Lets collect some information about IMBRA effects

[Cigarovich 1]

Honestly, I doubt USCIS would do that after stating they will expedite the recalled petitions, I think the reason people that aren´t recalled ones got RFE e-mails first is ´cus we must remember there are many people working on these files, and maybe someone started faster, that´s why the RFEs aren´t coming in an especific order. At this point when they used the word immediatly I trully believe they´ll work faster.

I think this upcoming week we´ll hear good news to the recalled petitioners and to the rest of us as well, there will be RFEs rolling out.

L&L I guess I missed it. Could you remind and link me to where USCIS made that statement. And while we're at it does anyone still have the link to the original statement of the recall (the one where they state the petitions were approved in error) from a few weeks back. I'd rather not wade through 90 pages to find it

[rlt 0]

Honestly, I doubt USCIS would do that after stating they will expedite the recalled petitions, I think the reason people that aren´t recalled ones got RFE e-mails first is ´cus we must remember there are many people working on these files, and maybe someone started faster, that´s why the RFEs aren´t coming in an especific order. At this point when they used the word immediatly I trully believe they´ll work faster.

I think this upcoming week we´ll hear good news to the recalled petitioners and to the rest of us as well, there will be RFEs rolling out.

L&L I guess I missed it. Could you remind and link me to where USCIS made that statement. And while we're at it does anyone still have the link to the original statement of the recall (the one where they state the petitions were approved in error) from a few weeks back. I'd rather not wade through 90 pages to find it

The link is here: http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegram...grams_2927.html

And as Mike said, I would be feeling better if I had just filed the new I129F now than applied in March and being in my situation.

I think there´s a good chance we´ll wait as much as anyone applying now will.

[top-gorilla 0]

somone wrote (sorry, accidentally deleted the part that stated who, and don't care to start over)

Someone stated this earlier - it's not just that you want to marry someone, but you want to bring them into the U.S., and that is an immigration issue, and to a larger extent, a social issue. If requiring you to disclose how you met your fiancee is social engineering then so is any rule or regulation established in deciding what immigrants we let into our country. Secondly, Mail-Order Bride services do in fact exist and anyone who doesn't believe that is simply in denial. The law hasn't made that illegal since it is difficult to clearly define just how much a marriage broker is marketing foreign women to American men. It's just requiring petitioners to state whether they used one or not. How is that harmful to anyone who sincerely wants to marry someone out of love?

So then I write the following...

well, let's see, it has now cost about 10,000 couples about 3 months, which according to my math equals about 5,000 years of human lives. How many years of human lives have been improved with this thing do you figure?

By the way, on the so called "mail order bride" issue, I am assuming you all have read the fine print on this. For reasons that are unclear (to me anyway) certain internet meeting sites are exempt, while ones that charge men but not women are not. The non exempt ones have such a burden put on them, some of them have quit serving Americans. Others have quit doing business. For a resourceful person, he can merely look around and find different venues to conduct his search. In my case, I used a site that would not be exempt at this point. That site does not follow the dictates now, and so I would have had to find someone else. While their are lots of wonderful Vietnamese ladies out there, I wonder who I would have found otherwise? Seems to me that the system should not have that much power, to force a change in the person I will spend the rest of my life with.

On the name "mail order bride", I think that this is a holdover from the 1800s when a man could actually have a woman sent over having never met her. Of course, disparites in wealth and living conditions, (as well as potential for future well being) between the American men and the foreign women was always a big factor in this equation, and often still is. See the great movie "Picture Bride" to learn more about this. Or better still, study the subject in general, the more you learn about the subject, the better a partner you will be for your foreign spouse. With the requirement of meeting your intended spouse, as well as the visa process, there is no way these people should be considered "mail order", and I think the term itself lends sleaziness to the whole subject, which is a big part of the problem we are faced with. Hence, this new requlation, as well as the negative attitude projected by so many normal Americans when judging our "mail order" marriages.

[Ladylethal 12]

Cigarovich, I am betting on it, on USCIS expediting cases, but to play safe, everyone recalled should make a request for expedite processing when returning the RFE, under USCIS error motive.

