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On this log I try to document things I find interesting on my day-to-day. The idea is to look back at it over time and see how things have evolved, and since I am logging them I may as well share them here on my site.
I have yet to deal with a public entity that is efficient at what they do, either in the US or back home. Granted, it’s a lot worse in Venezuela, but only because they know that by being inefficient, people will pay them under the table to get things done (and sometimes, this works out better), I have always said (as unfair as it sounds) that they should make this scheme legal: you pay more, you get your paperwork right away, you don’t pay you still get it but have to wait. It works like that in practice anyhow.
We filed an application for a travel document (I-131) with the USCIS since July of 2008. Not a cheap application either, it was over $300. Now if you pay $300 for a product or service to a private company, you expect a good service or product, if you don’t get it, you’ll probably complain and get your money back, or at least some sort of explanation. Not so with the government.
The application should have taken them about 3 months to process, but it didn’t, it got stuck. We called, sent letters, stopped by their offices, we even had a nice lawyer help us sending another letter, the response was always the same: It’s in process, you have to wait. December came by and Lili could not travel because the document never came. Now in May of 2009, 10+ months after the application was submitted, we get the document, but… it has an issue date of October 2008 (when it should have been issued and delivered in the first place). This means it expires on October 2009, which in turn means we just got it and in a month we have to file for a new one, so basically we paid over $300 and got nothing, and now we have to pay over $300 again.
I can’t possibly answer the question in the title, but I thought I’d share my experience anyhow.
