angeldaemon13

Posted this as soon as I posted--"Thanks for all of the questions - it's good to know what people are thinking about; that helps us strengthen our work. SIgning off for now - I look forward to doing this again sometime soon!"
Lazy government worker, it's not even 4:30 yet.

I agree. It isn't civil disobedience, it is standing up what you believe in and fighting for. We didnt break the laws nor have we entered illegally. i think in some ways, we need to separate the issue. We need reform, to OUR cases. We are not DREAMers, nor DACA's nor do we need Provisional Waivers.
We didn't just meet our spouses, we didn't just start popping out children just so they can be US citizens. We are spouses abroad. Some of us have lived with our spouses, no matter what the case is, we are SEPARATED and we are looking to be with the one we love in that country. And we certainly should not be cast aside for the next cases of amnesty, or new generation of DREAMers, and we arent just entering a relationship for K1 status. I think we need to strategize and market our plight based on USC FAMILY UNITY.
i agree with theDude, we need designated members. All or nothing. If we run in 100 different directions, we appear unorganized and "poor me". We dont want that. It isn't clearing the backlogs in one foul swoop but having them recognize us for us and I do believe our cases should be handled differently because we have established a relationship. Some have children who are USC born abroad.
We need to stand up and fight for OUR CASES. no more waiting in line like Kaylara and her family or LoveMyTico and her family for close to a year on a redundant petition alone. it is not right but do it practically.

The Twitter plan sounds a good one, I might have to join for all this activity, I've been resisting it for years.
Not going to start posting what I've had for dinner or following people who are famous for making a sex tape though lol

Funny! I sent Marco Rubio a tweet yesterday lol

A few additions...
One thing that has made things harder for us is the Patriot Act, which impedes us from caring for our loved ones by placing barriers on giving our spouses access to our finances, like opening a joint account in the US. FATCA which is meant to make the rich pay their fair share of taxes has made it hard for us lower and middle income americans to open accounts overseas.
I would add another argument with respect to processing time of I-130. There is no quota for spouses, however the USCIS is illegally creating quotas by throttling the petitions. Lets suppose, if they only process 5,000 a month, they are creating a quota of 60,000 a year.

I must say that I am heartened by the efforts of TheDude and others, to get the plight of CR-1/I-130 applicants addressed by those with the power to do so. I'm not in a position to do much since we have not yet sent in our application, and also the fact that I'm the beneficiary. I do however stand to support in any way I can, from where I can, in order to see the system changed to not only benefit those already in the pool now, but for those who will come in the future. I like the suggestions put made.
As it relates to supporting the cause, I'm not sure how it would work, but one suggestion is that if there are moderators for each Portal, these persons could spearhead the members from the respective countries, who would write letters/ petitions etc. to the local US Embassies in collaboration with any action that is being undertaken by the wider VJ community at any particular time. Just a suggestion, but I think it could work if organized properly.
The journey of 1,000 miles begin with the first step - and then step after step, it will be completed. Change doesn't come by sitting down and doing nothing (I commend you TheDude). No point in cursing the dark when you can get up and go light a candle.

Something i did up today. i am not good at it but if you want touse it, tweak it, change it, by all means: (TheDude, opening quote is yours)
“If an amnesty is passed without provisions to reduce USC I-130 wait times those of us currently waiting from late last year (2013) and new USC I-130 filers could be facing wait times of more
than 1 year just for an I-130. This cannot be allowed to happen.”
-visajourney member




US Citizen and Family Unity From Abroad

Many United States Citizens are currently living in the United States, separated from their families. Whether they had been abroad for travel, work or relationship.
These citizens is someone's husband or wife, separated from their spouse and young child/children. Some returned to the United States to establish domicile, some returned to provide for their family abroad, some are living abroad, and filed a petition for Alien Relative. They are waiting for their I-130 petitions to be approved.
The current waiting time as indicated on USCIS website is currently 8.9 months....
JUST FOR THE PETITION




While they wait, their spouse and child are not allowed to enter the U.S., even for a brief visit. In order to obtain a Non-immigrant Visa, you must demonstrate you have no intent to live in the US but during the immigration process, it is recommended to finish the process in its entirety in your country of origin. If your spouse does provide ties to his/her country and made it over the border, you should not Adjust Status as you then demonstrate you had the intent on your approved visit.
A K-3 spouse visa was originally introduced to allow the foreign spouse of the U.S. citizen to enter the United States on a temporary visa while awaiting processing of the I-130 immediate relative petition to backlogs that would cause you to wait years. Children of the foreign spouse were allowed to enter on K-4 dependent visas. This was to help reduce family separation time.
At the current time, only the I-130 immediate relative petition is being processed by the USCIS. If a spouse/Petitioner has filed for the K3, it is basically obsolete. Once K3 is processed, it is then married up with the i-130 with reduction of wait time but rather, increased wait time because of today's backlog.
Family members should qualify to immigrate to the US if they fall within any of the family immigration categories currently designated by Congress.




They should not have to compete with other immigrants
who are coming to the US for employment; DREAMers or DACA's.