I can´t find who said USCIS said they´d be expediting cases.

[rlt 0]

Cigarovich, I am betting on it, on USCIS expediting cases, but to play safe, everyone recalled should make a request for expedite processing when returning the RFE, under USCIS error motive.

I can´t find who said USCIS said they´d be expediting cases.

Well, I don´t know about you guys, but as one of the recalled cases, I´m not worried about the process after submiting the RFE.

Is waiting for it that makes the waiting unfair.

I´m sure after we send the RFE it will be pretty fast until it gets to the Embassy abroad.

But it could take us a long time to get the RFE.

I wonder if we could ask for an expedition now, before we get the RFE.

[elizaxyz 0]

Cigarovich, I am betting on it, on USCIS expediting cases, but to play safe, everyone recalled should make a request for expedite processing when returning the RFE, under USCIS error motive.

I can´t find who said USCIS said they´d be expediting cases.

Well, I don´t know about you guys, but as one of the recalled cases, I´m not worried about the process after submiting the RFE.

Is waiting for it that makes the waiting unfair.

I´m sure after we send the RFE it will be pretty fast until it gets to the Embassy abroad.

But it could take us a long time to get the RFE.

I wonder if we could ask for an expedition now, before we get the RFE.

I don't think it would be useful at this point, tbh. The case will only be considered lost sixty days after the Consulate sent it back, and I doubt the incorrect approvals will qualify us for expedited handling, since the situation is technically being formally addressed. I'm sure the request would be denied.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

somone wrote (sorry, accidentally deleted the part that stated who, and don't care to start over)

Someone stated this earlier - it's not just that you want to marry someone, but you want to bring them into the U.S., and that is an immigration issue, and to a larger extent, a social issue. If requiring you to disclose how you met your fiancee is social engineering then so is any rule or regulation established in deciding what immigrants we let into our country. Secondly, Mail-Order Bride services do in fact exist and anyone who doesn't believe that is simply in denial. The law hasn't made that illegal since it is difficult to clearly define just how much a marriage broker is marketing foreign women to American men. It's just requiring petitioners to state whether they used one or not. How is that harmful to anyone who sincerely wants to marry someone out of love?

So then I write the following...

well, let's see, it has now cost about 10,000 couples about 3 months, which according to my math equals about 5,000 years of human lives. How many years of human lives have been improved with this thing do you figure?

By the way, on the so called "mail order bride" issue, I am assuming you all have read the fine print on this. For reasons that are unclear (to me anyway) certain internet meeting sites are exempt, while ones that charge men but not women are not. The non exempt ones have such a burden put on them, some of them have quit serving Americans. Others have quit doing business. For a resourceful person, he can merely look around and find different venues to conduct his search. In my case, I used a site that would not be exempt at this point. That site does not follow the dictates now, and so I would have had to find someone else. While their are lots of wonderful Vietnamese ladies out there, I wonder who I would have found otherwise? Seems to me that the system should not have that much power, to force a change in the person I will spend the rest of my life with.

On the name "mail order bride", I think that this is a holdover from the 1800s when a man could actually have a woman sent over having never met her. Of course, disparites in wealth and living conditions, (as well as potential for future well being) between the American men and the foreign women was always a big factor in this equation, and often still is. See the great movie "Picture Bride" to learn more about this. Or better still, study the subject in general, the more you learn about the subject, the better a partner you will be for your foreign spouse. With the requirement of meeting your intended spouse, as well as the visa process, there is no way these people should be considered "mail order", and I think the term itself lends sleaziness to the whole subject, which is a big part of the problem we are faced with. Hence, this new requlation, as well as the negative attitude projected by so many normal Americans when judging our "mail order" marriages.

As someone said earlier, you are a great writer!

As far as time lost, I suppose you could make that argument against the long lines at the DMV (Dept. of Motor Vehicles) as well...hehehe. ...or traffic congestion.

I appreciate your distaste for the term 'Mail-Order Bride' and I've had to fight some stereotypes with my own family when I told them I was dating a woman long distance from a Third World country. However, that doesn't dismiss the reality that there are many unscrupulous agencies out there who are profiteering on the notion that an American man can simply 'buy' his spouse. They even state such things as saying that these women are submissive, obediant, non-complaining, etc.

