ben2

Hi,

23rd May we had our AOS interview in Santa Ana BCIS. Interview went pretty good, the interviewer was impressed with the amount documents that we have. He just asked two or, three simple questions and said he is going to approve my application, but, he didn't stamp my passport saying the FBI background check is still pending . I'll have to go back there to get my passport stamped. Don't know when that's going to happen.
This made me very frustrated, what were these people doing for the last 5 months??
I was wondering whether this is a normal case or, it's an exceptional case? I always thought that I'll get the Passport stamped the very same day.

Anyways, please let me know.

Thanks,
Binayak

Kiwaberry

What were they doing with it for 5 months? It was sitting in a pile just like many other people's files waiting for limited staff to get to it. The new security checks are making things go very slow in most offices and lots of people have to wait until after their interview to get official approval. We had our interview at the Atlanta office in December '02 and are still waiting for a letter so I can go get my stamp and then wait more for the card. Just wait, it should come eventually.

[email protected]

Kiwaberry wrote in message news:...
    > What were they doing with it for 5 months? It was sitting in a pile
    > just like many other people's files waiting for limited staff to get to
    > it. The new security checks are making things go very slow in most
    > offices and lots of people have to wait until after their interview to
    > get official approval. We had our interview at the Atlanta office in
    > December '02 and are still waiting for a letter so I can go get my
    > stamp and then wait more for the card. Just wait, it should come
    > eventually.



i had this same problem . i went for an interview at the BCIS district
office in columbus OH in march 24 2002.the interview went p erfect (if
i will call it interview. infact it was just like talking to a friend,
jokes etc). at the end i was asked to bring our tax returns for 2002(
we both made about 60,000) which we did give to the interviewer 3days
afterwards.
it's been two months now yet we haven't heard a word from them and it
is really getting frustrating.i am very worried right now becuase i
had been in the USA for 6yrs and wanted to visit home with my wife and
her two kids.i lost my passport a couple of yrs ago so i thought that
might have caused the delay since i thought someone might have
committed a crime with it but my lawyer said it shdn't affect me.
hopefully they will call you pretty soon.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Generally speaking, the SAA office is pretty good. I recently had an employment based interview there and the examiner needed one document -- which the clients had at home -- cient's went home and came back that day and got the stamp -- and the DAO sent me written notice -- I was impressed with their professionalism.

I'm sure the request to the FBI is now in -- and it may have even been renewed by the examiner. Check back in 30 days.

SAA is a suboffice of LOS -- and Jane Arrellano, the Interim DD of BCIS in LOS is VERY interested in getting rid of backlogs and putting procedures in place to prevent them from happening.

Hang in there, you'll get the stamp.

Robert_J

My wife and I had our AOS interview in January 2003, which we "passed" according to the interviewer. However, she couldn't give my wife her stamp because of a pending background check. She told us that when the background check was completed, we would recieve an approval letter in the mail telling us to come in and get the stamp. I asked when we should expect the letter and was told we'd recieve it within 30-120 days, "but most likely in less than 60 days".

Well, 120 days came and went, and no letter. So we went to the office (Arlington, VA) in late April to see what was going on. We were told that the background check was still pending. In response to my inquiring when they thought it might be completed, we were told "maybe 2-3 weeks". After asking whether we should expect a letter in 2-3 weeks or if we should come back to the office in 2-3 weeks, we were told to "just keep on top of things." [translation: "I haven't the foggiest idea, stop bothering me"].

A month passed, no letter, went back to the office, same routine. I should also mention that my wife nearly lost her job because we did not renew her Employment Authorization card. We did not renew it because if we really got the approval letter within the 120 days stated by the interviewing officer, there would have been no need to do so. Fortunately, she was able to keep the human resources people at bay until she got her new card.

Nearly nine months later now, we're still waiting for that letter.

AndysGirl

Do the nightmares ever stop? Is this what we have to look forward to?? uggg (

ben2

I contacted the congressman, but, no use. After more than 3 month, I haven't got my green card. I'm extremely frustrated and don't know what to do. I called up FBi and they told me my background check was completed in March, but, INS told me it's still pending. I don't know whom to trust.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Sue.

Margaret

It's been 8 months now since my son and I received our AOS interviews
but no stamp. I checked with BCIS in June and they said "status
pending", no security checks back yet. I was going to go back in at
the end of next month but it appears here that everyone will just wait
it out.

Robert_J

Hi Ben, my wife called the FBI also and they told her that they were done with our case as well (amazing that they will give that info over the phone). We told this to the people at INS, but they just repeated that they were waiting on the FBI background checks (like talking to a wall, sometimes). From what I've gathered from other posts to this board, however, it appears that other agencies besides the FBI are doing background checks.

We also cannot check our case status online because the receipt we got for our I-485 did not come with a Receipt Number (which means that to learn anything about our case -- which usually is not much or confusing at best, contradictory at worst -- we have to miss a day of work and wait hours in lines).

Also, apparently the only proof we have that the interview ever took place was our notice to appear -- which we had to hand in to security when entering the building, and which was not returned. Of course we didn't make a copy of it, as it did not have any info on it identifying it as pertaining specifically to our case -- no names, numbers, addresses or anything. It was just a form letter saying to appear at such-and-such time at such-and-such room number, do not bring any extra friends or family members, lateness will not be tolerated (LOL), etc.

However, I know they have a computer record of the interview's occurence, because one of the people I talked to was looking at our case on her computer and was reading off, "Uh huh, uh huh, I see you had your interview on such-and-such a date....". So, lacking a copy of our appointment letter we must place our trust in the INS computers not going down, our files getting deleted, etc. [God help us all!].

My wife has renewed her Employment Authorization and Advanced Parole papers which allow her to work and travel. We don't know what more to do either, and have resigned to waiting for this letter out of frustration and helplessness (they've finally worn us down).

ben2

Your case is exactly similar to my case.
I had missed my work one day and waited in line for 5 hours, then they announced that computer system was down and I had to come back.
I guess I'll have to miss my work again because this delay really getting on my nerve.


BCIS sucks!!

BritishInOhio

What is the phone number for the FBI to find out about the security checks?
I have my AOS interview At Columbus Ohio in a few weeks and was really hoping to get the stamp, I had my fingerprinting done there in Feb.

Robert_J

Try one of theses numbers: http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm

kjdrga

Robert J

My husband has his AOS interview 3 months ago and alass no letter can come in the mail as to the outcome. Because they told us it would arrive within 3 months and it hasn't we are going down to Arlington to check on the status.

Do you end up in room 221 (or something like that) that takes the general inqueries or are you able to drop a note up in room 311 where the AOS interview took place.

We too have held off renewing AP and EAD and no we are thinking that perhaps they will allow us to submit the papers in person and process the AP quickly due to upcoming family event overseas.

I am intersted in how far you were able to get by speaking with people?

Thanks

Robert_J

Yes, we ended up in the big general inquiry "walk-in" (no appointment) room on the 2nd floor. (What's up with that Orwellian mail-slot beneath the two-way mirror in the AOS interview waiting room?, LOL ).

In general, I don't know how far we got in talking to the people there as our case is still exactly where it was since before going there -- twice.

However, one of the supervisors did mention something about an expedited Employment Authorization card renewal process (only after I made a big stink about their faulty info potentially causing my wife to lose her job, and mentioning the possibility of lodging a complaint against the Arlington office, which they seemed particularly sensitive about...). This expedited procedure was of no use to us because it required us getting a receipt from the money order company proving that BCIS had cashed our application fee and getting that receipt would have taken longer than going through the normal EAD renewal process, LOL.