The unfairness of it all

[salboreni 12]

I sit here and read about this persons approval in 39 days...and here I am waiting 7 months...with nothing from NBC....are we being punished because we choose to marry instead of applying for a fiance visa? I'm so disappointed in the whole process and I don't believe anything anyone tells me anymore...I have had lawyers tell me.....You are an American...your husband is Arab..you can't go live in his country so it is the U.S Governments job to bring your husband to you....why did I ever believe these words....I have already decided that if this process takes much longer for approval..I will go live in the West Bank....I refuse to let anyone tell me who I can marry, and who I can love.

[r060106 109]

I sit here and read about this persons approval in 39 days...and here I am waiting 7 months...with nothing from NBC....are we being punished because we choose to marry instead of applying for a fiance visa? I'm so disappointed in the whole process and I don't believe anything anyone tells me anymore...I have had lawyers tell me.....You are an American...your husband is Arab..you can't go live in his country so it is the U.S Governments job to bring your husband to you....why did I ever believe these words....I have already decided that if this process takes much longer for approval..I will go live in the West Bank....I refuse to let anyone tell me who I can marry, and who I can love.

Well said.

[salboreni 12]

thanks....i'm just so frusterated right now....thanks for listening to my venting.

[Blaw12148 1]

My fiancé is from Iraq and I have been waiting 12 months. He finally had his interview and yet we still are waiting. They don't tell you every loophole you actually have to go through. It's rough and it's so stressful. The only people I know who get approved that fast are people that are closer to USA like Mexico or Canada. My attorney told me due to him being from the Middle East I should expect it to take longer then normal...and it has. You're not doing K1 right? So what other visa are your trying to get him over here on? We were going to Masaryk in turkey, instead of doing fiancé visa, but our immigration attorney said it wouldn't be any quicker and that the k1 was our best option.

[JRF 117]

I sit here and read about this persons approval in 39 days...and here I am waiting 7 months...with nothing from NBC....are we being punished because we choose to marry instead of applying for a fiance visa? I'm so disappointed in the whole process and I don't believe anything anyone tells me anymore...I have had lawyers tell me.....You are an American...your husband is Arab..you can't go live in his country so it is the U.S Governments job to bring your husband to you....why did I ever believe these words....I have already decided that if this process takes much longer for approval..I will go live in the West Bank....I refuse to let anyone tell me who I can marry, and who I can love.

I know it's tough...our situation perhaps isn't so bad (hoping for an interview in December with a priority date in January) but remember with the CR1 visa a lot of the processing that is otherwise done for the K1 in the US is done for us before our spouse enters the US.

I don't think the delay with USCIS is due to your husband (the beneficiary) because at this stage I believe they are focused on background checks of the USC.

More likely what you are seeing is an overwhelmed system...lots of delays for CR1 applications.

Admire your attitude - marry who you love. Wish you the best of luck whatever you decide.

[En-oh-eh-to now 147]

If only our congressmen and senators really gave a damn. They just perform their standard inquiries and responses, and sometimes attach the word "unfortunate" to it. If I get that kind of canned response, I surely won't forget it during the next election. I suppose we can't expect to be on their list of priorities, but year-long wait just to get permission to apply for a visa to bring a spouse over to our nation of immigrants is a bit outrageous, right? How long are they willing to perform these basic inquiries before they are willing to act on our behalf?

[Blaw12148 1]

I know it hard trust me, but the wait is worth it. I almost felt like they made it longer to see if we would stay together, because lots of people are being denied due to consulates thinking relationships aren't real..but for those of us who have our fiancés so much farther then others, it only makes us that much stronger. Hang in there girl, bc they are slow and when you least expect it you will hear from them.

[AtlantaD 3]

Thanks for your post. Hang in there. You have already invested 7 months into the process. Sometimes I think that the US government penalizes those of us who choose to marry abroad rather than bring our fiancees to the States to get married within 90 days of their arrival. And when I do think that way. I immediately think to myself-- how unfair is that? Oh well. I do know that if I was given the chance to do it all over again, I would still marry my sweet wife in the Philippines so that all of her family, her church family, her close friends, and her business associates could be a part of our special day!

