abhis0
09-19 10:42 AM
Nope I gave him all info with application mailed on 11 June. They shd be able to pull info with my LS, FS, DOb and center filed.. not by date filed. Lets hope for the best. Yes he could see my checks not cashed and no info about me in the system.. may be thats why he made an email inquiry to NSC.
Hope this helps.
Rph
Did you by any chance speculated to him that application might be in TSC based on LUD on I140?
Hope this helps.
Rph
Did you by any chance speculated to him that application might be in TSC based on LUD on I140?
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DesiGuy
09-12 06:39 PM
let's keep trying....last ball main sixer lag sakta hai ;)
we have US (IV), competeUSA and many silent well wishers
So, DO NOT LOSE HOPE....:)
lets keep our focus on doing the right thing - call lawmakers
we have US (IV), competeUSA and many silent well wishers
So, DO NOT LOSE HOPE....:)
lets keep our focus on doing the right thing - call lawmakers
dtekkedil
07-09 06:32 PM
This message is posted on USCIS website.
Atleast the Director is now aware of the sufferings of GC filers.
-----------------------
Message from USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez
I understand that individuals are planning to send flowers to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) beginning on Tuesday, July 10. USCIS has made arrangements to forward those flowers to our injured service members recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
------------------------
Is this for real???
Can you post a link here?
Atleast the Director is now aware of the sufferings of GC filers.
-----------------------
Message from USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez
I understand that individuals are planning to send flowers to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) beginning on Tuesday, July 10. USCIS has made arrangements to forward those flowers to our injured service members recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
------------------------
Is this for real???
Can you post a link here?
2011 Walt Disney World Resort,
a_yaja
01-24 02:12 PM
For those in South ( Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana) best way to go to India is new Emirates direct flight between Houston and Dubai and then onward to India.
I have had 3-4 friends fly this route since they started flying in November 2007 and they have nothing but praise for everything. These guys have excellent food and entertainment and no transit visa hassels plus duty free sopping in Dubai is good.
Pluse - they put you up in a hotel if your Dubai layover is more than 8 hrs (for economy class passengers) and you get a free transit visa to visit Dubai. During my last trip to Bangalore, I went via Dubai (NYC - Dubai direct flight) and on my way back we had 11 hrs layover. My wife and I got a chance to see the city. Next time we are going to India we are planning on staying for a few days and go for their desert camp trip.
I have had 3-4 friends fly this route since they started flying in November 2007 and they have nothing but praise for everything. These guys have excellent food and entertainment and no transit visa hassels plus duty free sopping in Dubai is good.
Pluse - they put you up in a hotel if your Dubai layover is more than 8 hrs (for economy class passengers) and you get a free transit visa to visit Dubai. During my last trip to Bangalore, I went via Dubai (NYC - Dubai direct flight) and on my way back we had 11 hrs layover. My wife and I got a chance to see the city. Next time we are going to India we are planning on staying for a few days and go for their desert camp trip.
more...
7software
09-15 05:24 PM
I would like to give update on visa availability. My PD is 03/06- EB2. Opened SR for me and my spouse on 08/30/10
1. For me, letter by USPS came stating that, I485 is at USCIS local office and will notify about decision in 30 days
2. Spouse got below response by email (On 09/13/2010)
"The status of this service request is:
Your I-485 application is waiting for a visa number to become available. When it becomes available, it will be assigned to an adjudicator to make a decision on the case.
If you have not heard from the service within 30 days after your number becomes available, you can make an Info pass appointment to visit the Customer Service Division,
at the District office"
On 09/14/10 we took infopass and spoke to customer service representative. She told that visa Numbers are not available any more and also checked validity of finger prints in system.
Told us that they are expired (Till now we gave 2 times, one in sept 07, 2nd one in may 09 (FP are valid for for 15m)) - I guess we need to give 3 rd time soon.
She told that dates for FP at ASC center are not available and will try to send us ASAP when Visa Numbers are available.
1. For me, letter by USPS came stating that, I485 is at USCIS local office and will notify about decision in 30 days
2. Spouse got below response by email (On 09/13/2010)
"The status of this service request is:
Your I-485 application is waiting for a visa number to become available. When it becomes available, it will be assigned to an adjudicator to make a decision on the case.
If you have not heard from the service within 30 days after your number becomes available, you can make an Info pass appointment to visit the Customer Service Division,
at the District office"
On 09/14/10 we took infopass and spoke to customer service representative. She told that visa Numbers are not available any more and also checked validity of finger prints in system.
Told us that they are expired (Till now we gave 2 times, one in sept 07, 2nd one in may 09 (FP are valid for for 15m)) - I guess we need to give 3 rd time soon.
