Write to President Biden

[Crazy Cat 41,881]

This thread certainly changed directions, didn't it.  I hope something can be done to speed up the process for law-abiding applicants who have waited so patiently for months and months......but I will not hold my breath.  There, simply,  is no easy or fast fix.

Edited February 6, 2021 by Lucky Cat

[Mike E 11,739]

I’m afraid the death knell of family and work based legal immigration is upon us.  With over 100,000 refugees a year being admitted, USCIS will be overwhelmed. 

[LoveJonLovell 306]

I thought M had already had his interview. 😢

[Marthaeu 39]

18 hours ago, Ann Blair said:

All - If you’ve been following U.S. politics and President Biden’s executive orders and initiatives then you know he’s expressed a desire to focus on a path for illegals in the U.S. I would like to ask him to also focus on fixing the legal immigration process. I want him to look at the K1 and CR1/IR1 process that so many of us are stuck in. I am a U.S. citizen and have been separated from my U.K. husband for nearly a year. Now we’ve run into yet another delay and I’ve had to hire an immigration attorney. There is a form to contact the White House and share your concerns. I don’t think, President Biden is reading this inbox himself, but I’m thinking about volume here. If enough of us send messages urging him to look at this, maybe someone will put these messages in front of him and say, ‘Sir 100’s (1000’s!) of U.S. citizens, voters, tax payers have been writing and sharing their stories.’ My message will include NVC’s 1 hour hold time, how our DQ got delayed due to NVC “misrouting” our case, about the 2 expedite requests I submitted including a Dr’s note and both requests were denied... and about the emotional stress and hardship that this broken process has caused us. Please take a minute and share your story. There is character limit on the form so if you’re wordy like me, you may have to edit your post for length. Maybe if enough of us write this could get looked at. I’ve included the link below. 

 

Contact the White House: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi2sODSodPuAhXOHM0KHUNZC-0QFjAAegQIAhAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whitehouse.gov%2Fcontact%2F&usg=AOvVaw12w3dIHKsIMB8cvnk4mAf-

 

I just send an email.!!!🙏🙏🙏

 The experiences are different, my case was approved in 7 months when in Nebraska for category CR1 they were processing between 12-15 months.  Now the process is stopped waiting for the Bogota Embassy to assign appointments for interviews that are pending since Nov 2019. I would like to know who controls those embassies?  Could it be that President Biden who I vote for can do something?

[carmel34 3,633]

The new resources needed to fix all of this, human and technology, would cost millions, even billions.  More USCIS staff and updated systems, additional embassy/consulate staff abroad, a huge increase in the number of immigration judges and staff, is a daunting task given the millions waiting in a backlogged system.  Fees would have to double or triple at least, consultants paid, new offices opened, systems overhauled.  Governments in most countries are not known for their efficiency, and an overwhelmed system in all aspects is not an easy fix even with a new immigration-friendly president and congress.  There's hope, but with the pandemic as the first priority it will take years to see any progress.

[PWB 213]

All this political talk about "fixing" immigration is being directed towards illegal immigration and not to those paying the bills for USCIS, and that is us.  I don't mind taking care of others but fix legal immigration first.  Take care of those paying those outrages fees for visa issue and the never ending road to citizenship for those of doing it the legal way.

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

3 hours ago, PWB said:

All this political talk about "fixing" immigration is being directed towards illegal immigration and not to those paying the bills for USCIS, and that is us.  I don't mind taking care of others but fix legal immigration first.  Take care of those paying those outrages fees for visa issue and the never ending road to citizenship for those of doing it the legal way.

Last time I checked DACA applications aren’t free, so I don’t really know what to make of your “paying the bills” comment. I also highly doubt any path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants will be free either. 

[PWB 213]

2 hours ago, MorganandMichael said:

Last time I checked DACA applications aren’t free, so I don’t really know what to make of your “paying the bills” comment. I also highly doubt any path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants will be free either. 

Applicants pay for over 96% of the USCIS budget with the paying of fees, that is what I mean.  Why should DACA get off free?  They need to pay like the rest of us.  

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

35 minutes ago, PWB said:

Applicants pay for over 96% of the USCIS budget with the paying of fees, that is what I mean.  Why should DACA get off free?  They need to pay like the rest of us.  

??? They DON’T get off free. They complete a DACA APPLICATION and pay a filing fee, just like every other applicant.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-821d

Edited February 6, 2021 by MorganandMichael

[PWB 213]

Not saying they don't pay a fee I am saying they should like the rest of us.  Look I understand the plight of DACA and really support there situation, I am simply saying legal immigration needs some attention and support from this Government.

