Disparity Between VSC and CSC and

[charlene 0]

If I had a dollar for every time I have read a "it's not fair, Vermont is so fast" post over the last 3 years, I'd be a rich rich woman!

And they've even reorganized it since then to make it a more equitable distribution of family-based petitions, IIRC. It is also cyclical. VSC slowed down earlier.

CSC hasn't recovered from the backlog yet (I believe they handle more AOS-related stuff than Vermont does, and it was a *huge* hit last August, and people who are here waiting for green cards took priority.)

Interesting. Green card processing does not keep families apart. Neither does AOS as far as i know. I know that employment visas, which keep people from taking a job here, are expedited. Why do marriage visas take the lowest priority, I wonder? Is marriage the #1 immigration fraud that it needs so much scrutiny. I'm starting to feel that the post that someone made once that they want it to take a long time on purpose so that the prospective emigrant will give up, only those that don't give up are real relationships. Cynical? I'll bet that factors into their processing times. I wonders if there is some historical precedent that fraudsters will give up after 6 months??

I have been at the CSC, 5 months, and the VSC 4 months before our approval...all due to the USC errors....then the NVC sent our packet to the

wrong elymbassy in on Feb. 13....(check out my time line on the bottom)....

I can speak from experience that one of the major issues of have is that they are not done "in order" as they are supposed to be....this is only fair.

And the other thing is having a more accurate idea of timeline in processing....but the biggest issue is being able to talk with someone when

there are serious problems with your processing. If there was a way to talk to someone who can actually help you and not just read off of a computer

screen what they are told to tell us...rather a department that can find and solve errors....this would keep people like myself and others from

being so FRUSTRATED....and would hold other departments responsible for errors that are happening.....

This is only my observation from my experience....

[Cassie 8]

If I had a dollar for every time I have read a "it's not fair, Vermont is so fast" post over the last 3 years, I'd be a rich rich woman!

And they've even reorganized it since then to make it a more equitable distribution of family-based petitions, IIRC. It is also cyclical. VSC slowed down earlier.

CSC hasn't recovered from the backlog yet (I believe they handle more AOS-related stuff than Vermont does, and it was a *huge* hit last August, and people who are here waiting for green cards took priority.)

Interesting. Green card processing does not keep families apart. Neither does AOS as far as i know. I know that employment visas, which keep people from taking a job here, are expedited. Why do marriage visas take the lowest priority, I wonder? Is marriage the #1 immigration fraud that it needs so much scrutiny. I'm starting to feel that the post that someone made once that they want it to take a long time on purpose so that the prospective emigrant will give up, only those that don't give up are real relationships. Cynical? I'll bet that factors into their processing times. I wonders if there is some historical precedent that fraudsters will give up after 6 months??

this is a huge reason why. People are still getting busted for organized marriage-for-green-card scams.

[Chris Future 0]

I agree the system is broken. I have no idea why some people at VSC are being approved in record time, other than sheer managerial incompetence. I agree that 6+ months is way too long. There was a day when 60 days was about the average wait, and I don't think that's unreasonable.

Sheer managerial incompetence - agree with you there that that is the most likely reason. The sad thing is that WE don't matter. I don't blame the staff at the center, they are probably just doing what they can in the face of a huge overload of work. I blame the decision makers at the top who have no problem allocating the massive amount of money they take from us in taxes and fees and providing non-citizens better service than citizens.

I went through the green card process. Only in certain cases does one really NEED a Green card - usually the individual is in the country under an employment visa and can stay on it a while longer. Remember Green Card holders are NOT citizens, but somehow they deserve faster service than citizens, who are the petitioners here at VJ.

Time and time again, we see the government servicing non-citizens better than citizens. You would think that being a citizen would put you at the head of some line, but apparently not.

[mox 298]

Time and time again, we see the government servicing non-citizens better than citizens. You would think that being a citizen would put you at the head of some line, but apparently not.

I know what you're saying, but keep in mind that even though you are a citizen, the beneficiary is not. And it's the beneficiary who's getting the visa.

[rebeccajo 14]

If I had a dollar for every time I have read a "it's not fair, Vermont is so fast" post over the last 3 years, I'd be a rich rich woman!

