I am outraged!

[daboyz 36]

The point to be taken is...USCIS is as is, just because your here on VJ, and you know an estimate of petitioners on VJ, doesnt mean squat. There are thousands of petitions before ours...and the adjudicators can only work so fast, lets remember, they are humans not robots. The whole arguing and bickering back and forth about USCIS needs to be faster is tiring. We all know it can be faster, doesnt mean it will be. No service center is better than the other...they both have a heavy work load. We all chose to go through this process, some people learned a bit about it before starting and were prepared for the 90-120 wait for approval, some people just filed the papers not taking the time to investigate the process, either way, there is a wait, and really nothing you can do about it, other than move to your SO's country. The adjudicators do not just work on k-1 and k-3 visas, they work on many different types. Venting is good...but patience is the most important thing in this process, including knowledge. If you have neither one, you will go crazy before your approval.

Yep. USCIS is as is. Aint gonna change. No one here is going to change it that's for sure. Best thing you can do is be prepared and wait as stated as above. Some people get approval in 60 days, others 8 months or more for the same petition.

[Ovi 0]

Well, guys, aparently my tread has made many of you upset and I am sorry for that, but I see that many people here have understood what I was trying to convey. Not the fact that I am not willing to wait, or I am complaining that I only waited 3 months so far, I was trying to see if we could do something to improve this terrible process. I mean in a time that the President is looking to create jobs why not bug him about creating more jobs at USCIS. Why not try to do something even if we fail, at least I gave it my best shot. Nothing will happen if no one speaks up, but if there are one hundred letters on the senator's desk it might get him to read one, if there are one thousand even better.

I wanted to say that those that want to make a change at least try... our country was founded from ideals and people that just tried even when it seemed impossible. I know that everything I write will be criticised and mocked but I will still try doing something. Like I said, if no one complains USCIS might think they are doing a good job. Nothing against the workers, they are probably working like crazy and wishing the same thing we are: more help, better technology to process these cases, less paperwork, less running around, even maybe contract out part of the work.

Many of you said, just line up and wait. The truth is that it does not have to be that way. What if everyone that contributed to making this country so great said that? Where will we be now?

All I am trying to say with this tread is help me out to get some attention in this department. You don't have to do anything if you don't want to, but I believe that even one person can make a difference. Call me idiotic but I truly believe that we don't have to take this and it can change. Look at CSC right now, they are approving K-1's at 62 days while a year back it took almost 6 months or better. Something happened there and I doubt that people just stopped applying. I could write a whole book on this issue but the whole summation remains in our hands. Will we do something about this because it can be changed.

There have been so many great suggestions made in this tread and I will do every one of them, especially writing to the Senator from Vermont. Thank you to everyone that has helped in this tread.

[daboyz 36]

Well, guys, aparently my tread has made many of you upset and I am sorry for that, but I see that many people here have understood what I was trying to convey. Not the fact that I am not willing to wait, or I am complaining that I only waited 3 months so far, I was trying to see if we could do something to improve this terrible process. I mean in a time that the President is looking to create jobs why not bug him about creating more jobs at USCIS. Why not try to do something even if we fail, at least I gave it my best shot. Nothing will happen if no one speaks up, but if there are one hundred letters on the senator's desk it might get him to read one, if there are one thousand even better.

I wanted to say that those that want to make a change at least try... our country was founded from ideals and people that just tried even when it seemed impossible. I know that everything I write will be criticised and mocked but I will still try doing something. Like I said, if no one complains USCIS might think they are doing a good job. Nothing against the workers, they are probably working like crazy and wishing the same thing we are: more help, better technology to process these cases, less paperwork, less running around, even maybe contract out part of the work.

Many of you said, just line up and wait. The truth is that it does not have to be that way. What if everyone that contributed to making this country so great said that? Where will we be now?

All I am trying to say with this tread is help me out to get some attention in this department. You don't have to do anything if you don't want to, but I believe that even one person can make a difference. Call me idiotic but I truly believe that we don't have to take this and it can change. Look at CSC right now, they are approving K-1's at 62 days while a year back it took almost 6 months or better. Something happened there and I doubt that people just stopped applying. I could write a whole book on this issue but the whole summation remains in our hands. Will we do something about this because it can be changed.

There have been so many great suggestions made in this tread and I will do every one of them, especially writing to the Senator from Vermont. Thank you to everyone that has helped in this tread.

More power to you. I don't think the intention was to upset anyone. I think alot of people are just upset at the process and have tried to fix this before. I honestly hope you get better results than the majority of people here.

I paid a lawyer $1800. He delayed my case for no less than 3 months. I went to the interview and received 221g. The vast majority of people that disagreed with me prior to this issue here on VJ came out in full force to help me get through it. I got through it thanks to the people here. The one person here who I had so much contention with prior to this, was the first person to step up and offer her help.

My point being, people have strong opinions one way or the other here. When it comes right down to it, 99% of the people here will help you no matter what. This place is the best resource on the net for marriage based visas.

Good luck to you!

[SuperDuper! 230]

Instead of wasting all your keystrokes here, send a letter, a real snail mail letter, to your congressman and senator. Wait for his response, then report back to us. Idealism is nice, but sometimes you must just accept life and gov't for what it is and just try to make the best of it.

[ButterBoy 0]

Do you have a security clearance? I have seen some other odd posts on here with the US citizen having security clearances and running into some weird things. You might search this site.

Yes above secret and nothing that can be done about it, company policy when marrying a foreigner even after retiring.

[daboyz 36]

Do you have a security clearance? I have seen some other odd posts on here with the US citizen having security clearances and running into some weird things. You might search this site.

