Seeing the thing about the $1,00 fee for the Working Visa made me, wonder if this was possible for the K Visas would people be willing to do it.


I know we would have done it....wihtout looking back. If we could have just paid a fee and they "rush" hubby's visa we could have began our lives together much sooner.

Yes. $1000.

Yes, $500.

Although in reality, no. When I filed the visa, I was completely broke and probably couldn't have spared $500 easily.
And now, after all this waiting, I am actually glad we've had this time. It's definitely been difficult, but it's made the relationship really, really strong and able to withstand a lot. So I guess I should have voted no. Oops.

Yes, $500...but was also newly graduated from college and broke when I filed so I don't know how I would have paid the extra.

In the hypothetical world where it is possible to pay for faster processing, I would have $5,000 just lying around as well.

I wouldn't say it made the relationship stronger, it is (still ) showing us how much we can take and will probably make a lot of future problems seem silly, but I'd pay whatever they asked for in a heartbeat.

I would have paid $5,000 and probably $10,000 too.

F*** making the relationship stronger - it really really sucked.

I voted maybe and $5000. Because for that much I'd want the visa in a few weeks, and guaranteed to get the visa.

Yep and I said $1500

Yes and I said up to $1500, however I have a feeling that I would have no issue paying more. Anything to light a fire under Amman's a$$

i said maybe...would depend on how much cash flow we had. It was so fast in AUstralia anyway that could I have done the same way - no I wouldn't have paid extra.

If I had to have done it the traditional way - yes...prolly $1,500 if I had it.

Yes and I said $1000 because that is the current fee being charged to business. If such an option were available I don't think private citizen customers should be asked to pay more.

Yes, $1000 and I would expect RESULTS for my money.

I said maybe and 1K. But for me the "guarantee" of receiving visa is MUCH more important than speeding up date to interview. If it were only to speed-up the crap-shoot called the interview and the mood of the CO at that time, I'd save the cash.

I voted no, the process was expensive enough, and, by God's grace the whole process for me was a year flat (from initial petition to green card in hand). Irregardless of that, I didn't mind what wait we did have, since it gave me time to get things organized.

My husband, on the other hand, is the impatient one in the relationship. He'd probably vote for the $5000 if it meant me getting there quicker.

I voted 'yes' and $1000.

I voted yes, and I'd have paid upwards of $5000 to get my husbands green card immediately when we decided to move from the UK last summer. I figure what we spent on the K-3 visa as well as the AOS and the EAD, plus all the travelling costs associated with visiting one another while he waited around in England for his K-3 to be approved while I moved back and got us sorted with a home and job, etc....we spent at least that much anyway. Factor in what we lost in income due to waiting for the EAD and him not being allowed to legally work right away and we're talking thousands more lost. I probably would have spent more than that if it meant we didn't have to be separated and didn't have to go through 13 months of red tape hell.

I wouldn't want that to be an option in the law.

It's supposed to be a fiancé visa, not a business transaction. A couple shouldn't have to wait a year longer while all the richer couples pay to jump the line. 'Guarantee' a visa? So if you're rich, it doesn't matter if you have proof of relationship? Such a system would be no better than bribery.

I voted yes and $5k for the very reasons that Shakysgirl said. The money could be used to hire more staff, dedicated only for the faster processing, which would not have any negative effect on those who chose not to pay pay for expedition. In fact, it prolly would make their wait times smaller too.

Caladan, I didn't read the question as 'pay for a guaranteed approval' as I would be against that, but I do think it's worth it for faster processing.

Our situation's a little different, but Javier always says he would pay $10,000 if he could just come home now. So I voted yes, and $5,000.

Now it doesn't make difference since I'm here, but I'd probably vote 5k if it was 8 motnhs ago

If it were used for a separate line, like at the airport for the Gold customers, I could be talked around to it. If it were just 'bumping' your place in the line based how much you can pay, no. Still, there seems to be something deeply un-American by prioritizing how quickly people can be reunited with their families based on how much cash they have to throw around. Especially since I don't think there's a good correlation between wealth and validity of relationship.

I don't think we'd avail ourselves of it, anyway. The processing time is slow and pretty ridiculous, but we've planned ahead and if everything goes okay, it takes just about as much time for him to get his affairs in order and some serious cash saved as it does for the K-1 to process.

Did you ever have to wait in line at the airport to get to the Economy Class check-in
desk, watching First and Business class passengers "jump the line"?

Welcome to the real world.

Savanphil,

Tough to pick an amount without tying it to the processing timeframe that the extra fee would buy.

And recognize that things like an IBIS hit would create the same delay it does now!

Yodrak

I would say it's completely American free market and all that jazz

Quote from MAWilson:

Did you ever have to wait in line at the airport to get to the Economy Class check-in desk, watching First and Business class passengers "jump the line"?

Welcome to the real world

The above is very true. And the reason being is, people who are not in the economy line either flies frequently, brings more business to the airlines and actually paid the price for business / first class tickets (Which is at least double of what economy is)

Again, who's the culprit? Money!

