Is February 18th doomsday?

[Boiler 43,535]

I did read that they did not expect all of these application to be completed until the next election. There will be political pressure to meet that target.

[asisflyer 47]

Hi Catherine,

Thanks for posting those NY Times links. They seemed familiar, so I think I had read them before.

The piece on the separated families is exactly the point here.

If the Executive branch can is Issue AP and Work Permits for Deferred Action Deportees and waive Lifetime bans, then certainly he can:

1. Broaden the K-3 visa class to be a true 5-year Non-Immigrant Spouse VISA issued as simply as a Tourist Visa but with dual intent (re-invent it like it should have always been)

(think about typical EU 5-year non immigrant spouse visas, give expats, contractors, military, as easy way to keep family together) Put basic anti-fraud restrictions in.

2. ALTERNATIVELY, Administratively order Consulates, CBP, and the USCIS that the "Non-Immigrant Intent" aspect of the B1/B2 visas does not apply for Immediate Relatives on US Citizens. You could also call this a BX or BM visa. Order priority appointments for B visa interviews to US Citizen immediate relatives. You will re-unite 100,000+ US Citizen families within 45 days !!! After first 6 months - USC should have to be with spouse at POE

3. Change existing or create new visa class K/IR that can have < 30 day process/consular approvals, Dual Intent, Rapid Approval. Not Required if 1 or 2 is adopted !!!

4. Set Process Standard of 120 Days for K1/K3/CR1/IR1 to create legal path for Writs of Mandamus to push USCIS hand to keep families together

5. Authorize SSA to issue temporary 3-month SSA to anyone with proof of marriage to a US Citizen and LAWFUL ADMISSION STATUS. Make this Electronic !!!

6. Authorize employers to hire anyone with proof of marriage to a US Citizen, lawful immigration status, and Interim SSN (above) for a period of up to 90 days without E-Verify Approval.

any others?

[Dohan 133]

These are all GREAT ideas and I am sure everyone who has been through this process would be so behind it but we forget that it is not in the government's interest to reunite us quicker with our loved ones. They want the process to take time so that the flow of immigrants is less (you know, never mind that the border is getting breached all the time) and controlled and so that we have to pay fees at every stage of this ridiculous process.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

I don't even want to talk about the huge mess DACA created. To "alleviate" the backlog, USCIS sent I-130s to local offices to be processed, most of them had a backlog of their own cases and weren't familiar with the up to date I-130 processing instructions.

There is a lengthy timeline of how that affected our case in my profile, but let's just say, USCIS had no idea what they were doing.

Now of course, we file our ROC just in time for DAPA. Not looking forward to the mess this time either.

[LostInAK 43]

They always say it wont affect petitions, and it always DOES affect pettitions. Making illegal aliens legal is a priority for this administration. It ensures they have a solid vvoting base to rely on for years to come. They Dems have lost the support of the unions, since they have become more irrlevant year by year. I've seen this happen in the past:

2008: Drastically increased the fees for citizenship. Everyone flooded USCIS with citizenship applications prior to the fee increase. This pushed everything back months including I-130 and I-129F petitions.

2013: DACA. The claim was that adjudictors were whired so that all teh DACA applications would not interfere with the petitions being filed by legal applicants. This was either a lie, or there were so many DACA petitions it didn't matter that they hired more employees.

2014: See 2008 and 2013. You can BET Obama's new amnesty will cause delays. There's a history already.

[Pennycat 880]

They always say it wont affect petitions, and it always DOES affect pettitions. Making illegal aliens legal is a priority for this administration. It ensures they have a solid vvoting base to rely on for years to come. They Dems have lost the support of the unions, since they have become more irrlevant year by year. I've seen this happen in the past:

2008: Drastically increased the fees for citizenship. Everyone flooded USCIS with citizenship applications prior to the fee increase. This pushed everything back months including I-130 and I-129F petitions.

2013: DACA. The claim was that adjudictors were whired so that all teh DACA applications would not interfere with the petitions being filed by legal applicants. This was either a lie, or there were so many DACA petitions it didn't matter that they hired more employees.

2014: See 2008 and 2013. You can BET Obama's new amnesty will cause delays. There's a history already.

This is the type of thing I really can't comment on specifically, but I have been wondering (and asking and maybe no one knows)----did they hire 1000+ people in 2013 for DACA? It sounds like at least some---but where they put into the mix with the rest of the applications? And is this time, are amnesty applications going to be limited only to the new office? This could make all the difference. Of course, USCIS isn't the only player here so, I ask.... where else besides USCIS may a delay happen (to the amnesty folks need NVC? How does the FBI play into this)? Trust me, I am very, very, very familiar with federal bureaucracy and it doesn't always lead to optimism. However, it is unusual for them to hire up so many so quickly and this *is* a distinctly different bureaucratic path than DACA and the citizenship fees.

