Horror Stories

[A and T 82]

This is the price we pay for trying to bring our spouses into the country legally. We pay huge sums of money for a horrible service and nobody cares. Meanwhile, illegal immigrants have millions of people that support them through organazitons, congress, tax dollars, lawyers, professors, etc. I'm not saying that we should start a crusade against illegals, but I ask myself on a regular basis, "When will honest people like us who play by the rules organize or get some support from our own government and our own people?" We do everything we're supposed and we still get screwed. Our lives are completeley put on hold. We can't start a family or make any plans for the future without getting approval first from our government. How ridiculous!

You nailed it, now you see why (the usa for example) has so many Illegal immigrants. You can't blame them, The cost of immigration is high, and even harder for those in developing countries. The wait time is forever and ever and often USCIS makes demands and gives little to no time to get them complete.

My wife and I are going on 1 year and about 5 months waiting on our I-130 , its absurd, just approve or deny us and let us go on with our lives. I paid the money, gave all the documents , I just want an answer. I feel im getting screwed out of due process. Calls to the congressman have done me no good.

What does it take to get uscis to respond? Ive put in about 50 service requests, those are useless

[misterbigtoe 45]

I feel so much better after having read this. Wish all of the 18000 government employees and contractors had to sign off on it

Mission Statement

USCIS will secure America’s promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to our customers, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system.

We are the 18,000 government employees and contractors of USCIS working at 250 offices across the world. Achieving our goals becomes possible when the different elements of our organization are engaged and acting as partners working toward a common outcome. USCIS’ strategic goals include:

• Strengthening the security and integrity of the immigration system.
• Providing effective customer-oriented immigration benefit and information services.
• Supporting immigrants’ integration and participation in American civic culture.
• Promoting flexible and sound immigration policies and programs.
• Strengthening the infrastructure supporting the USCIS mission.
• Operating as a high-performance organization that promotes a highly talented workforce and a dynamic work culture.

Core Values

Integrity

We shall always strive for the highest level of integrity in our dealings with our customers, our fellow employees and the citizens of the United States of America. We shall be ever mindful of the importance of the trust the American people have placed in us to administer the nation’s immigration system fairly, honestly and correctly.

Respect

We will demonstrate respect in all of our actions. We will ensure that everyone we affect will be treated with dignity and courtesy regardless of the outcome of the decision. We will model this principle in all of our activities, with each other, our customers and the public. Through our actions, this organization will become known as an example of respect, dignity and courtesy.

Ingenuity

As we meet the challenges to come, we will strive to find the most effective means to accomplish our goals. We will use ingenuity, resourcefulness, creativity and sound management principles to strive for world-class results. We will approach every challenge with a balance of enthusiasm and wisdom in our effort to fulfill our vision.

Vigilance

In this era of increased global threats and national security challenges,we will remain mindful of our obligation to provide immigration service in a manner that strengthens and fortifies the nation. We will exercise a holistic approach to Vigilance as we perform our mission. We will carefully administer every aspect of our immigration mission so that new immigrants and citizens can hold in high regard the privileges and advantages of lawful presence in the United States.

[xelance 31]

For the person that said why dont you just move to their country?...I did just that. I am one of the many TSC filers, and I was lucky enough to be able to move to my wife's country. I would like her to be able to meet my family and friends, and that is why I am still pursuing the visa. I realistically don't see my wife getting her visa before June because of all the issues at TSC. I think we are all mad because we have been given many different answers, and never a straight answer as to the delay. We all received letters stating that we were transferred to speed up processing, so we were all pretty happy about that. 6 months later, nothing...Ive put in a service request (after I was told that I could not, even though I was past the processing time) and contacted my congresswoman, and nothing so far.

They do not communicate with us on what is going on with our cases, that is what makes all of this so frustrating. I have tried to have patience from the beginning, but I wasn't going to let life just fly by while I wait for USCIS to give me an I-130 approval (only the first step in the process). It is pretty crazy that I could file through the consulate as Direct Consular Filing and get approved within 3 months. You know why this is? You bypass USCIS and NVC, you deal with the consulate abroad...if only I could get a refund. I feel for all of the people that are still waiting, enduring hardships with their marriage/family because of it.

