Different Priorities at different Service Centers

[keelec]

I was browsing the BCIS web site today looking at the processing times for I-129F.

https://egov.immigration.gov/graphics/cris/...rocesstimes.jsp

 

What struck me as most interesting is that different service centers seem to prioritize the different types of I-129 (teporary) visa applications differently.

 

Vermont:

H-1C Nurses................................ 1 wk

H-2A Temporary Workers ........... 1 wk

K1/K2 (fiancee) ........................1 mo

L Intercompany Transfers............. 2 mo

H-1B Specialty Occupation ........... 2.5 mo

H-2B Other Temporary Workers ... 3 mo

H-3 Temporary Trainiees................3 mo

O Extrordinary Ability .................... 3 mo

P Athletes ..................................... 3 mo

Q Cultural Exchange visitors ......... 3 mo

R Religiious occupation...................3 mo

 

Nebraska:

H-2A Temporary Workers.............. 3 wks

Blanket L (transfers?)..................... 3 wks

H-3 Temporary Trainees ............... 1 mo

P Athletes........................................1.5 mo

H-2B Other Temporary Workers...... 2 mo

O Extraordinary Ability.................... 2 mo

L Intercompany Transfers ............... 2 mo

Q Cultural Exchange........................2.5 mo

R Religious Occupation.....................2.5 mo

H-1B Specialty Occupation ...............3 mo

TN NAFTA Professional.......................4 mo

K1/K2 Fiancee ..............................6 mo

 

Texas:

H2A Temporary Workers ................. 1 mo

L Intercompany Transfers ................ 2 mo

H1B Specialty Occupation ..................2.5 mo

H3 Temporary Trainees ......................3 mo

Q Cultural Exchange .......................... 3 mo

H-2B Other Temporary Workers............4 mo

O Extrordinary Ability............................ 4 mo

P Athletes.............................................4 mo

K1/K2 Fiancee..................................6 mo

R Religious Occupation ........................7 mo

 

California:

H2A Temporary Workers....................... 2 wks

H3 Temmporary Trainees.......................3 wks

L Intercompany Transfers.......................1 mo

H1B Specialty Occupation........................2 mo

H2B Other Temporary Workers...............2 mo

O Extraordinary Ability............................2.5 mo

P Athletes...............................................3 mo

Q Cultural Exchange............................... 3 mo

R Religious Occupation............................ 5.5 mo

E Treaty Traders and Investors...............6.5 mo

K1/K2 Fiancee......................................6.5 mo

 

It is nice to know that in California and Nebraska, we rank dead last, and second to the last in Texas.

 

However, in Vermont, we rank third.

 

I think this is something that we should start writing to our congressmen..... Make our voice known that it is not acceptable to process the K1/K2 (and K3/K4) visas after ALL other types of Temporary Visa Applications.

 

----- Clifford ------

[keelec]

Oh,

 

I forgot to include.

 

Not only are K1-K4 visas put at the bottom of the "Non-Immigrant" visa applications at most service centers, they are also unable to apply for expedited visa applications with Form I-907 which is available only to applicants of E-1; E-2; H-1B; H-2B; H-3; L-1; O-1; O-2; P-1; P-3; Q-1; TN and R visas (which are supposed to have "Guaranteed 15 day processing" for a fee of $1,000).

 

(I thought there was also Farm Workers included in the above).

 

----- Clifford -----

[se_lang]

something that also would be interesting to know is what % of applications at each service center is K1-K4, If the service center really worked on applications FIFO regardless of type I think the times for each type would be better balanced, But alas we will never know what really goes on behind closed doors as there is no accountability for our system only an occasional sacrificial goat(scape goat)

[Martytb]

I think you have hit on something here. This is obviously inequitable treatment bordering on prejudice.

I will be sending a letter to my Representatives with this information included. I think even if I was not involved in the situation I would find this situation illogical and undemocratic.

A job trainee takes priority over a citizen's family? Ridiculous!

