And a-jeanne, didn't mean to ignore you. Somehow I overlooked your post, I'm sorry. Just want to say that I hope you can get it worked out with him. Obviously he cares enough about you to lose so much sleep talking to you into the night, so at least there's that. Hang in there kiddo, this process seems like it takes forver, but once it's over you'll have the rest of your lives to be together. Be strong, and keep in mind that Phil's just a guy. We're all kinda cavemen, really.

Congrats to them too!

This is interesting. This is one of those timelines that has no profile linked to it's name. It also doesn't have a timeline linked icon either.
So maybe those are not just (possibly) deleted profiles, but also the timelines with no profiles asscociated with them?

Please please please let this be the start of a flurry of approvals! Igor that list is great and low maintenance too. Thanks so much for taking the trouble to do that.
Looks to me like they're working gradually through the July filers who received late NOA1's. I've noticed a few with August notice dates being approved lately. However, that doesn't explain why there are still June and July filers with June/July NOA1's waiting.

Audrey, hang in there. You'll feel a whole lot less stressed when you get your NOA2. Hopefully CSC are gaining momentum and you'll see yours very soon. I wouldn't give him too hard a time about it. Jesse and I only talk 3 or 4 days out of 7 these days because of the time difference and work commitments. It took a while for us to iron that out and we argued a little when he returned to college in September and I was waiting up late so I could call him. After a week or two of getting tired, cranky and biting each others heads off we realised there was no real benefit to either of us by getting stressed about what we can't change. He clearly wanted to talk to you when he called at work. I'm sure he is not being thoughtless about it. Hang in there

Awww hun - I know how you feel - sometimes not seeing your OH is better than spending time "with" them online/phone etc - I used to be realyl clingy online and things and now I am like I couldn't care less!!! Sometimes I want time for me where I can look forward to being together properly and for real instead of this pretending half-life where you stare at a 2x2inch image of your OH... not really all that great - so much so that Jeremy and I haven't even used webcams since he left in December

Maybe you should make some plans for you - plan a couple of evenings just for you, or a weekend just for you Maybe one evening you can get together with your girlfriends, another evening you could do something nice with the kids - just take time to enjoy living and remember why you love each other. I became so miserable and down all the time I turned into someone else and that wasn't the person Jeremy fell in love with. Ok we all have our ups and downs and we all have our bad days but try and remember that you have to have a life for *you* as well as waiting to be with him...

I think as soon as you realise you have to do things to make yourself happy as well as spend time "with" your OH and as soon as you take steps to do these things that you enjoy, the sooner you will relax a bit more and find some peace

3 approvals - yeah baby!!!! Now, where did I leave that Cuban passport of mine!!!

Come on CSC!!!

Haha - yeah I wonder how long it takes to get a Cuba passport and if you could shorten the process by filing via Cuba

THANK YOU MOX. Congratulations, you are my new counselor - ha ha. I know that men are men and yes, he thinks the whole world of me and yes, he feels awful. We'll get through it. Thanks again.

Thanks everyone! You're all right about this - thanks.

If they can fast-track an approval in one-week I wonder what's taking them so long getting caught up on the backlog?

I got to thinking that linkless profiles may be profiles that have been set to "private." But looking at my own profile, I'm danged if I can find a way to make it private. So still a mystery. Hopefully someone with a linkless profile will drop by and reveal their secret.

Well it probably goes something like this: Mailroom sees Cuba petition, runs it straight into a manager's hands. Manager tells employee xyz to stop whatever they were doing (Tetris anyone? ) and process app immediately. I think the average petition, once it's on someone's desk takes less than 2 hours to adjudicate, so as long as nothing was amiss, rubber stampy in under 2 hours and away they go. Not a way to run every petition, but it sure got the job done on that one.

Yeah but it does make you wonder if they can't give the early petitions a bit more priority... I still maintain it wouldn't be so bad if CSC was just working at the same speed as VSC...

