How slow can it go?...

Over five months have passed since Anna and I filed our petition and I am finally able to call the USCIS to check on the status. I must admit I was rather excited to be able to talk with a real person during the phone call, but I have to say it was disappointing to say the least.
Our expectation was always a five month average that we had been hoping would be the length of time we would have to wait. Unfortunately, my phone call revealed that the average time was not as accurate as advertised. :( I was told that the USCIS was working on applications submitted in July of 2012. Our application was submitted in October of 2012.
Needless to say, it will be at least another 3 months before our application is reviewed.
I can't even begin to say how disappointed we are and how much Anna and I wish things could happen more quickly. But, unfortunately government doesn't seem to be very efficient. Especially when it comes to legal immigration.
It seems Anna and I will continue to reside on separate sides of the planet until who knows when. There seems to be no end to our torment.

Hopefully one day soon the U.S. Government will approve our petition and we can finally begin our lives together. Until then, How slow can it go?...

Legal immigration vs. Illegal Immigration

There is so much talk in politics right now regarding immigration reform. It seems that everyone wants to make it easier for people to immigrate to the United States. Unfortunately, these talks only refer to the people that came here illegally and are already here in America. There is nothing said about how difficult and time consuming it is to come here legally.
It is sad that Anna could not have crossed our border illegally from Mexico because I think everything would be much easier and cheaper. The U.S. government requires so much money and so much time to come here legally, it seems easier to have Anna go to Mexico and come across illegally. In fact, it may be faster and cheaper to go that route than it is to go through the legal method. But unfortunately Mexico protects its borders and Anna is unable to go to Mexico.
I have to say it is beyond frustrating to try to bring her over legally. It cost me $340.00 just to file a request for her to come here as my fiance. We have heard nothing from the US government for 5 months. If they approve our petition (And that is a big IF), I will have to pay an additional $2500.00 after we are married just to get her and the children green cards so that she can get a job if she wants and her children can attend our schools.
It is unfortunate that she cannot cross the southern border illegally because I would not have to worry about all these things. It seems that illegal aliens (people who don't file for visa's and cross the border illegally) have it easy and these are the people our politicians cater to. It seems they can attend our schools for free and get jobs without having to wait 5 months and pay $340.00 for a chance at a visa. Most don't even pay taxes.
Is it immigration reform or is it amnesty? You be the judge. If it was immigration reform, they would make it easier to immigrate legally. But unfortunately all the talk is about making everyone that came here illegally, legal citizens. It doesn't make immigration easier, it only rewards people who did not follow the rules.
Anna and I are doing it the legal way and it is nearly impossible.
That is my rant. We are still waiting for forever!

Waiting for forever...

It has been seven months since I visited Anna in Russia and almost five months since we submitted our I-129F petition for alien fiance with the USCIS. When we filed the petition, they stated on their website that it was an average 5 months for approval.
Today I checked and the average has risen to 5 1/2 months. It seems that the longer we wait, the longer they prolong it. How long can this go on? If the service was free, I might understand this, but this service did not come free and I had to pay $340.00 to submit this request. Anna tells me it will take 120 years for the process to end, but I have remained optimistic but now I think she may be right so it seems.
Both Anna and I are getting extremely frustrated while we still wait for any response on our petition.
Unlike most couples who can talk on the phone at their leisure, Anna and I are limited to the moments we can speak on Skype. During weekends we can speak for nearly 2 hours as we communicate over Skype.
Weekdays are limited to an hour, now cut short to 45 minutes due to some complications that have arisen.
Every day seems to be an eternity as we wait for our brief moment we can talk to each other. The sad part of this arrangement is the fact that Anna is tired and ready for bed when I can talk to her during the week.
In fact, Anna was so tired the past 3 days, I could not even talk to her because she was so exhausted from work and the constant demands of the children. Now it seems our conversation is limited only to 4 hours during a weekend. I can't say this is the best situation, but even though we are frustrated, it will not stop us. We hope that within the next month we will have our petition approved and that will enable her to apply for the visa to come here to America and finally be with me.
Obviously she cannot immediately come here after our petition is approved but at least I can say she will be able to apply for the Visa. We will have to wait for another 2 months before she can even get her interview. If all goes well during her interview at the U.S. Consulate in Russia, she will be allowed the Visa to come here as my Fiance.
The time seems to crawl as we wait and now each day feels like a year while we wait to see each other for a brief 45 minutes.  I hope soon our suffering will be over, because I must admit, this situation is nothing short of torture for us and it feels like we are waiting for forever...