Just too long

[Manasa Krishna 0]

My wife and I got married in June of this year. I submitted the I-130 Spouse Visa form in July and the I-29F form in September. The only unfair thing is that I'm an American citizen. We just shouldn't have to wait this long for us to be together. Also the paperwork is just too much and unnecessary. We had to submit our pictures of marriage and other occasions just to prove we are married. We really miss each other. More than 5 months have gone by. I'm sure many of you are in the similar situation. If any of you have any ideas please let us know.

Thanks.

[pushbrk 13,087]

My wife and I got married in June of this year. I submitted the I-130 Spouse Visa form in July and the I-29F form in September. The only unfair thing is that I'm an American citizen. We just shouldn't have to wait this long for us to be together. Also the paperwork is just too much and unnecessary. We had to submit our pictures of marriage and other occasions just to prove we are married. We really miss each other. More than 5 months have gone by. I'm sure many of you are in the similar situation. If any of you have any ideas please let us know.

Thanks.

There are lots of ideas here about passing the time.

Unfair as compared to what? Unpleasant I get.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Manasa,

I'm very sorry you are having a hard time.

All I can suggest to you is occupy your time with work, save money, take up a hobby and of course, maintain your relationship!

Let your love lead the way. Keep strong together. Take each day and face it together.

Think of how sweet it will be when you are finally together. You will have worked so hard and waited so long, it will be beyond worth it.

Happy Holidays to you!!

~Laura

[Jesse and Hema 2]

I agree that as citizens, we should be given a higher priority (and level of service) than what it seems we receive, but at least I understand the need for such mechanisms as a means for maintaining the integrity of citizenship and residency..

It's tough, but be patient, and hang in there

[ChrisB0707 4]

My wife and I got married in June of this year. I submitted the I-130 Spouse Visa form in July and the I-29F form in September. The only unfair thing is that I'm an American citizen. We just shouldn't have to wait this long for us to be together. Also the paperwork is just too much and unnecessary. We had to submit our pictures of marriage and other occasions just to prove we are married. We really miss each other. More than 5 months have gone by. I'm sure many of you are in the similar situation. If any of you have any ideas please let us know.

Thanks.

I agree, way to long. Should take the 100's of billions spent on Iraq and find a better process for things in our own country. Bad enough the American dollar is almost S-IT now and gone down so much because of G W Bush.

[Nanusia & Lukaszek 0]

I agree that as citizens, we should be given a higher priority (and level of service) than what it seems we receive, but at least I understand the need for such mechanisms as a means for maintaining the integrity of citizenship and residency..

It's tough, but be patient, and hang in there

We do get priority in getting our applications processed ahead of LPRs filing for their spouses or family members. Our applications take months to get through the system, however, theirs take years and years. Not that its any more of a positive feeling for us USCs, but they do process ours first.

[Jigi 0]

hi MK,

I am married a year now.... My first anniversary just passed away.... IT hurts a lot when you to proove the realtionship you are in is genuine. , but thats how it is... me and my love have been through rough days of loneliness. Thats how it is. Wee make it a point to message each other as much as we can , talk online or talk on the phone.... What ever I earn i spend more than that in phone bills, internet and stuff. Just to be in touch with my love. Just keeep yourself busy as you can in work and I think you should look it as the next 40 years ( AT LEAST) you would get with each other.... just be damn strong..... I know its easier said than done... but stilll ..

GOd Bless You

Jigi

[Mike and Elisa 0]

My wife and I got married in June of this year. I submitted the I-130 Spouse Visa form in July and the I-29F form in September. The only unfair thing is that I'm an American citizen. We just shouldn't have to wait this long for us to be together. Also the paperwork is just too much and unnecessary. We had to submit our pictures of marriage and other occasions just to prove we are married. We really miss each other. More than 5 months have gone by. I'm sure many of you are in the similar situation. If any of you have any ideas please let us know.

Thanks.

There are lots of ideas here about passing the time.

Unfair as compared to what? Unpleasant I get.

