Government Efficiency: Your Call Back Time Will Be In Approximately 1,144 Minutes

1,144 minutes is about 19 hours and that's no mistake, that's the waiting time for a Tier 2 call.

Tier 2? Well friends, I'm dealing with USCIS hell.

I have a client applying for an H1B Masters's cap opening.

In short, the kid is an engineer, has a master's degree from a US University, he's a sharp, good and clean kid from India, and his employer here for his apprenticeship wants to hire him as he's good at what he does and they've trained him up.

So I do the I-129 process, including getting a labor certification, and he's actually going to be paid more than the company's American workers due to a very screwed up average wage calculation required by Department of Labor for the area. Stupid as hell, but that's the law.

I submit it with premium processing and send it via express mail on April 3 to their Premium Processing address in California.

USPS shows it was delivered to Premium Processing on April 4 at 11 am.

Then it disappears.

USCIS can't find it, and the fun begins.

First I have fun just calling the USCIS help line - 800-375-5283.

After being on hold for 30-45 minutes per call, I get to Tier 1 support. Half the time Tier 1 just drops the call and I have to start in the queue all over again.

Finally with Tier 1 going through the same maddening script every time and refusing to move it to Tier 2 until we go through the script, they then send me to Tier 2 phone waiting hell. How much hell? It's so bad you do not wait on the line, instead you enter your number and they tell you when a Tier 2 officer will call you back. That call back wait time can be rather extreme.

On a prior Tier 2 call, I was told to email Lockbox support which I did. Lockbox support acknowledged the email and said they would reply within 30 days.

They Didn't. I waited over 30 days before bugging them, but no contact from them, because that would be too easy, right?

Back to calling, starting with Tier 1 hell again. I get connected to Tier One and they tell me to call Premium Processing support and give me a phone number.

There's a little problem with that number. It requires you to enter a receipt number that I don't have because the package was lost so they never issues a receipt number. No receipt number - the call disconnects.

Back to call Tier 1, and after going through the same script tell the next helpful idiot that suggests that I call Premium Processing support that that will not work.

Then I finally get a call actually completed to route to Tier 2 and the time to get the call back?

That's where the 1,144 Minutes comes from. That was the latest estimate.

Then 1,144 minutes later, Tier 2 calls back at 8pm tonight and I have to explain everything again because no one has kept any notes on this issue. At all.

Tier 2 agrees with me that this is getting ridiculous and offers to send me to Tier 3.

I know what is about to happen so I politely ask for the number so I can call myself....

Nope, they won't gove that out, nor the direct number to even get into the queue for Tier 2, but she'll transfer me to Tier 3.

And she drops the call.

This means I need to start all over again with getting on hold to get to Tier 1, to get to be put on hold with Tier 2 to get put on hold with Tier 3, al the while hoping some functionary doesn't have a malfunction and drop the call.

At this point I am beginning to develop rather strong anti-government feelings and a vocabulary to go with it.

So in short, USCIS has lost an application, refuses to do anything about it, refuses to connect me to anyone who can do something about it and this should in a normal world not take this farging long and this much time to even get to the point to find someone to fix their mistake, and we're still not there. And all this for a simple I-129 application that should have been granted over two months ago now.

Meanwhile, Illegals can waltz across the border and work illegally with fake social security numbers have no such troubles.

I halfway want to tell the kid to change his name to Sanchez, have his employer pay him under the table, move to California so he gets free healthcare, and everyone will be happy, unfortunately that's just not good legal advice.

Just wait until government controls your healthcare, expect your service times and levels of customer service to be similar.

Hockey Night In Canada

Didn't used to mean beating your wife with a hockey stick.

But with Canada's embrace of Syrian refugees, it's becoming a thing. So is murder.

I had been contemplating witting a blog post on the murder of 13-year-old Marrisa Shen, in Vancouver, killed by a Syrian Refugee in Canada, who had been in the country all of three months before committing the murder. All the fabled vetting failed, and failed rather badly.

However, Daniel Greenfield at Sultan Knish wrote an article that said it all far better than I ever could, so please click and read it.

One thing that strikes me in his article, amongst all the hand-wringing of the do-gooders he quotes in the article who figured nothing ever bad would happen, is their certainty that they certainly shouldn't stop bringing more refugees in and these are just all isolated incidents.

After all you can't make an omelet without cracking some eggs, and Shen and others victims were just eggs cracked for the omelet of Canadian tolerance of tolerating the intolerant and the necessary celebration of diversity.

The amazing defense of the indefensible in the name of compassion and tolerance is rather amazing.

