Update: 11-26-99
                   Well, I finally received a letter from INS. After applying in August, I have
    a letter telling me that " the above application or petition has been received". Of
    course they have it being received on 27 October 1999. I had sent it back, registered,
    on 5 October 1999, they signed for it on the 26th, and say they received it on the
    27th. This is very similar to the IRS, which became out of control. Now they say that
    this type of case takes between 60-90 days to decide. That would make anyone
    think that in 60 - 90 days they would be reunited with their loved one. This is not
    what it means. It means that if they decide the case in that time framework, they will
    then send the papers to New Hampshire which will put together an "immigration
    packet" and then send it all to Manila where they will make an appointment with my
    wife for an "interview". God only knows the details and time involved with these
    processes. When I finally was able to get through on the telephone to the INS , (It
    literally took hours of re-dialing, busy, hang-up, ring, go busy in the middle of
    ringing, disconnect and repeat process) I asked the lady if it could take less time.
    She replied that it could. I then asked her if it could take more time. She replied again
    that it could. All in all it is deplorable that as an American, my wife and I should be
    separated for any amount of time let alone going through all this nonsense. So, I still
    sit and wait.

    Update: 10 Jan 2000

    It seems like a millennium since all this has started. I found out about another form
    (of course it comes with a $120.00 fee) This form , (what I call a legal bribe to the INS)
    will get the Service center to cable a duplicate copy of the approval (when it's
    approved) to Manila while at the same time they send the information to New
    Hampshire In theory, this will knock off 4 - 7 ? weeks because Manila starts their
    process, as NH works on their end.

    Update: 12 April 2000

    2000 already! Time flies when you're having fun eh? Anyway, a lot has happened.
    Our petition was finally approved on 6 March 2000. Now the idea is they send the
    paperwork to the NVC (National Visa Center) in New Hampshire and at the same
    time they cable the approval to Manila. (See April 12th update) I kept checking for
    almost a month. Texas told me that they never cabled anything and just sent the
    paperwork to the NVC. Finally, because of Senator Thurmond's office, I found out
    that they did cable it. It wasn't until 3 April though, that they officially logged in the
    approved petition at the NVC. Almost a month! I sent all the forms in and now I sit
    and wait.
 

    UPDATE: 13 April 2000

    I received news from a friend that his petition was was approved and cabled to
    Manila and they received their other paperwork (biographical data, affidavit of
    support...). They received it from the Embassy in Manila and had already returned it,
    and are now waiting for an interview. All this in a matter of a couple of weeks.
    Although I was happy for them I realized that it has been over a month and I didn't
    get anything. Then the haunting words came back to me, which someone had told
    me. "If you get your Senator involved, they take longer on purpose." So once again I
    called my Senator's office, frustrated beyond belief. I was told that letters had been
    sent with no response but that they would call them. Prior to this I had downloaded
    all the forms necessary, (biographic data, affidavit of support...) and my wife and I
    had filled them out. I sent those forms into the NVC via FedEx. When the Senator's
    office called them, they said they don't have that paperwork. (Sound familiar?
    Remember the same thing happened in Texas) Of course we called FedEx and were
    told that they signed for the package the very next day, 4-11-00 at 9:46 am. The
    Senator's office called them back and made them aware of that fact that they indeed
    do have the papers. Although the Senator's office has been trying, it seems that
    they really don't have much influence. I have been as much told that they really can't
    do anything about the INS and the INS answers to no one.
 

    UPDATE: 4-14-2000

    I can't remember when I have ever been so depressed in my life. Last night I called
    Manila (The Consulate). You only have a two-hour window to call them and that is
    between 8-10 PM e.s.t. When I finally got through I was told that they never received
    a cable from the Texas Service Center. So I filled out the form and paid $120 for
    nothing. I know for a fact that the NVC won't cable anything so all that means is an
    additional 4-5 months waiting when if fact, my wife should have been on a plane by
    now. For forty-seven years I have lived in a dream world. I believed that my
    government could do no wrong. I believed the phrase, "... government for the
    people and by the people..." Now I realize how wrong I was.

