Letter to President

[Ban Hammer 13,283]

i don't remember giving anyone my opinion on this matter so it could be included in a letter

ergo, no one on vj speaks for me other than me.

btw, while complaining about the difference in processing times between cali and vermont, you shoulda been here about 2 years ago when k-1's sailed thru vermont in about a month and cali took 3-4 months.

[Arthur Roberta 1]

My goodness what a carry on. Ladies and gentlemen we are all free to agree disagree and if you are of the opinion that the process is working in a timely manner and el presidente has more important things to do fine. There are those however that see the flaws in this system and the unfairness and have a desire to correct it.

If their letters, faxes and emails have in your opinion taken liberties with your views opinions, I am sure it was not intentional. Some of us have a desire to be with our spouses loved ones as soon as possible and will do whatever they feel necessary within the law to bring this about. If this means sending correspondence to those who have a responsibility for these matters then we should ALL be grateful that their are those amongst us wishing to stand up and be counted for what is (I would hope) a common goal.

If your individual wait is long and you are happy with this great, please move yourself back up the queue and we can get on with our lives with our spouses and loved ones that much quicker. I am a fan of the president and I fully understand he has more important issues than immigration. However he is still concerned about immigration and to be notified of his citizens dissatisfaction with the process is to me fair game.

Meanwhile quit the bickering and get on with it.

Arthur

[so2008 0]

OBTW, did not imply that I was speaking for all on this website. Strictly a matter of interpretation. In addition to an English course, maybe a hobby would be a good thing to get...

As was pointed out in my earlier post, and as has been reinforced by LDora: Your wording very clearly included all members of VJ. What part of I, along with my fellow members of visajourney.com, request your assistance implies otherwise? English course, indeed.

Give us a break; I am glad he included me.

[Donna A 4]

i don't remember giving anyone my opinion on this matter so it could be included in a letter

ergo, no one on vj speaks for me other than me.

btw, while complaining about the difference in processing times between cali and vermont, you shoulda been here about 2 years ago when k-1's sailed thru vermont in about a month and cali took 3-4 months.

actually i think they all take turns with slowing down and speeding up. when we went thru it 6 years ago nebraska was taking the longest. it was 6-7 months.

and congrats to nessa as it seams she got her way in naming Ben!!!

Edited February 26, 2009 by Donna A

[Minya's wife 24]

OBTW, did not imply that I was speaking for all on this website. Strictly a matter of interpretation. In addition to an English course, maybe a hobby would be a good thing to get...

As was pointed out in my earlier post, and as has been reinforced by LDora: Your wording very clearly included all members of VJ. What part of I, along with my fellow members of visajourney.com, request your assistance implies otherwise? English course, indeed.

Give us a break; I am glad he included me.

But you're just one not all of VJ.

[almaty 19]

noob, unite....!

[Desi_munda 0]

Excellent letter. I agree 100% every word you wrote in this letter. I hope some important person reads this letter and some kind of common sense comes in his/her mind.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do. Thank you so much for your efforts in conveying such a message.

[Minya's wife 24]

Excellent letter. I agree 100% every word you wrote in this letter. I hope some important person reads this letter and some kind of common sense comes in his/her mind.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do. Thank you so much for your efforts in conveying such a message.

You can't get much more important than the President of the United States...since that's who the letter is addressed to.

[LDora 7]

My only complaint was how it was being phrased, and then Rick chose to come back at me with snide remarks and thinly veiled insults. Now I'm even less comfortable with the idea of him standing as some sort of representitive for me than I was before. Sorry -- if you post something on a public forum, you're inviting opinions and people are going to respond, one way or another, and not everyone is going to agree with you.

Again, I ENCOURAGE people to send letters and e-mails about this sort of thing, because yes, President Obama should be made aware. But be careful of the way you do it. I myself had to wait over a year to get my Visa before I came down here. I was hardly thrilled about it at the time, so I can sort of see where all this frustration is coming from. I WISH things were different. That's all.

[GS4EVER 0]

Questions are not just about discrepancies between service centers but more deeper……….today any H1B (non-immigrant) visa holder can just walk in to the any US embassies or US consulates with spouse and kids and just fill the required forms and submit documents will get stamp their passport and can bring their families within a week. No background check-up. Is this make any sense?

We US citizens who are more responsible have to wait 8-12 months to unite with our family………….Wow what immigration procedures. I miss my wife and daughter. She born 5-months back and only I can see them online everyday……..missing the moment of my life.

Wow that sucks ...my heart is crying for you

And I agree with those who posted that the discrepancies between CSC and VSC are inexusable. Why should one US citizen who filed with California get their approval within one month and another 7 times longer, and some even a year or more? I am definitely faxing the letter and a request to my senator. I have prepared the authorization form from his website already! Time to speak up!

