Hi, Everyone:
This website is a useful tool for obtaining information but it seems to me that we're still operating as individuals rather than a group. With some targeted political activism, it seems to me we'd have a better chance of getting results.

I was spurred to try to stir up some action by an April 3 call to the USCIS - apparently the wait has now increased from six months to eight months for action on an I-129 application at the California Service Center. This despite the reported increases in personnel.

I'm also concerned about the apparent violation of statute when it comes to allowing fiances to work. An official with the Ameican Immigration Lawyers Association told me categorically that the K-1 visa allows the fiance to work the minute he or she sets foot on American soil. Yet the USCIS is requiring yet another fee and application, which delays the fiance's ability to work for another 3-4 months, while he or she waits for the agency to issue the permit. There are additional cost factors related to poor planning for this process, but you get the picture.

I'm sure those of you who are applying for other kinds of visas have similar issues.

The point is that, if my last phone call is any indication, things seem to be getting worse rather than better, despite the resignation of Emilio Gonzalez, the Bush appointee who has been responsible for many of the bad decisions that are affecting us.

I'm sure I'm not the first to suggest some kind of concerted political action. Can folks get me up to date on what's been done so far? Here are the ideas that spring to mind for me:

1. Letter writing campaign.
2. Demonstrations in several cities, with media outreach.
3. Website designed specifically to inform public about these issues.

Have these already gotten underway? If not, are people willing to volunteer a few hours to work on this? Does anyone have political organizing experience? Can we coordinate with immigrant rights groups?

Let me know!

Susan Zakin

I'm not sure if someone has already brought this to attention but I think it is a WONDERFUL idea! I'd be willing to volunteer support for this cause!

The worst part about it is you see people who are having there I129-F's approved in 20-30 days in Vermont. It is so frustrating. If Vermont has that much time to already be on late February then they need to get California to give them some of theirs. I try so hard not to watch, but it's hard not to want to know what's going on all the time. I completely agree with you.

Immigration is not a right though and many forget that. When someone has a spouse from a high risk nation further checks will probably be required. I also think that only after someone is married and, files the 495, should they be able to work.





but they do also have a lot of other visas to process there. The finance visa is only one visa and should certainly not be given any priority when compared to many of the other visas.

You're entitled to your opinions, of course. But women, who still earn a lot less money than men in this country, may feel differently about these issues, particularly the right of their fiances to work -- which is a right, according to the law. And as Americans, I hope we all still believe in the rule of law.

I hope to hear from people who want to be part of the effort to make our bureaucracy function effectively on behalf of the people it represents. Immigration policy should not be made de facto by poor administration.

I don't want to get into a debate with right-wingers on this. The head of the agency, Emilio Gonzalez, did not resign because he was doing a good job. We can all unite on the idea that the law should be upheld and our bureaucracy should function in a timely and efficient manner.

Thanks.

I'd like to know more about the information you have from an 'official' with the AILA regarding the ability of K1's to work the moment they set foot on American soil.

Who is this 'official'? What legal cites or references did they give to you?

One of my biggest concerns about USCIS is the lack of transparency in the process. Immigration for our loved ones is a privilege that we may apply for. That doesn't give the USCIS the right to keep us entirely in the dark about the process. For those applications processed within the regular time frame, I don't see as much of an issue, but what about the thousands of applications sitting on someone's desk waiting for years for name checks to be complete? When we ask for information, all we are told is that we have to wait for more processing. There is no accountability. There are similar situations with many foreign consulates that just seem to sit on the applications for months on end and will not give out any information about why there is a delay. I think given that the USCIS and the consulates are funded by our tax dollars and the fees we pay that we have the right to more transparency and to have inquiries on our cases responded to.

I agree. That's an issue. But I think timeliness is even more pressing.