Oh absolutely. This has been one of my biggest gripes from the start. Just the fact that CSC send petitions in bulk to NVC while VSC sends them individually tells me that internal work flows are not consistent between the 2 service centers. This is a huge waste of resources and we start to see the type of discrepancies we're seeing now. I can only speculate as to what the other differences are, but clearly there's a big management problem at both service centers. There's no excuse for the wild discrepancies we see between the two centers.

That's me...Timeline Police and Couples Therapist. Unfortunately they still won't let me carry a gun or write prescriptions. Does that seem right to you?

I hate it when you see things so poorly managed - kinda wants to make me get in there and sort it out myself... so tempted to get a job at CSC and show them how it's done

Of course if they are having any issues like we are here in work at the moment then I can understand... some IT technician has pulled out a plug by mistake so we have no system and can't do any work for the next 20-25 minutes - by then it will be home time practically!!!

I could shoot him if you want. Oh wait...no I can't. Because they won't let me carry a gun!

Nah - it's ok - it means I have an excuse to sit here and do not very much!! Apart from make phone calls... computer is lame though - apart from the internet!! Heheh

In that case, Mox, will you have found the Missing Linkless? Hawwwwwwww! (For confirmation or refutation, ask your gorilla.)

I recently saw something on the TV news about the exceptions made for Cubans. It's called something like the "wet/dry" principle. If Cubans take a boat or raft to Florida and end up on the beach, they can be sent back, but if they show up at a Port of Entry on dry land, they will promptly be given their authorization to enter the U.S. The TV segment was pointing out how tough the Border Patrol folks are on Mexicans and OTMs (other-than-Mexicans) in contrast with Cubans. This is all part of some federal law from the 1960s (?) that authorizes ready asylum for Cubans. It would clearly explain why Cuban K-1 papers go to the top of the stack.

Sadly the gorilla sleeps with the fishes these days. Kittens don't make threats they can't keep.

Sounds fishy to me; in fact, it's a whale of a tale. And if a cat has kittens in the oven, that doesn't make them biscuits. Si, man.

Do we know whether people have actually had results when contacting senators or representatives? I'm considering writing to Dianne Feinstein and the local rep where Jesse lives. Will see how the call goes tomorrow though first.

It's really hard to say. People who have posted that they contacted their reps before the 90 day period have been told what they already know, that they must wait 90 days. People who have posted that they contacted their reps after 90 days have had differing experiences. For the ones who were approved, it's impossible to say if it was due to pressure from their rep or just that their file finally found its way to someone's desk. I can't recall seeing a single post where congressional involvement was directly responsible for an approval, but maybe someone else has.

I still think it helps because USCIS are required to respond to congressional inquiries within a very specific time period. Which I forget...72 hours? Someone help me out. Anyway, it forces USCIS to at least do something, even if it's just punching in a receipt number in a computer and pushing some paper. It also helps to build a case against the status quo at USCIS. Some day perhaps there will be a "tipping point" and they'll finally be answerable to an administration who cares. (there I go getting all politicky again... )

Agreed, this tipping point needs to be reached somehow. We'll give it a go. Thanks

Good to see CSC were back to normal yesterday - nil NOA2s. Better the devil you know, eh? I was starting to get a nose bleed after they approved 3 on Tuesday!!! After that the CSC truck obviously went into a speed wobble and they lost it!!!

R

Haha - well they have to even out so they can retain their one-a-day average

They'll actually need to approve somebody to regain the one per day average.

Yeah - it's depressing isn't it ...

yus

Ok then I say we have a party tonight!!! I will get rid of Jeremy for the evening or something and we can cheer each other up - I feel rubbish at the moment and I am not even waiting for NOA2 from CSC-hell at the moment

I can't make it tonight. I have to work this evening. Catching up on stuff I procrastinated about all week.

Ewww that sucks!!! Aww - I'll have to sit in on my own drinking wine like a saddo

Moxie is normally up for evenings (or workdays in his case) of debauchery so will have to see what we can figure out

Just let me know when. Hope I can make it. We've got some auditors here this week that could come in and grab me if they need access to the systems.

Feeling kinda grumpy today though, courtesy of the service center who shall remain nameless.

