Taking a break from Igor's list of XXXX

[Jun&Scheillo 6]

I disagree with them doing their best. First of all, this isn't our "tax" dollars at work. We pay, UP FRONT, the fee in which to process the application. They sure can cash your check within 2 days of getting it. The technology behind "criminal background check" is at the government's disposal within seconds. They can tell you when, where, and what you have spent your money on up to the minute because of the incredible technology called check/credit card.

Our tax records are a SSN# click away for them. The hardest part is to actually go over the application and check for clerical errors. They are trained for spotting errors. They do not have to see "bonafide relation". They have to see that A.. the applicants have met face to face within past 2 years. B. the sponsor is legally able to marry. C. they do a criminal background check. D. a US citizen E. 2 letters of intent to marry.......... Etc.... This isn't a lot of "investigational" work to be done.

If they are indeed "overworked" then they should hire more people. They surely have the money that we pay them for the service. If this were a mainstream business, there would be thousands of complaints to the Better Business Bureau. But, because we do not have any legal ramifications, they can say what they want over the phone, take their time approving applications, and in general, not providing a service for which (again I reiterate) we, the US citizen, pays for.

But, I do not think it is "one" individual, but a severely flawed bureaucratic process that needs to be examined by whoever is in charge of overseeing the system. We are attempting to do things "legally" and by the Laws set forth by our lawmakers. Why would anyone that has come here illegally get priority of one of our petitions? I am not against those individuals, I am just saying that maybe they should take a backseat to our petitions rather than ours taking a backseat to theirs. If we meet the criteria, then approve the application. If not, send the RFE and we either correct it... or forget about it. If they want to slow immigration down, (and let's face it... WE ARE ALL IMMIGRANTS TO THIS COUNTRY) then change the laws to establish a different procedure. But, the truth is, we are such a minority that we do not have a true voice and there isn't much we can do about it except vent a little on VJ.

Just my humble and probably aggravated opinion......

Thank you for taking the time to write those lines down. Very deep!!

[Que Saudade 284]

I don't think we are on opposite sides of this issue, a you described below, it's the process you are frustrated with...not the individuals. And I never said I thought they were "doing their best". I was simply saying, it's easy for us to assume they aren't from the outside but we have no clue how hard those people are or aren't working. It's just easier for us to assume they aren't working at all. And that isn't necessarily going to help our loved ones get here any faster.

As I said in another post, hiring more workers is very difficult in the federal system and isn't dependent on how much we pay in fees, when the government is cutting money the way it is right now and limiting the number of workers each agency has...paying more in fees isn't going to get us as many workers as we'd all like to process our applications in a week or whatever timeline we would be satisfied with.

I agree with you, the technology is there and the capability to move petitions out the door faster could be a lot better if the process was improved. As far as us doing things legally, I'm sure there are those who are abusing the same process we are using for "illegal" immigration too, otherwise all these checks wouldn't be "necessary".

I agree with you as it is the "system" and not an individual. I am also not opposed to a "reasonable" timeline. But to go beyond 5 months without being able to get a valid response other than a scripted line is extremely frustrating..

As for back to topic, there should be a better way to accurately track where we stand other than relying on the "list".

P.S. Yes, there are many who try to use this system via fraud....

[CourtAndGrey 0]

To the OP: THE WAITING SUCKS!

I can completely relate to you when you say that others have started to notice a difference. The time during our wait was probably the most difficult and depressing stretch of time in my life. It consumes you. And while you attempt to be reasonable and pragmatic and patient, you just can't resist checking Igor's list, and in my case, I even made my own spreadsheets that calculated times and potential approval dates. It consumed me. As someone who has survived the wait, I offer these two thoughts:

1) Given the perspective I have now, I often look back and think "If only I had known that the whole process would be done in 8 months, it would have been so much easier. I could have been so much more patient" For me, it was the sense of not knowing when/what will happen that made it so hard. Try to remember, your case will, in all likelihood, be approved, and in the big scheme of life, the 4-6 month wait for the NOA2 is nothing compared to a LIFETIME of a wonderful marriage. It will work out. Try to avoid the gray hairs in the process.

2) Focus your energy on the next step. I was SO consumed in Igor's List, the USCIS website, and plotting dates on my calendar, that when our approval came, I wasn't prepared for how much more quickly things actually move. Thankfully, I had taken some time to look ahead, get advice from others, and have the next few steps ready. When our Consulate received our file, I was already on the phone with them letting them know we had Packet 3 done and ready. Before my fiance' even went to the embassy to pick up his packet (that's how Costa Rica does it), we had an interview date! No expedites needed. All the sudden, about a week after our NOA2, I was buying plane tickets and getting time off work to be there for our interview! Talk about a whirlwind! You can control the next few steps much more than this part - if you're prepared and organized it can go even faster! Harness your energy and use this time to be ready to FLY through the next steps. You'll be thankful you did.

I wish you a speedy approval, and an even speedier rest of the journey.

