Jamie & Izzy

If they are still having the same problems now that they were having 5 years ago, that shows that no action on their part has fixed the underlying problem or system that is in place. I don't think sitting back and having patience is going to have ANY positive effect. I don't want people who file 5 years from now to be dealing with the same exact problems that we've had because every one needs to have patience, and accept that there's no transparency or answers from this government agency.
My assumptions are not just based on Visajourney's information. In fact, the vast majority of my theories are based on the past behavior of the USCIS, and their very own information. I have read the FOIA documents that were released. I have read the Ombudsman reports and the USCIS's response to them. I've read lawsuit documents. I've read statistics. I've read up on everything I can get my hands on. If I'm wrong, then I want to know about it so I don't hold the wrong people accountable. Visajourney may be a small sampling, but it, and the other immigration sites out there seem to indicate the same things, which are eventually also corroborated with the data that the USCIS puts out.
I hate to tell you, but I'm just as important as the next person. The people who are still waiting are just as important as I am. This isn't some stupid ride at Disneyworld. These are people's husbands, wives, children, and parents. These people and their relationships are not insignificant and should not be compared to some stupid ride at an amusement park.
And if I'm too busy to come on visajourney once my husband is here, there are plenty of friends on here that I plan on keeping in contact with. And I plan on continuing to work towards helping to fix the immigration system's problems, because it's important. My husband *also* thinks it's important. My whole family and extended circle of friends thinks it's important. You don't think it's important, so don't work towards it. Just telling people to wait and suck it up is not helpful to anyone.
They already are getting that answer on a regular basis from the USCIS.

If everyone would just wait be patient and accept whatever gets trown at them,i`m sure the waiting time would be even longer, the louder people get the stronger the chance is they get heard...Of course someone will whine after months of waiting with 0 information about their cases ! please dont tell me waiting 8 + month just for NoA2 is sufferable ... you read all of this 5 years ego ? well maybe people should stick together and try changing a system that is out of order!
Izzy

I know its random because I actually bothered to look through the receipt numbers (in batches) and empirical evidence proves that they leave out receipt numbers willy nilly and move onto transferring batches that are not consecutive. I am a computer scientist by profession and I consider myself sane enough (whatever sane means right now) to identify nonsensical patterns of processing.
Also CSC, NSC and TSC dont have anything to do with decision making about who gets transferred.
They are recipients of the transfer. What does the fact that they exist have anything to do with the transfer ?
NBC is where they are transferring and they are doing it like they're on crack cocaine.
What does the number of cR1/IR1 applicants have anything to do with the order in which they are processed ??
What does RFEs etc have to do with processing first-in first-out ?
Why not process them in a certain order ? They're mixing up PDs to the point where people with PDs from later in the month are being processed than those with PDs from earlier dates for no damn reason.

Often there are no alternatives or options to move to the beneficiary's country.
If someone has children and their father will not agree to let them move then there is nothing you can do.
If a child is chronically ill and needs good medical care then you don't want to take it out of the country !
Having spend a financial mountain of dollar bills already on the process and running out of resources while one or the other loses their job
makes moving and starting over in another country just as hard. Debt incurred here does not pay itself when leaving the US.
If ill parents are dependent on your care you can't leave. There can be multiple reasons and just because you can does not mean everyone
else can up and move because our immigration system is broken. The focus needs to be on fixing the system not how to by pass it by moving.
It is just silly to say move to his country.
It is absolutely ridiculous to have people waiting for unreasonably long times, especially the way it is done, a non transparent
process shrouded in mystery, teased with multiple requests to re submit fresh medicals and forms, losing documents, not responding
to the petitioner and informing them of what the heck is going on....there is no excuse for that.
This process needs improvement and more transparency and less power trips by agencies and individual CO's.
There need to be clear limits to how long this can be dragging on and on. I am all for security but not at the expense of waiting years and years
for no apparent reason.
People like Carolynhotstuff and many others need to either be approved or told why they aren't approved. Period.
Floating in the unknown like many of us have been, causes anxiety and stress and is just not an exemplary process that is
befitting a world leader like the USA. It is a remnant of something resembling the 1800. Only then immigration was easier.
A year waiting ...fine, I have no problem with that. Two to three years ? Hell no. That is NOT ok.
If they can't figure out if security is an issue with someone after a year then something is very wrong with the entities/agencies/individuals that handle the cases. That needs to be addressed through congress.
Congress will not move unless complaints are voiced continuously by everyone affected.

