D-Day

So we have been through all the INS crap for going on 7 years---K1 Visa,
initial Green Card, I-751 and N400.

They jacked around on the I-751 application for two years---I finally filed
the N-400. We got an acknowledgement
from that in a week, a notice to do the fingerprinting a month later---all
taken care of, late Summer of 2004.

We went to local BCIS office in August of this year for her N-400 interview.
They did both the I-751 and N-400
at the same time, she went thru with flying colors. GREAT!!!!! "All you
have to do now they said, is wait to be
scheduled for the "Swearing In ceremony" that's when you REALLY become a US
citizen."

So, 4 months pass---no word, then we finally get a letter from local INS.
I was so happy--figured it was an invite
for the swearing-in ceremony.

WRONG!!!!! It was a fingerprint notification: "You must show up at the
local BCIS Office in XXX on Dec XX
for fingerprinting otherwise your N-400 application will be considered to be
abandoned".

HELLO!!!!!! What is wrong with this picture?? Did we not do EVERYTHING we
were supposed to do? Was this
fingerprinting not done as a pre-req to the N-400???????????????????

So I called the 1-800 number--talked to someone and this is what I was told:

"The fingerprinting form expires after one year so you must go and have it
done again". Excuse me, I said-- We have to
go do another fingerprint form for a COMPLETED application because it
expired because you guys jacked around
so long doing it??"

The answer was "Yes".

So, I get to pi** away yet another day of my vacation, because no way am I
going to let my wife go there by myself.

I will be raising some *&&% over this to anyone who will listen, but of
course that will not be BCIS!!!!!!!!

Noorah101

Yep, fingerprints are valid for 15 months only, regardless of how long it takes USCIS to process a petition.

The good news is, you're almost done!

Best Wishes,
Rene

Matthew Udall

I thought your spouse was the naturalization applicant. If so, then “she” filed an N-400.

Is there some reason I’m not aware of, whereby the rules do not or should not apply to your spouse? Of course, no one is forcing her to become a U.S. citizen so of course she does not have to get them done again if she doesn’t want to. She’s asking the U.S. government to bestow upon her the greatest gift that can be bestowed, but if following the rules is too much of a bother than of course, she’s free to abandon her case.

And what will you say, “those sons-a-bitches are actually making us follow the rules!”

frrussre

Hang on in there. Don't let the bastards, grind u down. Just push on and get it over with.
Reg. Frank R.

CaliforniaBride

What? She's getting a tax rebate aswell?

Rete

Well it won't be to the BCIS ... THEY DON'T EXIST.


In actuality your wife should not have been approved as her prints were over 12 months old. End of story.

Folinskyinla

Matt:

He just wants CIS to revert to the pre-1996 rules used in "Citizenship 2000" program which encouraged granting of citizenship even if the clearances were up to date. The then INS took a lot of political heat from naturalizing convicted felons. The political decision back then was that it was better to avoid naturalizing even one convicted felon even if it delayed the naturalization of 15,000 non-convict LPR's.

Also, remember how before 2001, the then INS made it easy for foreign students to study while their applications were pending. Then there was that instance of some such students taking over four airplanes and causing damage to two office buildings in New York, one in Arlington, VA and one open field in Pennsylvania. MANY, MANY people were upset over that and the then INS caught flack for being "too lenient."

Again, this is a political decision. The OP is entitled to his opinion that it is a total screw-up for CIS to insist on current clearances. I agree that it is a pain in the ass -- but it is consistent with the prevailing political opinion.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

BTW, you have me confused. You note the very big FUBAR by the interviewing officer last summer and you follow it with the exclamation "GREAT!!!!!" I actually read that as a sign of approval for what the DAO inflicted on your wife.

BTW, I usally don't let my clients go to CIS alone -- with one main exception -- they can go to ASC's for fingerprints. That procedure is fairly painless.

ian-mstm

Actually, what you really meant to say was, "no way am I going to let my wife go there by herself." - No charge!

BTW, what can't your wife go by herself? Is she incompetent? Are you an abuser?

Ian

mdyoung

Now how about my wife's situation, she went in to have her fingerprints done for her N-400 a few weeks ago and were told the same thing about them needing to be redone if she doesn't have here interview within I think we were told 12 months by the fingerprint office. The only problem is the Baltimore office is showing an online status that they are working on applications from November 2003, so why do you have someone come in when you know they are going to be expired by the time they get around to interviewing her?

Next question is why do digitized fingerprints need to be redone anyway. Don't they file them in some data base?

CaliforniaBride

Yeah. They have a shredder marked "FILING CABINET FOR VERY IMPORTANT STUFF". Very efficient it is

Folinskyinla

Mike:

You are not the first to ask that question. There was an article in some periodical a little while back -- one of those dumb things of existing paper based systems being adapted to electronic systems -- back in the day of manual prints, the prints were sent out for examination and if no hits were then destroyed! No comment on how reasonable this was, but it was the fact. And also, this was back in the day when "all national security, all the time" was yet the word of the day. Also, when they went electronic, data storage was not yet cheap and plentiful. [Hence the Y2K scare].

If they had to start all over again, I'm sure they would do just that -- preserve all the digital prints.

Ray

I found out about this earlier this year ...
The prints ARE all stored away safely in a database ..
But they have no method of retrieving them ..

CarlM

Correct me if i'm wrong, but am i detecting a hint of frustration?

Gin

Immigration=Frustration