Whats wrong with USCIS?

[Avery Cates 1,141]

People who are frustrated that they are being forced to wait for extended amounts of time and can do close to nothing about it.

If we had known that the CR1 visa would take this excruciating amount of time perhaps we would have decided to do things differently. To somehow suggest that it's our fault that we'll have to wait until the end of the world just for a freaking NOA2 is really baffling and demeaning.

Perhaps I've just become old hat at this by this point, but waiting extended amounts of time for no reason and nothing to do about it is pretty much the entire journey, every step of the way, for all filers regardless of petition type.

I mean, I get it. When you're in that situation you feel like something should be done and that you should be entitled to some sort of priority. But that's not the realistic case. USCIS is not here to make it easy, convenient, or otherwise give the impression of an enjoyable experience to anyone, regardless of what they're filing for. CR-1s had a good run for a while, now they're in Whammyland, and the circle of life will continue on thusly. The Great Magnet will surely swing back your way at some point. While unfortunate and not easy, it's not the fault of the "lowly" dastardly K-1s though, as some people in here would suggest.

I feel for people who'll miss time with their kids, I do. I missed the first 6 months of my daughters life for no good reason other than bitches be crazy, and her mother decided it was a better idea to sleep around with the entirety of the town. Also unfortunate, but that's life and how things work out sometimes.

Knowing what the current realistic expectations of a timeframe are, discussing it with your partner, and getting through it together is the only way this process is going to work for, well, anyone. It does no good to say in our wishful thinking that "we should be approved in X time," and then stress for the following months when you're not.

Everyone regardless of visa type is in the same boat together. Being married or not being married doesn't make it any different for anyone.

[r060106 109]

No, I did not do DCF and had to go through the lengthy waiting processes and stress just like everyone else. It must be much harder with a child on the way, and I'm sorry this has to add to your stress. I don't envy anyone who has to go through this, not after having done it myself. No, it isn't fun and almost everything about it sucks - but that's how this whole process is gonna go and hanging in there may be the only way to save yourself some sanity.

What helped me was hearing what others had to say and knowing there were people who were going through the exact same thing as me, though some worse than others. I hope you find what you need that will help you with this process. All I was trying to say is that you're not alone, no matter how much it sucks. I too, felt like there was no end in sight at several points as well and now I can finally make plans to move. We're all trying to be helpful and supportive, isn't that why we're here?

Oh ok, my misunderstanding. Sorry. For some reason I thought you did DCF.

Yes, having a child on the way has made the process 1,000 times harder and has made me even more sick of it all and hate it that much more. I don't really have much sanity left with this process. I try not to think about it and don't even look up my case status, because it will just cause more suffering and make me go even crazier. So I've decided to just take a watch and wait stance and wait as long as it takes, as terrible as that will be for us and our child.

I understand that other CR/IR-1s are going through this process like we are too, but watching K-1s getting flown through the process like a knife through butter makes me more upset and doesn't help me get through the process at all. In fact it makes things worse. So far nothing has helped me through this process. And I mean nothing. I've become number to it and just don't care any more. It is what it is - hell on earth. I understand what you were trying to say. Thanks. It's not your fault, I'm just bitter about everything and just want to be rid of it all. Yes, you're right. That's why we're here. But I'm finding the more I come on VJ the angrier I get with everything. So maybe I just won't come around any more. I find that a glass of Scotch usually helps me cope, so there is one thing that makes the process go better, The feeling that there's no end in sight won't be gone from my mind for a long time, and the bitterness likely won't leave me until well after my wife and child are here, and who knows when that will be....

[cherieseah 0]

Man I really don't want to do a competition over who has it worse. But how can you possibly compare your three month experience with people who have been waiting for 9-10 months just for NOA2?

Who's comparing? Looks like you did it for me.

By what you are saying, it seems that if anyone went through a quicker process then they shouldn't comment on the forums or offer any advice on their own experience?

I didn't know how quick or how slow it would take for me to get ANYTHING, comparing times against me and making me feel bad for it helps no one because everyone has to file the same thing and go through the same ####### no matter what. Waiting times aren't the only things involved.

[r060106 109]

Perhaps I've just become old hat at this by this point, but waiting extended amounts of time for no reason and nothing to do about it is pretty much the entire journey, every step of the way, for all filers regardless of petition type.

