What can be done about stalled multi-year I-130s?

[vtstang66 65]

Hear me out, this is a serious question.  As my wife and I go into our third year of this process with no end in sight, it seems there must be a point when enough is enough.  We finally got through NVC stage after 19 months from filing, only to be stonewalled by a covid-closed consulate for almost a year so far with no opening in sight.

 

The solution is simple, let my wife immigrate on a conditional basis until the offices can open and the government can start processing again.  We would be more than happy to go anywhere at any time later for the proper interview.  CR-1s have to do this anyway and it's not a problem.  Give every I-130 spouse who's cleared NVC CR-1 status until they can process us properly.

 

So who do I need to talk to?  My Representative?  My Senators?  Surely we're not alone in this situation nor in the belief that it's completely ridiculous.  We're trying to do the right thing here, going about it the legal way, but we're in our prime years and have to spend them apart because of a situation that could very easily be remedied with no loss to anybody.  We've been patient but nobody should have to put up with this.  Who's with me?  How do we participate in democracy and make the government work for us?

Edited January 20, 2021 by vtstang66

[HRQX 4,145]

10 minutes ago, vtstang66 said:

Give every I-130 spouse who's cleared NVC CR-1 status until they can process us properly.

By law, your wife's case is now IR-1 since your second anniversary already passed. See INA 216.

Edited January 20, 2021 by HRQX

[JFH 12,190]

Well, they are not going to change the law to suit you and allow her to come here without first being interviewed and the full procedure being followed. 
 

The border is open so assuming she has a tourist visa she can visit you here. If not, you can visit her there. That will help with the separation in the short term. 

But there are many couples in the same situation of waiting and waiting. Not all of them have the luxury of being able to visit. 

[Veronica & Eric 3]

Alot of us are trying to do the right thing. I'm getting close to my 2 year marriage anniversary and we are stuck in our immigration process because we haven't found a sponsor. Being apart from your spouse is so difficult. There's times that it hits hard and don't know what to do than just find another way, but then we come back to reality and keep praying for a miracle. Good luck to you and your spouse hang in there.

[vtstang66 65]

21 minutes ago, JFH said:

But there are many couples in the same situation of waiting and waiting. Not all of them have the luxury of being able to visit. 

This is a great argument for why this issue should be raised and something done about it!  Being able to visit each other, at a cost of hundreds of dollars per trip, is a poor substitute for living and having a life together as husband and wife.  Even worse for those who don't have that option.

[SalishSea 17,928]

18 minutes ago, vtstang66 said:

This is a great argument for why this issue should be raised and something done about it!  Being able to visit each other, at a cost of hundreds of dollars per trip, is a poor substitute for living and having a life together as husband and wife.  Even worse for those who don't have that option.

No one has forced us to make the choices we've made to be in relationships with people overseas.  Even pre-COVID, many couples could, for a variety of reasons, only manage minimal visits/time together.  Lots of us had extended wait times to be together as well.

[Ikhan 49]

Send your congressman/woman a letter. Something needs to be done, 3 years is too long.  Don't listen to some of these people who are negative and are okay with people being apart for long periods of time. If you check their timeline, most of them havent even come to close to waiting as long as you have.

[Pinkrlion 2,724]

Nothing is stopping you from living there during  this virtual work situation..

[SalishSea 17,928]

7 minutes ago, Ikhan said:

Send your congressman/woman a letter. Something needs to be done, 3 years is too long.  Don't listen to some of these people who are negative and are okay with people being apart for long periods of time. If you check their timeline, most of them havent even come to close to waiting as long as you have.

You can't always tell how long people have had to wait to be together from timelines.

[JeanneAdil 6,561]

13 hours ago, vtstang66 said:

This is a great argument for why this issue should be raised and something done about it!  Being able to visit each other, at a cost of hundreds of dollars per trip, is a poor substitute for living and having a life together as husband and wife.  Even worse for those who don't have that option.

Because this is the way it use to be done 

the immigrant came and then was interviewed here showing evidence of the relationship 

and for some reason(s) ,  it didn't work out the way it was intended so it was changed 

[LibbyG99 65]

16 hours ago, vtstang66 said:

Hear me out, this is a serious question.  As my wife and I go into our third year of this process with no end in sight, it seems there must be a point when enough is enough.  We finally got through NVC stage after 19 months from filing, only to be stonewalled by a covid-closed consulate for almost a year so far with no opening in sight.

 

The solution is simple, let my wife immigrate on a conditional basis until the offices can open and the government can start processing again.  We would be more than happy to go anywhere at any time later for the proper interview.  CR-1s have to do this anyway and it's not a problem.  Give every I-130 spouse who's cleared NVC CR-1 status until they can process us properly.

 

So who do I need to talk to?  My Representative?  My Senators?  Surely we're not alone in this situation nor in the belief that it's completely ridiculous.  We're trying to do the right thing here, going about it the legal way, but we're in our prime years and have to spend them apart because of a situation that could very easily be remedied with no loss to anybody.  We've been patient but nobody should have to put up with this.  Who's with me?  How do we participate in democracy and make the government work for us?

