After 3 weeks... Is CSC slowing down again?

[Bugs 455]

I don't get it. If a chart or some conclusive numbers are posted on here that are based on observation of a raw data set posted elsewhere on the Internet, how is that different than any type of analysis or news editorial discussed on here?

[TylerDurden 45]

For what is is worth, VJ was founded on bringing awareness of issues like this to the (then) INS and peacefully pushing to create change. Note these two links showing peaceful protests by members of this site at the Texas USCIS Service Center. The VJ Community was able to get their attention and break the log jam within 3 weeks using this peaceful method since it raised the public awareness to TV and Radio by making this a "personal" issue. Regular members on VJ discussed this on the site, coordinated and all met in Dallas to raise awareness and force USCIS to know US citizens were upset and not going to do nothing when they were apart from their loved ones.

http://www.visajourney.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=15

http://www.visajourney.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=16

Sir, With the deepest respect we point out that our efforts are in fact of little difference with your own previous protests.

Over the years the immigration process has become ever more complex and the information your site provides has been invaluable in assisting others.

In those years the battle for fairness still continues, but the landscape of immigration changed.

The delays at USCIS formerly INS has evolved, doubling and tripling. If 100 days and less warrants protest, then surely these delays of 200 days, and 300, and more, warrant action.

No longer does INS/USCIS respond in the same way to protest and inquiry. These people would scream with joy to have the conditions as good as those that you protested against.

It used to be that an inquiry from a member of congress caused immediate action. USCIS has become so quagmire that now USCIS commonly provides conflicting information and misrepresentation to congressional representatives.

The immigration of our loved ones is viewed as negative, and petitioners are viewed with suspicion and even distain. An information war has been waged against these petitioners. A media persona has been established, painting them as dysfunctional, on the edge of society seeking sex slaves. Spousal and fiancé(e) visas has become synonymous with human trafficking painting images in the mind of the public of depraved or unworthy men and helpless poor young girls willing to sell themselves only for a green card or sly scammers fooling their mate out of greed. They are seen as villain or victim, without understanding that these couples are no different than any other.

Laws are continually added for ‘protection’ from these villainous visa seekers.

A 70 year old man murders his 20 something Filipina bride in Florida and it becomes national news. Used to serve the purpose of marinating the visa process.

A 19 year old and his 20 something reject brother set off two bombs and now student visas, refugee status immigrants, and naturalized citizens are painted as a threat.

The war is being waged against you and you are losing. When these people remain quiet, others will put words in their mouth. When they remain idle, others will act against them.

The landscape has changed, this is now an age of information and perception. Facts have become interpretations. The details are lost only the talking points remain.

TV and radio is not what it once was. A protest of a few dozen people now would at best land you a few minutes of local news and there is equal chance you would be viewed as a joke in that report.

In this age USCIS will not move because of a few people with signs, they would find it laughable today.

Organizations daily pay ‘protesters’ to carry signs. Without thousands in a protest it has lost value.

We believe in peaceful protest, we have not advocated violence or harm in any way. We have advocated remaining within the law.

The times have changed and your methods much change with them.

This site once decided to create the timelines to give members information, a tool for them to have some rational of progress and means to seek assistance from representatives. The information that we provided was no different, just more direct.

People on this site look to you for guidance, support, protection, and leadership. Unintended as it may be, that is the result of the role you chose. Lead them, do not let them be overrun by a system that has become ever worse to deal with. These are a few thousand people who will be lost in a stampede of millions. Like it or not they see you and their advocate.

We assure you, without leadership, the days of spousal and fiancé(e) visas as a viable process are numbered.

The separations that families awaiting visas must endure often now exceed those of people on military deployment. While the reuniting of military families is rightfully celebrated and rejoiced these families are ignored.

As we speak mothers are being forced to be separate from the fathers of their children even for the entirety of their pregnancy. Children are being born and the father is not allowed to touch the hand of his child. The strain, expense, and hardship put on families can only be seen as cruel, unusual, and unneeded.

While no voice is made, no protest engaged the plight will only get worse.

Even if you hate our group because of the actions of views of other branches, surly you can see the need for change, and protest. To paint Anonymous with the brush of every member is no fairer than painting visa petitioners with the brush of those who commit fraud, human trafficking, and even murder.

Hate our group if you must, but make us serve your goals. Take the data we provide and use it to assist the cause of righteousness.

These people are gathering under the banner of this website to protests because even in your own words this is what the site was founded for.

If you do not lead them in this protest at the very least do not render them impotent to the powers that have conveyed against them. We have given them a tool, nothing more.

We plead with you on their behalf. Allow these people to protest the injustices perpetrated on them. Allow these people to use whatever tools and information they can in the service of the greater good.