She told that dates for FP at ASC center are not available and will try to send us ASAP when Visa Numbers are available.
hpandey
01-24 02:17 PM
Flying through Asian Countires is not an option for people residing in East Coast. I am travelling to India in the next week Via Amsterdam. I am told by the consulate that we do not need Transit Visas. My H1B Visa is expired and I am travelling on AP. Did any one hear differently?
Thanks
then you do not need a transit visa at Amsterdam.
Thanks
then you do not need a transit visa at Amsterdam.
more...
GC2002-2008
02-01 11:04 AM
This is my case in brief:
I resigned from company A (who sponsered by RIR LC, and I-140) about a year back.
Filed I485 using approved 140 of comapny A in July 07, in the485 application we mentioned the details of the current company I am working in. Got EAD and AP approved. (Company A's management is co-operative and supports me to take back)
Also got 3yr H1b extension approved for current company based on the approved I140 of company A.
Now Iam traveling to India. Had an appointment in Chennai consulate . My previous H1B visa expired in 2004.
Will there be any issues with that much gap 4yrs, in getting stamp?
Is it an issue not working for GC sponsoring employer?
If I use AP what are the issues?
If asked at PoE (Newark EWR) why not working with company A? what should be better answer?
Please respond.
I resigned from company A (who sponsered by RIR LC, and I-140) about a year back.
Filed I485 using approved 140 of comapny A in July 07, in the485 application we mentioned the details of the current company I am working in. Got EAD and AP approved. (Company A's management is co-operative and supports me to take back)
Also got 3yr H1b extension approved for current company based on the approved I140 of company A.
Now Iam traveling to India. Had an appointment in Chennai consulate . My previous H1B visa expired in 2004.
Will there be any issues with that much gap 4yrs, in getting stamp?
Is it an issue not working for GC sponsoring employer?
If I use AP what are the issues?
If asked at PoE (Newark EWR) why not working with company A? what should be better answer?
Please respond.
2010 Walt Disney World Resort
abhijitp
01-13 05:16 PM
wGpSCdeEkB4
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singhsa3
10-21 08:28 PM
Can you please state the source of ur information.
The contents of this postings are based on what I have read from various Lawyer's website and my lawyer's suggestions.
Multiple I-485 Fillings Scenario:
1. Two I-485 for the with the same primary applicant
Case a: One I-140/I-485 Pending with another employer and one I-140/I-485 to be filed in July with the current employer.
Case b: One I-140/I-485 Pending due to substituted labor (and cannot be expedited because premium processing not available). Another I-485 to be filed based on approved I-140 (on one's own labor). Both from the same employer.
2. Two I-485 with different primary applicants (Primary on one and dependent on other)
Case a: I-140 for one is approved while other's pending
Case b: Both I-140 Approved
Case c: Both filling concurrently in June
Pros and Cons
Scenario 1, Case a: In this case there is a substantial risk that I-485 filed with first employer might lead to issues esp if I-140 is not approved. Thus is a good idea to file another one with current employer. (Pro)
Scenario 1, Case a: How can one Adjust the Status from two employer at the same time. (Con)
Scenario 1, Case b: Since first I-485 application is already filed and I-140's outcome is not known. It is a good idea to file another one as a fall back option. If one waits for the outcome of first I-140 and it is denied and then it will be too late to file another I-485 because dates might have retrogressed.
Scenario 2, Case a: One with the approved I-140 should file I-485 with other as dependent.
Scenario 2, Case b: I-485 for both is almost ensured and thus filling two will give added cover in case something happens. One might have a better priority date than other. (Pro)
Scenario 2, Case b: Job loss of one would still allow other with AC-21 benefits. (Pro)
Scenario 2, Case b:Only one of the two partners has to stick to the job description and other is free to pursue anything (including studies).
Scenario 2, Case c: Use I-140 Premium Processing on at least one application for added certainty.
Summary of Pros and Cons
Pros:
1. More flexibility as there are two applications to fall back on.
2. Only opportunity to file EAD/AP before retrogression kicks in.
3. Useful if I-140 is pending and outcome of it is unknown.
4. There are NO USCIS memos that prohibits such filling explicitly.
5. Many lawyers have recommended this as a best option.
6. It has been mentioned that USCIS cancels the second I-485 after approving the other. That makes this a hassle free option.
7. If there are issues with multiple filling one of the application can be withdrawn.
8. If later on it turns out two application is a norm and right thing to do and retrogression hits one has no one to blame but himself.
Cons:
1. Cost of two fillings (if paid by self)
2. There have been indications by lawyers that two fillings could lead to unnecessary delays and interviews.
3. Apart from delays there has been indications that USCIS might issue an
RFE and ask to choose one.
