It's not meant to be rude. Just a general observation.

[Pennycat 880]

I chalk all of this up to folk using a handphone.

I say ditch it, come back to VJ on a PC, instead.

Handphones SUCK for VJ usage, one misses 80 percent of the functionality of the site when using a handphone.

I don't own a PC, myself, and more and more people are doing the same. There is a HUGE difference between the mobile and PC functionality (I use my work computer after hours....like now). But more and more people the world over are limited to mobile internet.

[Darnell 8,478]

I'm not starting this topic to offend anybody or to start a beef just for the beef sake. After several months of being on this very helpful forum (it's a life saver in many cases! ), I have this general observation that people do not even bother to read instructions and guides. It seems they don't even bother to use a search engine to look for answers to their questions, but just bluntly create a new topic to ask their question that has been asked 3 to 5 times the very same day. Sometimes there are several topics one under the other(s) about the same thing. It makes the forum bigger and bigger mess every day.

I know this process is long, exhausting and above all confusing at many points. It really is and also has been for me. I always try to help whenever I'm logged in and I'm able to help (when I know how), because this is the main purpose of the forum -- to help and support each other. But even earlier today I read posts in a topic from more experienced forum members that the question about Texas lockobx and Texas Sevice Center comes up way too often and perhaps should be pinned somewhere to be visible. When I browse through the K1 forum, I see more and more replies that are only like "Read the guides" or "Follow this link", because these are basic questions!

It's all there in the Guides, in the Downloads, on the Visa FAQs etc. My plead for new users especially is to first research and read, and then if your question/issue is still not answered or it's very specific to formulate a question on the forum.

I wish you all a good day and above all as smooth visa journey as possible!

bump

I don't own a PC, myself, and more and more people are doing the same. There is a HUGE difference between the mobile and PC functionality (I use my work computer after hours....like now). But more and more people the world over are limited to mobile internet.

24 hour internet cafes in most places where the foreign person lives and there be pc's inside.

[Cody and Daisy 373]

Most people have smartphones nowadays.

At the bottom of the visajourney page (any page) on a smartphone you can chose to view the "full version"

Which I do when I need more access or to find information.

There really is very little excuse to not read the guides and charts before asking questions that are asked 10s of times a day.

[Shauneg 762]

Most people have smartphones nowadays.

At the bottom of the visajourney page (any page) on a smartphone you can chose to view the "full version"

Which I do when I need more access or to find information.

There really is very little excuse to not read the guides and charts before asking questions that are asked 10s of times a day.

Bump.

[Unidentified 2,930]

I agree 100%. There are several posts about the same thing right under each other. I don't know if it's because they're on smartphones or if they're just too lazy to read instructions. And then there's the fun people who ask for advice and then don't listen to your advice because they claim that you don't have any experience with immigration and can't know anything... Well, if you feel like we don't know anything, then why did you ask your question on a public forum?

[Pennycat 880]

bump

24 hour internet cafes in most places where the foreign person lives and there be pc's inside.

Lol, yes I'm aware of this fact.

But you're suggesting that someone with a $600 iPhone or whatever in their pocket and endless gigs of data per month, or in-home wifi, leave their house to go to an internet cafe and pay for the privilege to use a computer that may actually have less processing power than that phone in their pocket, all to access the VJ guides (which are outdated in the first place!!!) because this website hasn't become fully mobile friendly yet?

Clearly it's just easier to ask the question on the mobile friendly forums where you can get accurate information from the comfort of your own home and just ignore the pesky folks who only seem to exist on VJ to post the little , and I doubt that will change until and unless the guides are updated with current and accurate information, that section works on mobile devices and the search feature is improved here. Most times I've tried searching for anything, I wind up with some 5 year old thread full of out of date information. It's just sad to see newbies reply to threads like this, only to have a mod shut them right down for being so old and "mysteriously resurfacing" after newbies are told again and again to search first or read the guides first or whatever.

Put simply, if you want people to use Option A, you need to make Option A *at least as good as* Option B. Preferably better than. Right now, it's not.

[Unidentified 2,930]

Lol, yes I'm aware of this fact.