People who think like this should be kicked out of the country and then told that they can always make a life somewhere else.

Carolynhotstuff's husband over in Pakistan has, after going through a more than 1 year-long visa process, been put into and held in AP for more than 4 YEARS. That's functionally telling someone that they can't be together. No amount of name checks takes of four years. If you're taking that long to finish such a project, that means that it must be changing hands, which in facts increases the chances of letting a dangerous person in. The only concievable reason for a wait that long is that the government does not want citizens of that country coming to the US. It's a disgrace and a crime against humanity to do that to two people who love each other. It's totally inexcusable.

So...the government can decide who we can marry and how we live our personal lives? It's job is interfere in our personal lives and ignore all that inconvenient stuff about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Well...thank goodness for a free country, eh?

Kaylara you just rock ! You are one of the few people making it worth going on VJ,Smart helpful and KIND !
People don`t seem to get that systems can changed if people would work together ...I see people posting mean hateful comments and they waited less then 7 month for the entire thing,and i`m sure they do not have kids yet they have huge big mean mouths ...
Thank you.
Izzy

I normally don't chime in on the boards (for obvious reasons) but after seeing the crazy insensitive remarks here, I feel compelled to come to your defense.
In the two+ years my husband and I have been married, we spent all of 4 months together. It's hard knowing that I could be getting on with my life; moving into houses, having babies, forcing him to go shopping with me. I'm just happy that we don't have kids that need to be subjected to the separation and feel sad for those that are. Yes, it's my choice, yes, it's a first world problem, yes, it's a privilege but that doesn't take away the sting. The to some on here is trivial, but pain is relative. (And whose to say that we haven't actually been subjected to your definition of inhumane?)
I think that it would be less mind-racking if during the USCIS phase where you sorta have no control, they update you a bit more. In all the time we were there, one update. I would check the site SEVERAL times a day (I'm glad to have my case finished before all this foolishness happened with the 9 months of waiting). I would have been much more relaxed and willing to wait if they had given me weekly updated. The NVC phase is a pain because they understandably want a standard procedure across all countries. But, countries like my husband's is subject to crazy bureaucracy and crookedness (I often joked with my husband that India makes people honest people dishonest) and it's nearly impossible to get anything done within a reasonable timeframe. How do you fix a broken system?
The only thing getting me through it all was thinking, "okay, it's been 2 years, but just think, we'll have at least 60 more years together; that will make up for it." But, it only works for so long.
Telling OP to suck it up or that she's on crack is really insensitive. We all have our issues to deal with. This is hers.

Bull. I've been married for 8 years, and spent that time (up until this past year) with him in his country. So I went through the immigration system in his country as well. And waited 2+ years for a residency permit that was supposed to take 6 months, but at least I was allowed to stay with him during the time it took to process my case.
The relationship issues you're describing are your own, and not everyone's experience with marrying someone from another country/culture. My husband doesn't annoy me, nor I him. We dealt with infertility, the deaths of several of my close family members, money issues, systemic racism and sexism in his portion of the country, and a litany of other #######, because that's life. Our relationship is a source of great joy and happiness. Our being from different cultures keeps things interesting. But people have been telling us that we were going to grow out of our honeymoon phase for the better part of a decade. Obviously, we're just delusional.
To call this separation "little" is dismissive and flippant. It's not little to us, nor to our children. This is the longest that we've ever been apart in the 10 years total that we've been together. We like what little skype time we get because mostly we talk on the phone. Because when our children see his face and talk to him on the computer, they spend the next several days moping around and crying hysterically. During this time apart, I've also had to put away most of my pictures of him, because the little one carries them around the house talking to them, kissing them, and playing with them, and the big one sees them and cries. So you go ahead and be flippant because your wait is a blip in your rear-view mirror already. I personally don't forget how much it sucked not being able to work or do anything for 2+ years while we waited for my Verblijfsvergunning over there. Just because you have come to this conclusion and have had this reaction does not mean everyone will or should have the same one.
I don't think missing out on a year (or more) of our lives together is a blip. A year, right now, is half of our youngest daughter's entire life. Just because my family isn't dying of famine, or being ravished by war, it doesn't mean that it's not suffering. Just because there are worse things in this world, it doesn't mean that this is fine and normal. One bad thing doesn't cancel out or negate another.
This entire situation sucks, and if there's something I can work towards to try to improve the system so that people in the future don't have to deal with this kind of anguish, I'm going to do it. The fact that people are stuck in limbo for years with no answers is entirely unacceptable. Positive thinking and just keeping going are great coping mechanisms. But real change is not brought about by positive thinking alone. It requires real world action.
OP, I'm so sorry that you're separated from those that you love. I hope that your process will be over quickly. *hugs*