    UPDATE: 4-14-00

    I called my Senator's office but he offered little help. I know he's trying but I think the
    INS is out of control. I did manage to get through to the NVC who still contends they
    don't have my file but also states that it takes days sometime to log in their mail. The
    lady told me that my package is being sent out next week. Little did she know was
    that the package they still have not found contains the finished documents that she
    is sending me in the mail. I then called Texas and talked to someone who I asked
    why haven't they sent the cable that I paid for, to Manila. She told me, "We did what
    we had to do". I then asked and got to speak to the supervisor who started telling
    me fairy tales about the process. I began to tell her about other cases that went the
    way I was expecting mine to go and she told me, " if you don't let me speak I will
    have to terminate this call". I guess she figured that I had no right to speak. She also
    knows if she hangs up on me that it could take 1-2 hours to get someone back on
    the phone. I'm sure by now that they have a way of marking cases so that anyone
    who sees the file will be able to give you a hard time. She then told me that they
    were going to cable the approval to Manila and added, "Not that it will do you any
    good." The Ins is totally out of control. Their personnel are rude, belligerent and
    arrogant and have no feelings whatsoever that a person is separated from his wife
    and only wants her home with him.

    UPDATE: 25 April 2000

    A letter sent today, to Doris Meisner Department of Justice Immigration and
    Naturalization Service 25 April 2000 425 I & NW Washington, D.C. 20536 Ms Doris
    Meisner, Commissioner

    Dear Ms Meisner;

    I am writing to you today because I have exhausted all possibilities of getting my
    problem resolved. Please let me take a minute and tell you my story.

    I initially applied for and was denied a fiancée' visa based on the fact that I had
    never met my (now) spouse. The denial was on 28 Oct. 1998.

    I appealed immediately to the Texas Service Center but for some unknown reason,
    the paperwork was lost and after a considerable amount of time, was returned to me
    from an office in Georgia. They wanted to know what I wanted. I don't know why the
    TSC forwarded my appeal to Georgia but when I received it back I sent it out again
    to Texas. By the time they had received it, it was 12 Jan 1999. They then informed
    me that the appeal would be decided within by 120 - 180 days. When that time came
    and went, I called to find out how much longer it would take, and they said they had
    no idea.

    I then flew to Manila and married my wife. When I returned INS told me that I should
    not have done that because now I would have to start a new process called the I 130
    petition. I sent that petition to them the first week of October of 1999. My mistake
    was I left out one signature. The result was that my petition was not officially
    received until 27 Oct. 1999. They then told me it would take 60 - 90 days for a
    decision.

    That would have made Dec 27 - Jan 27 the time I should have expected an answer.
    On or about Jan 27th I called and was told it would take two more weeks. I called in
    two weeks and was told it would take two more weeks. I then called and was told it
    would take another month. At the same time, the man who I spoke with told me that
    no one could tell me how long it would take.

    In the meantime I had sent in $120 for an I 824 (cabling) petition.

    On March 6th, I was approved on the I 130 and the I 824. I waited a couple of weeks
    and started checking with Manila. To this day, the TSC has never cabled Manila.
    They sent all the paperwork to New Hampshire (NVC).

    I called the NVC and got an MNL # and sent all my paperwork to them. ( I had long
    before downloaded it from the internet and had my wife fill out her papers and send
    them back to me. ) They eventually sent me a packet and I sent them back the new
    tax waiver, which will arrive to them (NVC) before 3pm today.

    I was told that it takes a month to get the waiver back from the IRS and then a
    month? Two months? More? To process the paperwork at the NVC. Then of course,
    it must be sent to Manila for another two months of processing.

    I had called INS in Texas and spoke to a supervisor who was rude to me. She had
    no explanation why the cable was never sent but said to me, "Fine, I'll send the
    cable just so you stop bothering me but it won't do you any good".