Not every site that connects foreign women to American men are necessarily sinister or evil. But let's not be ignorant about the possibility of woman being coerced or forced into such services. The sex trade exists and is a huge problem among Third World countries. Because these agencies are international and not under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal courts, we are unable to stop them from using unscrupulous practices.

I think the new IMBRA law will in fact be a positive effect in putting pressure on dating agencies to use ethical standards when American men who are serious about marrying someone for love will be more careful as to which agency they use. That's something that has long been needed.

Edited June 18, 2006 by StevenJinky

[zethris 0]

somone wrote (sorry, accidentally deleted the part that stated who, and don't care to start over)

Someone stated this earlier - it's not just that you want to marry someone, but you want to bring them into the U.S., and that is an immigration issue, and to a larger extent, a social issue. If requiring you to disclose how you met your fiancee is social engineering then so is any rule or regulation established in deciding what immigrants we let into our country. Secondly, Mail-Order Bride services do in fact exist and anyone who doesn't believe that is simply in denial. The law hasn't made that illegal since it is difficult to clearly define just how much a marriage broker is marketing foreign women to American men. It's just requiring petitioners to state whether they used one or not. How is that harmful to anyone who sincerely wants to marry someone out of love?

So then I write the following...

well, let's see, it has now cost about 10,000 couples about 3 months, which according to my math equals about 5,000 years of human lives. How many years of human lives have been improved with this thing do you figure?

By the way, on the so called "mail order bride" issue, I am assuming you all have read the fine print on this. For reasons that are unclear (to me anyway) certain internet meeting sites are exempt, while ones that charge men but not women are not. The non exempt ones have such a burden put on them, some of them have quit serving Americans. Others have quit doing business. For a resourceful person, he can merely look around and find different venues to conduct his search. In my case, I used a site that would not be exempt at this point. That site does not follow the dictates now, and so I would have had to find someone else. While their are lots of wonderful Vietnamese ladies out there, I wonder who I would have found otherwise? Seems to me that the system should not have that much power, to force a change in the person I will spend the rest of my life with.

On the name "mail order bride", I think that this is a holdover from the 1800s when a man could actually have a woman sent over having never met her. Of course, disparites in wealth and living conditions, (as well as potential for future well being) between the American men and the foreign women was always a big factor in this equation, and often still is. See the great movie "Picture Bride" to learn more about this. Or better still, study the subject in general, the more you learn about the subject, the better a partner you will be for your foreign spouse. With the requirement of meeting your intended spouse, as well as the visa process, there is no way these people should be considered "mail order", and I think the term itself lends sleaziness to the whole subject, which is a big part of the problem we are faced with. Hence, this new requlation, as well as the negative attitude projected by so many normal Americans when judging our "mail order" marriages.

I remember when even meeting online for people localy was completely taboo. Now with social meet websites out there, and social online gaming, it's not so taboo. Old traditions die hard though. You marry a spouse from a foreign country, especially asia or russia, and that must immediatly mean he/she is a mail order spouse.

Cigarovich, I am betting on it, on USCIS expediting cases, but to play safe, everyone recalled should make a request for expedite processing when returning the RFE, under USCIS error motive.

I can´t find who said USCIS said they´d be expediting cases.

Well, I don´t know about you guys, but as one of the recalled cases, I´m not worried about the process after submiting the RFE.

Is waiting for it that makes the waiting unfair.

I´m sure after we send the RFE it will be pretty fast until it gets to the Embassy abroad.

But it could take us a long time to get the RFE.

I wonder if we could ask for an expedition now, before we get the RFE.

Honestly I think it is the waiting part that we will have to endure that will make it seem like we haven't even began applying yet for a visa. For many of us, we were just waitng for the appointment to be scheduled. So most of the actuall work is done. Once the RFE is recieved and sent it, it's just a matter of waiting for it to be processed and then it gets put in the que at the end of the line for appointment scheduling at the embassy.

Cigarovich, I am betting on it, on USCIS expediting cases, but to play safe, everyone recalled should make a request for expedite processing when returning the RFE, under USCIS error motive.