[HettyandSaid 18]

I know the waiting is hard. But with everything I have been reading lately... we should start seeing some movement in october with the service center (NBC) saying september 28 is the day that they will start things moving with i 130. I have not been waiting as long as you, I have been waiting 4 months..soon to be 5 and I have braced myself for a long wait. With our husbands being from where they are, it will be a longer wait, and pray that we do not get put into AP. I have a friend who has been approved, but then put in AP for 6 months and still waiting for visa. If anyone else knows more, please chime in! Best of luck, and I hope it goes faster for all of us when they start up next week!

[Cathi 5,624]

It has nothing to do with being married vs being engaged. You will see married couples get approved just as fast as engaged. the process for a cr-1 is sometimes a little bit longer in the beginning, but in the long run it is the superior, and less expensive way to go. No waiting to work after arrival. My husband was approved 10 months to the day after I got NOA1, and that included 10 weeks of AP. Had it not been for AP he would have been here in 6 months.

I am not sure why you said "I refuse to let anyone tell me who I can marry, or who I can love" At what point did USCIS, DoS or the consulate tell you that you weren't allowed to marry someone from Palestine?

Edited September 26, 2013 by mimolicious

[r060106 109]

It has nothing to do with being married vs being engaged. You will see married couples get approved just as fast as engaged. the process for a cr-1 is sometimes a little bit longer in the beginning, but in the long run it is the superior, and less expensive way to go. No waiting to work after arrival. My husband was approved 10 months to the day after I got NOA1, and that included 10 weeks of AP. Had it not been for AP he would have been here in 6 months.

Yes, but I think the OP meant that it appears K-1s are getting processed much much faster than CR/IR-1s are right now. This seems to hold especially true given the average processing time of 16.6 months for them the last time I checked the USCIS website.

[GreenMetro 5]

This whole immigration process needs to be overhauled, but that will prolly never happen. If the senators or congressmen really cared they would make a real inquiry instead of mailing out the standard generic notice that they inquired. As for the background checks, Im pretty sure thats just another excuse for them to drag their feet. Take me for example, I have an active security clearance....no background check needed. I feel your frustration with this ridiculous long process. I just take it a month at a time, even though I filed in April and havent even hit my 6 month mark. Im prepared for this to take a while. Really in the end, regardless of how long it takes, being with your loved one will be worth it. Instead of thinking about the length its taking think about what you guys have to look forward to. Good luck to you.

[r060106 109]

This whole immigration process needs to be overhauled, but that will prolly never happen. If the senators or congressmen really cared they would make a real inquiry instead of mailing out the standard generic notice that they inquired. As for the background checks, Im pretty sure thats just another excuse for them to drag their feet. Take me for example, I have an active security clearance....no background check needed. I feel your frustration with this ridiculous long process. I just take it a month at a time, even though I filed in April and havent even hit my 6 month mark. Im prepared for this to take a while. Really in the end, regardless of how long it takes, being with your loved one will be worth it. Instead of thinking about the length its taking think about what you guys have to look forward to. Good luck to you.

I too try to think about how it will be all worth it, but sometimes I have doubts as when it will even end and whether we'll really have to wait the 16.6 months they're saying just to get the NOA2. It's all very disconcerting.

I guess on the bright side of it all, for those of us who have been married less than two years, if they do take the 20 months or so it looks like they'll be taking for the whole process going forward, we can all enter the U.S. after the two month anniversary. That obviously means a 10 year green card and no more USCIS until citizenship for our loved ones. Such an outcome would be a huge plus to all of this terrible waiting it looks like we'll all be doing given how things stand.

[Atif & Sana 3]

Yeah i totally agree with you girl. its super frustrating & terribly wrong! To wait so long to receive your NOA2. I don't understand why the whole is super slow. I mean i understand the case load and amount of cases being filed. But, common i think the you should not have to wait several or even more then several months to receive your NOA2. I mean do they not understand how hard it is to be without your spouse. Its like your life is put on "HOLD" it doesn't move until your spouse finally enter to US. So i wish they can find a better and faster way to process these cases because, this is just ridiculous! Nobody can tell you who to marry and who not to. This is free country we are allowed to marry whoever we want regardless of where they live!I know how you feel I'm going through the same damn thing its so hard good luck to you!

[Cathi 5,624]

Yes, but I think the OP meant that it appears K-1s are getting processed much much faster than CR/IR-1s are right now. This seems to hold especially true given the average processing time of 16.6 months for them the last time I checked the USCIS website.

I understand that, but why the rant about them telling her who she can and can't marry? At what point did anyone at USCIS tell her she couldn;t marry who she pleases? Seriously, there is no way that would happen.