But back to hockey night in Canada, from Daniel Greenfield's article:

Mohamad Rafia, a Syrian refugee beat his wife with a hockey stick for half an hour and then claimed that he didn’t know it was illegal. “More should have been done to educate him,” his interpreter insisted.

It used to be that ignorance of the law was no excuse.

Indeed, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that beating your wife (or anyone else for that matter) with a hockey stick is wrong, m'kay? It's pretty much a given that it is bad by its very nature.

It's funny in a rather unfunny way how the advocates against violence against women are strangely silent or make excuses when it is a member of a protected class doing the beating. How about that Keith Ellison, right?

Part of this is a deliberate diminishing and loss of confidence in Western Civilization, where other cultures that hold women in less esteem cannot be judged comparably or asserted to be inferior to Western Civ in any way.

To say that Western culture is bad and shouldn't pass judgment on other cultures tends to create some problems. After all, if Western Civ is bad, how dare its adherents criticize other cultures?

Canada now merrily removes status of its founders for not conforming to present SJW ethos. But at the same time Canada pointedly ignores or excuses a far more barbaric import in the present with a trope that they simply don't know any better, or an excuse that they just have a different culture which should be respected and shouldn't be judged or dared to be compared, or its just another isolated incident.

It used to be that Western Civilization, for all its faults, did quite a bit to protect women, and it still does for that matter, and continues to improve. The evil of "Patriarchy" and all that, I know.

But it used to be when faced with another culture that held women's lives of far less value, Western Civilization and its leaders would step forth and yes, even with all its faults, assert the superiority of Western culture, state affirmatively that the other culture was wrong, and thereby save live.

General Sir Charles James Napier, when told that the burning of widows at their husbands funerals in India was a cultural practice that should be respected had this to say:

"Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs."

Canada could use someone of the stature of Sir Charles today.

Remember When The Dems Said They Wanted Only Criminal Aliens Deported? Well....They Just Moved The Goalposts A Tad

Now its apparently just the serious criminals they want to deport.

Retail fraud and the a felony conviction theft and misuse of credit cards apparently count for nought.

The Detroit Free Press: Judge spares Ann Arbor father of 4 from deportation: 'You get to stay'

In issuing his decision, Immigration Judge David Paruch said that Jordanian immigrant Yousef Ajin has stayed clean for years since committing two crimes that involved stealing 14 years ago and that he has always had a job caring for his family since coming to this country 18 years ago.

He stressed to Ajin that he is lucky to avoid deportation, noting: "This kind of waiver — we don't give out regularly." But he qualified because his crimes were committed "some time ago" and his family needs him, he said.

U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement spokesman Khaalid Walls said Ajin was taken into custody because of a 2001 felony conviction that involved shopping with a credit card that wasn't his. Following his conviction, an order to have him deported was issued in 2012 by an immigration judge. ICE had determined that Ajin was "noncompliant" with the requirement of his release, which led to his eventual arrest Jan. 30.

According to courtroom testimony, here is why Ajin faced a threat of deportation, and what has kept him on the radar of immigration authorities:

In 2001, while cleaning rooms at a University of Michigan hospital, Ajin found a wallet in a couch cushion of an empty room and used the credit card he found inside to go on a shopping trip to Meijer. He and another hospital employee used the credit card to buy $500 worth of cigarettes, cologne and beer. He was arrested nine days later with the help of surveillance cameras that caught him making the purchases. He pleaded guilty to possessing a financial transaction device. He received one year of probation and had to pay $1,475 in restitution.

Two years later, in 2003, Ajin landed back in court, this time for stealing a telephone and remote control from a Meijer in Chelsea. He pleaded guilty to retail fraud, received six months of probation and had to pay a $425 fine.

What's a couple felonies and a deportation order mean these days anyways?

In 2011 This Was Fine, Today Not So Much

National Review: Trump’s Executive Order on Refugees — Separating Fact from Hysteria

We sure as heck are seeing a lot of hysteria on the left's part these days....

He's Not Exactly Inviting Them Over To His House, Now Is He?

The Detroit News: Rev. Jackson: Welcome Syrian refugees to Mich.

I'll note that the Reverend, and I use that term loosely in this case, is not a resident of Michigan, nor with a net worth of $10 million has he so far allocated any funds nor any room in his mansion for Syrian refugees.

Terrorists Among Us Indeed

Murphy's Law notes, among other things, that Dearborn, Michigan is home to the second largest number of people suspected of links to terrorism:

Consequence of permissive immigration policies: The terrorists among us

Read the post, he's not kidding.