Conclusion
========
There is nothing wrong with two filings, worst case scenario could be an RFE from USCIS to choose one. Best case scenario is USCIS upon approving one cancels other. Two filings indeed give you a peace of mind and reduce risk during the process. It doesn't change the outcome (like your application will not be denied just because you have filed two). If a little delay is acceptable to you as a price you pay to reduce a bigger risk and added benefits then multiple filing is right thing to do.
The contents of this postings are based on what I have read from various Lawyer's website and my lawyer's suggestions.
Multiple I-485 Fillings Scenario:
1. Two I-485 for the with the same primary applicant
Case a: One I-140/I-485 Pending with another employer and one I-140/I-485 to be filed in July with the current employer.
Case b: One I-140/I-485 Pending due to substituted labor (and cannot be expedited because premium processing not available). Another I-485 to be filed based on approved I-140 (on one's own labor). Both from the same employer.
2. Two I-485 with different primary applicants (Primary on one and dependent on other)
Case a: I-140 for one is approved while other's pending
Case b: Both I-140 Approved
Case c: Both filling concurrently in June
Pros and Cons
Scenario 1, Case a: In this case there is a substantial risk that I-485 filed with first employer might lead to issues esp if I-140 is not approved. Thus is a good idea to file another one with current employer. (Pro)
Scenario 1, Case a: How can one Adjust the Status from two employer at the same time. (Con)
Scenario 1, Case b: Since first I-485 application is already filed and I-140's outcome is not known. It is a good idea to file another one as a fall back option. If one waits for the outcome of first I-140 and it is denied and then it will be too late to file another I-485 because dates might have retrogressed.
Scenario 2, Case a: One with the approved I-140 should file I-485 with other as dependent.
Scenario 2, Case b: I-485 for both is almost ensured and thus filling two will give added cover in case something happens. One might have a better priority date than other. (Pro)
Scenario 2, Case b: Job loss of one would still allow other with AC-21 benefits. (Pro)
Scenario 2, Case b:Only one of the two partners has to stick to the job description and other is free to pursue anything (including studies).
Scenario 2, Case c: Use I-140 Premium Processing on at least one application for added certainty.
Summary of Pros and Cons
Pros:
1. More flexibility as there are two applications to fall back on.
2. Only opportunity to file EAD/AP before retrogression kicks in.
3. Useful if I-140 is pending and outcome of it is unknown.
4. There are NO USCIS memos that prohibits such filling explicitly.
5. Many lawyers have recommended this as a best option.
6. It has been mentioned that USCIS cancels the second I-485 after approving the other. That makes this a hassle free option.
7. If there are issues with multiple filling one of the application can be withdrawn.
8. If later on it turns out two application is a norm and right thing to do and retrogression hits one has no one to blame but himself.
Cons:
1. Cost of two fillings (if paid by self)
2. There have been indications by lawyers that two fillings could lead to unnecessary delays and interviews.
3. Apart from delays there has been indications that USCIS might issue an
RFE and ask to choose one.
Conclusion
========
There is nothing wrong with two filings, worst case scenario could be an RFE from USCIS to choose one. Best case scenario is USCIS upon approving one cancels other. Two filings indeed give you a peace of mind and reduce risk during the process. It doesn't change the outcome (like your application will not be denied just because you have filed two). If a little delay is acceptable to you as a price you pay to reduce a bigger risk and added benefits then multiple filing is right thing to do.
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meridiani.planum
10-02 04:21 AM
Hi All,
My friend whose PD is Dec 30 2004 - EB2 - Texas got his approval email. But he is already in india and travelling back this Oct 12th.
He already has valid Advanced Parole with him.
He wants to if there are any issues for him to enter at port of entry?
Any documents or print out of approval etc to be carried with him?
Does he needs to tell the office that his GC got approved?
Please help.
no trouble he can simply re-enter on advance parole. no need to carry any proof of approval of GC
My friend whose PD is Dec 30 2004 - EB2 - Texas got his approval email. But he is already in india and travelling back this Oct 12th.
He already has valid Advanced Parole with him.
He wants to if there are any issues for him to enter at port of entry?
Any documents or print out of approval etc to be carried with him?
Does he needs to tell the office that his GC got approved?
Please help.
no trouble he can simply re-enter on advance parole. no need to carry any proof of approval of GC
more...
jayleno
10-29 10:37 AM
None of the memos have stated that AC 21 can be used only in the case of lay offs. It could be a case of USCIS covering up a mistake they did. With the severe retrogression and impending recession there could be several reasons an employee will leave the employer.
