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Joaquin is without his father.  I am without my life partner and Diego is missing out on the joy of catching many of Joaquin's first moments.  We are anxious to expand our family and have been holding off until we are through with this process but that doesn't seem to be anytime soon sadly.  In the end, all we want is to be together as a family and be able to live that American dream.

I am the male USA half of Ausa (AUS and USA).  I am in my early 40s, with no arrest record, a college education and career, no issues with income, and I was born and raised here in the US.  I also just applied for a new passport back in 2013, where I needed to send copies of my birth certificate, social security information, and provide all the information relating to my parents and where we were all born.  Both of my parents were born here in the US, so I have no foreign ties. I have worked here in the US since I was 15 years old.  Paid taxes since then, and even worked part-time throughout college here in the US.  I feel as though I am being put second in this process to those who were born outside the country, as they try to bring in their families to the US, as well as to those who entered illegally and are being processed as part of some "feel good" legislation by our government.  I understand that many of the Fiancee Visa applicants are processed in the same centers as those petitioning foreign relatives and families, which is my main issue.  Separate and build sustainable efficiencies for each category of Visa, and train expertise through compartmentalization (See: Henry Ford's Description of an Assembly Line), as well as  through automation and computerization of this process. Natural born citizens can easily be checked for legitimacy, can have background checks run quickly and through the use of only 3 databases here in the US.  I have run background and criminal checks on employees for my company, so I know the turn-around time is less than 4 days at the most.  All you need is $29 per applicant, their information, and their consent.  I also process new employees through the I-9 system online, which verifies their identity and if they are lawfully able to work in the US.  That takes 10 minutes (I type slowly).  Why does this process take so long, and why are natural born citizens and long-term tax payers pushed aside? I am a tax payer, an asset to my community, have a professional career, and have and will never be a drain on any local or federal assistance program.  My fiancee is a professional as well, comes from an English speaking country, college educated, and works for a well-known multinational corporation, which has offices all over the world, including the US.  She has never been and will never be a drain on society.  I know that she will also be an asset to my community, and has never been in trouble with the law. I spent 3 months with her in her country from mid September to mid December, submitted plenty of proof that I was there, as well as evidence which shows us at the same place and time on many occasions.  I will be again going to visit her for at least a month in March to April, so they should not need more than 30 minutes to review our evidence of relationship. As I calculate this, our file should take no more than 2 hours to process, with a 4-5 day waiting period for the background and criminal checks to come back on me.  My understanding is that her background checks are run in her country, which can be done prior to or immediately upon receipt of our file number.  Those can be sent in from her local police offices, and her medical check can be sent directly as well.  Why are there not pre-addressed stamped envelopes for all of this, so that each element of this process is better organized, goes to a sub department, where it is easily processes, logged into a computerized account, and moved forward?  What about an online welcome package, combined with the pre-addressed envelopes mailed to the address on your application? They could also allow foreign governments, and police departments, to send all information directly to consulates or embassies, where there are clerks who enter this information into our computerized files?  Is our country this far behind in technology?  It is very embarrassing telling my fiancee, that in the US (the supposedly greatest country in the world) I need to mail in a big packet of information through snail mail, when her country has the applications online, all evidence can be scanned in and attached digitally to the application. I feel that this process is antiquated, underfunded, and as a result does not support the US's natural born citizens on a level one would expect from the greatest superpower in the world.  I see us as the slowest and least efficient power in the world, and something needs to be done. Charge me $1000 for the application online to cover the costs of this new technology, where my background information will be automatically sent to one of the many companies who process background and criminal checks for my company and others, let me attach my evidence, confirm receipt via email, and have this process more automated, with only a percentage of random files audited by hand.  Why do I need to think of things like this?   The fact that I found the woman I want to marry as a 42 year old natural born US citizen with natural born US parents, and needing to wait for 8 months to a year to marry her is beyond puzzling.  I bet that if a Congressman's son or daughter wanted to marry someone from out of the country, the process would take 2-3 weeks in total.  Someone please prove me wrong.

And the soonest any of that might happen is in late May, if we’re lucky.  I’m Canadian.  She’s American.  We’re married.  We waited to be together through something that seemed impossible.  We’ve tried being apart.  It didn’t work, so all we want is to be allowed to actually be together, in one place, so we can cuddle down on the couch with our animals and watch tv.  Is that so much to ask?

