Frank+Jocelyn

You do have rights as the father, but your's sounds like a tough problem. Better talk to a lawyer.

Do you think its a chocolate cake?

hmm...I had to ask my filipina what an FX was

Thanks Lucky5. If your emotional about our NOA2 I guess you'll fall apart when you get yours!

Congratulatsions Rinso! It certainly is a great feeling. They're really cracking the whip down at VSC.

haha...Not much of a poll if I included the Aircon Taxi because everybody would pick that! Where is your courage!

Ok everybody, what is your favorite mode of transportation in the Philippines?

Congratulations!

Congrats!!!!

Thats just lame.

I got the email and immediately checked the USCIS web site and it was there also.

Great update. Try to keep track of the things that surprise her about the U.S. and send us an update.

Congratulations!

Wow! What a great feeling!!! I just got logged on and was checking my email and while I was reading a different message, in popped a new message from USCIS at 7pm! Who would think the are working at VSC at 7pm!! Obviously they didn't read my rant on page 16.

But what a feeling really. I immediately called Jocelyn but I was so emotional I found I hard to even say the words. Who would think that a simple little email could make a person feel so good. I last checked my email and the USCIS web site before I left work at 5pm and nothing, so I thought here we go through another weekend with no updates.

What a ride. I know we are not done but right now I'm the happiest guy in the world, or at least in South Carolina .

I don't know how it happened, but somehow a 105 pound Filipina found a way to destroy my defenses and enrich my life in ways I will never adequately be able to express to her.

Good luck to everybody else and thank you VSC. I will only speak your praises from now on (fingers crossed). Really I think they approved me because I compared them favorably to the CSC in my signature pictures.

Communicating is free, and for whatever reason they just refuse to do it. Grr.

No arguments from me on that point.

The recent flurry of activity at VSC is exciting because that is where we filed. However, it also causes me some anxiety because I had settled into the idea of late February or early March approval, and now I find myself checking my status several times a day because people on both sides of my date have been approved in January. I'm certainly not complaining about the early approvals but there is something to be said for a consistent and predictable process. The lack of consistency reveals that they don't have good processes in place at the service centers.

Mox makes the good point that the worker drones at the service centers really don't have any control over the process. Given the opportunity, most people would much rather deliver good news than bad news, even to a stranger on the phone. I'm sure those workers would love to hear the excitement in your voice caused by giving you some good news. But alas, they are slaves to the machine. Having worked for the government for about 16 years (mostly as a manager), I am well aware of the affirmative action hiring they have in place. Although I know nothing about the USCIS, I can guarantee that their staff is very well represented with emigrants and/or ethnic minorities who can surely relate to our suffering. Unfortunately, over time I’m sure the USCIS workers take a beating from people like us who are frustrated with the process. Eventually they have to harden up to us just so they can get through the day without falling into deep depression after hearing our sob stories.

But now step back one more level and look at the plight of the USCIS mangers. They don’t have an unlimited budget to hire workers because we, the tax payers, want a lean government. And to put it quite bluntly, we are not willing to pay government managers the salary it would require to attract the “best and the brightest” managers who might be able to improve the process. We can’t spend money to improve our social services but we (not me) support a president who spends $600 billion to fund a war. I don’t know what a USCIS worker makes, but the price of one Humvee ($65,000) would probably pay the salary of at least two of them for a year.

Things to think about when you go to the polls in November.

Ok that’s my rant for the month. I promise I’ll abstain at least until February…please don’t ban me Mr. Moderator!

I'm sure you get what you pay for!

It certainly explains why they processed all of them so quick and then stopped when they got to us. They just can't let us go! I bet they have their lockers plastered with all the passport-sized photos we sent in...

Sure, I bet you all get RFE's for missing passport photos!

Haven't you noticed that Jägermeister tastes like Vicks Formula 44?

Ya but September filers are all better looking than July filers! B)

Congratulations!

You will have to split up.

I'm glad they got your's out of the way so they can get to mine!

I hope I have more properly represented reality with my new USCIS desk images.

hmm... I thought about that but didn't want to get flamed from everybody on the left coast!

I could really use a touch right now. Either from VSC or my SO!