[Al422 221]

To the OP: THE WAITING SUCKS!

I can completely relate to you when you say that others have started to notice a difference. The time during our wait was probably the most difficult and depressing stretch of time in my life. It consumes you. And while you attempt to be reasonable and pragmatic and patient, you just can't resist checking Igor's list, and in my case, I even made my own spreadsheets that calculated times and potential approval dates. It consumed me. As someone who has survived the wait, I offer these two thoughts:

1) Given the perspective I have now, I often look back and think "If only I had known that the whole process would be done in 8 months, it would have been so much easier. I could have been so much more patient" For me, it was the sense of not knowing when/what will happen that made it so hard. Try to remember, your case will, in all likelihood, be approved, and in the big scheme of life, the 4-6 month wait for the NOA2 is nothing compared to a LIFETIME of a wonderful marriage. It will work out. Try to avoid the gray hairs in the process.

2) Focus your energy on the next step. I was SO consumed in Igor's List, the USCIS website, and plotting dates on my calendar, that when our approval came, I wasn't prepared for how much more quickly things actually move. Thankfully, I had taken some time to look ahead, get advice from others, and have the next few steps ready. When our Consulate received our file, I was already on the phone with them letting them know we had Packet 3 done and ready. Before my fiance' even went to the embassy to pick up his packet (that's how Costa Rica does it), we had an interview date! No expedites needed. All the sudden, about a week after our NOA2, I was buying plane tickets and getting time off work to be there for our interview! Talk about a whirlwind! You can control the next few steps much more than this part - if you're prepared and organized it can go even faster! Harness your energy and use this time to be ready to FLY through the next steps. You'll be thankful you did.

I wish you a speedy approval, and an even speedier rest of the journey.

This makes lots of sense, and I actually do a lot of this. Elena and I don't have our documents prepared yet, as we are worried about them becoming dated and stale if we do them now, but we know what we will be preparing, so when the NOA2 hits, we can start on them. At this point, we are picking out acceptable hotels in Moscow for Elena to stay at during the med exam and interview process, so as soon as we know the interview date, she will call for the med date, and I will be on the internet booking the hotel and plane.

So don't wait for the NOA2 to start planning your post NOA2 activity. Plan it now so you can start it without delay once it hits.

And yes, the waiting sucks, as those of you who read my posts know I make no attempt to hide my opinion on this. I know security is important, but I don't believe government BS that they need to take this long to ensure security. It all gets done in 15 minutes. The wait has only three reasons: Incompetence, incompetence, and incompetence. A business that runs this badly would be out of business in short order, and the very same government that feels justified in running the USCIS this way would surely be suing that business for consumer fraud.

As for the secrecy the USCIS operates under, it exists for the same three reasons. Their operation should be as transparent as glass, and it is utterly inexcusable for them to be anything less.

[jrmejia 31]

Off topic:

A good manger, good engineer, good teacher, good lover, good student, ...etc.

knows well how to deal with stress of any level without finger pointing any one before doing proper investigations. He looks at things from every single angle.

A positive attitude is they key to happiness and success. If you don't have it? Find it.

One man opinion

[MinnielovesMickey 4]

you are not alone!i always check it too..i just keep praying dude!

you know what is on my mind every time i get disappointed,seeing always an initial review from uscis website ?

i thought of...hmmmm when we would have 10 yrs anniversary maybe i will just smile with this disappointment i felt now,you will just feel this is just one tiny test.

uscis cannot beat us guys!if there's a true love,there is a true patiently waiting to be happen and find another good way if this wouldn't work out,that is our plan,just to be together everyday

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY in advance

[jrmejia 31]

you are not alone!i always check it too..i just keep praying dude!

you know what is on my mind every time i get disappointed,seeing always an initial review from uscis website ?

i thought of...hmmmm when we would have 10 yrs anniversary maybe i will just smile with this disappointment i felt now,you will just feel this is just one tiny test.

uscis cannot beat us guys!if there's a true love,there is a true patiently waiting to be happen and find another good way if this wouldn't work out,that is our plan,just to be together everyday

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY in advance

So you are in the "good attitude club".

Another one joining my club.

I am near my 7th month but my smile and love(L) I feel for her just keep on piling up until it bursts out of happiness

[Jun&Scheillo 6]

Fraud, Fraud, Fraud. The Government requests enough info to run all sorts of background checks and also run investigations during process and after, in order to catch the bad guys. It's not fair to have innocent people suffer because of a few bad apples. Fraud is just an excuse, anyway!! What do they do to deter such crime? have they ever caught any of these bad apples?

[Al422 221]

Off topic:

A good manger, good engineer, good teacher, good lover, good student, ...etc.

knows well how to deal with stress of any level without finger pointing any one before doing proper investigations. He looks at things from every single angle.

A positive attitude is they key to happiness and success. If you don't have it? Find it.

One man opinion

First of all, there is nothing positive about getting screwed royally by the most incompetent government agency imaginable. Do the work and get it done! Much too sophisticated of an idea for USCIS.

