New processing times - is the USCIS lying?

[James 2]

There are essentially the people you can send your complaints to:

- Both of your US Senators

- The Chair and Ranking Member of the Immigration Subcommittee of each House of Congress

- The Secretary of DHS

- THe Director of USCIS

- Your Congressman

- The USCIS Ombudsman

- The Inspector General of DHS

These are the people who actually have the outside influence to do something and the people who need to know what is going on. If we do not let them know what is going on, they can't do anything about it.

The two senators and the representative are obvious contacts for complaints. I had never heard of the USCIS Ombudsman before, what is his/her influence? And what is the job and the influence of the Inspector General? (I don't believe that the Secretary or the Director would react to our complaints if they are not brought forward by the other contacts on the list.)

The USCIS Ombudsman

The Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) provides recommendations for resolving individual and employer problems with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). As mandated by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 § 452, CISOMB is an independent DHS office that reports directly to the DHS Deputy Secretary. The CIS Ombudsman:

Assists individuals and employers in resolving problems with USCIS;

Identifies areas in which individuals and employers have problems in dealing with USCIS; and

Proposes changes to mitigate identified problems.

DHS Inspector General

The Inspector General is responsible for conducting and supervising audits, investigations, and inspections relating to the programs and operations of the Department. The OIG is to examine, evaluate and, where necessary, critique these operations and activities, recommending ways for the Department to carry out its responsibilities in the most effective, efficient, and economical manner possible.

The longtime (almost 5 years) CIS ombudsman resigned effective March 1. The agency says his resignation was unconnected to his repeated and insistent criticisms of CIS regarding its horrible backlogs. Most people think otherwise. CIS has appointed a government shill to take his place. I don't expect he will rock the boat.

[kristimunn 0]

The new processing date of the I-751 at the Nebraska service center is Feb 9, 2007, as of Dec 14, 2007 . As far as I understand, that means that at Dec 14, the oldest non-processed I-751 application should be from Feb 9, 2007, or am I wrong? There are many of us who have a NOA with a date before Feb 9 who haven't heard anything from the USCIS until Dec 14, and there seems to be none that has been approved or received a RFE after September this year. What is going on? I can understand that a few applications can be missed when counting, after all, not counting but processing is their job. There are, however, too many "missed" application now. I have read on their website that they have been overwhelmed this summer with new applications, especially naturalizations. So, why don't they admit that they can't make progress with old less-urgent application like ours now? Why are they lying instead?

Below are the data from some applicants out of the status thread, many of them having a NOA before 02/09/07. Please add yourself or give your data, if you fall into this time window.

UserName............Serv. Ctr.....Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date.......Biometrics......Approved

haozi101........... NSC...........11/27/06..........12/06/06........01/03/07........09/14/07

Bertrand............NSC...........12/19/06..........12/27/06........01/20/07........--/--/--

jennybirgitta.......NSC...........01/13/07..........01/18/07........02/14/07........--/--/--

dee.................NSC...........01/25/07..........01/29/07........02/20/07........--/--/--

chus................NSC...........01/26/07..........02/03/07........02/23/07........--/--/--

Peter T.............NSC...........01/27/07..........02/01/07........03/09/07........--/--/--

Illinois............NSC...........02/19/07..........02/23/07........04/18/07........--/--/--

Frances.............NSC...........04/02/07..........05/05/07........05/24/07........--/--/--

Kearinne............NSC...........04/09/07..........04/30/07........06/02/07........--/--/--

gyuwono.............NSC...........04/17/07..........04/20/07........05/18/07........--/--/--

charlie & yeng......NSC...........04/19/07..........05/01/07........06/02/07........--/--/-- (re-submitted 4/27/07)

how do u know if your case was touched??

[jamieswith 0]

how do u know if your case was touched??

One of two ways... either the date on the online status changes without actually changing your status....

Or you just get that special feeling.... lol

[iansig40 1]

Few weeks ago I suggested that every single one of us should send a letter to Nebraska asking for an explanation why is taking so long to process our applications and why the older applications were left unattached collecting dust (or even getting lost) while the newer ones were transferred to California and approved within 3 to 4 months

Guess what ....not even one person wanted to join this kind of protest ,more then that someone (I won't name it ) even sad not to do it because it will slow down the process even more ,can you believe that ?????