Current USCIS backlog:'

USCIS were flooded with "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”)" petitions. This program was signed into law and on August 15, 2012 they started processing this paperwork which basically pushed I-130's to the sidelines. (provide info on this)
Then March 2013, Provisional Unlawful Waivers were introduced. “certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives) can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before they leave the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows individuals, who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence, to apply for a waiver in the United States and before they depart for their immigrant visa interviews at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. “
This is only available to undocumented immigrants who can prove that their immediate family members would suffer "extreme hardship" in their absence, among other criteria. USCIS did not have an estimate for the number of people it expected to apply, but could impact as many as one million of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. http://fusion.net/justice/story/white-houses-change-immigration-process-families-15378
The change will cut down on the amount of time that some undocumented immigrants are separated from their immediate family members during the journey to legal status. So instead of spending months or even years abroad, a person may face as little as a few weeks outside of the U.S.
What about US Citizens and their Immediate Family?


For US Citizens and Spouses, there is no waiting list. Yet, the petition takes an absurd amount of time. For example, Nebraska Service Center, up to 8.5 months. If you are lucky, you have not received an infamous Request For Evidence (RFE) which could delay you longer. The petition is to check validity of your Bona fide relationship in which you have to prove this again at the interview stage. The petition also does a background check which is redundant because in the instructions, the beneficiary (spouse) must provide bio data from their passport.....from the country of origin in which they do a check before they issue your passport and later in the process must provide a police clearance at the the exit interview at your Embassy.
???

If you have your receipt number, you can go to the USCIS website and see processing times. USCIS average processing times vs Service Center your case may be sitting at and no matter what day you check it, still says last update as of October 31, 2013. Your case is in the midst of all other immigration cases.

Meanwhile,,,,Mom and Dad are chatting on Skype, missed another wedding Anniversary, dad missed his daughter's first tooth or James' first day of school, waiting to hear something, anything, when they possibly can go to the next stage so they can ALL be together.




US Immigration Reform 2014 should be to overhaul and prioritize legal Immigrants rather than fixing first the illegal immigrants

This is not the first time USCIS experienced a backlog of this magnitude. Due to September 11, 2001, many changes were made due to Homeland Security. It was a very tragic event, not just for the US but around the world. USCIS created the Backlog elimination Plann, updated June 2004. One of it's points in regards to the i-130.

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-standing
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 relationship
issue is again adjudicated. USCIS is exploring ways
in which to eliminate the duplicative effort that the current
process mandates.

It is now 2014. there is yet another backlog. In this day of technology, this process should be more streamlined. It states it was exploring in 2004 how to eliminate the redundant steps in this process and 10 years later, USCIS and the I-130 is no further ahead. At whose expense.

Maybe eliminate the Petition, raise the fee for the actual Visa Application to help eliminate the backlog or reinstate the K3. Assess cases on 3 categories:Low, medium and high risk.
Foreign spouses are known immigrants. Easy to track through US spouse whereas fiance's are unknown. We have to clear Police/Background 3 times in the process when we have been married and can prove bona fide relationships!
If you can travel to the United States under a Visa Waiver Program and stay for 6 months for a visit, or come from Canada as a Snowbird for 6-8 months and have no intent to move when you are allowed to have a rental home in the United States and a home in Canada but you can not adjust Status to be as a family because you can no longer apply for K3 visa due to USCIS backlog?

Immigration Reform wants to try to grant Amnesty to the millions of illegals.....this is only going to be a recurring program when the system is not overhauled because it doesn't promote those who are doing it legally and suffer for insane amounts of time while it seems others are rewarded and yet, Dad misses out on another family holiday, mom wanting to tuck her children at night or Susie waiting to go for ice cream with bother her parents.

I agree. It isn't civil disobedience, it is standing up what you believe in and fighting for. We didnt break the laws nor have we entered illegally. i think in some ways, we need to separate the issue. We need reform, to OUR cases. We are not DREAMers, nor DACA's nor do we need Provisional Waivers.
We didn't just meet our spouses, we didn't just start popping out children just so they can be US citizens. We are spouses abroad. Some of us have lived with our spouses, no matter what the case is, we are SEPARATED and we are looking to be with the one we love in that country. And we certainly should not be cast aside for the next cases of amnesty, or new generation of DREAMers, and we arent just entering a relationship for K1 status. I think we need to strategize and market our plight based on USC FAMILY UNITY.
i agree with theDude, we need designated members. All or nothing. If we run in 100 different directions, we appear unorganized and "poor me". We dont want that. It isn't clearing the backlogs in one foul swoop but having them recognize us for us and I do believe our cases should be handled differently because we have established a relationship. Some have children who are USC born abroad.
We need to stand up and fight for OUR CASES. no more waiting in line like Kaylara and her family or LoveMyTico and her family for close to a year on a redundant petition alone. it is not right but do it practically.

