by Chris Bodenner
A reader writes:
While I must agree with the reader quoting the Statue of Liberty, charging for a visa isn't exactly unique to America. Nor is the mountain of paperwork.
I'm American, recently graduated from an American university, going to England for graduate school. I thought (very, very mistakenly) that the student visa process wouldn't be so bad. After hearing the horror stories of applying for American visas, it couldn't be worse going somewhere else, right? It's 11 days until my flight to the UK leaves, and I'm still waiting on my visa.
The basic application is $433. A rushed application ("premium") for student visas is an additional $100, plus can only be done in New York, Chicago, and L.A. The UK requires "maintenance funds" of what amounts to about $10,000 to be in a bank account, and they have been there for 30 days before you can even think about applying. This is on top of proving that tuition and university housing can be paid for.
Then comes the certification of degree earned – or as I like to say, proof that I went to a real college. Since I'll be studying law, that had to be done through the Solicitor's Regulation Authority, which required a mailing of transcript and degree certificate, after paying for the application online. After getting that, I had to ask my university to apply for a number for me that showed I'd been unconditionally accepted and allowed me to start the visa process itself.
The point is, while the American system sucks, so does every other country's. It wouldn't be so bad if this was a one-time thing, but I'll have to do this next year, apply for a work visa the year after that, and get to think about applying for citizenship two years after that. Delightful process, isn't it?
Another horror story from the US:
I am a legal 'alien' residing in the country for last 11 years and 8 months. I've been in the green card process since March 2002. My application to adjust my status as permanent resident was filed in mid 2005. As per law, I've been eligible for the green card since April of this year. A lot of applicants get their cases adjudicated in the first month when their priority dates become current. I am just waiting. I have contacted USCIS to process my case numerous times in last six months. I call customer service and they file a service request and block me from calling till they respond to it. USCIS sends me a letter telling me either that they are actively processing my case or my case is under pending service consideration. No success though.
Coming back to the cost, I have filed 7 H1Bs, 1 I-140, 1 I-485, 5 EADs, and 5 APs applications and roughly the same number for my spouse. The fees for me are paid by employer and I pay for my spouse. An H1B filing costs around $3000 including legal fees and an EAD (Work Authorization) or AP (Travel Authorization) costs around $650 each. I-485 costs around $5000 (USCIS fees, legal and medical examination fees).
So for a total of 37 applications, we have paid around $80K in last 11+ years. I am not done yet.
Should I pay more?
Andrew's 18-year struggle to get his green card came to an emotional end here.
The Dish 