[GS4EVER 0]

My goodness what a carry on. Ladies and gentlemen we are all free to agree disagree and if you are of the opinion that the process is working in a timely manner and el presidente has more important things to do fine. There are those however that see the flaws in this system and the unfairness and have a desire to correct it.

If their letters, faxes and emails have in your opinion taken liberties with your views opinions, I am sure it was not intentional. Some of us have a desire to be with our spouses loved ones as soon as possible and will do whatever they feel necessary within the law to bring this about. If this means sending correspondence to those who have a responsibility for these matters then we should ALL be grateful that their are those amongst us wishing to stand up and be counted for what is (I would hope) a common goal.

If your individual wait is long and you are happy with this great, please move yourself back up the queue and we can get on with our lives with our spouses and loved ones that much quicker. I am a fan of the president and I fully understand he has more important issues than immigration. However he is still concerned about immigration and to be notified of his citizens dissatisfaction with the process is to me fair game.

Meanwhile quit the bickering and get on with it.

Arthur

Arthur, thank you for your mature post. I totally agree . When I posted I had no idea it had gotten this ugly. Just to apease some, when I said I would fax the letter, I didn't mean this one in particular. I am writing one of my own, attesting to my own personal experience and agony throughout this process. To all frustrated, good luck This process has been one heck of an emotional roller ride for me and my husband and the twists and turns are getting worse and more nauseating the longer the wait drags on. Hanging in there and hoping March is our approval month!

Edited February 26, 2009 by GS4EVER

[cdneh 3,112]

Why are K-1 visas being approved for foreign finance(e)'s at a faster rate than K-3 visas for foreign spouses? It is absurd that finance(e)'s are approved faster than foreign spouses.

I sure can't agree with this. You CHOSE to go to a foriegn country and marry. You need to accept all that comes with making that decision. Why should you get precedence over anyone else because of choices you made? Being married makes you more special somehow than people who are about to be married?

Edited to add: You actually believe that Obama is going to recieve this fax?

Edited February 26, 2009 by cdneh

[Y's_habibitk 2]

Why are K-1 visas being approved for foreign finance(e)'s at a faster rate than K-3 visas for foreign spouses? It is absurd that finance(e)'s are approved faster than foreign spouses.

I sure can't agree with this. You CHOSE to go to a foriegn country and marry. You need to accept all that comes with making that decision. Why should you get precedence over anyone else because of choices you made? Being married makes you more special somehow than people who are about to be married?

Edited to add: You actually believe that Obama is going to recieve this fax?

cdneh, i heart you from the nvc ap thread...but lets not get into this war please.

yes, we "chose" to marry our spouses.

it just makes sense that the petitions should at least be treated equally. our spouses are already our legal family members, they arent "going to become" our family. they are.

for example: the irs doesnt accept "engaged filing seperately" or "engaged filing jointly" ther IS a legal difference.

everyone has their reasons for filing a k1 or getting married and filing a k3 or cr1. saying they are the same is simply not true imho.

this has come up lately and im sure has come up in the past and will probably be battled on VJ for years.

[cdneh 3,112]

Why are K-1 visas being approved for foreign finance(e)'s at a faster rate than K-3 visas for foreign spouses? It is absurd that finance(e)'s are approved faster than foreign spouses.

I sure can't agree with this. You CHOSE to go to a foriegn country and marry. You need to accept all that comes with making that decision. Why should you get precedence over anyone else because of choices you made? Being married makes you more special somehow than people who are about to be married?

Edited to add: You actually believe that Obama is going to recieve this fax?

cdneh, i heart you from the nvc ap thread...but lets not get into this war please.

yes, we "chose" to marry our spouses.

it just makes sense that the petitions should at least be treated equally. our spouses are already our legal family members, they arent "going to become" our family. they are.

for example: the irs doesnt accept "engaged filing seperately" or "engaged filing jointly" ther IS a legal difference.

everyone has their reasons for filing a k1 or getting married and filing a k3 or cr1. saying they are the same is simply not true imho.

this has come up lately and im sure has come up in the past and will probably be battled on VJ for years.

No worries at all.

I'm not looking to go to war with anyone. But if I don't agree I am going to say so. I just don't see myself as a lesser person becuase I am getting married rather than already married.

I do agree with equal, and I don't understand why they take so much longer. It comes down to the same thing whether we are K1 or K3...we are separated from our loved ones and we want to be together! I don't understand a great deal USCIS does then either. I think the whole system wants a massive overhaul...a little transparency would be nice for starters!

