Just too long

[DanielParul 50]

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....".

[Jigi 0]

hi,

Now thats a shocker that non immigrant workers get prioroty for themselves and their family.... now thats shocking...

I just know one thing. If the USCIS and NVC just double their employees and use EXPRESS overnight mail.. we will save a LOT of time.. because all their paper work comes in slow snail mail which takes 3 to 4 weeks to arrive..

According to my calculation the time frame will be reduced to only 2 months if they use express mail for all the services.

Jigi

[heyjimi 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.

Hi my friend,

yes it is way too long,i been waiting for almost 4 months,people with k1 visa seem to be getting theirs right away....strange isn't it.....after all we k3 filers, are waiting for our spouses. !!!!! I talked to someone friday at USCIS the first one i spoke to who seemed to be speaking honestly,and said things are picking up now with the I-130.so lets hope that is the case.

[heyjimi 0]

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.

"Our Goverment would be foolish to turn a blind eye".....sweetheart,they do everyday.all you have to do is go down to the border of Mexico and America and watch hundreds run accross the border each and every night ,365 days a year. SOLUTION ? lets make them all legal.....so our wise politicians say !!!!! yes i see how this works.It is like the store owner who tries to save a penny,but can't see how every day he wastes a dollar.

[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.

"Our Goverment would be foolish to turn a blind eye".....sweetheart,they do everyday.all you have to do is go down to the border of Mexico and America and watch hundreds run accross the border each and every night ,365 days a year. SOLUTION ? lets make them all legal.....so our wise politicians say !!!!! yes i see how this works.It is like the store owner who tries to save a penny,but can't see how every day he wastes a dollar.

Sweetheart, we're talking about marriage fraud - not campaneros. Try to draw the proper analogies, and try not to be sexist - hmmm?

[heyjimi 0]

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.

"Our Goverment would be foolish to turn a blind eye".....sweetheart,they do everyday.all you have to do is go down to the border of Mexico and America and watch hundreds run accross the border each and every night ,365 days a year. SOLUTION ? lets make them all legal.....so our wise politicians say !!!!! yes i see how this works.It is like the store owner who tries to save a penny,but can't see how every day he wastes a dollar.

Sweetheart, we're talking about marriage fraud - not campaneros. Try to draw the proper analogies, and try not to be sexist - hmmm?

Who is being sexist?.......marriage fraud......is IMMIGRATION FRAUD.....people trying to come to America illegally RIGHT? except instead of jumping over a fence ,they marry to get here. sorry my friend(is that better)it is the same thing.......and my point was, in case it was too complicated for you.... and i see it is.....the Goverment spends too much time on worrying about the small amount of people coming over here by fraud....and not enough time controlling the border,where hundreds come in illegally EACH and EVERY day. .....SAME THING ... I M M I G R A T I O N.........that is what we are talking about isn't it? Hmmmm?

[pushbrk 13,087]

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.

My comment is more general than the topic of application of laws but here's the story I'v picked up to illustrate the difference for the last 20 years or so. A farmer/rancher is revising his will in his old age. He has two sons and a daughter. One son and one daughter have stayed and made their livelyhood running their father's ranch. One son went to college and is a plastic surgeon in Boston. The father wants to be fair, so his first thought is to leave equal shares of the ranch to each of his children. It's "equal" so it has to be fair, right?

Then he thinks about it some more and in discussions with his local son and daughter and an accountant, he realizes the equal shares division will result in his son and daughter having to sell their shares and leave the ranch. The ranch won't stay in the family and the son and daughter will lose their livelyhood and find new ones as they uproot their families. They'll have some money from the sale but the lives they've built will change forever.

Instead, he accounts for the value of the ranch, and leaves a third of that value in a combination of cash and life insurance to the doctor and half the ranch to each of the other children. The final solution is far from equal treatment but much more 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.

But it seems like you do understand very well. Different laws applying to different groups for valid reasons is about being fair. Equal treatment is not always fair treatment.

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.

As I read the above, it illustrates my point. A lot of "should be's are born when one or one group makes the value judgment that what THEY want or IT likes is what is right or wrong for others. What is quite frequent, however is that no further thought beyond the I want even occurs before the "should be" declaration.

Some comments are bolded above.

More on topic, things are different for different countries based on circumstances. Whenever any group or Congress makes compromised value judgments there will be many who disagree including many in the group. That's part of the beauty and ugliness of our political system.

Edited December 23, 2007 by pushbrk

[heyjimi 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.

My comment is more general than the topic of application of laws but here's the story I'v picked up to illustrate the difference for the last 20 years or so. A farmer/rancher is revising his will in his old age. He has two sons and a daughter. One son and one daughter have stayed and made their livelyhood running their father's ranch. One son went to college and is a plastic surgeon in Boston. The father wants to be fair, so his first thought is to leave equal shares of the ranch to each of his children. It's "equal" so it has to be fair, right?

