Lately there seems to be a lot of controversy and bickering amongst members with no timelines. Whether their input is considered of any value is personal. What WOULD be of value to everyone, is that all members are required to give timeline and service centre info. as a requirement for validation as a member. Most of us are here to get information, and the more accurate that information is the better. ( particularly when we get timelines up and running again)

I don't see the point in people with not much to contribute of any real value other than their own opinions and rants becoming members. Sure read all you want as a guest, but dont set up useless blank profiles just so you can be "heard". (or more rudely - ask for advice!) c'mon people, give and take.

I don't apply for a visa until '08....shall I close the door on my way out?

Yes

I didnt apply for a visa either til dec 2005 - but I joined the site in May 05 so I could do research, and find out info BEFORE we filed - cos knowledge is power!
There's really no problem with ppl who aren't currently filing putting 'applying this year' in their sig line so anyone reading posts from them don't put the emote in there.
I always look at sig lines btw - cos like Welshie there, they can often give the info that's missing on the timeline section and explain why.
This site has been really helpful to me my whole visa journey, not just the part I applied for a visa; I don't think we should 'bar' anyone who's joined, but not yet filed, if they are posting genuine queries and asking for help. And AFAIK 'guests' can't post (and good job too, I admin 2 baordds and I've disabled guest posting on both of them) so in order to ASK you HAVE to join

of course, I understand your points.. I was referring to some members who,err dont seem to be on any kind of 'visa' journey, not people starting their own journeys. I should have said, at the point where people are in the USCIS system, there should be a contribution in terms of information.

There were a few threads recently that got me hot and bothered. guess I had my first rant!

lisa,

You seem to think that timelines have some value beyond stimulating people to complain when someone else gets a petition or visa application approved faster than their own.

Processing times at the Service Centers and consulates has always fluctuated over time, often significantly, for any number of reasons, many of them having nothing to do with the interests of people here at VJ since our marriage-based immigration is but a small part of a much, much bigger work load. More than that, changes that have been made since INS was dissolved and the new USCIS has been making successful efforts to reduce backlogs make timelines more useless than ever. Especially now that IMBRA has become effective, all time information prior to 6 March is utterly useless - both the USCIS and the DoS have new things to do and it will be quite some time before a new equilibrium is established. And then it will last only until USCIS makes further adjustments to accomodate its work load.

Yodrak

I can respect both sides presented so far...

The larger your dataset the better the analysis and seeing trends, etc. But this site is very large and I think the few timelines you are not getting will have virtually no impact on the state-side part of the process (including AOS). All your members (except say DCF) timelines you have give you state side info... and you've got plenty of that.

Your issue here is getting enough people at all the various consulates to make the data a good representation... this is a bigger issue for you guys in my eyes. But seeing how most consulates are fairly fast (ie: less than six months), I think the issue is that that big.

I think the issue is bigger for consulates like in China, where the overall process can take 8 months - 2 years and the more data you have the better to see what's truly going on at the various stages.

But to Yodrak's defense, he's right... There has to be some time (once again) for changes to settle down.

NVC got hit with recalling petitions; consulates suddenly are getting fewer ones each month, yet I saw no speed up in China due to this. What were they doing with fewer cases to process ? It's hard to know how everyone is shifting to the current changes and it will be time before some new trends are meaningful.

Of course the final comment should be that some just want to have some privacy about their timelines and you don't want them posting alias times just to satisfy the desire for more timelines.

Some just don't want their info posted for fear of 'third party correspondence', someone sending the consulate a nasty note about this person. While I really don't think this is going to happen, I respect that this is a concern for some.

3rd party correspondence? How can someone send a nasty note to a consulate? What willl they say? That 'Yodrak' (don't mind me borrowing you I hope, lol) said blah blah? The consulate won't have a clue who 'Yodrak' is
Honestly anyone with that kind of concern is overly paranoid IMO.
And lisaf no worries Everyone is entitled to at least ONE rant on here

i believe there are a ton of members on here who are working towards citizenship and other types of immigration issues. They dont have to have a timeline. Ultimately the FInal decision always is on the individual themselves, they cannot blame anyone on this site if something goes wrong with their case.

Oh yes. It's happened.
Right here out of our own sweet little VJ.

A lot of people can't help but share their real names.

I have 4 ticker tags what more you want? should I make a 5th one?

I have 4 ticker tags what more you want? should I make a 5th one?
[/quote]

If you like
obviously, anyone on the same route as you CAN learn a lot from your journey. That was my point. When I originally posted I was reacting to posts by " trolls" ( I believe they are called:) I thought it was not PC to post links to threads or name people outright, so it was a read between the lines type situation, aimed at THOSE people.
I noticed reading around today that some people have been disabled. Good. I also noticed the " VJ not the same anymore" thread and at least one other where people are bowing out of VJ because of all the mud slinging and nastiness. Shame.

re Yodrak's post.. Yes I understand that the whole timeline thing went to hell in a handbasket after IMBRA. I don't rely on it, although before my timeline was running pretty much on par before it struck. I doubt timelines will be back on track to be of much help during my K1 phase, but it will get there for the future K1- ers . I still have a long way to go, so Im happy to see anyone's timelines or signatures at all steps of the process. Thanks to those who keep it up.

Welshie, your avatar just kills me!

I think Lisa is just trying to figure out what to do with people that make insane questions that nobody really understands and that we have no idea what to answer ´cus we don´t even know if they have applied or not, where they are from and what they are applying for.

Now why didnt I just say that you're right , I temporarily lost my mind.. that " scottish highlands " character, the sorry wee article that he is, made me want to pop a blood vessel. Im over it..BACK TO BUSINESS! visa, visa visa....

Yodrak,

I found the timelines useful, not as a tool to complain about others recieving something faster then me, but as a guideline for planning. I know you can say that certain processing times have fluctuated, but, looking back a few years historically, it hasn't been that much flucuation. If I had not had access to this information, I would not know if normal times for NOA2 were 2 days or 2 years. I would not have known if NVC processing times where 2 days or 2 years either.

Yes there are other factors, and things can change (AR) and such, but the timelines do give a newbie a better idea of what is going on, and what is involved with the process.

However, I have said this before, I always appreciate your well thought out and helpful posts Yodrak.

Laura,

One could do 1 of 2 things,
- ask clarifying questions to get the necessary information (usually a good idea anyway since few posters provide enough information), or
- ignore the post.

Yodrak

I would like to refer to an ill-fated incident on this board where an "outside" party pulled personal information from this forum about a few members and posted them on a blog site without permission in a very unfavorable light. (Sorry Ewok, I won't say any more about this as you requested.) I was one of them and it was a bit emotionally damaging. As a result I have moved my timeline from easy grasp and was hesitant to leave it on at all. Seems everything on the internet is fair game, whether protected by TOS or not. I don't think people should be penalized for not wanting to present too much personal information on this forum. Just my experience and opinion.