You won't find any support here as pretty much everyone is willing to put up with this BS. Sad but true !

That was me and I stand to my word!

Oh, and "every single one of us" would be about... hmmm 35 letters? I don't think you'd make a difference that way. If you really want change, vote (or have your spouse vote..) for the right people and address the folks above the service center level. You won't achive anything by bogging down the SC itself. IMHO

Better 35 letters then nothing or we want to give them the impression that everything is OK ?

A vote won't bring anything positive for me right now specially after waiting 13 months ,I hope you realize that .

And now because you probably don't know this but today when I called USCIS after contacting my Senator ,they acknowledged that Nebraska IS NOT PROCESSING I-751 Applications anymore .Didn't 't get any details why but what I got instead was an "Expediting Service Request " for March 18,2008. Maybe some other people will consider now calling USCIS too and get the same thing except maybe you !

[2long 0]

Few weeks ago I suggested that every single one of us should send a letter to Nebraska asking for an explanation why is taking so long to process our applications and why the older applications were left unattached collecting dust (or even getting lost) while the newer ones were transferred to California and approved within 3 to 4 months

Guess what ....not even one person wanted to join this kind of protest ,more then that someone (I won't name it ) even sad not to do it because it will slow down the process even more ,can you believe that ?????

You won't find any support here as pretty much everyone is willing to put up with this BS. Sad but true !

That was me and I stand to my word!

Oh, and "every single one of us" would be about... hmmm 35 letters? I don't think you'd make a difference that way. If you really want change, vote (or have your spouse vote..) for the right people and address the folks above the service center level. You won't achive anything by bogging down the SC itself. IMHO

Better 35 letters then nothing or we want to give them the impression that everything is OK ?

A vote won't bring anything positive for me right now specially after waiting 13 months ,I hope you realize that .

And now because you probably don't know this but today when I called USCIS after contacting my Senator ,they acknowledged that Nebraska IS NOT PROCESSING I-751 Applications anymore .Didn't 't get any details why but what I got instead was an "Expediting Service Request " for March 18,2008. Maybe some other people will consider now calling USCIS too and get the same thing except maybe you !

A Postive suggestion is dont show them anger but show them polite Protest by sending flowers with one line note.Many of us already files or will be filling N-400.Send Uscis a flower and Note that either process our N-400 on Priority or Process our I-751 soon.

Few guys on H1b visa Protest that way and it worked for them,When they extend the 485 filling window for them.Uscis Director was impressed by that Protest

If they dont have time to Process our I-751 atleast they can expediate N-400 for us.

Think about this and all positive suggestions are welcome.

[iansig40 1]

Few weeks ago I suggested that every single one of us should send a letter to Nebraska asking for an explanation why is taking so long to process our applications and why the older applications were left unattached collecting dust (or even getting lost) while the newer ones were transferred to California and approved within 3 to 4 months

Guess what ....not even one person wanted to join this kind of protest ,more then that someone (I won't name it ) even sad not to do it because it will slow down the process even more ,can you believe that ?????

You won't find any support here as pretty much everyone is willing to put up with this BS. Sad but true !

That was me and I stand to my word!

Oh, and "every single one of us" would be about... hmmm 35 letters? I don't think you'd make a difference that way. If you really want change, vote (or have your spouse vote..) for the right people and address the folks above the service center level. You won't achive anything by bogging down the SC itself. IMHO

Better 35 letters then nothing or we want to give them the impression that everything is OK ?

A vote won't bring anything positive for me right now specially after waiting 13 months ,I hope you realize that .

And now because you probably don't know this but today when I called USCIS after contacting my Senator ,they acknowledged that Nebraska IS NOT PROCESSING I-751 Applications anymore .Didn't 't get any details why but what I got instead was an "Expediting Service Request " for March 18,2008. Maybe some other people will consider now calling USCIS too and get the same thing except maybe you !

A Postive suggestion is dont show them anger but show them polite Protest by sending flowers with one line note.Many of us already files or will be filling N-400.Send Uscis a flower and Note that either process our N-400 on Priority or Process our I-751 soon.

Few guys on H1b visa Protest that way and it worked for them,When they extend the 485 filling window for them.Uscis Director was impressed by that Protest

If they dont have time to Process our I-751 atleast they can expediate N-400 for us.

Think about this and all positive suggestions are welcome.

