Bonnie and Dennis French

A lady I know has sent me this email :
"I applied back in '05, took the test, passed the test. Since then, I have had to go and get finger printed twice. I have been calling them to ask them what the hold up was for me to go get sworn in, they wrote up a "ticket" and told me I would hear from them. I just received a notice to go get finger printed once again. I would like to know if this is standard procedure, I am sure it is not, but anything is possible. "
Since I am not an expert I thought I would bring it to the board and see what direction she should take this in. My thought was if she has already passed the test she shouldn't have to be fingerprinted again. I wouldn't have waited this long; I would have been writing to my Senator or Representative a long time ago.
Any help would be appreciated.
Bonnie

fatbrit

If by "passed the test" she means she has done the interview, then USCIS have no more than 180 days to call it. This can be enforced with a writ of mandamus.

Ray

Out of interest what is her country of origin ...

Bonnie and Dennis French

She is from Columbia.

Bonnie

AlanR

I assume you mean Colombia. Columbia is in Maryland in the U.S.A.......

Bonnie and Dennis French

I stand corrected. Thanks for being so helpful. Her country of origin is Columbia.
If anyone could give me some assistance with the original question I would be very appreciative.
Bonnie

meauxna

Fingerprints have to be re-taken every 15 months.

The best thing she can do is give the biometrics as requested, then make an InfoPass appointment for her District Office and get in there to find out what the holdup is.

Most likely suspect is "name checks" aka security check or similar. She might want to read this page before going in, to see if this policy will help her or not:
Questions and Answers: Background Check Policy Update

If she has a complicated past immigration history, she might want to review it with a lawyer to see what is possibly delaying her case (if the 'name check' query goes nowhere).

Bill_S

She should stop phoning. She should at least make an infopass appointment at her local office and ask them what is going on. If she again gets the runaround, she should contact a lawyer.

fatbrit

Go to her senator and ask for help. Try the USCIS ombudsman. If this fails and she has already had the interview (you never stated!), file a writ of mandamus at her jurisdictional U.S. district court to force USCIS to act. Those are basically her full options.

Noorah101

Why am I thinking there is no longer a USCIS Ombudsman? I think I recall that ended.

Rene

fatbrit

He resigned. But I am presuming the "office" is still running. I don't hold out much hope. Her best bet (if the friend has had the interview!) is the writ. Pity you can't sue the bastards for damage and being irritating pricks at the same time you force them to act.

ian-mstm

Tee Hee!

Ian

ian-mstm

Also in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Illinois.

Ian

meauxna

And please don't forget the mighty Columbia River, keeping the Washingtonians out of Oregon for millenniums now.

Don't let 'em get you down, Bonnie. I have made the same boo boo out of old habit myself.

It helps if you say 'Kohl-UHM-bee-ah' in your best Spanish accent.

Bonnie and Dennis French

Thank you for all of the kind suggestions.
I have spent the last few days proctoring at school for the almighty FCAT and the NRT so my patience is just about gone.
Then I got a phone call late last night from my son who is serving his third tour with the Canadian Army in Afghanistan.
I appreciate everyone on this board. You have helped me many times.
Bonnie