I can´t find who said USCIS said they´d be expediting cases.

Well, I don´t know about you guys, but as one of the recalled cases, I´m not worried about the process after submiting the RFE.

Is waiting for it that makes the waiting unfair.

I´m sure after we send the RFE it will be pretty fast until it gets to the Embassy abroad.

But it could take us a long time to get the RFE.

I wonder if we could ask for an expedition now, before we get the RFE.

I don't think it would be useful at this point, tbh. The case will only be considered lost sixty days after the Consulate sent it back, and I doubt the incorrect approvals will qualify us for expedited handling, since the situation is technically being formally addressed. I'm sure the request would be denied.

yep, thats how i think they would get out of honoring expidite requets due to USCIS error too.

[zethris 0]

somone wrote (sorry, accidentally deleted the part that stated who, and don't care to start over)

Someone stated this earlier - it's not just that you want to marry someone, but you want to bring them into the U.S., and that is an immigration issue, and to a larger extent, a social issue. If requiring you to disclose how you met your fiancee is social engineering then so is any rule or regulation established in deciding what immigrants we let into our country. Secondly, Mail-Order Bride services do in fact exist and anyone who doesn't believe that is simply in denial. The law hasn't made that illegal since it is difficult to clearly define just how much a marriage broker is marketing foreign women to American men. It's just requiring petitioners to state whether they used one or not. How is that harmful to anyone who sincerely wants to marry someone out of love?

So then I write the following...

well, let's see, it has now cost about 10,000 couples about 3 months, which according to my math equals about 5,000 years of human lives. How many years of human lives have been improved with this thing do you figure?

By the way, on the so called "mail order bride" issue, I am assuming you all have read the fine print on this. For reasons that are unclear (to me anyway) certain internet meeting sites are exempt, while ones that charge men but not women are not. The non exempt ones have such a burden put on them, some of them have quit serving Americans. Others have quit doing business. For a resourceful person, he can merely look around and find different venues to conduct his search. In my case, I used a site that would not be exempt at this point. That site does not follow the dictates now, and so I would have had to find someone else. While their are lots of wonderful Vietnamese ladies out there, I wonder who I would have found otherwise? Seems to me that the system should not have that much power, to force a change in the person I will spend the rest of my life with.

On the name "mail order bride", I think that this is a holdover from the 1800s when a man could actually have a woman sent over having never met her. Of course, disparites in wealth and living conditions, (as well as potential for future well being) between the American men and the foreign women was always a big factor in this equation, and often still is. See the great movie "Picture Bride" to learn more about this. Or better still, study the subject in general, the more you learn about the subject, the better a partner you will be for your foreign spouse. With the requirement of meeting your intended spouse, as well as the visa process, there is no way these people should be considered "mail order", and I think the term itself lends sleaziness to the whole subject, which is a big part of the problem we are faced with. Hence, this new requlation, as well as the negative attitude projected by so many normal Americans when judging our "mail order" marriages.

As someone said earlier, you are a great writer!

As far as time lost, I suppose you could make that argument against the long lines at the DMV (Dept. of Motor Vehicles) as well...hehehe. ...or traffic congestion.

I appreciate your distaste for the term 'Mail-Order Bride' and I've had to fight some stereotypes with my own family when I told them I was dating a woman long distance from a Third World country. However, that doesn't dismiss the reality that there are many unscrupulous agencies out there who are profiteering on the notion that an American man can simply 'buy' his spouse. They even state such things as saying that these women are submissive, obediant, non-complaining, etc.

Not every site that connects foreign women to American men are necessarily sinister or evil. But let's not be ignorant about the possibility of woman being coerced or forced into such services. The sex trade exists and is a huge problem among Third World countries. Because these agencies are international and not under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal courts, we are unable to stop them from using unscrupulous practices.

I think the new IMBRA law will in fact be a positive effect in putting pressure on dating agencies to use ethical standards when American men who are serious about marrying someone for love will be more careful as to which agency they use. That's something that has long been needed.