Here is the federal regulation (rather than law; I misspoke! a la Hillary) cited by my source on the American Immigration Lawyers Association. I don't want to post his name because he'll be deluged by phone calls and he'll hate me! He's fairly high up in the organization. I'm a journalist and although I made it clear I was talking to him for personal reasons, he was available to me because I called through the press office. I suppose it's a matter of interpretation, whether the USCIS then has the right to make the person go through yet another application process and three-month wait. But according to the Code, a K-1 should give the person the right to work. I will do a bit more research on this when I get a chance but perhaps someone with access to a law school professor who specializes in this area could also check. Regular imm lawyers in the field seem to accept that we need to apply for the work permit but the law seems questionable.

My notes: In Houston they recognize the uscis reg you have employment authorization incident to status, passport little white I94 card arrival departure record card and that will have been stamped by a customs inspector with the visa classification K-1. that and the passport are sufficient to show that he’s eligible to work.

Old guys at JFK are doing a favor. (by stamping with EAD stamp)

That’s what the regulation says in the Code of Federal Regulation 274a.12(a)(6) alien admitted under fiancé under K1.

Coyote -

Here's that particular section of the code:

"(6) An alien admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant fiancé or fiancée pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(K)(i) of the Act, or an alien admitted as a child of such alien, for the period of admission in that status, as evidenced by an employment authorization document issued by the Service."

As you state, 'regular' (whatever that means) immigration lawyers take the stance about needing an additional document from this section of the code.

I would also like to add that personally I believe transparency to be a larger issue than timeliness. I do understand your position because you are presently at the stage of the journey where you are separated from your loved one. My husband however spent 17 months by my side in the US held up in namecheck with nada a clue as to what could possibly be the holdup. When a senior US Senator and a former US Attorney inquire upon your behalf and are told information cannot be dispensed due to 'national security' matters, you start to become a little buggy as to what's wrong with your good name.

The issue I have with USCIS is the transparency like RJ and kerewin21 said. Quite frankly, I don't care how long it takes them to porcess the petitions. I just wish that they would let us know what is going on.

If they say AP is going to take 6 months then it should. The part where people get frustrated is that they hear the "2-3 weeks" and 5 months down the road they call and are told to call back in another 2 weeks.

If they really stuck to the processing guidelines that they post on the website and actually tried to HELP (instead of the "give us 30 days to look into it. If we have not gotten back to you send us a letter or whatever and wait another 120 days for a response).

Well I am behind you all. Granted, immigration is not a right, but it is what this country was based upon. And besides I know for myself that Calgary has a lot of people coming in on all types of visas, but they manage to get their workload done in a timely manner. So why can't we? Because a lot of these people working at the CSC know that they work for the federal gov. so they don't have to work to hard. I believe with my whole heart that if an effort was given by CSC they could move a lot faster, but they will never do that.

I think immigrants coming to this country should be able to work after they receive a SSN. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions such as any kind of secret or TS clearence-realted job, but waiting another 3+ months to be able to work seems like an unnecessary cost to the petitioner and another burden to the USCIS.

Some people are issued a temporary work authorization at the POE. Why should some be able to work but not others?

This comes up many times but nobody seems to know how best to act on it. Someone needs to contact a group that is well organized and see how best to begin. There are thousands of citizens petitioning in the US but who is willing to lead them? We need a really great name first!

Thanks for the complete wording. Perhaps this is what the guy meant: The reality of it is that the lawyers I've spoken to here recommend getting married ASAP and filing for the work authorization at the same time as one files for the green card etc. The processing for all of these takes about the same amt of time, which is estimated at 4 or 5 months. At most, you will get an extra month of work under the K-1 and pay an extra fee, if this application isn't folded into the larger package. So effectively, there is no real ability to work under the K-1 visa.

The regulation doesn't specify what the employment authorization document is -- which is why I guess the EAD stamp seems to be working for some people. If it is...

That's my reading of it. As for "regular" lawyers, I meant the less high-powered immigration attorney I talked to here in Tucson instead of this rather high-powered guy who practiced in DC and now is a lobbyist for this organization: presumably more political and more in the loop.

I also just got off the phone with someone else in DC who had a lot of interesting things to say. More later.

I do want to say that it's inevitable that people will disagree about what's more egregious in the USCIS but we shouldn't get bogged down with that. Virtually all of the complaints I've read on this site seem well-founded. There seems to be no aspect of its mission that this agency hasn't mishandled, and I mean systematically. It's impressive, in a sick sort of way!