And they've even reorganized it since then to make it a more equitable distribution of family-based petitions, IIRC. It is also cyclical. VSC slowed down earlier.

CSC hasn't recovered from the backlog yet (I believe they handle more AOS-related stuff than Vermont does, and it was a *huge* hit last August, and people who are here waiting for green cards took priority.)

Interesting. Green card processing does not keep families apart. Neither does AOS as far as i know. I know that employment visas, which keep people from taking a job here, are expedited. Why do marriage visas take the lowest priority, I wonder? Is marriage the #1 immigration fraud that it needs so much scrutiny. I'm starting to feel that the post that someone made once that they want it to take a long time on purpose so that the prospective emigrant will give up, only those that don't give up are real relationships. Cynical? I'll bet that factors into their processing times. I wonders if there is some historical precedent that fraudsters will give up after 6 months??

Oh my goodness.

First of all - greencards are not processed in the Service Centers. Visa petitions are. Greencards are processed in the District Offices.

Second of all - don't you think it's a really good idea that an immigrant receive the paperwork they need to prove they are legally authorized to be in this country?

[Chris Future 0]

If I had a dollar for every time I have read a "it's not fair, Vermont is so fast" post over the last 3 years, I'd be a rich rich woman!

And they've even reorganized it since then to make it a more equitable distribution of family-based petitions, IIRC. It is also cyclical. VSC slowed down earlier.

CSC hasn't recovered from the backlog yet (I believe they handle more AOS-related stuff than Vermont does, and it was a *huge* hit last August, and people who are here waiting for green cards took priority.)

Interesting. Green card processing does not keep families apart. Neither does AOS as far as i know. I know that employment visas, which keep people from taking a job here, are expedited. Why do marriage visas take the lowest priority, I wonder? Is marriage the #1 immigration fraud that it needs so much scrutiny. I'm starting to feel that the post that someone made once that they want it to take a long time on purpose so that the prospective emigrant will give up, only those that don't give up are real relationships. Cynical? I'll bet that factors into their processing times. I wonders if there is some historical precedent that fraudsters will give up after 6 months??

Oh my goodness.

First of all - greencards are not processed in the Service Centers. Visa petitions are. Greencards are processed in the District Offices.

Second of all - don't you think it's a really good idea that an immigrant receive the paperwork they need to prove they are legally authorized to be in this country?

Uh, my point is that citizens should get better, faster service than non-citizens. Yes, the beneficiary is not a citizen, but the petitioner is. In the Green Card process, the beneficiary is a non-citizen. Immigrants who are waiting for a Green Card are already in this country legally on some other type of visa, so there is usually no rush to get one.

It's like they are saying "Well, its OK we can treat him worse cause he is a citizen"

[rebeccajo 14]

If I had a dollar for every time I have read a "it's not fair, Vermont is so fast" post over the last 3 years, I'd be a rich rich woman!

And they've even reorganized it since then to make it a more equitable distribution of family-based petitions, IIRC. It is also cyclical. VSC slowed down earlier.

CSC hasn't recovered from the backlog yet (I believe they handle more AOS-related stuff than Vermont does, and it was a *huge* hit last August, and people who are here waiting for green cards took priority.)

Interesting. Green card processing does not keep families apart. Neither does AOS as far as i know. I know that employment visas, which keep people from taking a job here, are expedited. Why do marriage visas take the lowest priority, I wonder? Is marriage the #1 immigration fraud that it needs so much scrutiny. I'm starting to feel that the post that someone made once that they want it to take a long time on purpose so that the prospective emigrant will give up, only those that don't give up are real relationships. Cynical? I'll bet that factors into their processing times. I wonders if there is some historical precedent that fraudsters will give up after 6 months??

Oh my goodness.

First of all - greencards are not processed in the Service Centers. Visa petitions are. Greencards are processed in the District Offices.

Second of all - don't you think it's a really good idea that an immigrant receive the paperwork they need to prove they are legally authorized to be in this country?

Uh, my point is that citizens should get better, faster service than non-citizens. Yes, the beneficiary is not a citizen, but the petitioner is. In the Green Card process, the beneficiary is a non-citizen. Immigrants who are waiting for a Green Card are already in this country legally on some other type of visa, so there is usually no rush to get one.

