February 09 - VSC

[lee b 2]

Richard I could send you a copy of my NOA2. It would show their dates are completely inacurate. If it'll help I'd be happy to send it.

[Richard-Joanna 1]

Richard I could send you a copy of my NOA2. It would show their dates are completely inacurate. If it'll help I'd be happy to send it.

Thanks Lee... I don't think anything will help really, but thank you. The system is just broken and until it is fixed they are free to respond to things like my inquiry with a form letter saying nothing.

I had to chuckle when I saw that someone started a thread "I am outraged" and in 2 or 3 days had 130 replies... I admit, I didnt read many of the posts... just a small sample... because mainly... everyone is just like us... frustrated, angry, confused etc....

I really do not expect to achieve anything from my letter, Lee. It just was an outlet to vent (which felt good) at least until I get a reply that says more gobbledygook.

[lee b 2]

Richard I could send you a copy of my NOA2. It would show their dates are completely inacurate. If it'll help I'd be happy to send it.

Thanks Lee... I don't think anything will help really, but thank you. The system is just broken and until it is fixed they are free to respond to things like my inquiry with a form letter saying nothing.

I had to chuckle when I saw that someone started a thread "I am outraged" and in 2 or 3 days had 130 replies... I admit, I didnt read many of the posts... just a small sample... because mainly... everyone is just like us... frustrated, angry, confused etc....

I really do not expect to achieve anything from my letter, Lee. It just was an outlet to vent (which felt good) at least until I get a reply that says more gobbledygook.

I completely understand the feeling Richard. I am however going to annoy, harrass and pester my elected officials to the point that they will speed me out of AP just because they are tired of my daily phone calls. I am going to wait until the 30 day mark just so I don't seem to pushy. I am however going to be the thorn in their side until it is resolved.

I saw that thread as well and it is funny and yet sad. It made me angry that everyone is just willing to lie down and accept the pantsing that the government gives us. I am guilty of it too and that is what makes most angry about it all.

[Richard-Joanna 1]

Well... I just booked a tee time for Saturday... so I have that going for me, which is good

[biggestchallenge 0]

nothing!!!!!!!!! reaching 5mo mark

[lee b 2]

Well... I just booked a tee time for Saturday... so I have that going for me, which is good

Be the ball Richard, be the ball. nananananaaa

[Richard-Joanna 1]

Well... I just booked a tee time for Saturday... so I have that going for me, which is good

Be the ball Richard, be the ball. nananananaaa

I was hoping you of all people would get that one!!! good job Lee!!!

[lee b 2]

Well... I just booked a tee time for Saturday... so I have that going for me, which is good

Be the ball Richard, be the ball. nananananaaa

I was hoping you of all people would get that one!!! good job Lee!!!

You set me up like that and I don't want to disappoint you.

[SAVM 0]

nothing!!!!!!!!! reaching 5mo mark

Oh yes, I think they're done for the rest of the year. I'm seeing no real progress going on anymore. Time to settle in until reaching the estimated processing time. Great system.

[D_n_M 0]

Hey Everyone! Sorry I've been MIA I am busy as hell these days. After reading about people that have been waiting for approvals from August through December I can't help but to think that some may be already approved and don't know it. I have still not received any hardcopy from USCIS or NVC. If I had not called I would be wondering why I am not approved. However my SO did receive papers from the Embassy so there are clues out there.

Hang in there Lee... The AP thing sucks but I don't think it will be much longer.

Hope everyone is doing well... keep spirits up and all will work out.

[Michele R 0]

Richard I could send you a copy of my NOA2. It would show their dates are completely inacurate. If it'll help I'd be happy to send it.

Thanks Lee... I don't think anything will help really, but thank you. The system is just broken and until it is fixed they are free to respond to things like my inquiry with a form letter saying nothing.

I had to chuckle when I saw that someone started a thread "I am outraged" and in 2 or 3 days had 130 replies... I admit, I didnt read many of the posts... just a small sample... because mainly... everyone is just like us... frustrated, angry, confused etc....

I really do not expect to achieve anything from my letter, Lee. It just was an outlet to vent (which felt good) at least until I get a reply that says more gobbledygook.

I am starting my efforts by working within the system - posting it for others who are interested in taking action to use. I posted this on the "I'm Outraged Thread", and also in the March 2009 VSC thread. I watch your groups to see if and how things are progressing. We used to have an Ombudsman at the office I worked at in the fed. government - if she got enough complaints things did actually shake loose.