[Amor1 0]

Rick,

The first time I was diplomatic and did not call what you did plaigarism, but that's what it was. I stated very plainly that anyone sending my exact letter to their state's reps/the Judicial Subcommittee could download my letter and add their names. This IS NOT about receiving credit; it's about not taking/stealing someone else's words and using them as you please w/o permission. You copied word-for-word from my letter and used those words for another/different purpose than that originally intended. You are offended by my questioning this??? And you use profane language w/acronyms b/c I called you on it??? I am so sorry that you're displaying this type of behavior, especially since this is supposed to be a community that helps and respects one another. Let's be adults about this. I'm happy, again, that you took action, but next time, do request permission b/f using someone else's words. Otherwise, like in this case, you are plaigarizing.

Wishing you all the best---Amor1

Rick, I think it's great that you took action, but I wish you had sent a message to me to ask for permission to use part of an original letter I wrote and uploaded on vj for anyone to use & send to their state's reps. Just copying and not giving credit or asking permission to use for another purpose is not ethical. All of us want our elected officials to act and show some concern/compassion. Next time, please request permission. In this age of the Internet, I know that many people are doing this (copying and pasting), but it doesn't make it right. When I read your post, I thought, "My goodness! If he found this post with my letter, he could have sent a message to me, requesting its use." Best wishes in your endeavors and next, please be courteous enough to ask b/f copying someone else's words. See below my original letter in its entirety.---Amor1

********************************************************************************

***********

Hello, everyone! I finally finished this letter, and I think it's appropriate in tone and specific in our request for a Congressional Inquiry. It would not allow me to upload, so I pasted it below. Perhaps it will help all of us who are still waiting after inhumane periods of time as well as those who are just getting started. If you want, you can copy and add your home address, receipt numbers and anything else like email address and contact numbers. However, the body of the letter should stay the same because the Judiciary Committee needs to see that many of us are affected in this similar way--waiting, waiting, and waiting for our NOA2 indefinitely. We should get a response from the Senators themselves or the Subcommittee. It's only polite and respectful for them to respond.

Guidelines:

Print out a copy of this letter after you add your information. **Remember to add you House of Rep Member/Senator for your state. Again, this is protocol.

You can address your envelope to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, & Border Security or each individual member who sits on this committee as well as your State's Senator. Personally, I will be forwarding a total of 11 letters (all members, the Subcommittee, and my State's Senator). It's up to you.

I believe including hard copies of the spreadsheets is necessary, but many will send these, so you don't have to do this. My letters will go off tomorrow, and as soon as I get responses, I'll add a new message here at visajourneys.com.

I wish all of you the best and hope that we see positive results from our proactive measures !--Amor1

*************************LETTER*************************************************

Your Street Address (here)

City, State and zip code (here)

October 20, 2008

United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee

on Immigration, Refugees, & Border Security

224 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

To the Honorable Members of this Subcommittee:

As a law-abiding US citizen, I, along with my fellow members of visajourney.com, request your assistance with our USCIS petitions. At present, the time frame for reviewing cases is nine months or longer. Despite published announcements to the contrary, many of us have been separated from our spouses and children (on whose behalf we filed I-130 and I-129F petitions) for a painful amount of time, time which cannot be recovered. After following the guidelines posted on the USCIS website and paying all applicable fees, we are waiting in suspense for an approval (the Notice of Action 2 – NOA2), and this is the source of our dilemma—an inordinate amount of waiting time and no clear explanations for delays. Hence, we ask you, Honorable Members of the US Senate, to investigate these seemingly negligent periods of inaction.

The first step for our family members is to submit the petitions to establish the existence of a relationship. Then, once approved, our petitions and all documents submitted are forwarded to the National Visa Center for further processing. As you are aware, the next phase is the embassy approval with required medical examination and interviews. Unfortunately, many of us have not moved past the first step because there have been no updates sent to us. In particular, many of us are still waiting for NOA2 from the Vermont Service Center (VSC). Please see attached spreadsheets. While the California Service Center seems to be processing petitions at an increasingly rapid rate, VSC is months behind. Why is there such a major difference between these two processing centers? Are there more adjudicators at CSC? Moreover, some petitions that are received months after others are processed faster. When questioned about this inequity, telephone operators at the USCIS give a standard response: “It depends on the case; each case is adjudicated differently.” Then when we ask about our individual petitions on behalf of our qualifying relatives, we receive the generic, “We’re within our processing time.”