[keelec]

something that also would be interesting to know is what % of applications at each service center is K1-K4, If the service center really worked on applications FIFO regardless of type I think the times for each type would be better balanced, But alas we will never know what really goes on behind closed doors as there is no accountability for our system only an occasional sacrificial goat(scape goat)

Se Lang,

 

BCIS does publish the stats for the number of visa applications approved of various types (I presume not including those refused). I don't think they are broken down by processing center, but they may be broken down by state where applied.

 

If those stats don't exist, in theory one could write a bot that would pull that info off of the BCIS Website.

 

I was browsing...... There are a LOT of I181, CREATION OF RECORD OF LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENCE applications. I can hardly find anything else.

 

Maybe I will dig up some of the BCIS Stats again and publish them for you.

 

----- Clifford -----

[se_lang]

something that also would be interesting to know is what % of applications at each service center is K1-K4, If the service center really worked on applications FIFO regardless of type I think the times for each type would be better balanced, But alas we will never know what really goes on behind closed doors as there is no accountability for our system only an occasional sacrificial goat(scape goat)

Se Lang,

 

BCIS does publish the stats for the number of visa applications approved of various types (I presume not including those refused). I don't think they are broken down by processing center, but they may be broken down by state where applied.

 

If those stats don't exist, in theory one could write a bot that would pull that info off of the BCIS Website.

 

I was browsing...... There are a LOT of I181, CREATION OF RECORD OF LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENCE applications. I can hardly find anything else.

 

Maybe I will dig up some of the BCIS Stats again and publish them for you.

 

----- Clifford -----

Cliff I don't suppose you ever did research as a profession did you you seem to have a hell of a knack for it.

[keelec]

Cliff I don't suppose you ever did research as a profession did you you seem to have a hell of a knack for it.

Se Lang,

 

The short answer is "Yes and No".

 

I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science (and, well, other things). Maybe you will figure out why it is a BA rather than a BS. I have had some research experience in college, but have never been paid to do it outside of the academic environment.

 

The nice thing about my current job is that I get so many "off the wall" computer problems presented to me that I am always working on figuring out what the heck is going wrong.

 

Maybe someday I wil write my life's story, or at least a longer version of what brought me to where I am now.

 

----- CK -----

[se_lang]

The nice thing about my current job is that I get so many "off the wall" computer problems presented to me that I am always working on figuring out what the heck is going wrong.

I deal with a lot of off the wall comp problems also and the description is always the same "it no worky" (can anyone say undocumented work force)

 

Problem solution

The screen went black move the mouse and do some work

My computer don't work Neither do you, so what

somebody took my mouse So take it back

My computer is slow it is faster then you

My monitor don't work see #2, turn it on

 

They say I am no good at customer service

[keelec]

Here is one of my favorite "Historical" computer problems..... Let's see who can remember working on computers a couple of years ago.

 

Back in the days of the original IBM PC and IBM PC-XT

 

I wanted to switch keyboards between computers.  I shut off the computer and unplugged one keyboard (that was working) and plugged in the "new" one.  After rebooting, I discovered that the new keyboard did not work.  So, I unplugged the "new" one and plugged the "old" one back in and rebooted.  Unfortunately, the keyboard still did not work.

 

What did I do wrong?

 

Problem number 2:

 

The computer (Windows XP Pro, Office XP Pro) had worked fine in the past.  However, now odd things are happening.  When one moves the mouse windows start popping open or closed.  Rebooting may help a little, but then the problem resumes in a few minutes.

 

Of course, the user hasn't installed any new software.

 

What is the problem?

Bad Mouse?

Virus?

Something Else?

[se_lang]

Here is one of my favorite "Historical" computer problems.....  Let's see who can remember working on computers a couple of years ago.

 

Back in the days of the original IBM PC and IBM PC-XT

 

I wanted to switch keyboards between computers.  I shut off the computer and unplugged one keyboard (that was working) and plugged in the "new" one.  After rebooting, I discovered that the new keyboard did not work.  So, I unplugged the "new" one and plugged the "old" one back in and rebooted.  Unfortunately, the keyboard still did not work.

 

What did I do wrong?

 

Problem number 2:

 

The computer (Windows XP Pro, Office XP Pro) had worked fine in the past.  However, now odd things are happening.  When one moves the mouse windows start popping open or closed.  Rebooting may help a little, but then the problem resumes in a few minutes.