I simply can't believe so many here are so eager to jump to a defend a system which is forcing them apart from their loved ones, a system which is clearly grossly inefficient, lacking in transparency and devoid of any kind of accountability. We know for a fact that they can process us in as little as two or three weeks. The only reason that do no *routinely* process us in that short amount of time, or anything even close to it, is they don't feel they need to. They have no sense of urgency for keeping families together. For those of you who "enjoyed" carrying our your relationship by skype, you are welcome to take as long as you like to actually move together. Most of the rest of us, I am sure, I desperate to finally be able to be together with our spouses again. And for those who keep bringing up US service members: it's apples and oranges. They are forced to have long separations because of the needs of the job; we are forced to have long separations from our loved ones because the bureaucracy we are forced to work through doesn't see it as any kind of priority.
We all here paid for this service, and it is a service that is *vital* to us - without it, we cannot live with our own spouses and children. How can that be treated like it's some kind of luxury or privilege, and not an absolute right?
-J

Thank you !!!
iwanted to say just that...,it makes me mad seeing that some people like to drag others down with negative hating comments ...,suck it up ? rules can be changed ! there was a time were most of us could not even get married cause of race religion ... did we change those rules? yes ! sucking it up is not the way to go !
In Europe Canada and other first world countries they do it better and faster,i`m sure it wasnt always this way ,but people did not suck it up !! that`s why the rules got changed...
Izzy .

So simply because we marry foreigners, the government can treat our relationships and the emotional and financial hardships imposed by lengthy separations with disregard? Even when we pay them a substantial fee to do the processing?...
After all, the only rational objection the government can have to our relationships is if there is a genuine national security issues (which, i imagine, represent a miniscule fraction of applications) or fraud (which is also a pretty small percentage).
In any event, the whole point is there is no competition out there - we HAVE to go the USCIS/NVC route or not at all. We pay them for the service. They should be obliged to provide us with a reasonably rapid processing time, and roughly a year or more is NOT rapid. There are many simple solutions that could apply that would dramatically improve processing times (such as simply hiring more staff, doing some or all of the steps simultaneously instead of sequentially, etc.), but there is no real pressure on them to do so, and no consequences for them if they don't. Frankly, I don't see any reason why the process, from application to approval, should ever take more than 90 days for routine cases.
So, I reiterate, or those of you who are happy to live in state-imposed separation from your loved ones for extended periods of time, by all means enjoy yourselves if you are so ok with that. But those us us who begrudge every moment that we lose with our loved ones because of this absurdly inefficient process are going to do what we can to ensure that it is made faster and more efficient. And given that it would benefit you as well...why on earth would you object? As others have said, if you don't push for change, change won't happen. Washington works pretty much entirely on the basis that whoever has the money gets their needs served first, and failing money, whoever makes the most noise. If we just sit here, patting them on the back for their long and lengthening backlog, it will only grow longer still.
-J

I simply can't believe so many here are so eager to jump to a defend a system which is forcing them apart from their loved ones, a system which is clearly grossly inefficient, lacking in transparency and devoid of any kind of accountability. We know for a fact that they can process us in as little as two or three weeks. The only reason that do no *routinely* process us in that short amount of time, or anything even close to it, is they don't feel they need to. They have no sense of urgency for keeping families together. For those of you who "enjoyed" carrying our your relationship by skype, you are welcome to take as long as you like to actually move together. Most of the rest of us, I am sure, I desperate to finally be able to be together with our spouses again. And for those who keep bringing up US service members: it's apples and oranges. They are forced to have long separations because of the needs of the job; we are forced to have long separations from our loved ones because the bureaucracy we are forced to work through doesn't see it as any kind of priority.
We all here paid for this service, and it is a service that is *vital* to us - without it, we cannot live with our own spouses and children. How can that be treated like it's some kind of luxury or privilege, and not an absolute right?
-J

I'm glad you posted, you simply expressed your thoughts. You will quickly learn the jerks on VJ. Eat the fish and leave the bones. Some of what they say may be helpful but most of it is rubbish. I always find it humorous how the ones who have their spouses with them and who still come back to post smart ### comments. They are a joke to me, don't let it stop it from speaking your mind.

