•  Other thoughts, reflections, feedback.

The bureaucratic 'task' that my partner and myself selected, was how to apply for a divorce in the State of Pennsylvania. 

Our process was very rigorous, and by that I mean that their was certain times where I wanted to give up and goto an alternative route to this "divorce."

As for the paperwork part of this process, let's just say you wont be a big fan of the environmentalist with all the paperwork that is involved with this. By that, I mean that their was certain portions that were almost 8 pages long, and all together I think that we filled out a total of 22 pages in our process. This paperwork is not only long, but it becomes a whole different process, because you have to get judges, non-lawyers, as well as a notary. Thus, making this paperwork difficult to fill out, but also pretty much straight forward with the language it uses.

I think if I had to change anything to this process, I would have to change the amount of paperwork involved. Not only would I do that, but I would try not to make this any more difficult for people than it already is.

 I think the system has become more harder, because since we became such a larger country, the circumstances have changed, and with more circumstances comes unnecessary paperwork.

I sometimes wanted to give Caroline the "OJ" treatment :) 

The online flowchart is : http://www.lucidchart.com/documents/view/4d0b60aa-81d0-4743-a2c7-66840af90ae1 

   In American Government we were asked to choose a bureaucratic task and go through the process of completing it, and the task that I chose to complete was divorce.

    Divorce is a process that needs patience in order to be completed properly and without many complications. My partner and I had a few disagreements here and there about certain topics but other than that it went smoothly and we were able to "final our divorce." The complications that usually revolve around divorce are if children/child are involved, the different types, and amount of paper work needed to fill out. You also need to hire a notary, have a non-lawyer and a judge which if you do not have are roadblocks in the process.  The language of the paperwork is also confusing because the way certain sentences are phrased, if you are able to understand it, then everything is basically straightforward. 

   If I were able to change anything about the divorce process it would be the amount of paper work involved. I felt as if a lot of the paper work was repeated throughout the different packets that were required to fill out.

  The systems may have become much more complicated because in a larger country that circumstances have changed, resulting in unnecessary paper work. 

For this project, my partner and I researched the process required to obtain a U.S. green card, which allows an immigrant to permanently live in the country.  The actual steps and forms that are needed depend on a person's reason for coming.  We decided to apply as a family member of a U.S. citizen and filled out three forms: I-130, Petition for Alien Relative; DS-230, Application for Alien Registration; and I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.  Regardless of a person's reason, numerous questions must be answered about the immigrant's history and future plans to ensure he or she is admissible.    

The forms were a nightmare to complete.  The same questions were repeated multiple times and clear instructions were never given on how to proceed after a form was filed.  The most upsetting realization I had was that immigrants were required to go through this same process.  If my partner and I, both English-speaking seniors, had this much confusion during the process, it must be nearly impossible for a person just learning English to do.

This bureaucratic function has become so complicated because over the years, the United States' immigration standards have become more exacting.  Many believe that if a person cannot complete the process, they do not deserve to be in the U.S. While unfair, this country is very elitist and that is shown in the processes of our bureaucracy.   

Throughout the process, I couldn't help but notice how expensive it was.  To obtain a green card through family, it cost $1,845 in filing fees.  This is a ridiculous amount, especially for an immigrant who is probably looking for a better life in the U.S.  On top of this large sum, lawyers are almost always needed, given the complicated language in the paperwork.  If I could change one part of this process, I would change this price.  Unfortunately, obtaining a green card has a prohibitive price tag for many immigrants. 

Link to flow chart: https://www.lucidchart.com/documents/view/4d08f603-13f8-4783-afaf-310b0af90ae1 

The bureaucratic ‘task’ that my partner and I selected was to outline the steps needed to apply for welfare benefits. The process included research, paperwork and a flowchart. Our flowchart consisted of the necessary steps needed to receive welfare benefits. The paperwork consisted of an application in the form of about 30 pages. This was a very tedious process. We made certain that the alias name and information we used to fill out the application was as eligible for welfare benefits as possible. We created alias children to make our applicant seem like a struggling mom in need of financial assistance as well as other assistance in order to raise her children effectively. The process as well as the application was monotonous. There are so many women who do not qualify for welfare benefits because their income is above the poverty line. There are also other women who need financial assistance immediately, but the process is so long they may not get the necessary financial aid they need in a timely manner. I would change these aspects of the bureaucratic process because it inconveniences the welfare applicants who need it most. The system has become so complicated because there were many welfare benefits applicants who may have lied and worked around the “system” receiving more money than needed. To cut down on wasteful distribution of financial assistance, the process has become more complicated to make certain the applicant’s who need welfare the most is able to receive it. 