Yeah it's deplorable with how badly discriminatory the label "Mail-Order Bride" is and the thoughts it brings to someone and about the person you love. Luckily, my immediate family was just happy I found someone finally. So they have been pretty supportive. Even with the initial suspisions due to "what they hear on the news" etc.

And lol @ Philippina's being submissive, obediant, non-complaining. hee hee! My fiance is all about the 'tell it like it is' "you either fix that, or i'll get the hammer and do it myself" type. I LOVE IT! I know what you mean though. These agencies should be shut down faster than the RIAA can send a 12 year old to jail. They profiteer on that notion fairly easily, unfortunatly, because of the many DOM's out there (Dirty Old Men) who want to have a fantasy life wife much younger than them that they think they can control. I can't tell you how many God realatives my fiance has here who have had to leave their abusive older husbands. Lets just say more than 15.

yes indeed, and a great detriment to the phil's is the sex trade there. That is also a great detriment to us because of all the extra steps we have to take to prevent sham weddings due to the abuse thats going on there, and in many other parts of the world.

I support the good parts of IMBRA and what it can do. But the only reason why it wouldn't pass on it's own is because of the bad parts in it that are not fair. The writer refused to change it, and instead hid it in another law. Then once they realized it passed (two months after the deadline) (ok an exaggeration) anyways, once that happened the way they are implementing it is what I have a major issue with. It is sickoning quite frankly.

Edited June 18, 2006 by zethris

[Lewis 0]

Has anybody really tried sending in an expedite request yet?

[zethris 0]

Has anybody really tried sending in an expedite request yet?

I doubt it yet due to the fact that we haven't gotten our RFE's yet to send in. But they don't really like to do expedite ever, if at all possible. Many have tried for other things seemingly valid, but still get denied while others get approved.

[Cigarovich 1]

thanks for the link rlt. I will definitely be using it in my Expedite Request. And I will definitely post if it is approved or not.

[Neya 0]

Question for you all....

I sent a letter to both of my Senators regarding this whole situation May25th. On Friday I got a letter from Senator #1 who contacted USCIS. The OMB pulled my application and told the senator my application was submitted on the 19th of May(actually it was the 2nd of May). The letter then went on to state about the new form that is coming and the pending RFE's etc. Then on Friday I got a call from Senator #2 asking if there was anything they could do to help.

Here is my question. In contacting them I did not ask for help with my application specifically. I just asked if they could get some answers for me. I did not include my case number but yet USCIS looked at my case and gave Senator #1 my (wrong) petition date. I'm hoping I haven't sh*t canned myself in contacting the senators. Is this possible? I'm concerned about "additional security checks or name hits" or whatever it is called.

Next, I am to call Senator#2 back on Monday with any additional concerns. If I have screwed myself

should I go for the full Monty and have Senator#2 contact USCIS/OMB. I'm inclined to have #2 not make any inquires on my behave at this time until I need them later.

What do you guys think?

[top-gorilla 0]

I appreciate your distaste for the term 'Mail-Order Bride' and I've had to fight some stereotypes with my own family when I told them I was dating a woman long distance from a Third World country. However, that doesn't dismiss the reality that there are many unscrupulous agencies out there who are profiteering on the notion that an American man can simply 'buy' his spouse. They even state such things as saying that these women are submissive, obediant, non-complaining, etc.

these comments you make here, and the ads you quote, show a delightful innocence about the subject. Honestly, the economic component is a big factor to these women. As grandma quoted her mother "it is just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor man". If you don't think that these women from the third world factor this in, you may want to study this some more. These standard comments advertised, while you may find distasteful, are somewhat true. When they say this, they are saying, "as opposed to a domineering, filandering, complaining American woman", which you would perhaps find even more distasteful. But if you don't think these concepts are an issue, you should talk frankly with men who have actually done this. Men on this site don't want to speak of it for fear of setting off the ladies who also use this site.

Not every site that connects foreign women to American men are necessarily sinister or evil. But let's not be ignorant about the possibility of woman being coerced or forced into such services. The sex trade exists and is a huge problem among Third World countries. Because these agencies are international and not under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Federal courts, we are unable to stop them from using unscrupulous practices.