[TylerDurden 45]

Please excuse our few grammar and spelling errors. We are unable to edit our previous post for some reason.

[TylerDurden 45]

From what I can make out of this situation the moderators are probably just being as careful as possible since they can not verify the source, content and method used to collect the data. There are all types of potential pot holes and they don't wish to risk the site being cought up in things they may not completely understand. The data seems to be the key concern and not us wanting answers and change by USCIS. I haven't seen any objection to the core idea that folks should stand up for themselves and peacefully protest the government when there are frustrating issues like this.

I think a reasonable compromise that addresses both sides and concerns is that data not be posted here. If it is available at another source or if members have it themselves then that is beyond this site, and at the liability of individual people to decide how to proceed and work with the data. If there are aggegate results pulled from the data then that may be something reasonable to post back here. I suspect that VJ would be more than willing to act as a 'news' source and 'report' on what people are finding.

We all know how to find the member in question on other locations so this again seems like a reasonable approach.

To the contrary the data is easy to verify. Simply go to the USCIS website and enter any of the WAC receipt numbers within the data.

The source is likewise easy to determine.

The content is clear, many members already have the data in their hands and anyone who has seen it can attest to the fact that the data is benign in its content.

We have protected the method only because it would cause USCIS to adapt and prevent collection. It is clear that USCIS does not want a transparent process. USCIS only meets the minimum exposure of information required by law and even then delays that exposure and conflicting information.

Contrary to the compromise you offer, it has been stated that no use or statistical reference to the data is to be made. It has become ‘the data that shall not be named’.

‘The member in question’… Sorry, for referring to the data like Voldemort apparently WE are Voldemort. LOL

[TylerDurden 45]

Just for clarification.

It is currently our understanding that:

• We cannot link to external sources of USCIS data, in our signatures or posts.
• We cannot use external sources of USCIS data in the creation of reports, graphs or charts.
• We cannot communicate privately via PM with other members to exchange external sources of USCIS data.
• We cannot link to videos protesting USCIS in our signatures or posts.
• We cannot forward messages to the membership that explain the reasoning of post removal or thread closure.

Is this correct? Does this apply to all members?

[QueenOfBlades 224]

Sir, With the deepest respect we point out that our efforts are in fact of little difference with your own previous protests.

Over the years the immigration process has become ever more complex and the information your site provides has been invaluable in assisting others.

In those years the battle for fairness still continues, but the landscape of immigration changed.

The delays at USCIS formerly INS has evolved, doubling and tripling. If 100 days and less warrants protest, then surely these delays of 200 days, and 300, and more, warrant action.

No longer does INS/USCIS respond in the same way to protest and inquiry. These people would scream with joy to have the conditions as good as those that you protested against.

It used to be that an inquiry from a member of congress caused immediate action. USCIS has become so quagmire that now USCIS commonly provides conflicting information and misrepresentation to congressional representatives.

The immigration of our loved ones is viewed as negative, and petitioners are viewed with suspicion and even distain. An information war has been waged against these petitioners. A media persona has been established, painting them as dysfunctional, on the edge of society seeking sex slaves. Spousal and fiancé(e) visas has become synonymous with human trafficking painting images in the mind of the public of depraved or unworthy men and helpless poor young girls willing to sell themselves only for a green card or sly scammers fooling their mate out of greed. They are seen as villain or victim, without understanding that these couples are no different than any other.

Laws are continually added for ‘protection’ from these villainous visa seekers.

A 70 year old man murders his 20 something Filipina bride in Florida and it becomes national news. Used to serve the purpose of marinating the visa process.

A 19 year old and his 20 something reject brother set off two bombs and now student visas, refugee status immigrants, and naturalized citizens are painted as a threat.

The war is being waged against you and you are losing. When these people remain quiet, others will put words in their mouth. When they remain idle, others will act against them.

The landscape has changed, this is now an age of information and perception. Facts have become interpretations. The details are lost only the talking points remain.

TV and radio is not what it once was. A protest of a few dozen people now would at best land you a few minutes of local news and there is equal chance you would be viewed as a joke in that report.

In this age USCIS will not move because of a few people with signs, they would find it laughable today.

Organizations daily pay ‘protesters’ to carry signs. Without thousands in a protest it has lost value.

We believe in peaceful protest, we have not advocated violence or harm in any way. We have advocated remaining within the law.

The times have changed and your methods much change with them.

This site once decided to create the timelines to give members information, a tool for them to have some rational of progress and means to seek assistance from representatives. The information that we provided was no different, just more direct.

People on this site look to you for guidance, support, protection, and leadership. Unintended as it may be, that is the result of the role you chose. Lead them, do not let them be overrun by a system that has become ever worse to deal with. These are a few thousand people who will be lost in a stampede of millions. Like it or not they see you and their advocate.