Unfair as in we try to follow the rules but the rules don't apply equally to everyone. A Cuban who arrived illegally is LEGAL as soon as he sets one foot on US soil. An illegal Mexican gets sent home. Europeans can get a US travel visa very easily and quickly. The US doesn't require a visa at all from some countries, but, it's almost impossible for a Filipino to get one. A Cuban doesn't need to know anyone here, doesn't need any money, doesn't need to be able to support himself, doesn't need to be able to prove who he is, doesn't need a petitioner and doesn't need to have anyone promise to support him for a minimum of 10 years.

I fell in love with a Filipina and the US government has kept us apart for 8 months now and counting. If she wasn't from a "third world country" we would have been together and married months ago. I just had to spend $100 to send an inch thick packet to the Philippines just to PROVE that I love my fiancee and can support her.

The law should apply equally to everyone or it shouldn't apply at all.

I wish I could remember Martin Luther King Jr's quote that said something like, it's our responsibility to obey just laws and disobey unjust ones.

[pushbrk 13,087]

My wife and I got married in June of this year. I submitted the I-130 Spouse Visa form in July and the I-29F form in September. The only unfair thing is that I'm an American citizen. We just shouldn't have to wait this long for us to be together. Also the paperwork is just too much and unnecessary. We had to submit our pictures of marriage and other occasions just to prove we are married. We really miss each other. More than 5 months have gone by. I'm sure many of you are in the similar situation. If any of you have any ideas please let us know.

Thanks.

There are lots of ideas here about passing the time.

Unfair as compared to what? Unpleasant I get.

Unfair as in we try to follow the rules but the rules don't apply equally to everyone. A Cuban who arrived illegally is LEGAL as soon as he sets one foot on US soil. An illegal Mexican gets sent home. Europeans can get a US travel visa very easily and quickly. The US doesn't require a visa at all from some countries, but, it's almost impossible for a Filipino to get one. A Cuban doesn't need to know anyone here, doesn't need any money, doesn't need to be able to support himself, doesn't need to be able to prove who he is, doesn't need a petitioner and doesn't need to have anyone promise to support him for a minimum of 10 years.

I fell in love with a Filipina and the US government has kept us apart for 8 months now and counting. If she wasn't from a "third world country" we would have been together and married months ago. I just had to spend $100 to send an inch thick packet to the Philippines just to PROVE that I love my fiancee and can support her.

The law should apply equally to everyone or it shouldn't apply at all.

I wish I could remember Martin Luther King Jr's quote that said something like, it's our responsibility to obey just laws and disobey unjust ones.

Equal and fair are not synonyms.

It's not that I don't get it. I do. By the way, the Cuban issue is a matter of a different law, not the same law applied differently.

What happens all too often is we hear, "It's not fair." when what is meant is simply, "I don't like it."

Similarly we hear, "It should be..." when what is really meant is "I want....".

Edited December 21, 2007 by pushbrk

[athena_ny 1]

My wife and I got married in June of this year. I submitted the I-130 Spouse Visa form in July and the I-29F form in September. The only unfair thing is that I'm an American citizen. We just shouldn't have to wait this long for us to be together. Also the paperwork is just too much and unnecessary. We had to submit our pictures of marriage and other occasions just to prove we are married. We really miss each other. More than 5 months have gone by. I'm sure many of you are in the similar situation. If any of you have any ideas please let us know.

Thanks.

There are lots of ideas here about passing the time.

Unfair as compared to what? Unpleasant I get.

Unfair as in we try to follow the rules but the rules don't apply equally to everyone. A Cuban who arrived illegally is LEGAL as soon as he sets one foot on US soil. An illegal Mexican gets sent home. Europeans can get a US travel visa very easily and quickly. The US doesn't require a visa at all from some countries, but, it's almost impossible for a Filipino to get one. A Cuban doesn't need to know anyone here, doesn't need any money, doesn't need to be able to support himself, doesn't need to be able to prove who he is, doesn't need a petitioner and doesn't need to have anyone promise to support him for a minimum of 10 years.

I fell in love with a Filipina and the US government has kept us apart for 8 months now and counting. If she wasn't from a "third world country" we would have been together and married months ago. I just had to spend $100 to send an inch thick packet to the Philippines just to PROVE that I love my fiancee and can support her.

The law should apply equally to everyone or it shouldn't apply at all.

I wish I could remember Martin Luther King Jr's quote that said something like, it's our responsibility to obey just laws and disobey unjust ones.

