Problem with AOS Interview cancellation

[Valerie08 0]

Hello everyone, I am new to VJ although I have been reading the advice and information from here for a while - this site is wonderful!

I am going through a bit of stress regarding my application and wondering if anyone has any advice or stories from a similar experience:

My husband (USC) and I (Canadian) put in my AOS application (from F-1 student to PR) in May 2008. Up until now, everything has gone very smoothly and faster than we had expected. The only glitch has been the interview scheduling. We received notice that we had an interview appointment in the Charlotte, NC office for November 5. We received this notice at the end of September. I knew I had to be out of the country at that time (for work / dissertation reasons), and actually my husband also had to be away for work reasons, so I immediately called the National Service Center to see what to do. They filed for a reschedule for this appointment, saying it shouldn't be a problem since it involved travel for both of our jobs, and two weeks later (around October 10) I received a letter in the mail from USCIS that our Nov.5 appointment had been canceled. I went ahead with my work travel plans thinking all was well.

I am still out of the country, but just checked my phone messages and had one from an USCIS officer saying that I missed by November 5 appointment and to call back immediately (the name and number given were for Officer Steve Carol, 704-926-5127). I am freaking out. I called back three times, after checking the number repeatedly, but the voicemail at this number is for a guy named Richard and doesn't say anything about USCIS. I left a long message explaining the situation and asking to be called back asap.

My questions are - given that I have a letter of cancellation, and that this seems to be a bureaucratic mix-up from within, do I have to worry about being at fault? Can I be penalized or have my entire application withdrawn because the NC office didn't get notice of my cancellation? What should I do? Should I call the National Service Center and explain? Has this ever happened to anyone, and if so what were your experiences? And I don't suppose anyone has a number for the NC office?

Thank you so much to anyone who has the patience to read through this and offer advice!

[Minya's wife 25]

Hello everyone, I am new to VJ although I have been reading the advice and information from here for a while - this site is wonderful!

I am going through a bit of stress regarding my application and wondering if anyone has any advice or stories from a similar experience:

My husband (USC) and I (Canadian) put in my AOS application (from F-1 student to PR) in May 2008. Up until now, everything has gone very smoothly and faster than we had expected. The only glitch has been the interview scheduling. We received notice that we had an interview appointment in the Charlotte, NC office for November 5. We received this notice at the end of September. I knew I had to be out of the country at that time (for work / dissertation reasons), and actually my husband also had to be away for work reasons, so I immediately called the National Service Center to see what to do. They filed for a reschedule for this appointment, saying it shouldn't be a problem since it involved travel for both of our jobs, and two weeks later (around October 10) I received a letter in the mail from USCIS that our Nov.5 appointment had been canceled. I went ahead with my work travel plans thinking all was well.

I am still out of the country, but just checked my phone messages and had one from an USCIS officer saying that I missed by November 5 appointment and to call back immediately (the name and number given were for Officer Steve Carol, 704-926-5127). I am freaking out. I called back three times, after checking the number repeatedly, but the voicemail at this number is for a guy named Richard and doesn't say anything about USCIS. I left a long message explaining the situation and asking to be called back asap.

My questions are - given that I have a letter of cancellation, and that this seems to be a bureaucratic mix-up from within, do I have to worry about being at fault?

yes you do and you should be worried. rescheduling interviews is always a tricky thing and it has happened before that AOS has been denied because of a no-show to interview when the applicant thought they had rescheduled their interview.

Can I be penalized or have my entire application withdrawn because the NC office didn't get notice of my cancellation?

Yes, you can be penalized. Not showing up for an interview on the date the NC office thinks you shoudl be there (in your case they think you should have been there on Nov. 5) can trigger a denial of your whole AOS...including the invalidation of your interim applicaitons of EAD and AP if you have those. I'm assuming you have Advance Parole and will be trying to enter the country with that when you come back?

What should I do? Should I call the National Service Center and explain? Has this ever happened to anyone, and if so what were your experiences? And I don't suppose anyone has a number for the NC office?

You should definitely call the service center and see what is going on. I would also be planning to return to the states ASAP....if your application has been denied, your AP will be invalid and you may have problems when entering the country. Definitely start calling and finding out about your case. You may also need to look into some legal advise on this.

Thank you so much to anyone who has the patience to read through this and offer advice!

Edited November 11, 2008 by Minya's wife

[TrustnHope 0]

Hello everyone, I am new to VJ although I have been reading the advice and information from here for a while - this site is wonderful!

