angeldaemon13

Yeah, it's the USCIS portion of the whole process that I really don't understand. The NVC and Interview have relationship verification of their own, so why do we need to wait for the USCIS to approve the relationship? It's the weakest link in the entire process and the reason we're all suffering I think. So sad.

Pregnancy will not get your case expedited.
You may want to look into filing CRBA: http://canberra.usembassy.gov/report-birth-abroad.html

please he came for advise not to be attacked...........
sara

It was the uncertainty which drove me crazy, more than the length of time. It's not knowing whether it's going to be 7 month, 10 months or 20 months.
This is what we did:
Worked, sorted through belongings, putting some in storage and working out what to pack, talked on the phone every day. researched the area of the US I was moving to, checked the USCIS website 20 times a day
This is what I wish we'd done:
Saved money like crazy by taking on as much overtime as possible and perhaps a second job (having a money cushion is so helpful when it might take a while for the immigrant to get a job, and even if that's not an issue you can use the extra money to decorate the house, buy new furniture together, travel around the US to get used to your new home)
Decluttered massively on both sides of the ocean. I did get rid of a lot of my belongings before moving over but there is still stuff sitting in boxes in my parents' house which I haven't looked at for seven years. I wish my husband had done a similar amount of pruning on his stuff before I moved to make space for the things I was bringing over. I spend the first six months in the US cleaning out closets which was a bit of a drag.
I wish my husband had done more research on his end and created a welcome to America package which contained things like - maps of the area, info on getting the drivers' licence in his town including the theory booklet for example, lists of shops and places I'd like to visit, places to buy British goods,
I wish I'd spent more time of getting ready for a big new job hunt - resume primed, contacts gathered, research on possible companies etc

Yes, if I/we go to Montreal for the interview I'd definitely get my medical done here! We'd probably try to make a holiday out of the trip... neither of us has ever been there! But it's over a $500 flight for each of us, not including a place to stay or incidentals.
It seems crazy to me that there's only one place to do these interviews in a country as large as Canada!

I wouldn't say there's *nothing* we can do about it. I rather think it will take work on our part, but we can make a positive difference. If not for us, then for the people who will petition after us.

I think this will be a huge help for the future petitiones. Let's go ahead and do it!!!

We can actually go an pull out and demonstrate that they've been aware of their problems for years and continue to have those problems because their actions are ineffective. I think we should go back and pull the available data for the past 10 years (at least) from the Ombudsman reports and the USCIS's reports to congress.

Maybe this could be another letter.
Demonstrate the facts behind the current backlog and using their report from 2004 and forward to Congress?

Maybe this could be another letter.
Demonstrate the facts behind the current backlog and using their report from 2004 and forward to Congress?

That was a great find! There's a lot of information in this that we can use to request information from Congress (who is supposed to be getting these reports) and USCIS (who states they will provide them). If it's a question of resources, fees can be adjusted or appropriated. If it's a question of USCIS workload priorities, stakeholders have a right to know. Immigration is in the news now as Congress debates changing the law. A careful study of where we are now should be the top consideration of policy makers.

Part of the document from 2004;
Form I-130. USCIS has formed an Action Team to streamline the immigration process for eligible family members of United States citizens and permanent residents. The long-stand -ing process first requires adjudication of a Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) to determine if a relationship exists that comports with the statute. Once that petition is approved, the applicant either files for adjustment of status to permanent resident in the United States or files for an immigrant visa abroad at a United States Embassy or Consulate, where the re -lationship issue is again adjudicated. USCIS is exploring ways in which to eliminate the duplicative effort that the current process mandates. This from 2004 and yet, nothing seems to be addressed. "

Part of the document from 2004;
Form I-130. USCIS has formed an Action Team to streamline the immigration process for eligible family members of United States citizens and permanent residents. The long-stand -ing process first requires adjudication of a Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) to determine if a relationship exists that comports with the statute. Once that petition is approved, the applicant either files for adjustment of status to permanent resident in the United States or files for an immigrant visa abroad at a United States Embassy or Consulate, where the re -lationship issue is again adjudicated. USCIS is exploring ways in which to eliminate the duplicative effort that the current process mandates. This from 2004 and yet, nothing seems to be addressed. "

Found this while researching....seems it was never rectified. http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=10852
I agree that letters to Congress would be more beneficial. We need to get the facts out that really, USCIS is spinning their wheels and transparency is needed. This will not go away unless revisions are made and brought to light.

I don't think it's fair or helpful to throw the K1's under the bus. They're in their own special immigrant class, and were also impacted negatively by the DACA applications last year. We have the information about the DACA petitions and their approvals. Hell, Mayorkas was praised over and over again for how he made sure they went through quickly. The K1's are ALSO US Citizens. Unless you're talking about showing how they were negatively impacted as well.
The last thing we want is them just switching the backlog back over to them. We want them to actually FIX the problems. Not just shift them to someone else.

I shared the link yesterday and a few people voted. My husband's shared it today. It's still climbing... we keep making noise and someone has to pay attention to us eventually. Shame we even have to go to these links, really.

