Common misconception about K1

[Rufus2012 175]

I honestly think not only backlogs but isn't waiting all these months apart from your love one the test the government wants to prove any relationship.

That would imply a higher order of thinking than most government employees and their "management" are capable of. The wait is simply because they're a bunch of useless, mismanaged, lazy a-holes with zero accountability, yet with great benefits and lifelong pensions.

160 days and still waiting for my NOA2. F-you USCIS and all the useless c-nts who work there.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

That would imply a higher order of thinking than most government employees and their "management" are capable of. The wait is simply because they're a bunch of useless, mismanaged, lazy a-holes with zero accountability, yet with great benefits and lifelong pensions.

160 days and still waiting for my NOA2. F-you USCIS and all the useless c-nts who work there.

I acutually know someone who works at a service center and your comments could not be further from the truth. 1o hour days, they are held to productivity standards and they are understaffed. You have to remember they have a lot more to deal with than just K-1 visa and they get massive boatloads of requests everyday and everyone thinks their petition is the top priority.

Actually the 3-5 month wait is a good thing and it has probably saved 10's of thousands from making a big mistake. If t he relationship is real it can wait 5-8 months.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I honestly think not only backlogs but isn't waiting all these months apart from your love one the test the government wants to prove any relationship.

And if it proves anything, I didn't find this site until after I sent my K-1 out, I didn't put it together as cleanly as the guides here say.. no cover letter and my letter of intent wasn't close to the sample, yet I have one of the fastest NOA1 to NOA2 approvals (That I've seen on this site). So it has nothing to do with the preparation of the petition!!

No. USCIS isn't interested in testing your relationship until it's their turn to adjudicate an immigration benefit. That time will come when your fiancee applies for a green card. For the petition, they only care if the petitioner is eligible to file the petition and if the statutory requirements have been met.

FWIW, the backlog is intentional. They try to keep enough pending petitions in the pipeline to ensure that there will be a steady flow of work for the adjudicators. If they start falling too far behind on one type of petition then they'll try to reallocate resources so that they can catch up. If they start getting too close to processing petitions as fast as they are coming in then they'll try to reallocate resources to petitions that have a bigger backlog. They don't want to reach either extreme, where they're either falling behind on all types of petitions, or they have adjudicators waiting for new petitions to arrive so they'll have something to do. They don't want to hire new adjudicators except to cover for attrition because it's takes considerable time and money to train them, and they don't want to have to lay anyone off if things slow down too much. Given that USCIS is funded almost exclusively by it's customers, I think this is the way most people would want it to be. If they started processing your petition the day it arrived then that means somebody might have had nothing to do if it weren't for your petition, and you might question whether the fees might be lower if they cut staff and engineered a little backlog into the system.

[az110965 252]

I acutually know someone who works at a service center and your comments could not be further from the truth. 1o hour days, they are held to productivity standards and they are understaffed. You have to remember they have a lot more to deal with than just K-1 visa and they get massive boatloads of requests everyday and everyone thinks their petition is the top priority.

Actually the 3-5 month wait is a good thing and it has probably saved 10's of thousands from making a big mistake. If t he relationship is real it can wait 5-8 months.

Said the man whos petition was approved in 3 months... Do you really think you'll convince someone who has been waiting 8 months?

[NY_BX 397]

Good summary. It has been pointed ut here many times. Some people still seem to think that there is some huge proces and commitee meetings or votes or something. Nope, just one person looking at your file and approving it or sending an RFE.

"Good preparation" in my opinion means getting evrything you need and presenting it. It does not matter HOW you put it in the envelope (they change all that when it gets there) but it matters that it is IN the envelope.

May I add good preparation and organization. If the adjudicator has to swim through thousands of papers to check for the requirements, it'll take more time. A table of contents and all papers divided into "sections" works wonders!

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Remember, your dealing w/ federal employees who have a gravy government job and are in no hurry to expedite anything

This is not always true - I have several relatives working for the government - and they get bonuses for completing work on time, below budget - not to mention job advancement.

You have plenty of workers, regardless where they work, that are in no hurry - government not needed.

[Rufus2012 175]

Actually the 3-5 month wait is a good thing and it has probably saved 10's of thousands from making a big mistake. If t he relationship is real it can wait 5-8 months.

What 3 to 5 month wait? Oh, do you mean your case? "Your interview took 142 days from your I-129F NOA1 date."

I don't need the government to save me from my mistakes, I want the freedom to live my life as I see fit. I don't need impediments imposed on me by people with no better career option than slowly shuffling papers.

If your friends think the working conditions are so terrible, no one is forcing them to work there. When they have their guaranteed retirement (also funded by me), I'm sure they'll quickly their days of working in the salt mines.

Edited November 18, 2011 by WaitingInSeattle

[Rufus2012 175]

LOL. Just after ranting about USCIS, my NOA2 came in via email and SMS. FINALLY.

[Fede&Kendra 5]

LOL. Just after ranting about USCIS, my NOA2 came in via email and SMS. FINALLY.

Hahahahaha. Maybe that what I need to do...LOL.

[TeapotGirl 66]

Said the man whos petition was approved in 3 months... Do you really think you'll convince someone who has been waiting 8 months?

That happens. Some folks here got their k-1 visa in 5mos.