It's like they are saying "Well, its OK we can treat him worse cause he is a citizen"

"Immigrants who are in this country legally" without a greencard but have an expired visa (such as a K1 whose I94 has expired) are actually without status.

When my husband was at the window at the London consulate, the CO looked over at me and said 'make sure you file for his greencard as soon as you marry'. 10 days later when we entered the US, the CBP officer said the same thing.

Filing ASAP for your greencard as soon as possible isn't only something an immigrant needs to do - if they want to remain in this country legally, they have to do it.

You're not comparing apples to apples.

Edited March 4, 2008 by rebeccajo

[Chris Future 0]

If I had a dollar for every time I have read a "it's not fair, Vermont is so fast" post over the last 3 years, I'd be a rich rich woman!

And they've even reorganized it since then to make it a more equitable distribution of family-based petitions, IIRC. It is also cyclical. VSC slowed down earlier.

CSC hasn't recovered from the backlog yet (I believe they handle more AOS-related stuff than Vermont does, and it was a *huge* hit last August, and people who are here waiting for green cards took priority.)

Interesting. Green card processing does not keep families apart. Neither does AOS as far as i know. I know that employment visas, which keep people from taking a job here, are expedited. Why do marriage visas take the lowest priority, I wonder? Is marriage the #1 immigration fraud that it needs so much scrutiny. I'm starting to feel that the post that someone made once that they want it to take a long time on purpose so that the prospective emigrant will give up, only those that don't give up are real relationships. Cynical? I'll bet that factors into their processing times. I wonders if there is some historical precedent that fraudsters will give up after 6 months??

Oh my goodness.

First of all - greencards are not processed in the Service Centers. Visa petitions are. Greencards are processed in the District Offices.

Second of all - don't you think it's a really good idea that an immigrant receive the paperwork they need to prove they are legally authorized to be in this country?

Uh, my point is that citizens should get better, faster service than non-citizens. Yes, the beneficiary is not a citizen, but the petitioner is. In the Green Card process, the beneficiary is a non-citizen. Immigrants who are waiting for a Green Card are already in this country legally on some other type of visa, so there is usually no rush to get one.

It's like they are saying "Well, its OK we can treat him worse cause he is a citizen"

"Immigrants who are in this country legally" without a greencard but have an expired visa (such as a K1 whose I94 has expired) are actually without status.

When my husband was at the window at the London consulate, the CO looked over at me and said 'make sure you file for his greencard as soon as you marry'. 10 days later when we entered the US, the CBP officer said the same thing.

Filing ASAP for your greencard as soon as possible isn't only something an immigrant needs to do - if they want to remain in this country legally, they have to do it.

You're not comparing apples to apples.

Sigh. Yes, some people do need Green Cards to stay in this country legally. Those should get higher priority. However, most people waiting for GCs

are already on some other work visa and can wait a few months for a GC. What I'm saying in the end is that we matter less to the processors than the immigrants do.

[rebeccajo 14]

If I had a dollar for every time I have read a "it's not fair, Vermont is so fast" post over the last 3 years, I'd be a rich rich woman!

And they've even reorganized it since then to make it a more equitable distribution of family-based petitions, IIRC. It is also cyclical. VSC slowed down earlier.

CSC hasn't recovered from the backlog yet (I believe they handle more AOS-related stuff than Vermont does, and it was a *huge* hit last August, and people who are here waiting for green cards took priority.)

Interesting. Green card processing does not keep families apart. Neither does AOS as far as i know. I know that employment visas, which keep people from taking a job here, are expedited. Why do marriage visas take the lowest priority, I wonder? Is marriage the #1 immigration fraud that it needs so much scrutiny. I'm starting to feel that the post that someone made once that they want it to take a long time on purpose so that the prospective emigrant will give up, only those that don't give up are real relationships. Cynical? I'll bet that factors into their processing times. I wonders if there is some historical precedent that fraudsters will give up after 6 months??

Oh my goodness.

First of all - greencards are not processed in the Service Centers. Visa petitions are. Greencards are processed in the District Offices.

Second of all - don't you think it's a really good idea that an immigrant receive the paperwork they need to prove they are legally authorized to be in this country?

Uh, my point is that citizens should get better, faster service than non-citizens. Yes, the beneficiary is not a citizen, but the petitioner is. In the Green Card process, the beneficiary is a non-citizen. Immigrants who are waiting for a Green Card are already in this country legally on some other type of visa, so there is usually no rush to get one.

