someone to go in and revamp the whole place and put new processes in place to fix the system. But even after putting processes in place to make it run better, there will alway be longer processing times than other countries due to the shear volume of petitions. And there will be some people who will be put through stricter security checks.

[daboyz 36]

Ok, and again let me start by saying that I in no way am saying there is not a problem with the USCIS that needs to be fixed. There are huge problems there!! They do need to look at the operation and do something to fix the process.

That being said, you cannot compare the immigration process of the United states to any other country. And yes, there is also a law in the United states about families not being together, this is why they do not put a cap on the number of family based visas!! The United States receives a HUGE amount more of visa petitions than any other country in the world. So yes, the processing time is going to be longer for the United States than another country. Could the USCIS do something to improve this? Yes they can, and they need to!!! Because the system, as it is now, is broke. BUT, you cannot compare apples to oranges.

Also, the way they operate with the visa process causes spikes in the number of visa applications. IE, when they set a date for a certain type of visa petition. And when they stop approving the visa petitions after a certain point, this induces a spike in the petitions that they receive. They need to have a way that eliminates these spikes in the number of visa petitions.

The area of my degree is in business. And the USCIS has to operate as a business. Some companies will look at where they have spikes in workload and hire temp workers. Some companies will not. You cannot staff your business for the spikes in workload, it does not make financial sense. You have to staff for the average. Otherwise you will have everyone busy during the spikes in workload and people sitting around getting paid for doing nothing during the low workload times. And you cannot always hire temp workers. Depending on the job, it costs alot of money and time to train someone for a particular job. And again, depending on the job, it does not make financial sense to spend this time and money to train someone for a temp job. Instead, you perform a financial analysis to determine the optimal number of workers that you need and the cost benefit of hiring more or less employees. Like it or not, the USCIS has to operate as a business. BUT, there are things that they can and should do to repair their operation.

As for the 15 minute processing times. Yes, this is for the basic petition. Like it or not, everything did change after 9/11. It is a fact that there are countries in this world that do pose a greater security risk than others. And there are greater possibilities of fraud. These countries do cause a longer process for accomplishing the security checks.

The people who commited the acts on 9/11 were here in the United States on student visas, studying in the US. I remember the outrage when this came out. People were asking how our government could let this happen? Now that they are doing something to try to prevent it from happening, like the people demanded, they are complaining about it. I'm sorry but you cannot have it both ways.

Again, I do not support the the way the USCIS is being run, it is terrible!! They need someone to go in and revamp the whole place and put new processes in place to fix the system. But even after putting processes in place to make it run better, there will alway be longer processing times than other countries due to the shear volume of petitions. And there will be some people who will be put through stricter security checks.

USCIS is not a business. They don't have profit margins to worry about. They don't have shareholders that they have to be held accountable. No board of directors that can be voted out for poor performance. I know you will say voters, unfortunately no one there is in an elected position. Even if they were, at a bare minimum, only 50% of of the people involved in this process can even vote. They have a monopoly. There is no other competitor in this market, so if the customer is un-satisfied, there is no other option. So this is definitely not a business. And the rules of business do not apply.

Why can't you compare the US to other countries? Since there is no domestic competition in this "business," the only other option is to look at other countries that offer the same services, namely family based immigration. If the USCIS wants to take 5 years to process a K-3 petition, what are you going to do? Go to their competition? You can't. You are stuck and that's all there is to it.