Another excuse by USCIS..

[gogo 6]

they said I need to submit the former marriage certificate from a previous marriage for her.. I thought the only thing you needed was the divorce certificate.. I didn't submit it, so they are placing my file in the "problem" pile.. is this correct? they said that was a problem with my case.. so let's say if you were married 5 times, then you have to find all 4 former marriage certificates (plus the 4 divorce papers)... that's not fair.. just because we lack one paper, they have to hold it a long time..

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130instr.pdf

You have to prove that there is a family relationship between you and your relative. If you are filing for:

1. A husband or wife, submit the following documentation:

What Documents Do You Need to Prove Family Relationship?

C. A passport-style color photo of yourself and a passport-style color photo of your husband or wife, taken within 30 days of the date of this petition. The photos must have a white background and be glossy unretouched and not mounted. The dimensions of the full frontal facial image should be about 1 inch from the chin to top of the hair. Using pencil or felt pen, lightly print the name (and Alien Registration Number, if known) on the back of each photograph.

B. If either you or your spouse were previously married, submit copies of documents showing that all prior marriages were legally terminated.

(*THIS MEANS ONLY THE DIVORCE CERTIFICATE NEEDED, NOT THE FORMAL MARRAIGE CERITIFICATE*)

A. A copy of your marriage certificate.

D. A completed and signed Form G-325A, Biographic Information, for you and a Form G-325A for your husband or wife. Except for your name and signature you do not have to repeat on Form G-325A the information given on your Form I-130 petition.

Edited July 11, 2008 by gogo

[Todd-Leah 0]

they said I need to submit the former marriage certificate from a previous marriage for her.. I thought the only thing you needed was the divorce certificate.. I didn't submit it, so they are placing my file in the "problem" pile.. is this correct? they said that was a problem with my case.. so let's say if you were married 5 times, then you have to find all 4 former marriage certificates (plus the 4 divorce papers)... that's not fair.. just because we lack one paper, they have to hold it a long time..

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130instr.pdf

You have to prove that there is a family relationship between you and your relative. If you are filing for:

1. A husband or wife, submit the following documentation:

What Documents Do You Need to Prove Family Relationship?

C. A passport-style color photo of yourself and a passport-style color photo of your husband or wife, taken within 30 days of the date of this petition. The photos must have a white background and be glossy unretouched and not mounted. The dimensions of the full frontal facial image should be about 1 inch from the chin to top of the hair. Using pencil or felt pen, lightly print the name (and Alien Registration Number, if known) on the back of each photograph.

B. If either you or your spouse were previously married, submit copies of documents showing that all prior marriages were legally terminated.

(*THIS MEANS ONLY THE DIVORCE CERTIFICATE NEEDED, NOT THE FORMAL MARRAIGE CERITIFICATE*)

A. A copy of your marriage certificate.

D. A completed and signed Form G-325A, Biographic Information, for you and a Form G-325A for your husband or wife. Except for your name and signature you do not have to repeat on Form G-325A the information given on your Form I-130 petition.

gogo,

I think someone else on VJ was asked of the same. If you do a search, may be you can find it.

Have they mailed you a RFE notice?

Leah

[gogo 6]

haha, no they didn't.. that's the thing.. if they wanted me to send some more, they would do that.. here's the latest service request I did on my case (July 7, 2008)..

The status of this service request is:

This case is in process and was sent to the USCIS local office in Los Angeles in November, 2007 for field review and investigation. The case file is currently in transit to this location, California Service Center. You will be notified by mail when a decision has been made or if additional evidence would be needed.

if you haven't followed up.. that is a "new" message to me.. normally they will say I was under "security checks" or "additional processing".. but I had a local office interview in February 2008, and also a letter from FBI (March 2008) that I had sent to the president stating I had no security checks done on my case.. so hopefully they are telling the truth this time.. it is ACTUALLY going back to CSC??... wow... maybe, maybe not... also, another "excuse" when I called the 1-800 number...

they said : "your case has been transferred to the local office, but since they don't have processing times for these types of cases (I even told them they don't normally go there).. then we don't know how long your case will be processed.. you should check with your local office.." and you saw my last post on the local office visit.. so they aren't too helpful...

Edited July 11, 2008 by gogo

[shenxu 0]

haha, no they didn't.. that's the thing.. if they wanted me to send some more, they would do that.. here's the latest service request I did on my case (July 7, 2008)..

