Email from USCIS!!

[BOS_LHR 829]

I respectfully, but strongly disagree that we should fold up the tents and go home, so to speak. In fact, I recommend the opposite. Let's start another campaign. I am happy to write the letter.

We're not in disagreement. I said this letter. The letter we have just sent is not the message we should be sending in the future, and since you're talking about writing, I would guess you feel the same. I commented elsewhere in this thread that I think we should keep up the pressure since that's what they're responding to, but our message has to be modified. I'm happy to participate in future campaigns as well.

[nanana 74]

I respectfully, but strongly disagree that we should fold up the tents and go home, so to speak. In fact, I recommend the opposite. Let's start another campaign. I am happy to write the letter.

You are my hero

[Petar&Wendy 30]

It is so good! We want to send a few letters out, does anyone want to share their letter with us? We are just curious what other people wrote and how y'all addressed it (and we understand everyone's story is different)

[GAFL 16]

Hi folks,

I have been away from the VJ boards for several weeks now because my wife arrived here in the US on a 3 month visit.

Thank you and congratulations on the email campaign. However, we should continue to keep up the pressure, and let me try to explain why. Their "acknowledgment" letter was the product of our organizational activities. They are telling us that they 'hear' us. One of the tactics that government uses to end dissent is to "acknowledge" the pain of the dissenters or the mistakes of the government. The purpose is to calm the dissenters so that they stop putting pressure on the government.

We should be pleased by one fact: We got their attention, which means that they are worried about us to some degree - and they should be worried. The more I have studied our issue the more it does appear that the government acted lawlessly, ignoring standing law, even the Article I powers of Congress in the Constitution, in order to push a political agenda, and force us to pay the price for their political aims. So, of course, they - the administration - do not want our outcry to become louder. They want to placate and calm us so that we will shut up.

The letter says that the principle of family unity 'explains' why they are working so hard. This is utter BS. The administration chose, in defiance of law, to re-allocate resources to legalize illegally resident foreigners - who are already living with their families (illegally) in the US - in preference to us, who are USCs and foreign spouses of USCs who followed the law and are separated longer as a result of the administration's decisions. If the administration truly 'valued' family unity, they never would have made the decisions that they did. The results were foreseeable. If you don't believe this, look at the documents that Judicial Watch pulled out of the government on the FOIA demand. They show that the government knew this more than a year ago. They knew that this was going to happen, and they threw us under the bus anyway. Laurel Scott said on her FB page that they knew that this was foreseeable also. Some of us who have been in process long enough, and have studied this enough now know that it is highly implausible that they could not have foreseen the consequences of their decisions.

So, the point I am trying to make is that we should not be beguiled by their spin, and we should continue to pressure them until their processing times are restored to where they were - not 5 months as they say, but three months as our 11/2012 - 1/2013 VJ averages show. At this point, I trust our data more than their claims, which are infused with the clear intention to lie, obfuscate, mislead and are also often misinformed and contradictory. They have the political motivation - to conceal their lawless, defacto amnesty policy - to lie and hide the truth.

Also, I do think that their processing times should drop even further than 3 months for us. It should be more like 1 month. Let us not set the bar too low on them, and contentedly rejoice at 5 or 3 month processing times. When a law-abiding US Citizen marries a respectable foreigner, and carefully follows the law, they deserve the green card almost right away.

In the meantime, I recommend that we continue the pressure until processing times are cut down even more. I am very pleased to see the recent uptick in processing. And parenthetically, I am stunned by the number of February and March applications being approved right now - which leaves one again wondering what they hell they were doing all these months.

I am up for another targeted campaign soon.

--Alaskafan

I am in for another targeted campaign. What can we do? When can we do it? Because I'm ready for my spouse to be here because Feb. 28 will be a year of waiting... Unacceptable.

[GAFL 16]

Where is the letter that was sent on yesterday?

Who will write the new letter?

