mj4mj

Snowbunny,

I am active on a few sites and it appears that the cases were received but have been set aside or misplaced and not processed. I have made numerous calls to USCIS making service requests and was promised that I would get a NOA and never did. I contacted two Congressmen and a Senator and they all were told that we were in the normal processing of one year behind. But due to my research I had different data and sent this to all three Representatives; the one Congressman saw the data and stepped in to help me. The one Congressman agrees that there is a problem and even opened a Congressional inquiry at the end of May and it was never answered.

In frustration I contacted Ombudsman's office and gave them a detailed list of filers, screen names, dates mailed and dates they have gotten NOA's (most had not at the time I sent it off) and the date that they have had BIO's done. You must send them in writing with an original signature for them to respond and the form was on the web. They sent me a nice letter and I posted it on another site and was told no one had seen such a letter and wished me luck.

Then on June 25th the Congressman called me and said VSC agreed to send me a NOA within 10 days and to contact them after that time for an update. Then on June 30th Mr. Miller from USCIS called me and said that he was calling because of my Ombudsman letter and told me that hopefully I would get a NOA within one month. I told him the Congressman had been given a different time frame and he had no knowledge or notes on our case that a Congressman was involved. The date of my duplicated NOA is June 25th the exact same day that the Congressman was told we would get one sent out to us.

Our case is now with VSC for processing.

ian-mstm

It never ceases to amaze me the great effort people put into the I-751. It's one of the lowest priority applications simply because your status does not change at all during the time it is being adjudicated. When you are otherwise eligible to file for naturalization go ahead and do it. You don't need an adjudicated I-751 to file the N-400... indeed, filing the N-400 will force adjudication of the I-751.

Y'all really just need to get a grip on things and move on with your life.

Ian

mj4mj

I already am getting on with my life. If you pay for a service you expect at least to get a sheet of paper from them. My husband needed the NOA for his driver's license renewal and job as well. So we are not asking for something trivial. This is one issue I have and if you were in my shoes you would want something to show that you filed.

We do not expect to process over night but all applicants should get treated fairly. If you follow the procedures and pay the fees you expect all applicants to get the same services.

We plan to naturalize and expect it to happen before the I-751 is adjudicated and have already started gathering information for our next step.

snowbunny

I agree, unless:

the CPR needs to leave the country, get a new job, renew a driver's licence,
and so forth
or
does not plan to naturalise (for whatever reason) at the 3-year mark.

It's a nasty four-hour round trip from here to the BO with unpaid time away from work. This is not inconsequential.

If the AOS is such a low priority, then it should be abolished and all spouses granted LPR status at time of entry to the US.

ian-mstm

My DO was 3.5 hours away (7 hours round trip) and I, like others, had to make the trip every now and again. Inconvenient? Sure... but it was the cost of doing business!


Did I suggest AOS was a low priority? Removing conditions, however, is... always has been.

Ian

snowbunny

Doing business? Well.... in the case of someone here on a spousal visa, I don't see that as doing business, I see it as a human right. Work permit? Another matter. We come back to the fundamental point of whether the government should work for its citizens or big business. As a native born citizen (meaning: generations of my ancestors paying taxes and fighting and dying for this country) I am thoroughly disenchanted with USCIS though sadly not surprised.

I do stand corrected. It's not AOS, it's removal of conditions. Either way, if it is such a low priority, then it doesn't need doing.

ian-mstm

Only USCs have the right to live in the US... everyone else has to jump through hoops. As for immigration, USCs have no need for immigration services except as it pertains to some non-USC with which they happen to be involved.


Of course you're disenchanted. As a "native born citizen" you feel some sort of entitlement with respect to immigration... but never forget that the purpose of immigration services is to keep non-USCs *out* of the US. You believe that because you're a USC, your non-USC spouse should have an easier time of things... but they already have it easier! It's far easier to get to the US on a family-based petition than an employment-based petition. But I guess that just isn't good enough!

Ian

mj4mj

Ian I am not sure if you have done this step or not yet. I did want my case moved to a service center other than TSC. This was in a memo dated May 23, 2008. Here is the link. http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/I-751_23May08.pdf

I already posted we needed documentation for my husband's driving privileges as well as his employment.