The status of this service request is:

This case is in process and was sent to the USCIS local office in Los Angeles in November, 2007 for field review and investigation. The case file is currently in transit to this location, California Service Center. You will be notified by mail when a decision has been made or if additional evidence would be needed.

if you haven't followed up.. that is a "new" message to me.. normally they will say I was under "security checks" or "additional processing".. but I had a local office interview in February 2008, and also a letter from FBI (March 2008) that I had sent to the president stating I had no security checks done on my case.. so hopefully they are telling the truth this time.. it is ACTUALLY going back to CSC??... wow... maybe, maybe not... also, another "excuse" when I called the 1-800 number...

they said : "your case has been transferred to the local office, but since they don't have processing times for these types of cases (I even told them they don't normally go there).. then we don't know how long your case will be processed.. you should check with your local office.." and you saw my last post on the local office visit.. so they aren't too helpful...

*pat, pat* things will get better! 给你说一下,不要烦，好事多磨,知道吗？

[Todd-Leah 0]

haha, no they didn't.. that's the thing.. if they wanted me to send some more, they would do that.. here's the latest service request I did on my case (July 7, 2008)..

The status of this service request is:

This case is in process and was sent to the USCIS local office in Los Angeles in November, 2007 for field review and investigation. The case file is currently in transit to this location, California Service Center. You will be notified by mail when a decision has been made or if additional evidence would be needed.

if you haven't followed up.. that is a "new" message to me.. normally they will say I was under "security checks" or "additional processing".. but I had a local office interview in February 2008, and also a letter from FBI (March 2008) that I had sent to the president stating I had no security checks done on my case.. so hopefully they are telling the truth this time.. it is ACTUALLY going back to CSC??... wow... maybe, maybe not...

gogo,

Do you have a congress aide who follow-up on your case?

We heard we got a RFE when my husband tried the RFE tricks to find out details about our case, but the online system didn't update until we got the congress aide to call a week later. Then we waited another 4 days for the RFE hardcopy to arrive.

Leah

[gogo 6]

thanks shenxu.. but sometimes you don't want to wait too long.. If she was here already, then they can take a few years and I wouldn't care..

[gogo 6]

Todd_Leah, I did everything I can.. letters to senators, congressmen, ombudsman, presidential candidates (haha), whoever works there.. their letters come back with the same thing... "since they aren't done with background checks, we can't continue with your case".. something like that.. also, that local office interview was promising too... I brought my parents too for the interview, and they interviewed my parents as to the "validity" of our marriage (have they met her and her family? and other stuff like that).. the guy said everything looked good and you will get your approval within 2-3 weeks.. but recently (from the various sources I gathered), they transferred my case back to the local office again (my last infopass in mid-June, they told me that my case was "received in May 2008").. I asked them what happens between my priority date (April 2007) and May 2008, and they said they didn't know..

they come out with so many excuses about our case... it's not even funny.. so I'm trying to "disprove" them by collecting my own stuff... also, I filed the "writ of mandamus" (lawsuit) with a team of lawyers and hopefully that will help out.. I hear this article is good for people who are under "security checks"...

http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=25895

(pages 8-12) shows what kind of departments they go through (not necessarily the FBI - more likely the ICE group).. haha, I collected a lot of information in my time..

look for something called the "FDNS Referral Flow Chart" (that's where these so-called "RFEs" come in)..

Edited July 11, 2008 by gogo

[LaL 418]

This might seem like a very simpleminded question - but does she have the certificate from the previous marriage, and if so, why not just get them what they ask for? (for the record im my opinion - this is a ridiculous request - but certainly not the only instance in which their requests have been over the top).

[gogo 6]

also the article states this right after the chart:

"USCIS adjudications officers and managers are rated on productivity based on numerical formulas for expected case completions."

I haven't had a chance to take a look at the whole thing.. but I'll read it sooner or later... seems like they have a "quota" everyday, and do the easier cases first.. and then pile any cases with problems in a different pile.. but I knew this long before from a few other sources..

[gogo 6]

LaL,

well, I got this from her neighbor, who works for the China Consulate/Embassy before ( but now she has helped others file visa since that time)... according to her, I can't send her certificate in now.. they won't be able to match it together with her petitions.. if there was a problem from the start, they will just push it aside until later.. but I'm not sure on this.. since they didn't ask for a RFE, can I still send it in? She actually had the "former" ceritificate right from the start when I filed it.. but we discussed it and I saw that people were just sending in their divorce certificates only, and it seemed to work.. so we didn't send that in along with the I-130 or the I-129F... have people sent in stuff just because it was missing from the start? However, I should get a RFE at least to add to my case, but I never did.. that is wrong on their part, but I can't prove that... so at least I have the letter from the FBI saying I had no security/background checks done on my case.. so pretty much it is good for the lawsuit.. the court will hopefully be on my side with all my infopasses/calls..