It's like they are saying "Well, its OK we can treat him worse cause he is a citizen"

"Immigrants who are in this country legally" without a greencard but have an expired visa (such as a K1 whose I94 has expired) are actually without status.

When my husband was at the window at the London consulate, the CO looked over at me and said 'make sure you file for his greencard as soon as you marry'. 10 days later when we entered the US, the CBP officer said the same thing.

Filing ASAP for your greencard as soon as possible isn't only something an immigrant needs to do - if they want to remain in this country legally, they have to do it.

You're not comparing apples to apples.

Sigh. Yes, some people do need Green Cards to stay in this country legally. Those should get higher priority. However, most people waiting for GCs

are already on some other work visa and can wait a few months for a GC. What I'm saying in the end is that we matter less to the processors than the immigrants do.

Aren't you filing a petition for an immigrant to come here?

[Chris Future 0]

If I had a dollar for every time I have read a "it's not fair, Vermont is so fast" post over the last 3 years, I'd be a rich rich woman!

And they've even reorganized it since then to make it a more equitable distribution of family-based petitions, IIRC. It is also cyclical. VSC slowed down earlier.

CSC hasn't recovered from the backlog yet (I believe they handle more AOS-related stuff than Vermont does, and it was a *huge* hit last August, and people who are here waiting for green cards took priority.)

Interesting. Green card processing does not keep families apart. Neither does AOS as far as i know. I know that employment visas, which keep people from taking a job here, are expedited. Why do marriage visas take the lowest priority, I wonder? Is marriage the #1 immigration fraud that it needs so much scrutiny. I'm starting to feel that the post that someone made once that they want it to take a long time on purpose so that the prospective emigrant will give up, only those that don't give up are real relationships. Cynical? I'll bet that factors into their processing times. I wonders if there is some historical precedent that fraudsters will give up after 6 months??

Oh my goodness.

First of all - greencards are not processed in the Service Centers. Visa petitions are. Greencards are processed in the District Offices.

Second of all - don't you think it's a really good idea that an immigrant receive the paperwork they need to prove they are legally authorized to be in this country?

Uh, my point is that citizens should get better, faster service than non-citizens. Yes, the beneficiary is not a citizen, but the petitioner is. In the Green Card process, the beneficiary is a non-citizen. Immigrants who are waiting for a Green Card are already in this country legally on some other type of visa, so there is usually no rush to get one.

It's like they are saying "Well, its OK we can treat him worse cause he is a citizen"

"Immigrants who are in this country legally" without a greencard but have an expired visa (such as a K1 whose I94 has expired) are actually without status.

When my husband was at the window at the London consulate, the CO looked over at me and said 'make sure you file for his greencard as soon as you marry'. 10 days later when we entered the US, the CBP officer said the same thing.

Filing ASAP for your greencard as soon as possible isn't only something an immigrant needs to do - if they want to remain in this country legally, they have to do it.

You're not comparing apples to apples.

Sigh. Yes, some people do need Green Cards to stay in this country legally. Those should get higher priority. However, most people waiting for GCs

are already on some other work visa and can wait a few months for a GC. What I'm saying in the end is that we matter less to the processors than the immigrants do.

Aren't you filing a petition for an immigrant to come here?

OK: With ALL other types of immigrant visas, the only people affected are non-citizens. With family visas, there must be at least one citizen who does the sponsoring. Therefore with family visas, the "customer" is a citizen and a non-citizen. With all other visas, the "customer" is a non-citizen. You would think that having a citizen as a "customer" makes a difference.

Either way, the only way we can change this for the better is find someone who matters and have them champion the cause. Will President Obama bring us what we need??

[mox 298]

Point of order: The scroll wheel on my mouse is starting to melt. Maybe we could trim replies before submitting? Pretty please?

[rebeccajo 14]

OK: With ALL other types of immigrant visas, the only people affected are non-citizens. With family visas, there must be at least one citizen who does the sponsoring. Therefore with family visas, the "customer" is a citizen and a non-citizen. With all other visas, the "customer" is a non-citizen. You would think that having a citizen as a "customer" makes a difference.