[Lisamarie 79]

You have been waiting since last May for a decision on your RFE???

You nailed it, now you see why (the usa for example) has so many Illegal immigrants. You can't blame them, The cost of immigration is high, and even harder for those in developing countries. The wait time is forever and ever and often USCIS makes demands and gives little to no time to get them complete.

My wife and I are going on 1 year and about 5 months waiting on our I-130 , its absurd, just approve or deny us and let us go on with our lives. I paid the money, gave all the documents , I just want an answer. I feel im getting screwed out of due process. Calls to the congressman have done me no good.

What does it take to get uscis to respond? Ive put in about 50 service requests, those are useless

[A and T 82]

You have been waiting since last May for a decision on your RFE???

I've been waiting since July of 2009 for an approval or denial , I responded to an RFE, which took a year to get

For the person that said why dont you just move to their country?...I did just that. I am one of the many TSC filers, and I was lucky enough to be able to move to my wife's country. I would like her to be able to meet my family and friends, and that is why I am still pursuing the visa. I realistically don't see my wife getting her visa before June because of all the issues at TSC. I think we are all mad because we have been given many different answers, and never a straight answer as to the delay. We all received letters stating that we were transferred to speed up processing, so we were all pretty happy about that. 6 months later, nothing...Ive put in a service request (after I was told that I could not, even though I was past the processing time) and contacted my congresswoman, and nothing so far.

They do not communicate with us on what is going on with our cases, that is what makes all of this so frustrating. I have tried to have patience from the beginning, but I wasn't going to let life just fly by while I wait for USCIS to give me an I-130 approval (only the first step in the process). It is pretty crazy that I could file through the consulate as Direct Consular Filing and get approved within 3 months. You know why this is? You bypass USCIS and NVC, you deal with the consulate abroad...if only I could get a refund. I feel for all of the people that are still waiting, enduring hardships with their marriage/family because of it.

I'm in the same position im packing up and leaving soon, in the almost 2 year wait the USA economy has went down, no jobs and a harder life here, while my wife has done a lot better in the last few years with work. Seems opportunities are opening in Asia, and we will just live together until they approve us and if not, so be it

[Atencio 43]

I've been waiting since July of 2009 for an approval or denial , I responded to an RFE, which took a year to get

I'm in the same position im packing up and leaving soon, in the almost 2 year wait the USA economy has went down, no jobs and a harder life here, while my wife has done a lot better in the last few years with work. Seems opportunities are opening in Asia, and we will just live together until they approve us and if not, so be it

Your case sounds like a nightmare. I wish you the best of luck in this new year.

[Lisamarie 79]

Yes I see that, my heart breaks for you......... I don't understand how they could've made you wait a year, and then get the RFE.......that's just "horrible"....and now you're waiting again for a decision? I'm really, really sorry. I hope this year brings you an approval and lots of happiness.....

quote name='Adam and Thet' timestamp='1294369013' post='4391487']

I've been waiting since July of 2009 for an approval or denial , I responded to an RFE, which took a year to get

I'm in the same position im packing up and leaving soon, in the almost 2 year wait the USA economy has went down, no jobs and a harder life here, while my wife has done a lot better in the last few years with work. Seems opportunities are opening in Asia, and we will just live together until they approve us and if not, so be it

[rhein 451]

deleted

Edited January 7, 2011 by Jon and Sol

[malika215 3]

Go ahead and say it! They are treated like cattle. I think my husband and I are being treated like cockroaches. And the sad part is, I kind of have the feeling we are a much higher caliber than the interviewer. When I wrote to her I said. "I think you are misplacing who the fraudulent people are. I'm sorry, but I know who my husband is. I know who I am. What about you"

[malika215 3]

i get it. it's a painful experience to be away from your loved one while we wait for the process to run it's course...

but what i don't understand is why people act like it's a surprise. why the whole self-entitled rants? "i'm mr and miss U.S. Citizen and i demaaaaaand some service"!!!! i mean, the U.S. Govt. didn't MAKE you marry someone that isn't a U.S. Citizen. we all knew it was not going to be "i now pronounce you U.S. Citizen because you married one", right?

if people hate the system so much then why not pack all your sh*t and move to your foreign mate's country? ohhhh that's right... because as much as people b*tch about the States, it's probably a whole lot better than the mate's country.

the time frame given to us are estimates. NOT U.S. BACKED GUARANTEES. if they want to get you out of there as quickly as possible or let you rot for an eternity, guess what, that's the choice we made.