    I believe she was right. My friend had followed the same procedures as I. When his
    application was approved they cabled his wife, she received her packet within days,
    returned it, and is now awaiting her interview.

    They started their process long after I did mine.

    My questions are as follows:

    Does the INS answer to anyone?

    Do I have any recourse? I spent $120 for a service that was not performed but more
    importantly, your agency is keeping me from my wife months longer then is
    necessary.

    Can you help me? I have sent letters & pictures describing a land dispute that is
    going on in my wife's area. A renegade organization bulldozed her sister's home
    and also a local church. They received a stay from the court but the trial is coming
    up soon and I fear for my wife's life.

    I have tried everyone including Senator Thurmond's office but all have as much as
    told me that my attempt to deal with the INS is hopeless.

    Please make them all wrong and help me now.

    Sincerely,

    John J Wilson

    UPDATE: 26 April 2000

    Two things happened so far today. Just for the fun of it, I decided to call the National
    Visa Center. Guess what? They told me that they sent out a form letter asking me for
    an employment letter. That would be the same letter I put in the packet and sent to
    them in the first place. Well, now I had to fax a copy of it to them. Why do I get the
    feeling of impending doom. Btw, I also included in the original forms a detailed
    analysis of my assets. I did not need to do this, but I did it so that they would know
    beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I have more than enough to cover their
    requirements. So much for them noticing. Additionally, because they "lost"? "can't
    find"? "Threw out"? , my letter, I will have to wait an additional two weeks on top of
    however long it was when they lost, etc..., the original, and the time I found out
    about it and faxed them a copy.

    The next thing that happened was that I received a phone call from Doris Meisner's
    office. If you notice in the last update, I had just sent her a letter overnight express,
    which she should have received yesterday. I thought to myself, Self, this is great.
    One day and I get a reply. What a joke. The man who called from her office was
    responding to a fax that I sent TEN MONTHS AGO! Can you believe it? Well, the only
    good thing that I can say is that he was an extremely nice guy. Which as you all
    know, if you dealt with the Texas Service Center, he was a rare breed indeed.

    Needless to say, he could not do a thing for me because now the application is at
    the NVC, which is the State Department, and they have nothing to do with each
    other. I couldn't even get a refund for the cable that wasn't sent. I did find out that
    the cable was sent last week but now it is worthless as the process is being
    handled by the NVC.

UPDATE: 26 April 2000

This came in just after the last update. It is a response to an email that I sent to Madeline Albright's office:

Subject:
         Thanks for your email.
    Date:
         Wed, 26 Apr 2000 22:22:25 -0500
   From:
         Office.of.Public.and.Intergovernmental.Liaison@cmcst069.netaddress.usa.net,
         secretary@state.gov]@cmcst069.netaddress.usa.net
     CC:
         recipient list not shown: ;
 
 
 

Thanks for writing to Secretary Albright via email. The
Secretary receives so much mail that she cannot personally
review each message. On behalf of the Secretary, the State
Department's public information officers in the Public
Communication Division, Office of Public and
Intergovernmental Liaison, read each email received. Emails
solely expressing foreign policy opinions or congratulating
the Secretary are carefully recorded. The public information
staff will respond to foreign policy questions on behalf of
the Secretary. Members of the press should work through the
State Department's Press Office in Washington, D.C., or
through U.S. embassies overseas to contact the Secretary.
For specific requests, such as for passport information,
members of the public should contact the appropriate bureaus
within the Department. Please see the "Frequently Asked
Questions, Addresses/Contact Information"
(http://www.state.gov/www/faq.html) and "Guide to
Information and Services"
(http://www.state.gov/www/services_infoservices.html). For
general reference questions on U.S. foreign policy and the
State Department, please email federal documents librarians
at dosref@uic.edu.