The Letter I Sumitted to the USCIS Ombudsman today:

To Whom It May Concern:

In April of this year I applied for a K1 visa for my finance. Because I am a resident of Virginia I was required to submit my application to the USCIS center in Vermont. Since I have applied for this visa, the processing times at the VSC have slowed dramatically (to over 180 days).

When I contacted the USCIS today, they said that the VSC was processing applications from December 30, 2008 and that my application would not be reviewed until October 22 of this year in the best-case scenario (more than 180 days after I submitted my application). Meanwhile, residents of states that feed into the USCIS servicing center in California are being processed within 66 to 100 days.

I find this inequity unacceptable, given that all applicants pay the same application fee. After having researched this issue, I do not think that it is caused by a difference in the efficiency of VSC employees versus CSC employees, but more likely by a misallocation of workloads vis a vis resources by either the USCIS or its subcontractor Northrop Grumman. Furthermore, I do not understand why processing times are increasing while the volume of applications is decreasing (as your office itself noted in its June 2009 report to Congress).

Unless steps are taken to remedy this inequity immediately, which is unlikely given my conversation with USCIS today, I will be forced to cancel my wedding in November of this year. My parents will incur significant financial losses, as well as my family and friends who have already purchased tickets to attend the ceremony and reception. As I am sure you are aware, these misfortunes pale in comparison to some other people standing in line at the VSC under far worse circumstances, while May and June filers begin to be approved at the CSC.

I realize that my application is currently within the USCIS' “normal” processing time. Nonetheless, today when I called for the first time I was told that my application will be adjudicated around October 22, more than 180 days after my submission. Further, it is not "normal" for residents of one state, like Virginia, to arbitrarily receive such significantly inferior service from the USCIS than residents of California or Oregon. Why isn't the I-129F workload distributed more evenly among these centers and why can't files be sent from one center to another when one center falls significantly behind another?

It is infuriating to see large numbers of people who filed their petitions in May and June being approved by the CSC before all of us who filed our applications in January, February, March, and April at the VSC. While I know that the memebership of the primary tracking site for I129F petitions (VisaJourney) does not comprise the entire pool of I129F applicants, its membership pool does represent a statistically valid number of applicants and it is therefore possible to ascertain broad trends in visa processing extracted from its data. On top of this, USCIS' own bulletins display the existing inequity, albeit on a more publicly digestible magnitude.

Ironically, my fiancé is more peaceful about this issue, noting that the USCIS seems to me no more equitable or effective than its counterpart agency in his largely corrupt country of the former Soviet Union. In fact he advised me to not to send this letter, for fear of the type of retribution one would encounter in his country for voicing concerns about a what seems to be a systemic problem that no one has an interest in or incentive to correct.

As a patriot and former federal government employee, however, I assured my fiancé that things were different in America. I sincerely hope that your office will propose and implement a long term solution to this problem, rather than simply add my letter as a tally mark on a count of "Top Ten Complaints in the Ombudsman E-Mail Box" for inclusion in an annual propaganda piece, like they would in the former Soviet Union. It is hard enough to wait six months plus for adjudication. Adding the knowledge that people in different states are waiting half the time you are for no apparent good reason is like adding salt to an open wound. I hope that future customers do not have to suffer from an inequality that does not seem too complex to solve.

[Richard-Joanna 1]

Hey Everyone! Sorry I've been MIA I am busy as hell these days. After reading about people that have been waiting for approvals from August through December I can't help but to think that some may be already approved and don't know it. I have still not received any hardcopy from USCIS or NVC. If I had not called I would be wondering why I am not approved. However my SO did receive papers from the Embassy so there are clues out there.

Hang in there Lee... The AP thing sucks but I don't think it will be much longer.

Hope everyone is doing well... keep spirits up and all will work out.

Derek, good to hear from you... i miss you!

[Rich and Bey 1]

Wow that was a very impressive letter.. i wonder how they can say they are working on december 2008 when people from february are getting approved..

[Rich and Bey 1]

i am just shocked that they are not pumping the approvals out right now.. because they ahve a september 30th end of year deadline.

[Richard-Joanna 1]

i am just shocked that they are not pumping the approvals out right now.. because they ahve a september 30th end of year deadline.

I was thinking the same thing