I mean, I get it. When you're in that situation you feel like something should be done and that you should be entitled to some sort of priority. But that's not the realistic case. USCIS is not here to make it easy, convenient, or otherwise give the impression of an enjoyable experience to anyone, regardless of what they're filing for. CR-1s had a good run for a while, now they're in Whammyland, and the circle of life will continue on thusly. The Great Magnet will surely swing back your way at some point. While unfortunate and not easy, it's not the fault of the "lowly" dastardly K-1s though, as some people in here would suggest.

Oh believe me, I totally understand that the USCIS is not here to make it easy. They don't really care about anyone. They're a government body who does what it wants and has no regard for the hardship it creates, like any normal bureaucracy that is not influenced by market forces. No one said it was the K-1s fault. All people are saying is they're upset seeing K-1s fly through while CR/IR-1s are stuck waiting. That's it. Nothing else.

We'll see about things swinging back. I'm just not that optimistic I guess. The whole process has made me a pessimist.

[lucybelle 453]

When you're in that situation you feel like something should be done and that you should be entitled to some sort of priority.

Nowhere did I say that married couples should get priority. In fact, I specifically said I didn't think that. I might be one of the very few of the CR1-ers who believes that married couples should not have priority over non-married couples.

What I was speaking towards was your arrogant responses that make it seem like you think it's our fault that USCIS is taking their damn time with our cases. I guess we all wish we were as smart and prepared as you were then we could all be on the interview stage, ready to make an international move.

We knew that CR1 would take longer than K1. But when we applied, it was supposed to take 8 months. Total. Not over 8 months for NOA2.

[cherieseah 0]

Oh ok, my misunderstanding. Sorry. For some reason I thought you did DCF.

Yes, having a child on the way has made the process 1,000 times harder and has made me even more sick of it all and hate it that much more. I don't really have much sanity left with this process. I try not to think about it and don't even look up my case status, because it will just cause more suffering and make me go even crazier. So I've decided to just take a watch and wait stance and wait as long as it takes, as terrible as that will be for us and our child.

I understand that other CR/IR-1s are going through this process like we are too, but watching K-1s getting flown through the process like a knife through butter makes me more upset and doesn't help me get through the process at all. In fact it makes things worse. So far nothing has helped me through this process. And I mean nothing. I've become number to it and just don't care any more. It is what it is - hell on earth. I understand what you were trying to say. Thanks. It's not your fault, I'm just bitter about everything and just want to be rid of it all. Yes, you're right. That's why we're here. But I'm finding the more I come on VJ the angrier I get with everything. So maybe I just won't come around any more. I find that a glass of Scotch usually helps me cope, so there is one thing that makes the process go better, The feeling that there's no end in sight won't be gone from my mind for a long time, and the bitterness likely won't leave me until well after my wife and child are here, and who knows when that will be....

I totally feel your pain, yet it must be so much worse for you. I cannot imagine if I had a child on the way while having to deal with this bureaucratic #######. I can absolutely understand the feeling of getting number to the whole thing. I had lots on my plate while figuring this whole thing out and I was just about ready to call it quits at different points. My poor husband had to bear with my sudden outbursts and big cries.

I didn't really get involved with commenting on VJ while I was filing, I felt sometimes it made me more anxious because it seemed like things were developing for everyone else but me. Just remember, for every member on here commenting, there are probably 10 more who are stuck just like you but you just don't hear from them.

I'm really sorry you have to go through this, and I hope you get your NOA2 real soon. It won't feel good until your wife is by your side I'm sure - I'm just only starting to accept my new reality.

[Avery Cates 1,141]

What I was speaking towards was your arrogant responses that make it seem like you think it's our fault that USCIS is taking their damn time with our cases.

Then you've grossly misinterpreted.

I guess we all wish we were as smart and prepared as you were then we could all be on the interview stage, ready to make an international move.

Understandable.

[Avery Cates 1,141]

but watching K-1s getting flown through the process like a knife through butter makes me more upset and doesn't help me get through the process at all.

I wouldn't say they're flown through. I had the good fortune of a relatively quick NoA 2, but still the whole process by the time she's here will have taken about 9 months. Others haven't been so lucky and are looking at a year or longer total.

I find that a glass of Scotch usually helps me cope

"This is not a meaningful life; practicing law, drinking scotch at 9 O'Clock in the morning. Well, maybe the scotch is meaningful."

[r060106 109]

It isn't USCIS's fault you have a child on the way, now is it. That's a choice you made. Pregnancy or having children do not give K1's any right to expedite either. CR1's and K1's are as different as apples and oranges, and you can't compare them. Neither group gets priority, it goes in swings and roundabouts, it always has and it always will. We all paid our money, and took our chances.