I think the new IMBRA law will in fact be a positive effect in putting pressure on dating agencies to use ethical standards when American men who are serious about marrying someone for love will be more careful as to which agency they use. That's something that has long been needed.

Well, I think you are a nice, optimistic person who is looking at the bright side of this whole thing. I wonder what your attitude will be after you have gone thru the process? A bit more jaded, I suspect. I gotta tell you, the differences between the girls you will find on an "exempt" site versus a "non exempt" site are not much. Certainly it is not the difference between a sex slave and an educated, independent woman. Actually, in my studies, having done my own searches as well as free and paid searches for friends and associates, and having studied the entire subject for over 20 years, I have found that the ladies who are on the "non exempt" sites are generally more serious about seeking marriage. The government exempting some venues and not exempting others has no good effect, other than making a search more difficult. The ethics of the agencies is really neither here nor there, it is the lady you contact that really matters. A for profit enterprise attempts to maximize profits, not ethics. It is true there are sites in former communist nations that are generally scams all the way around, including the people you are corresponding with. To mix the notions about these (or any) sites with the sex trade is missing the point, the sex trade is not at all about marriage to an American using a paid or unpaid site, and it was ridiculous for the government to think they were going to have a beneficial impact on that with this legislation. As a matter of fact, they could have an opposite effect, driving people to use illegal means to bring a woman in out of frustration with the system, which in turn could increase the demand and the supply of this type of thing.

In my wife's country, Vietnam, the girls are very motivated to marry an American. They are smart, motivated ladies with good morals, and make excellent wives, coming from their difficult circumstances, which seem to only have made them better. As we make it more difficult for them to marry an American, another choice they have to fall back on is the Taiwanese, who they can much more easily marry and move to their country with minimal effort. These men have a terrible reputation in Vietnam for being abusive. Yet it is a chance many of them take, as a gamble to improve their lives. So in Vietnam at least, the net effect will be a negative towards women, it will allow less of them to come here to their first choice, to someone like myself who treats my wife like the very special woman she is, and into marriage with a Taiwanese, or mainland Chinese, who is generally a lot more abusive (generally speaking that is, you asians can whine about this if you like, message me for documentary evidence if you want to quibble on this).

I am done with my deal, I hope to be with my wife the rest of my life. I have no axe to grind with you folks trying to do this, indeed, you have my support and deep sympathies. It is much harder than it should be, and they are making it harder. I know a vn girl who married a Frenchman, it took her a matter of weeks to get her visa, not months, or years. You folks who think that this law is an attempt to help these people in other countries, well, maybe you are right. But I can tell you this, the average American, especially a woman, does not like it that an American man can have an almost perfect woman from another country. She finds it distasteful for a lot of reasons. In my opinion, (again, based on over 20 years of serious study of this entire subject) this is the real reason for these new regulations. Any beneficial effect this law is having is so small that it is of laughable consequence, and it is very likely that the unintended bad effects will far outweigh any benefits.

[Lewis 0]

Question for you all....

I sent a letter to both of my Senators regarding this whole situation May25th. On Friday I got a letter from Senator #1 who contacted USCIS. The OMB pulled my application and told the senator my application was submitted on the 19th of May(actually it was the 2nd of May). The letter then went on to state about the new form that is coming and the pending RFE's etc. Then on Friday I got a call from Senator #2 asking if there was anything they could do to help.

Here is my question. In contacting them I did not ask for help with my application specifically. I just asked if they could get some answers for me. I did not include my case number but yet USCIS looked at my case and gave Senator #1 my (wrong) petition date. I'm hoping I haven't sh*t canned myself in contacting the senators. Is this possible? I'm concerned about "additional security checks or name hits" or whatever it is called.

Next, I am to call Senator#2 back on Monday with any additional concerns. If I have screwed myself

should I go for the full Monty and have Senator#2 contact USCIS/OMB. I'm inclined to have #2 not make any inquires on my behave at this time until I need them later.

What do you guys think?

Go for it! This is encouraging, I'm sending one of my senators a letter tommorow and contacting one of my representatives. I'm also sending an expeditie request tommorow. All I know is we are not getting any answers from the agencies that are supposed to serve us as American citizens.