******Accordingly, the Department of Homeland Security will not begin accepting requests for the expansion of DACA tomorrow, February 18, as originally planned. ******* Until further notice, we will also suspend the plan to accept requests for DAPA.The Department of Justice, legal scholars, immigration experts and even other courts have said that our actions are well within our legal authority. Our actions will also benefit the economy and promote law enforcement. We fully expect to ultimately prevail in the courts, and we will be prepared to implement DAPA and expanded DACA once we do.It is important to emphasize what the District Court’s order does not affect.The Court’s order does not affect the existing DACA. Individuals may continue to come forward and request initial grant of DACA or renewal of DACA pursuant to the guidelines established in 2012.Nor does the Court’s order affect this Department’s ability to set and implement enforcement priorities. The priorities established in my November 20, 2014 memorandum entitled “Policies for the Apprehension, Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants” remain in full force and effect. Pursuant to those enforcement priorities, we continue to prioritize public safety, national security, and border security. I am pleased that an increasing percentage of removals each year are of those convicted of crimes. I am also pleased that, due in large part to our investments in and prioritization of border security, apprehensions at the southern border – a large indicator of total attempts to cross the border illegally -- are now at the lowest levels in years."

This letter was sent directly to the White House, it arrived Thursday, 2/12/15, via Fedex (signature upon arrival).

All I want is for us to be together and live our lives in peace. 

I am the USC petitioner and my fiance living in India is the beneficiary. We met in 2010 while I was in  law school and he was in business school. We submitted out K1 visa application on June 20, 2014 and June 25, 2014 we received NOA1. At that time USCIS processing time for TSC was about 4 months and we both wholeheartedly hoped that my dear fiance could be in the US with me by January 2015. As I write this only now I understand how foolish it was of me in my excited state to go wedding dress shopping in November 2014, after all I felt like I should be planning something and the sales people in the bridal shops pressure you to no end and make you feel like you won't get your dream dress if you don't order one right away. At that point we were aiming to have the wedding in April 2015, with a quick ceremony at the court house as soon as he arrives. I found a brilliant wedding officiant and paid the $250 deposit in October telling him our story but being sure that April 2015 was the date. We received our NOA2 on December 16th, 2014. After multiple phone calls and complaints, I tweeted at USCIS, and anyone who I thought would listen and care, I signed petitions, and googled endlessly to find a way to get these people to do their job. We waited 5.5 months, yes considering some other cases we have been lucky, looking back. But because of this waiting and not knowing, we can't plan out our life. We keep moving back the wedding date, the medium sized wedding with friends and family, the court house wedding can happen on short notice (and thank God for that at least!). The wedding officiant must think we are insane, we have now told him we won't pick dates until we have the visa in hand. I was warned of this but I thought if I planned some minor details  like, oh setting the date, it would be alright! We have accumulated over $3,000 in visits between the two of us. My fiance is in limbo trying to figure out if he should take up an internship or work in India, because he isn't sure when he will have to pack and come here. He was ready to move in December 2014 but then it became clear it isn't happening so he went back to work (lucky he was able to do that.) But now he is taking courses to change his specialty so he is more employable in US and as a result he just spends all his days at home, studying, unable to work because contracts require him to commit a definite time to a job, which in our case is not possible. I have been unable to start a new job because if I am working full-time I cannot go visit him any time I want, so I remain self-employed and take on part-time jobs. I have to be the one to visit him because we do not want to take the risk of him coming here and being turned away since our documents are already at the embassy in India. Last year we missed each other's birthdays and all the important cultural holidays. Since I visited him in September after we both were feeling disconnected and lost, I could not visit him in December so we spent Christmas and New Years apart. We both keep having to go to friend's weddings and baby showers and family events and just sit there looking into the phone, trying to somehow share the moment and everything is just so lackluster and bland wthout my fiance, and he feels the same. Our friends blame for having become antisocial because any free time we get we want to speak to one another and just share any moment we can. But seeing him on Skype video is probably even worse than just not seeing him because it's like a cruel joke, I can see him, I can hear him, but I can't hold his hand, or make his favourite meal for him, or hug him when I am not feeling well. We go through periods where we feel almost like strangers because we are each living our own lives hoping for that day when we are finally going to be in one place. His interview is coming up in March, and it will have been 6 months that I have not seen him. He surprised me with tickets to go see him in March but it will only be for two weeks because I now have a firm job offer for March. And yet this extra cost could have been avoided if we were approved sooner. I just spoke to another couple in India who had their NOA2 in ONE MONTH. 31 days as opposed to our 174. We could have been married by now if we were approved as quickly as the couple whose papers are processed through the California center. I know that life is not fair, but this here is unjust, I am a US citizen, I pay my taxes and don't prevent anyone from being happy. If we had been two 18 year olds living in one city, without any income, we could be married TOMORROW. It's bad enough that this process is dehumanizing because we have to explain everything we have done in our relationship choice, and my fiance will have to tell a stranger why he loves me, and what his family thinks of me. These are private things, things no one but family should know. We have to put our financial status on display for some stranger to read and decided if we are good enough to get married. This whole process is making me feel naked and violated, baring our love for someone to scrutinise. We are humans, wanting to start a family, it's a basic human right recognised by the UN, and by the US Constitution. Why should anyone be able to judge if I can create a family! It's just cruel