One of the iv member, has stated that the I485 has been denied for his friend, upon withdrawl of 140 by his ex-employer. His ex-employer has informed USCIS, that the employee left the job on his own. Also, he quoted that "USCIS denied I485 because, ac21 can be used in case of layoffs only , not switching for jobs"
In your letter you are requesting to give RFE/NOID before denial, but the fundamental reason for denial is different in the above case. what is use of getting RFE/NOID, in that case?
thanks,
aps
One of the iv member, has stated that the I485 has been denied for his friend, upon withdrawl of 140 by his ex-employer. His ex-employer has informed USCIS, that the employee left the job on his own. Also, he quoted that "USCIS denied I485 because, ac21 can be used in case of layoffs only , not switching for jobs"
In your letter you are requesting to give RFE/NOID before denial, but the fundamental reason for denial is different in the above case. what is use of getting RFE/NOID, in that case?
thanks,
aps
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BharatPremi
09-24 03:36 PM
"7% country speciific limit for primary applicants" and "2% country specific dependent limit" is mentioned in every bulletin published so far and so actually it is 9% limit - country specific together.
But question is " what is the meaning of it?" and "How to read it?"
Now the tables what are published in bulletin and we smash our heads daily on them are meant for "Visa number availability" not for "Physical Green card orderering".
So numbers (28.6% divided by 5 per each preference-country) are meant for USCIS to process and assign visa numbers till that limit reached.
"7% + 2%" country specific limit is meant for "Sending Greencard /Ordering Greencard".
In simplest form, EB-I will have 8008 X 3 (Without spilied over) = 24024 applications assigned Visa number this year and out of that ( 9% X 140000 = 12600) lucky ones will get their physical green cards THIS YEAR. The rest will get their physical green cards next year though their files have been assigned numbers (Pre-adjudicated.) this year.
Above mentioned explanation is the real meaning of this bullshit.
calculating and interpreting 0.07 x 0.286 for particular country is a wrong concept and I know millions of us follow that in their analysis and arguments but that is completely wrong.
But question is " what is the meaning of it?" and "How to read it?"
Now the tables what are published in bulletin and we smash our heads daily on them are meant for "Visa number availability" not for "Physical Green card orderering".
So numbers (28.6% divided by 5 per each preference-country) are meant for USCIS to process and assign visa numbers till that limit reached.
"7% + 2%" country specific limit is meant for "Sending Greencard /Ordering Greencard".
In simplest form, EB-I will have 8008 X 3 (Without spilied over) = 24024 applications assigned Visa number this year and out of that ( 9% X 140000 = 12600) lucky ones will get their physical green cards THIS YEAR. The rest will get their physical green cards next year though their files have been assigned numbers (Pre-adjudicated.) this year.
Above mentioned explanation is the real meaning of this bullshit.
calculating and interpreting 0.07 x 0.286 for particular country is a wrong concept and I know millions of us follow that in their analysis and arguments but that is completely wrong.
more...
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DallasBlue
09-13 03:00 PM
Caught in a Bureaucratic Black Hole
By Anna Gorman
The Los Angeles Times
Monday 10 September 2007
Applicants seeking US citizenship languish for years as the FBI conducts cumbersome records checks. Lawsuits are a result.
Seeking to become a U.S. citizen, Biljana Petrovic filed her application, completed her interview and passed her civics test.
More than three years later, she is still waiting to be naturalized - held up by an FBI name-check process that has been criticized as slow, inefficient and a danger to national security.
Petrovic, a stay-at-home mother in Los Altos, Calif., who has no criminal record, has sued the federal government to try to speed up the process. She said it's as if her application has slipped into a "black hole."
"It's complete frustration," said Petrovic, who is originally from the former Yugoslavia and is a naturalized Canadian citizen. "It's not like I am applying to enter the country. I have been here for 19 years."
Nearly 320,000 people were waiting for their name checks to be completed as of Aug. 7, including more than 152,000 who had been waiting for more than six months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. More than 61,000 had been waiting for more than two years.
Applicants for permanent residency or citizenship have lost jobs, missed out on student loans and in-state tuition, and been unable to vote or bring relatives into the country. The delays have prompted scores of lawsuits around the country.
Already this fiscal year, more than 4,100 suits have been filed against the citizenship and immigration agency, compared with 2,650 last year and about 680 in 2005. The mandamus suits ask federal judges to compel immigration officials to adjudicate the cases. The majority of the cases were prompted by delays in checking names, spokesman Chris Bentley said.
"There is nothing in immigration law that says that a citizenship application should take two, three, four years. That's absurd," said Ranjana Natarajan, an ACLU staff attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit in Southern California last year on behalf of applicants waiting for their names to be checked. "People who have not been any sort of threat ... have been caught up in this dragnet."
In addition to the bureaucratic nightmare that the lengthy delays present, attorneys and government officials say there is a far more serious concern: They could be allowing potential terrorists to stay in the country.
