Thoughts on this whole process

[Sachiko n Arnaud 3]

I find the whole IR-1/CR-1 process indecent and a disgrace to this country. I would have thought the US -a country which allegedly holds marriage and family as core values- had a bit more respect for the right for people, married under the law, to be together.

The fear of making it easier for people to immigrate illegally has led the US to victimize millions of people by forcing them apart for months. Rather than having to deal with the difficult situation of having people on US soil after their immigrant application was denied they are keeping everybody out until they know it's ok for them to come in. This is completely backward.

Following the same logic we should put everybody in jail until we can figure out whether it's ok to let them out rather than taking the risk of having criminals on the loose.

This is ridiculous. This is outrageous.

What happened to this country which is rooted in the very immigration that is now made so difficult?

I think people should be granted temporary access to US soil on a non-immigrant basis while the administration sort things out. This is not different from the notion of being presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.

I think most of us, if not all, would be ok with restrictions regarding length of stay, work, etc. The critical thing is to allow for spouses to be together. A right they earned when they got married. A right that the administration currently denies for many months.

I also think it would reasonable to give the administration a month or so to do a basic check before granting temporary access but it cannot drag on for longer than that.

Besides, the whole process ought to be streamlined. There should be ONE form to fill out, ONE set of supporting documents to provide, ONE payment to be made, and ONE agency to send everything to. How ironic is it that we are inundated with forms to fill out and send to various agencies at various point in time in the process while each and every one of these forms proudly carry a note on the "PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT"...

The way the process is currently set up unduly puts all the burden on citizens who have to go through many hoops to satisfy a blind administration which appears to have lost sight of the fact that it is there to serve its citizens in the first place.

People shouldn't have to fear for months to get their application delayed or denied when there is nothing wrong with them. Rather than putting the burden on citizens to convince the administration that their application is sound and ought to be approved, the administration should have the burden to prove otherwise or approve.

I noticed at the bottom of a document I received the following note: "The Department is currently testing an electronic application system for nonimmigrant visa application that will allow electronic submission and eliminate paper forms. Once testing on this application is completed the Department is examining whether or not the system can be used for the immigrant visa system."

I'm glad to see there is some hope for improvement but I wonder how long it is going to take to see this being really deployed and it only addresses part of the problem we have.

This is not a small problem. It affects thousands of people every year. Thousands of people who are denied of their right in a country that claims to be one of the most advanced countries in the world.

Unfortunately, I fear that the current debate on immigration, which seems to only be focusing on reducing illegal immigration, leaves little hope to see the current process get flipped around. Even though the current grueling process, which thousands of perfectly legit couples have to go through, has absolutely no bearings on the illegal immigrants who simply walk across our borders or overstay.

Arnaud

[DaleWonju 0]

I agree! It's terrible.

[tokyo.lovers 6]

the process needs reform.

the problem comes from people who fake marriage to get the GC. i think it used to be much easier long ago, so they made it harder and harder.

one way around waiting months and months is to come in on the tourist visa, marry in the usa, then submit all the documents. then you can stay while it gets processed. lots of people do that, and very rarely are they denied a visa.

people can come and go freely in and out of the usa from certain countries as tourists, but once you are not a tourist they make you jump through hoops.

it's so long and hard. i hope it gets better some day....

[British_Cupcake 1]

It is a horrible process BUT i have to agree to somewhat.

I think they either need to employ more people to get the process done quicker or like it was mentioned..the electronic processing. Its not fair to be apart from your loved ones for so long but i can understand why they do this..I mayself actually know one or 2 people who are looking for husbands for the greencard which makes me super angry. I dont think letting people in while they wait is an option..Look at England!!! Im happy for america that they do it the way they do because british people in England cant even call it there own country anymore..we are not even allowed to wear our football shirts or support our teams without getting in trouble because we are putting ourselves at risk for getting shot!! Its very patriotic what america does but they are looking after there country. In England we dont even celebrate our national day because it might offend other people who have come over from other countries just like that!

In england people come in illegaly sooo easy and once they are there chances that they will get kicked out are very slim because when they get found out they can claim asylum and they are ALLOWED to stay in the country until it gets accepted or denied...and if it gets denied they can go against it as many times as they want! Now could you imagine what america would be like if they did that? America is a country that everyone dreams of moving too so they say but if they changed there rules for immigration america would just go down hill in my eyes.

Edited July 17, 2010 by Jonswifey

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Following the same logic we should put everybody in jail until we can figure out whether it's ok to let them out rather than taking the risk of having criminals on the loose.