We are both hoping and praying for some sort of miracle. To somehow make it through this process in the shortest time possible so that we can be together... to actually be a family: together. I am praying that I get to be with my child at birth and not have to leave. That I can be there for my wife. I am hoping that something can be done to make this process faster. So that not only us, but other families and loved ones who are apart can be together sooner.

Here is the letter that will be arriving at the White House via  Fedex (it has to be signed for) TODAY. 

Below you will find several stories [all real names changed] of real petitioners and beneficiaries stuck waiting on delayed processing times at the Texas Service Center for USCIS.  Most of us are filers for I-129F - Petition for Fiance Visa, but the problem affects a wider pool of applications.

in the end, I just want my family; my to-be wife and our son.  It is beyond frustrating that I must sit and wait for that while others rush to the head of the line simply because their petition was routed to a different service center!

Thanks for reading.

Everyone thinks that legal immigration to this country is simple, but it's not true. They're often shocked when I tell them we're literally waiting for someone to look at a file just so that we can legally marry in the United States. They're even more shocked when I explain the cost and the paperwork and protocol we have to go through. I met my fiancé in very early 2003 online. We were introduced by a mutual friend. We soon became fast friends, and started speaking every single day. I knew there was something special about this man. He'd go out of his way to make me laugh and smile, and promised one day he'd visit me. We arranged a visit on NYE 2004. I can still remember the butterflies in my stomach when he walked through the doors and saw him. I was completely head over heels in love with him. I knew how difficult online-long-distance relationships could be though. I'd seen friends go through terrible painful breakups and get lost in the hopelessness of the difficulty of having a relationship in two different countries. Saying goodbye to each other at the airport breaks my heart every time. It breaks my heart when we aren't able to celebrated birthdays and holidays together. I missed his sister's wedding, we've missed funerals, and the birth of what will be my new niece. We've both had our depressed moments, our sorrowful moments when we just want to see each other. So we made the best of it.. For years we spent thousands of dollars visiting each other, and he became a part of my family. His first American Thanksgiving and Christmas. His first blizzard. And then eventually we just couldn't afford it anymore. A three year lull was extremely difficult, but thankfully circumstances changed and we visited again. In 2009, he introduced me to his parents, and we became engaged to be married. Our families are so thrilled for us. At this point it would be another long wait, as he was pursuing his education and then, career. We had considered perhaps me immigrating to Britain, but when the laws changed against non-EEA citizens, it became an impossibility. That was when we started talking about him moving here. He has worked tirelessly for years at a poorly paying UK job, even at his high educational level (for that is all that is offered in their economy at this time) to save for our future, and I too have saved every scrap that I can. We knew we wanted a beautiful wedding with our friends and family on our own terms, no courthouse, no do-overs. He took vacation time and flew in for a week in 2014, and we filed the paperwork. I was so excited that soon we'd be together - but then I realized where our petition would be going - to the dreaded Texas Service Center. It's almost like a joke now. When I explain the process to people they give me a look of either pity or disbelief. It is now February 2015. People ask ''so when is the wedding?'' and ''when do you think you'll be approved?'' like a broken record. I try to give out estimates... March? May? June? Who knows. I have my wedding dress all ready. I just need a word and I can start reserving venues, or you know maybe even try and set a date that makes sense -- but we can't. Because all we are, is a number to our government. A file on a shelf in a system that needs reforms. My fiancé would love to start using his talents in IT to benefit a country he knows can use it and pay him a good wage. We want to be married. We want to raise a family. He knows that it will most likely be a very long time before he would even be able to bring me as his wife back to his own home country because of UK law. That is one hell of a sacrifice for love. But he wants to come to the US, not only because he loves me, but because it offers that dream of freedom and opportunity. Every time a politician screams on TV about illegal immigration and reform -- I wonder if any of them were in my shoes would they stop TALKING and start DOING. When I see executive actions favour people who did not follow the current legal process (however sympathetic to their plight I am) and do nothing to help those that did obey the law a little piece of me becomes more and more bitter. When I see senators and congress-persons blow off their constituents who are begging them for assistance in their cases or when I hear of scripted excuses for those stuck at Texas, while a person sent to California Service Center might be processed in as little as a WEEK it really does make you wonder how we are routinely called the greatest nation on earth, but sometimes have little to show for it. I feel for those who have been waiting even longer than we have! Every day I check our ticket number and see no change. We are a nation of immigrants; my ancestors (all immigrants) were Revolutionary heroes that believed in the principles of freedom and opportunity. My great grandmother was British Barbadian and came to this country through Ellis Island. When I hear of the hardship she endured to get here it gives me courage to keep the faith that somehow some kind officer will pick up our case file. It gives me courage, because I understand that she too was separated from the American man she loved. It's not just me, but so many others that are separated and enduring this wait. We endure it patiently, with little resources or information, and keep a wary eye on the news regarding DACA. Will we be sent to the back of the line? Or worse still, delayed due to lack of resources. Will he, once arrived here, be waiting endlessly for a delayed work authorization because of horrendous backlog? I fear congress attempting to block funding once more and what impact that will have upon us. So much of late is discussed on the hot topic of illegal immigration, but very little is ever mentioned of the legal immigration process. It seems, we're quite forgotten about. Those who work for the USCIS get to go home to their families each and every night, the same cannot be said for us.