Something i did up today. i am not good at it but if you want touse it, tweak it, change it, by all means: (TheDude, opening quote is yours)
“If an amnesty is passed without provisions to reduce USC I-130 wait times those of us currently waiting from late last year (2013) and new USC I-130 filers could be facing wait times of more
than 1 year just for an I-130. This cannot be allowed to happen.”
-visajourney member




US Citizen and Family Unity From Abroad

Many United States Citizens are currently living in the United States, separated from their families. Whether they had been abroad for travel, work or relationship.
These citizens is someone's husband or wife, separated from their spouse and young child/children. Some returned to the United States to establish domicile, some returned to provide for their family abroad, some are living abroad, and filed a petition for Alien Relative. They are waiting for their I-130 petitions to be approved.
The current waiting time as indicated on USCIS website is currently 8.9 months....
JUST FOR THE PETITION




While they wait, their spouse and child are not allowed to enter the U.S., even for a brief visit. In order to obtain a Non-immigrant Visa, you must demonstrate you have no intent to live in the US but during the immigration process, it is recommended to finish the process in its entirety in your country of origin. If your spouse does provide ties to his/her country and made it over the border, you should not Adjust Status as you then demonstrate you had the intent on your approved visit.
A K-3 spouse visa was originally introduced to allow the foreign spouse of the U.S. citizen to enter the United States on a temporary visa while awaiting processing of the I-130 immediate relative petition to backlogs that would cause you to wait years. Children of the foreign spouse were allowed to enter on K-4 dependent visas. This was to help reduce family separation time.
At the current time, only the I-130 immediate relative petition is being processed by the USCIS. If a spouse/Petitioner has filed for the K3, it is basically obsolete. Once K3 is processed, it is then married up with the i-130 with reduction of wait time but rather, increased wait time because of today's backlog.
Family members should qualify to immigrate to the US if they fall within any of the family immigration categories currently designated by Congress.




They should not have to compete with other immigrants
who are coming to the US for employment; DREAMers or DACA's.




Current USCIS backlog:'

USCIS were flooded with "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”)" petitions. This program was signed into law and on August 15, 2012 they started processing this paperwork which basically pushed I-130's to the sidelines. (provide info on this)
Then March 2013, Provisional Unlawful Waivers were introduced. “certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives) can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before they leave the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows individuals, who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence, to apply for a waiver in the United States and before they depart for their immigrant visa interviews at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. “
This is only available to undocumented immigrants who can prove that their immediate family members would suffer "extreme hardship" in their absence, among other criteria. USCIS did not have an estimate for the number of people it expected to apply, but could impact as many as one million of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. http://fusion.net/justice/story/white-houses-change-immigration-process-families-15378
The change will cut down on the amount of time that some undocumented immigrants are separated from their immediate family members during the journey to legal status. So instead of spending months or even years abroad, a person may face as little as a few weeks outside of the U.S.
What about US Citizens and their Immediate Family?


For US Citizens and Spouses, there is no waiting list. Yet, the petition takes an absurd amount of time. For example, Nebraska Service Center, up to 8.5 months. If you are lucky, you have not received an infamous Request For Evidence (RFE) which could delay you longer. The petition is to check validity of your Bona fide relationship in which you have to prove this again at the interview stage. The petition also does a background check which is redundant because in the instructions, the beneficiary (spouse) must provide bio data from their passport.....from the country of origin in which they do a check before they issue your passport and later in the process must provide a police clearance at the the exit interview at your Embassy.
???

If you have your receipt number, you can go to the USCIS website and see processing times. USCIS average processing times vs Service Center your case may be sitting at and no matter what day you check it, still says last update as of October 31, 2013. Your case is in the midst of all other immigration cases.

Meanwhile,,,,Mom and Dad are chatting on Skype, missed another wedding Anniversary, dad missed his daughter's first tooth or James' first day of school, waiting to hear something, anything, when they possibly can go to the next stage so they can ALL be together.




US Immigration Reform 2014 should be to overhaul and prioritize legal Immigrants rather than fixing first the illegal immigrants

This is not the first time USCIS experienced a backlog of this magnitude. Due to September 11, 2001, many changes were made due to Homeland Security. It was a very tragic event, not just for the US but around the world. USCIS created the Backlog elimination Plann, updated June 2004. One of it's points in regards to the i-130.

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-standing
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 relationship
issue is again adjudicated. USCIS is exploring ways
in which to eliminate the duplicative effort that the current
process mandates.

It is now 2014. there is yet another backlog. In this day of technology, this process should be more streamlined. It states it was exploring in 2004 how to eliminate the redundant steps in this process and 10 years later, USCIS and the I-130 is no further ahead. At whose expense.

Maybe eliminate the Petition, raise the fee for the actual Visa Application to help eliminate the backlog or reinstate the K3. Assess cases on 3 categories:Low, medium and high risk.
Foreign spouses are known immigrants. Easy to track through US spouse whereas fiance's are unknown. We have to clear Police/Background 3 times in the process when we have been married and can prove bona fide relationships!
If you can travel to the United States under a Visa Waiver Program and stay for 6 months for a visit, or come from Canada as a Snowbird for 6-8 months and have no intent to move when you are allowed to have a rental home in the United States and a home in Canada but you can not adjust Status to be as a family because you can no longer apply for K3 visa due to USCIS backlog?

Immigration Reform wants to try to grant Amnesty to the millions of illegals.....this is only going to be a recurring program when the system is not overhauled because it doesn't promote those who are doing it legally and suffer for insane amounts of time while it seems others are rewarded and yet, Dad misses out on another family holiday, mom wanting to tuck her children at night or Susie waiting to go for ice cream with bother her parents.

