meauxna

Shermeen, where you stand right now is waiting for your petition to be adjudicated. That's it.
I know you want to know that you are on Day X of Y, but the system just doesn't accomodate that.

I'm just reminded that pressing *someone* for a case specific answer means that *someone* can not continue processing cases.

Not trying to be a biatch, but please remember that I have tracked a few of these over time and observed lots of things.

LadyElysium

I think you're being a little unfair to Shermeen here. If the USCIS website has gone past their date of application than I think they're well within their rights to question what is going on and where they stand in the application process. This is an insanely frustrating process made more difficult by being separated by loved ones for months on end by a silly piece of paper and I see nothing wrong with sending emails and making phone calls to try and get an answer. At the end of the day we've all paid a hell of a lot of money to get these applications processed and, as it stands, the customer service received does not live up to the price tag attached to it.

Shermeen.Adam

Thanks for the support. Honestly I took no offense to the previous post, which is surprising since my hormones are all over the place and I had to put my husband back on a plane today.

I feel like we've been going through this process together, even though you had your case expedited. I know how frustrating it was for you and your husband to get your case number. I cannot imagine how much more difficult it is for you both because you have a beautiful baby.

Being young and in love, newly married you want to spend all the time you can together. And this process is difficult and horrible and honestly not one I thought I would be going through again when my husband moved to the UK. But in life you have to make sacrifices and I know that aside from missing me he is doing much better being in the US. Once I have a couple nights of sleeping alone again, I'll be able to get back to forgetting about this annoyingly crazy ride and focus on enjoying myself here with my girlfriends. It is my birthday in a few weeks!!!

Good luck with your medical on Wednesday. Glad you got an earlier appointment, hope you get your interview date soon xx

Oh BTW, you're right about the money! Immigration is expensive. And before anyone tells me to stop moaning, just remember the kind of money you had when you were a twenty-something student.

LadyElysium

Oh man, that must've been hard today. At least you got to spend some time together to break up this long wait though and you know that the second you get your case number this process is going to fly by! From what I've read over the last week the current trend seems to be getting your visa interview date within 4 weeks of receiving your case number. I'm keeping everything crossed that this week will be the week you get approved so you can start bugging the crap out of the IV unit for your LND case number!

The more I think about how much money we've spent just for the first part of this process, because we've got to spend more $$ on the day of the interview (not to mention the medical costs!), the more annoyed I get that there isn't a system for people to track their cases like their is for people who go the "normal" route. If this was any other business people would be going crazy over the fact that you can't even speak to a real human being and get a real, honest answer about where you are in the process. Ridiculous!

Going to shut up now before I inadvertently piss myself off :P

Shermeen.Adam

Lol! Oh dear. Don't. You're near the end of the process. I'm sure you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

meauxna

I do thank you for your thoughts, and hope that Shermeen and I 'know' each other well enough from here for her to know that I wish her only the best and spend my time here helping people understand the case processing in such a way as to make their waiting time easier.

We have a different understanding of 'processing time' and believe me, I have done my time discussing that. Her case is being processed; she has been told so.

ian-mstm

It's the cost of doing business. You pay for processing, true... and not for waiting for things to happen. The problem here... is that many thousands just like you also pay for processing. So, most of the time you're waiting for your application to get to the top of the pile. When it does, processing goes very quickly.


What? Don't be silly. Can you possibly imagine how you'd deal with several hundred angry and anxious people every single day... each one of them wanting to know what's going on and you only able to tell them what you see on your computer monitor... that their case is "still processing"? Why on earth anyone would even want that sort of job is beyond me!

Do you want to know where you are in the process? I'll tell you... you're waiting for your application to get to the top of the pile. Once it does, you'll very quickly find out what's happening.

Do you know... there was a time when you couldn't get updates of any sort. No texts, no emails, nothing but a letter in the mailbox. Do you know what people did during those times? They moved on with life. When things arrived in the mail, they responded appropriately... and you know what? They survived just fine... and they too had spouses or fiancees or children they were missing terribly and wanted desperately to be with.

Don't get me wrong... you're entitled to your anger and frustration. I suggest that you're still too close to the situation to appreciate what some of the umm... more seasoned members now understand.