Misery loves company. Not a word from the fiancee yet (she had indicated not much chance till Sunday or after); I had resolved to remain out of contact till then, but broke down and sent a love-poem in English & Spanish yesterday. Dunno if I'm more miserable/agitated now than I might be when she finally resumes contact; it's awfully unusual (to me, a Colonist, at least) for a "loving partner" to put a Significant Other in third priority at best -- in this case, behind some ferocious travel/paperwork for her new business and behind some correspondence-school tests that are due this weekend. Maybe it's different in Latin America, or maybe it's because (as she said once) "You're not here with me" (meaning things that WERE actively going on with her would naturally be on her forebrain more than I would). On MY part, I think about her every waking moment, and I constantly envision every aspect of her arrival and acclimation. It distinctly seemed that she simply could not assimilate or did not want to be bothered with the news that our file was heading from the NVC to the consulate; she admitted being very stressed, and I admit that her schedule of activities sounded impossibly daunting to me.

Plus, an e-mail from the consulate just arrived; they have no record of my case. The NVC sent it to them on Jan. 16, so maybe it's a bit early, depending on whether the NVC sent it by sea-turtle express.

What would I do without my friends here?

Haha - TBone I would recommend something stiff to drink and I'm not talking whipped cream

I can kinda relate - I've become quite apathetic about spending time with Jeremy - it just doesn't seem real online and I would much prefer to remember the nice times we've had together in person than build up my hopes that we are going to have some kind of amazing time sat in front of a computer where we can barely interact... ok we can play games and chat but it's gotten kinda old

Moxie - you should tell the auditors in not so many words, to "go away", sneak out to the store on a break then sneak in some red wine in a thermos

Thanks, Aly; you're a sweetie, as usual. How do you overcome your apathy of above?

Mox should stash the auditors in the Odditorium.

You of course know your relationship better than I do (this I believe is whatcha call one of them "good" things), but for what it's worth, my $0.02: People react to stress in different ways, and burying herself in work could just be the way she handles it. I actually try to be this way because when I am completely immersed in something it usually helps me not to stress about whatever it is I'm trying to deal with. Since the beginning of the year, however, (i.e. when the service center who shall not be mentioned went effectively off the air) I've found it almost impossible to focus on anything I try to immerse myself in. I've become completely scatter-brained and find it hard to start/complete projects. Drives me crazy because I'm *so* not like that. Because this is such a *huge* deal (her moving away from her family/friends/etc and all), perhaps she's kind of cocooned herself in work until she can figure out how to deal with it. Now that you're so close, maybe it's only just now really sinking in.

Anyway, I hope you two can work it out. I am the most unqualified person in the world to give relationship advice (as I've said) so unless you consider idea of holing up in your house/apartment, consuming vast quantities of alcohol and putting "The Big Lebowski" on an infinte loop to be sound relationship advice, then do what your heart tells you is right. Best of luck to you my friend.


Si man.

Well the auditors are here to certify our network, much of which is my responsibility. So in order to keep my job I kinda have to be nice to them. And sober. Dammit.


Currently they are stashed in a conference room with my manager who *loves* to hear himself talk. Which is just fine by me in this case, because for once I'm not exposed to excessive bogon levels.

LMAO

Yeah - I think I would go nuts without this place - I seriously don't know how I would have made it and I am not even joking - I love the fact that everyone is in a similar situation and I love the fact that I can experience so many different stories - it allows me to be more empathetic towards Jeremy as well...

As for getting over the apathy - I don't know - I was just quite happily going about my business then about a week or two before Jeremy came over for Christmas I was completely hyper! I just couldn't wait! Previously when he came out in the summer I was miserable because all I could think about was him going home. Then when he left we had a bit of clinginess then I got bored of things online again.

I think we have gone through the distance thing, the online thing and now we are close enough that soon I will be able to move over and be with him all the time, spending every spare second with him online just isn't as important to me as the time we will have in our future together where we can *do* things together instead of pretend.

If you knew me prior to this whole process you would realise how much it has changed me - I was clingy, impatient, temper-tantrum-y... Ok - so I still have my moments but I have calmed a lot purely because I have had to

We interrupt your normally scheduled discussion thread to bring you this very important primal scream.