Fallout From 9/11
The backlog began after 9/11, when Citizenship and Immigration Services officials reassessed their procedures and learned that the FBI checks were not as thorough as they had believed. So "out of an abundance of caution," the agency resubmitted 2.7 million names in 2002 to be checked further, Bentley said.
Rather than simply determining if the applicants were subjects of FBI investigations, the bureau checked to see if their names showed up in any FBI files, including being listed as witnesses or victims. About 90% of the names did not appear in the agency's records, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said.
But for the 10% who were listed, authorities carefully reviewed the files to look for any "derogatory" information, Carter said. Because many documents aren't electronic and are in the bureau's 265 offices nationwide, that process can take months, if not years.
"It is not a check of your name," said Chuck Roth, director of litigation for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, which also filed a class-action suit. "It is a file review of anywhere your name happens to appear. It has just created a giant bureaucratic mess."
Although many of those stuck in the backlog are from predominantly Muslim countries, there are also people from Russia, China, India and elsewhere. They include government employees and Iraq war veterans. Many have been in the U.S. legally for decades.
In one case decided in Washington, D.C., recently, a federal judge wrote that a Chinese man's four-year wait for permanent residency was unreasonable and ordered the government to decide on the application within three months. Petrovic, who has two U.S.-born teenagers, doesn't know what delayed her application. The only explanation she can think of is that her name is common in her native country.
She and her husband, Ihab Abu-Hakima, also a Canadian citizen, applied for citizenship in April 2003 and had their interviews in February 2004. Her husband was sworn in that summer, while her application continued to languish. She checked the mail daily.
When she still didn't hear anything, Petrovic contacted immigration officials, who told her that the FBI had her file and that it was still active. She also contacted her representative and her senator, whose offices asked Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite the application. She filed a Freedom of Information Act request for her FBI file, which simply showed that she had never been arrested.
"I have a feeling that the system has broken down," she said.
Joining a Different Group
In August, Petrovic joined an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed in Northern California against the federal government. She is waiting to become a U.S. citizen so she can sponsor her elderly parents, who live in Canada and visit often.
"Every time they leave, I feel bad," she said. "This is their life here, more than there."
The problem extends beyond the disruption of personal lives.
In his yearly report to Congress in June, immigration services ombudsman Prakash wrote that the policy on checking names "may increase the risk to national security by extending the time a potential criminal or terrorist remains in the country." questioned the overall value of the process, writing that it was the "single biggest obstacle to the timely and efficient delivery of immigration benefits."
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged the threat, last month announcing plans to work with the FBI to address the backlog and reduce delays. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reassess the way name checks are done and earmark $6 million toward streamlining the process, Bentley said.
Though 99% of the agency's name checks are completed within six months, Bentley said, the lengthy delays for some applicants is "unacceptable."
"That requires a lot of patience on the part of an applicant because they have to wait sometimes multiple years," he said.
Nevertheless, he said, no benefit will be approved until that name check comes back clear. Security checks have produced information about sex crimes, drug trafficking and individuals with known links to terrorism, according to the agency.
Carter, the FBI spokesman, said he understands that applicants waiting for answers are anxious, but he said the process is complicated and involves dozens of agencies and databases - and, in some cases, foreign governments.
"The FBI's No. 1 priority remains to protect the United States from terrorist attack," Carter said. "To that end, we must ensure the proper balance between security and efficiency."
In addition to clearing the backlog and processing the 27,000 new name checks it receives each week from immigration officials, the FBI is trying to accelerate the process by making more documents electronic. It is also adding more staff and moving resources to a new records facility in Virginia, Carter said.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, said the government needs to make sure that it carefully checks every application. And working with foreign governments is inevitably going to slow the process down, he said.
"We correctly have much more stringent standards for immigration," he said. "I am not really sure that there is any way to do this kind of deep background check efficiently."
But attorneys said that because of the inefficiency, the program isn't serving its purpose.
"Let's say this guy is a terrorist or a criminal," Los Angeles immigration attorney Carl Shusterman said. "Why wouldn't the FBI rush the case?"
Mervyn Sam, a South African native who got a green card in 1998, has been waiting more than four years for the FBI to complete his name check. Sam said his career has been affected by the delay. He lives in Anaheim and is a project manager at a software company but cannot work on certain government projects because he is not a U.S. citizen. He has sued the federal government.
"I am not sure what the hiccup is on my end," he said. "It is very, very frustrating."
Shusterman, whose office is representing Sam, said applicants waste their time by contacting the immigration services agency, the FBI or their legislators.
"There is only one thing that works, and that is suing them in federal court," he said.
--------
anna.gorman@latimes.com
By Anna Gorman
The Los Angeles Times
Monday 10 September 2007
Applicants seeking US citizenship languish for years as the FBI conducts cumbersome records checks. Lawsuits are a result.