Secretary Albright is committed to keeping in touch with
people throughout the United States and the world and to
using the Internet to provide more information on U.S.
foreign policy than ever before possible. Please see the
Secretary's web pages at: http://secretary.state.gov and
the main State Department home page at http://www.state.gov,
which provides a one stop World Wide Web site for a wide
variety of information from the U.S. State Department. Your
continued interest and participation in foreign affairs is
very important to the Secretary.

For more information, please contact the Bureau of Public
Affairs at:

Public Communication Division
PA/PIL/PC, U.S. State Department
Washington, D.C. 20520
Tel: 202-647-6575
askpublicaffairs@state.gov

PS:

-- This is the only electronic message you will receive from
secretary@state.gov. No other message claiming to be from
this address is authentic. You will receive an autoresponder
message for each email sent to secretary@state.gov.

--  The postal address for the Secretary is:
The Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520

-- The public fax number for the Secretary is:
202-261-8577
 

By looking at this, you would think that someone is going to actually respond. I'm still waiting for that!
 

UPDATE: 16 MAY 2000

Well, I called the National Visa Center today. Good News! My application was approved by them. Of course government good news is always short lived. Here is a brief summary of that phone conversation:

(ME) That's great. So, what happens now?
(Them) We send your paperwork to Manila and your wife will wait for her interview.
(ME) Okay, then what? You sent it out already?
(Them) Oh no, not yet.
(ME) Well, can you tell me when it will be sent out?
(Them) It will be in about two weeks.
(Me) TWO WEEKS! Why does it take two weeks to send an approved petition?
(Them) Oh, it's because we send it in batches)
(ME-Not having the strength to ask what the heck batches meant) Okay then, they will have it in two weeks?
(Them) Oh no, they will have it in about four weeks.
(ME) FOUR WEEKS?????

I can't explain it because I didn't even ask. If someone can explain it, please tell me so that I may have a good laugh also.

Anyway, I got on the phone to my Senator's office and told them the story.
(Them) Okay, I'll call up and find out why it takes two weeks.

DUH! If I wasn't living it, I wouldn't believe it myself.

Folks, your congressmen can't help you, your Senator's can't help you - no one can help you. You are at their mercy. I have written to every State legislator with absolutely no responses. I written to Willie, Wife of Willie, Vice President of Willie and VP's wife. I have written to George Bush ( I happen to be a Republican - Conservative) I have written to the media (all the biggies and some not so biggy. Nothing, Zilch, Nada, Zippo. No one will touch the Justice Department. No one can.

UPDATE: MAY 17 2000

I received a call from my Senator's office on my answering machine. He told me that he was in touch with the NVC and they said that the application was being sent to Manila on Friday but at the latest next Wednesday. Will they or won't they? Not even the government knows for sure!

UPDATE: MAY 17 2000 (Evening)

Want a good laugh? My wife just called me from the Philippines. She was concerned because she just received paperwork from the National Visa Center in New Hampshire. This was the biographic information etc... You remember, the same stuff that I sent in and was approved and is now being sent to Manila. I asked her what the postmark was dated and it was April 16th. Over a month ago. Now you can see the benefit of downloading the paperwork from the internet.

UPDATE: MAY 22 2000

Just when you got done laughing from the last update, here is another chuckle. I just received a packet from the Embassy in the Philippines. They said that they have received my approved petition from the NVC and now need me to send them the affidavit of support and the biographical data on my wife. Of course, this is the same information that NVC approved and sent to them. So I called the NVC and one half an hour later I was actually talking to a real live person. In fact, she was a very nice person. (I like to be able to say that because it is not the norm) Anyway, although nice, she really didn't know much about what was going on. Just an aside here people. If you go through this process, please be aware of what is going on. There will be times that you will have to tell them what is happening or at least assist them in figuring it all out. This lady tells me that they probably just wanted additional information. I should take a copy of my original info and have it notarized, and send it to the Philippines. I said to her, " Wait a minute, please check to see when you sent my packet of info to them". She said, "On May 19th." So I said, "Well, I'm sure that they didn't even get your packet yet." What happened, (as you read in a previous update) they never cabled my information like they were supposed to after my petition was approved in Texas. They just sent it to the NVC. Then, after my complaining about it, they sent the cable. The packet I received today was what would have been desired over a month ago, had they properly cabled my info. As a result, now, Manila has (or will have when they receive the packet from the NVC) Two applications for my wife. Now it is up to me to call Manila tonight between 10-12 pm est. and straighten out this mess. Stay tuned for the next in the series of: "As the Government crawls forth."

