Decrease wait time for I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

While I applaud the efforts of the committee aside from one or two of your more overzealous folks as I love a good rabble rouse, I fear that it won't really have any effect, and your only recourse is to wait for the Great Magnet to swing back in the direction of I-130s, which I speculate will happen some months from now.

I suspect that you are right, but as I said in the other (slightly more crazy thread) yesterday, people need to feel like they are not powerless and that they can have some small impact by taking action. Otherwise it's really bad for peoples mental health and relationships. While we have very little chance of making USCIS process our applications faster, we do have a good chance of making them come clean on the extent of the issues they are facing and what they intend to do about it. The thing that has frustrated me most of all so far is the lack of information and respect that they have for the petitioners, they are US citizens who have paid for this process and deserve better!

[SennaBrigante 92]

I signed the petition but I'm curious, just how effective has Change.org been?

[jayjayj 571]

I signed the petition but I'm curious, just how effective has Change.org been?

It has been very effective for specific petitions that grab public attention, but you will notice that a majority of the "victories" have 6 figure or more signatories.

http://www.change.org/victories

[jayjayj 571]

Immigration is a privilege, not a right. You are still within the normal processing times. Just because you are a citizen doesn't give you the right to bring anyone here.

The USCIS and the NVC are mandated by U.S. law to provide this service to U.S. citizens. It isn't optional for them and it is actually a "right" to which you, me and everyone else on here are entitled to - they are not extending a privilege to us and they do not have discretional authority to deny a visa without cause. If you, a U.S. citizen, apply for the Visa for your immediate relative and you meet the guidelines for approval, then they are absolutely obligated to provide you that Visa for your immediate relatives. Their only authority is to exam your case and determine if you meet the approval requirements. Issuing a Visa to other Visa categories, not involving the immediate relative of a U.S. citizen is where the discretionary "privilege" comes into play. A person who is not a citizen of the U.S. and who is not being petitioned as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen certainly doesn't have a "right" to a Visa, but I believe if they are willing to contribute to our country, they should be extended that privilege and welcomed. This country was built by immigrants and our diversity is one our greatest assets.

Regardless of my personal beliefs, we as U.S. citizens are absolutely not being extended a "privilege", the USCIS and the NVC are mandated by Federal Law to provide us this service - which makes it a "right", protected by U.S. law, and not a discretionary privilege.

It is reasonable for us to expect a fair and expeditious process.

[Cathi 5,771]

12-16 months is not normal processing times just because they are saying it is. Because I am a citizen, the law says my case should be a top priority of the USCIS. What you are suggesting is that I should not be able to have the expectation that the USCIS follow the law, nor that I have the right to accurate information, or that I shouldn't be able to complain that the USCIS is not performing it's job. I vehemently disagree with this assessment. I may not have the right to bring my husband here, but I do have the right to have my case processed in a timely manner. What we're discussing here isn't whether or not our relationships are bonafide, because even the USCIS stats seem to show that most petitions are approved for this immigrant class. If they're going to deny our petitions, then it shouldn't take more than a year to do so.

Please show me the specific law that says because you are a CITIZEN that your case should be top priority. All cases are top priority. And at the moment, yes 12-16 months is within their normal processing time for the caseload they have. Screaming and kicking isn't going to make them go any faster or hire more people or revamp their system. There is no law that is written that specifically says your case, or anyone else's case has to be processed within a specific timeline because you are a citizen.

[Cathi 5,771]

The only thing they seem to be fast at processing is our payments! Will the "immigration is a privilege not a right" brigade please stop repeating this tired fact we are all aware of it. We are not demanding to be approved, we just want our applications to be adjudicated in a manner that doesn't leave us apart from our spouses for over a year.

Actually the OP Is demanding to be approved. Over and over, day after day people here complain and demand their petitions be approved.

[sara..... 371]

Im gonna get fried over this but i have to say it anyway........we have the right to petition for our relative....federal government gives us that right.........how ever we do not have the right to demand anything other than the processing of the petition.....where it gets sticky is when they drop our petition into a black hole that is a catch 22 called security check....not even the government can demand that they hurry that process up because its in the best interest of the USA to have security checks and clearances before any interview and after any interview to make sure nothing has changed.......as i found out for my self it can last two years or longer......the very minute a case is stated to be in security checks your done until they finish what they set out to do......sucks but its the way it is.....do i like it? nooooooooooooooooo

sara

Edited November 16, 2013 by sara.....

