Jamie & Izzy

Yes 4-6 month sure no problem,but not knowing when is torture if we knew it would take this long we would have done it right after we got married,now we have to wait,how long ? no one really knows,this i would say is something that really needs to change,more order would be really nice ...
Izzy

I agree 100% with you on all the comments you have made so far,my husband posted this and i keep reading some of the comment and i cannot believe what i read ,people like you give me hope for change and a better future if not for us then for the next ones who have to suffer being apart from their loved ones.
Izzy

Yes 4-6 month sure no problem,but not knowing when is torture if we knew it would take this long we would have done it right after we got married,now we have to wait,how long ? no one really knows,this i would say is something that really needs to change,more order would be really nice ...
Izzy

*sigh* I should have known better than to think I could start a civilized discussion and not have it turn into an instant flame war...
As I said in the OP, if you don't have a *constructive* comment to make, please don't bother posting in this thread. And flaming some poor woman because she got pregnant without even knowing anything about her is, shall we say, rather less than constructive, and trolling is not helpful at all... :/ I know that some of you are oddly defensive of a system which forces you to be separated from your loved ones, but that's you're prerogative. We'll respect your view, but please respect ours that the current system can be changed and improved in at least some ways and let us discuss the possibilities in peace. For those of you who seem to have the opinion that all applicants are suspect terrorists/fraudsters/whatever, do recall that the very foundation of American jurisprudence is that one is supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty. So why should we treat all beneficiaries as criminals?
I reiterate, we have a democratic process in this country for a reason. When laws or policies don't work, the people are supposed to be able to make their voices heard and get things changed to work better. I firmly believe that forcing families to live apart - whether they have children or not - is unnecessary and inhumane, and surely there is a way the system can be changed to reduce or eliminate that separation. And again, for those who have apparently not bothered to read the original post, i am NOT suggesting that these immigrants just be given a free ride - they would still have to go through the whole process, they would just be able to live in the US with their spouse/parents.
Again, before anyone starts just immediately flaming the idea down: other countries do it this way, and it seems to work just fine for them. I know for a fact that Germany allows spouses and children to stay with the applicant while the paperwork is processed, and it doesn't seem to cause any problems. So, what I am curious about is how do these countries do it, and how can policies like theirs be implemented in the US?
This raises the issue, what about those who do commit fraud and have their applications rejected? True, this is a real issue, and that's why I wonder how other countries handle it. What can be done to help ensure they leave when their application is rejected, or reduce any costs involved in deporting them. I also wonder if anyone has some solid statistics on this. I read somewhere that in 2006 (iirc), about 8% of spousal applications were rejected as suspect of being fraudulent. Do we know just how many people we're talking about so we can estimate a worst-case scenario? Surely the number of spousal visa immigrants is far less than the number of illegal immigrants, and the number of fraudulent spousal visas a small fraction even of that, so I suspect the number is going to be - relatively speaking - rather small.
Thank you to those of you who have posted constructive comments! It's very interesting to hear that the actual processing time is something like two weeks. Now that could be considered a reasonable time to be separated. But how do you think things could be set up to prevent backlogs and increasing delays?
I heartily second this! The only serious objection I could see to this is that in cases where more information is requested, of course it will have to take longer. But when the processing goes normally, yes, they should certainly be handled in the order received on the first come, first served principle. Though there is something in what you say, that couples with children are less likely to be committing fraud. DO you know if there are any statistics on this that we could cite?

Yes it is a choice but sometimes it's just happens ! Why are we even discussing this now ?!
I have noticed allot of accusation and ignorance on this site,we are all from one planet yet try to make it complicated for each other ... Very sad .
Izzy