But you're suggesting that someone with a $600 iPhone or whatever in their pocket and endless gigs of data per month, or in-home wifi, leave their house to go to an internet cafe and pay for the privilege to use a computer that may actually have less processing power than that phone in their pocket, all to access the VJ guides (which are outdated in the first place!!!) because this website hasn't become fully mobile friendly yet?

Clearly it's just easier to ask the question on the mobile friendly forums where you can get accurate information from the comfort of your own home and just ignore the pesky folks who only seem to exist on VJ to post the little , and I doubt that will change until and unless the guides are updated with current and accurate information, that section works on mobile devices and the search feature is improved here. Most times I've tried searching for anything, I wind up with some 5 year old thread full of out of date information. It's just sad to see newbies reply to threads like this, only to have a mod shut them right down for being so old and "mysteriously resurfacing" after newbies are told again and again to search first or read the guides first or whatever.

Put simply, if you want people to use Option A, you need to make Option A *at least as good as* Option B. Preferably better than. Right now, it's not.

Lots of libraries around the world let you use their computers for a very small sum and they're fine.

In what way are the guides outdated? I have so far not encountered anything in the guides that are outdated so please enlighten me. Sure the search function sucks. But at this point with so many threads that are about the same subject you only need to go back a few pages to get an accurate answer.

[Pennycat 880]

Lots of libraries around the world let you use their computers for a very small sum and they're fine.

In what way are the guides outdated? I have so far not encountered anything in the guides that are outdated so please enlighten me. Sure the search function sucks. But at this point with so many threads that are about the same subject you only need to go back a few pages to get an accurate answer.

It's been a while since I've used them because I've been on the same step in the process for a while, but when compiling my folder, I had several questions that arose *directly from reading the guides* and my answers here (after the customary "read the guides" BS....when my question clearly stated that I had a question *about the guides*) were "oh, that doesn't apply anymore". I'll dig through and see what the issue(s) was. But whatever it was, it was enough that I stopped trusting them, and *clearly* I'm not alone here, otherwise we'd stop getting such questions.

And yes, some countries have free public libraries (many don't...my fiance's doesn't), and still though, in a world in which many people, particularly people who are maintaining international relationships, have smartphones and use them instead of computers, if a section of a website is not mobile friendly, the solution isn't telling people "go out and find a PC", the solution is making it mobile friendly OR (because this isn't a paid site and coding isn't free) just dropping the "get off my lawn" attitude and helping out. Or ignoring those types of questions altogether if you can't/don't want to. How specifically does it hurt anyone here if people ask questions on the portion of a website devoted to asking questions. I will honestly never understand why people get so pearl-clutchy about this.

It's absurd to think that someone will be at home or wherever, happily browsing the forums and other parts of the site, and then come across the guides, be unable to really use them, and instead of asking a question on the forums where they *just were*, to go out and find a computer to use to just look at one quick bit of information. If you *do* think that this is a reasonable solution, good for you. You'd rather go through a lot of hassle alone than ask for help. Most people wouldn't. This problem will only grow with every passing year, and VJ is obviously on top of it, and the guides will (probably?) eventually be mobile friendly.

[Unidentified 2,930]

It's been a while since I've used them because I've been on the same step in the process for a while, but when compiling my folder, I had several questions that arose *directly from reading the guides* and my answers here (after the customary "read the guides" BS....when my question clearly stated that I had a question *about the guides*) were "oh, that doesn't apply anymore". I'll dig through and see what the issue(s) was. But whatever it was, it was enough that I stopped trusting them, and *clearly* I'm not alone here, otherwise we'd stop getting such questions.

And yes, some countries have free public libraries (many don't...my fiance's doesn't), and still though, in a world in which many people, particularly people who are maintaining international relationships, have smartphones and use them instead of computers, if a section of a website is not mobile friendly, the solution isn't telling people "go out and find a PC", the solution is making it mobile friendly OR (because this isn't a paid site and coding isn't free) just dropping the "get off my lawn" attitude and helping out. Or ignoring those types of questions altogether if you can't/don't want to. How specifically does it hurt anyone here if people ask questions on the portion of a website devoted to asking questions. I will honestly never understand why people get so pearl-clutchy about this.

