I Cannot Believe It!!

[Scott65 27]

Guys... This probably comes to no surprise but this process is broke.. I think our government know this and really could care less.

I was one of those who sent a letter to Director Neufeld at the beginning of April. This past Thursday I received a response advising that, although my inquiry was appreciated, I should seek information either through the USCIS web site, calling the automated system or speaking personally with someone on the phone. Since I have done the first two I set out on a mission to speak with at minimum a Tier 2.

Mid afternoon on Friday I called in and being advised of the information by a Tier 1 I requested to speak with someone who could give me more recent answers. Surprisingly I was immediately given the opportunity, or so I thought. The Tier 1 girl advised that I could leave a message for a call back or wait in queue. I chose the queue where I was advised of a 25-30 minute wait. The wait turned to 78 minutes where someone picked up the phone, presumably a Tier 2. Then, the phone was disconnected. No thank you for calling, goodbye, etc., etc.. I could hear someone breathing and then nothing.

So I left the office and on my commute I once again called. This time pressing the immediate prompts to speak with a Tier 1. This man I told about being hung up on. Not once was a "sorry" offered he just said.. "so what do you want me to do?" (USCIS customer service at it's best) I again asked to be transferred and began my wait in line. As I was on my way to FAC with the guys I stopped off at the restaurant. Here 3 of my friends devised a plan and they also called and began to wait on terminal hold. At 5:45 our last buddy arrived and asked what we were doing and we explained. He offered up his phone. This time offering up a new possibility.

I handed him my phone, still on hold as was the other three. Spoke with a Tier 1 person. First she couldn't tell me the difference between Mountain and Pacific time.. USCIS training at its best.. Explaining the situation she advised that she understood that there have been issues but unfortunately the "system" only gave her access to see that I had an I129f submitted. Supposedly she was not even able to "see my identifiable information - name, place in process, etc." But, she did advise that I should probably request an infopass appointment (already in progress) and because of the time should probably leave a voice message. So, I was transferred to a voice mail system where upon the "beep" I was to leave my name, WAC #, call back info, etc. But at the "beep" I was informed that the voicemail box was full and promptly the phone disconnected. No chance to be retrieved into the system or recalled to a Tier 1.

I still had the 4 phones that were each in some type of terminal hold so we sat back at waited. At 93 minutes and then almost one after the other a Asian sounding woman answered my first call. First her English so poor that I could immediately tell we would have problems in understanding each other. But, after she said what sounded like "Thank you for calling the USCIS" I introduced myself.. A moment later she said "hello anyone there?" After three more attempts at communication she advised "since no one is on the telephone I am disconnecting the call." And she ended the call. Then one at a time the exact same experience was repeated on the other three phone calls. :help:

So after 5 failed attempts to speak with a live Tier 2 person at USCIS all attempts failed. I guess I have my infopass appointment on Monday which after hearing others experiences I am not hopeful there either. Monday will be 224 days of waiting. I know still many before me.. AND somehow 15 + new late November and early December petitions approved.

Has anyone else experienced this total lack of service / support? If this were the business I work for.. We would be losing tens of $1000's each day were our call center this inept.

Amazing!!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Stop the nonsense and start preparing for your fiancee to arrive. You have a lot to do.

The process is not broken, the process is not designed to answer the anxious questions of every petitioner. So stop it. You will only become more frustrated and accomplish nothing to help your fiancee.

You will get a notification in the mail when the petition is approved.

Edited April 13, 2013 by Gary and Alla

[Jeffrey S 5]

This is not in the least bit surprising to me, just another shining example of bloated government agency that should be dismantled and privatized! Anything the government is involved in will be completely incompetent and cost ten times as much! As you point out if they had to compete in the private sector they would be eaten alive!!

[I & B 273]

haha, I can believe it, unfortunately. thanks for sharing it for posterity though. sometimes you just have to write it all out to truly capture the inanity.

[I & B 273]

Stop the nonsense and start preparing for your fiancee to arrive. You have a lot to do.

The process is not broken, the process is not designed to answer the anxious questions of every petitioner. So stop it. You will only become more frustrated and accomplish nothing to help your fiancee.

You will get a notification in the mail when the petition is approved.

I really hate this type of condescending nonsense. If you think the USCIS's service is adequate because you happen to be friends with one of the numb skulls that runs a service center, then fine. Great for you. But to pretend like you better know how much preparation someone else has done or needs to do is just ridiculous.

Your friend is an integral part of a horribly managed system that causes a lot of unnecessary grief and confusion for the people who have no choice but to avail themselves of it. And a lot of those people are going to continue to demand better of that system, whether you or your friend like it or not. Just because he sat down and had drinks with you and told you "how it is" doesn't mean we have to accept the way he or others in the USCIS are mismanaging the system we depend upon.

Edited April 13, 2013 by I & B

[Bayareaguy 156]

A process that can suddenly churn out 4 month old petitions, while ignoring 8+ month old pettiions, is broken.

But can we do anything about? Not much, I guess. But it is still broken.