PLEASE READ the caveats at the end of this post before responding so we don’t turn this into a pointless flame war.
I, and I am sure many of you as well, find the forced separation of family members to be inhumane and unnecessary. I think this is particularly egregious when it comes to the separation of spouses and their children (at least when under a certain age). I know I very much resent the fact that my wife and I will be missing this Christmas together, as well as our first wedding anniversary. Some may be content to carry on their relationships by skype, but I think the majority of us would much rather actually be together, and that we begrudge every day that we are forced to be separated from our loved ones due to a mere bureaucratic process. I think that it would be a good idea for those of us of a like mind to get together and see if we can come up with a clear, coherent, and workable basis for a petition to get that policy changed.
I would suggest making a petition that would deal with the following two issues specifically:
The spouse of the petitioner and any children (under a certain age – certainly minors, maybe up to about 25 years old) should be allowed to live together in the US while the application is processed. During that time, of course, they will not be allowed to work or use public services, just as if they were on visa waiver program, etc, and the petitioner will have to support them (and perhaps submit the Affadavit of Support along with the I-130). All family members should be processed together, as one batch, so that we don’t have a situation where, say, the spouse and one child are approved, but the other child is not (whether denied or application simply taken longer). This puts families in a needlessly awkward position. I would think that people from visa waiver program countries, at the very least, should be allowed to stay. My wife is a German citizen, and used to come visit me for 3 months, then go back for 3 months. It wasn’t a problem. But now that we sent in the I-130, we’ve been informed that if she tries to visit, she will almost certainly be turned back at the border. If she could come for 3 months with no problem, then why not just let her stay the 9 or 10 months that it takes on average? After all, on visa waiver program, you’re not allowed to work or use any public services anyway, so what difference would it make except being for a somewhat longer time?
I think letting the families live together would make it easier to detect fraud, because then we can see if they are really living together and acting like a couple, and see if the beneficiary breaks any of the rules. With the current system, we can only guess if they are legitimate, but seeing them in practice would give much more reliable data, I would think. And since the beneficiary would not yet have the green card, if they are revealed as fraudulent, they can be easily told to leave and have their application rejected. What I more, I think this policy change has elements that could make it easy to market to both the left and right wing. To the left, we can present it as a humanitarian matter, and to the right, we can point out that you can’t get much bigger government than saying that you can’t live with your own children/spouse, at least not without giving up your life in the US and moving to their country…
Anyway, those are my thoughts in a nutshell. Anyone have any other issues they think should be addressed? Or coments on those two? Also, what objections can you think of that may be made against it, so we can come up with compelling replies?
Caveat 1: Illegal Immigrants. Please do not air your opinions on the recent policies legitimizing illegal immigrants here. Whether you agree with it or not, it *did* happen and it is something we can use to justify easing restrictions on legal immigrants. So let’s please not get into a discussion on that issue, except on specific points that may be relevant here.
Caveat 2: Constructive comments only, please! I know some people here on VJ seem very resistant to considering any change to policy, and who use arguments like “it’s just the way it is, deal with it” or “you know what you got into, so deal with it” – these are not constructive comments. Policies get changed all the time, and I think any policy that forces families to live apart is in desperate need of changing. If that for some reason upsets you, you needn’t participate in this discussion nor are you under any obligation to sign any petition that may eventually result. But please don’t just come here and rain on our parade. Also bear in mind that anything that may result from this will certainly eventuate far too late to benefit any of us – but I still think it’s worth exploring the possibilities so that others in the future do not have to endure this unnecessary separation.
Caveat 3: No free rides. Please note I am NOT suggesting that the immigrants be given carte blanche to just come willy nilly. The beneficiaries would still have to go through the whole process, the only difference is that they could live here in the US with their spouse/parent during the processing time. If the application is rejected in the end, then they will have to leave. And while they are here, they will of course be forbidden to work or make use of public services for citizens. And if they break those rules while here, it will be clear evidence of their bad faith and they’ll have their application rejected and have to leave the country. If national security is an issue, then in those individual cases, they may not be allowed to come until cleared, however I imagine that the number of applications rejected for national security concerns is miniscule.