The bureaucratic task that i selected was the Firearm Laws in Pennsylvania. I made a flowchart according to the laws stating that you need a license to carry a concealed weapon and to have it in the car. The first thing that I had to do was to brush up on the law and the process in which you have to go through to carry a concealed weapon

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• Briefly summarize the bureaucratic 'task' that you selected.

Well for ours, Rob and I, we had to research the process in order to get your car registered, we also found out about things like changing your plates in the process. There were steps that had to be taken in order to get you car registered. 

Process:

We first broke down the work according to what the other person was willing to do. 

Then we divided it evenly and gathering as much information as a team, we then picked out the most important things that we both had researched that were the same. 

We put the major steps that we found in order to get your registration and we put them in a bulleted list and arranged them in the best order in order to complete the price. 

I then sent the list to rob, and he has done more flow charts than I have, so he put the bulleted list in order, and after that was done. 

After that was done, i got any forms that were necessary for registering your car and i filled those out. 

The task that my partner and I chose was how to get a marriage license. To get a marriage license is not complicated at all. You just need to have your Social Security Number and pay the $80 fee. If you have been married before or had your name changed you need to have the proper documentation proving such things. Also if you are a minor you need parental consent and you pay a extra $10 per person. 

To collect our information we simply went on the Philadelphia Government website and collected the steps that people need to take to get their marriage license. Once we collected the steps we drew our flow chart on paper to see how all of the steps would connect together. Then we made our chart digital using lucid charts. 

There isn't really paper work that you need to fill out. As I stated before you need only your social security number and all the proper documentation then to sign your signature, so it is very simple to get your marriage license.

I would change the fact that you have to pay $80 to get married, either I would take away the fee or I would lessen it. Because everywhere else in Pennsylvania the fee is $25.

I think that these systems don't need to be so complicated, the government makes you go through so much just to get what you want. I don't think there is a real reason for it all. 

My partner, Sky, and I tackled the process of buying a HUD home. A HUD home is a house owned by the state because it had previously been repossessed from its previous owner. The process it self was not very difficult, if you have a good broker/Realtor. Once you have found a decent home you can enter different programs like Teachers Next Door to get a reduced mortgage, as Sky and I did. After having a very vigorous inspection of the house you want to buy, and after it passes you can place a bid and hope the seller excepts it. If they do you can move onto closing to officially own the home, but if not you must start from the beginning of the process. After you official receive the home you must get home owners insurance and then finally sign the closing papers.

Now, even though the process was not very hard the paperwork was extremely difficult. Plus, my partner and I entered the Teachers Next Door Program which just added more paperwork. Filling out the Tax form was the most difficult paper and the rest was just very tedious. There were about 20 pages worth addendums and disclosure we had sign. It seemed a little scary because of all the 'Lead Paint Disclosures' it made the house seem not safe at all to live in.

If I could change somethings about the process, I would make it accessible online. If I was able to fill out all the information once and have it carry over to all the other hundreds of forms like, it would make it so much easier. I think these processes are so difficult because the American government want to be too specific and just difficult. Some things are just not needed in order to do things like buy a house or start a restaurant.

Overall the project turned out good. I feel as though Sky and I were able to make the process easy with out flow chart. Also I don't think we could have done all these this without the assistance of my aunt who is a Realtor and helped us with the process. Thus, proving why you need a good Realtor to handle this process.

1) We selected food stamps. We talked out the process of how to get food stamps.

We went over filling out the paperwork, where to get it from and the interview process.

2) Our process was basically to fill out the application and to find out what it was like to go through filling out a lot of paperwork. We had to come up with different numbers such as social security and policy numbers for our insurance and things of that nature. We then had to get to work on starting our flow chart. We didn't really know how we wanted to do it at first but we tried some different things out and finally found something that worked.

3) The paperwork wasn't hard but it wasn't the easiest thing to fill out either. There were a lot of thing included in it that we didn't understand. We did the best we could with creating a fake identity and to come up with a social security number and with numbers for his insurance such as the policy number. Overall there were still some questions we had about the application itself because there were a lot of thing on there that didn't make sense, at least to us.

4) i would change the interview/paperwork process. I think that there should always be a worker or someone working with you throughout the process so there won't be the chance of getting turned down or anything. You can make sure you have all the paperwork and make sure that everything is filled out correctly the first time. Or at elate there should be someone that explains everything from the beginning of the process.

5) I think it's become so complicated for a variety of reasons. 1, in my opinion, is that they need to make sure there aren't any frauds going on and that there is accurate information being given and the right system for each person if given. Also  to make sure people are serious about what is going on I guess they need to make it long because people wouldn't waste their time on something that they weren't serious about.

6) I just want to say if someone was going to fill out the application to make sure they do it with some so they don't get confused and will have done everything correctly.