Then he thinks about it some more and in discussions with his local son and daughter and an accountant, he realizes the equal shares division will result in his son and daughter having to sell their shares and leave the ranch. The ranch won't stay in the family and the son and daughter will lose their livelyhood and find new ones as they uproot their families. They'll have some money from the sale but the lives they've built will change forever.

Instead, he accounts for the value of the ranch, and leaves a third of that value in a combination of cash and life insurance to the doctor and half the ranch to each of the other children. The final solution is far from equal treatment but much more 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.

But it seems like you do understand very well. Different laws applying to different groups for valid reasons is about being fair. Equal treatment is not always fair treatment.

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.

As I read the above, it illustrates my point. A lot of "should be's are born when one or one group makes the value judgment that what THEY want or IT likes is what is right or wrong for others. What is quite frequent, however is that no further thought beyond the I want even occurs before the "should be" declaration.

Some comments are bolded above.

More on topic, things are different for different countries based on circumstances. Whenever any group or Congress makes compromised value judgments there will be many who disagree including many in the group. That's part of the beauty and ugliness of our political system.

So true, and i might add however what makes this a great country.....these politicians work for us, we as Americans can change things that we see is not right....that is what makes our political system the best in the world.NOT PERFECT...but the best there is......having said that,there is always room for improvement,and one of them is immigrations.And i think everyone on here would agree with me.

Keep speaking your mind.We are free to do so !!!!!!!

[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.

"Our Goverment would be foolish to turn a blind eye".....sweetheart,they do everyday.all you have to do is go down to the border of Mexico and America and watch hundreds run accross the border each and every night ,365 days a year. SOLUTION ? lets make them all legal.....so our wise politicians say !!!!! yes i see how this works.It is like the store owner who tries to save a penny,but can't see how every day he wastes a dollar.

Sweetheart, we're talking about marriage fraud - not campaneros. Try to draw the proper analogies, and try not to be sexist - hmmm?

Who is being sexist?.......marriage fraud......is IMMIGRATION FRAUD.....people trying to come to America illegally RIGHT? except instead of jumping over a fence ,they marry to get here. sorry my friend(is that better)it is the same thing.......and my point was, in case it was too complicated for you.... and i see it is.....the Goverment spends too much time on worrying about the small amount of people coming over here by fraud....and not enough time controlling the border,where hundreds come in illegally EACH and EVERY day. .....SAME THING ... I M M I G R A T I O N.........that is what we are talking about isn't it? Hmmmm?

You're still trying to compare people who are entering legally (but managing to manipulate the system) to those who circumvent the system alltogether.

What your government is trying to do is protect you from yourself. You know, when you get all starry-eyed and can't see the person you love is using you. Would you prefer they did nothing about that?

PS - Please try not to be so condescending.

[SaysWho 3]

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.

"Our Goverment would be foolish to turn a blind eye".....sweetheart,they do everyday.all you have to do is go down to the border of Mexico and America and watch hundreds run accross the border each and every night ,365 days a year. SOLUTION ? lets make them all legal.....so our wise politicians say !!!!! yes i see how this works.It is like the store owner who tries to save a penny,but can't see how every day he wastes a dollar.

Sweetheart, we're talking about marriage fraud - not campaneros. Try to draw the proper analogies, and try not to be sexist - hmmm?

Who is being sexist?.......marriage fraud......is IMMIGRATION FRAUD.....people trying to come to America illegally RIGHT? except instead of jumping over a fence ,they marry to get here. sorry my friend(is that better)it is the same thing.......and my point was, in case it was too complicated for you.... and i see it is.....the Goverment spends too much time on worrying about the small amount of people coming over here by fraud....and not enough time controlling the border,where hundreds come in illegally EACH and EVERY day. .....SAME THING ... I M M I G R A T I O N.........that is what we are talking about isn't it? Hmmmm?

You're still trying to compare people who are entering legally (but managing to manipulate the system) to those who circumvent the system alltogether.

What your government is trying to do is protect you from yourself. You know, when you get all starry-eyed and can't see the person you love is using you. Would you prefer they did nothing about that?

PS - Please try not to be so condescending.

Well, I think the main reason to be angry or frustrated is because none of these delays have anything to with "doing it the right way", equality, the law or about the security of the country. It is completely about bureaucracy, bungling, lack of forsight and poor administration of the system. That's what every one of us should be upset about....all this was forseeable and avoidable with adequate planning.

[Delicia 1]

If she wasn't from a "third world country" we would have been together and married months ago.

I disagree. I am married to a Chilean citizen and Canadian PR for over 2 years. We will be waiting out the process for, by my calculations, at least 1.5 years and possibly 2 years, before we can live together again. Canada is hardly a third world country.

