10 Months?? Seriously?

[Garu 0]

Bit[h and moan all you want but bottomline the best way to handle is to get all your paperwork ready to go when asked for and triple check it for accuracy so you won't get RFEs.

USCIS like any business screws up now and then and there's not much one can do except bit[h and moan.

As more peeps in the world become more and more involved with computers there will be more and more people using immigration.

USCIS processing times will no doubt slow down because of such. Consider yourselfs lucky you can still immigrate. It will no doubt be limited more in the near future.

They recently came close to not allowing naturalized USCs on bringing parents in. More restrictions are yet to come.

I agree with you.

USCIS is absolutely swamped. Someone posted some stats about how many applications were being processed and its in the millions. I know what it's like to work for goverment when you are swamped. You have people pulling you in all directions, then suddenly some policy changes so you have to change the way you work, then a week letter it changes again so you are back to square one. Sometimes you can't even advise someone as you know the policy will be changing soon.

I'm glad that USCIS, the government and such are so meticulous, they are ensuring that the country is safe and are protecting their citizens. They are also protecting their interests, which I can understand. I wish my country was more strict with the immigration process. I also notice some people talk about rights as US citizens etc etc (not necessarily in this thread) but they need to remember that immigration is a privilage not a right.

There is a section here in VJ with comments from one officer who used to work at the USCIS center. According to him it takes 15 MINUTES to adjudicate a petition. I can not justify waiting 10 months for a process that takes 15 minutes to complete. The files are not being "meticulously" reviewed and analyzed to protect and defend the Country. The files are simply piled up sitting in a room and get worked on randomly so these people have something to do and can keep collecting their paychecks.

If the government wanted to ensure the safety of the country and protect their citizens maybe they should be taking better care of those citizens that are following the law and jumping through endless hoops to meet their requirements instead of having open doors for anyone who wants to come into the Country illegaly and simply doesn't have to hasle with any of the problems mentioned in this forum.

And of all the petitions that are "swamping" the government, only a few involve families that are separated. People waiting for adjustment of status, citizenships, etc are ALREADY TOGETHER. They are waiting together. They are no longer apart. We are not even asking for someone to come to the U.S. so we "can get to know them better" and marry them here. We made the committment and got married under difficult circumstances and have formed a family and simply want to start our lives with our family. Why is that so difficult to understand?

I have no respect for a government that keeps families apart and specially for a government that lies to its people. The USCIS website shows the current date they are supposed to be working on but we all know that is not true. We all know that they do not work in any order. They do not work on a a first in, first out basis as they themselves state numerous times they do. This is unfair and unjust. It was supposed to be "a government of the people by the people for the people" This is no longer the case.

Edited September 19, 2008 by Garu

[A_I_S 0]

Well, THEY live with themselves just fine. We, on the other hand, have to take it one day at a time.

And regarding the USCIS being swamped...Actually MSNBC posted an article saying that ever since the increase in petition fee the number of applications dropped. So after 14 months USCIS can not keep reusing the same "we're swamped with everything" excuse, but yet they still do.

[Salaciouslady 0]

If you come illigally you get approved faster then actualy doing it the right way.

I filed Sep. 2007 and nothig yet. There just lazy and all depends whos hands it falls into.

[WonTanNara 0]

I think that table on the USCIS website is, as somebody else said, a CYA worst case scenario thing. When I filed my K1 petition for my fiance in January of this year, the table said they were processing K1 petitions received in July of 2007, ie a six month wait time. My petition was approved in six weeks. I have a friend who filed for a K1 in January of '06. They were saying six months at that time too and her petition was approved in three. While I was waiting, I watched the dates on the tables change from month to month and there was no variation. I think they just have a script that they run that automatically bumps up each date by a month.

Bigangrytexan, I noticed on your signature something along the lines of "Let the nightmare begin." Your sign-in name clearly states you're angry. I've said this before but I'll say it again, the power of positive thinking is amazing. If all of your energy is negative and angry then this wait will be much more painful for you. You cannot do anything to speed this up, you can only change your outlook. Try to think about the things you are thankful for.

I know this is so much more easily said than done. I've been waiting 8 months so far, we've been on AP for security clearance for 5 months and they won't tell us how much longer it will take. I cry a lot and I know my fiance is sad too, but every night we talk about something that is good.

Change your signature to say something good, change your angry sign-in name, and put some positive energy into the air. It will come back to you. Just think, there are people in the world who never find true love or worse are 'trapped' in unhappy marriages... be happy you've found love. Have faith, this will all unfold as it is meant to be.

[gogo 6]

I have been thinking too.. maybe coming here illegally and doing the adjustment of status (and paying the extra fine) might be worth it..

[Ahmed N Tina 2]

There is a section here in VJ with comments from one officer who used to work at the USCIS center. According to him it takes 15 MINUTES to adjudicate a petition. I can not justify waiting 10 months for a process that takes 15 minutes to complete. The files are not being "meticulously" reviewed and analyzed to protect and defend the Country. The files are simply piled up sitting in a room and get worked on randomly so these people have something to do and can keep collecting their paychecks.

If the government wanted to ensure the safety of the country and protect their citizens maybe they should be taking better care of those citizens that are following the law and jumping through endless hoops to meet their requirements instead of having open doors for anyone who wants to come into the Country illegaly and simply doesn't have to hasle with any of the problems mentioned in this forum.

And of all the petitions that are "swamping" the government, only a few involve families that are separated. People waiting for adjustment of status, citizenships, etc are ALREADY TOGETHER. They are waiting together. They are no longer apart. We are not even asking for someone to come to the U.S. so we "can get to know them better" and marry them here. We made the committment and got married under difficult circumstances and have formed a family and simply want to start our lives with our family. Why is that so difficult to understand?

I have no respect for a government that keeps families apart and specially for a government that lies to its people. The USCIS website shows the current date they are supposed to be working on but we all know that is not true. We all know that they do not work in any order. They do not work on a a first in, first out basis as they themselves state numerous times they do. This is unfair and unjust. It was supposed to be "a government of the people by the people for the people" This is no longer the case.

Agreed! Be thankful you didn't have to go through a MENA Embassy. (note my timeline)

You will be mad, happy, confused, frustrated, angry as He** and wanting badly to yell at someone in the process. Believe me, it does no good. We have used our time getting to know each other better and when one is down, the other is up. We try to focus on the positive, even though it's hard after 2 years and 3 months of waiting. But the end result is worth it.

Good luck! It will all be a distant memory soon.

[armorri122 1]

I know the whole "be patient" card really sucks right now, but it was almost ten nine months ago that I was saying the same thing, and now we're almost done. It will have been eleven months before my husband has his visa in his hand. Another thing to keep in mind is that the USCIS offices are always improving their times. It might not end up being that long after all.

I couldn't agree more that it is corrupt and unfair. They obviously haven't done enough to address the situation. There were twice the number of visas filed in July 2007 as the previous year, almost 1.3 million extra applications. In order to tackle the void, they only hired 1,500 new employees. It's USCIS isn't that concerned with actually address legal immigration. It's no wonder so many people try to hop the border.

[S and S 12]

I was part of the group that didn't get their NOA1 for many months. I filed in September of last year and didn't get the NOA1 until January. I live each day knowing if my husband is sent back to Iraq then he will be killed for marrying me. We have no idea when this process will finish because background checks are very lengthy. For now I can't even visit him easily. It is a tough wait and I don't wish it on anyone. Look at the bright side, you will probably still finish before me and I've been waiting over a year (I was married in May of 2007).