I also wanted to mention that I got a reply from the site's administrator. Apparently, Visajourney.com started as a few individuals who did take political action in the form of well-organized protests outside a USCIS office and raising media awareness. And they tell me they are willing to help coordinate this kind of thing again. So please let me know if you guys are willing to do a little work on this. I want to get some advice from these DC people about what would be most effective -- nobody has time, I'm sure, to do a lot of work on this, but it seems like a good time politically to gain some leverage.

Protests get press but even war ones have not had the effect the organizers have desired. Doesn't seem so much about less support for the cause, but less interest in protesting in general and its effectiveness. Also lying in the streets of DC like the most recent ones only pisses off commuters.

Any sort of demonstration that negatively effects anyone (USCIS employees, citizens) other than those who have the power to make a change in the USCIS will only backfire as people who were sympathetic to our situation or at least indifferent would now feel cynical towards it.

Would contacting local congressmen at a more local (state) level be a good start? If enough people petiton for something on a small level and gets state media coverage, that might turn into national coverage. I first joined VJ a few months ago after becoming aware of it in the Washington Post.

Finding Love Abroad, Then Support Online for Visa Quest

I see nothing wrong with an organized peaceful public stand. As you say, it certainly has been done in the past on VJ.

As for this being an opportune political time, I guess I would disagree with that. Even the issue of illegal immigration has been swept aside for the presidential elections. And the front and center that illegal immigration has received in the past few years really isn't 'good press' for any immigrant. There are more people in this nation who are anti-immigrant than you realize. And their feelings aren't limited to the 'illegal' variety of alien.

I'm all for taking a stand and using the methods available to us. But I ask you to look back to the time before you met your loved one. Just how much (at that time) did you know about United States Citizenship and Immigration Services? Just how much did you care?

Most people are more worried about how to pay their mortgage and buy gasoline. Immigration just doesn't affect most Americans. It's not 'front and center' for them.

Well, lawyers do disagree on things you know. After all that is how they make their living - 'arguing' over the meanings of the written word!

And 'high powered' is as 'high powered' does. You might be surprised at the backgrounds of some immigration lawyers. Many have worked for the State Department or served as a US Attorney.

As for the EAD stamp, the reason it works is because it is a 'document issued by the Service', albeit at an airport and by a CBP officer. Its life span though is only for the duration of the I94. As you have learned, there is usually a gap between the time the expiry of this document and the EAD issued to adjustment applicants.

It was once explained on these forums like so - for all practical purposes a K1 entrant should plan for a period of unemployment.

It's my personal experience (from observing my husband after his move here) that this isn't always a bad thing. There's so much more adjusting for the immigrant than one can imagine. A little break from the working world can aid the transition while the immigrant 'gets their bearings' on life in a new land.

Hi, Rebecca, Jack, Barbara, et al:
I figured that I would talk to some folks in D.C. about strategy before proposing anything specific. There's a guy I've run across who worked on the Hill and has worked on immigration issues for 30 years. I spoke to him today and I was very impressed. He's got his own agenda, which is overall immigration reform, and he was going into a meeting, but I will talk to him again next week.

My initial thoughts are, like yours, on a fairly small scale. Media is more important than anything else. I wonder if there is some sort of demonstration, whether it should be in California, at the Laguna Niguel Field Office, which I keep hearing is so much slower than the Vermont Field Office. This also seems to be a good one because there are several pro-immigrant organizations in L.A.

On the other hand, perhaps Washington or New York. Either of those would be out of my travel range, but I could help with some press stuff.

But a few people demonstrating won't do much unless there is press outreach. A friend sent me the piece in the Washington Post, too, and that's how I found out about Visa Journey. The New York Sun has done some good pieces and oddly enough USA Today. But we have to think of a new angle. I'll talk to this guy and see what he says. Maybe an email deluge to some key players would be helpful, but I don't know who those would be at this point. I will ask. The administration obviously doesn't care but I know Chuck Schumer has been good on this issue and Congress may have some influence.