Arnaud

That's exactly what the US does. Girl points finger at you, saying you grabbed, pushed, slapped, or touched her, and you, innocent or not, are being arrested and go to jail until somebody comes up with the $250,000.00 bail. You then have to mortgage your family to come up with the cash for an defense attorney. Even if cleared of all charges because the girl thought it was just a funny thing to do, you are ruined financially.

In Europe we have legal insurance for that. Cost about $100.00 per year and whatever comes your way, traffic tickets included, you just hand over to a lawyer and they fight it for you at your insurance company's expense. Of course, in Europe the attorney's legal fees are $350 for a day in court, not $10K.

In Europe you are innocent until proven guilty. In the US it's exactly the opposite.

[Sachiko n Arnaud 3]

In england people come in illegaly sooo easy and once they are there chances that they will get kicked out are very slim because when they get found out they can claim asylum and they are ALLOWED to stay in the country until it gets accepted or denied...and if it gets denied they can go against it as many times as they want! Now could you imagine what america would be like if they did that?

The situation you're describing is another extreme. Don't you think there is room for something in the middle? I sure do.

America is a country that everyone dreams of moving to

I don't think this was ever true and if anything this appears to be less true than ever. None of the people I know in Europe dream of moving to the US which is seen as "has been", a country that sat on its laurels and has slipped behind in many respects.

[Sachiko n Arnaud 3]

That's exactly what the US does. Girl points finger at you, saying you grabbed, pushed, slapped, or touched her, and you, innocent or not, are being arrested and go to jail until somebody comes up with the $250,000.00 bail. You then have to mortgage your family to come up with the cash for an defense attorney. Even if cleared of all charges because the girl thought it was just a funny thing to do, you are ruined financially.

In Europe we have legal insurance for that. Cost about $100.00 per year and whatever comes your way, traffic tickets included, you just hand over to a lawyer and they fight it for you at your insurance company's expense. Of course, in Europe the attorney's legal fees are $350 for a day in court, not $10K.

In Europe you are innocent until proven guilty. In the US it's exactly the opposite.

Indeed. I'm well aware of this problem and I thought about it when I wrote my piece. I think this is badly broken too. I was merely referring to the principle, even though current practice totally fails to live up to it.

In the immigration case it doesn't seem like we even have such a principle. You are considered a fraud until proven otherwise.

[British_Cupcake 1]

The situation you're describing is another extreme. Don't you think there is room for something in the middle? I sure do.

I don't think this was ever true and if anything this appears to be less true than ever. None of the people I know in Europe dream of moving to the US which is seen as "has been", a country that sat on its laurels and has slipped behind in many respects.

It is an extreme situation but until they find something in the middle what else can you do?? I mean if it was that easy to find something in the middle why does nothing get done about it?

And to the second part thats exactly why i said ''so they say''! I wasnt talking just about Europe and although you say none of the people you know in Europe dream of moving to the US i actually do know many people and also read it very often on other Forums that people are trying to move to the US.

[Sachiko n Arnaud 3]

It is an extreme situation but until they find something in the middle what else can you do?? I mean if it was that easy to find something in the middle why does nothing get done about it?

I don't get the feeling they are trying very hard to find something in the middle...

And to the second part thats exactly why i said ''so they say''! I wasnt talking just about Europe and although you say none of the people you know in Europe dream of moving to the US i actually do know many people and also read it very often on other Forums that people are trying to move to the US.

Sorry, I had overlooked "so they say". I think it's fair to say that a lot of people still dream of moving to America - for the better or for the worse.

I see from your timeline that you zipped through the process. I merely filed my I-130 a month after you and my approval took 126 days as opposed to your 45 days. Your case was received by NVC in 6 days when it took 14 days for mine. And you think "it's a horrible process". Try to imagine what it's like for those of us who weren't anywhere as lucky as you. And apparently it's getting even slower for those who filed after me. I feel for them.

[British_Cupcake 1]

I don't get the feeling they are trying very hard to find something in the middle...

Sorry, I had overlooked "so they say". I think it's fair to say that a lot of people still dream of moving to America - for the better or for the worse.

I see from your timeline that you zipped through the process. I merely filed my I-130 a month after you and my approval took 126 days as opposed to your 45 days. Your case was received by NVC in 6 days when it took 14 days for mine. And you think "it's a horrible process". Try to imagine what it's like for those of us who weren't anywhere as lucky as you. And apparently it's getting even slower for those who filed after me. I feel for them.

Are you freaking kidding me?? No matter how long or how short it takes ITS A HORRIBLE PROCESS!!!! I never said anything about having it worse or better of then anyone thank you. I think your very rude for saying what you said in your post! i know our process went rather quick and for some people it goes quicker then others..i would wish for anyone that theres goes like mine ok. 6-7months is still a long time so dont you tell me anything!!

