What if you could pay to expedite N400 processing?

[CarlHamilton 252]

Would you?  How much?  I'd shell out $1500 to get it done in less than 3 months.  Anyone else?

[Unlockable 7,314]

To answer your question, yes i would pay extra for "premium" service. Not thousands extra though. Maybe a couple hundred more than the original fee.

 

HOWEVER...

 

'Tis NOT gonna happen. Offering this would give an unfair advantage. There are people who struggle to come up with the current fees as they are now. also, the people involved with reviewing cases need the appropriate time to make sure all checks and balances are done. I know most are used to having other faster services offered but there is a reason all cases are handled with no special priority (unless reasons for expedite outline by USCIS) when dealing immigration. 

[CarlHamilton 252]

1 minute ago, NuestraUnion said:

To answer your question, yes i would pay extra for "premium" service. Not thousands extra though. Maybe a couple hundred more than the original fee.

 

HOWEVER...

 

'Tis NOT gonna happen. Offering this would give an unfair advantage. There are people who struggle to come up with the current fees as they are now. also, the people involved with reviewing cases need the appropriate time to make sure all checks and balances are done. I know most are used to having other faster services offered but there is a reason all cases are handled with no special priority (unless reasons for expedite outline by USCIS) when dealing immigration. 

Passports can be expedited for a fee and I haven't heard anyone complain that's unfair.  Same goes for certain types of visas (although that's changing for other reasons).  The money could be used to hire more staffers and invest in better technology so the process goes faster for everyone.  

[geowrian 22,337]

Same. I'd do it as well because I have the means, but it's not fair to those who don't have the means. Financial capability (more than the basics necessary to adjudicate the case) shouldn't have a role in the process. I know it does for certain work visas, but at least that's required to be processed by the one requesting the position being available and not the visa applicant.

 

4 minutes ago, shomer said:

Passports can be expedited for a fee and I haven't heard anyone complain that's unfair.  Same goes for certain types of visas (although that's changing for other reasons).  The money could be used to hire more staffers and invest in better technology so the process goes faster for everyone.  

Passports aren't an immigration benefit, so I wouldn't put them in the same category.

Edited April 12, 2018 by geowrian

[CarlHamilton 252]

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

Same. I'd do it as well because I have the means, but it's not fair to those who don't have the means. Financial capability (more than the basics necessary to adjudicate the case) shouldn't have a role in the process. I know it does for certain work visas, but at least that's required to be processed by the one requesting the position being available and not the visa applicant.

So if I choose to expedite my passport that's unfair towards those who get regular processing?  Why?

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, shomer said:

So if I choose to expedite my passport that's unfair towards those who get regular processing?  Why?

See my edit.

[charmander 692]

Depends on the circumstances. Say you must leave US for an indefinite amount of time or say there's a once in a lifetime gov't job opening coming up soon that you can't afford to miss; I am sure you'll find someone willing to pay whatever they could.

 

3 mos is not too much though. Expedited could be within a month or within 10 days.

 

 

[Unlockable 7,314]

18 minutes ago, shomer said:

Passports can be expedited for a fee and I haven't heard anyone complain that's unfair.  Same goes for certain types of visas (although that's changing for other reasons).  The money could be used to hire more staffers and invest in better technology so the process goes faster for everyone.  

@geowrian already covered it but I was going to say the same thing. Passport is not immigration. Passports are done with US citizens or citizens from their specific country. When you are dealing with people coming from 190 plus countries in the world and each having their own customs that immigration has to be knowledgeable of, AND dealing with authorities for background checks in each of those countries.... it takes time for US immigration. 

 

Naturalization is the last journey towards citizenship. Immigration looks at the totality of your eligibility. If you are naturalizing because of marriage, they are going to look at that marriage along with a person's domicile, tax filing history, and if they were law abiding citizens.

 

Passports deal with a person's identity and legal background checks of a citizen of that one country. Passports doesn't give the same benefits as citizenship. A passport doesn't give a person the right to vote or apply for medicaid or social security benefits.

 

Paying for expedite sounds like a good idea, but it is not gonna happen with immigration.

Edited April 12, 2018 by NuestraUnion

[CarlHamilton 252]

There are countries where people wait forever for government services in the name of equality.  But people leave those countries to come to America

 

Again, there are immigration benefits that can be expedited for a fee.  See here: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/how-do-i-use-premium-processing-service

Maybe there should be more of them.

Edited April 12, 2018 by shomer

[geowrian 22,337]

And sometimes people leave America to go countries that do it even faster/better/cheaper, and still equally.

[CarlHamilton 252]

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

And sometimes people leave America to go countries that do it even faster/better/cheaper, and still equally.

If there are any reading this, they should go right ahead and free up some places in the N400 line.

[Unlockable 7,314]

5 minutes ago, shomer said:

There are countries where people wait forever for government services in the name of equality.  But people leave those countries to come to America

 

Again, there are immigration benefits that can be expedited for a fee.  See here: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/how-do-i-use-premium-processing-service

Maybe there should be more of them.

Those are work and entertainment visas. You mentioned naturalization.

 

Also, there are other countries that are way faster than the US to process visas and naturalization. Some countries you can become a citizen almost immediately after marrying one of its citizens. But you are comparing different countries.

[CarlHamilton 252]

2 minutes ago, NuestraUnion said:

Those are work and entertainment visas. You mentioned naturalization.

Right.  Of course naturalization is different.  But are the substantive differences enough to justify the current system?

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, shomer said:

If there are any reading this, they should go right ahead and free up some places in the N400 line.

Maybe they're already USCs. Or they don't want to be one for whatever reason. But for those who do, I'm not sure what the link between applying for naturalization and wanting to later go to other countries for better/cheaper/faster service later is, though.

 

Without going further down the hole...what is the point of this thread? Was it to get opinions on an option to expedite, or to litigate the pros/cons of doing so? The original post implies the former but it's looking like the latter was the intent.

[Unlockable 7,314]

10 minutes ago, shomer said:

Right.  Of course naturalization is different.  But are the substantive differences enough to justify the current system?

In my personal opinion, yes.

 

Let's take a look. The H2B visa is for a season worker. They may need the worker here quickly in order to perform the work that is needed. The worker may only be here for a few months. Afterwards, the worker returns home. Simple as that.

 

With naturalization based on marriage to a USC, for example, and person has 3 plus years of evidence (marriage, family, taxes, shared benefits, etc) that has to be reviewed. It is gonna take time.

 

Quote

The money could be used to hire more staffers and invest in better technology so the process goes faster for everyone.  

I forgot to respond to this previously. With the current administration, they want to cut rather than add. Meaning they want to cut the amount of visas that are handed out per year and cut some of the categories (sibling, DV lottery, and possibly parents) instead of highering more staff.

Edited April 12, 2018 by NuestraUnion