In addition to those not yet identified, or just on the list but no action is being taken against them, there's quite a few known terrorists around. Currently in the news there are two immigration deportation hearings going on that prominently feature two Dearborn terrorists (1 then went to Chicago after her initial immigration) for immigration fraud and serious crimes committed elsewhere who are living the good life here.

First there's Mahmoud Bazzi, wanted for the murder of two Irish soldiers who were on peacekeeping duties in Lebanon back in 1980. Note that Mr. Bazzi has been happily living here all this time since committing that foul deed.

Second is the case of Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, who lied on her immigration application conveniently failing to mention her terrorist past and conviction for a bombing as a member of the PFLP where she killed multiple people. She until recently has worked as, yes you can't make this up, an Obamacare Navigator in Chicago.

He Should Have Changed His Name To Gomez

Unfortunately for this guy, there's just no large lobby of Belgian voters in the US ready to swear loyalty to the Democrats in return for immigration amnesty and welfare state benefits.

The Detroit Free Press: Desperate Belgian swims to U.S. and into trouble

Swimming across the Detroit River in the middle of the night may not have been the smartest thing [name redacted by request] ever did.

But the Belgian native was desperate, said his lawyer. He was trying to get back home.

[name redacted by request], 24, who was brought to the U.S. at age 5 by his mother, is in the fight of his life, trying to persuade American authorities that he should be allowed to live here. He was deported at 18 after government officials learned his immigration documents were never filed properly, and has been fighting ever since for the right to live here.

Had he made it across without being caught, he likely would have been scot-free considering that ICE is under orders to ignore non-criminal illegals (never mind that illegal immigration is itself a crime). Then again, that order may only apply to ignoring Hispanics so he may have been SOL regardless.

Next time [name redacted by request], think "Green Card lottery", or perhaps a rebreather.

Flint Michigan Woman Goes Jihadi, Allegedly Gets Killed Fighting With Al Qaeda Affiliate In Syria

The Detroit News: Flint mother, 33, killed in Syria

The Detroit Free Press: Flint woman, 33, killed by Syrian government forces, family says.

A picture of a portion of Nicole Mansfield's Michigan driver's license, complete with her wearing a hijab leads the article in the Free Press.

One wonders if she was at least on the terrorist watch list or if this is a complete surprise to the authorities.

Apparently this conversion to jihadism started with a lonely single mother and a fraudulent immigration case, or more charitably with her being badly used by the Arab guy to get green card status and then being dumped once her use in getting that status was at an end:

Speelman and other family members said Mansfield met an immigrant from the Arab world several years ago and married him. She then converted to Islam and started wearing the hijab.

They divorced about three years ago after he was able to get a green card that allowed him to stay long-term in the U.S.

Even after being divorced she became very Islamic including attending mosques regularly, and apparently decided to go all jihadi.

Now she ends up dead in Syria allegedly fighting alongside some Brits for Al-Nusra, the Syrian chapter of Al Qaeda.

Sadly, she seems like a person who was open and vulnerable to being manipulated and then was indeed manipulated:

Nicole Mansfield grew up Baptist in Flint. Her dad was a production worker at General Motors. Her parents divorced and Mansfield dropped out of high school after she got pregnant

....

She was smart in school, the grandmother said, but at the same time, was too trusting.

“She had a heart of gold, but she was weak-minded,” Mansfield said. “I think she could have been brainwashed.”

Quite a sad end, and she deserved better than to die shot in the face in Syria.

One wonders how many more Michiganders are in the process of being brainwashed to join the global jihad, and whether they'll end up in Syria or in terrorist attacks here in the USA.

Why do you have to go and make things so complicated? Canadian idol aspirant busted for jihad attempt.

Barely known for singing the Avril Lavigne song "Complicated" during the barely known Canadian Idol show, and now barely known for plotting with coreligionists, along with two other members of the Religion of Peace and High Explosives, Khurram Syed Sher was arrested for "knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity." Thanks to the good work of the RCMP and CSIS, no earth-shattering kaboom for him.

The Wall Street Journal: Canada Thwarts Bombing Attempt

"A vast quantity of terrorist literature and instructional material was seized, showing that the suspects had the intent to construct an explosive device for terrorist purposes,'' said Mr. Therriault. The arrests Wednesday and Thursday "prevented the assembly of any bombs or terrorist attacks from being carried out,'' he added.

The trio were working with an "ideologically inspired terrorist group'' with links in Iran, Afghanistan, Dubai and Pakistan, the RCMP said. While officials would not say whether the trio had links to al Qaeda, they were driven by "violent Islamist ideology,'' according to Raymond Boisvert, assistant director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the country's spy agency.

Mr. Alizadeh had been trained in bomb-making abroad, the RCMP said, although it wouldn't disclose the country.