I agree. It isn't civil disobedience, it is standing up what you believe in and fighting for. We didnt break the laws nor have we entered illegally. i think in some ways, we need to separate the issue. We need reform, to OUR cases. We are not DREAMers, nor DACA's nor do we need Provisional Waivers.
We didn't just meet our spouses, we didn't just start popping out children just so they can be US citizens. We are spouses abroad. Some of us have lived with our spouses, no matter what the case is, we are SEPARATED and we are looking to be with the one we love in that country. And we certainly should not be cast aside for the next cases of amnesty, or new generation of DREAMers, and we arent just entering a relationship for K1 status. I think we need to strategize and market our plight based on USC FAMILY UNITY.
i agree with theDude, we need designated members. All or nothing. If we run in 100 different directions, we appear unorganized and "poor me". We dont want that. It isn't clearing the backlogs in one foul swoop but having them recognize us for us and I do believe our cases should be handled differently because we have established a relationship. Some have children who are USC born abroad.
We need to stand up and fight for OUR CASES. no more waiting in line like Kaylara and her family or LoveMyTico and her family for close to a year on a redundant petition alone. it is not right but do it practically.

you fellas posting via fax and email to the joint immigration committee?
IMO, if you make friends with the staffers there and can get the point across, the point will get presented to the Members of Congress on the committee and you'll get other results then just a 'thank you for your input' letter.

Something i did up today. i am not good at it but if you want touse it, tweak it, change it, by all means: (TheDude, opening quote is yours)
“If an amnesty is passed without provisions to reduce USC I-130 wait times those of us currently waiting from late last year (2013) and new USC I-130 filers could be facing wait times of more
than 1 year just for an I-130. This cannot be allowed to happen.”
-visajourney member




US Citizen and Family Unity From Abroad

Many United States Citizens are currently living in the United States, separated from their families. Whether they had been abroad for travel, work or relationship.
These citizens is someone's husband or wife, separated from their spouse and young child/children. Some returned to the United States to establish domicile, some returned to provide for their family abroad, some are living abroad, and filed a petition for Alien Relative. They are waiting for their I-130 petitions to be approved.
The current waiting time as indicated on USCIS website is currently 8.9 months....
JUST FOR THE PETITION




While they wait, their spouse and child are not allowed to enter the U.S., even for a brief visit. In order to obtain a Non-immigrant Visa, you must demonstrate you have no intent to live in the US but during the immigration process, it is recommended to finish the process in its entirety in your country of origin. If your spouse does provide ties to his/her country and made it over the border, you should not Adjust Status as you then demonstrate you had the intent on your approved visit.
A K-3 spouse visa was originally introduced to allow the foreign spouse of the U.S. citizen to enter the United States on a temporary visa while awaiting processing of the I-130 immediate relative petition to backlogs that would cause you to wait years. Children of the foreign spouse were allowed to enter on K-4 dependent visas. This was to help reduce family separation time.
At the current time, only the I-130 immediate relative petition is being processed by the USCIS. If a spouse/Petitioner has filed for the K3, it is basically obsolete. Once K3 is processed, it is then married up with the i-130 with reduction of wait time but rather, increased wait time because of today's backlog.
Family members should qualify to immigrate to the US if they fall within any of the family immigration categories currently designated by Congress.




They should not have to compete with other immigrants
who are coming to the US for employment; DREAMers or DACA's.




Current USCIS backlog:'

USCIS were flooded with "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”)" petitions. This program was signed into law and on August 15, 2012 they started processing this paperwork which basically pushed I-130's to the sidelines. (provide info on this)
Then March 2013, Provisional Unlawful Waivers were introduced. “certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives) can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before they leave the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows individuals, who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence, to apply for a waiver in the United States and before they depart for their immigrant visa interviews at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. “
This is only available to undocumented immigrants who can prove that their immediate family members would suffer "extreme hardship" in their absence, among other criteria. USCIS did not have an estimate for the number of people it expected to apply, but could impact as many as one million of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. http://fusion.net/justice/story/white-houses-change-immigration-process-families-15378
The change will cut down on the amount of time that some undocumented immigrants are separated from their immediate family members during the journey to legal status. So instead of spending months or even years abroad, a person may face as little as a few weeks outside of the U.S.
What about US Citizens and their Immediate Family?


For US Citizens and Spouses, there is no waiting list. Yet, the petition takes an absurd amount of time. For example, Nebraska Service Center, up to 8.5 months. If you are lucky, you have not received an infamous Request For Evidence (RFE) which could delay you longer. The petition is to check validity of your Bona fide relationship in which you have to prove this again at the interview stage. The petition also does a background check which is redundant because in the instructions, the beneficiary (spouse) must provide bio data from their passport.....from the country of origin in which they do a check before they issue your passport and later in the process must provide a police clearance at the the exit interview at your Embassy.
???

If you have your receipt number, you can go to the USCIS website and see processing times. USCIS average processing times vs Service Center your case may be sitting at and no matter what day you check it, still says last update as of October 31, 2013. Your case is in the midst of all other immigration cases.

Meanwhile,,,,Mom and Dad are chatting on Skype, missed another wedding Anniversary, dad missed his daughter's first tooth or James' first day of school, waiting to hear something, anything, when they possibly can go to the next stage so they can ALL be together.




US Immigration Reform 2014 should be to overhaul and prioritize legal Immigrants rather than fixing first the illegal immigrants

This is not the first time USCIS experienced a backlog of this magnitude. Due to September 11, 2001, many changes were made due to Homeland Security. It was a very tragic event, not just for the US but around the world. USCIS created the Backlog elimination Plann, updated June 2004. One of it's points in regards to the i-130.