Seeking to become a U.S. citizen, Biljana Petrovic filed her application, completed her interview and passed her civics test.
More than three years later, she is still waiting to be naturalized - held up by an FBI name-check process that has been criticized as slow, inefficient and a danger to national security.
Petrovic, a stay-at-home mother in Los Altos, Calif., who has no criminal record, has sued the federal government to try to speed up the process. She said it's as if her application has slipped into a "black hole."
"It's complete frustration," said Petrovic, who is originally from the former Yugoslavia and is a naturalized Canadian citizen. "It's not like I am applying to enter the country. I have been here for 19 years."
Nearly 320,000 people were waiting for their name checks to be completed as of Aug. 7, including more than 152,000 who had been waiting for more than six months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. More than 61,000 had been waiting for more than two years.
Applicants for permanent residency or citizenship have lost jobs, missed out on student loans and in-state tuition, and been unable to vote or bring relatives into the country. The delays have prompted scores of lawsuits around the country.
Already this fiscal year, more than 4,100 suits have been filed against the citizenship and immigration agency, compared with 2,650 last year and about 680 in 2005. The mandamus suits ask federal judges to compel immigration officials to adjudicate the cases. The majority of the cases were prompted by delays in checking names, spokesman Chris Bentley said.
"There is nothing in immigration law that says that a citizenship application should take two, three, four years. That's absurd," said Ranjana Natarajan, an ACLU staff attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit in Southern California last year on behalf of applicants waiting for their names to be checked. "People who have not been any sort of threat ... have been caught up in this dragnet."
In addition to the bureaucratic nightmare that the lengthy delays present, attorneys and government officials say there is a far more serious concern: They could be allowing potential terrorists to stay in the country.
Fallout From 9/11
The backlog began after 9/11, when Citizenship and Immigration Services officials reassessed their procedures and learned that the FBI checks were not as thorough as they had believed. So "out of an abundance of caution," the agency resubmitted 2.7 million names in 2002 to be checked further, Bentley said.
Rather than simply determining if the applicants were subjects of FBI investigations, the bureau checked to see if their names showed up in any FBI files, including being listed as witnesses or victims. About 90% of the names did not appear in the agency's records, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said.
But for the 10% who were listed, authorities carefully reviewed the files to look for any "derogatory" information, Carter said. Because many documents aren't electronic and are in the bureau's 265 offices nationwide, that process can take months, if not years.
"It is not a check of your name," said Chuck Roth, director of litigation for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, which also filed a class-action suit. "It is a file review of anywhere your name happens to appear. It has just created a giant bureaucratic mess."
Although many of those stuck in the backlog are from predominantly Muslim countries, there are also people from Russia, China, India and elsewhere. They include government employees and Iraq war veterans. Many have been in the U.S. legally for decades.
In one case decided in Washington, D.C., recently, a federal judge wrote that a Chinese man's four-year wait for permanent residency was unreasonable and ordered the government to decide on the application within three months. Petrovic, who has two U.S.-born teenagers, doesn't know what delayed her application. The only explanation she can think of is that her name is common in her native country.
She and her husband, Ihab Abu-Hakima, also a Canadian citizen, applied for citizenship in April 2003 and had their interviews in February 2004. Her husband was sworn in that summer, while her application continued to languish. She checked the mail daily.
When she still didn't hear anything, Petrovic contacted immigration officials, who told her that the FBI had her file and that it was still active. She also contacted her representative and her senator, whose offices asked Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite the application. She filed a Freedom of Information Act request for her FBI file, which simply showed that she had never been arrested.
"I have a feeling that the system has broken down," she said.
Joining a Different Group
In August, Petrovic joined an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed in Northern California against the federal government. She is waiting to become a U.S. citizen so she can sponsor her elderly parents, who live in Canada and visit often.
"Every time they leave, I feel bad," she said. "This is their life here, more than there."
The problem extends beyond the disruption of personal lives.
In his yearly report to Congress in June, immigration services ombudsman Prakash wrote that the policy on checking names "may increase the risk to national security by extending the time a potential criminal or terrorist remains in the country." questioned the overall value of the process, writing that it was the "single biggest obstacle to the timely and efficient delivery of immigration benefits."
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged the threat, last month announcing plans to work with the FBI to address the backlog and reduce delays. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reassess the way name checks are done and earmark $6 million toward streamlining the process, Bentley said.
Though 99% of the agency's name checks are completed within six months, Bentley said, the lengthy delays for some applicants is "unacceptable."
"That requires a lot of patience on the part of an applicant because they have to wait sometimes multiple years," he said.
Nevertheless, he said, no benefit will be approved until that name check comes back clear. Security checks have produced information about sex crimes, drug trafficking and individuals with known links to terrorism, according to the agency.