[joe.b 33]

Just want to point out that the fact that USCIS is a purely fees-funded agency isn't some commandment from a divine power. It's a choice that Congress made. There's no legal or constitutional reason Congress can't just allocate it funding in addition to what it brings in through fees. (Although there are political reasons it doesn't do so.)

 

In fact, I think it would be better, just from a governance perspective, if Congress did provide at least some of its funding. I was talking to a USCIS employee (in a social, non-professional context) and he said that because the agency is funded entirely through fees, Congress doesn't bother with much oversight. This lack of oversight could lead to misuse or or poor management of funds by the agency.

 

Anyway, this is all just to say, as others have pointed out, that there's no reason this has to be an "us-versus-them" situation. I too contacted my member of Congress and asked that more resources be given to USCIS, but without making some argument against undocumented immigrants.

[Delarose 0]

On 2/5/2021 at 9:01 PM, RamonGomez said:

The funny thing is, we also had a large hiccup with one of our I-130s thanks to USCIS, and NVC was actually the easiest to deal with. Whenever I picked up the phone I knew that usually within an hour I'd be able to speak to someone reasonably competent, and they were always very friendly as well. Emails were usually answered within 1-2 weeks with correct information. 

 

Trying to get a T2 agent callback from USCIS, or getting in touch with the consulate abroad, or getting an InfoPass was a nightmare.

NVC (email) has always been swift to respond to any questions I have (one to two days).  I'd leave the calling option for when you absolutely cannot get your point across via email; they are on overload during normal times, much less during COVID. The bonus is that you have their answer in print if there is any confusion later on.

[pablo2752 106]

I don't see the delays and general negligent malfeasance by USCIS getting fixed anytime soon unless Congress decides that perhaps it's not so great idea to have a government agency comprising 13K federal employees depend on filing fees for 98% of the budget. 

[Huskyfan32 2]

On 2/5/2021 at 11:29 PM, joe.b said:

Pretty vile to see people using the term "illegals" for fellow human beings.

 

 

you are correct, illegal isnt the proper term...

 

CRIMINAL immigrant seems to be the best fit.

 

a criminal immigrant sneaks into our country illegally, thus, they are breaking immigration laws. they then come here and steal our jobs, collect free welfare, and then have anchor babies so their kids can become a US citizen. how is that fair for those who do things the legal way??? some of us have to wait for years to be able to come to this country legally, but a criminal immigrant can easily jump across the border and then collect free welfare.

if you support criminals so much, then let them stay at your house and you can support them. i will NOT pay taxes so the government can support criminal immigrants. let me know how that works out for you when they pop out 9 kids. you will have to work 3 jobs, 20 hours a day to support that family. feel bad for them? then let them stay at your house. let me know how that works out for you.

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by Huskyfan32

[Wuozopo 4,293]

On 2/6/2021 at 3:18 AM, StellaGB1 said:

Yes I am also disappointed with the “illegals” rhetoric. We are all frustrated. We all miss our loved ones. We all know this process is expensive, long and hard but I think we should all take a step back and relish in the fact we have the opportunity to do this legally. There are people that would kill just to be given that opportunity. Undocumented immigrants are not our enemy, it does not need to be us vs them. The issue lies within the system, with funding, resources and management, not undocumented immigrants. 

 I have mixed feelings about this. Living in Texas, I see the strain that the undocumented put on our state/county economies, schools, and health care resources. Perhaps up north it isn’t in your face daily. Perhaps you’ve never had a fender bender accident when the person who hit you had no driver license or insurance. I have to wonder how many thousands  more we can invite in to support locally. I don’t think of them in terms of the enemy, but perhaps I think of them as a burden. Where do the huge amount of resources and funding you mention come from...my county taxes, federal taxes, school taxes, high priced medical care...... ??
 

My wife has  helped undocumented we know with the DACA hoops to jump through. She has reviewed tax returns and made so many calls to the IRS to help a family with fake social security numbers file and pay their income tax on jobs they hold without work authorization. I sympathize with their plight. We care about these people. A year ago when Covid became very real to us, we decided that nobody was coming in our home. We dismissed our housekeeper team, but continued to pay them full wages for three months. 
 

I wonder if you have considered that you don’t want to use the word “illegals” yet describe your situation as doing it “legally” (“relish in the fact we have the opportunity to do this legally”). If you are immigrating legally, then aren’t the others immigrating illegally? Should maybe you say doing it with documentation? The semantics and politically correct terminology are the least of our problems and just give something else almost trivial to argue about. 
 

I have no grand ideas of how to fix things. I just see how opening our borders can be a strain. As I said, mixed feelings on the topic due to proximity to the southern border. 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Wuozopo