Truthfulness is appreciated by all or at least most. However there is a proper way to say things that commands respect and kindness. Then there is an inappropriate way as well. Suck it up…inappropriate. As you can see by her response…she felt she never should have come here to air her troubles. Is that really how someone wants to make someone feel? A "Sorry to hear that you're so distressed. This indeed can be a rough road and we all get upset and sad at times. We're here to support each other. Everything will take time, but hang in there." I have seen it far to many times on here. Rudeness just because someone is speaking about a truthful thing should not be excused. A person can be truthful and decent/kind at the same time.

Nigeriaorbust….I'm sorry but I just have to say it. I can't believe anyone else has not. You and people like you are the exact example of a reason I never come on this site. You seem to have some bitterness of some type and can't be nice or supportive. Doesn't mean the members don't want the truth, but even your signature denotes an air of "I enjoy making other feel miserable." This is supposed to be a place of camaraderie and support. How does "This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this." or your responses of suck it up indicate any of that? Many I know that have started out on this site, don't come here anymore exactly for people like that, and it's sad because we all should support one another since this is not an easy journey.
Sorry if this seems rude folks, but no one else has pointed that out and I don't think anyone who has the determination and courage to go through this process needs an attitude such as that around.

If there is accountability, where is the evidence of it? What happens when they fail to attain their 5 month goal? As far as anyone can tell, nothing whatsoever. If there was some real accountability, I am certain we'd see things moving along at a very brisk pace. And let's not forget that they do speedy processing not just for victims of natural disasters. Look around here and you'll see they also pick out random people and approve them more quickly in order to keep their average processing time down. Most of us are now looking at nearly a year just to reach the NOA2, which is absolutely unacceptable. I also don't think their staffers sit around all day - I'm sure most are professional and diligent. But it really does not seem that the leadership of the USCIS sees the rapid and humane reunion of US citizens with their family members as any kind of priority.
While they would indeed have to hire new employees, they wouldn't need an appropriation. USCIS is almost completely funded by fees - that's right, we are paying their salaries directly. And because they are the only way to get your spouse or family to America legally, we have to shell out for it and take whatever service we get in return, no matter how poor. So all they have to do is increase the fees a bit, and then they have the budget for more employees. And I guarantee you that everyone on this board would be more than happy to pay 10% or 20% more if it meant we didn't have to endure these absurd delays.

Maybe they're not processing the rest of us slower *on purpose*...but they certainly don't appear to have any kind of motivation to process us any faster. As many have observed before, the problem with this system is that there is effectively zero accountability. They have their goal time of 5 months, but if they take longer, we applicants just have to bear it - there is nothing we can do about it, and they suffer no consequences of any kind, so they have no real motivation to ensure their goal is met.
I think it's fantastic that they are approving these people so fast, but it *does* show when they have the motivation to do so (and certainly this will make some good PR for them), they can. Why should it take a horrible natural disaster to actually force the USCIS to work quickly and efficiently?

Great idea! I was also thinking of maybe using social media to help spread awareness of how this process is affecting people. I think most people have no idea how long families are forced to live apart. I though maybe just a simple graphic that could be posted on facebook, so people can easily share it. Something like a nice picture of the couple/family in question, and a brief summary of how long that have had to live apart, and how much longer it may take. Maybe also some contact info, for people who want to get active and write a letter/email? What do you think?

Great idea! I was also thinking of maybe using social media to help spread awareness of how this process is affecting people. I think most people have no idea how long families are forced to live apart. I though maybe just a simple graphic that could be posted on facebook, so people can easily share it. Something like a nice picture of the couple/family in question, and a brief summary of how long that have had to live apart, and how much longer it may take. Maybe also some contact info, for people who want to get active and write a letter/email? What do you think?