It would be nice to think of something clever to get press coverage. And inexpensive to pull off.

I do think it would be good to make a list of major complaints, a simple fact sheet. I'm sure one of these organizations has one, but I was thinking of one that represents the concerns of this group.

I do think it's a good time because 1) it's an election year, and 2) immigration reform will be coming up in the next session of Congress. I personally (as a journalist) think it's a good story because it IS the underreported story of immigration. And, yes, I would have been interested in it even if I weren't personally involved because injustice is always a compelling story. Any issue runs into the same problems with apathy, Britney Spears coverage dominating the airwaves, etc. That's just the way things are now.

As far as giving the significant other time to acclimate to the weirdness of the U.S., nice if you can afford it! I'm a freelance writer who went back to graduate school and I'm working on a novel. I didn't plan to fall in love! In fact, I was planning to keep myself clear of relationships until I settled into a teaching job at a university. My boyfriend is a sailboat captain, a tour guide, and a very good plumber -- and plumbers, like it or not, are much more in demand than ####-disturbing journalists in our country these days. This whole process has been far more expensive than I anticipated and I need him to work! Besides I think it will be better for his head if he has his own money and his own life.

But I'm resigned to losing that one....I can't fathom how some old guys at Customs in JFK are stamping visas and nobody else is. I'm going to investigate that, but I'm dubious. The guy at AILA was quite good, I thought, but perhaps he was making a legal argument rather than giving practical advice. He said some clever things about preparing yourself to understand immigration by reading Kafka and Lewis Carroll.

Gotta get back to my real work, but thanks for the feedback. Will get back on some of this next week, but keep me posted with any ideas. I would like to get the administrator guy in the loop here -- does anyone know who the people are who did the demo and press outreach the first time?

Susan

A very good issue with the Immigration law that MUST change is the widow penalty. This is something that I don't think anyone would oppose. There are plenty of sad stories behind this and I think anyone that would champion this in Congress or the Senate would be considered a hero.

Hi Gaby,

I'm not familar with this (plead ignorance), what is the widow's penalty? I'm sure I could google it but it would be beneficial to post as well.

Thanks.

From LA Times Mar. 25 (too easy on Gonzalez but good overview of lawsuits against USCIS)

Citizenship delayed
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Legal immigrants shouldn't have to wait for more than a year to have their applications processed.
March 25, 2008

When Emilio Gonzalez steps down next month as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, he will leave an agency as flawed as he found it. Citizenship application processing is mired in backlogs, disenfranchising legal residents who try to follow the rules and offering a new incentive for others to ignore them.

The agency's inefficiencies, of course, predated Gonzalez's arrival in December 2005. Only days before his Senate confirmation, a federal judge called the agency's structure "byzantine" and ordered immigration officials to issue green cards to thousands of legal permanent residents it had left in citizenship limbo, in some cases for years. Nevertheless, if he couldn't fix past transgressions, Gonzalez could have prevented new ones. The agency was warned that it would be deluged with applications as legal residents sought to avoid the 66% fee increase that went into effect in July, and it was. More than 1.4 million applications had been received by the end of last year, twice as many as in 2006.

Recently, Gonzalez announced some good news: The agency will complete 930,000 applications by Sept. 30, and the time frame for processing will drop to 14 months, down from 16 to 18 months. This certainly is an improvement, if nowhere near the six to seven months that was once standard.

So this is not the moment to blame Gonzalez, but rather to lament the pileup of applications that remains and to hope his successor will be able to quicken the pace. Streamlining the citizenship application process is the single largest issue affecting legal immigrants in the U.S. -- but the current state of affairs encourages illegal immigration too, teaching that queuing up for U.S. citizenship is arduous and possibly futile.

Furthermore, these delays have consequences. Beyond being unable to vote, legal residents cannot obtain certain jobs and benefits, can travel abroad only with great difficulty and cannot begin the family reunification process. Anger is building. In August, the Service Employees International Union sued the government over the increase in application fees, and in December, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit over lengthy waits for FBI background checks. Earlier this month, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund sued the U.S. on behalf of Latinos, charging that the government failed to fulfill a core responsibility and grant citizenship to legal applicants.