You go ahead and send them a flower .

After waiting for 13 months and seeing how others were aproved in three months you want me to send them flowers ?

I don't understand why you guys encourage their incompetence

[MDZJ 0]

I just went on the infopass website again trying to schedule an info pass to get the one year extension stamp for the Denver office. And I got this message. This is at least the 3rd time I am on that website. I have no clue why this doesn't work.

"At this time, there are no information appointments available for the office in your area. Please try back again later."

I did write a letter the day the July 05, 2006 date came out, even included key documents with a plea of concern to make whoever read that letter easy to read, with all the information in front of them. No reply as of yet, and perhaps a waste of a stamp. Calling the toll free number on case status only results in keying in your application number to hear the same thing on the web and if your application date doesn't exceed the processing date, don't bother us kind of thing. Infopass appointments can only be made two weeks in advance and no sense in making that long trip until the very last minute.

Glad I made that call to my senators office yesterday, least have some knowledge and they promised to make the inquiry for us.

Just put a big red X on my calendar, won't hold my breathe, and if nothing happens between then and now, will make that infopass appointment.

What else can one do? Those that pushed either got yelled at or who knows what happened to their application. The ball is in their court. Those that I know that sent in their I-751 early, had it returned, but is 90 days really enough?

[jamieswith 0]

I just went on the infopass website again trying to schedule an info pass to get the one year extension stamp for the Denver office. And I got this message. This is at least the 3rd time I am on that website. I have no clue why this doesn't work.

"At this time, there are no information appointments available for the office in your area. Please try back again later."

I did write a letter the day the July 05, 2006 date came out, even included key documents with a plea of concern to make whoever read that letter easy to read, with all the information in front of them. No reply as of yet, and perhaps a waste of a stamp. Calling the toll free number on case status only results in keying in your application number to hear the same thing on the web and if your application date doesn't exceed the processing date, don't bother us kind of thing. Infopass appointments can only be made two weeks in advance and no sense in making that long trip until the very last minute.

Glad I made that call to my senators office yesterday, least have some knowledge and they promised to make the inquiry for us.

Just put a big red X on my calendar, won't hold my breathe, and if nothing happens between then and now, will make that infopass appointment.

What else can one do? Those that pushed either got yelled at or who knows what happened to their application. The ball is in their court. Those that I know that sent in their I-751 early, had it returned, but is 90 days really enough?

I've had this exact trouble before getting appointments in the past... but I found this trick quite by accident... worked in the past, might want to try it if you can.... it might only have been for my local office at the time... no idea if it's the case where you are too.... but here goes...

A whole bunch of new appointment slots appear on the system at 2am ET each day.... if you go on the system at like 2am, 2.01am etc you quite often find a whole bunch of available slots...

[MDZJ 0]

awesome, thank you for the advice. I just got myself an infopass appoint on 3/28 early morning. Hopefully they will give me a 12 month extension but not take my temp PR card away. I feel like an illegal in this country right now.

I just went on the infopass website again trying to schedule an info pass to get the one year extension stamp for the Denver office. And I got this message. This is at least the 3rd time I am on that website. I have no clue why this doesn't work.

"At this time, there are no information appointments available for the office in your area. Please try back again later."

I did write a letter the day the July 05, 2006 date came out, even included key documents with a plea of concern to make whoever read that letter easy to read, with all the information in front of them. No reply as of yet, and perhaps a waste of a stamp. Calling the toll free number on case status only results in keying in your application number to hear the same thing on the web and if your application date doesn't exceed the processing date, don't bother us kind of thing. Infopass appointments can only be made two weeks in advance and no sense in making that long trip until the very last minute.

Glad I made that call to my senators office yesterday, least have some knowledge and they promised to make the inquiry for us.

Just put a big red X on my calendar, won't hold my breathe, and if nothing happens between then and now, will make that infopass appointment.

What else can one do? Those that pushed either got yelled at or who knows what happened to their application. The ball is in their court. Those that I know that sent in their I-751 early, had it returned, but is 90 days really enough?

I've had this exact trouble before getting appointments in the past... but I found this trick quite by accident... worked in the past, might want to try it if you can.... it might only have been for my local office at the time... no idea if it's the case where you are too.... but here goes...