So I voted YES and I am willing to pay $5,000, even $10,000. I also agree with Shakysgirl and LisaD's comments about getting the extra revenue and hiring more people, etc etc...

Of course.. just because I were to pay $5,000 shouldn't gaurantee that I'm geting a green card.... America can't be letting in people who are criminals! Applicants should at least pass that test!

But, ya... I would pay anytime to expedite this... People would have saved thousands on long distance calls, airline tickets, doctor visits for depression, medication, shrink.. and ROGAINE!

Yes, $1000..that's all I can come up with.

Since I previously said I'd pay $5000 if it would guarantee my wife's visa, I thought I should clarify some things. I didn't mean that the security checks shouldn't be done. And the relationship shouldn't be verified. That's why I said I'd give a few weeks to receive the visa. And for my wife and I, the visa would be guaranteed because we are not terrorists and have a real relationship (so no reason to deny the visa). I see several couples with real relationships that still get denied and that just isn't right. For any criminals or frauds applying the visa would be denied as usual. As for the jumping in line part, well of course that wouldn't be fair, and since most people couldn't afford $5000, well this was all theoretical, right?

No, it's gone smoothly and quickly, and I've already spent a small fortune when you include airfare and hotel.

YES $1.000

bump

You said a mouthful, Alex. My sentiments exactly! I do feel closer to my fiance and I feel like I have seen him exercise so much patience and be so supportive and strong for me. It's made me love him all the more. I feel like I know his tolerance level and problem solving abilities very well now.

I spent 6K on the trip to go meet her. I would gladly have laid another 5k in The Embasy to be able to bring her home with me like the old days.

I'd pay up to $5,000 if that meant everything got processed and approved with visa in hand in very very short order.

As it stands now, I'm already spending a ton of money on flight tickets for visiting.

$500

I would take a loan against my house to get my husband here faster... anything is better then the separation!!!

An irony in this poll: higher processing costs (but NOT faster processing speed) for USCIS petitions are going to be reality anyway.

My wife is the most important thing in my life and my biggest source of hope. She needs her AP desperately so we can get married in 20 short days according to her religious beliefs. There's not a price I would not pay to get this processed sooner because dammit, we're not skipping this even if it means we have to abandon our application. We didn't choose this date, it was chosen by a 'priest' so to speak based on our birth dates and time. We refuse to compromise our beliefs for beauracracy. It's tearing me apart thinking about the consequences. But there's what's the law........ and then what's right.

I voted no cuz I'm just starting the process and really don't have the funds to pay more. Then I read the other posts and well duh, in the ideal world if I had the extra money, course I'd pay even $10,000 to get it done faster - who wouldn't?!

i really dont care cuz it made us stronger and we got closer..

me too

If I had the money and was guaranteed to have my love here within a month... why not? It has already been over a year since we last saw each other... but trust it all works out.

I would have paid 5,000 to get Melinda here in 30 days if it was available rather than what I went through to get her here.

Rob

It's not an available option to have an expedited processing mechanism for family visas because it would violate the 14th amendment protection to equal protection of law. Offering individuals better service from a mechanism developed within the framework of federal law on the basis of money would in effect discriminate on the basis of financial status, hence it can't be done.

It's done for employment visas because the implication for corporate entities is rather different, though in reality, what happens is that each expedited H1-B causes all the others to shuffle down the priority list rather than simply fast-track them via a more efficient processing stream.

If expedited processing were available for K and CR/IR visas, the same thing would happen - meaning that for each person paying more, the rest would slow down.

There, I bet not a single person wanted to know that.

No soon come is fine for us. Getting ready and prepared for his arrival. He also had to give his job sometime to find another musician to replace him.

Nothing to do with protection and anyway we are talking about Aliens.

The whole legal system discriminates against those with money and those without anyway.

And that is not how H Visa applications work, everybody gets the same priority date, the fee just gets you a faster response, you can not jump the queue in that respect by paying extra.

Right now I would pay $ 5000 for normal processing times. Normal processing times would have me buying her ticket to come here now. I am starting to envy my fiancees corrupt government. At least there paying someone would get the wheels greased.

Yes, if there was an option to pay $ 5000 for a two week approval time or $ 1000.00 for a 2 month time I would not have hesitated.

Cynicism aside, I am right, and it's actually US Citizens, not aliens involved in that concern, since at all times in the various family processes, the petitioner 'owns' the case. My comment was drawn directly from analysis written at the time premium processing was under discussion when the question about whether it could be applied to family cases (which had extraordinary backlogs at the time) was raised.

By the way, if the extra fee didn't get any faster processing in a H visa case, no-one would pay it. It's a fast-track to supposedly assured turn-around for petition adjudication in a fraction of the time adjudication would take place otherwise. If it didn't result in queue jumping that process, there would be no purpose to it.

I would definitely do it. My wife is worth more than money can afford. A loan from the bank is nothing.

There is an expedited process for individual visa applicants who can pay $500,000. Check it out.