Second, how do you propose investigating an organization that is more secretive than the KGB. Congress could, and if I ran Congress, I would be issuing more subpoenas to the USCIS than Carter has liver pills. But we, the citizens whose votes determine who gets to work in Congress, have nothing to say about it.

I have no idea how hard USCIS employees are working or not working, nor do I care. Whether they are playing video games or negotiating nuclear disarmament for North Korea, they are not doing the one thing they are supposed to be doing: Processing I129f petitions. What they are doing is not my problem. My problem is what they are not doing.

If the damn government were so worried about security, it should spend more time patrolling the border with Mexico and stop worrying so much about who U.S. citizens fall in love with and want to marry. How do they expect to encourage obedience to and respect for the law when those who obey the law get screwed royally and those who thumb their noses at the law get immediate rewards?

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I have no idea how hard USCIS employees are working or not working, nor do I care. Whether they are playing video games or negotiating nuclear disarmament for North Korea, they are not doing the one thing they are supposed to be doing: Processing I129f petitions. What they are doing is not my problem. My problem is what they are not doing.

I-129F petitions are not the only petitions that they adjudicate. So no, that is not their only priority or responsibility.

[jrmejia 31]

First of all, there is nothing positive about getting screwed royally by the most incompetent government agency imaginable. Do the work and get it done! Much too sophisticated of an idea for USCIS.

Second, how do you propose investigating an organization that is more secretive than the KGB. Congress could, and if I ran Congress, I would be issuing more subpoenas to the USCIS than Carter has liver pills. But we, the citizens whose votes determine who gets to work in Congress, have nothing to say about it.

I have no idea how hard USCIS employees are working or not working, nor do I care. Whether they are playing video games or negotiating nuclear disarmament for North Korea, they are not doing the one thing they are supposed to be doing: Processing I129f petitions. What they are doing is not my problem. My problem is what they are not doing.

If the damn government were so worried about security, it should spend more time patrolling the border with Mexico and stop worrying so much about who U.S. citizens fall in love with and want to marry. How do they expect to encourage obedience to and respect for the law when those who obey the law get screwed royally and those who thumb their noses at the law get immediate rewards?

You have very good points... ...but I don't mind if they take a bit longer to get to petitions due to good security check. However, like many of you, I hope that is the case and not because they are not doing their work properly.

I don't have the answer to that and that is why I give them the benefit of the doubt and not going crazy calling them names.! Not guilty until proving guilty theory.

[Al422 221]

You have very good points... ...but I don't mind if they take a bit longer to get to petitions due to good security check. However, like many of you, I hope that is the case and not because they are not doing their work properly.

I don't have the answer to that and that is why I give them the benefit of the doubt and not going crazy calling them names.! Not guilty until proving guilty theory.

The security check takes whatever time it takes them to type your name and DOB and those of your fiance into the computer and push ENTER. Most of us clear immediately. Someone on the sex offender registry might have a little more of a problem.

Enough proof? Guilty?

And while we are on the topic of innocent until proven guilty, why don't these S.S. wannabees treat us the same way? Nope, instead our lives get put on hold for months at a time, and in some cases six more months for the ultimate Gestapo tactic, Additional Administrative Processing, because they come from an area where there is a high rate of marriage fraud. Why don't the police arrest everybody in a high crime area and imprison them for six months because there is a chance they committed some crime? Why do most Americans get their human rights respected while we get treated like peasants from the Dark Ages by a Feudal Lord?

If the government has a case to make that somebody committed a crime, the courts tell them to make their case NOW or let the defendant go. That is our right as American citizens. Why don't those rights apply when we want to get married? Sure, some foreigners should not be admitted here. So if the government has a case to make that they should not, make it NOW, just like they do every day, with no problem, in the criminal justice system.

[dogspot 90]

I-129F petitions are not the only petitions that they adjudicate. So no, that is not their only priority or responsibility.

USCIS receives and processes far more I130s than I129Fs. I'm not sure of the exact figures, but just from checking the status of the 200 or so cases around mine on the USCIS website, the vast majority are I130s with only a couple I129Fs.

[san diego 407]

A few questions to put the timing in perspective:

1. Is Jan 21 your e-mail NOA2 date or the date you got your paper NOA2? Nothing goes to NVC until your paper NOA2 goes out.

2. As of now, February 11, does the Embassy still claim to have nothing? It has only been 11 days since NVC says they sent it out, which is cutting it a bit close. Did you check the Moscow website to see if your EAC number is there? The phone person at the Embassy may just not want to deal with you and may not even have access to the records, so the fastest way to get rid of you is to tell you NO.

If nothing on the Moscow web site, try again in about a week. 11 days is a bit tight.

Jan 21st I received the e-mail. However, I think what is important is NVC leave date, which is Jan 31. As far as I understood, they removed this website functionality. So, I guess I will try again Sunday night (Monday 8 am in Moscow).