A whole bunch of new appointment slots appear on the system at 2am ET each day.... if you go on the system at like 2am, 2.01am etc you quite often find a whole bunch of available slots...

[NickD 202]

That makes sense for making infopass appointments with a two week limit, each new day should open another new day at the end of that two week period. So in this case, the early bird gets the worm.

Are we limited to the field offices we can go to? At my location, St. Paul and Milwaukee are within ten miles of each other, Chicago with a different route is another hour away, so that give us three choices of field offices. We were assigned to St. Paul for our initial interview with a first trip for biometrics and Milwaukee for the I-751 biometrics. Prefer St. Paul because it's out in the sticks where Milwaukee is close to downtown, and you never know what kind of traffic jam you will run into. Chicago would be crazy and always is. I allowed an extra two hours to get to Milwaukee because you never know how traffic jams would be, but we recently had a huge increase in the price of gas right before then and the roads were empty.

It was cold, so I dropped my wife and daughter off at the door to find a place to park, they needed their PRC to get in, I just told the armed guard I wanted to join my family, he let me in. Wondered about all those armed guards standing around, is this a terrorist target? Did have the guts to ask one about that, he just said, you never know. Man, what a boring job, reminded my of my military days, lot's of boring days.

The seem to have a bug about cameras and cell phones, certainly nothing interest in there to want to take a picture of, wife and I left our cells in the car, daughter couldn't part with hers, so she had to check it in and get it back when finished, kids! Had to sit on folding chairs in an overcrowded room and wait and wait and wait. People coming in an hour later than us were being called in, was told we had an appointment with a specific interviewer and she was tied up, don't recall making an appointment with a specific interviewer, they just leave you in the dark. Getting use to that.

Ha, wife says I am terrible, if I make an appointment and forced to wait, will just get up and leave, but no choice here, these are those appointment types I am paying good money for, I still haven't learned how to deal with our government.

[jamieswith 0]

awesome, thank you for the advice. I just got myself an infopass appoint on 3/28 early morning. Hopefully they will give me a 12 month extension but not take my temp PR card away. I feel like an illegal in this country right now.

Glad it worked out for you, and appears to be a trick that doesnt just work at my local office...

The same issue is sure to come up again for someone else... and a lot of people don't read the historical threads... so remember it and share it!

[NickD 202]

Found this on the web at: http://www.immigrationlinks.com/news/news506.htm

"The following is information provided by the Vermont Service Center to AILA regarding I-751 processing issues:

1. Within the 90-day period immediately preceding the second anniversary date on which the conditional resident obtained his/her permanent residence status, he/she must file a Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence, Form I-751. This petition must be filed with the regional service center having jurisdiction over the conditional alien's place of residence.

2. Upon receipt of the Form I-751 Petition, the Service mails a receipt notice to the conditional alien. The receipt notice informs the conditional alien that a 12-month extension for employment and travel purposes has been granted.

3. I-751 Petitions are adjudicated according to the receive date.

4. The I-751 Petitions are reviewed by a Center Adjudication Officer. The officer will review the petition to determine that it correct and complete. Next, the adjudication officer will review the documentary evidence submitted and will determine whether or not to waive the requirement of an interview. The computer system determines by a random process which cases have been selected for interview scheduling.

5. The District Office is responsible for determining the percentage of interview slots and for determining the number of available interview slots for each day.

6. If the petition is scheduled for this random interview, the VSC adjudicator will notate the file with this information. The file will be relocated to the appropriate office for the interview process.

7. If the case is selected for interview scheduling, and no interview slot is available the case will be housed at the Vermont Service Center until the District Office schedules an interview or submits a request for that file."

This one sentence explains the procedure:

The officer will review the petition to determine that it correct and complete, then adjudication officer will review the documentary evidence submitted and will determine whether or not to waive the requirement of an interview.

Wouldn't this be done before the I-797C extension notice is sent, find it difficult to believe they would even send that extension unless the application is complete with suitable supporting evidence. Seems like it should only take a couple of minutes to review the supporting evidence, I even highlighted all the important details.

So what happens after that? Apparently that package has to be filed someplace, and someplace very large and complex, how much time does that take? Then after gathering cobwebs for months, someone has to dig that file out and return it to the officer where again the same file is examined by an officer again, but perhaps taking that extra minute or two. Does sound very inefficient, I was general manage of a fortune 500 company, would never tolerate that, every second had to be accounted for.

