Rete

@#$%^&*()_

Envy, jealousy, the big green eyed monster! Yes, I have them all.

Am I happy for those that have interviewed at NYC, Philly, general NE corridor who have had their INS interviews around our time and far after us and who have received their greencards in the mail already from Vermont Service Center? Yup I am.

But.....

I am sitting here shaking my head and wondering why us? Why can Jim join the National Guard. Why can I come through another cancer scare this week with a somewhat positive diagnosis?

But....

Why has Jim only made a conditional pr instead of a pr since the stamp was issued after our second wedding anniversary? Why we can't get a simple little plastic card out of the Vermont Service Center in 7 months? Why can't we walk into a SS office get a card with the legend on it with an I-551 in the passport? Why did we get a collection notice from the NYS Office of Taxation for taxes paid in full (yes I have the cancelled check)?

Yup we have played by the book. We sat and waited. We were patient. We filed a formal letter with Deputy District Director McElroy of NYC INS in October, 2000. No reply. We filed an inquiry form with VSC on February 15th. No reply. Now Matt has gone to bat for us with NYC INS. Of course too early for a reply.

But....

I think my government is after me. They want me humbled or subservient or are using us as their personal comedy channel.

So what do I do now? Wait for two months for an answer to Matt's letter? Do I practice positive visualization? Does Jim have to contact VSC by phone? Should I have our congresswoman intervene?

I want to be done with this s**t. I want it over already. I want to be hugged ;-( I want another piece of plastic in Jim's wallet ;-( I am so bloody frustrated right now with INS and with life.

Oh well life goes on and on and on and I will live to fight another day. God willing that is!

Rita
Frustrated in NYC and no, Grinch, Jim can't help this frustration ;-)

Alex J

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Maybe you have the wrong book - have you check the title :}. Maybe someone switched
books with you.

Alex

Toni B

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Well, sometimes following the rules doesn't always come with any rewards.

George Charpied

Rete wrote:
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But..... I am sitting here shaking my head and wondering why us? Why can Jim join the
National Guard(?) Why can I come through another cancer scare this week with a
somewhat positive diagnosis?

My reply:

There is no rational basis for the sense one develops after a period of time
spent being ground by a bureaurcacy until self worth and personal value are
so eroded that the idea of a future seems implausible. Seldom do glib
comments, non sequiter dismissives or 'atta girls' suffice. Having suffered
through the indignities of a process that the INS requires I can empathize
with you only to a small degree. Ours was not nearly so filled with so many
disappointments as you've documented.

I do have questions: Does Jim really want to join the national guard?
Have you had an additiional cancer scare? Or are you referring to a past
post I recall?

You wrote:

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But.... Why has Jim only made a conditional pr instead of a pr... a collection notice
from the NYS Office of Taxation for taxes paid in full?

My reply:

Jim's status, as I understand it, was the result of one of several tiny
deficiencies of the INS procedures that conspire with our ignorance or our
minute mistakes to result in a big problem (i.e., delay, denial, refusal,
etc.) I believe the process should include remedial procedures to resolve the
deficiences and mistakes then and there. I say this because it is commonly
understood that all human manufacture is flawed. Mistakes are the natural
consequence of human politics (with a small 'p'). As I suggested in the past,
I would pull out all the stops in agitating for remediation. If the only
outcome is to have your voice heard, then that may relieve some of your
frustration and depression.

You wrote:
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...played by the book.... were patient... filed a formal letter with Deputy District
Director... inquiry form with VSC ... Now Matt has gone to bat for us...

My reply:

This is all good.

You wrote:
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But... I think my government... want(s) me humbled... I want to be done with this
s**t. I want to be hugged ... Oh well life goes on and on and on and I will live to
fight another day.

Rita Frustrated in NYC

My reply:

To me, ventilating the soul is the same as house cleaning after the
winter. It is a useful activity that puts our lives in order, like making
plans, despite the fact it may snow again and the temperature may dip into
the low 30's F. I do not think it is out of the question that the INS,
like all governmental agenicies, want citizens to see them with a kind of
reverence. Reverence for its authority. Reverence for its power. Reverence
for its not incoseqeuntial influence over one's life. It is a humbling
experience. One that I have not enjoyed since beginning the process a
little over two years ago.

I admire your strength and personal force, Rita. It is easier to chuck the
process, pretending that doing so does not do anything more than forestall
the inevitable, or thrash about name calling and throwing pejoratives in
every direction, which isn't an uncommon phenomenon everywhere. Having tried
that avenue with other acitvities, I know the outcome. As you said, '...life
goes on...,' but only if we choose to make it so. And you appear to have done
that. Now, where's Jim? Go get that hug.