[ChrisB0707 4]

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.

You say the people from Cuba are fleeing from bad conditions. Well I guess you have never been to the Philippines because its very bad there also. I agree with him 100% and think its BS the way the United States Immigrations laws are. The US needs to take the 100's of billions spent on Iraq and take care of things in our own country first. Take that money and build the so called wall between Mexico and the US they have talked about for years. The president we have is a stupid ### and has the country so F up. The US dollar has dropped so much all over the world. Then the fees to get our loved ones to the US the legal way went so high in July it just not right.

[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.

You say the people from Cuba are fleeing from bad conditions. Well I guess you have never been to the Philippines because its very bad there also. I agree with him 100% and think its BS the way the United States Immigrations laws are. The US needs to take the 100's of billions spent on Iraq and take care of things in our own country first. Take that money and build the so called wall between Mexico and the US they have talked about for years. The president we have is a stupid ### and has the country so F up. The US dollar has dropped so much all over the world. Then the fees to get our loved ones to the US the legal way went so high in July it just not right.

No I haven't been to the Philippines. Nor have I been to Cuba. The economic conditions of the two countries are both sad but the political conditions between the two countries are very different and that is what asylee petitions are for. I hope you aren't going to sit here and try to tell me that our country should not have an available path for people to escape from political persecution.

The money spent in Iraq is a travesty. The lives of US service persons lost over there is a more devastating price. Your government will tell you that that the mission of the Department of Homeland Security is not unlike the present mission of our men and women in the military - to protect us from those who would harm us. I will agree with you 100% that it shouldn't take so long for family based petitions to process. You'll get no argument from me over that. But I don't think anyone should be allowed into this country without their motives being questioned, and in order for that to take place some time and dollars must be spent. I would also hope that if our government chooses to take the money waging the war on terror and spend it elsewhere that they spend it on something more logical than a senseless wall between us and Mexico.

Many of you mistake my posts to you as a defense of this system. They are not. They are an explanation of them. I wanted my husband here quickly just as badly as you do. I missed him and ached for him just as you do. But what else would you do to have your loved one beside you? This is the US immigration system - it's not so much BS (as you put it but) complicated. Overly complicated. It is more technologically inept than it is clerically inept because until the recent present our government preferred to put the hand of friendship out to immigrants rather than the face of fear.

[athena_ny 1]

If she wasn't from a "third world country" we would have been together and married months ago.

I disagree. I am married to a Chilean citizen and Canadian PR for over 2 years. We will be waiting out the process for, by my calculations, at least 1.5 years and possibly 2 years, before we can live together again. Canada is hardly a third world country.

[Liz Leija 0]

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.

You say the people from Cuba are fleeing from bad conditions. Well I guess you have never been to the Philippines because its very bad there also. I agree with him 100% and think its BS the way the United States Immigrations laws are. The US needs to take the 100's of billions spent on Iraq and take care of things in our own country first. Take that money and build the so called wall between Mexico and the US they have talked about for years. The president we have is a stupid ### and has the country so F up. The US dollar has dropped so much all over the world. Then the fees to get our loved ones to the US the legal way went so high in July it just not right.

No I haven't been to the Philippines. Nor have I been to Cuba. The economic conditions of the two countries are both sad but the political conditions between the two countries are very different and that is what asylee petitions are for. I hope you aren't going to sit here and try to tell me that our country should not have an available path for people to escape from political persecution.

The money spent in Iraq is a travesty. The lives of US service persons lost over there is a more devastating price. Your government will tell you that that the mission of the Department of Homeland Security is not unlike the present mission of our men and women in the military - to protect us from those who would harm us. I will agree with you 100% that it shouldn't take so long for family based petitions to process. You'll get no argument from me over that. But I don't think anyone should be allowed into this country without their motives being questioned, and in order for that to take place some time and dollars must be spent. I would also hope that if our government chooses to take the money waging the war on terror and spend it elsewhere that they spend it on something more logical than a senseless wall between us and Mexico.

Many of you mistake my posts to you as a defense of this system. They are not. They are an explanation of them. I wanted my husband here quickly just as badly as you do. I missed him and ached for him just as you do. But what else would you do to have your loved one beside you? This is the US immigration system - it's not so much BS (as you put it but) complicated. Overly complicated. It is more technologically inept than it is clerically inept because until the recent present our government preferred to put the hand of friendship out to immigrants rather than the face of fear.

I agree with you 100 %, I think all of us here are getting really upset because we want and need our spouses here as soon as possible. I also think that USCIS, NVC, and the Embassies should speed up their mailing services because that is the problem right now. As of my husband' case, we were approved on Sept. 5, but sent to the NVC until November (2 months delayed). Now we are at the Embassy level approved since Nov.20, and still waiting for them to schedule an interview.