For many of us, the entire process thus far has proven to be quite discouraging. We cannot get accurate, specific responses to our inquiries, nor do we receive the “first in, first out” treatment we were promised. Hence, we need and request your assistance. Perhaps an inquiry from your committee will garner more substantive, more accurate responses. Perhaps there is a way to change the process, so national security is not compromised, and families are not unnecessarily separated from their loved ones indefinitely. Attached, please find a copy of NOA 1 for our petitions (I-130 and I-129F). Below, see our receipt numbers given by USCIS. It is with great respect for your charge on this committee that I, along with many others, request your inquiry into this matter. Hopefully, all of us will receive the NOA2 and continue positively on the path of reunification with our family members. Equally, we hope that others will benefit from our proactive measures and their processing time will be much shorter and more humane.

Respectfully yours,

Name (full)

Receipt Number for Petition __________

_________________________________

Receipt Number for Petition __________

_________________________________

cc: Members of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security

The Honorable Senator Ted Kennedy

The Honorable Joe Biden

The Honorable Diane Feinstein

The Honorable Chuck Schumer

The Honorable Jeff Sessions

The Honorable Jon Kyl

The Honorable Chuck Grassley

The Honorable John Cornyn

The Honorable ####### Durbin

(Your State Senator/US House of Representatives Member – here)

Here is the letter that I faxed to the White House a couple of minutes ago. The fax number is: 202-456-2461, anyone can send a fax. Also, at www.whitehouse.gov/contact they have a page where you can send comments, etc (up to 5,000 characters) instead of or in addition to faxing.

It would be better if everyone did this but, I/we cannot control that. As long as I have ink in my pen I will be sending letters. Nothing ever gets changed by sitting back and complaining. If you want change then take up your pen and write, fax, email everyone you can think of. Again, change will not occur without effort....

Please, for everyone's sake - take some time and make the effort. Even if it does not help you, maybe the person two months from now may benefit....

Mr. President:

As a law-abiding US citizen, I, along with my fellow members of visajourney.com, request your assistance with our USCIS petitions. At present, the time frame for reviewing cases is nine months or longer. Despite published announcements to the contrary, many of us have been separated from our spouses and children (on whose behalf we filed I-130 and I-129F petitions) for a painful amount of time, time which cannot be recovered. After following the guidelines posted on the USCIS website and paying all applicable fees, we are waiting in suspense for an approval (the Notice of Action 2 – NOA2), and this is the source of our dilemma—an inordinate amount of waiting time and no clear explanations for delays.

I am viewing the visajourney.com website, which tracks actual dates for K-3 visas, and am I see that the California Service Center is approving K-3 visa requests from December 2008. The Vermont Service Center is approving K-3 visa requests from August 2008. Why such a glaring discrepancy? Why aren't priorities shifted to balance this out? Why aren't we all on a level playing field?

Why is the California Service Center approving K-3 visa requests within a two month period and the Vermont Service Center is approving K-3 visas requests in a seven to nine month period? If my application was at the California Service Center instead of the Vermont Service Center, my wife would be on her way to getting her K-3 visa and one huge step closer to being with her family in the USA.

Why are K-1 visas being approved for foreign finance(e)'s at a faster rate than K-3 visas for foreign spouses? It is absurd that finance(e)'s are approved faster than foreign spouses.

Why are foreign worker's visas approved at a faster rate than foreign spouses? With unemployment already over seven percent, and climbing towards ten or eleven percent, why aren't the priorities shifted from approving foreign workers to approving spouses. Who is responsible for determining the processing priorities?

Why, after three months, isn't my I-129F viewable on line? When I call USCIS I have been told that "it takes a couple of weeks" to "you do not need to worry about it". THREE MONTHS - Ridiculous!!

This entire system is broken! Why are foreign spouses being punished? More importantly, why are law-abiding US citizens being punished?

Why is there no oversight? Why aren't questions being asked and explanation demanded? Why isn't the management team at USCIS held accountable for these glaring discrepancies. Why isn't the L.I.F.E. Act being enforced?

These are all questions that been asked of our legislators. They get, and then forward, non-answers or no answers to our questions. While we, the applicants for visas, must sit back and take whatever it is they want to send us. No one listens; no one cares; no one is our advocate…

You are kidding me!! You absolutely must be kidding.

We are trying the get this system corrected and working properly. And you, all you are concerned with is your pettiness - "Pay attention to me. I did it! I should get the credit!"

I was steered to this as an example to use. Question: Anyone that used YOUR letter that you posted did they give you credit? If not, did you bother them with this utter nonsense?

Give credit?? How, at the end of the letter to the president say "PS - the first paragraph of this letter was written by XXXXX and the remaining paragraphs were written by XXXXX with assists from XXX, XXXX, and XXXX"

This letter is in the public domain and is not copyrighted.

Unbelieveable!!!