Police didn't specify any target, but said the RCMP had been concerned for the safety of Ottawa residents.

. . .

The RCMP wouldn't disclose where the three suspects were born or when they immigrated to Canada, if they weren't born there. Mr. Sher said he was from Pakistan on a YouTube video of his "Canadian Idol'' audition. Mr. Alizadeh took English-as-a-second-language classes at River Red College in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the college spokesperson says, adding that he doesn't know where he was from. The spokesperson at the hospital in Ottawa where Mr. Ahmed works said he couldn't disclose personal information due to Canadian privacy laws.

Perhaps they'll claim they were annoyed at the very effective Canadian participation in fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Unlike the French, going to war with Canadian Forces by your side acts as a definite force multiplier, and the CF has been very good in Afghanistan indeed.

Maybe they'll claim its all a misunderstanding and they're being profiled because of their religious and immigrant status. After all, doesn't everyone have at least 50 circuit boards ready for remote detonation and bomb-making materials strewn around the house? (Now that you mention it, no can't say as I do).

Maybe its because he bombed on Canadian idol and just wanted to explode with happiness.

Or perhaps its just plain ol' jihad for the sake of jihad, especially with the standard Islamic profile of the attackers -

People who know the three men who were arrested say Messrs. Ahmed and Sher are educated professionals, a profile common to many radical members of groups like al Qaeda in Western countries, says Martin Rudner, a professor emeritus at Carleton University in Ottawa, who specializes in intelligence and national security.

In any case, the threat is certainly still there, and it looks like The RCMP and CSIS just narrowly averted Ottawa from being a target of an attack. Hopefully this will lead to further Canadian governmental watchfulness over exactly who they're letting immigrate into the country, not to mention determine where these men were radicalized if they were not in fact radicalized beforehand.

Arizona Immigration law blamed for everything but Maid's Knee

In a surprisingly column almost sympathetic to the rationale for Arizona's new illegal immigration law, The Detroit News Reports:
Years of anger fuel Ariz. immigration law

The column actually gives a pretty good list of incidents and the costs of illegal immigration that has been giving Arizonans grief, but conspicuously fails to mention the lack of the Federal Government's enforcing of immigration laws.

However, the article to be "balanced" has to end with both dubious claims that illegals contribute more than they cost in services because they pay sales taxes on purchase and of course a claim that due to the law there is now more hostility towards illegals that is a real tear-jerker:

Opponents of the law say illegal immigrants are being scapegoated and wrongly characterized as freeloaders, pointing out that they pay sales taxes and put money into Social Security that they will never be able to take out.

Since Arizona passed its new immigration law, immigrant rights groups say Hispanics are seeing more open hostility.

Lilia Ramos, a 46-year-old illegal immigrant from Acapulco, lodged a complaint with Puente against the Arizona Humane Society in a dispute involving a dog found on her daughter's property.

Ramos says that when she called the Humane Society the woman on the other end of the line became angry when Ramos asked if she could speak to someone in Spanish. "She said, 'There's no one. Are you an American citizen?'" Ramos said in Spanish. "I said no, and then she asked if I had a green card, and 'if you don't cooperate, we'll arrest you.' I was quiet and it really scared me."

Picture caption: Lilia Ramos, a 46-year-old illegal immigrant from Acapulco, has lodged a complaint against the Arizona Humane Society over alleged threats.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100726/POLITICS03/7260343/1022/Years-of-anger-fuel-Ariz.-immigration-law#ixzz0uqlkL8UZ

Umm, how are we explain to this? Lady you're here illegally and you get quoted in the paper. You're illegal and you get your picture taken for the story - you must be shaking in your boots that ICE might come looking for you. Oh, wait they're not, and that's why Arizona passed this law.

Performing Terrorist Jobs Americans won't do -- US Diversity Visas for Yemen?

Ah the wonders of diversity. As reported by the blogprof - Hope? State Department Using 'Diversity Visas' to Encourage Immigration to U.S. from Terror-Ridden Yemen.
the blogprof quotes CNS News:

The State Department has awarded 1,011 special “diversity visas” allowing Yemeni nationals to immigrate to the United States since 2000, the year 17 U.S. sailors were killed when the USS Cole was attacked by terrorists in the Yemeni port of Aden.

The "diversity visas" are designed to encourage immigration from countries that do not otherwise send significant numbers of immigrants to the United States.

...That the U.S. would encourage immigration from Yemen during the past decade is of interest because of the terrorist problem in that country.

I guess we need these diverse immigrants because after all, there are some terrorist jobs that Americans just won't do, and these immigrants will.