Folinskyinla

Hi Matt:

Last week I had to pick up some printout of old court records from the County Archives -- CIS is a LOT better than those clowns. Hell, those clerks were even worse than the clerks at Frys -- and that takes work.

Gin

No, a little further north... Georgia.

Petra

Having read the development in the conversation, I have to say that since my experiences here, there is a big difference in workforce and attitude. I now understand why Americans aren't very fond of foreign workers (for instance Mexicans)
In the three years I've been participating in the workforce here, I have slowed down my tempo, trying not to look like a show-off and/or making my collegues look bad. In fact, I'm trying to move away from the job I currently hold, because I am used to a bigger challenge. Granted, I don't make $20 an hour either, but the cost of living in the South is equally low in Augusta.
IMHO, (most) Americans have no idea what hard work is!
Petra
P.S. Ever heard of the Master's Golf Tournament? Then you've heard of Augusta, GA.

Bob

one in maine too...the state capital, not that you'd think if being there, it's a dump...

andrea874

Well hey. I, personally, have no problems with the USCIS. They screwed up on my case, which sucked - but hey they're processing a few thousand applications, what can one really expect? They were extremely efficient, extremely friendly , etc. Sure, my experience wasn't what the majority end up going through, but it did tell me that they aren't completely incompetent.

Rete

I am not a fan of the CIS but I don't think the majority of higher level personnel are incompetent. I believe the system is understaffed, underfunded and that it runs under Murphy's Law. It is the lower echleon employees who are the ones that cause the most problems for filers due to their inadequate training and having risen to a level that is above their ability.

We had a few snags in our processing for AOS and with getting an additional I-551 stamp when the card never arrived.

From my research my migration to Canada as the spouse of a Canadian will be just as lengthy and will have the same issues with no being allowed to work, no health benefits, etc. until residency is approved and that can take a year or more.

So not all countries are like the UK in speed and efficiency so equating the US and/or Canada with the UK is really like comparing apples to watermelons.

Just Jenney

No, Canadians are not required to show a passport to enter the US via the US-Canadian border. Also, Americans are not required to show their US passports to re-enter the US from Canada until 2006, when new re-entry requirements go into effect. Her parents probably just showed her Canadian birth certificate.

That's not sufficient. USC parents who have children born abroad have to register those children with the US Consulate. Otherwise the US govt has no record of them and has no way to record those children's US citizenship status.

If her parents had notified a US Consulate in Canada and registered their daughter's birth abroad, Jennifer wouldn't be having the troubles she's having and this article would have never been written. Believe me, if this was an instance where the parents DID register her birth abroad as required to secure her US citizenship status and the consulate somehow didn't follow through properly, this article would be about how the US govt's mistake is now costing Jennifer all sorts of heartache. But that's not what this article is about, because that's not what happened. Jennifer's parents dropped the ball, not the US govt.

It's a problem because as far as the US govt is concerned, Jennifer is Canadian. She was never registered as being born to USC parents in Canada, thus her US citizenship status was never secured.

Read above.

As has been mentioned several times throughout this thread, this could have all been avoided had her parents done the simple process of registering her birth abroad with the consulate in Canada. The US govt cannot simply accept that she is a USC just because her parents say so.

To my understanding a birth certificate doesn't list the citizenship(s) of the parents. If she was born on US soil that would've been one thing, because anyone born on US soil, regardless of their parents' citizenship(s), automatically becomes a USC; the US birth certificate proves that. But if a child is born outside the US then the US govt doesn't know for a fact that child is a USC unless it is reported and registered.

Now you know -- if you and your husband ever have children outside the US, they must be registered with the US Consulate so their US citizenship is secured. I believe your husband is a UKC -- if so, the same applies if your children are born outside the UK. You have to register their births with the British Consulate to secure their UK citizenship.

Why? Until now the US govt has been led to believe that she is a Canadian citizen. She doesn't have a US birth certificate, and her birth to USC parents was not registered abroad. On the surface it is no different from any other Canadian who enters the US using their Canadian birth certificate as proof of identity. Unless the US govt is specifically told that she has USC parents, how else are they to know? How else can they provide the means for her to prove her US citizenship?

Again, the blame here resides with the parents, not the US govt. Thousands of USC parents give birth to children abroad and successfully register their births with the US Consulate. These parents didn't, and unfortunately their daughter is suffering the repercussions of that now.

~ Jenney

Just Jenney

I'm curious as to where this is coming from. The thread has been about Jennifer Birchill's citizenship situation and how her parents dropped the ball, as well as a discussion about how USCIS is/isn't inefficient. Where did a discussion about the American workforce come into all this??

If your employer discourages hard work and efficiency, then I agree it's probably better for you to get another job. Your employer is in the minority if that is their attitude towards work. Most employers are the opposite, which is partly why Americans get so little time off compared to other countries out there.

Really? What gives you that idea? Have you worked with most Americans in the three years you've been here?

~ Jenney

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I've mentioned this -- why in God's graces are they doing an N-600? Any immigration lawyer knows that an N-600 is to be avoided if the alternative of a US Passport Application is available. Since the Passport Agency serves ONLY American Citizens [aka "voters"], they are actually pretty efficient and quick. The only time I file an N-600 is when citizenship should be established from DHS's own records -- since I have to go to DHS anyways, that is the one time, it is quicker.