Either way, the only way we can change this for the better is find someone who matters and have them champion the cause. Will President Obama bring us what we need??

When my husband filed for his greencard, I, a USC was affected. I am his wife and I was his original USC petitioner.

At what point do you suggest the line be drawn so your case can get pushed ahead of others who aren't as entitled to service for a fee paid as you are?

[Chris Future 0]

OK: With ALL other types of immigrant visas, the only people affected are non-citizens. With family visas, there must be at least one citizen who does the sponsoring. Therefore with family visas, the "customer" is a citizen and a non-citizen. With all other visas, the "customer" is a non-citizen. You would think that having a citizen as a "customer" makes a difference.

Either way, the only way we can change this for the better is find someone who matters and have them champion the cause. Will President Obama bring us what we need??

When my husband filed for his greencard, I, a USC was affected. I am his wife and I was his original USC petitioner.

At what point do you suggest the line be drawn so your case can get pushed ahead of others who aren't as entitled to service for a fee paid as you are?

The line should be drawn at citizenship. In your case, its an expedited case as its a marriage GC to a citizen. Those GCs should take priority as a US citizen is affected. A non-citizen on an employment visa waiting for a Green Card should take a regular process. I'm not saying that a regular process should take 6 months. We shoudl be staffed to 30 days for "citizen" service and 60 days for "regular" service.

BTW: This weeks score so far: VSC: 6, CSC, 1

Nice, eh?

[rebeccajo 14]

OK: With ALL other types of immigrant visas, the only people affected are non-citizens. With family visas, there must be at least one citizen who does the sponsoring. Therefore with family visas, the "customer" is a citizen and a non-citizen. With all other visas, the "customer" is a non-citizen. You would think that having a citizen as a "customer" makes a difference.

Either way, the only way we can change this for the better is find someone who matters and have them champion the cause. Will President Obama bring us what we need??

When my husband filed for his greencard, I, a USC was affected. I am his wife and I was his original USC petitioner.

At what point do you suggest the line be drawn so your case can get pushed ahead of others who aren't as entitled to service for a fee paid as you are?

The line should be drawn at citizenship. In your case, its an expedited case as its a marriage GC to a citizen. Those GCs should take priority as a US citizen is affected. A non-citizen on an employment visa waiting for a Green Card should take a regular process. I'm not saying that a regular process should take 6 months. We shoudl be staffed to 30 days for "citizen" service and 60 days for "regular" service.

BTW: This weeks score so far: VSC: 6, CSC, 1

Nice, eh?

That just doesn't seem logical to me. Every greencard application involves an immigrant. All pay the same fee.

Persons who arrive as relatives of US citizens have already received preference. They did not have to wait for an immigrant visa number. Persons who apply for a greencard as the relative of a US citizen also receive special 'forgiveness' for behavior that other immigrants would be deported for - unauthorized work, visa overstays, etc.

It seems to me the law has already provided ample preference for USC's and their immigrant relatives.

Insofar as VSC speed and CSC sloth - that's just the way it is. It's always been that way and it's not likely to change. If you wish to promote controversy and create a 'divide' within the community, continue to wail away. It's no more a Vermont petitioner's 'fault' they get a fast approval (based on where they live) than it is your fault that your approval takes more time.

Thems just the breaks.

Edited March 5, 2008 by rebeccajo

[mox 298]

Think of the logistical nightmare involved in separating out citizen-GC's and non-citizen-GC's. Entire staff would have to be devoted for that task, taking them away from other tasks. Plus you'd be creating yet another layer of bureaucracy, which is exactly what USCIS does not need. Having worked either for *the* government, or other governments for the last 20 years, I can tell you that I've never seen a layer of bureaucracy that actually streamlined a process.

I have to agree with RJ in that a preference has been shown USC's. USC's are the only people allowed to file a fiance visa. That's a pretty huge preference if you stop to think about how many people in this country *cannot* bring a fiance(e) over from another country.

But I do agree that the disparity between service centers is bogus, and I can only hope that the situation is corrected. I'll admit to a small twinge of jealousy in seeing some petitioners being approved in just a few months while I had to wait close to 6 months at CSC. But that is change that will have to come from within. It's pretty clear that there's nothing we can do about it. Railing about it just creates personal unhappiness.