*Ahem.*

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We now return to your regularly scheduled discussion thread. Thank you for your cooperation.

MOXIE!! Did those nasty auditors get you?! Wondered where you had vanished to! I sent Jeremy away for the night because I wasn't in the mood to talk - I PM'd TBone our conversation to set him at ease that apathy isn't the end!!

I am also drinking red wine and feeling sleepy

Yeah, between auditors who don't really understand the whole concept of "does not apply to us because we don't run fsck'ing Windows," a manager who doesn't really understand the concept of "I can, by definition, only have one number one priority, which of my priorities would you like to anoint with that most sacred of positions?" and a USCIS service center that ranks right up there with unicorns and easter bunnies with regards to actual proof of existence, I'm kinda-sorta starting to lose my cool.

*reins mox in*

*pets him*

There there - it's not all bad - you have a beautiful woman who loves you and this will all be worth it in the end Work is sent out to annoy us - when Nadya gets there you can concentrate on her, your life together and mayeb hunting down that elusive dream job

It's a time for new beginnings and building dreams so don't lose sight just yet - there is so much to look forward to and so much to be excited about

I was p1$$ed off in work today as well - I would go into details but it would probably be long and boring

Well, dude, you undersell yourself (and should therefore be audited -- mush to the Odditorium!). "We shall not be undersold!" And, of course, Aly's distaffian sentiments continue to be valued, si man.

After having taken a walk, I conclude that the fiancee [1] is/was truly stressed; [B] is a sweet, darling, nonmalicious cutie-pie; [iii] deserves all the respect and understanding available in both hemispheres; and [Four] does love me -- just dig those fotos right here on VJ. Ergothuswithforthly, because I love her, I will not only abide, but also accept, her current situation & wishes, and I shall keep reminding myself of what a 100% change in life she faces vis-a-vis marrying moi and moving to the Estados Unidos, and I shall bear in my forebrain the reality that she wants & needs to accomplish several things in her life that do not arise selfishly, but that are good for her now & long-term, and I shall morefurtherly tell her that she can have most of the 6-month visa-validity period to do whatever she needs or wants to do in Ecuador before coming here, and I shall resolve to quit composing run-on sentences. Si, man.

Si, man? Revise, man? No, man?

Sounds good to me My moving date is pretty set but I am looking forward to normality - I can't wait to just turn around to Jeremy and say "hey - you fancy going out to dinner tonight?" or "You want to watch a movie or would you prefer tv?" or even "Hey - you should hang out with your friends tonight - I could use a girly night in" where that would actually be special not just the norm

So, your answer is "si, man"? I like your envisionments!

Well of course! My mum when Jeremy is here is obsessed with us going out or seeing things and doing things - we just want to be normal! We want to do a jigsaw puzzle together or watch a movie or go visit friends - we don't want to go travelling halfway across the country to see a nice house or something stupid!!

I think my mum finds it hard to understand that when I visit there and Jeremy comes here it isn't like a normal holiday - it is about us spending quality time together. Of course how would she understand it - when she goes to a different country she likes to visit things and do things because it is a holiday to her... but it is very difficult to get that across!!

TBone, that is so sweet. I think mox pretty much had it nailed about people reacting in different ways to stress. Prior to this month starting I was fine with everything, really hopeful and busy. Since the new year I've had a lot of trouble staying focussed on anything but this NOA2 to the detriment of my work and studies. Jesse tends to immerse himself and manages to enjoy life without too much stressing about this process until I tell him what's going on with CSC and then he gets wound up. But, he does have the ability to remain positive mostly, telling me at times when I really feel there's no hope that 'nothing will stop us from being together - we will find a way'. I wish I could be like him. Anyway, I do think that what you said above makes sense and will be received well by your fiancee. Good luck with that

Aly, I concur about the online thing being second best. I used to love it but now I generally find it a frustrating experience.

Aha! So it's not just me! That makes me feel better

Jeremy is much the same in terms of keeping positive though he sometimes does it to the detriment of his wellbeing - he'll be struggling behind the scenes and I won't know about it because he is trying to "protect" me