ALL waiting apart is terrible, ALL separation sucks. No group's pain is any worse, or any more valid than the other. Venting by bashing another group as having perceived advantages is pointless, fruitless, and extremely non productive, and not in the spirit of Visa Journey. .

I never said it was USCIS' fault. Stop putting words in my mouth. Goes in swings and roundabouts? Really? That might have been the case in the past, but it clearly is not the case now. How many times do I have to say that the current "swing" to processing I-129Fs faster than I-130s doesn't appear to be just a "swing". It appears to be the new norm given how they have not addressed the I-130 backlog. It also doesn't help when they throw the DACA and Provisional Waiver debacle in with standalone I-130s, making it even slower for us married U.S. Citizens. So no, this backlog doesn't look like just a "swing", but a new norm. It's been months and months since it started and on end appears in sight - as I've said like 5,000 times.

I guess we agree to disagree on the perceived advantages. Sorry.

I totally feel your pain, yet it must be so much worse for you. I cannot imagine if I had a child on the way while having to deal with this bureaucratic #######. I can absolutely understand the feeling of getting number to the whole thing. I had lots on my plate while figuring this whole thing out and I was just about ready to call it quits at different points. My poor husband had to bear with my sudden outbursts and big cries.

I didn't really get involved with commenting on VJ while I was filing, I felt sometimes it made me more anxious because it seemed like things were developing for everyone else but me. Just remember, for every member on here commenting, there are probably 10 more who are stuck just like you but you just don't hear from them.

I'm really sorry you have to go through this, and I hope you get your NOA2 real soon. It won't feel good until your wife is by your side I'm sure - I'm just only starting to accept my new reality.

I'm glad you can feel for me, unlike the others who clearly don't care. My problem with the K-1 situation is that K-1 filers don't appear (at least in this thread) to have any empathy at all for the hell the CR/IR-1s are in right now. That's what upsets me the most.

Yes, I know exactly what you mean by feeling everyone else's case is developing but ours and others.

I can only imagine beginning to accept actually being allowed to live like the "bonafide" couple that USCIS is obsessed we show them we are, but we can't truly live like. Thanks for the kind words.

[Kaylara 814]

what if people only want to get married in the US but don't want to immigrate if coming on a tourist visa for purpose of marriage is fraud? what kind of visa they should have gone on then?

There is no visa for that. You just come in on a tourist visa and get married. It's not fraud. She is mistaken.

[Kaylara 814]

The only real difference between a K-1 and a CR-1 is "these people will be married in a few months" vs "these people already ran off and did it." No practical difference that would necessitate any sort of priority.

I suppose so far as I see it I'll put my 4 year relationship that's never faltered who some here erroneously think should be of a lesser priority up against any one of these who are "damaged by the wait" any day when it comes to relevance.

And the IRs? Not trying to be obnoxious, but we're leaving out a whole group in this. I think that someone who has been married many years should practically FLY through the process. If for no other reason than the numbers of fraudulent cases involved must be extremely small.

My point here is that we can all justify to ourselves why we should be first in line or not having to go through this. But we're not the ones setting the priorities, nor are we capable to saying that one relationship is more valid than another and we're also not capable of doing anything constructive to speed the process up. But we'll do it because we're frustrated at a third party who doesn't seem to actually care that they're hurting real people.

Honestly, you may think that people are not damaged by the wait and are just having histrionics. But you know what, my marriage is solid, and this still hurts my husband and I. We're not fighting, screaming, etc. Our marriage isn't in danger of falling apart because of it. But I feel the void where my husband has been in my life all day, every day. We miss each other. We've been together nearly 9 years total, and the first two were long distance. We know how to deal with this. But it sucks really, really bad. We direct our stress at the agency that's causing it, not each other.

And that's what we, as a group here, need to do as well. Sniping at each other does absolutely nothing constructive to fix the situation. We should complain, on a regular basis to the USCIS. And the media. And anyone who will listen. There are plenty of people I know IRL who are completely horrified by my situation and are willing to write and complain and ask others to do so as well to try to help fix this broken system so others won't have to go through this in the future. (And possibly to force them to clear this backlog.)

[TimandAna 37]

I'm going to throw my .02 into this...