Ha, did work for civil service for about 7 months, needed a calendar handy to even determine if I had to report to work that day with countless holidays off with extended sick leave and five weeks of vacation. That was nice, but promoting people to supervisor jobs because they couldn't do the work, and the inefficiencies and red tape drove me nuts, so I quit. A mistake on my part as my friends that stuck it out retired at 55 with 75% pay and full medical benefits while my company was moved to China. No matter how hard you work, just cannot compete with a buck a day labor rates.

[zyggy 9]

That makes sense for making infopass appointments with a two week limit, each new day should open another new day at the end of that two week period. So in this case, the early bird gets the worm.

Are we limited to the field offices we can go to? At my location, St. Paul and Milwaukee are within ten miles of each other, Chicago with a different route is another hour away, so that give us three choices of field offices. We were assigned to St. Paul for our initial interview with a first trip for biometrics and Milwaukee for the I-751 biometrics. Prefer St. Paul because it's out in the sticks where Milwaukee is close to downtown, and you never know what kind of traffic jam you will run into. Chicago would be crazy and always is. I allowed an extra two hours to get to Milwaukee because you never know how traffic jams would be, but we recently had a huge increase in the price of gas right before then and the roads were empty.

It was cold, so I dropped my wife and daughter off at the door to find a place to park, they needed their PRC to get in, I just told the armed guard I wanted to join my family, he let me in. Wondered about all those armed guards standing around, is this a terrorist target? Did have the guts to ask one about that, he just said, you never know. Man, what a boring job, reminded my of my military days, lot's of boring days.

The seem to have a bug about cameras and cell phones, certainly nothing interest in there to want to take a picture of, wife and I left our cells in the car, daughter couldn't part with hers, so she had to check it in and get it back when finished, kids! Had to sit on folding chairs in an overcrowded room and wait and wait and wait. People coming in an hour later than us were being called in, was told we had an appointment with a specific interviewer and she was tied up, don't recall making an appointment with a specific interviewer, they just leave you in the dark. Getting use to that.

Ha, wife says I am terrible, if I make an appointment and forced to wait, will just get up and leave, but no choice here, these are those appointment types I am paying good money for, I still haven't learned how to deal with our government.

You have to go to the field office that has jurisdiction over your place of residence.. period. You can't pick and choose.

You used to be able to pick the ASC to go to and make an appointment yourself, but they've taken that away.

[Peter T 0]

The officer will review the petition to determine that it correct and complete, then adjudication officer will review the documentary evidence submitted and will determine whether or not to waive the requirement of an interview.

Wouldn't this be done before the I-797C extension notice is sent, find it difficult to believe they would even send that extension unless the application is complete with suitable supporting evidence. Seems like it should only take a couple of minutes to review the supporting evidence, I even highlighted all the important details.

I think that they check only a few formal things upon receiving the application: Is the application signed, has the check the right amount - yes, then send the check for cashing and the NOA to the applicant. The review of the evidence demands the judgement of an officer trained in detecting fraudulent applications, you cannot do that in ten minutes in the mailroom. I do not want to defend, however, the ridiculous processing times we have now - the USCIS is among the worst federal authorities, and little is done to improve that.

[MDZJ 0]

However, I have always been impressed with the speed they cash our checks. Maybe the account/finance department is the most efficient department in USCIS? I have seriously thought about filing for N400 to get a government job just for the stability and all the holidays/sick days/vacation days as described by some poster here. My company is being bought so I am worried about my job security, too.

The officer will review the petition to determine that it correct and complete, then adjudication officer will review the documentary evidence submitted and will determine whether or not to waive the requirement of an interview.

Wouldn't this be done before the I-797C extension notice is sent, find it difficult to believe they would even send that extension unless the application is complete with suitable supporting evidence. Seems like it should only take a couple of minutes to review the supporting evidence, I even highlighted all the important details.

I think that they check only a few formal things upon receiving the application: Is the application signed, has the check the right amount - yes, then send the check for cashing and the NOA to the applicant. The review of the evidence demands the judgement of an officer trained in detecting fraudulent applications, you cannot do that in ten minutes in the mailroom. I do not want to defend, however, the ridiculous processing times we have now - the USCIS is among the worst federal authorities, and little is done to improve that.