USCIS using our fees for grants instead of solving the backlog problem

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

6 hours ago, Steeleballz said:

 

  There is not. An immigrant voter, by definition, must be a US citizen.

Oh ye of simple faith.  How disappointed ye shall be, and soon.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

4 hours ago, Steeleballz said:

 

    Caucasians will be a minority in the USA by 2045. Instead of propagating myths about the Democrats, I suggest Republicans figure out a way to reach out and be inclusive of more people, and specifically more minorities. Democrats and Republicans both have issues they need to work on. Rhetoric won't fix all of them.  

Are YOU from the Caucus region?  I know I am not, and neither are the majority of Ameircans.  

[Steeleballz 7,550]

4 minutes ago, Satisfied said:

Oh ye of simple faith.  How disappointed ye shall be, and soon.

 

  Oh ye of dubious news sources. How disappointed ye shall be as well.

[OptimusSpice 164]

Actually - the point of my post was in the title.  The USCIS raised our fees by 21% and they claimed it was to hire and train more staff so they could resolve their backlog of cases, which is grossly severe.  They have not managed the workload they have in any kind of way that is reasonable.  Even after the large fee increase, the backlogs have not improved - they have actually become much worse.  Now, it's released that they are spending millions of those fees in grants that amount to purchased votes rather than actually solving the backlog.  The wait times for processing are ridiculous.  I'm still stuck in what is an ever growing time frame that is unaccountable to anyone because of it's closed loop magic words "normal processing times".  They define these "normal processing times" and no accountability or assistance exists until you fall "outside" of these times, but they can extend these times at will and without explanation. That's just a fact.  We started and were told by the consulate - 4-6 months.  When we filed (within a month), USCIS said 8-12 months.  9 months in, they changed to 14-18.5 months.  We are still waiting for our review, still stuck unable to end the distance in our relationship (and facing all the hardships that go with it). It's only getting worse.  Rather than use our fees paid (check gets cashed and used by them immediately) for the service of administrative processing that those fees were supposed to pay for - they have used them for grants to solve something that is not a problem. 

 

I have no problem with immigrants assimilating into American culture.  I am supportive of them showing their own initiative to do whatever they need to get it done.  Just as I would be expected to do should I move to any other country in the world.  I have no problem with a private organization fundraising support specifically to grant programs that assist in this outcome.  I do have a problem with the US Government telling me that my money will be used for the service I'm paying for (administrative review) then turning around and using it for something else that can be reduced to the "service of a very specific political agenda" and not only does nothing to resolves the current administrative problem the USCIS is having but will only actually make that problem worse by increasing the number of application that they receive.  We're also not talking about small numbers of grants either.  How much of the backlog could be reduced, how reasonable could the processing times become, if they put that same 10 million into staffing instead of grants?  I see it as a disgusting misuse of funds for the purpose of a political agenda from an agency that cannot manage themselves, has zero accountability, and should be politically neutral (but obviously isn't).

 

For the longest time, I couldn't figure out what was driving the mess that is USCIS.  I knew that if they wanted to really solve the backlog issue, they would. They have the ability to do so, they have the funds to do so.  I knew it had something to do with politics and money (what doesn't anymore these days).  I knew somehow someone was befitting from the mess that is USCIS administration.  I just didn't know who or what exactly.  Now I do.

 

[yuna628 9,676]

7 hours ago, Neonred said:

That's changing.

 

Non-citizens legally register to vote in San Francisco school elections

 

https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article215095600.html

Against states rights are we? It is rather rare, but immigrants are allowed to vote in certain local matter situations, sometimes on a county by county basis, in a few states, and have been for a long time - long before anyone felt so bothered to complain about it.

54 minutes ago, OptimusSpice said:

Actually - the point of my post was in the title.  The USCIS raised our fees by 21% and they claimed it was to hire and train more staff so they could resolve their backlog of cases, which is grossly severe.  They have not managed the workload they have in any kind of way that is reasonable.  Even after the large fee increase, the backlogs have not improved - they have actually become much worse.  Now, it's released that they are spending millions of those fees in grants that amount to purchased votes rather than actually solving the backlog.  The wait times for processing are ridiculous.  I'm still stuck in what is an ever growing time frame that is unaccountable to anyone because of it's closed loop magic words "normal processing times".  They define these "normal processing times" and no accountability or assistance exists until you fall "outside" of these times, but they can extend these times at will and without explanation. That's just a fact.  We started and were told by the consulate - 4-6 months.  When we filed (within a month), USCIS said 8-12 months.  9 months in, they changed to 14-18.5 months.  We are still waiting for our review, still stuck unable to end the distance in our relationship (and facing all the hardships that go with it). It's only getting worse.  Rather than use our fees paid (check gets cashed and used by them immediately) for the service of administrative processing that those fees were supposed to pay for - they have used them for grants to solve something that is not a problem. 

 

I have no problem with immigrants assimilating into American culture.  I am supportive of them showing their own initiative to do whatever they need to get it done.  Just as I would be expected to do should I move to any other country in the world.  I have no problem with a private organization fundraising support specifically to grant programs that assist in this outcome.  I do have a problem with the US Government telling me that my money will be used for the service I'm paying for (administrative review) then turning around and using it for something else that can be reduced to the "service of a very specific political agenda" and not only does nothing to resolves the current administrative problem the USCIS is having but will only actually make that problem worse by increasing the number of application that they receive.  We're also not talking about small numbers of grants either.  How much of the backlog could be reduced, how reasonable could the processing times become, if they put that same 10 million into staffing instead of grants?  I see it as a disgusting misuse of funds for the purpose of a political agenda from an agency that cannot manage themselves, has zero accountability, and should be politically neutral (but obviously isn't).