My story is this, my fiancee resides in nigeria, i traveled there 4x in past 2 yrs. Last year Nick attended his interview & did not get approved, the so called interview which lasted about 5 mins!! This officer told him he needed, "More evidence from me" & they would contact me, they never did & all my letters to them went unanswered. The papers were sent back to usa for review, which never happened either, as i received a letter telling me my petition was expired, but that i was welcome to reapply all over again. So there went all our fees, medical, app, police reports. So i reapplied again & it was filed with uscis march 4th 2014, here we are its 11 months in on feb 4th, i submit service requests & same blanket answer is given to me. " Sorry we are unable to give you a completion date at this time, awaiting adjudication". No explanation as to what is holding it up, no RFE's at all as I really front loaded our packet very well. So here we sit, no answers, another 2 major holidays gone by, my stepdad just died, no partner by my side. I am ready to contact my congressman's office at this point, its totally ridiculous. This is texas service center we are dealing with, our first application was processed in vermont service center, much quicker. Im so disgusted with the system, no answers & no one seems to care, but they cashed my check within 1 week of getting it. 

I applied for a K-1 fiance visa, form I-129F. My NOA1 date is July 22, 2014, from the Texas Service Center. My fiance, Stephanie, is from Italy, and I am from Maryland. When I initially sent in my forms, the estimated processing time was either 5 or 6 months and we are now approaching 7 months. It was our hope to hear something back before the new year. This has nothing to do with USCIS or TSC specifically, but I think it may be a reflection of how government agencies choose to treat immigrants, and the seriousness in which they take the issues. Steph last came to visit in early November and left a little over a month ago today. Upon her arrival in DC she was questioned by a customs/homeland security border agent. She mentioned she was here to visit me, her fiance, during the standard questions. Upon finding out she was engaged to an American the questioning took a much different tone and his questions bordered on harassment and discrimination wondering "why are you coming to this country?" and "how can you possibly be engaged to someone if you don't live here?". The agent gave several other criticisms and judgments on the way he perceived our relationship status and her intentions in the United States. I was waiting at baggage claim eagerly awaiting seeing my fiance after several months without being with her. It became clear that nearly everyone else from her flight had already come through the big doors...except her. After an hour she finally came out, crying and a little shakey. I was furious. How can people treat someone this way. She had done absolutely nothing wrong and she is not one to say anything objectionable to someone holding a rubber stamp or otherwise. That being said...I find the review process within the USCIS to be unquestionably inefficient. People are sent RFEs after 6 months of processing. You'd think if they needed more information they'd ask for it at the beginning. Are the applications sitting on a desk for 5 months? I have heard many stories about the types of questions they ask the consulate interviews. One question in particular that perturbs me to a great degree is "When do you plan to get married?" I feel that question alone represents just how much these people don't "get it" and mirrors their utter lack of empathy. If the review process wasn't so inefficient and unpredictable, then maybe people could actually plan their wedding. We are at the whim of the bureaucracy and they have the audacity to imply we need to have concrete plans and dates for a yet unidentified 90 day window. This forces many couples to opt for a less formal of celebratory affair such as a courthouse wedding shortly after their arrival as they plan for the next phase of torture in the form of the changing their resident status. My apologies if I am a Debbie Downer, but there has been a lot of that going on on the visajourney website lately. There is nothing any of us can do about the situation, and perhaps the lack of transparency and control is what makes people so upset.