Carter, the FBI spokesman, said he understands that applicants waiting for answers are anxious, but he said the process is complicated and involves dozens of agencies and databases - and, in some cases, foreign governments.
"The FBI's No. 1 priority remains to protect the United States from terrorist attack," Carter said. "To that end, we must ensure the proper balance between security and efficiency."
In addition to clearing the backlog and processing the 27,000 new name checks it receives each week from immigration officials, the FBI is trying to accelerate the process by making more documents electronic. It is also adding more staff and moving resources to a new records facility in Virginia, Carter said.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, said the government needs to make sure that it carefully checks every application. And working with foreign governments is inevitably going to slow the process down, he said.
"We correctly have much more stringent standards for immigration," he said. "I am not really sure that there is any way to do this kind of deep background check efficiently."
But attorneys said that because of the inefficiency, the program isn't serving its purpose.
"Let's say this guy is a terrorist or a criminal," Los Angeles immigration attorney Carl Shusterman said. "Why wouldn't the FBI rush the case?"
Mervyn Sam, a South African native who got a green card in 1998, has been waiting more than four years for the FBI to complete his name check. Sam said his career has been affected by the delay. He lives in Anaheim and is a project manager at a software company but cannot work on certain government projects because he is not a U.S. citizen. He has sued the federal government.
"I am not sure what the hiccup is on my end," he said. "It is very, very frustrating."
Shusterman, whose office is representing Sam, said applicants waste their time by contacting the immigration services agency, the FBI or their legislators.
"There is only one thing that works, and that is suing them in federal court," he said.
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anna.gorman@latimes.com
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hpandey
01-24 02:17 PM
Flying through Asian Countires is not an option for people residing in East Coast. I am travelling to India in the next week Via Amsterdam. I am told by the consulate that we do not need Transit Visas. My H1B Visa is expired and I am travelling on AP. Did any one hear differently?
Thanks
then you do not need a transit visa at Amsterdam.
Thanks
then you do not need a transit visa at Amsterdam.
more...
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PDOCT05
10-01 12:23 PM
I had called up USCIS and they have transferred the call to second level IO, as my application is 90 days old. They donot find the information yet. (My employer says, they clubbed the applications in one fedex box and sent it. Got the list of FedEx tracking number, one tracking number has 4 pounds, so guessing he would have put my application in it. ) The IO says, I have to take the fedex tracking number printout as proof and send them by postal mail, so that they can track back with their computer systems. Do now know when I will receive RNs. May be I have to maintain another tracking number for this inquiry mail also.
Please post your experiances about calling to USCIS today.
Friend I just called to USCIS.No information yet and she could able to find all my I-140 info and my employer details. But no information beyound that.I requested her what should i do..it's been 90 days? She said wait for 2 more weeks ..they still have lot of applications it seems and it may take 2 weeks to one month.
Please post your experiances about calling to USCIS today.
Friend I just called to USCIS.No information yet and she could able to find all my I-140 info and my employer details. But no information beyound that.I requested her what should i do..it's been 90 days? She said wait for 2 more weeks ..they still have lot of applications it seems and it may take 2 weeks to one month.
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nish
06-15 10:37 PM
Hi,
One of my friend is working in L1 on Informatica tool for one of the financial client.
Does it mean that his company is violationg rules?
His company is harrassing much for some personal reason and asking him to come back home country
what action he can take against his company if his company viaolating L1 rules.
Please anyone come across this situation then give us your suggestion.
Appericiate your help in advance
Can somebody reply to my question...?
One of my friend is working in L1 on Informatica tool for one of the financial client.
Does it mean that his company is violationg rules?
His company is harrassing much for some personal reason and asking him to come back home country
what action he can take against his company if his company viaolating L1 rules.
Please anyone come across this situation then give us your suggestion.
Appericiate your help in advance
Can somebody reply to my question...?
more...
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sledge_hammer
07-11 10:27 AM
This is not a bad idea.
If everyone think this is a good idea, then we need to do this with a little more planning than the flower campaign.
We can route the pizzas to hospitals and orphanages, shelter for the homeless etc also.
Core group, please chew on this idea!
I AM ORDERING PIZZA and gourmet food from local restuarants every week to be delivered to Emilio Gonzalez
The delivery will be on the 15th July.
Anybody want to join
If everyone think this is a good idea, then we need to do this with a little more planning than the flower campaign.
We can route the pizzas to hospitals and orphanages, shelter for the homeless etc also.
Core group, please chew on this idea!
I AM ORDERING PIZZA and gourmet food from local restuarants every week to be delivered to Emilio Gonzalez
The delivery will be on the 15th July.
Anybody want to join
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dixie
02-21 07:27 PM
Not so. There are no quota caps for spouses of US citizens, hence no retrogression.