PLEASE READ the caveats at the end of this post before responding so we don’t turn this into a pointless flame war.
I, and I am sure many of you as well, find the forced separation of family members to be inhumane and unnecessary. I think this is particularly egregious when it comes to the separation of spouses and their children (at least when under a certain age). I know I very much resent the fact that my wife and I will be missing this Christmas together, as well as our first wedding anniversary. Some may be content to carry on their relationships by skype, but I think the majority of us would much rather actually be together, and that we begrudge every day that we are forced to be separated from our loved ones due to a mere bureaucratic process. I think that it would be a good idea for those of us of a like mind to get together and see if we can come up with a clear, coherent, and workable basis for a petition to get that policy changed.
I would suggest making a petition that would deal with the following two issues specifically:
The spouse of the petitioner and any children (under a certain age – certainly minors, maybe up to about 25 years old) should be allowed to live together in the US while the application is processed. During that time, of course, they will not be allowed to work or use public services, just as if they were on visa waiver program, etc, and the petitioner will have to support them (and perhaps submit the Affadavit of Support along with the I-130). All family members should be processed together, as one batch, so that we don’t have a situation where, say, the spouse and one child are approved, but the other child is not (whether denied or application simply taken longer). This puts families in a needlessly awkward position. I would think that people from visa waiver program countries, at the very least, should be allowed to stay. My wife is a German citizen, and used to come visit me for 3 months, then go back for 3 months. It wasn’t a problem. But now that we sent in the I-130, we’ve been informed that if she tries to visit, she will almost certainly be turned back at the border. If she could come for 3 months with no problem, then why not just let her stay the 9 or 10 months that it takes on average? After all, on visa waiver program, you’re not allowed to work or use any public services anyway, so what difference would it make except being for a somewhat longer time?
I think letting the families live together would make it easier to detect fraud, because then we can see if they are really living together and acting like a couple, and see if the beneficiary breaks any of the rules. With the current system, we can only guess if they are legitimate, but seeing them in practice would give much more reliable data, I would think. And since the beneficiary would not yet have the green card, if they are revealed as fraudulent, they can be easily told to leave and have their application rejected. What I more, I think this policy change has elements that could make it easy to market to both the left and right wing. To the left, we can present it as a humanitarian matter, and to the right, we can point out that you can’t get much bigger government than saying that you can’t live with your own children/spouse, at least not without giving up your life in the US and moving to their country…
Anyway, those are my thoughts in a nutshell. Anyone have any other issues they think should be addressed? Or coments on those two? Also, what objections can you think of that may be made against it, so we can come up with compelling replies?
Caveat 1: Illegal Immigrants. Please do not air your opinions on the recent policies legitimizing illegal immigrants here. Whether you agree with it or not, it *did* happen and it is something we can use to justify easing restrictions on legal immigrants. So let’s please not get into a discussion on that issue, except on specific points that may be relevant here.
Caveat 2: Constructive comments only, please! I know some people here on VJ seem very resistant to considering any change to policy, and who use arguments like “it’s just the way it is, deal with it” or “you know what you got into, so deal with it” – these are not constructive comments. Policies get changed all the time, and I think any policy that forces families to live apart is in desperate need of changing. If that for some reason upsets you, you needn’t participate in this discussion nor are you under any obligation to sign any petition that may eventually result. But please don’t just come here and rain on our parade. Also bear in mind that anything that may result from this will certainly eventuate far too late to benefit any of us – but I still think it’s worth exploring the possibilities so that others in the future do not have to endure this unnecessary separation.
Caveat 3: No free rides. Please note I am NOT suggesting that the immigrants be given carte blanche to just come willy nilly. The beneficiaries would still have to go through the whole process, the only difference is that they could live here in the US with their spouse/parent during the processing time. If the application is rejected in the end, then they will have to leave. And while they are here, they will of course be forbidden to work or make use of public services for citizens. And if they break those rules while here, it will be clear evidence of their bad faith and they’ll have their application rejected and have to leave the country. If national security is an issue, then in those individual cases, they may not be allowed to come until cleared, however I imagine that the number of applications rejected for national security concerns is miniscule.