UPDATE: MAY 22 2000 (10:15 p.m.)  Dare I get excited? I just called Manila and explained about the duplicate cases. The man asked me for the number of the original case. I gave it to him and he checked the records and they have it there now! He said that it will take about four weeks for my wife to get her interview and then the visa is sent by courier to her house. I don't believe it! I am afraid to get excited yet I am. I'm hoping that maybe now that the paperwork has left the "Greatest Country in the World" and went to a so called "Third world Nation", that perhaps everything will now be handled the right way. Sort of if your number two you try harder whereas if your number one you could care less. I'll be glad when I can put the reunited pics on the site!

UPDATE: MAY 24 2000 I have been reporting bad news for so long that I am really getting a kick out of this lately. The good news (again) is that my wife now has a set appointment for her visa interview. The interview will be on July 10,2000 at 9;00 A.M. Within a week after that date, they will send her the visa via courier. The only thing to do after that is get on the plane! I'm sure the days will drag even more so now but at least the end result is in sight!

UPDATE: JUNE 26 2000 Well, as of today, my wife has since taken her medical exam and obtained the photographs required and is waiting for her interview on the 10th of July. Hopefully, all is proceeding well now,  but there is always a reason to believe that something will go wrong. It's not that I'm paranoid, but it is when the Government sends you certain information out of the blue, that you again start to wonder if they have the slightest clue what is going on? For example, today I received in the mail another "Notice of Action". The receipt date was September 17, 1998. That is not a mistake-1998! Almost two years ago. The notice date is June 21, 2000. If you can remember, I originally applied for a fiancee' visa way back then. They turned me down because I never met her in person. I appealed that decision and was told that I would have an answer by July 0f 1998. It never came. What I received yesterday was not an answer but a notice telling me they sent the appeal to the executive office of Immigration Review. It also informed me that office will inform me of the decision.

UPDATE 9 JULY 2000 Don't you know that FEDERAL EXPRESS decided to add their part in messing things up? I had to send off more information to my wife so I called FEDEX and they said they could pick it up the day after the 4th because of the holiday. I emphatically explained that it was imperative that the package will be delivered by saturday and they assured me that there would be "no problem". Just remember when anyone tells you there will be "no problem", watch out. It's kind of like, "Down the road a piece" if you get my meaning. Well, it was saturday afternoon when I started raising the roof. First they told me that because of the typhoon it was held up in Subic Bay. Yet when I checked, it was 73 degrees with 3 mph winds. Then they told me it was because I never put a street address on it. I have never, in all the times that I have sent Fedex or the U.S. mail, put a number on it.
Even if that was the case, it still wouldn't explain it still being in Subic Bay on Saturday night. Now mind you, her interview is on Monday morning. Well, come to find out, that the reason it wasn't delivered is because they don't deliver on saturday or sunday. This would mean a monday delivery, too late for the interview and causing my wife to wait another two months for the next appointment. After much screaming and boiling blood temperature, I finally got through to a nice filipina who got the package sent to Manila where my wife went today and picked it up. Thank you FEDERAL EXPRESS for adding to my grief. It is now 3:44 pm here in the states and it is 3:44 am in the Philippines where I expect my wife is either now awake or soon to be. She wanted to be at her 9 o'clock appointment by 5 am. (She knows the system by now) So, say a prayer and if all goes well today, my wife will be approved and according to the consulate, the visa will be delivered by courier to her within one week. (I hope they don't use Fedex!) As soon as she gets the visa in her hands I will order the plane ticket. Stay tuned.

