When you spend lots of money, there’s always an opportunity to get a good deal. That is why it is very important to maintain a level head when spending money.
The same goes for paying bills!
It can be easy to run into trouble if you don’t keep your purchases under control. It also seems like these problems happen more frequently in recent times as people are exposed to higher amounts of debt.
There are several ways to handle credit card debt, but one of the most effective is to pay off all of the cards at once. This is usually done through a program that has you transfer all of your balances to another credit card or bank account. Once everything is transferred, then you go back up onto a monthly payment plan.
This is often the best option because it removes the temptation to make expensive purchases. In addition, many credit card companies will now waive late fees and/or interest while you are on this new plan. You should always try to use credit responsibly, however, so do not take such benefits being asked for.
A word of warning about choosing which credit card to put on this new credit card comes with having access to cash. If possible, we recommend using a separate debit card for daily expenses instead. This way, you cannot accidentally overspend due to accessibility.
Recent reports about long immigration wait times are caused by something other than just how many people use the visa process, according to former Department of Homeland Security officials.
The main reason for longer waits is because Congress has limited the department’s ability to pay its employees while they do their jobs, says Ronald Vinson, who served as acting deputy undersecretary at DHS during the Obama administration.
"Congress doesn't want to fund full time employment for ICE or border patrol agents, so it's very difficult when you have these natural disasters that arise," he tells Business Insider. "They're forced into this position where they say we'll only hire part-time workers but then there aren't enough part-timers to meet the demand."
He adds that another factor may be the length of time it takes someone in the federal government with power to make decisions to allocate resources to respond to an emergency.
Recent reports about long wait times at CBP facilities are very unsettling to both travelers and media outlets.
Reports of lengthy lines, slow work areas and limited resources have some people worried about whether or not they will be able to return home after their vacation.
While there is no way for someone outside of CBP to know exactly how many days it takes to process visas, we can estimate an average number of days it takes by looking at past records.
By looking back at data from August 2018 until February 2019, we were able to determine that on an annual basis, visa offices handle around 20 million entries per year.
Given this figure and our estimated daily visitor numbers, this means that each day officals deal with approximately 800 individuals.
This seems low, but remember these estimates only include those who actually go into a CBP facility to apply for a visa!
Many more likely use the services offered online or through a tour company which make them skip the application stage and just come back later.
The days to process your visa at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bangkok are as follows:
Business/Work Visas – 5 working days
Student Visas - 3 business days + 2-3 weeks for ETA registration
Visitor visas – 7 working days
Emergency / Medical Visits Visas – up to one week depending on type and time frame
Non-working day visits can be processed within two workdays if there is no hold or refusal. If there is, it will extend to three business days.
Refugee applications take an average of eight months to complete which is very long! This includes gathering all documents, making interviews and travelling to apply at different UNHCR offices around the world.
Thailand’s Consular Agency Fee was raised from THB 100 per person in January 2017 so this may also contribute to the longer waiting period.
The State Department offers several services, some free while others cost fees to use. These include visa applications, passport applications, VISA FAQs, etc.
The most expensive is for those seeking a visa in one of the more than 180 countries around the world where there are no American embassies or consulates. This service includes all steps of the process- application review, interviews if needed, and issuance or rejection of the visa.
There is an additional fee for this level of service which can easily add up very quickly depending upon how many people you have working on your case and how long it takes to get results.
Most people only access the first few levels of the State Department’s services because they are able to navigate their system through online portals and apps.
These free resources work well but unfortunately do not offer the advanced features that cost money. There is nothing wrong with using them but it is important to be aware of what types of visas require these advanced features and whether or not they are necessary before going into much detail.
The average CBP processing time for most non-immigrant visa types is around 10 days, with some taking much longer than one week to be completed.
There are several reasons why this can take so long.
For example, many applicants have to submit additional documents or proof after being interviewed at the consulate. Or, they need to wait for their records from back home to come in before completing their application.
But what about those who are already enrolled in things like college or work while waiting for their visas? They must remain jobless until their paperwork comes through, which can pose another challenge.
Overall, there’s no clear answer as to how long it takes CBP to process applications because every agency handles cases differently. Some take less time than others, however.
What we do know is that Congress has enacted laws requiring CBP to conduct background checks on potential immigrants. This includes checking criminal history, credit reports, and financial information.
So even if an applicant doesn’t learn of the delay until later, they still won’t be able to use their approved visa until these investigations are complete.
Recent reports about long visa wait time are very misleading. They seem to imply that people with visas will be deported due to lengthy processing at an ICE office, but this is not always the case.
There are several different stages in the immigration process where individuals can run into delays. A lot of these delays occur outside of our offices — such as when another country wants to reject your entry or ask you for more information. This happens almost half a million times every year!1
Other reasons for delay include having to coordinate documents, waiting for other countries to agree to accept you as their guest, and making sure everything has been filed correctly with the government.
While it may feel like there’s no progress being made, remember that things move much faster today than they did years ago.2
It takes just days to get most immigrant visas so don’t worry too much about the timing.3
And once again, let us make clear that simply because someone else was able to complete their work earlier does NOT mean that YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY SUCCEED!
IT IS ALWAYS INDIVIDUAL AND MAY OR MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE FOR THE NEXT PERSON IN LINE AFTER YOU.
THIS MEANS THAT EVEN IF THERE WAS NO DELAY AT ALL ON YOUR VISA, SOMEONE ELSE COULD HAVE GOTTEN THEIR VISAS LATER THAN RECORDED TIMES.
Recent reports of long visa process times are concerning to both foreign nationals seeking American citizenship and US citizens who want more time to prepare for the next stage in their lives.
Reports have surfaced stating that it can take up to eight months to receive word from USCIS that you’ve been accepted into the United States as a citizen, let alone get your passport and move here!
This is completely unacceptable when there are so many ways to stay connected with family back home while waiting.
It also seems impossible at this rate to know how much longer you will need to remain in the country before being allowed to exit.
Recent reports about long visa process times are inaccurate at best, and potentially misleading or even fraudulent at worst. It is important to know that DHS does not have anywhere close to 60 days for every application it processes!
It can take just weeks to process some applications, but in many cases, it only takes a few days. Applicants are often misled when they hear rumors about how much time it takes to process certain documents like I-9s or B2B Visas.
In fact, there’s an average of eight business day length of time from submission to receipt we get from various sources. This means that if you send your document on Monday morning and expect to see it processed by Friday, you will probably be disappointed.
We also cannot make any promises as to what timeframes apply to each individual applicant; our job is to gather information, track files, and submit requests to external agencies. Unfortunately, no such data exists so we must estimate numbers using past records and averages.