PLEASE READ the caveats at the end of this post before responding so we don’t turn this into a pointless flame war.
I, and I am sure many of you as well, find the forced separation of family members to be inhumane and unnecessary. I think this is particularly egregious when it comes to the separation of spouses and their children (at least when under a certain age). I know I very much resent the fact that my wife and I will be missing this Christmas together, as well as our first wedding anniversary. Some may be content to carry on their relationships by skype, but I think the majority of us would much rather actually be together, and that we begrudge every day that we are forced to be separated from our loved ones due to a mere bureaucratic process. I think that it would be a good idea for those of us of a like mind to get together and see if we can come up with a clear, coherent, and workable basis for a petition to get that policy changed.
I would suggest making a petition that would deal with the following two issues specifically:
The spouse of the petitioner and any children (under a certain age – certainly minors, maybe up to about 25 years old) should be allowed to live together in the US while the application is processed. During that time, of course, they will not be allowed to work or use public services, just as if they were on visa waiver program, etc, and the petitioner will have to support them (and perhaps submit the Affadavit of Support along with the I-130). All family members should be processed together, as one batch, so that we don’t have a situation where, say, the spouse and one child are approved, but the other child is not (whether denied or application simply taken longer). This puts families in a needlessly awkward position. I would think that people from visa waiver program countries, at the very least, should be allowed to stay. My wife is a German citizen, and used to come visit me for 3 months, then go back for 3 months. It wasn’t a problem. But now that we sent in the I-130, we’ve been informed that if she tries to visit, she will almost certainly be turned back at the border. If she could come for 3 months with no problem, then why not just let her stay the 9 or 10 months that it takes on average? After all, on visa waiver program, you’re not allowed to work or use any public services anyway, so what difference would it make except being for a somewhat longer time?
I think letting the families live together would make it easier to detect fraud, because then we can see if they are really living together and acting like a couple, and see if the beneficiary breaks any of the rules. With the current system, we can only guess if they are legitimate, but seeing them in practice would give much more reliable data, I would think. And since the beneficiary would not yet have the green card, if they are revealed as fraudulent, they can be easily told to leave and have their application rejected. What I more, I think this policy change has elements that could make it easy to market to both the left and right wing. To the left, we can present it as a humanitarian matter, and to the right, we can point out that you can’t get much bigger government than saying that you can’t live with your own children/spouse, at least not without giving up your life in the US and moving to their country…
Anyway, those are my thoughts in a nutshell. Anyone have any other issues they think should be addressed? Or coments on those two? Also, what objections can you think of that may be made against it, so we can come up with compelling replies?
Caveat 1: Illegal Immigrants. Please do not air your opinions on the recent policies legitimizing illegal immigrants here. Whether you agree with it or not, it *did* happen and it is something we can use to justify easing restrictions on legal immigrants. So let’s please not get into a discussion on that issue, except on specific points that may be relevant here.
Caveat 2: Constructive comments only, please! I know some people here on VJ seem very resistant to considering any change to policy, and who use arguments like “it’s just the way it is, deal with it” or “you know what you got into, so deal with it” – these are not constructive comments. Policies get changed all the time, and I think any policy that forces families to live apart is in desperate need of changing. If that for some reason upsets you, you needn’t participate in this discussion nor are you under any obligation to sign any petition that may eventually result. But please don’t just come here and rain on our parade. Also bear in mind that anything that may result from this will certainly eventuate far too late to benefit any of us – but I still think it’s worth exploring the possibilities so that others in the future do not have to endure this unnecessary separation.
Caveat 3: No free rides. Please note I am NOT suggesting that the immigrants be given carte blanche to just come willy nilly. The beneficiaries would still have to go through the whole process, the only difference is that they could live here in the US with their spouse/parent during the processing time. If the application is rejected in the end, then they will have to leave. And while they are here, they will of course be forbidden to work or make use of public services for citizens. And if they break those rules while here, it will be clear evidence of their bad faith and they’ll have their application rejected and have to leave the country. If national security is an issue, then in those individual cases, they may not be allowed to come until cleared, however I imagine that the number of applications rejected for national security concerns is miniscule.

Why are you worried about fraud if you want to let 11 million illegals in who never went through any type of security screening? Why would fraud be such a threat if this country has already taken 11 million people illegally without any types of security checks? If the first 11 million did not destroy America I doubt the few hundred thousand people spouses bring over is going to do the trick.
You can't have it both ways. You can't buy the national security-industrial complex lies about immigrants being a threat to this country and then let 11 million illegals stay here with no processing and no screening before hand. You either let anyone come here or you make everyone follow the rules, basta. Your position (and that of the President and the Democrats) is so ridiculously contradictory that I still don't see how so many people can buy it without ever questioning its radical flaw of internal logic.
Someone pretending to marry someone else to get a visa to come here and work is not a threat to this country, no more than millions of illiterate Latin Americans coming here to mow lawns are. It might be bad for the person getting conned but that's not a national security issue and to pretend it is an insult to the intelligence.