[Cathi 5,771]

I'm about to send in my paperwork, waiting for a couple more documents to arrive from Bosnia that my husband sent me,so I haven't even started the process yet but reading all your stories really scares me...

Don't be scared, be grateful that you found this site and that you are well informed. There is nothing you can do about the wait times, but at least there will be no surprises. There are many people here who will support you throughout the process, and if you stay active here, you will make many friends. No one wants to spend months and months being separated from their SO, unfortunately that is a part of immigration. As long as you are prepared mentally, and continue to live your life and try to stay busy, the time will go by quickly. At the time it seemed like it took forever, but after it was all said and done and your other half has the visa in hand, you forget about the wait in the blink of an eye.

Also there are many here whose petitions are approved in a few weeks or months, maybe you will be one of the lucky ones. Good Luck.

[Kaylara 814]

Actually the OP Is demanding to be approved. Over and over, day after day people here complain and demand their petitions be approved.

I demand accurate and timely adjudication of my case. This is something that I'm entitled to by virtue of having paid for a service that is not being rendered. If there is a reason why my case cannot be processed in a timely manner, then I am entitled to real and accurate information as to why. I have not received the service nor the information that I paid for.

The fact that you went through the process comparatively quickly seems to have dulled your ability to feel any compassion whatsoever for anyone who is currently being effected by the situation at the USCIS. Telling people over and over again to not be upset or complain about a ridiculous situation is not helpful. If you don't want to hear people complaining, then why are you continuing to read threads where it is clear that people are going to be upset and complaining? Why are you trying to convince people to take no action to attempt to improve their situation or to fix the clearly broken USCIS?

[Kaylara 814]

Im gonna get fried over this but i have to say it anyway........we have the right to petition for our relative....federal government gives us that right.........how ever we do not have the right to demand anything other than the processing of the petition.....where it gets sticky is when they drop our petition into a black hole that is a catch 22 called security check....not even the government can demand that they hurry that process up because its in the best interest of the USA to have security checks and clearances before any interview and after any interview to make sure nothing has changed.......as i found out for my self it can last two years or longer......the very minute a case is stated to be in security checks your done until they finish what they set out to do......sucks but its the way it is.....do i like it? nooooooooooooooooo

sara

That would be all fine and dandy, if any of us had been told that we're being held up for security checks. This is not the case, nor has the evidence that we have found support that we are being held back because of security checks. What we've found indicates that all resources for the I130's were transferred to deal with DACA applications, and as a result, our petitions have literally been sitting at the NBC collecting dust for months. This is not a good enough reason.

[r060106 109]

I demand accurate and timely adjudication of my case. This is something that I'm entitled to by virtue of having paid for a service that is not being rendered. If there is a reason why my case cannot be processed in a timely manner, then I am entitled to real and accurate information as to why. I have not received the service nor the information that I paid for.

The fact that you went through the process comparatively quickly seems to have dulled your ability to feel any compassion whatsoever for anyone who is currently being effected by the situation at the USCIS. Telling people over and over again to not be upset or complain about a ridiculous situation is not helpful. If you don't want to hear people complaining, then why are you continuing to read threads where it is clear that people are going to be upset and complaining? Why are you trying to convince people to take no action to attempt to improve their situation or to fix the clearly broken USCIS?

Very well said.

[Husakovic 31]

Kaylara, I'm very sorry that you have been seperated from your husband for such a long time. It is really surprising to me because as far as I know Holland is supposed to be a low fraud country. I hope you get approved soon. I will pray for you.

Mimolicious thank you for your post , yes I hope I will be one of the few lucky ones. LoL As far as your others posts are concerned...I would like to ask you , what is your opinion on the ILLEGALS being allowed to stay in the US and have their AOS applications processed in a couple of months, while the spouses of U.S. citizens who are following the law are forced to spend months even years seperated from their families.?

[Kaylara 814]

Thank you, I appreciate it, as does my entire family.

[Avery Cates 1,141]

I demand accurate and timely adjudication of my case.

You're not even 8 months into it based on your timeline. At this point you're still well within the guidelines of what they consider to be timely for this process.

[dirk_diggler 107]

yeah, 8 months is nothing