Obviously it’s stressful not being able to actually make any plans for the future. Maintaining two houses is difficult. Friends and family are impacted, too. They aren’t able to make any plans to come for the wedding because TSC is so unpredictable. I’ll have to make an extra visit to London this summer costing $1800 to make up for the extra processing time. It will cost me an extra week off work that could be used for the wedding or honeymoon. The worst part is that David and I just can’t plan anything at all for our future. We are completely at the mercy of uscis.

I met my husband through a dating website while he was working (temporarily) in Hawaii.  And needless to say, things between us moved really fast and within 9 months of our initial 'date' we got married in his hometown in Fiji. I've been doing all of our paperwork and researching on what we need as well as what the next steps will be.  We are still in the beginning of the entire process, as I turned in our petition back in Aug of last year. Supposedly, we're supposed to hear something from the Nebraska service center by the end of this month on whether the petition has been approved or not. I received a confirmation email and text as soon as they received our physical petition packet back in August. I had called USCIS a few months after I submitted our petition because I was unable to use my case number and look up any progress of our case online at USCIS.com.  After 3 phone calls, (learning that I could actually talk to a human instead of a machine if I selected the option of 'lost my case number') and 2 months, we were finally able to see our status online. I check online on a weekly (sometimes even daily) basis to see if anything has changed or been updated. In the meantime, I've been collecting all the documents needed to to submit to the NVC in hopes that our petition will be approved (since I havent received any notice that our petition had errors) and we can move on to the next step. Its been quite difficult for me dealing with the 'unknown' of everything and the estimated dates/timelines of when we will hear back from the government organizations that will give us the 'go' or 'no go' answers.  My husband works in the fishing industry and due to the uncertainty of when our paperwork will go thru and if he/when he will have to be in the city for his interview, he hasnt been able to hold steady work. That has become a financial burden on the both of us, because now I pay for his rent and living expenses via western union payments anywhere from 1-3 times a month. Thank goodness Fiji has a low cost of living (compared to America), I've only had to send him about $6,000 over the past 6 months. I've also had to get a second job so that I can afford to pay for both of our expenses. Although it hurts me financially, and I've had to take out a loan to help pay for his living expenses, I feel that this is the only option for our current situation. I'm just fortunate enough to have found 2 jobs that I can work so that I can pay for our paperwork fees, his living expenses, and still put food on the table for myself. Of course I did not expect things to go this way, but I'm just trying to adjust to everything as it happens.   Things could be worse. It has been frustrating with Fijis lack of technological advancements as well. I cannot use the video camera option for Skype/Viber because the towns internet service is VERY poor. And only sometimes do we get to have a 'free' conversation via Skype/Viber if there arent many others using the internet service. So, I've resorted to buying calling cards (up to $80/week) as well as writing him weekly letters. The overall feeling of not being able to see nor talk with my husband on a daily basis is depressing. As I mentioned, I havent had much correspondence or communication with UCSIS or NVC. I've just been waiting, and waiting, and waiting to hear from their offices to find out if we can continue down this journey.  We are hopeful that he will be granted his visa/green card/permanent residency sometime this year so that we can be together again. But honestly, who knows how long it will actually take.