UPDATE 10 JULY 2000 PRAISE THE LORD! It is 4:04 a.m. (PM in Manila) and I just got off the phone with my wife. She was approved! She is finally coming home. They told her it can be as soon as three - four days and the courier will deliver the visa to her. Once she has the visa, she must go to the C.F.O. (Commission on Filipinos Overseas) and have her visa stamped.  Her appointment was at 9 am and she was finished by 2 pm. These next few days will take forever. Hopefully, the next posting will be to tell you that she has arrived.
 

UPDATE 1 AUG 2000 - Hooray!  Malou arrived on the14th of  July. I had to drive to Atlanta to pick her up. She is a bargain hunter and got me the best deal on the flight. Of course the six hour round trip drive was a bit much, but then again, at least I had her with me on the return trip.

Malou loves it here and everyone loves Malou. She has cooked for me since arriving. I still don't know what half the things she made were, but I will say that everything is delicious.

Of course the I.N.S. had to mess things up just one more time as they usually do. This time, Malou was issued her "A" number which allows her to work and gives her status as a legal resident. It is normally issued for one year and during that time the green card will come. (Now I know anyone who has waited for the green card are probably laughing right now and thinking that it won't come when it should. I'm sure it won't) But anyway, they stamped her as arriving on the14th of July and it expires on the 14th of July and yes, it is the same day and the same year. In other words, (for those who can't believe the stupidity) Her visa was expired, the same day she came here. So now I call the "800" number and wait a half an hour to talk to someone who tells me they messed up, (Like duh! what's new?) who switches me to someone else, who tells me that "ALL we have to do is go to the district office and they will correct it".  She left out the part that the district office is two and a half hours away and you must get there early to get a ticket and wait and wait and wait...

If the devil has a "home office" it must be the I.N.S.

UPDATE 5 AUGUST 2000 - I.N.S. = Idiots, Nuts & So stupid- So, we went to Charleston. A two and a half hour ride. We waited over an hour to see the woman behind the window. Finally, our number was called. I show her the error on the passport. She takes a pen and crosses out the last "O" and changes it to a "1". I said, "Gee, I could have done that, are you sure that is acceptable?" She replies, "I'll initial it." So with that we rode the two and a half hours back home in amazement. You wouldn't believe the stories we heard while waiting. One woman was waiting for her green card and was told it was sent back because it was undeliverable. When asked why, the woman said it was delivered to the wrong city and State. Then the woman had to file all over, get new pictures but, the benevolent INS waived the fee.
 
UPDATE 14 MARCH 2002 - In case your wondering what has happened since March of 2000, Well, we are still waiting for the INS to decide on the appeal for an fiancee visa without having first met each other prior to getting married. Not that we now need it, but it would be interesting to see if they ever answer that appeal. It might make a difference for other applicants.
It seems the INS will only give you Carte Blanch if you are a terrorist.

The great news is we are still in love and welcomed the arrival of our new baby, Laura Rosita Wilson on February 9, 2002! 
 

    YOUR LIVES ARE IN THESE LADIES HANDS

MADELINE ALBRIGHT                       You can reach her office at: secretary@state.gov

OR, you can click here to use this handy form. Come on! Let her know what you think!
 
 

Doris Meissner

This lady is not so bold as to give an email address. You may reach her by
    writing:Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service 25 April 2000
    425 I & NW Washington, D.C. 20536 Ms Doris Meisner, Commissioner

Then wait ten months for a response!

* Just a little information. This is not for you to lose hope but to be aware of what goes on with these letters or inquiries sent to these ladies. I have received phone calls from both of their offices. The people who called were friendly and knowledgeable yet they both told me that the system was out of control and no one could do anything about it.
I was told that the rude people that work in the various service centers could not be dealt with. It would probably take them to murder their co-workers before they were fired.
 

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