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-standing
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 relationship
issue is again adjudicated. USCIS is exploring ways
in which to eliminate the duplicative effort that the current
process mandates.

It is now 2014. there is yet another backlog. In this day of technology, this process should be more streamlined. It states it was exploring in 2004 how to eliminate the redundant steps in this process and 10 years later, USCIS and the I-130 is no further ahead. At whose expense.

Maybe eliminate the Petition, raise the fee for the actual Visa Application to help eliminate the backlog or reinstate the K3. Assess cases on 3 categories:Low, medium and high risk.
Foreign spouses are known immigrants. Easy to track through US spouse whereas fiance's are unknown. We have to clear Police/Background 3 times in the process when we have been married and can prove bona fide relationships!
If you can travel to the United States under a Visa Waiver Program and stay for 6 months for a visit, or come from Canada as a Snowbird for 6-8 months and have no intent to move when you are allowed to have a rental home in the United States and a home in Canada but you can not adjust Status to be as a family because you can no longer apply for K3 visa due to USCIS backlog?

Immigration Reform wants to try to grant Amnesty to the millions of illegals.....this is only going to be a recurring program when the system is not overhauled because it doesn't promote those who are doing it legally and suffer for insane amounts of time while it seems others are rewarded and yet, Dad misses out on another family holiday, mom wanting to tuck her children at night or Susie waiting to go for ice cream with bother her parents.

I agree. It isn't civil disobedience, it is standing up what you believe in and fighting for. We didnt break the laws nor have we entered illegally. i think in some ways, we need to separate the issue. We need reform, to OUR cases. We are not DREAMers, nor DACA's nor do we need Provisional Waivers.
We didn't just meet our spouses, we didn't just start popping out children just so they can be US citizens. We are spouses abroad. Some of us have lived with our spouses, no matter what the case is, we are SEPARATED and we are looking to be with the one we love in that country. And we certainly should not be cast aside for the next cases of amnesty, or new generation of DREAMers, and we arent just entering a relationship for K1 status. I think we need to strategize and market our plight based on USC FAMILY UNITY.
i agree with theDude, we need designated members. All or nothing. If we run in 100 different directions, we appear unorganized and "poor me". We dont want that. It isn't clearing the backlogs in one foul swoop but having them recognize us for us and I do believe our cases should be handled differently because we have established a relationship. Some have children who are USC born abroad.
We need to stand up and fight for OUR CASES. no more waiting in line like Kaylara and her family or LoveMyTico and her family for close to a year on a redundant petition alone. it is not right but do it practically.

I agree. It isn't civil disobedience, it is standing up what you believe in and fighting for. We didnt break the laws nor have we entered illegally. i think in some ways, we need to separate the issue. We need reform, to OUR cases. We are not DREAMers, nor DACA's nor do we need Provisional Waivers.
We didn't just meet our spouses, we didn't just start popping out children just so they can be US citizens. We are spouses abroad. Some of us have lived with our spouses, no matter what the case is, we are SEPARATED and we are looking to be with the one we love in that country. And we certainly should not be cast aside for the next cases of amnesty, or new generation of DREAMers, and we arent just entering a relationship for K1 status. I think we need to strategize and market our plight based on USC FAMILY UNITY.
i agree with theDude, we need designated members. All or nothing. If we run in 100 different directions, we appear unorganized and "poor me". We dont want that. It isn't clearing the backlogs in one foul swoop but having them recognize us for us and I do believe our cases should be handled differently because we have established a relationship. Some have children who are USC born abroad.
We need to stand up and fight for OUR CASES. no more waiting in line like Kaylara and her family or LoveMyTico and her family for close to a year on a redundant petition alone. it is not right but do it practically.

Maybe include verbiage about "overcoming the burden of intent to immigrate", and how that is virtually impossible once you have submitted an I-130 immigrant visa application.
The "intent to immigrate" phrase was used by the Embassy Officer both times I tried to get my fiancé a tourist visa to travel to the U.S. for a short vacation, in order to meet my family - our specific situation precluded the possibility of a fiancé visa. The second time we tried, we already had a 1 year old son together (forced to verify with DNA testing by the Manila Embassy), and the Embassy Officer told us that detail made it "nearly impossible" for us to convince him that she didn't intend to immigrate. The Embassy Officer also told us that the fact my fiancé had two sisters already living in the U.S. (legally) was a negative when trying to get a non-immigrant visa.
So basically, having strong family ties to people living legally in the United States, especially U.S. citizens, is a valid reason to refuse an individual a non-immigrant visa.

In 2012 I applied for a tourist visa also and was denied for all the same reasons. I wanted to go to the US to meet my husbands family, at that time we weren't married and I really wasn't sure if I wanted to live there. I had my own home here in Ireland, my own children and grandchildren, my dog, my friends, my life! I had no criminal record, not even a parking ticket. My husband had spent a lot of time here and just wanted me to go there and spend some time travelling and meeting his family and friends. But I was denied as I couldn't show family and economic ties to my home country!! I have 5 children and 11 grandchildren, if that's not family ties I don't know what is!! I applied twice and was denied twice. I think, sometimes a lot of the decisions are based on what kind of a day the consular officer is having! So here I am 2 yrs later, now married and have just had my i130 approved and on our way to the NVC. It's been the most harrowing experience. I will support this campaign in any way I can. The whole process needs to be streamlined, there are too many repetitive steps as angeldaemon has already pointed out, but always keeping national security in mind. Good luck with this campaign, go get 'em!!!