Yes, we know there are thousands of people waiting...but that does not mean the system cannot be improved and wait times be dramatically reduced. After all, plenty of other countries have massive amounts of people wanting to immigrate, and yet they manage to treat them in a humane and efficient manner.
First, the simplest solution...if they don't have enough staff to handle the volume of applications...HIRE MORE STAFF. This is an essential service that can only be provided by this one organization, and we have *paid* for it. So the least they could do is give us swift service. If that means increasing the fees somewhat to cover the costs, I think most of us would be perfectly happy to spend a bit more if it means we are separated from our loved ones only for a short time. Or, for that matter, they federal government could just increase their funding a bit. I know people of a certain political bent blow their tops whenever they hear anyone say anything about using public money to benefit the public...but that's what it's for, after all. I've read that the actual processing time for an application is about two weeks - all the rest of the time, they spend sitting in a backlog or waiting to be mailed. Surely, there is some way to improve that. Especially if they manage to keep a fairly consistent processing time, that means if they hire some more people and get through the backlog, then they can stay up to date and none of should have to wait more than a month to get our I130 approved.
Some other possibilities for streamlining:
Why not combine all these steps into two?... Submit the I-130, the Affadavit of Support, etc., all together and they process it all together. Then it jut needs to be sent to the embassy in question. Cut out one step right there, and save applicants probably at least one or two months of separation. It is merely a bureaucratic issue, so I'm sure they could organize things to work that way. It might also help balance the workload between the various centers
Or, another possibility would be to re-institute the K3 or something like it, but to actually make it useful by having it processed within a few weeks. Maybe have it something done just by the local embassy, so they can check the police records, health records, ensure its a real relationship - and then allow them to live with their spouse in the US while the green card it processed. Again, this is merely a bureaucratic issue - surely they could set something like that up and ensure that for most people, it wouldn't take more than a few weeks. Where there's a will, there's a way, as they say.
Last but not least there simply need to be more transparency and more accountability. The policies of USCIS look very much like they were made by the USCIS for their own convenience. Considerations like treating applicants like humans rather than criminals, and ensuring them the minimum amount of painful separation possible seem to have come in a distant second, if they even paid much thought to it at all. So we end up having to put our lives into the hands of a huge, faceless bureaucracy which seems to assume we're all guilty until proven innocent. Even worse, they don't seem to think that keeping families together is a priority...I find that VERY worrying in any government entity.
-J

The Moroccan consulate is quite lenient on women in comparison to men. All of the women I've seen on VJ interviewing in Morocco were approved so I'm under the impression most of the women who are petitioned for are approved as long as there isn't obvious fraud taking place on their behalf. It could even possibly be a good thing for you guys.

What else can I do to help?
Donate some money to Congressman/Senator? Get some face time with them? It seems with these people money gets you access. It's about getting a policy issue addressed and FIXED. These people keep talking about family values, what kind of family values is USCIS promoting by preventing our spouses from being with us?

Yes, we know there are thousands of people waiting...but that does not mean the system cannot be improved and wait times be dramatically reduced. After all, plenty of other countries have massive amounts of people wanting to immigrate, and yet they manage to treat them in a humane and efficient manner.
First, the simplest solution...if they don't have enough staff to handle the volume of applications...HIRE MORE STAFF. This is an essential service that can only be provided by this one organization, and we have *paid* for it. So the least they could do is give us swift service. If that means increasing the fees somewhat to cover the costs, I think most of us would be perfectly happy to spend a bit more if it means we are separated from our loved ones only for a short time. Or, for that matter, they federal government could just increase their funding a bit. I know people of a certain political bent blow their tops whenever they hear anyone say anything about using public money to benefit the public...but that's what it's for, after all. I've read that the actual processing time for an application is about two weeks - all the rest of the time, they spend sitting in a backlog or waiting to be mailed. Surely, there is some way to improve that. Especially if they manage to keep a fairly consistent processing time, that means if they hire some more people and get through the backlog, then they can stay up to date and none of should have to wait more than a month to get our I130 approved.
Some other possibilities for streamlining:
Why not combine all these steps into two?... Submit the I-130, the Affadavit of Support, etc., all together and they process it all together. Then it jut needs to be sent to the embassy in question. Cut out one step right there, and save applicants probably at least one or two months of separation. It is merely a bureaucratic issue, so I'm sure they could organize things to work that way. It might also help balance the workload between the various centers
Or, another possibility would be to re-institute the K3 or something like it, but to actually make it useful by having it processed within a few weeks. Maybe have it something done just by the local embassy, so they can check the police records, health records, ensure its a real relationship - and then allow them to live with their spouse in the US while the green card it processed. Again, this is merely a bureaucratic issue - surely they could set something like that up and ensure that for most people, it wouldn't take more than a few weeks. Where there's a will, there's a way, as they say.
Last but not least there simply need to be more transparency and more accountability. The policies of USCIS look very much like they were made by the USCIS for their own convenience. Considerations like treating applicants like humans rather than criminals, and ensuring them the minimum amount of painful separation possible seem to have come in a distant second, if they even paid much thought to it at all. So we end up having to put our lives into the hands of a huge, faceless bureaucracy which seems to assume we're all guilty until proven innocent. Even worse, they don't seem to think that keeping families together is a priority...I find that VERY worrying in any government entity.
-J