[malika215 3]

Glam, thank you very much for your reply and I'm happy to respond to your interesting email. My ATTORNEY is the individual who keeps emphazing "YOU ARE AN AMERICAN CITIZEN". I don't know if I could have thought of this "excuse" myself, but in order to quell individuals as yourself who are interested in injecting yourself in our struggle, this is my response to that inquiry.

As for packing my "######" as you call it, I believe, that's exactly what I'm doing right now - packing my ###### and searching for a ticket. You must be very perceptive or possibly a voyeur. Funny, that you should mention that! It truly isn't my first choice on a permanent basis because the only issue for me there is the climate. I don't know if you've ever been to Morocco, but in the areas I prefer, the weather has two extremes and changes rapidly in a day. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Morocco. The style of living is much calmer than the USA, the food is untainted by chemicals and when I return home I have a difficult time adjusting to the tasteless food we have here. The people are exceptionally welcoming to foreigners and you'll never approach anyone that fails to say "welcome". The cost of living is much much less than the states. And there is SO MUCH to see there. I've been all over the country and it's fascinating. You may even like to read a little about it's history. Did you know Morocco was the first country to accept the USA as an independent country 200 years ago!!! You sound like a brillant person, so you may like to delve into that. I may be much better off living there than here and Americans and Europeans alike are swarming there right now. It's by no means perfect, but the only place that is is Heaven.

It appears you are either Filipino or married to a Filipino. I want to assure you that the Phillipines is no comparison to Morocco! My son's girlfriend who is Filipino has told me all about living at least the area she did. It sounds dreadful. So when you are weighing living abroad, there are countries and there are countries.

No, I do not like the system. Yes, we both anticipated "hiccups" along the way - such as an AP at the end. We never dreamed of an outright denial based on fraud, which is a felony, as you know. That's a bit scarey to me, especially since we are legitimate.

Although you didn't ask for my advice, but I can't help but offer you a little advice in kind. Being a psych nurse, I was paraticularly sensitive to a tone that was severely bitter or anger. You sounded so unhappy. The next time you feel the need to somewhat "attack" an individual on one of these immigration sites, you may wish to get

your medication filled prior to sitting down to the computer

Happy New Year.

You nailed it, now you see why (the usa for example) has so many Illegal immigrants. You can't blame them, The cost of immigration is high, and even harder for those in developing countries. The wait time is forever and ever and often USCIS makes demands and gives little to no time to get them complete.

My wife and I are going on 1 year and about 5 months waiting on our I-130 , its absurd, just approve or deny us and let us go on with our lives. I paid the money, gave all the documents , I just want an answer. I feel im getting screwed out of due process. Calls to the congressman have done me no good.

What does it take to get uscis to respond? Ive put in about 50 service requests, those are useless

[giamimigio 21]

Glam, thank you very much for your reply and I'm happy to respond to your interesting email. My ATTORNEY is the individual who keeps emphazing "YOU ARE AN AMERICAN CITIZEN". I don't know if I could have thought of this "excuse" myself, but in order to quell individuals as yourself who are interested in injecting yourself in our struggle, this is my response to that inquiry.

As for packing my "######" as you call it, I believe, that's exactly what I'm doing right now - packing my ###### and searching for a ticket. You must be very perceptive or possibly a voyeur. Funny, that you should mention that! It truly isn't my first choice on a permanent basis because the only issue for me there is the climate. I don't know if you've ever been to Morocco, but in the areas I prefer, the weather has two extremes and changes rapidly in a day. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Morocco. The style of living is much calmer than the USA, the food is untainted by chemicals and when I return home I have a difficult time adjusting to the tasteless food we have here. The people are exceptionally welcoming to foreigners and you'll never approach anyone that fails to say "welcome". The cost of living is much much less than the states. And there is SO MUCH to see there. I've been all over the country and it's fascinating. You may even like to read a little about it's history. Did you know Morocco was the first country to accept the USA as an independent country 200 years ago!!! You sound like a brillant person, so you may like to delve into that. I may be much better off living there than here and Americans and Europeans alike are swarming there right now. It's by no means perfect, but the only place that is is Heaven.