This is great... Will we send to uscis or congressmen and senators alike. I can't wait to tweet and email.. I also feel like this site is monitored closely and am completely displeased in the poor service of my government.

Perhaps something along the lines of
'Once the petition is filed, our foreign spouses are often advised by legal counsel against visiting the US while the petition is being processed. Even after we start the process to immigrate our family member legally, we are still subject to intense scrutiny and possible rejection to visit family members in the United States.'
???? Would that work? Open to suggestions!

I agree. It isn't civil disobedience, it is standing up what you believe in and fighting for. We didnt break the laws nor have we entered illegally. i think in some ways, we need to separate the issue. We need reform, to OUR cases. We are not DREAMers, nor DACA's nor do we need Provisional Waivers.
We didn't just meet our spouses, we didn't just start popping out children just so they can be US citizens. We are spouses abroad. Some of us have lived with our spouses, no matter what the case is, we are SEPARATED and we are looking to be with the one we love in that country. And we certainly should not be cast aside for the next cases of amnesty, or new generation of DREAMers, and we arent just entering a relationship for K1 status. I think we need to strategize and market our plight based on USC FAMILY UNITY.
i agree with theDude, we need designated members. All or nothing. If we run in 100 different directions, we appear unorganized and "poor me". We dont want that. It isn't clearing the backlogs in one foul swoop but having them recognize us for us and I do believe our cases should be handled differently because we have established a relationship. Some have children who are USC born abroad.
We need to stand up and fight for OUR CASES. no more waiting in line like Kaylara and her family or LoveMyTico and her family for close to a year on a redundant petition alone. it is not right but do it practically.

Something i did up today. i am not good at it but if you want touse it, tweak it, change it, by all means: (TheDude, opening quote is yours)
“If an amnesty is passed without provisions to reduce USC I-130 wait times those of us currently waiting from late last year (2013) and new USC I-130 filers could be facing wait times of more
than 1 year just for an I-130. This cannot be allowed to happen.”
-visajourney member




US Citizen and Family Unity From Abroad

Many United States Citizens are currently living in the United States, separated from their families. Whether they had been abroad for travel, work or relationship.
These citizens is someone's husband or wife, separated from their spouse and young child/children. Some returned to the United States to establish domicile, some returned to provide for their family abroad, some are living abroad, and filed a petition for Alien Relative. They are waiting for their I-130 petitions to be approved.
The current waiting time as indicated on USCIS website is currently 8.9 months....
JUST FOR THE PETITION




While they wait, their spouse and child are not allowed to enter the U.S., even for a brief visit. In order to obtain a Non-immigrant Visa, you must demonstrate you have no intent to live in the US but during the immigration process, it is recommended to finish the process in its entirety in your country of origin. If your spouse does provide ties to his/her country and made it over the border, you should not Adjust Status as you then demonstrate you had the intent on your approved visit.
A K-3 spouse visa was originally introduced to allow the foreign spouse of the U.S. citizen to enter the United States on a temporary visa while awaiting processing of the I-130 immediate relative petition to backlogs that would cause you to wait years. Children of the foreign spouse were allowed to enter on K-4 dependent visas. This was to help reduce family separation time.
At the current time, only the I-130 immediate relative petition is being processed by the USCIS. If a spouse/Petitioner has filed for the K3, it is basically obsolete. Once K3 is processed, it is then married up with the i-130 with reduction of wait time but rather, increased wait time because of today's backlog.
Family members should qualify to immigrate to the US if they fall within any of the family immigration categories currently designated by Congress.




They should not have to compete with other immigrants
who are coming to the US for employment; DREAMers or DACA's.




Current USCIS backlog:'

USCIS were flooded with "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”)" petitions. This program was signed into law and on August 15, 2012 they started processing this paperwork which basically pushed I-130's to the sidelines. (provide info on this)
Then March 2013, Provisional Unlawful Waivers were introduced. “certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives) can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before they leave the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows individuals, who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence, to apply for a waiver in the United States and before they depart for their immigrant visa interviews at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. “
This is only available to undocumented immigrants who can prove that their immediate family members would suffer "extreme hardship" in their absence, among other criteria. USCIS did not have an estimate for the number of people it expected to apply, but could impact as many as one million of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. http://fusion.net/justice/story/white-houses-change-immigration-process-families-15378
The change will cut down on the amount of time that some undocumented immigrants are separated from their immediate family members during the journey to legal status. So instead of spending months or even years abroad, a person may face as little as a few weeks outside of the U.S.
What about US Citizens and their Immediate Family?


For US Citizens and Spouses, there is no waiting list. Yet, the petition takes an absurd amount of time. For example, Nebraska Service Center, up to 8.5 months. If you are lucky, you have not received an infamous Request For Evidence (RFE) which could delay you longer. The petition is to check validity of your Bona fide relationship in which you have to prove this again at the interview stage. The petition also does a background check which is redundant because in the instructions, the beneficiary (spouse) must provide bio data from their passport.....from the country of origin in which they do a check before they issue your passport and later in the process must provide a police clearance at the the exit interview at your Embassy.
???