You can do that. But the Family based immigration is very slow too
You can do that. But the Family based immigration is very slow too
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n2b
08-14 08:30 AM
PD - 10/15/2005
Center - NSC
RD - 7/2/2007
ND - 8/4/2007
Opened SR on 8/3 and InfoPass appointment on 8/9 (useless)
Received SR response on 8/11 saying the application is in review.
Seems like SR works!!! Finally something that works!!!
My only confusion now is my application status - "On August 13, 2010, we mailed you a notice that we had registered this customer's new permanent resident status. Please follow any instructions on the notice. Your new permanent resident card should be mailed within 60 days following this registration or after you complete any ADIT processing referred to in the welcome notice, whichever is later."
I do not know what ADIT means? Did anyone get similar response? What are the next steps from here in your experience? Thank you for the help in advance.
Just an update from my end that I checked my status online again and I now see the CPO status....also received the CPO emails while I was typing this message....GLTA!!!
Center - NSC
RD - 7/2/2007
ND - 8/4/2007
Opened SR on 8/3 and InfoPass appointment on 8/9 (useless)
Received SR response on 8/11 saying the application is in review.
Seems like SR works!!! Finally something that works!!!
My only confusion now is my application status - "On August 13, 2010, we mailed you a notice that we had registered this customer's new permanent resident status. Please follow any instructions on the notice. Your new permanent resident card should be mailed within 60 days following this registration or after you complete any ADIT processing referred to in the welcome notice, whichever is later."
I do not know what ADIT means? Did anyone get similar response? What are the next steps from here in your experience? Thank you for the help in advance.
Just an update from my end that I checked my status online again and I now see the CPO status....also received the CPO emails while I was typing this message....GLTA!!!
MeraNaamJoker
09-15 01:36 PM
Can someone please post the steps to open an SR and get an Infopass? I may have a biometrics appointment coming up soon. Can they help with application status questions?
TIA
Biometrics has no questions to answer. Just follow their instructions at the center.
To create SR,
Call the toll free number and select some options for you to reach a live representative.
Tell them that you are waiting for a very long time and needs update.
You need to have your receipt notice with you. And your wife too (matters only if you are married, just for the sake of it, do not bring in anyone else's wife...just kidding)
If your wife is not with you, they will create the SR for her. Hence suggested. Take down the name of Rep and the confirmation number.
That's it.
TIA
Biometrics has no questions to answer. Just follow their instructions at the center.
To create SR,
Call the toll free number and select some options for you to reach a live representative.
Tell them that you are waiting for a very long time and needs update.
You need to have your receipt notice with you. And your wife too (matters only if you are married, just for the sake of it, do not bring in anyone else's wife...just kidding)
If your wife is not with you, they will create the SR for her. Hence suggested. Take down the name of Rep and the confirmation number.
That's it.
mnkaushik
07-17 02:28 PM
Hi Ron,
My Priority date is Jan 2004, EB3-India category and i have an approved I-140 and have applied my 485 during July 07. I have sent my EAD and AP for renewal which expire in last week of September. My spouse is in EB2-India having pd Dec 2005, also applied I-485 (140 is approved) during July 07 and has applied for EAD and AP renewal, which expire in last week of October. We both applied independently and are using our H1bs and not EAds.
Since my spouse's PD is going to be current in August 2008, I was planning on applying for a second 485 as a dependent on my spouse's application.
I know that two 485 applications causes issues. I want your recommendation and also will my application affect my wife's processing time or create issues for her.
Thanks,
Kaushik
Ron's reply -
You don't need to file a new I-485. Make the CIS aware of your spouse's case and your eligibility under it as a dependent. Ask them to cross reference to the two cases.
You can follow this thread in the following link - http://www.immigration-information.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5689
Also has anyone tried this approach and Also does anyone has expeirence being Ron's client?
My Priority date is Jan 2004, EB3-India category and i have an approved I-140 and have applied my 485 during July 07. I have sent my EAD and AP for renewal which expire in last week of September. My spouse is in EB2-India having pd Dec 2005, also applied I-485 (140 is approved) during July 07 and has applied for EAD and AP renewal, which expire in last week of October. We both applied independently and are using our H1bs and not EAds.
Since my spouse's PD is going to be current in August 2008, I was planning on applying for a second 485 as a dependent on my spouse's application.
I know that two 485 applications causes issues. I want your recommendation and also will my application affect my wife's processing time or create issues for her.
Thanks,
Kaushik
Ron's reply -
You don't need to file a new I-485. Make the CIS aware of your spouse's case and your eligibility under it as a dependent. Ask them to cross reference to the two cases.
You can follow this thread in the following link - http://www.immigration-information.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5689
Also has anyone tried this approach and Also does anyone has expeirence being Ron's client?
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