We assure you, without leadership, the days of spousal and fiancé(e) visas as a viable process are numbered.

The separations that families awaiting visas must endure often now exceed those of people on military deployment. While the reuniting of military families is rightfully celebrated and rejoiced these families are ignored.

As we speak mothers are being forced to be separate from the fathers of their children even for the entirety of their pregnancy. Children are being born and the father is not allowed to touch the hand of his child. The strain, expense, and hardship put on families can only be seen as cruel, unusual, and unneeded.

While no voice is made, no protest engaged the plight will only get worse.

Even if you hate our group because of the actions of views of other branches, surly you can see the need for change, and protest. To paint Anonymous with the brush of every member is no fairer than painting visa petitioners with the brush of those who commit fraud, human trafficking, and even murder.

Hate our group if you must, but make us serve your goals. Take the data we provide and use it to assist the cause of righteousness.

These people are gathering under the banner of this website to protests because even in your own words this is what the site was founded for.

If you do not lead them in this protest at the very least do not render them impotent to the powers that have conveyed against them. We have given them a tool, nothing more.

We plead with you on their behalf. Allow these people to protest the injustices perpetrated on them. Allow these people to use whatever tools and information they can in the service of the greater good.

I think this is a very well written post and there are a lot of good points in there which I agree with; however, if the issue/goal of your protest and information is to reform USCIS and to address the issues that everyone endures with this process, why are you aiming just at CSC? Sure, the brunt of it was on the June-August filers from last year and the main scandal has been at CSC. However, before that, CSC was always historically the faster one. VSC has always been slow and 6 months + a lot of the time, and post 5 month processing times when they have never once been at 5 months, misleading petitioners and simply saying "We're operating at 6-7 months at the minute, call back later" when they recieve a query. One member here got approved not long ago after waiting a -year-. Surely if the aim is to address USCIS as a whole and your concern is petitioners away from their families, why exclude half of the filers/half of the information?

Edited May 10, 2013 by QueenOfBlades

[TylerDurden 45]

I think this is a very well written post and there are a lot of good points in there which I agree with; however, if the issue/goal of your protest and information is to reform USCIS and to address the issues that everyone endures with this process, why are you aiming just at CSC? Sure, the brunt of it was on the June-August filers from last year and the main scandal has been at CSC. However, before that, CSC was always historically the faster one. VSC has always been slow and 6 months + a lot of the time, and post 5 month processing times when they have never once been at 5 months, misleading petitioners and simply saying "We're operating at 6-7 months at the minute, call back later" when they recieve a query. One member here got approved not long ago after waiting a -year-. Surely if the aim is to address USCIS as a whole and your concern is petitioners away from their families, why exclude half of the filers/half of the information?

The aim at CSC is simple. It is the most problematic example. Our resources are not infinite and so we had to make a choice that would best provide clarity of the problems at hand.

If the additional collection of VSC data is what is required to allow us to continue our work, we would gladly comply and add the additional resources needed.

Edited May 10, 2013 by TylerDurden

[Zipline 23]

While I respect their decision (and admins can attest that I am trying to act in accordance with their wishes), I reserve the right to disagree and express that disagreement. I have reviewed the terms of service and personally do not see which of these terms was violated. I assume that the mods and I differ on our interpretation of one or more of these terms. I humbly admit that I am not a lawyer, but a mere web dev

I appreciate VisaJourney, its forums and especially Igor's List and the Timeline tools. This site does and will continue to do a great service to all of us.

That being said, I cannot find anywhere on the site about VisaJourney's origins, its mission/goals or its organizational makeup. Is it a non-profit and if so is there a board of directors or advisors? Does VJ accept donations for its maintenance costs and ongoing efforts? Are there any ground rules in place between VJ and the USCIS that need to be adhered to? I have always wondered these things and would like to see an admin respond. Thank you.

And I agree with a lot of what Tyler Durden wrote. VisaJourney likely exists because at some point the INS/USCIS wasn't doing their job or serving the public properly. The performance by the USCIS with regard to many sponsor-based petitions has certainly worsened since VJ's origins. If things have become too divisive and VJ wants to stay out of the fray then I will respect their wish. But I do find that stance a little difficult to understand, given the nature of the site and the user base.

[TylerDurden 45]

Let us state VERY CLEARLY our view and goal.

A view that we think me made very clear in our message to USCIS video posted on YouTube.

Our view is this.

USCIS is currently engaged in a practice of delays and misinformation in regards to US citizen sponsored visas. USCIS currently enjoys a lack of transparency that prevents lawmakers from making informed policy. USCIS has little regard for the harm caused to the families engaged in the legal immigration process. Proposed immigration reform stands ready to cripple the future process if current shortfalls are not addressed and realized.