The broader issue of how to reform our broken immigration system is complicated, and we may debate the fate of millions of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. for months and years to come. But there are aspects of the system that can be fixed right away, and the immigration service's backlog is one of them.

They screwed up plain and simple - they should be held accountable as we would in our jobs. Their regulatory complaince is not in place and that is a major no no - when a governmental agency plans for changes, make sure you think it out as this country is based on immigration and not to destroy family values.

Count me in!

And me If I had screwed up as bad as that in my job not only would i be out of a job I would be sued to the point of bankruptcy

And you basically work for a governmental agency Kris - go figure - they need to be held accountable and I am quite surprised that class action suits against them have not been flying in the courts - COMPLIANCE HAS NOT BEEN HIGH ON THEIR LIST HERE.

Nice idea, great idealisms and all that stuff but USCIS immigration reform starts at the top and it is an agency that is so large and ingrained into the self preservation of itself that it is going to be hard to go and protest against it and expect to get any response. The political climate and the will of the American voters is not on your side now.

Good luck trying to protest and change it by protest, but you are at a point in time when many, many, many Americans are out of work, struggling to pay bills or have had their job outsourced and taken away by illegal immigrants or 3rd world countries receiving those jobs of Americans or American companies. Thus you are not going to get any of the support or sympathy think, and speaking from experience, you will be receiving more anger from your friends, co-workers and the rest of working(or out of work legal citizens) America, remember all those protests and marches by all the illegal Mexicans, Central Americans and South Americans back in spring 2005 and 2006 only magnified the problem USCIS has with controlling the USA borders, thus it awakened a sleeping giant - that 80% plus of American electorate that was shocked to see on national news TV what they consider illegal law breakers protesting for rights they do not have when they are here illegally in the USA in first place and broke US law coming here and living here, then taking away their jobs. Those illegal people have only made it harder on the rest of us that go through the legal channels for US immigration, thus things have gotten stricter, slower processing times and more red tape forms and waits!

It is a mess and it angers you and all of us - so the first thing you think of is well let us go protest and raise hell like every other minority group or illegal entrant group does in the USA, but that is not going to work this time, there is a serious backlash now against all immigrants, mostly the illegal entrants but it affects all of us that are legal also indirectly.

The best solution for quickest response would be to begin encouraging everyone to write, call or go visit their respective US representative and 2 US Senators on a monthly basis. Until the legislature is on board to make a priority with the immigration law, it is not going anywhere. I would not recommend even contacting Bush, he is a lame duck now and an abject failure, and you are not going to get anything out of him, look at how his people handled every other major domestic or foreign crisis for the USA for past 8 years, I mean it is horrible how they operate or well do not operate. And if anyone can afford it, donate to the candidate for president you think will make some serious improvements, and go vote for that one this fall. Sometimes the wheels of democracy and justice turn slow, but they do turn.

If your US spouse dies before you complete your AOS and you haven't been married 2 years you will be deported.

"There is a difference, of course, between these issues. We are talking about the rights of U.S. citizens -- us. That's the way to sell the issue. And it also happens to be the truth. We're being treated like illegals." - coyote

Coyote -

According to the lobbyists I have spoken with, the way to 'sell' the issue to the public (and to Congress) is National Security.

No offense to you, but that is the problem, liberal leaning people/groups or higher educated or university people or liberal out of touch media are in the minority here, think about it. Less than 20 or 10% of US population is in your demographic. Also many voting Americans are thoroughly put out and disgusted with how the current US president and Congress has absolutely failed at enforcing immigration laws for past 8 years or more while they all suffer from the ill effects of illegal immigration, NAFTA, out sourcing of jobs, etc and in their eyes law breakers of US laws. I do not even mention or try to discuss or get into a debate with mainstream America about immigration, I will lose ever time, and oh sure they will all sit there and say they do not mind a poor illegal Mexican or Latin worker hopping the Rio Grande or the US border looking for work to your face, but get them alone or off to the side off the record and you will see and get how they really feel, a total hatred of immigrants now because in their mind it is not like it was with a legal organized process at Ellis Island from all their history books in school, it is now this total mess that we have now.