It's absurd to think that someone will be at home or wherever, happily browsing the forums and other parts of the site, and then come across the guides, be unable to really use them, and instead of asking a question on the forums where they *just were*, to go out and find a computer to use to just look at one quick bit of information. If you *do* think that this is a reasonable solution, good for you. You'd rather go through a lot of hassle alone than ask for help. Most people wouldn't. This problem will only grow with every passing year, and VJ is obviously on top of it, and the guides will (probably?) eventually be mobile friendly.

I doubt people have issues with answering people's questions with anything other than "reading the guidelines". I think most people are annoyed by the fact that lately you go into the K1 section and you see the same question posted 5 times. Why not just follow the other thread and see what reply that person gets?

Maybe they're working on a more mobile friendly version or they're not. This is what we have for now. You can post the suggestion of better mobile version in the suggestion section of VJ

[Boiler 45,163]

Even worse on theVisitorVisa forum,pages and pages of the essentialism same question.

On my tablet but have the full version,just click the button

[Shauneg 762]

Even worse on theVisitorVisa forum,pages and pages of the essentialism same question.

On my tablet but have the full version,just click the button

Yea on any mobile click the full version at the bottom and you don't have to worry about the mobile version. The search function actually works extremely well if you use the advanced search and not just the little search bar.

[Darnell 8,478]

ya, that 'google search box' thingie is not as useful as the advanced search tool. PC's rock !

[Loki_Go 126]

I'm not stupid. I read the guides. for me, my questions were about reassurance.

I think those of you complaining I was annoying need to just step back a bit. Surely you remember what it was like for you, right?

As for what I was doing while waiting for my NOA2 (I'm at CSC so it went faster):

-selling my house

-dealing with my mom's sudden death and helping my elderly father with the transition to live alone after 65 years of marriage

-working a full time job

-traveling back and forth to Ohio on the weekends to visit my fiance

I don't like posting much of my personal info on the net but please realize at any point in our lives things take a back seat, even this visa process. So yes, if I can start a thread for just a little quick advice and reassurance while I was going through all that you have no idea how much that means. If I annoy you, the problem really shouldn't be me.

Please don't assume we're lazy or stupid.

[heo luoi 206]

Just today someone whined about no information for DCFs and how impossibly unfair the lawyer fees were. Someone explained this site was DIY and the information was here. Someone else did the work and sure enough linked a guide. He still asked explicitly where the information was? So was the lawyers fees unfair when too lazy to even search here ?

I've gotten so much value perhaps just in the camaraderie alone and the fact that so many nice, genuine users that are in relate-able experiences, I made a conscious effort to contribute back but its kind of numbing. Maybe need more mods ways to pin threads as people dont vote up enough either, mark them as answered...etc.

Also yeah aside from those perhaps w/ no access to a PC which I still think is a minority as petitioners in the states certainly should. I can't believe aside from basic questions and such whom would prefer to handle a matter like this via their stinking phones. either need to improve mobile option or make it so bad people are compelled to a full pc experience

[j&ana 363]

I'm not stupid. I read the guides. for me, my questions were about reassurance.

I think those of you complaining I was annoying need to just step back a bit. Surely you remember what it was like for you, right?

As for what I was doing while waiting for my NOA2 (I'm at CSC so it went faster):

-selling my house

-dealing with my mom's sudden death and helping my elderly father with the transition to live alone after 65 years of marriage

-working a full time job

-traveling back and forth to Ohio on the weekends to visit my fiance

I don't like posting much of my personal info on the net but please realize at any point in our lives things take a back seat, even this visa process. So yes, if I can start a thread for just a little quick advice and reassurance while I was going through all that you have no idea how much that means. If I annoy you, the problem really shouldn't be me.

Please don't assume we're lazy or stupid.

I agree and no I do mind answering something that might have been ask. Yes you are right I do remember what it was like. Being stress or just not having the time to research. That is why i try to help when I can regardless of the question. However I can see where the same questions over and over could be annoyed to some and make the mods job harder