Our goals are simple.

Provide information and transparency that will allow petitioners and policy makers to be informed.

It is our hope that this information can achieve the following:

• Provide petitioners and beneficiaries a better understanding of the true progress of petitions in the process.
• Provide petitioners verifiable evidence of USCIS issues in dealing with congressional and USCIS representatives.
• Provide policy makers a perspective of issues when forming immigration policy.

LET US MAKE THIS VERY CLEAR.

We are not in favor or opposed to immigration reform. We are not in favor or opposed to DACA. We ONLY want the process to be fair to US citizens in whatever form it takes.

We define fairness as:

• Transparency in the immigration process. Allowing petitioners and beneficiaries accurate and current status of visa petitions and reasonable current projection of petition review.
• Responding to petitioners and their representatives in an accurate and timely fashion.

Edited May 10, 2013 by TylerDurden

[Andreea&Kevin 38]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/429684-uscis-service-centers-slowing-down/

It would seem VJ is looking for answers and when given the opportunity to come to a conclusion on the subject they are taking the easy way out.

The huge mass of data really doesn't need to be posted, it's just too much info to clearly communicate what is going on. I would like to see graphs and charts derived from the data which reveals the truth of how the USCIS is conducting business to be allowed here. I understand the data does need to be available to prove the validity of any information presented, but I also understand the concerns of the admin of the site.

The fact is a number of people have the info and hopefully they are people that can do something good with it. In time that info will work it's way back to this site whether the admin here likes it or not. It may be a link, to a link, to a link, but people here will not be denied the truth of what is going on.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Andreea&Kevin

[TylerDurden 45]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/429684-uscis-service-centers-slowing-down/

It would seem VJ is looking for answers and when given the opportunity to come to a conclusion on the subject they are taking the easy way out.

The huge mass of data really doesn't need to be posted, it's just too much info to clearly communicate what is going on. I would like to see graphs and charts derived from the data which reveals the truth of how the USCIS is conducting business to be allowed here. I understand the data does need to be available to prove the validity of any information presented, but I also understand the concerns of the admin of the site.

The fact is a number of people have the info and hopefully they are people that can do something good with it. In time that info will work it's way back to this site whether the admin here likes it or not. It may be a link, to a link, to a link, but people here will not be denied the truth of what is going on.

It has always been our intention to provide reports, charts and graphs based on this data. However, currently VJ leadership is forbidding anyone from doing so.

We posted the entirety of the data for 2 reasons.

1. To allow verification of the data and information we provide. Without peer review reports, charts and graphs have little weight. The supporting data in needed so that representatives can face USCIS with an assurance of accuracy in their claims.

2. Allow others the opportunity to generate reports, charts, graphs that may answer other questions that we may not have considered.

These are vital concerns in the effort to produce a transparent and accurate process. And we have pointed out issues in our own data collection and posting, namely the lack or coloration of NOA1 dates.

We will point out that currently on the USCIS website the processing time information states they are ‘currently’ working on i-129f petitions from those dating to July 18th.

An estimation based from February 28th.

Does anyone here see that as accurate? Current? Transparent?

How many months has their status reflected them working on July? 3? More?

They are required by law, as is, to provide status and projection information.

But the information is useless and outdated.

Edited May 10, 2013 by TylerDurden

[pachacuti 154]

Just for clarification.

It is currently our understanding that:

• We cannot link to external sources of USCIS data, in our signatures or posts.
• We cannot use external sources of USCIS data in the creation of reports, graphs or charts.
• We cannot communicate privately via PM with other members to exchange external sources of USCIS data.
• We cannot link to videos protesting USCIS in our signatures or posts.
• We cannot forward messages to the membership that explain the reasoning of post removal or thread closure.

Is this correct? Does this apply to all members?

You can't post the video?? The VIDEO??? Really?? Mods and admins: FOR SHAME!!! I can get why you may wish to avoid allow links to the data to be published, but the VIDEO???? I am now disgusted. This goes beyond a simple difference of opinion about the terms of use.

[TylerDurden 45]

OK, this is seriously confusing!

On one hand VJ asks “What do you think? Are their things that may be causing this that we can raise awareness on?” in regards to the CSC slowdown.

We have the data, we can find clear cause and effect, but are then forbidden from giving those answers.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/429684-uscis-service-centers-slowing-down/?p=6220940

[A&P_Germany 8]

Yep that's quite interesting... I'm confused also.

[TylerDurden 45]

Just our 2 cents.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/429684-uscis-service-centers-slowing-down/?p=6221892