Quite simply, the best way is through small steps, contacting Congressman(women) monthly or basically if everyone on VJ wants to get really serious they need to all donate and set up a PAC or hire lobbyists to go to Washington DC and represent our interests, sorry but money talks and idealism walks when working in the US politics, speaking from experience. Best that we try getting a little at a time changing the legal immigration process for those of us that do it the right way and follow the USA laws, we should be taken care of and rewarded first and foremost, not the illegals or the lawbreakers, for it is because of them that we have this hostile situation that the rest of us are now forced to throw ourselves into when we go to marry someone from another country and file for visas, or GC or citizenship.

I mean think about it, what better way for the current federal government to thump it's chest and announce look, we are getting tough on immigration and cracking down then to just screw down on the only thing they currently have control over - those of us that file the legal way and follow the rules and laws and pay the fees! We are the ones that suffer, it is not the illegals, they get a free ride and a free pass and will apparently stop at nothing to continue breaking USA immigration laws or any other laws once here in the USA with total disrespect for the USA. I mean the bottom line is, these people that come to the USA illegally are lawbreakers and should not be rewarded or allowed to stay under any circumstance, I used to feel like well why not it is only one or two or a few or a poor Latin family looking for a better life in the USA - but the side effects and the ill will caused by this massive turning of the blind eye to this serious problem has now hurt all of us. Believe me there is a serious backlash against any immigrant now, speaking from personal experience, you have to play your cards right, because just having the GC and being perfectly legal still does not keep my fellow Americans from taking a more critical view of my spouse, even if the spouse is perfectly legal! Automatically we come under suspicion of "How did you get here" or "how did you meet" or "do you have a GC" or "is your spouse legal" and even if they are lot of people are resentful of someone coming from another country to take their job or possibly pass them by and displace them. IT is real and it is happening and it is mainstream America that is feeling this resentment and they do vote and they all overwhelmingly are in favor or deporting and seriously enforcing existing immigration laws. And an end note, even my own spouse does not understand how the USA government stands around and allows illegal entrants into the USA the same rights as citizens when they have broken USA laws - think about it, quite the ultimate paradox is it not, I mean you have legal immigrants going through hell, long waits, expensive fees, filling out paperwork and jumping through hoops on interviews at embassies, gathering up all this ongoing documents to constantly prove themselves to the USCIS, sitting and waiting in a bureaucratic mess called legal immigration - then they soon start learning from watching and reading the US news how there are all these illegals that came into the USA and they are sitting here scratching their head asking "Wait a minute I thought the USA was fair and just and the most grandest justice following country in the world, the leader, yet why have I been subjected to this immigration process and unable to work legally for months while waiting on GC or EAD, yet I see all these illegals on TV marching and protesting or raising hell on TV interviews or in the media or newsprint services" I mean how do you explain it to a new immigrant that came to the USA legally and look them in the eye, you cannot, and I have not even tried, I only say well eventually it is a wrong that will be righted. I just got my eyes opened to the real serious problem with illegals and what they have created and caused for the rest of us doing it the legal, law-abiding way of the USA immigration law. It is not right nor fair and it is an injustice to each and every one of us going through this VJ process.

And I used to feel - so what or who cares if an illegal comes into the USA to work, they are doing what anyone would do or they are trying to better themselves or they are doing work someone else would not do or they are providing cheap labor for jobs that would cause all of us as consumers to pay more for. Well those statements are ill founded and do not hold truth, the side effects of illegals coming into the USA has not been good overall for the entire US populace, and I am speaking from personal observations over many years now, and now with going through USCIS process. We live in a civilized country in the USA, and if we are to keep it civilized, then we must continue to have rules and laws that protect the freedoms of our USA citizens that do live civilly and follow the USA rule of law.

Sometimes it makes me laugh when I think it would be quicker and possibly cheaper to get my SO over here illegally (not that I would ever seriously consider it).

I know you were joking, but I really don't think it's anything to laugh about.

You wouldn't want someone you love to live always looking over their shoulder.