Thirdly, if you are not keeping tabs on some cases that do not get biometrics and after a year they try and get help with their cases only to find out they were denied for not complying with getting their biometrics done. So instead of us having NOA1's and Biometrics notices we have a big goose egg. I already know a paper trail is your best bet with any government agency. So one little step leads to going before an immigration judge, costs of a lawyer, cannot work legally, and all of this costs funds when you have already paid to do the process legally.

This is why a little group of us that filed with TSC during the realignment of the process at the service centers want to be treated fairly and have the same rights that others that paid the same fees are getting now.

snowbunny

Did you send a check and if so, did you have a case number written on the back before they cashed it? I just checked mine again, five months after filing and it still doesn't register as a valid case number.

mj4mj

Yes, I did send a personal check and it did have a case number listed. You will actually get two NOA numbers during this process. The original NOA 1 number will not work to check the status online. It is only a receipt notice for the payment and receipt of the package. The second NOA number you get for the Biometrics is the one that works.

My receipt number I have now is different from the duplicate NOA 1 I just got in the mail. This number will work online and it shows the case was transferred on March 14, 2008 to VSC with no updates. I know it will not update again until after the actual biometrics are done. Both NOA numbers have SRC08xxxxxxx with the x's being different.

snowbunny

Well.... I finally called and yes, the original SRC number written on the back of the cancelled check isn't valid. I was given the "new" SRC number. Online status check reveals nothing except "in process." When I spoke to the USCIS rep on the phone, she asked if Toon (my husband) were present, and when I said no, she couldn't tell me anything further regarding the case since "aliens still have privacy rights."

The representative that I spoke with suggested that he call back and request that a letter with the new case number be sent to him (a hard copy of CR189). The new case number still begins with SRC. However, when Toon did call back, the silly bint who spoke to him said that he wouldn't receive anything until they begin actively working the case.... which is at least another month off.

(sigh)

Well, at least we now have a valid case number.

lydiainflorida

Hi all,

I am in a similar but slightly better situation. I hope someone can shed some light on what I should do.

I filed I-751 with TSC on April 1st, 2008 as my two-year conditional status was to expire on June 12th, 2008. On April 8th, my check for the filing fees was cashed. About a week later I received a notice for my biometrics appointment. I used the receipt number on the NOA for biometrics and checked the status on USCIS's website and it showed that my case was now transferred to VSC.

My biometrics were taken on April 30th and the website showed there were activities updating the case shortly after that but not new status change.

On June 16th, there was another update (which triggered an automated email to me) saying that:

"Application Type: CRI89 , PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS OF PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS RECEIVED

Current Status: This case is now pending at the office to which it was transferred."

Now my green card has expired and I have not received any extension letter yet. All I have is the the NOA for the biometrics, which I believe in itself is not sufficient to prove my legal status in the US.

I am planning on moving to a different state in the next 30 days which means I'll need to get a new driver's license for that state and will also be looking for new employment in that state. I will also be taking a cruise in November. How do I show proof of legal status in these situations?

I tried calling USCIS but I was not able to find an option to speak to a real person. I was on the phone for over 20 minutes going through every menu selection and putting in my case number and still could not find an option to speak to anyone (the number I called was 800-375–5283). What option did you press to speak to a real person?

I also heard that I should make an infopass appointment to get my passport stamped. However, I've been trying to make an appointment on the infopass' website for the past week and there are no appointments available in my area (I check numerous times a day at different times of the day). Even if there is, there really is no option that pertain to my situation there. If I just show up at the immigration office without an appointment, will they turn me away? Is my situation urgent enough for them to even consider stamping my passport (my guess is no, otherwise mj4mj would have been so stressed out).

I guess my question is: is the NOA for the biometrics appointment a legal proof of anything since that's the only piece of paper I received since filing for I-751? If not, what are my options now other than wait?

cookiee

any news ?

i ve been keep waiting NOA or biometrics.havent received anything yet

cookiee

Just want to update..I received appointment notice for biometrics on 8/16..

so my biotmerics done ..

any news ?

snowbunny

Biometrics done 8/19 and then AFTER that, an email stating that less than a month after filing (filed in Feb) the case had been transferred to VSC on March 14!!!!

You would think that we would have gotten a NOA letter BEFORE the biometrics request!

Nevertheless it's a brilliant strategy to keep my husband fetching the mail