It appears you are either Filipino or married to a Filipino. I want to assure you that the Phillipines is no comparison to Morocco! My son's girlfriend who is Filipino has told me all about living at least the area she did. It sounds dreadful. So when you are weighing living abroad, there are countries and there are countries.

No, I do not like the system. Yes, we both anticipated "hiccups" along the way - such as an AP at the end. We never dreamed of an outright denial based on fraud, which is a felony, as you know. That's a bit scarey to me, especially since we are legitimate.

Although you didn't ask for my advice, but I can't help but offer you a little advice in kind. Being a psych nurse, I was paraticularly sensitive to a tone that was severely bitter or anger. You sounded so unhappy. The next time you feel the need to somewhat "attack" an individual on one of these immigration sites, you may wish to get

your medication filled prior to sitting down to the computer

Happy New Year.

my comment was in regards to the thread starter saying that "What really upsets me is that these documents sit on someone's desk for 2 months and are not even looked at. Then they find a mistake, a missing document or a blank box and then they want the process to start over. Why not simplify things and have someone check all this before the check is cashed..

It just seems to me that this is a very poor way of conducting a process that is so important to us.

Life is 2 short to have someone else control our destiny in such a manner.

I have been lucky to have Officers at tier 2 level that are compassionate and very informative. I hope that I never have to cope with the insensitive behavior of certain USCIS officials that I have read about on this forum."

in my opinion, who are we to assume what goes on over at the processing center. just as you and i and everyone else here, they're people too. they make mistakes. it isn't right that you're in your struggle right now but it isn't right either to trash those people.

so now i ask, why are you taking my comment so personally. did i attack you, your nationality or your nation? so your "struggle" all of a sudden gives you the right to say your country is so much better than mine? does that make you feel like you're a bigger person than me? make you sleep better at night that you've belittled my country?

no. i'm not the bitter one. i'm not the insensitive one. i'm one that has an opinion just as you are. another thing that i'm not, is a a bigot. that i cannot say about you.

[Journeyer 17]

If you love the system so much as it is, I would be all too happy to opt out and be one less payer funding the morass of bureaucratic ineptitude that our government has morphed into.

THAT IS NOT THE AMERICA I GREW UP BELIEVING IN

I am just new newbie on this forum, just learning about our nightmare immigration jungle. My wife and I were just married, here in the states, a few weeks ago. I am a US citizen, and she is Brazilian. But we have been a couple for all intents and purposes and pretty much inseparable, for more than 2 years now. The only thing that kept us separated for a few months during that time was work, visa limitations, and a few other events. Still we have managed to spend the most of the last 2 years together. I am just getting things together to file our I-130. Your words quoted above are quite profound and moving, and so, so true. We are becoming a nation of sheeple, not people. I do not care what some here say, my wife is my wife and as a citizen of this nation, I believe that I should have a right to be with her and that I should not have to petition a corrupt government that now serves itself and not the people for the priveledge. You are right, and the posters here that are making insensitive remarks to those seeking help and separated from their loved one, are confused. I have already started a life together with my wife, and now we have to put that on hold, and we cannot even know for how long. Maybe if we just did it illegally, we could get rewarded for that. Seems to be lots of support for that, but none for the rights of citizens petitioning legally for their loved ones. We are not a large enough voting block I suppose. To quote one poster I read on this site, 'Where is our dream act?' The US government, in accordance to our constitution, is supposed to serve the people, not the other way around. The sad fact that so many citizens here do not know that is bringing our nation down. Do not worry, all of you who do not want legal immigrants coming here. If we keep going the direction we are going, no one will come anymore. Yes, this is still one of the greatest places on earth to live, in many ways. But I fear for this nation if we continue to let our out of control federal government nightmare spin further out of control of the people. If they try my patience too much with the CR-1 process, I will grudgingly give up my career early(my wife is already retired) and move to her country. I would rather do that than live without her. But what about people who do not have that option? Is there no compassion for them? Better do so quickly I guess if I want to leave, before they build a big fence to keep us all IN, like the former USSR did. We are looking more like them every day.