[Scott65 27]

1365874689[/url]' post='6148632']

Stop the nonsense and start preparing for your fiancee to arrive. You have a lot to do.

The process is not broken, the process is not designed to answer the anxious questions of every petitioner. So stop it. You will only become more frustrated and accomplish nothing to help your fiancee.

You will get a notification in the mail when the petition is approved.

Thanks for your absolute unhelpful comment. My fiancée and I have ALL our paperwork complete for her interview, except for the police report. But that is an afternoon visit for her. As for our relationship we talk on the phone daily, write letters, Skype, text message.. ALL of which I am grateful..

I also have ALL my "ducks in a row" here in the US. So I am also prepared.

The only piece missing is the ability to move on as a family.

In the process I have been let down by my own government and that is a tradgety.

I hope everyone is approved quickly and don't have to wait unnecessarily.

Edited April 13, 2013 by Scott65

[Love's JAA 100]

Stop the nonsense and start preparing for your fiancee to arrive. You have a lot to do.

The process is not broken, the process is not designed to answer the anxious questions of every petitioner. So stop it. You will only become more frustrated and accomplish nothing to help your fiancee.

You will get a notification in the mail when the petition is approved.

That's nice to hear coming from someone who had their petition approved in two months, and the visa in hand, in a total of five months.

[ChristianZane 70]

I don't buy the "I have a friend at CSC" story, reminds me of all the celebrity forums, almost every thread someone will say "I am friends with Keanu Reeves doctor" and "I'm friends with Kardashian's trainer", it's just a way for someone to add credibility to what they are saying without any proof of the actual relationship, I wouldn't take anything that guy has to say seriously.

[masha2012 2]

when i sent my RFE to VSC i didn't see an update that they received my RFE! and its been a week so i called them just to see if they got it, i waited for an hour just to hear from a lady call us back in 30 days and we will be able to tell you if we have your RFE... really??? you cant tell me now you if you got it.. she said no!! call back in 30 days!!

[Hao 1]

I used an infopass to go to my local USCIS office in San Jose a few weeks ago. I waited for about half an hour, and finally had a chance to speak to a lady there. I asked her why CSC is taking so long to process, and I showed her the stats and timeline published from USCIS, but she wouldn't even listen to me. She said that CSC is working on things that are not published on the web. I asked her what they have been working on, and she said she does not know. There is one useful thing that she said that day - she has access to as much information as I do, and she can only do as much as what I can do. That almost made me cry that day. I felt so desperate because I realized that these people from the local offices and tier 1 representatives are basically hired to help those people who don't know how to use the internet. They are completely useless, and they can't help anyone. They operate like machines, and helping people is not part of the program. It is really depressing to think that our life and future are dependent on these people.

[moondream 36]

Stop the nonsense and start preparing for your fiancee to arrive. You have a lot to do.

The process is not broken, the process is not designed to answer the anxious questions of every petitioner. So stop it. You will only become more frustrated and accomplish nothing to help your fiancee.

You will get a notification in the mail when the petition is approved.

Wow you're for sure helping.

[Jeffrey S 5]

I used an infopass to go to my local USCIS office in San Jose a few weeks ago. I waited for about half an hour, and finally had a chance to speak to a lady there. I asked her why CSC is taking so long to process, and I showed her the stats and timeline published from USCIS, but she wouldn't even listen to me. She said that CSC is working on things that are not published on the web. I asked her what they have been working on, and she said she does not know. There is one useful thing that she said that day - she has access to as much information as I do, and she can only do as much as what I can do. That almost made me cry that day. I felt so desperate because I realized that these people from the local offices and tier 1 representatives are basically hired to help those people who don't know how to use the internet. They are completely useless, and they can't help anyone. They operate like machines, and helping people is not part of the program. It is really depressing to think that our life and future are dependent on these people.

I have a name for them, I call them mindless government drones!!!

[bingowashisnameoh 17]

Stop the nonsense and start preparing for your fiancee to arrive. You have a lot to do.

The process is not broken, the process is not designed to answer the anxious questions of every petitioner. So stop it. You will only become more frustrated and accomplish nothing to help your fiancee.

You will get a notification in the mail when the petition is approved.

allow me to help you redefine nonsense: (as per Mr. Webster) foolish or meaningless words or actions....(kind of like your post) or the current perception of efficiency in government.

Edited April 14, 2013 by bingowashisnameoh

[F&N 7]

WOW!! That is all I can say! The system is DEFINITELY broken! I am not even bothering with the infopass.I am still waiting to hear from my congresswoman, it will be three weeks this Tuesday! Last time I called her office they pretty much told me "we will call you when we hear back USCIS has 45 days to get back to us." We have tried everything else. At this point we will be lucky to get our NOA2 within a year...I am happy for those that got approved in 4 months but it's just not fair to keep the rest of us waiting without an explanation!!!

Try signing the White House petition that is going around, at this point anything MIGHT help: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/expedite-processing-i129f-petitions-meet-current-government-processing-goals-5-months/rp6yP4Jw