They already raised the fees. It hasn't helped.

i agree. i have done research in regards to this stupid process and any internet article I found that had a discussion/comment, Kaylara was letting her voice be heard on this topic. Truly an amazing person for all this group has done. Kaylara, i thought of you during the holidays, I know there are many others in your boat but you are a beacon of light in darkest hours. As a mother, I applaud you and your dedication, even now FINALLY getting your NOA2, you still don't stop. :-)
Amazing.

i agree. i have done research in regards to this stupid process and any internet article I found that had a discussion/comment, Kaylara was letting her voice be heard on this topic. Truly an amazing person for all this group has done. Kaylara, i thought of you during the holidays, I know there are many others in your boat but you are a beacon of light in darkest hours. As a mother, I applaud you and your dedication, even now FINALLY getting your NOA2, you still don't stop. :-)
Amazing.

Thank you Kaylara! Was so pleased when you got approved and it's great to see you still being involved post approval. Your NOA2 is about a week ahead of ours so lets hope we have a fast journey through NVC!

100% AGREE!
Kaylara, THANK YOU.

Literally could not have found someone better for this than you Kaylara. 1 million thanks are not enough!!!!!!

I had an hour long interview tonight on the phone with the very nice reporter from the NY Times, and she said it's possible that they will send out a photographer. (I also told her she was welcome to use the pictures on my FB account if she thought it would be helpful. I not only discussed the details of my case, but also detailed our cumulative theories and exactly why we have them. (Proof from the USCIS's or Ombudsman's Reports data specifically, and also that we were following the transfers and approvals here. She seemed surprised to hear about Overland Park and what happened there, btw.) I also told her about the crazy RFE's, obnoxious Tier 2's, and the complete inability of the Congresspeoples or Senators offices or even the Ombudsman to help us due to them playing with the Processing Date. I even referenced the long wait that people in certain countries had with AP, and yes, even the bullshit going on down in the Equadorian consulate and the situation with the Stokes interviews down there. (Much thanks to Tbone for all of his work with informing people about that, btw. I just read all the threads on it the other day, and it was fresh in my mind.) Also I told her that several people had stated that they wanted to participate in an interview, but were afraid of possible retaliation from the USCIS. (She seemed angry at the idea that people were so scared of that; I think it really was a pretty powerful statement in and of itself.) But it is the right thing to do. (Besides, I have friends who are lawyers who I'm sure would help me out, and also two cute little blonde girls who need me to do everything I can to get their Daddy here. Cynical, maybe. Probably. But realistic, I hope.)
So, if all goes well, expect an article in the near future. Possibly with pictures. I hope I did a good job of representing the problems that we've had over the past (almost) year. And I really hope that this results in the situation as it stands being fixed.

You were my first thought Kaylara I hope with this opportunity you can give a voice to all the incredible research you've done over the months, in addition to raising awareness of the huge personal tolls this process can take on a family. Good luck guys, I hope this article hits the press and finally gets people's attention!

Hi folks,
I have been away from the VJ boards for several weeks now because my wife arrived here in the US on a 3 month visit.
Thank you and congratulations on the email campaign. However, we should continue to keep up the pressure, and let me try to explain why. Their "acknowledgment" letter was the product of our organizational activities. They are telling us that they 'hear' us. One of the tactics that government uses to end dissent is to "acknowledge" the pain of the dissenters or the mistakes of the government. The purpose is to calm the dissenters so that they stop putting pressure on the government.
We should be pleased by one fact: We got their attention, which means that they are worried about us to some degree - and they should be worried. The more I have studied our issue the more it does appear that the government acted lawlessly, ignoring standing law, even the Article I powers of Congress in the Constitution, in order to push a political agenda, and force us to pay the price for their political aims. So, of course, they - the administration - do not want our outcry to become louder. They want to placate and calm us so that we will shut up.
The letter says that the principle of family unity 'explains' why they are working so hard. This is utter BS. The administration chose, in defiance of law, to re-allocate resources to legalize illegally resident foreigners - who are already living with their families (illegally) in the US - in preference to us, who are USCs and foreign spouses of USCs who followed the law and are separated longer as a result of the administration's decisions. If the administration truly 'valued' family unity, they never would have made the decisions that they did. The results were foreseeable. If you don't believe this, look at the documents that Judicial Watch pulled out of the government on the FOIA demand. They show that the government knew this more than a year ago. They knew that this was going to happen, and they threw us under the bus anyway. Laurel Scott said on her FB page that they knew that this was foreseeable also. Some of us who have been in process long enough, and have studied this enough now know that it is highly implausible that they could not have foreseen the consequences of their decisions.
So, the point I am trying to make is that we should not be beguiled by their spin, and we should continue to pressure them until their processing times are restored to where they were - not 5 months as they say, but three months as our 11/2012 - 1/2013 VJ averages show. At this point, I trust our data more than their claims, which are infused with the clear intention to lie, obfuscate, mislead and are also often misinformed and contradictory. They have the political motivation - to conceal their lawless, defacto amnesty policy - to lie and hide the truth.
Also, I do think that their processing times should drop even further than 3 months for us. It should be more like 1 month. Let us not set the bar too low on them, and contentedly rejoice at 5 or 3 month processing times. When a law-abiding US Citizen marries a respectable foreigner, and carefully follows the law, they deserve the green card almost right away.
In the meantime, I recommend that we continue the pressure until processing times are cut down even more. I am very pleased to see the recent uptick in processing. And parenthetically, I am stunned by the number of February and March applications being approved right now - which leaves one again wondering what they hell they were doing all these months.
I am up for another targeted campaign soon.
--Alaskafan