Discrimination

[david_dawei]

Actually most came through Canada, Germany and France

coming from vs coming through.. I think the former argument is maybe about ethic background and the later their physical entry point??

[Guest fhtb]

I read somewhere that the going rate to pay an American to marry a Chinese national was $60,000. To me that number says it all, and completely explains why there is greater scrutiny of Sino-American couples...

[artmill4]

That is incrediable. $60,000. I just dont get it.

[david_dawei]

I read somewhere that the going rate to pay an American to marry a Chinese national was $60,000. To me that number says it all, and completely explains why there is greater scrutiny of Sino-American couples...

Interesting point...

 

but does a longer process make it weed out fraud? I guess if one spends more time searching for the needle in the haystack their odds of finding it are better... although the longer processing time may just be a bottleneck issue (understaffing relative to number of applications to process).

 

I'm assuming this is a standard process, regardless of the country... but the length of the process is clearly not standard, nor equivalently staffed for demand.

 

As has been expounded over and over, the process is flawed... If I were to really want to weed out the fraud, I'd make the interview a requirement for both people to attend and it would longer than 5 minutes. If an interrogator really wants to pickup on the 'fraudulent vibes', get the two in a room together and I think it would be surfacing a little bit more than just one person present...

[david_dawei]

That is incrediable. $60,000. I just dont get it.

If you got it (physically), then you would get it (mentally)...

 

For those of us who got it physically (a loving SO), we will never get it mentally (a fraudulent SO).

 

Did you get that?

[obxtrainman]

Something about this whole thread kept eating away in the back of my mind, then it dawned on me.

 

Being a government worker myself, It has always been my observation, THAT IS IT EASIER TO ASK FOR FORGIVNESS, THAN PERMISSION.

 

So where does that leave us, become a bunch of lawless individuals that just want to be with our SO's. Or obey the law, and wait our turn. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Interesting question, isn't it?

[Dan R]

What types of visas are those from the middle-east coming over on?  I haven't seen that thrown into the equation here.

They have many choices. Commonly tourist, student and business are used.

As for going after illegals, I think you will find that every level of government prefers to spend time and money on the easy cases. The easiest violator to catch, prove fine or convict is someone who is in the system and crossing the line of legitimacy. The completely illegal operator or operation is hard to find and prove.

 

In my own area of food production we have many unlicensed competitors operating from homes or warehouses. With no refrigeration, tax or insurance they are way cheaperand many small restaurants want that savings. When we report these they are rarely investigated. However the fine for us mislabeling a product even by employee error is much more appealing.

 

Immigration is similar I believe. People completely undocumented are costly to find, prove and prosecute. Those in the system are locatable and have a declared reason to be here. It is much easier with minimal leg work and paper work to find they violated their status. Our current program for workers is limited to special skills and agricultural workers. We need to expand this to allow people to come and fill unskilled jobs where there is need on perhaps a three year temporary status.

[artmill4]

That is incrediable. $60,000. I just dont get it.

If you got it (physically), then you would get it (mentally)...

 

For those of us who got it physically (a loving SO), we will never get it mentally (a fraudulent SO).

 

Did you get that?

Got it David.

[bubbafred10]

The new bureaucratic line, from CSC: "We selected this case for detailed review and inquiry, and this will take longer than the normal processing time. Should we discover information requiring further verification, we will contact you, either in person or in writing, to provide additional information. We will make every effort to complete this petition or application as soon as possible. We appreciate your assistance and cooperation in helping us ensure the integrity of our immigration system."

 

Has anyone received this type of reply?

[LeeFisher3]

The new bureaucratic line, from CSC:  "We selected this case for detailed review and inquiry, and this will take longer than the normal processing time.  Should we discover information requiring further verification, we will contact you, either in person or in writing, to provide additional information.  We will make every effort to complete this petition or application as soon as possible.  We appreciate your assistance and cooperation in helping us ensure the integrity of our immigration system."

 

Has anyone received this type of reply?

Yep, it was called an IRS Audit, must be interagency cooperation.

[Martytb]

I read somewhere that the going rate to pay an American to marry a Chinese national was $60,000. To me that number says it all, and completely explains why there is greater scrutiny of Sino-American couples...

Geeeeezzz, I feel cheated. I was only offered 35,000.

 

Oh well, I ended up with a better deal anyway. A loving wife.

[Yuanyang]

I agree Marty, a Loving wife that you also love and respect is priceless.

[Guest fhtb]

I read somewhere that the going rate to pay an American to marry a Chinese national was $60,000. To me that number says it all, and completely explains why there is greater scrutiny of Sino-American couples...

Interesting point...

 

but does a longer process make it weed out fraud? I guess if one spends more time searching for the needle in the haystack their odds of finding it are better... although the longer processing time may just be a bottleneck issue (understaffing relative to number of applications to process).

 

I'm assuming this is a standard process, regardless of the country...

 

I think it's more a case of Panic and Cover Your Ass on the part of Guangzhou.

 

If you do a search on google for Immigration Fraud, you will find articles on at least two fraud rings that were busted in the US, one in NY and one in Seattle. I think the NY ring was Chinese and the Seattle ring was Vietnamese. There were people in these cities arranging fraudulent marriages for a very healthy fee.

 

In both cases, there was a discernable pause in awarding VISAs after the rings were discovered. I was reading VisaJourney.com when the Vietnamese consulate stopped issuing VISAs for a while. It raised quite a squawk.

 

However, given the embarrassment of having newspapers publicize dozens of fraudulent marriages that were approved... what would you expect the consulate to do?

 

The statement that "it is a standard process, independent of country" is completely wrong. There are some standard procedures, but in companies where there is higher-fraud, there is definitely more checking that is done.

[david_dawei]

The statement that "it is a standard process, independent of country" is completely wrong. There are some standard procedures, but in companies where there is higher-fraud, there is definitely more checking that is done.

I don't see my original statement as any different than what your saying.. but you didn't quote the rest of my statement.

 

I think the overall process is standard (go through Visa Center to NVC to Consulate), but I then stated the length of time and staffing is not the same in all countries... the length of time issue is different because of trying to 'weed out fraud' as I stated just before this section... ergo, where there is expectation of higher fraud there is more checks and longer times...

[Guest fhtb]

The statement that "it is a standard process, independent of country" is completely wrong. There are some standard procedures, but in companies where there is higher-fraud, there is definitely more checking that is done.

I don't see my original statement as any different than what your saying.. but you didn't quote the rest of my statement.

 

I think the overall process is standard (go through Visa Center to NVC to Consulate), but I then stated the length of time and staffing is not the same in all countries... the length of time issue is different because of trying to 'weed out fraud' as I stated just before this section... ergo, where there is expectation of higher fraud there is more checks and longer times...

 

Sorry if I read your post wrong. However, I do think there are additional procedures (such as 2nd name checks) that we have to go through that other countries don't.

 

Just to make it clear what I think has happened in China, Vietnam, and other high-fraud countries.

 

1. Things are percolating along (never fast enough for us)

2. US govt catches fraud ring in states

3. Consulate manager freaks out, enters CYA mode

4. VISAs trickle out while the problem is studied

5. VISAs trickle out while new policies are formulated

6. VISAs trickle out while new policies are implemented

7. Consulate is now more understaffed than previously

8. They are still constrained by previous year's budget

9. Even if they had money to hire, it takes time to hire

10. Even after people are hired, it takes time to train them

11. While new people are being trained, existing people have

to take time to train them. So in the short term the existing

people are less productive.

 

Add it all up, and it equals big delays for 1-2 years after the fraud ring was discovered.

 

That's my theory in a nutshell.