And yes, misterbigtoe, This is not the America I grew up believing in either.

Edited January 13, 2011 by Journeyer

[misterbigtoe 45]

Better do so quickly I guess if I want to leave, before they build a big fence to keep us all IN, like the former USSR did. We are looking more like them every day.

And yes, misterbigtoe, This is not the America I grew up believing in either.

Welcome

That is a theme that Ioften find myself coming back to. Many are shouting for a border fence to keepthe illegals out. I submit that we already have the resourcesto enforce our border and administer a rational and humaneimmigration policy. What we lack is not the resources to preserveour sovereignty but the will to do so. Like so many other laws, ourimmigration laws are much more strictly enforced on the soft target of thosewho are diligently adhering to the law. Illegals are not burdened with filingapplications and paperwork. There are no requirements for them to securesponsors earning 125% of the poverty guidelines, to wait months or years or tosubmit to background checks. It is only those of us who place value in the ruleof law that are forced to "submit".

People best be carefulin their shouts for a border fence. Don’t rush to build a fortress because whatis the difference between a fortress and a prison? The only difference is whichdirection the weapons are pointed. When it happens it will happen overnight.

As the tax base shrinksfrom companies and individuals leaving the country, the tax burden on those whoremain necessarily will increase causing an ever increasing flow of jobs andtaxpayers out of the country and a resultant escalation of tax rates. We willnever see actual cuts in government spending. If we are lucky, we see cuts inprojected growth, but never in actual budgetary spending. At some point,there will be the realization that the bureaucracy and the government isfinancially non-sustainable in the face of the shrinking tax base and fallingrevenues. The remaining payers will necessarily have to be prevented fromleaving. It is so simple to see yet so few people are willing to open theireyes and admit that yes, it can happen here. It can and we are precariouslybalanced at a tipping point. Personally I believe that it is this generationthat will define the future of America.

We have been so longtaught of American Exceptionalism but so few people have stopped to think whatexactly that means. America is the sum total of us. It can only be exceptionalif we hold ourselves and each other to that standard. When we collectivelycease to be exceptional, when we make excuses for ourselves and others, Americaceases to be exceptional.

[misterbigtoe 45]

Welcome

That is a theme that I often find myself coming back to. Many are shouting for a border fence to keep the illegals out. I submit that we already have the resources to enforce our border and administer a rational and humane immigration policy. What we lack is not the resources to preserve our sovereignty but the will to do so. Like so many other laws, our immigration laws are much more strictly enforced on the soft targets of those who are diligently adhering to the law. Illegals are not burdened with filing applications and paperwork. There are no requirements for them to secure sponsors earning 125% of the poverty guidelines, to wait months or years or to submit to background checks illegals disproportionately burden the system as they generally pay far too little in by way of taxes and consume far more in the way of services than the average legal resident. It is only those of us who place value in the rule of law that are compelled to "submit".

People best be careful in their shouts for a border fence. Don't rush to build a fortress because what is the difference between a fortress and a prison? The only difference is which direction the weapons are pointed. When it happens it will happen overnight.

As the tax base shrinks from companies and individuals leaving the country, the tax burden on those who remain necessarily will increase causing an ever increasing flow of jobs and taxpayers out of the country and a resultant escalation of tax rates it is a vicious cycle that will spin out of control. We will never see actual cuts in government spending. If we are lucky, we see cuts in projected growth, but never in actual budgetary spending. At some point,there will be the realization that the bureaucracy and the government is financially non-sustainable in the face of the shrinking tax base and falling revenues. The remaining payers will necessarily have to be prevented from leaving and the remaining industry nationalized. It is so simple to see yet so few people are willing to open their eyes and admit that yes, it can happen here. It can and we are precariously balanced at a tipping point. Personally I believe that it is this generation that will define the future of America.

We have been so long taught of American Exceptionalism but so few people have stopped to think what exactly that means. America is the sum total of us. It can only be exceptional if we hold ourselves and each other to that standard. When we collectively cease to be exceptional, when we make excuses for ourselves and others, America ceases to be exceptional.