If you have your receipt number, you can go to the USCIS website and see processing times. USCIS average processing times vs Service Center your case may be sitting at and no matter what day you check it, still says last update as of October 31, 2013. Your case is in the midst of all other immigration cases.

Meanwhile,,,,Mom and Dad are chatting on Skype, missed another wedding Anniversary, dad missed his daughter's first tooth or James' first day of school, waiting to hear something, anything, when they possibly can go to the next stage so they can ALL be together.




US Immigration Reform 2014 should be to overhaul and prioritize legal Immigrants rather than fixing first the illegal immigrants

This is not the first time USCIS experienced a backlog of this magnitude. Due to September 11, 2001, many changes were made due to Homeland Security. It was a very tragic event, not just for the US but around the world. USCIS created the Backlog elimination Plann, updated June 2004. One of it's points in regards to the i-130.

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-standing
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 relationship
issue is again adjudicated. USCIS is exploring ways
in which to eliminate the duplicative effort that the current
process mandates.

It is now 2014. there is yet another backlog. In this day of technology, this process should be more streamlined. It states it was exploring in 2004 how to eliminate the redundant steps in this process and 10 years later, USCIS and the I-130 is no further ahead. At whose expense.

Maybe eliminate the Petition, raise the fee for the actual Visa Application to help eliminate the backlog or reinstate the K3. Assess cases on 3 categories:Low, medium and high risk.
Foreign spouses are known immigrants. Easy to track through US spouse whereas fiance's are unknown. We have to clear Police/Background 3 times in the process when we have been married and can prove bona fide relationships!
If you can travel to the United States under a Visa Waiver Program and stay for 6 months for a visit, or come from Canada as a Snowbird for 6-8 months and have no intent to move when you are allowed to have a rental home in the United States and a home in Canada but you can not adjust Status to be as a family because you can no longer apply for K3 visa due to USCIS backlog?

Immigration Reform wants to try to grant Amnesty to the millions of illegals.....this is only going to be a recurring program when the system is not overhauled because it doesn't promote those who are doing it legally and suffer for insane amounts of time while it seems others are rewarded and yet, Dad misses out on another family holiday, mom wanting to tuck her children at night or Susie waiting to go for ice cream with bother her parents.

Something i did up today. i am not good at it but if you want touse it, tweak it, change it, by all means: (TheDude, opening quote is yours)
“If an amnesty is passed without provisions to reduce USC I-130 wait times those of us currently waiting from late last year (2013) and new USC I-130 filers could be facing wait times of more
than 1 year just for an I-130. This cannot be allowed to happen.”
-visajourney member




US Citizen and Family Unity From Abroad

Many United States Citizens are currently living in the United States, separated from their families. Whether they had been abroad for travel, work or relationship.
These citizens is someone's husband or wife, separated from their spouse and young child/children. Some returned to the United States to establish domicile, some returned to provide for their family abroad, some are living abroad, and filed a petition for Alien Relative. They are waiting for their I-130 petitions to be approved.
The current waiting time as indicated on USCIS website is currently 8.9 months....
JUST FOR THE PETITION




While they wait, their spouse and child are not allowed to enter the U.S., even for a brief visit. In order to obtain a Non-immigrant Visa, you must demonstrate you have no intent to live in the US but during the immigration process, it is recommended to finish the process in its entirety in your country of origin. If your spouse does provide ties to his/her country and made it over the border, you should not Adjust Status as you then demonstrate you had the intent on your approved visit.
A K-3 spouse visa was originally introduced to allow the foreign spouse of the U.S. citizen to enter the United States on a temporary visa while awaiting processing of the I-130 immediate relative petition to backlogs that would cause you to wait years. Children of the foreign spouse were allowed to enter on K-4 dependent visas. This was to help reduce family separation time.
At the current time, only the I-130 immediate relative petition is being processed by the USCIS. If a spouse/Petitioner has filed for the K3, it is basically obsolete. Once K3 is processed, it is then married up with the i-130 with reduction of wait time but rather, increased wait time because of today's backlog.
Family members should qualify to immigrate to the US if they fall within any of the family immigration categories currently designated by Congress.




They should not have to compete with other immigrants
who are coming to the US for employment; DREAMers or DACA's.




Current USCIS backlog:'

USCIS were flooded with "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”)" petitions. This program was signed into law and on August 15, 2012 they started processing this paperwork which basically pushed I-130's to the sidelines. (provide info on this)
Then March 2013, Provisional Unlawful Waivers were introduced. “certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives) can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before they leave the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows individuals, who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence, to apply for a waiver in the United States and before they depart for their immigrant visa interviews at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. “
This is only available to undocumented immigrants who can prove that their immediate family members would suffer "extreme hardship" in their absence, among other criteria. USCIS did not have an estimate for the number of people it expected to apply, but could impact as many as one million of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. http://fusion.net/justice/story/white-houses-change-immigration-process-families-15378
The change will cut down on the amount of time that some undocumented immigrants are separated from their immediate family members during the journey to legal status. So instead of spending months or even years abroad, a person may face as little as a few weeks outside of the U.S.
What about US Citizens and their Immediate Family?