 

Of course, the user hasn't installed any new software.

 

What is the problem?

Bad Mouse?

Virus?

Something Else?

problem # 2 is they swaped the 2 ps2 plugs(mouse& keyboard) saw this last week

 

still thinking on #1

[keelec]

problem # 2 is they swaped the 2 ps2 plugs(mouse& keyboard) saw this last week

 

still thinking on #1

Nope.

 

Swapping keyboard and mouse, some machines work. Some don't, but in my experience, it generally doesn't cause this eratic behavior. Oh, and certain Logitech drivers will report errors under Windows NT when the mouse and keyboard are swapped.

 

The last machine that was doing it, I even tried swapping from PS2 mouse and keyboard to USB, and the behavior continued.

 

----- Clifford -----

[se_lang]

problem # 2 is they swaped the 2 ps2 plugs(mouse& keyboard) saw this last week

 

still thinking on #1

Nope.

 

Swapping keyboard and mouse, some machines work. Some don't, but in my experience, it generally doesn't cause this eratic behavior. Oh, and certain Logitech drivers will report errors under Windows NT when the mouse and keyboard are swapped.

 

The last machine that was doing it, I even tried swapping from PS2 mouse and keyboard to USB, and the behavior continued.

 

----- Clifford -----

only other thing I can think of is a key or button stuck.

[PJ]

*sigh* well, I'm hoping not to start a fire by this post (heck I usually end up trying to put out fires here), but I'm going to speak my mind on this one.

 

You know what adds insult to injury, actually? Not only does the processing of foreign worker visas take up time from family visas and get higher priority, but also it is one of the big driving factors for the economic downturn in my industry (software). I know the politicians official line is "we need people to fill the jobs that US Citizens won't take ..." but I have had a lot of friends laid off to be replaced by a foreign worker, and others who cannot find work because there are H1B visa holders who are willing to work for a lot less.

 

And not to take anything away from their abilities, but many of these foreign software engineers do not speak English very clearly, are poor at following directions, and generally end up creating more work for me (1/2 of my time is spent trying to explain how to do something, the other 1/2 is spent because they go home at 5 PM, and I am there until 9 PM fixing their mistakes).

 

Hopefully I'm not starting any fires on this one, and I hope I don't come across as being anti-immigration, because I'm not of course, I just believe it should be used properly. I believe that families should have priority over visas to import foreign workers, especially when there are many unemployed Americans today.

 

This is only my personal view, and of course everyone is entitled to their thoughts and beliefs. *sigh* I'm probably a bit jaded from a long TSC delay and a tough economic period.

 

Thanks,

 

P.J.

[se_lang]

*sigh* well, I'm hoping not to start a fire by this post (heck I usually end up trying to put out fires here), but I'm going to speak my mind on this one.

 

You know what adds insult to injury, actually?  Not only does the processing of foreign worker visas take up time from family visas and get higher priority, but also it is one of the big driving factors for the economic downturn in my industry (software).  I know the politicians official line is "we need people to fill the jobs that US Citizens won't take ..." but I have had a lot of friends laid off to be replaced by a foreign worker, and others who cannot find work because there are H1B visa holders who are willing to work for a lot less. 

 

And not to take anything away from their abilities, but many of these foreign software engineers do not speak English very clearly, are poor at following directions, and generally end up creating more work for me (1/2 of my time is spent trying to explain how to do something, the other 1/2 is spent because they go home at 5 PM, and I am there until 9 PM fixing their mistakes). 

 

Hopefully I'm not starting any fires on this one, and I hope I don't come across as being anti-immigration, because I'm not of course, I just believe it should be used properly.  I believe that families should have priority over visas to import foreign workers, especially when there are many unemployed Americans today. 

 

This is only my personal view, and of course everyone is entitled to their thoughts and beliefs.  *sigh* I'm probably a bit jaded from a long TSC delay and a tough economic period.

 

Thanks,

 

P.J.

The problem here is the people that make the rules are the same people that get benefit from having cheap labor. They claim they are for the family (as long as it does not interfere with the bottom line)