 

For the longest time, I couldn't figure out what was driving the mess that is USCIS.  I knew that if they wanted to really solve the backlog issue, they would. They have the ability to do so, they have the funds to do so.  I knew it had something to do with politics and money (what doesn't anymore these days).  I knew somehow someone was befitting from the mess that is USCIS administration.  I just didn't know who or what exactly.  Now I do.

 

I feel a lot of frustration you're experiencing here. That's a common one expressed by many who have been on this forum and been through the process. For K1s the process, while slower these days, actually is faster than it used to be around the time I went through it. That took a lot of significant efforts on the part of persons here getting the past administration's attention. There has never been really any clarity as to what the administrative fees are used for to my knowledge and I don't really care what they use it for so long as the system works. The system is barely working these days, but there's a lot of factors going into that, which is not limited to funds. As a US citizen and taxpaying LPRs, we're all having to pay money into the pit, including for things we have no idea where it's going, or even agree upon what it will be used for one way or another. $10 million is relatively a drop in the bucket. I personally don't think that even this amount put towards staffing would actually help the problem. I'm serious, it's that bad. You'd need a budget far grander for this amount (trust me I get budget info on state sized government institutions from the husband that badly lack funding.. and a mere 10 mill would mathematically get you nowhere for something this big on a federal scale). They don't want to solve the backlog issue... not before, and certainly not now. Why would they want to?

[Steeleballz 7,550]

 

16 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

Against states rights are we? It is rather rare, but immigrants are allowed to vote in certain local matter situations, sometimes on a county by county basis, in a few states, and have been for a long time - long before anyone felt so bothered to complain about it.

I feel a lot of frustration you're experiencing here. That's a common one expressed by many who have been on this forum and been through the process. For K1s the process, while slower these days, actually is faster than it used to be around the time I went through it. That took a lot of significant efforts on the part of persons here getting the past administration's attention. There has never been really any clarity as to what the administrative fees are used for to my knowledge and I don't really care what they use it for so long as the system works. The system is barely working these days, but there's a lot of factors going into that, which is not limited to funds. As a US citizen and taxpaying LPRs, we're all having to pay money into the pit, including for things we have no idea where it's going, or even agree upon what it will be used for one way or another. $10 million is relatively a drop in the bucket. I personally don't think that even this amount put towards staffing would actually help the problem. I'm serious, it's that bad. You'd need a budget far grander for this amount (trust me I get budget info on state sized government institutions from the husband that badly lack funding.. and a mere 10 mill would mathematically get you nowhere for something this big on a federal scale). They don't want to solve the backlog issue... not before, and certainly not now. Why would they want to?

 

   NASA spent $15 million to research how golf equipment would work in outer space. That was wasteful. Especially since golf is boring no matter what planet you are on.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

43 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

It is rather rare, but immigrants are allowed to vote in certain local matter situations, sometimes on a county by county basis, in a few states, and have been for a long time - long before anyone felt so bothered to complain about it.

 

i was wondering when someone would point that out.

[Neonred 3,562]

7 hours ago, yuna628 said:

Against states rights are we? It is rather rare, but immigrants are allowed to vote in certain local matter situations, sometimes on a county by county basis, in a few states, and have been for a long time - long before anyone felt so bothered to complain about it.

 

Including illegals?

[yuna628 9,676]

5 hours ago, Neonred said:

Including illegals?

That would depend on the prerogative of the state, now wouldn't it? The article you quoted was based on a law passed via a ballot measure voted on by the people of that state to allow an illegal immigrant to vote in a very specific local based election.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

 

7 hours ago, Neonred said:

Including illegals?

 

   We seem to be getting side tracked by this. The discussion is centered on helping LPR's become citizens. The voting that the OP referred to (and which would be pertinent in this case) would be elections that require citizenship. Nothing in this topic pertained to illegal aliens.

 

   These grant's are non partisan, so I don't get the reference to buying votes or creating voters. Any LPR could take this step. It's not making voters out of anyone who couldn't be one within a short time frame. It seems to be set up for helping those who may be having difficulty with the process.

 

   As far as the money itself, any LPR who would benefit from this has already paid a load of money into the system. I don't have an issue with them getting help back from that system if they need it. The issue of streamlining the immigration process is a separate one, and a valid one. I don't see how this grant relates to it. Fifteen million is not going to fix the immigration system.

[Keith & Arileidi 437]

On 7/29/2018 at 2:20 PM, Neonred said:

That's changing.

 

Non-citizens legally register to vote in San Francisco school elections

 

https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article215095600.html

Its always been allowed. 

Just not for national elections. 

Edited July 30, 2018 by Keith & Arileidi

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

2 hours ago, Keith & Arileidi said:

Its always been allowed. 

Just not for national elections. 

And it shouldn’t be.  Ever.  Just as we cannot vote in elections in foreign countries. 

[Keith & Arileidi 437]

13 minutes ago, Satisfied said:

And it shouldn’t be.  Ever.  Just as we cannot vote in elections in foreign countries. 

Why are you so interested in depriving immagrants of thier rights? 

Edited July 30, 2018 by Keith & Arileidi

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

26 minutes ago, Keith & Arileidi said:

Why are you so interested in depriving immagrants of thier rights? 

What makes you think non-citizens should have the right to vote?  I never voted in a foreign country.  

[Unidentified 2,930]

18 hours ago, Keith & Arileidi said:

Why are you so interested in depriving immagrants of thier rights? 

Immigrants can vote once they become a citizen. Why should they vote before then? No other country in the world lets non-citizens vote, why would the US?