I wrote to my senators and representatives and they tried to help me as best as they could, they wrote to the embassy on my behalf and are following my case- but the only information they could get from the embassy was what I have already heard a million times "due to covid routine visa services are suspended and we cannot give  date when they will resume" blah blah. So it wasn't very helpful. Joining the k-1 lawsuits is probably the closest we have to enacting change on this.

Edited January 20, 2021 by LibbyG99
typo

[Montrealy 73]

OP-there is a school of thought on this site that seems to equate the way it is with the the way it should be. As you correctly stated, the fact is that married couples should be together, and to keep them apart needlessly and without any recourse is WRONG. It should not take years to be reunited with your spouse, regardless of whether USCIS, DOS or anyone here says so.
 

Yes, you made a choice to marry a foreigner, but you had every right to make that choice, and the government should be just as sympathetic to that as it is to every other issue that only affects a minority of its citizens (in case you haven’t noticed, minority issues occupy a majority of contemporary political discourse). Besides, nobody wants to live in a country in which you can only marry a fellow citizen.

 

Point being, as a matter of fact, you are right, and the system is wrong. What to do about it is another story, though. You can contact anyone you want, but nobody who cares can do anything, and nobody who can do anything cares. Such is the nature of the bureaucracy-too bloated to function with even a modicum of common sense or compassion, too removed to care, and too powerful to fear any accountability.
 

Don’t expect any of this to change with the new administration. They don’t care any more about you, the little guy, than the previous-only about themselves. Welcome to democracy 2021.

[HRQX 4,145]

8 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

Because this is the way it use to be done 

the immigrant came and then was interviewed here showing evidence of the relationship 

and for some reason(s) ,  it didn't work out the way it was intended so it was changed 

On 12/27/2020 at 2:48 PM, JeanneAdil said:

the K3 is the way it used to be done before the embassy took over interviews

that is to say a foreign spouse came and was interviewed here and approved or denied to stay

my brother in law did it this way  years and years ago

IR-1/CR-1 existed even before the K-3 visa was created* by the Legal Immigration Family Equity (LIFE) Act of 2000. IR-1/CR-1 never interviews for initial GC inside of the US since its an Immigrant Visa.

 

*Also see the relevant data:

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/FY04tableXVIb.pdf Page 2

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/FY2000 table VIII.pdf Page 9

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/FY2001 table VIII.pdf Page 9

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/FY2002 table VIII.pdf Page 9

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/FY2003 table VIII.pdf Page 9

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/FY04tableVIII.pdf Page 11

Edited January 21, 2021 by HRQX

[vtstang66 65]

21 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

No one has forced us to make the choices we've made to be in relationships with people overseas.  Even pre-COVID, many couples could, for a variety of reasons, only manage minimal visits/time together.  Lots of us had extended wait times to be together as well.

Nobody "forced" me to fall in love with and marry my wife, but now the government is definitely forcing us to be apart for years for no reason.  None of this is a choice I made, like buying a new car or deciding what to eat for dinner.  Wow.

The whole issue is that it doesn't have to be like this.  The arbitrary interview to grant the visa can happen just as well after the Consulate opens, and we could be together in the meantime.  It could be done over Zoom for that matter.  If the argument is about safety due to Covid, it's much less safe to travel back and forth 20 times on a plane than to hold one interview.

 

I am really surprised how many people on here who have supposedly gone through these things are so callous in defense of the absurdity that is our horrendously broken system.  The fact that others are suffering the same thing is more cause to be against it, not a reason to embrace it!  I'll be writing to my congress people and anyone else who will listen, and if I get anywhere with that I'll update this thread.

[SalishSea 17,928]

5 minutes ago, vtstang66 said:

Nobody "forced" me to fall in love with and marry my wife, but now the government is definitely forcing us to be apart for years for no reason.  None of this is a choice I made, like buying a new car or deciding what to eat for dinner.  Wow.

The whole issue is that it doesn't have to be like this.  The arbitrary interview to grant the visa can happen just as well after the Consulate opens, and we could be together in the meantime.  It could be done over Zoom for that matter.  If the argument is about safety due to Covid, it's much less safe to travel back and forth 20 times on a plane than to hold one interview.

 

I am really surprised how many people on here who have supposedly gone through these things are so callous in defense of the absurdity that is our horrendously broken system.  The fact that others are suffering the same thing is more cause to be against it, not a reason to embrace it!  I'll be writing to my congress people and anyone else who will listen, and if I get anywhere with that I'll update this thread.

I'm not being callous.  Separation is just part of the reality of immigration, and choosing to be with someone who lives in a different country.  I don't think anyone here is 'embracing' the broken system, but we can chose to not be victimized by 'the government forcing you to be apart.'  My point was that we all have choices, and have made choices that remove some of the control we would have if we married the person next door.