[az110965 252]

That happens. Some folks here got their k-1 visa in 5mos.

I think you missed the point of my response. HIS petition was approved in a little more than 3 months. Do you think he'd still have the same attitude if he was waiting for 8 months?

What 3 to 5 month wait? Oh, do you mean your case? "Your interview took 142 days from your I-129F NOA1 date."I don't need the government to save me from my mistakes, I want the freedom to live my life as I see fit. I don't need impediments imposed on me by people with no better career option than slowly shuffling papers.

If your friends think the working conditions are so terrible, no one is forcing them to work there. When they have their guaranteed retirement (also funded by me), I'm sure they'll quickly their days of working in the salt mines.

Kudos!

[Rufus2012 175]

That happens. Some folks here got their k-1 visa in 5mos.

I think most people realize there is a randomness to how long it takes - maybe the office is busier, and month to month and year to year it certainly varies. Frustrating as it gets, I'm happy when anybody gets through a step in the process, even if they applied after I did. I don't think anybody should have to wait these ridiculous times, but the unfortunate fact is it is very unlikely to ever improve; and since people tend to suffer only once, it's not like there is going to be consistent political pressure to fix things. And to be frank, once my fiance is here, I will no longer give a damn about how long any of the steps are taking, or what the fees are, because we'll actually be together.

What I do object to, however, is the thinking that this imposed separation is in any way a good thing, or a good opportunity to test a relationship, or some kind of favor the government is doing to help me avoid making mistakes. The stupidity of that attitude is beyond belief (although aspects of it are unsurprising in a country becoming increasingly dependent on the government).

[az110965 252]

I think most people realize there is a randomness to how long it takes - maybe the office is busier, and month to month and year to year it certainly varies. Frustrating as it gets, I'm happy when anybody gets through a step in the process, even if they applied after I did. I don't think anybody should have to wait these ridiculous times, but the unfortunate fact is it is very unlikely to ever improve; and since people tend to suffer only once, it's not like there is going to be consistent political pressure to fix things. And to be frank, once my fiance is here, I will no longer give a damn about how long any of the steps are taking, or what the fees are, because we'll actually be together.

What I do object to, however, is the thinking that this imposed separation is in any way a good thing, or a good opportunity to test a relationship, or some kind of favor the government is doing to help me avoid making mistakes. The stupidity of that attitude is beyond belief (although aspects of it are unsurprising in a country becoming increasingly dependent on the government).

Excellent points, and the premise that lengthy separations are actually good for the relationship is ridiculous. I found it interesting that the person who posted the positive attributes of a long processing time was approved in about 100 days, where the average procesing time NOW is 1-2 months longer.

It is easy for a poster to state how good something is when he himself did not experience the anxiety and difficulties that some petitioners face. Doesn't the saying go "walk a mile in someone else's shoes?"

[Rufus2012 175]

It is easy for a poster to state how good something is when he himself did not experience the anxiety and difficulties that some petitioners face. Doesn't the saying go "walk a mile in someone else's shoes?"

There is a lot of truth to this sentiment. However, I think that it is somewhat problematic to measure the stress and anxiety solely on the basis of the time of separation - in my own situation, there are no children in the equation, we have no financial concerns, so it's really just a matter of waiting and keeping the mind occupied. I can imagine that someone who has health problems, who is pregnant (we see that here on VJ now and then), has children, or is financially burdened by the process, suffers at a far greater rate than I ever will.

Jim made a point about the USCIS wanting some backlog, and I can understand that from a management and operational point of view, but clearly the backlog is far too great; our government is failing us miserably here.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

No. USCIS isn't interested in testing your relationship until it's their turn to adjudicate an immigration benefit. That time will come when your fiancee applies for a green card. For the petition, they only care if the petitioner is eligible to file the petition and if the statutory requirements have been met.

FWIW, the backlog is intentional. They try to keep enough pending petitions in the pipeline to ensure that there will be a steady flow of work for the adjudicators. If they start falling too far behind on one type of petition then they'll try to reallocate resources so that they can catch up. If they start getting too close to processing petitions as fast as they are coming in then they'll try to reallocate resources to petitions that have a bigger backlog. They don't want to reach either extreme, where they're either falling behind on all types of petitions, or they have adjudicators waiting for new petitions to arrive so they'll have something to do. They don't want to hire new adjudicators except to cover for attrition because it's takes considerable time and money to train them, and they don't want to have to lay anyone off if things slow down too much. Given that USCIS is funded almost exclusively by it's customers, I think this is the way most people would want it to be. If they started processing your petition the day it arrived then that means somebody might have had nothing to do if it weren't for your petition, and you might question whether the fees might be lower if they cut staff and engineered a little backlog into the system.

You understand the system perfectly I see. That is exactly what goes on at the service center. I will also tell you that Visa apps that are high dollar revenue like H-1B's tend to get more attention. To say that all people that work at the Service centers are overpaid lazy ( omit 4-letter word) is the opinion of an ignorant person who has no clue or understanding of what they are talking about.

Also to the other poster. As to your rights.!! You have the right to live and die, and anything else is because we follow laws and won our freedom thru blood and sacrifice. No one who is not a citizen of this great country has a "right" to enter and live here without following the laws that are in place to regulate it.