Ian

Shermeen.Adam

When I get to the top of my road after a long evening wearing heels and I think about the journey to my front door where I can take my shoes off, I think I'll never get there. That it'll take forever. Of course I have to get home, have to get through the journey but it hurts and seems unbearable. And of course, once I'm home, feet up, cup of tea in hand, it didn't seem that bad.

The point is, when you're going through this journey and you don't know what to expect (4 months or 10 months processing, London or Rome processing etc) it is difficult. Some people (perhaps youself?) handle it better than others and some don't. People are not the same and cannot be told how to feel. But I am sure that once we've gone to the end of the journey and we look back, we'll think "it actually wasn't that bad".

I'm sure us Nov/Dec/Jan are not the only "newbies" to have ever complained about the process?!?

Also, in a time when most people on here meet their loved ones online, it'd be crazy for the US government not to make the most of the internet. I'm sure technology will develop more and before you know it there will be an app for US immigration!

ian-mstm

Perhaps that's true, but still...

I think the difference is that people currently live in a time when they are used to getting immediate information on just about every aspect of their lives... and they can't handle not having access to that immediate information. I don't think the feelings are any different, but what is different then from now, is that back then you had to trust that the wheels of immigration were moving - because there simply was no way to check. Nowadays, it seems that people think that nothing is happening unless they get constant updates.

Remember the movie "You've Got Mail"... the scene in the elevator when it gets stuck? People nowadays seem to react like "Patricia"... they go ballistic when things don't happen fast enough. This isn't about getting to the end of the journey and reflecting pensively on the past... it's that people nowadays seem to have no patience whatsoever. Indeed, they've never learned patience because they have immediate access to just about everything... but not when dealing with US immigration - and that just pisses them off royally!

Ian

Shermeen.Adam

Oh I love You've Got Mail...and not just because I met my husband on AOL.
Fact of the matter is that people do have less patience. I know for a FACT that I am not a patient person when it comes to receiving a service from people/a company. And I do expect good service.
I think that ultimately its a by product of the technological advances. Everything is instant. You send an email rather than a letter because it gets there faster. I usually use the self service check out because I don't have to wait for someone else to process my goods. And if it says a 10 minute wait, I dont want to wait 20mins. I think we're more aware of how priceless our time is. Goodness knows what kind of patience the youth of today will have.

oliver22

I have to admit I have been waiting 20 weeks and heard nothing so am getting a little annoyed at the process but what option do we have but sit and wait, I know its frustrating all you who are in the same boat as me, just think though this time next year we will be settled in our new homes reading other people moaning about the processing time glad its over ... patience amigos

lansbury

Why should they make the most of anything. That assumes the system is here to aid and assist you moving to the US. It isn't. It is here to make sure that only those who met all the requirements get admitted and to keep out those that don't. It is here to stringently make sure those requirement are met. It is not providing a service to the people applying to get in, but the to the citizens of the USA by keeping people out.

When you appreciate that, you understand better that how it all works.

Shermeen.Adam

Well it seems that I have been misunderstood by you. It simply means that all companies and organisations should take advantage of the resources they have available to them. Facebook, Twitter, Apple Aps...everyone is at it. Even the Andrex puppy has a FB page. Technology is moving so fast, it would be a shame for them (and crazy of them) not to take advantage of it!

meauxna

I think you underestimate the epic fail that can occur when government tries that on. They are not private companies & don't act like them.

There isn't a single, useful way to check whether or not an individual is employment authorized, for example. There is a great big software and education program, E-Verify. And there's still 10 million undocumented workers here. That is just one example of how technology advances that seem obvious, fail at application time, and I'm just talking about Immigration now.

It happens in baby steps.

And for those of you wondering how it could possibly be done before the internet, Ian & Rete were members when this group first started (pre BE) and it consisted mainly of sharing notes on how the process would go.. NONE of it was online. When we filed, it wasn't much better.
This isn't exactly ancient history (despite Ian's wrinkly knees ).

lansbury

No I don't think I misunderstood. You misunderstand that quite frankly the good ole US of A gives a toss if you get in or not. That's not us here on BE, that is the American bureaucracy. When you understand that, you will understand the whole system is set up and operates for the benefit of the United States and is not trying to sell you something or offer customer service. It doesn't have to have a Facebook page send out Tweats every 3 seconds, offer anything that is to your advantage at all because it doesn't care if you apply for a visa or not. The whole system is designed to keep people out who do not qualify to be here, not to see how many people they can get in.