Well, that's the irony of it. That it would be "quicker and possibly cheaper" for a loved one to come over illegally than to come through legal immigration. There is some incentive for those to do just that, even at the expense of living in fear.

Agreed, it is the sad state of affairs all this immigration has come to, it is truly frustrating, but I agree with the point you make. Hang in there, it just takes time and patience and money - and lots of it!

Maybe that's where I see things quite a bit differently than you based upon where my husband and I are with his immigration.

You are still separated. We aren't.

At this point it's only natural for speed of reunification to be your top priority.

We however went through a very lengthy and stressful 17 month adjustment of status. I'm keenly aware of how tenuous an immigrants presence can be in our country. You see, even though we were reunited, I sometimes wondered if it were possible my husband could be sent back home.

My main issues with DHS/USCIS are transparency of the process as it regards the background investigations of our loved ones, and due process insofar as their legal rights are concerned.

I wanted to be reunited with my husband. But more importantly, I wanted a long life with him here in the US without the interference of the US government, and with their blessing.

I don't think we're disagreeing with each other ultimately. I'm talking about how it is ironic that some would consider the illegal route because of the bureacracy involved with USCIS and the lengthy process. Obviously, it is still worth the wait because our SOs would immigrate here legally.

Racial profiling isnt going away anytime soon, but so long as our SOs come here legally and get through the AOS and become naturalized (albeit a very lengthy process), they aren't going to be deported. We haven't gotten to the AOS step yet, but from almost 2 1/2 years of seeing each other 2x a year, I can say on my own that the distance has not been easy, but it's worth the wait.

Hopefully, with some pressure on the government, USCIS, etc, the wait will shorten for us all.

"Racial profiling" wasn't an issue for my husbands adjustment. He was caught in security clearance - FBI namecheck.

I wasn't overly distraught (most days) about the length of time it was taking. But in dark moments, I knew there were rare instances where an immigrants identity becomes confused with that of an undesirable person. And that confusion can lead to great difficulties.

I agree the process is too lengthy and cumbersome. But I don't want just speed - I want accuracy. And I want fair play for the immigrant. Google around and you'll read heartbreaking tale after another about families legally separated because of some wrinkle in the law - something they honestly didn't understand or some minor immigration infraction they unknowingly violated.

You're right - we don't disagree. But if you study the process a bit more, I know you'll find more injustices within it than the length of time we wait on our visas. And I hope you don't wait on yours much longer.

USCIS could cut the time down to a fraction of what it is now if they would go 100% electronic on petition submittals. Their is no reason every petition could be filed electronically. All supporting documents could be scanned as attachments when submitted. This would give everyone their NOA1 instantly. Just think how many jobs could be cut at USCIS just by this process? The time in the current process spent transferring documents also would be eliminated. This would allow USCIS to focus on hiring and training adjudicators and not so much support staff that would no longer be needed.

There is a reason - the USCIS' current system would not support that. That's what they're supposed to be working towards after the fee increase, but the wheels of govt turn slow. We'll have to see how that develops over time.

A dubious claim it is you have, prove it.

You can prove it to yourself by reading the Ombudsman's Report, wherein you will find reportings of the actual hardware on adjudicator's desks.

Just Reading Reports doesnt mean its true. Bush's Sources reported that IRAQ had WMDs, but I guess they were wrong..... And Ombudsman is just a non working agency.... kinda like BBB for corporations, good in theory bad in practice...

So you are saying the Ombudsman would incorrectly report about the technology USCIS presently has available in order to justify deliberately NOT immediately switching to electronic processing?

Beyond that, have you ever known the government to implement anything quickly? Common sense alone should tell you it would take some time.

Wouldnt be the first time, when a report by goverment agency wasnt "accurate"

Just think of the time it takes for people to get the mail, open the mail, enter data into the computer from the petition, make sure everything is correct on the form, make sure they sent the correct fee, and so on. This time and cost would be eliminated. Time also would be saved in transferring and reviewing documents because a central dadabase could be used. The savings in employees for data entry could then be used for more adjudicators which also would speed up the process.