For US Citizens and Spouses, there is no waiting list. Yet, the petition takes an absurd amount of time. For example, Nebraska Service Center, up to 8.5 months. If you are lucky, you have not received an infamous Request For Evidence (RFE) which could delay you longer. The petition is to check validity of your Bona fide relationship in which you have to prove this again at the interview stage. The petition also does a background check which is redundant because in the instructions, the beneficiary (spouse) must provide bio data from their passport.....from the country of origin in which they do a check before they issue your passport and later in the process must provide a police clearance at the the exit interview at your Embassy.
???

If you have your receipt number, you can go to the USCIS website and see processing times. USCIS average processing times vs Service Center your case may be sitting at and no matter what day you check it, still says last update as of October 31, 2013. Your case is in the midst of all other immigration cases.

Meanwhile,,,,Mom and Dad are chatting on Skype, missed another wedding Anniversary, dad missed his daughter's first tooth or James' first day of school, waiting to hear something, anything, when they possibly can go to the next stage so they can ALL be together.




US Immigration Reform 2014 should be to overhaul and prioritize legal Immigrants rather than fixing first the illegal immigrants

This is not the first time USCIS experienced a backlog of this magnitude. Due to September 11, 2001, many changes were made due to Homeland Security. It was a very tragic event, not just for the US but around the world. USCIS created the Backlog elimination Plann, updated June 2004. One of it's points in regards to the i-130.

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-standing
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 relationship
issue is again adjudicated. USCIS is exploring ways
in which to eliminate the duplicative effort that the current
process mandates.

It is now 2014. there is yet another backlog. In this day of technology, this process should be more streamlined. It states it was exploring in 2004 how to eliminate the redundant steps in this process and 10 years later, USCIS and the I-130 is no further ahead. At whose expense.

Maybe eliminate the Petition, raise the fee for the actual Visa Application to help eliminate the backlog or reinstate the K3. Assess cases on 3 categories:Low, medium and high risk.
Foreign spouses are known immigrants. Easy to track through US spouse whereas fiance's are unknown. We have to clear Police/Background 3 times in the process when we have been married and can prove bona fide relationships!
If you can travel to the United States under a Visa Waiver Program and stay for 6 months for a visit, or come from Canada as a Snowbird for 6-8 months and have no intent to move when you are allowed to have a rental home in the United States and a home in Canada but you can not adjust Status to be as a family because you can no longer apply for K3 visa due to USCIS backlog?

Immigration Reform wants to try to grant Amnesty to the millions of illegals.....this is only going to be a recurring program when the system is not overhauled because it doesn't promote those who are doing it legally and suffer for insane amounts of time while it seems others are rewarded and yet, Dad misses out on another family holiday, mom wanting to tuck her children at night or Susie waiting to go for ice cream with bother her parents.

I agree. It isn't civil disobedience, it is standing up what you believe in and fighting for. We didnt break the laws nor have we entered illegally. i think in some ways, we need to separate the issue. We need reform, to OUR cases. We are not DREAMers, nor DACA's nor do we need Provisional Waivers.
We didn't just meet our spouses, we didn't just start popping out children just so they can be US citizens. We are spouses abroad. Some of us have lived with our spouses, no matter what the case is, we are SEPARATED and we are looking to be with the one we love in that country. And we certainly should not be cast aside for the next cases of amnesty, or new generation of DREAMers, and we arent just entering a relationship for K1 status. I think we need to strategize and market our plight based on USC FAMILY UNITY.
i agree with theDude, we need designated members. All or nothing. If we run in 100 different directions, we appear unorganized and "poor me". We dont want that. It isn't clearing the backlogs in one foul swoop but having them recognize us for us and I do believe our cases should be handled differently because we have established a relationship. Some have children who are USC born abroad.
We need to stand up and fight for OUR CASES. no more waiting in line like Kaylara and her family or LoveMyTico and her family for close to a year on a redundant petition alone. it is not right but do it practically.

I agree. It isn't civil disobedience, it is standing up what you believe in and fighting for. We didnt break the laws nor have we entered illegally. i think in some ways, we need to separate the issue. We need reform, to OUR cases. We are not DREAMers, nor DACA's nor do we need Provisional Waivers.
We didn't just meet our spouses, we didn't just start popping out children just so they can be US citizens. We are spouses abroad. Some of us have lived with our spouses, no matter what the case is, we are SEPARATED and we are looking to be with the one we love in that country. And we certainly should not be cast aside for the next cases of amnesty, or new generation of DREAMers, and we arent just entering a relationship for K1 status. I think we need to strategize and market our plight based on USC FAMILY UNITY.
i agree with theDude, we need designated members. All or nothing. If we run in 100 different directions, we appear unorganized and "poor me". We dont want that. It isn't clearing the backlogs in one foul swoop but having them recognize us for us and I do believe our cases should be handled differently because we have established a relationship. Some have children who are USC born abroad.
We need to stand up and fight for OUR CASES. no more waiting in line like Kaylara and her family or LoveMyTico and her family for close to a year on a redundant petition alone. it is not right but do it practically.

Just got off the phone with Sen Klobuchar's office. I'm goung to be sending her office copies of the letters we've sent to USCIS, the Community Idea fiasco and some data that shows USCIS is not doing their job!
On a side note, her staffer remembered me lol

First, welcome back thedude.
Second, let's do this. I'm happy to help with writing (I think there should be a few of us on board in this area). I also think it might be a good idea to have a social media coordinator, too.