Entering the US on tourist visa to get married ect... Visa fraud for tourist visa would be entering the country for any other aspects other than being a tourist! Intent may be to immigrate later... or immigrate right then but either way the intent is still to move to the US. So is getting married in the US then leaving the country and applying for permanent residence visa fraud? It is how everyone views it. The "trip" to get married and leave is not visa fraud because intent was to go back home and wait. But "overall intentions" for the visit is visa fraud because the overall intent is to immigrate to the US. Is visiting your spouse on a tourist visa in the US visa fraud? The "trip" to the US if you return home is not visa fraud but overall you did enter the country on a tourist visa with plans to immigrate to the country which is visa fraud. Since I can not find a really hard core true stance from immigration on this then it really all depends on who is looking at it because it falls under personal opinion. My personal opinion is it does not really matter. Your going to live here either today or tomorrow so who really cares at this point?

CR1/IR1 vs K1. Yes CR1/IR1 should take priority. What laws apply to any other country does not matter. In the US, marriage is a much higher status of relationship than being fiance or BF/GF. Example: I can not add a fiance/BF/GF to my taxes or health insurance. I am not proud that 50% of marriages enter in divorce. I can only hope that we all learn from our mistakes and choose the person God wants us to be with. Having a foreign spouse is expensive so cost on applications should not be a issue for anyone. It is expensive now (visits ect) and it will be expensive later (family visits ect).

Everyone has their own personal ideas of how everything could be fixed of corrected. The problem is so many illegal people here now so when ever we talk about immigration things go crazy (legal or illegal). People talk about deporting everyone (to me a joke), people talk about amnesty (to me another joke), and people talk about not worry about all (to me yet another joke). I am a firm supporter to lighten immigration and issue more visas without so many problems. A background check is good enough. I believe that place higher restrictions on the workplace and government programs is a must. Biometrics for employment (for everyone) and reduce amount of government aid (no immigrants able to recieve for 5 years and no illegals are able to recieve period). To me that would take care of the problems at home. You can not live here for free and people living here or wanting to travel here to spend money into our economy is appreciated. As a US citizen, I know everyone is going to immigrate here that wants to anyways. If it takes them 1 year or 10 years then they still are going to. So why make people wait? If it is going to happen then it is going to happen.

Do not take my thoughts personal. We all have our opinions of priority or thoughts and it is fun to debate and share but remember all our goals though are the same in the end which is to have a happy and wonderful family. So I wish everyone the best of luck in all aspects of life.

Edited November 1, 2013 by TimandAna

[Kaylara 814]

But when we applied, it was supposed to take 8 months. Total. Not over 8 months for NOA2.

EXACTLY.

[Kaylara 814]

I'm going to throw my .02 into this...

Entering the US on tourist visa to get married ect... Visa fraud for tourist visa would be entering the country for any other aspects other than being a tourist! Intent may be to immigrate later... or immigrate right then but either way the intent is still to move to the US. So is getting married in the US then leaving the country and applying for permanent residence visa fraud? It is how everyone views it. The "trip" to get married and leave is not visa fraud because intent was to go back home and wait. But "overall intentions" for the visit is visa fraud because the overall intent is to immigrate to the US. Is visiting your spouse on a tourist visa in the US visa fraud? The "trip" to the US if you return home is not visa fraud but overall you did enter the country on a tourist visa with plans to immigrate to the country which is visa fraud. Since I can not find a really hard core true stance from immigration on this then it really all depends on who is looking at it because it falls under personal opinion. My personal opinion is it does not really matter. Your going to live here either today or tomorrow so who really cares at this point?

At the point that I married my husband here, I had no intention of moving back to the US.

[Kaylara 814]

The fiancé(e) K-1 nonimmigrant visa is for the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) of a United States (U.S.) citizen. The K-1 visa permits the foreign-citizen fiancé(e) to travel to the United States and marry his or her U.S. citizen sponsor within 90 days of arrival. The foreign-citizen will then apply for adjustment of status to a permanent resident (LPR) with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Because a fiancé(e) visa permits the holder to immigrate to the U.S. and marry a U.S. citizen shortly after arrival in the United States, the fiancé(e) must meet some of the requirements of an immigrant visa. Eligible children of K-1 visa applicants receive K-2 visas.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_2994.html#1

If you are not planning on bringing your fiance to live with you in the US, then you don't have to file for a fiance visa. They are for those who want to immigrate to the US. If your state lets you marry foreigners, then you can legally get married. If you are not immigrating, then there's no fraud involved.