Doh! I Forgot to Send the Check!

[*julez* 124]

Something my Dad always said to me as a child comes to mind! "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, oh what a Christmas we'd have!"

And what you are proposing are some pretty big ifs!

Yes, of course based on what we now know as the USCIS, my ideas are like Santa Claus. But nothing I mentioned is science fiction.

1. Why on God's green Earth, can't USCIS accpet electronic payment?

2. Have you ever bought concert tickets or movie tickets online? Bar code prints out like a charm and you go right to the show, the ticket taker scans it and away you go.

3. We are so accustomed to crappy, slow and de-humanizing bureaucratic treatment, but it needn't be so.

James

I never said your ideas were like science fiction, just unrealistic given that it IS USCIS that we are talking about! Don't get me wrong, I'd like things to be different/better, particularly since I did just file my I-129f and better systems would benefit me! In aswer to your points:

1. I have no idea, but I expect that its because they accept paper applications, not electronic ones and don't want the hassle of wrong credit card #s and rejected credit cards payments. Using merchant services costs big bucks, and frankly as a self-funded arm of the government, they likely can't afford it!

2. Yes, I have. So you're suggesting a ticket be printed and enclosed in the packet? Interesting, but again the merchant services processing fees, I suspect, are the biggestdeterrent for this option.

3. Another saying from my Dad, "There's the way we want things to be, and then there's the way that it is." Evolution in USCIS is extremely slow and we won't see it in out K1 processing, or even AOS. Maybe for the 10 yr greencard....but I can guarantee you I'm not holding my breath. I accept it as I have no other choice but to do so.

Edited July 31, 2007 by julezabelle

[phewall 0]

I never said your ideas were like science fiction, just unrealistic given that it IS USCIS that we are talking about! Don't get me wrong, I'd like things to be different/better, particularly since I did just file my I-129f and better systems would benefit me! In aswer to your points:

1. I have no idea, but I expect that its because they accept paper applications, not electronic ones and don't want the hassle of wrong credit card #s and rejected credit cards payments. Using merchant services costs big bucks, and frankly as a self-funded arm of the government, they likely can't afford it!

2. Yes, I have. So you're suggesting a ticket be printed and enclosed in the packet? Interesting, but again the merchant services processing fees, I suspect, are the biggestdeterrent for this option.

3. Another saying from my Dad, "There's the way we want things to be, and then there's the way that it is." Evolution in USCIS is extremely slow and we won't see it in out K1 processing, or even AOS. Maybe for the 10 yr greencard....but I can guarantee you I'm not holding my breath. I accept it as I have no other choice but to do so.

I checked a source online and Visa/Mastercard processing fees range from 1-5% of each transaction. I would think the US government could negotiate a "preferred" rate of 1-2% and simply roll that into the most recent astronomical fee increase. FedEx, UPS and even the US Postal Service barcode and scan millions and millions of transactions every day... c'mon.... It's just not that hard if they were truly interested in serving the customers. At FourHundredandFiftyFive dollars per application, I cannot believe they can't factor in electronic payment and a bar code system to track people's application packets. Those two items should be at a MINIMUM.

I mean, who knows, maybe somewhere they have some master plan to join the 21st Century.... I'm not holding my breath either... and I will have to "acccept" my $285 kick in the nads for my failure to enclose the check, but with these fee increases, they have NO excuse to fail to modernize their broken, crappy system.

James

[StillThePrettiest 3]

I mean I can just imagine their offices and where they process these things and I just can't get the idea of warehouses of paper, dot matrix printers, punch in and out time clocks, 1970's lime green furniture and paint, rows of desks with piles and piles of petitions, and countless employees who process 5-7 a day and when they process 10-14 they feel overworked and need raises.

perfect

James, the point you make is very sound... it shouldn't be a big deal to have electronic payment at the very least, and the 'sheer numbers' argument just doesn't wash; MANY other organisations deal with similar or greater numbers and manage... and the fees should be MORE than covered by the price hike, as you say, and even if not, surely it could then be optional, like when you buy an airline ticket online - who wouldn't pay an extra $3 or whatever to have such convenience?

anyway, they already issue tracking numbers so part of the system must be computerised... no, face it; it's not a priority because they have us over a barrel; if there was a private company which was able to do the same thing and give them some competition there'd be swift changes, I just bet

Edited July 31, 2007 by StillThePrettiest

[RosemarieL 0]

One of the identified problems with USCIS is out of date disjointed computer systems and since it is supposed to be self funding there was a lack of funds for system improvements which are expensive. The increase in fees is supposed to address this issue but since they have only gone up this week I doubt they actually have any extra money today. I hope that they will be able to invest in system improvements as the money comes in from the fee increases from August onwards.