It's hard to get tourist visas from certain countries for a reason.

(And PS, we know Mexicans all the only illegal immigrants. Yup yup.)

Edited December 22, 2007 by meow mix

[Lance27 19]

Hang in there... she will be home soon.

My wife and I got married in June of this year. I submitted the I-130 Spouse Visa form in July and the I-29F form in September. The only unfair thing is that I'm an American citizen. We just shouldn't have to wait this long for us to be together. Also the paperwork is just too much and unnecessary. We had to submit our pictures of marriage and other occasions just to prove we are married. We really miss each other. More than 5 months have gone by. I'm sure many of you are in the similar situation. If any of you have any ideas please let us know.

Thanks.

[Mike and Elisa 0]

Equal and fair are not synonyms.

It's not that I don't get it. I do. By the way, the Cuban issue is a matter of a different law, not the same law applied differently.

What happens all too often is we hear, "It's not fair." when what is meant is simply, "I don't like it."

Similarly we hear, "It should be..." when what is really meant is "I want....".

First, I would contend that equal and fair are very much synonyms. No law or group of laws that are applied unequally can possibly be fair.

I'm not sure what distinction you're making between "a different law" vs. "the same law applied differently". Whether you have one law that treats different groups of people differently or whether you have different laws that apply to different groups, the end result is the same.... treating an individual differently based on the group to which he belongs. The word for that is discrimination, a concept that our supreme court has struck down time and again. However, for some reason I can't understand, discrimination is perfectly legal in our imigration policy.

It's not a matter of liking or disliking, wanting or not wanting. It's a matter of right and wrong, just and unjust. Basing the benefits an individual receives on the group to which he belongs is wrong and unjust. For example, I find it unconsionable that someone from the Philippines would require a sponsor in order to immigrate when someone from Cuba doesn't.

That being said, I certainly wouldn't argue the fact that if you pick 100 random people off the street in France or Germany, put them on a plane and fly them to the US and you do the same thing with 100 random people from the Philippines or South Africa, a far higher percentage of the people in the second group would say "I want to stay".

I can't tell you what the solution is. That is far beyond me. But, I can tell you that the solution is NOT to assume that a US citizen or LPR is attempting to commit immigration fraud by requesting a visa for someone he loves. That goes back to another little concept we have in this country, innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof should not be mine.

[rebeccajo 14]

Mike,

Asylee petitions are a very different kettle of fish than family based. Please try to remember the conditions these people are fleeing and then you may see the reason they are 'treated differently'.

My husband is from Northern Ireland, a VWP country. The only difference between our process and yours was the fact he COULD visit. His visa process was identical to yours other than the fact the London consulate moves more quickly than Manila, which has much to do with the fact that more K1 visas are issued by Manila than any other country in the world. Any other hurdles your fiancee may have to jump that my husband did not (CENOMAR, etc.) have to do with the laws of the Philipines itself, and visa fraud percentages from that country. You wouldn't have to prove your relationship was true if there wasn't a pattern of fraud. It's a social pattern from the country and our government would be foolish to turn a blind eye to it.

While it's true there is much unfair about this system, different people usually get treated differently for a reason. Unfortunately.

PS - I spent a good bit of money on FedEx packages myself. It just costs money to send stuff internationally. Fact of life.

Edited December 22, 2007 by rebeccajo

[Cassie 8]

But, I can tell you that the solution is NOT to assume that a US citizen or LPR is attempting to commit immigration fraud by requesting a visa for someone he loves. That goes back to another little concept we have in this country, innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof should not be mine.

Sorry, thanks to people who deliberately committed visa fraud before us (and still doing it, unfortunately), we are now considered guilty until we prove we are innocent. Some countries have to prove it more.

(moving this to the K-3 forum)

Edited December 22, 2007 by Cassie

[Alt name 1]

We also married in June. I noticed you are from India. We have a guy from india who is a sponsored employee, on an H visa I believe (whatever the non-immigrant worker visa is). He flew home in late march, got married in India, and his wife was in the states by mid-April. No petition, no USCIS processing, just a trip to the embassy.

US Citizens get priority? That's a crock. Read the processing times. NON-immigrant workers and their families get priority.