George and Miglena

MDUdall

Rita, I'll let you know the moment when/if a reply comes from the NYC INS office. As
part of my letter to them, I asked them to check and let me know the date Jim's case
was approved. That date will govern whether or not he correctly received CLPR status
or incorrectly did not receive LPR status. The date of the passport stamp might not
have been the date of approval... the date of approval could have happened a few days
or more before the day the stamp was placed in his passport.

So that is the real $64.00 question... what was the date Jim's case was approved?

Another way to find out would be through the Freedom of Information Act. Jim could
always submit a FOIA request, and specifically tell them that he is looking for
documentation in his file that would indicate the date his case was approved.

Again, I'll contact you if/when they send me this answer.

Best Regards, Matthew Udall Attorney http://members.aol.com/MDUdall/fiancee.htm
Copyright 2001 Matthew Udall

Rete

Thanks Matt. And I will call you asa we hear anything on our end.

George

Yup Jim wants to join the National Guard. He has submitted his military records already and goes for the physical on Saturday, April 21. Remember he is military through and through. He joined the RCAF at the age of 17 and retired at the age of 53 with 36 years of service. He only knows the military life and misses it terribly. It was only because Canada cut their forces that he retired. Otherwise the man would still be in there.

As for me, yup another full blown breast cancer scare. Had the mammo and within a week had two letters from the hospital, a call from my surgeon (who also viewed it and said it was fine, but felt that since the radiologist wanted another view it would not hurt) and a call from my primary to return to the hospital for magnified views. Of course had problems with the primary's office giving me a second referral for another test since they claimed the original referral was good enough and the hospital insisted it wasn't. Took a firm stand with them and told them they work for me as I, through my insurance, pay their salary and that I wanted a written referral by the end of the day and that Jim would be in to pick it up. Got the referral that same day. Yes, there is something there. Yes, it has grown a little from the one last year. But the second opinion (which concurs with my surgeon) is that it is not something to worry about at this time. It appears to both that it is a calcification rather than a tumor and that the growth is so minimal and the "spot" so small (less than 1/2 a cm) that invasive surgery at this time is not required. I had breast cancer in October, 1992 and don't miss a mammo or a pap test on a yearly basis. In fact until 2000, I have had two mammos a year.

I don't like being helpless. I don't like it, I don't people should allow themselves to be helpless. I believe that you should make noise and waves when and if necessary. If I see a wrong, I naturally want to correct it. Whether it is a wrong to me or my family or a stranger. I fight my battles fully armed with as much information as possible and usually have a back up plan.

Yes life goes on. And I make the most of each and every day of my life. It is too short to sit around and waste precious time on inconsequential things. There is no better proof than in my life with having lost my mother and my significant other to massive heart attacks. One minute they were talking to me, alive and well and laughing and the next they were gone. I could have lost Jim to the loss of blood caused by his doctor's prescription of a drug for back pain that has a side effect of eating the lining of your stomach. While the very same doctor knew he had stomach problems to start with. I could have not gone for my baseline at the age of 42 thinking I was too young and there was no history of cancer in our families and perhaps died of breast cancer.

To me life means living in full enjoyment. Savor the moments of love and laughter, of nature in all its splendor whether it is a snow storm or a soft spring evening. Inhale the delicious scent of a baby fresh from its bath and the softness of its skin. Truly feel the hug that a friend gives when you meet. And don't let the little things turn you bitter and sullen. INS in our instance is a little thing.

Rita

Toni B

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I don't know how FOIA's are going elsewhere, but in Houston, they are working on
requests from November, 2000. God only knows when they will become current.

LisaDtoo

Rita, I recommend you call the National Customer Service line and ask that they
submit a "status inquiry" on your and Jim's behalf. It seemed to have worked for us;
they're required to respond in 30 days. It's at least worth a try...

And believe me, I can relate to the "why us" questions...lol

You may see our wedding web page at the following URL: http://nguyen-huu.com/wedding

MDUdall

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I actually have not needed to submit a FOIA request for anybody in a while, but the
last couple I submitted while still in San Francisco came back in around 30 days. But
you are correct in that this could really depend on the work load at a particular INS
office. Most INS offices have designated FOIA officers.

Oh, wait a minute. I did submit one not too long ago for a battered spouse case that
I recently had approved. I wanted the file so I could get certain bits of evidence
that would have been submitted with the AOS and which the international spouse no
longer had (copy of the U.S. spouse's divorce decrees for example).

I had to track the bouncing case file from Jacksonville to the TSC, back to
Jacksonville, over to Miami, up to the VSC... Once I finally located the file (it
had been on quite a trip), the FOIA reply came back pretty fast (a couple of weeks
from the VSC).

M.U.

M.V.

Toni B

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I do wish you good luck. My request was placed promptly on the "complex track"
whatever that means. My guess is that everyone has to get their stories straight. I
already know that there are missing pages to this file,empty summary page, but I'm
really interested to see what I actually get. I need this file for documentation on
the waiver.