The article is silent on any passport application.

A story: Nine years I ago I represented a US Citizen who was deported to Mexico. He had just completed a criminal prison sentence and had been "released" into the custody of the INS. He was unprepresented in the deportation hearing [I later listened to the tape] -- but the IJ spotted that possiblity that he was a US citizen and put the burden on HIM [contrary to the law] AND messed up the law of evidence regarding the family history exception to the hearsay rule. And the Untersturnfuhrer of a INS trial attorney could not be bothered to disclose the contents of the INS file which was IN THE COURTROOM. Guy is deported that day.

He illegally reenters two days later. But now he knows that he is a US citizen and finally sees an immigration attorney. We file an N-600 under the SAME "A" number under which he had obtained his green card and had been deported under. We go to the interview at INS and the interview goes well. All they wanted were some records from the Department of State on his mother's passports which we obtained and provided to the INS.

Meanwhile, the California Attorney General is campaigning for Governor [Gray Davis has lost only two elections in his life because, with those two exceptions, he drew the most unpleasant unlikeable opponents in his political career -- but I digress]. In the aftermath of Proposition 187, he publically complains that deported aliens are regularly reporting to their parole officers -- and reentry after deportation is a Federal Felony.

Duly embarrassed, INS gets the list and does a mass roundup -- including my client. I end up doing my first, and only criminal defense case in my life. The first hearing was a bond hearing before a Federal Magistrate. The government wanted custody without bond -- and the law favored them. I go to talk to the AUSA who has a slew of these cases that morning. Says he: "You've got a defense?" Says I: "Yes." AUSA: "It wasn't him?" Me: "No, it was him." AUSA: "He wasn't deported?" Me: "Oh, yes, he was deported, no doubt on that one." AUSA: "Then, what possible defense does he have?" Me: "He is a US citizen." AUSA: "Don't you think you should tell INS?" Me: "We have" and I serve him with our filing for that day which includes a copy of the N-600 and supporting documents, the INS fee receipt, the INS interview notice, the INS RFE given at the interview and our response thereto with a "recieved" stamp by INS. AUSA is surprised and he gives me an affidavit from an INS investigator stating his qualifications, that he had examined the "entire file" and it "conclusively shows" that client is an alien, that he was deported, and he is now back in the United States and no application was filed or approved for permission to return.

Magistrate takes the bench. We discuss the case about bond -- Magistrate Judge notes that liklihood of government prevailing in its prosecution is a factor in setting bond, but its the weakest of the four statutory factors. MJ notes that "Defendant was admitted as an alien and deported as an alien; so there is some evidence supporting the charge. Defendant counters this with overwhelming evidence that he is, in fact, a United States Citizen." He then kicks the matter over for two days for the AUSA to brief the matter. I then consult with the PD present in the court and she tells me: "Sucker bet that AUSA quashes the indictment tomorrow." She was correct.

Case over? Not by a long shot. Bureau of Prisons releases him into the custody of the INS! And they try to deport him again. At the custody hearing, I again note he is a US citizen. The IJ, Rose Peters notes that Bob Kaye, the government TA is one of the most knowledgable people on citizenship law and that we should review the file togehter during the recess.

During the recess, Bob opens the file, which is four inches thick, looks at the 15 year old I-130 the very bottom of the file and renders a succinct legal opinion: "Oh, shit." We agree that my client will be released OR! At the next hearing, we simply bring in the newly issued certificate of citizenship and US passport. The new TA is there without the file, but the new IJ [remember client had been released from custody, which lead to a change of venue] had been the former head of naturalization when before he had become an IJ -- he did not take kindly when the INS TA suggeted that the Citizenship Certificate and Passport be sent to Forensics for review! Case terminated.

The I-130 should never have been approved because the beneficiary was obviously a US citizen. He should not have been granted an immigrant visa for the same reason [should have been given a passport instead]. He should have been admitted, not a resident alien, but as US citizen. He should not have been deported. The answer was in the INS's file from the very beginning and no one spotted it. Go figure.


One of my more interesting cases. No, we didn't sue the INS for false arrest.

HunterGreen

Wouldn't mind reading more of those... I could just sit here for hours and read your writings. That's meant as a compliment.

Elaine

scrubbedexpat099

Sounds like this is a case where there really is a book in the making.

And then the TV series....

ian-mstm

I tried to give you karma for this comment, but I have to spread it around a bit. Still... it's a good point!

Ian

AlmostThere1

Actually a Long Form Ontario BC does show the citizenship of the parents. My photostat(1972) of my BC clearly has a spot for my parent's citizenship. Though I can't say if more recent version of the Ontario BC have the same spot though.

andrea874

I like apples

Petra

Why so agressive, Jenney? Not all posters in this forum are equally eloquent!
Not all posters are eqally good listeners either...

I KNOW what this thread was about.
I started it.

However, part of the discussion going on,
was the processing times and output,
and thus the workforce of USCIS.
My comment was just meant as an illustration.

Most Americans (and I guess I have to spell it out)
- I HAVE WORKED WITH -
have only a fraction of the workload that I was used to.

My employer doesn't encourage hard work.
Where in my post did you hear me say that?

Now, for good understanding. I'm down in the South.
Things may very well be different elsewhere.

Again, I was just posting my experience.
Since this was an O/T anyway... why ridicule me?

Petra