Edited July 11, 2008 by gogo

[Todd-Leah 0]

Todd_Leah, I did everything I can.. letters to senators, congressmen, ombudsman, presidential candidates (haha), whoever works there.. their letters come back with the same thing... "since they aren't done with background checks, we can't continue with your case".. something like that.. also, that local office interview was promising too... I brought my parents too for the interview, and they interviewed my parents as to the "validity" of our marriage (have they met her and her family? and other stuff like that).. the guy said everything looked good and you will get your approval within 2-3 weeks.. but recently (from the various sources I gathered), they transferred my case back to the local office again (my last infopass in mid-June, they told me that my case was "received in May 2008").. I asked them what happens between my priority date (April 2007) and May 2008, and they said they didn't know..

they come out with so many excuses about our case... it's not even funny.. so I'm trying to "disprove" them by collecting my own stuff... also, I filed the "writ of mandamus" (lawsuit) with a team of lawyers and hopefully that will help out.. I hear this article is good for people who are under "security checks"...

http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=25895 (pages 8-12) shows what kind of departments they go through (not necessarily the FBI - more likely the ICE group).. haha, I collected a lot of information in my time..

Gogo,

Since they are no security checks on your case and it's out of the processing date now, may be you can get in touch with a state representative office that is willing to help?

It's difficult to find out the status of the case ourselves because they are not obliged to tell us or the people we talk to on the phone do not have access to more information.

The immigration aides at the congressman or senator's office are able to talk to the congress liaison officers, and get a report of the most current case status. The congress aide who followed up on our case was able to do that.

Leah

[gogo 6]

Todd_Leah,

yes, I got the congresswoman to help out, but she just gave me a letter stating they are doing "background checks" and that they won't know how long it will take.. each case is different, blah, blah, blah.. a whole big letter on that and the "safety of America" and why they need to do background checks.. and how "one case's delay is not as important as whole country's safety"... this letter was giving around December or so (I think, before my local office interview and letter from FBI).. maybe I should keep sending / faxing more everyday now (like I did before)..

When I sent the letter to the governor (yes, Arnold) and senators, they just said that this is a "federal" issue, and that they will forward my letter to my congressman (and other congress people said the same thing).. something about "it's a courtesy to allow each district's congress person to represent their own"...

Edited July 11, 2008 by gogo

[Todd-Leah 0]

Todd_Leah,

yes, I got the congresswoman to help out, but she just gave me a letter stating they are doing "background checks" and that they won't know how long it will take.. each case is different, blah, blah, blah.. a whole big letter on that and the "safety of America" and why they need to do background checks.. and how "one case's delay is not as important as whole country's safety"... this letter was giving around December or so (I think, before my local office interview and letter from FBI).. maybe I should keep sending / faxing more everyday now (like I did before)..

When I sent the letter to the governor (yes, Arnold) and senators, they just said that this is a "federal" issue, and that they will forward my letter to my congressman (and other congress people said the same thing).. something about "it's a courtesy to allow each district's congress person to represent their own"...

gogo,

It's so hard to deal with bureaucrats.

One thing I learned from dealing with bureaucrats in my country: they would always look at what you have and ask for what they could not find, just to make a simple process complicated, so that you know who has the power!

All I can say is: the whole US immigration system is so third world!!

Leah

[gogo 6]

haha, hope you get approved soon.. I even just want to get a RFE now.. that means at least they are taking the time to look at my case.. but of course I would like the approval.. that would be much better..

[Urge To Race 2]

hi gogo,

Just wondering how you found out about the need for the previous certificate. You said you didn't get an RFE. How was this communicated to you about getting the old marriage cert?

they said I need to submit the former marriage certificate from a previous marriage for her.. I thought the only thing you needed was the divorce certificate.. I didn't submit it, so they are placing my file in the "problem" pile.. is this correct? they said that was a problem with my case.. so let's say if you were married 5 times, then you have to find all 4 former marriage certificates (plus the 4 divorce papers)... that's not fair.. just because we lack one paper, they have to hold it a long time..

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130instr.pdf

You have to prove that there is a family relationship between you and your relative. If you are filing for:

1. A husband or wife, submit the following documentation:

What Documents Do You Need to Prove Family Relationship?

C. A passport-style color photo of yourself and a passport-style color photo of your husband or wife, taken within 30 days of the date of this petition. The photos must have a white background and be glossy unretouched and not mounted. The dimensions of the full frontal facial image should be about 1 inch from the chin to top of the hair. Using pencil or felt pen, lightly print the name (and Alien Registration Number, if known) on the back of each photograph.

B. If either you or your spouse were previously married, submit copies of documents showing that all prior marriages were legally terminated.

(*THIS MEANS ONLY THE DIVORCE CERTIFICATE NEEDED, NOT THE FORMAL MARRAIGE CERITIFICATE*)

A. A copy of your marriage certificate.

D. A completed and signed Form G-325A, Biographic Information, for you and a Form G-325A for your husband or wife. Except for your name and signature you do not have to repeat on Form G-325A the information given on your Form I-130 petition.