[Sachiko n Arnaud 3]

Are you freaking kidding me?? No matter how long or how short it takes ITS A HORRIBLE PROCESS!!!! I never said anything about having it worse or better of then anyone thank you. I think your very rude for saying what you said in your post! i know our process went rather quick and for some people it goes quicker then others..i would wish for anyone that theres goes like mine ok. 6-7months is still a long time so dont you tell me anything!!

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just meant to say that if you think it's horrible it's only worse for those of us for whom it takes even longer and maybe the difference in time it takes us is the reason why you think the current trade off is justified and I don't.

I don't think trying to keep illegals outside the country justifies victimizing thousands of legit couples. As I said before, this is backward.

The priority ought to be on doing the right thing for the legit cases.

As Bob pointed out it's the same problem as with the justice system. The US appears to always err on the safe side to the detriment of innocent people who get caught into the system and get their life crushed just so that we don't take the chance of having criminals on the loose. I'd rather we take the opposite stand because I think the damage is greater the way it currently is.

Of course it's a subjective matter. We all have our own values. Some will say having innocent people get through hell now and then is an acceptable price to pay not to miss any criminals. I find it totally unacceptable.

And the same goes with this immigration matter. And for what it's worth I don't agree with your statement "No matter how long or how short it takes ITS A HORRIBLE PROCESS!!!!" If the whole process was shorter, say a month or 2 I would say it is acceptable.

Best regards.

Edited July 17, 2010 by Sachiko n Arnaud

[British_Cupcake 1]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just meant to say that if you think it's horrible it's only worse for those of us for whom it takes even longer and maybe the difference in time it takes us is the reason why you think the current trade off is justified and I don't.

I don't think trying to keep illegals outside the country justifies victimizing thousands of legit couples. As I said before, this is backward.

The priority ought to be on doing the right thing for the legit cases.

As Bob pointed out it's the same problem as with the justice system. The US appears to always err on the safe side to the detriment of innocent people who get caught into the system and get their life crushed just so that we don't take the chance of having criminals on the loose. I'd rather we take the opposite stand because I think the damage is greater the way it currently is.

Of course it's a subjective matter. We all have our own values. Some will say having innocent people get through hell now and then is an acceptable price to pay not to miss any criminals. I find it totally unacceptable.

And the same goes with this immigration matter.

Best regards.

This was my point of view BEFORE i even started this process..Maybe i think this way because im from a country (GB) that has immigration problems so it makes me realise more why america is so strict..that does not mean i fully understand the way they do it but i think its ok they are trying to look after there country! I think some of the stories i hear are pathetic about stuff immigration does but in some cases its justified and if there wernt so many people trying to get into america illegaly or by lying and marying for the greencard maybe america wouldnt have to do what they do?!? Im not going to turn this into a debate..we all have our own opinions but i would appreciate it if i wasnt judged by my timeline!! Im sorry for those who have to wait longer

[kandl133 0]

Fellow Immigrators,

The following excerpt I think sums it all up for me.

"Besides, the whole process ought to be streamlined. There should be ONE form to fill out, ONE set of supporting documents to provide, ONE payment to be made, and ONE agency to send everything to. How ironic is it that we are inundated with forms to fill out and send to various agencies at various point in time in the process while each and every one of these forms proudly carry a note on the "PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT"..."

I would just add "One set of rules for every country and every consulate and every embassy".

Also, until the massive flow across the Southern Border is stopped any enforcement to stop "legal" immigration, in all but those cases in which fraud is obviously being committed, can only be seen as unfair to those of us following the rules. My own real personal fear is that a well meaning government employee may keep me apart from my family because of some glich in paperwork or some difficult to explain circumstance or, maybe, just because they are having a bad day.

Anyway, good luck to all of you.

[Darnell 8,478]

re: streamlining ..

ya know ? I was hopeful that streamlining would occur, when the DHS was formed. It's been a few years now, and with minor exceptions, that hasn't happened.

Edited July 17, 2010 by Darnell

[KBcrand1 1]

the process needs reform.

the problem comes from people who fake marriage to get the GC. i think it used to be much easier long ago, so they made it harder and harder.

one way around waiting months and months is to come in on the tourist visa, marry in the usa, then submit all the documents. then you can stay while it gets processed. lots of people do that, and very rarely are they denied a visa.

people can come and go freely in and out of the usa from certain countries as tourists, but once you are not a tourist they make you jump through hoops.

it's so long and hard. i hope it gets better some day....

My 2 cents...

This is NOT an option for everyone. Some "accepted" country's are given out visas like candy, others you have to prove many many things. very strong ties to your country, a job, property, money in the bank.....ect ect. I can tell you right now that many would not qualify for a tourist visa.