[LostInAK 43]

This is the type of thing I really can't comment on specifically, but I have been wondering (and asking and maybe no one knows)----did they hire 1000+ people in 2013 for DACA? It sounds like at least some---but where they put into the mix with the rest of the applications? And is this time, are amnesty applications going to be limited only to the new office? This could make all the difference. Of course, USCIS isn't the only player here so, I ask.... where else besides USCIS may a delay happen (to the amnesty folks need NVC? How does the FBI play into this)? Trust me, I am very, very, very familiar with federal bureaucracy and it doesn't always lead to optimism. However, it is unusual for them to hire up so many so quickly and this *is* a distinctly different bureaucratic path than DACA and the citizenship fees.

For the most part USCIS is the only player when it comes to delays. In the past there have been issues with FBI background checks and things of that nature. NVC taking yesrs to complete cases etc. But in recent years (post 2008) it's pretty much all been USCIS because of the reasons I pointed out above.

[KristinD 77]

Hi everyone. Just wanted you to know that I emailed the reporter on the original NY Times story and asked her if she'd be willing to do a follow-up one on how the new applications will slow down the processing times. I'll keep you posted if she responds.

We have started this: https://www.change.org/p/uscis-distribute-the-current-caseload-between-tsc-csc-vsc-and-nsc

Myself and a few other VJ people are slowly gathering information and attempting to put together a packet of congressional responses along with statistics etc.

We are thinking of sending to two different outlets and also seeing if we can get the media to pick it up.

What are your thoughts, ideas, etc.?

Any idea is welcome so we can get this out as soon as possible. We have been emailing and contacting as many people as possible and I have left messages for Homeland Security to see who is willing to have a conversation.

Best,

Kristin

[ydu1 6]

If you are thinking of filling any form this will be the right time. If you wait till the new immigration law goes into effect 5 million people will file their form and yours will be delayed anywhere from 2yrs to 7yrs.

[Hypnos 6,576]

1) Unless USCIS process your application in less than two weeks, filing now is going to do absolutely nothing for you.

2) Complete speculation on your part. Will it add time to some processing times? Almost certainly. 2 - 7 years? 100% guesswork on your part.

[ydu1 6]

1) Unless USCIS process your application in less than two weeks, filing now is going to do absolutely nothing for you.

2) Complete speculation on your part. Will it add time to some processing times? Almost certainly. 2 - 7 years? 100% guesswork on your part.

People's forms are getting delayed now talk-less of a gazillion of forms that will be sent to them in few months.

[brentos 53]

Hi everyone. Just wanted you to know that I emailed the reporter on the original NY Times story and asked her if she'd be willing to do a follow-up one on how the new applications will slow down the processing times. I'll keep you posted if she responds.

We have started this: https://www.change.org/p/uscis-distribute-the-current-caseload-between-tsc-csc-vsc-and-nsc

Myself and a few other VJ people are slowly gathering information and attempting to put together a packet of congressional responses along with statistics etc.

We are thinking of sending to two different outlets and also seeing if we can get the media to pick it up.

What are your thoughts, ideas, etc.?

Any idea is welcome so we can get this out as soon as possible. We have been emailing and contacting as many people as possible and I have left messages for Homeland Security to see who is willing to have a conversation.

Best,

Kristin

I was reading your petition and had a question. You said that the service centers process based on location and type? I thought where they sent your petition was random? Or it seemed to be from what I have seen. But I guess with 4 centers and 50 states it is hard to tell which centers are doing what. Does anyone know which center does what and for which locations?

Thanks,

Brent

[ExPatty 502]

1) Unless USCIS process your application in less than two weeks, filing now is going to do absolutely nothing for you.

2) Complete speculation on your part. Will it add time to some processing times? Almost certainly. 2 - 7 years? 100% guesswork on your part.

Hypothetically speaking if 5M people mailed forms to USCIS today and you had yours accepted two weeks ago you'd be in front of them, to your benefit.

The possibly changes in status for millions of illegals was on my mind recently. I don't know how many will be interacting with USCIS and how it would affect other people's processes, but I am glad to have kicked off my final one (400) prior to any potential influx of vast amounts of applications for who knows what (should they occur).

[TBoneTX 43,154]

*** Thread merged with similar thread already ongoing in this forum. ***

[TBoneTX 43,154]

Two off-topic posts have been removed from this thread, because their point has been made elsewhere.