tcylinder

Well, NYC is screwing my wife and I on our Application for Travel document as I read here happens:

-Sent AOS applications/Money Orders for fees via priority mail May 22, 2003.
-Recieved by BCIS next day May 23 per return receipt
-My wife goes to post office and gets a verbal acknowlegement that the money orders were cashed on June 2nd.
-As of July 1st, still no register receipt from BCIS
-Wrote letter on July 1st to 26 Fed plaza asking for status on I-485 and receipt.
-No response as of yet
- July 16th ***Incredibly I get a call at home from the officer processing our Application for Travel saying that she has no evidence of our I-485 in the system. She will take a cancelled check or the receipt as evidence. Told her I don't have either as the package specifically stated that they don't take checks and that I had paid by money order. So much for doing things right. She is nice enough to have made the call and said she is holding our application for one week and then will deny it.
-Now all we can do is hope that I get the ****ing register receipt in the mail within the next few days.
-In the mean time I will go to the Post Office and request copies of the money orders which I understand will take weeks.


I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE RECEIPT LOOKS LIKE BUT IT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED HERE AS A YELLOW CASH REGISTER RECEIPT. IF THERE IS NO SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON THE RECEIPT WITH REGARDS TO CHECK NUMBERS, A#'S, OR ANY OTHER IDENTIFYING INFORMATION, I HAD AN IDEA THAT COULD GET US OVER THIS RIDICULOUS HUMP.
If any of you would be so kind as to email or fax me a copy of your register receipt for payment of the I-485 application for $255.00 I could then fax it to the woman handling our application and she will approve our application.

My frustration comes from the fact that we painstakingly prepared the forms and are attempting to take our honeymoon in a place that requires 2-3 flights at peak travel time and we need to take care of the arrangements soon.


I'm not one for breaking rules but this is simply ridiculous and I have no problem faxing a phony receipt but I would need to see what it looks like first.

Thanks for any assistance in this caper.

tcylinder

I forgot to mention that the woman I spoke with also told me not to bother going down to the office to get the receipt as they won't give it to me.

Rete

Don't know what to tellyou other than what you are proposing is not the way to go. The receipt is a cash register receipt and your portion of it will be yellow. At least ours was. Don't recall if it has the A#on it but it is dated. So you would have to find not only someone, such as yourself, who does not mind putting their future on the line by duping the BCIS but one that has filed in the same place as you around the same time.

Couple of suggestions:

1. What if you were to re-pay and resubmit a new I-485 and accompanying documents to this woman in lieu of the receipt and/or cancelled money order. Would she be willing to process your A/P immediately? How were you suppose to transmit the receipt or cancelled check to her attention?

2. Call your legal representative for help. Don't know who yours is but they recently redrew the lines here in lower Westchester/Bronx and our once wonderful rep, Nita Lowey, is no longer "ours" but is rep for parts of the Bronx. Her liaison is great. Get on the phone and start the plea for help.

3. Go to the USPS asap and explain the urgency of the problem and see if anything can be done to expedite it.

Good luck

Rete

tcylinder

The woman I was speaking with at BCIS will accept evidence faxed to her so the color of the receipt won't matter. If there is no identifying information beyond the date and amount of payment anyone willing to help me wouldn't be putting their future on the line. That is why I am asking if anyone can look at their receipt and tell me what information is on it. The date is no problem as I could doctor/change it especially if I am faxing to the woman - faxes come out fuzzy. I wouldn't ever ask for anyone's original receipt, just a fax or scan emailed to me that I could in turn fax to this woman.

Suggestion 1 wouldn't work as she specifically told me what she accepts as proof of filing the I-485. 3 things- 1 is simply checking the system to see if my application was entered (it's not) 2 is producing the letter with the appointment for our interview (that won't happen for god knows how long) 3 register receipt or front/back of paid check 2 i have no idea who my legal representative is and wouldn't know where to start.
3 i'm going to the PO this afternoon (so i'll be going to yet another inept/corrupt/inefficient gov't agency asking for help)

Aliluv

What your asking sounds illegal doctoring receipts. It's just not right.

Also fyi the BCIS reads this site as we have been told many times, I hope there is no way for them to find you out from this site.

I feel for you, but isn't there some sort of record when paying by money order. There has to be another way.

Steve2003

also you should NEVER doctor anything. would she not KNOW you haven;t received the receipt... indicating fraud and possible further consequences down the road...