Yes above secret and nothing that can be done about it, company policy when marrying a foreigner even after retiring.

When I returned to the states I was actually shot down for a security clearance since I was married to a foreign national. I am by no means an expert at this, but have seen some strange things.

[Chris & Mara 0]

And yet Ironically They don't have an issue with Chris marrying me, in fact DISCO wrote a letter in support of our marriage....

[Krikit 1,164]

there are about a billion people who want to come to this country

That might be a tad bit overexaggerated.

Why is everyone shooting him down? None of us is happy with the way this process is handled and that VSC is so far behind CSC. If he wants to try to organize a letter-writing campaign, why discourage him? Are we so beaten down by "the man" that we believe that this process is actually satisfactory? In this day and age and with the technology available to us, NOTHING should take as long as this does.

No one is shooting him down. You are just reading varying viewpoints from other members who have different perspectives and life experiences. You can't honestly believe that people should agree with every single thing that's written? Life just isn't like that.

I know this thread is long enough already but just couldn't help but to make a comment or ask probably a rhetorical question. What exactly does the USCIS do? They collect applications and documents and review them. They have no way of knowing if a relationship is legit or not. How long can it take to review an I-130 + supporting docs?

[snip]

Well, that's the benefit of working for the government. They won't rush, ever. It's a constant coffee break and a completely different world. If those were loan officers or underwriters in a bank or mortgage company they wouldn't keep their jobs for too long. And still we end up paying big bucks for this kind of service.

I think reading some posts by a former service center adjudicator might help put things into perspective. They are not sitting on their behinds eating bon bons thinking that's going to keep them in a job. Until you know what's involved in processing a petition from start to finish, and what their workload is like, it's rather unfair to judge them in this manner. They are human beings doing a job. They are not out to make your life miserable and they are not trying to extend a process for job security. That's a ridiculous notion, not only for this day and age, but as well for the notion that they may someday run out of petitions to work on.

Link to posts describing the process (Continue reading beyond that post)

Look at CSC right now, they are approving K-1's at 62 days while a year back it took almost 6 months or better. Something happened there and I doubt that people just stopped applying.

Yes, something did happen. The fees increased exponentially and there was a rush for people to get in their applications prior to the deadline. This created a major backlog at the service centers.

Ovi, here is a link to a VJer who went to the media and tried to make a difference. There are numerous other stories like this on VJ over the years, but I thought this would be of interest to you. VJer Makes NPR & Washington Post

[Krikit 1,164]

Do you have a security clearance? I have seen some other odd posts on here with the US citizen having security clearances and running into some weird things. You might search this site.

Yes above secret and nothing that can be done about it, company policy when marrying a foreigner even after retiring.

There are a number of VJers who are/have been in this same situation. It creates a more indepth investigation and clearance of both the petitioner and the beneficiary. I am sorry you are having to go through this, but they do eventually get through.

[TracyTN 237]

3. Maybe just sucking off the government teat. Remember there is no incentive for USCIS to do a good job. Paper pushing job. Now they have the unions involved. So there's another reason to go slower. Slower they go, more justification to hire more union employees.

USCIS are self sustaining - meaning they operate off the fees generated from their services.

[CTRL+ALT+DEL 1]

The more you know, the more you want to do something about it. pretend VJ doesn't exist. now look at your situation. what will you do? you'll have no idea what the 'normal' time frame is. so just take a chill pill and relax. mine took 7+ months for NAO2, others took 2 months. Its just how it is. its not a race to get here - and once the person gets here, no garaunty they'll love this place and no garaunty you'll both be in utopia.

[Michele R 0]

The more you know, the more you want to do something about it. pretend VJ doesn't exist. now look at your situation. what will you do? you'll have no idea what the 'normal' time frame is. so just take a chill pill and relax. mine took 7+ months for NAO2, others took 2 months. Its just how it is. its not a race to get here - and once the person gets here, no garaunty they'll love this place and no garaunty you'll both be in utopia.

I am starting my efforts by working within the system - posting it for others who are interested in taking action to use.

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.

[TBoneTX 45,283]

I am starting my efforts by working within the system - posting it for others who are interested in taking action to use.

The Letter I Sumitted to the USCIS Ombudsman today: (snip)

In content, grammar, and style, yours is truly an elegant letter.

It's sincerely too bad about your wedding, but one thing that becomes clear to most of us here, whether through heeding the advice of others or in hindsight, is that planning weddings or even a ballpark time of arrival in the U.S. is 99.44% folly until the visa is issued and is IN HAND.

Regarding your fiance's reaction, I cannot shake a growing feeling of disquiet that the day is not far off when we in the U.S. WILL encounter retribution for voicing concerns about ANYTHING in government.

[daboyz 36]

Too bad USCIS doesn't give a sh$te about grammar.

[William33 110]

You have highlighted a significant and ongoing issue with the service centers. That said, and as a former USG Foreign Service employee,We waited almost a year for USCIS approval. However, that was 2006 and during the IMBRA transition. What a ####### that was.....

Either way, there is no queue and there is no order in this process, especially if there are extenuating circumstances. April filing? You are on course for an August or September NOA-2 Approval, which is normal at this stage.

The more you know, the more you want to do something about it. pretend VJ doesn't exist. now look at your situation. what will you do? you'll have no idea what the 'normal' time frame is. so just take a chill pill and relax. mine took 7+ months for NAO2, others took 2 months. Its just how it is. its not a race to get here - and once the person gets here, no garaunty they'll love this place and no garaunty you'll both be in utopia.

I am starting my efforts by working within the system - posting it for others who are interested in taking action to use.

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.