I believe if we set a specific day to send would work to of that week. Also, how could we get the media involved?

Just a tired spouse ready for their spouse.... Thanks everyone for allowing me to ask all the questions.

[suhailsaish 24]

Glad to see that we all agree here, I am fairly new to VJ and would really appreciate the help with the next waive of letters. Will somebody please point us in the right direction?

Thank you,

[Sulaimon & Brandy 20]

We are so glad we participated in sending the letter to the different people as well. We are brand new to the immigration and we haven't waited long but reading others sorrow of their wait time impacted us as well. Congratulations to us all who took the time to not only help ourselves but our fellow peers. Organizing works GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

Where is the letter that was sent on yesterday?

Who will write the new letter?

I believe if we set a specific day to send would work to of that week. Also, how could we get the media involved?

Just a tired spouse ready for their spouse.... Thanks everyone for allowing me to ask all the questions.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/464330-letter-to-house-judiciary-committee-on-delays-of-i-130/

[I & B 273]

Congratulations! I know a lot of people here advocated ceaselessly on behalf of this issue. It's really gratifying to see how those efforts have made an impact. Let this be a stark lesson to future petitioners of all types--YOU can make a difference in how the system works, so you should work hard to improve it for yourself and others. After all, if you don't, who will?

I hope the "just accept your lot and stop whining" cynics around these parts also take this to heart and stop discouraging others from making a difference.

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

Congratulations! I know a lot of people here advocated ceaselessly on behalf of this issue. It's really gratifying to see how those efforts have made an impact. Let this be a stark lesson to future petitioners of all types--YOU can make a difference in how the system works, so you should work hard to improve it for yourself and others. After all, if you don't, who will?

I hope the "just accept your lot and stop whining" cynics around these parts also take this to heart and stop discouraging others from making a difference.

Most of those critics weren't even people waiting like us either, they were people who'd already been processed!

Lets keep up the pressure; we got them to finally issue a statement which we sorely needed but a number of people have stated that USCIS is just placating us to keep us quiet rather than actually responding which is quite possibly true.

Sedit qui timuit ne non succederet- "He who feared he would not succeed sat still"

[imse82 45]

I totally agree with alaskafan. We need to keep the pressure on until we see actual results.... good start!!!

[NoelAnne 62]

Agreed Alaskafan, let's keep the pressure on! You guys have been fantastic, thank you.

[Avery Cates 1,141]

I hope the "just accept your lot and stop whining" cynics around these parts also take this to heart and stop discouraging others from making a difference.

Except they're not doing anything that they didn't already start doing weeks ago. They just now got around to making an announcement about it, which they were likely already on track to do anyway.

If it make people feel better to write letters that's fine. Maybe even got them to make the announcement a few days sooner than intended.

Just don't fool yourselves. Bit of overreactions with tears and all that.

[En-oh-eh-to now 147]

Except they're not doing anything that they didn't already start doing weeks ago. They just now got around to making an announcement about it, which they were likely already on track to do anyway.

If it make people feel better to write letters that's fine. Maybe even got them to make the announcement a few days sooner than intended.

Just don't fool yourselves. Bit of overreactions with tears and all that.

Yes, we can never be certain that USCIS was not planning on making an announcement in the coming days or weeks, or that next month they planned on updating I-130 processing times. Have they ever updated processing times twice in the same month? I doubt it. We got their attention. Now they know we exist. We are on the radar now! They know there are a LOT of I-130 petitioners out there, and if we connect with more of them, we have some serious numbers behind us!

[lucybelle 453]

Except they're not doing anything that they didn't already start doing weeks ago. They just now got around to making an announcement about it, which they were likely already on track to do anyway.

If it make people feel better to write letters that's fine. Maybe even got them to make the announcement a few days sooner than intended.

Just don't fool yourselves. Bit of overreactions with tears and all that.

You can't change the world overnight, my friend. We're taking baby steps. This was the first step. A very important step.