Worse case you can get a denial and the resubmit along with PROOF when you DO get it showing that your AOS application had been received in plenty of time and that she very easily could have verified that. You can submit the fact that the bcis GAVE YOU NO RECEIPT or any proof of filing...

I dunno really....

The first and best advice I give about mailing things in is COPY THE ENTIRE PACKAGE YOU ARE MAILING, pictures, money orders, EVERYTHING. every page and even the paperclips! KEEP multiple copies!

janousek

To find your area Congressman:
http://www.house.gov/

To find your area Senator:
http://www.senate.gov/

All you'll need is the Zip code (Zip + 4 digit code) of the area you are living in to find out who to your rep is.

In order to find the complete Zip Code of your area:
http://www.usps.com/zip4/welcome.htm...ge=2132findzip

tcylinder

Thanks for your response but I'm not looking for moral advice. I already said that I don't normally break the rules. Doesn't matter if BCIS is reading the site as I haven't done anything illegal. I have copies of the money orders filled out to BCIS as well as the receipts that come with each money order. They won't accept this as they need front and back of the money order endorsed. There's a form at the PO - 6041- which is an inquiry form about money orders. The form puts in a request to check if the money orders were cashed and they issue a replacement if the money order hasn't been cashed within 60 days of purchase. It doesn't say anything about getting copies of the money orders so I'm not sure if I can even do this. I'll find out in an hour when I go to the PO on my lunch break from work. I followed their rules to a "T" and made my applications as neat and thorough as I could. I paid the way they indicated. I never received my receipt. They cashed my money orders on June 2 but still haven't entered me into the system. They took my $110 for AP and are about to deny me. Sometimes you have to step around rules and do what you need to do.

Anyone else who doesn't agree with or has a problem with what I have asked please spare me the judgements as I am not plotting to commit some horrible crime that harms others. I'm just trying to get what I am entitled to.

kjdrga

I remember that when I did a western union money order a stub was attached which had a bar code on the back. I detached the stub and sent in the MO. Don't know what the USPS do.

tcylinder

what if the receipt never shows up and i am not able to get copies of the money orders? all i can do at that point is hope they enter me in the system at some point. how will i know when they do this? i'll have to wait for my interview letter which at this point will be over a year from now. without proof, resubmitting another application is useless.

i have a copy of the entire AOS package I sent with copies of the money orders and the official money order receipts. none of this is sufficient proof that I filed the I-485. I need a receipt, paid money order, or to be entered into their freakin system.

tcylinder

i have stubbs for the money orders written out to BCIS with serial numbers. this is not a cashed money order and she will not accept it as evidence that I have a pending I-485.

janousek

Hope USPS comes ot with something...
Do what you gotta do to survive.
Good Luck, Pal

Aliluv

Also what if she asks to see the receipt in person when she is interviewing you?
She may because of the reported discrepency.

I would tell her you are trying to get proof, I am sure you can thousands use money orders and tell her not to deny until you find something out.

I am not judging you but we have all have been dealing with BCIS and know it is best to have everything in proper order.

tcylinder

i'm not sure if this woman will be interviewing me or not. i think that if you get approved you simply go down to BCIS and pick up the AP document.

i asked her to hold the file for as long as she could and she said one week only. she said she usually just denies the application and that she normally doesn't even call people.

i'm not sure if I understand your sentence about money orders but it seems like more advice to reason with the BCIS woman. in an ideal situation that would be sound advice, but we are talking about a crabby, frustrated, moderately intelligent person who could care less about my wife and I taking our honeymoon and visiting her family.

i've been dealing with BCIS before they were even called BCIS as well and anything I've submitted to them has been prepared with the utmost of care so as to make their job as easy as possible which makes everyone happy. in this case, it didn't work and I find myself in a very frustrating situation.

tcylinder

i'm not sure if this woman will be interviewing me or not. i think that if you get approved you simply go down to BCIS and pick up the AP document.

i asked her to hold the file for as long as she could and she said one week only. she said she usually just denies the application and that she normally doesn't even call people.

i'm not sure if I understand your sentence about money orders but it seems like more advice to reason with the BCIS woman. in an ideal situation that would be sound advice, but we are talking about a crabby, frustrated, moderately intelligent person who could care less about my wife and I taking our honeymoon and visiting her family.

i've been dealing with BCIS before they were even called BCIS as well and anything I've submitted to them has been prepared with the utmost of care so as to make their job as easy as possible which makes everyone happy. in this case, it didn't work and I find myself in a very frustrating situation.