I am going through a bit of stress regarding my application and wondering if anyone has any advice or stories from a similar experience:

My husband (USC) and I (Canadian) put in my AOS application (from F-1 student to PR) in May 2008. Up until now, everything has gone very smoothly and faster than we had expected. The only glitch has been the interview scheduling. We received notice that we had an interview appointment in the Charlotte, NC office for November 5. We received this notice at the end of September. I knew I had to be out of the country at that time (for work / dissertation reasons), and actually my husband also had to be away for work reasons, so I immediately called the National Service Center to see what to do. They filed for a reschedule for this appointment, saying it shouldn't be a problem since it involved travel for both of our jobs, and two weeks later (around October 10) I received a letter in the mail from USCIS that our Nov.5 appointment had been canceled. I went ahead with my work travel plans thinking all was well.

I am still out of the country, but just checked my phone messages and had one from an USCIS officer saying that I missed by November 5 appointment and to call back immediately (the name and number given were for Officer Steve Carol, 704-926-5127). I am freaking out. I called back three times, after checking the number repeatedly, but the voicemail at this number is for a guy named Richard and doesn't say anything about USCIS. I left a long message explaining the situation and asking to be called back asap.

My questions are - given that I have a letter of cancellation, and that this seems to be a bureaucratic mix-up from within, do I have to worry about being at fault?

yes you do and you should be worried. rescheduling interviews is always a tricky thing and it has happened before that AOS has been denied because of a no-show to interview when the applicant thought they had rescheduled their interview.

Can I be penalized or have my entire application withdrawn because the NC office didn't get notice of my cancellation?

Yes, you can be penalized. Not showing up for an interview on the date the NC office thinks you shoudl be there (in your case they think you should have been there on Nov. 5) can trigger a denial of your whole AOS...including the invalidation of your interim applicaitons of EAD and AP if you have those. I'm assuming you have Advance Parole and will be trying to enter the country with that when you come back?

What should I do? Should I call the National Service Center and explain? Has this ever happened to anyone, and if so what were your experiences? And I don't suppose anyone has a number for the NC office?

You should definitely call the service center and see what is going on. I would also be planning to return to the states ASAP....if your application has been denied, your AP will be invalid and you may have problems when entering the country. Definitely start calling and finding out about your case. You may also need to look into some legal advise on this.

Thank you so much to anyone who has the patience to read through this and offer advice!

Hi,

No...you don't have to worry about it because you have a VALID proof that your interview was cancelled. Just be aware, things happen when you are dealing with USCIS, even things that nobody would even thought would happen. Just make a call to USCIS or schedule an info pass as soon as you can and start fixing the problem. I would suggest you call them first and be ready with all the information you have, including the phone number and the officer name who left you the voice message. Wish you luck.

Hello everyone, I am new to VJ although I have been reading the advice and information from here for a while - this site is wonderful!

I am going through a bit of stress regarding my application and wondering if anyone has any advice or stories from a similar experience:

My husband (USC) and I (Canadian) put in my AOS application (from F-1 student to PR) in May 2008. Up until now, everything has gone very smoothly and faster than we had expected. The only glitch has been the interview scheduling. We received notice that we had an interview appointment in the Charlotte, NC office for November 5. We received this notice at the end of September. I knew I had to be out of the country at that time (for work / dissertation reasons), and actually my husband also had to be away for work reasons, so I immediately called the National Service Center to see what to do. They filed for a reschedule for this appointment, saying it shouldn't be a problem since it involved travel for both of our jobs, and two weeks later (around October 10) I received a letter in the mail from USCIS that our Nov.5 appointment had been canceled. I went ahead with my work travel plans thinking all was well.

I am still out of the country, but just checked my phone messages and had one from an USCIS officer saying that I missed by November 5 appointment and to call back immediately (the name and number given were for Officer Steve Carol, 704-926-5127). I am freaking out. I called back three times, after checking the number repeatedly, but the voicemail at this number is for a guy named Richard and doesn't say anything about USCIS. I left a long message explaining the situation and asking to be called back asap.

My questions are - given that I have a letter of cancellation, and that this seems to be a bureaucratic mix-up from within, do I have to worry about being at fault?

yes you do and you should be worried. rescheduling interviews is always a tricky thing and it has happened before that AOS has been denied because of a no-show to interview when the applicant thought they had rescheduled their interview.

Can I be penalized or have my entire application withdrawn because the NC office didn't get notice of my cancellation?

Yes, you can be penalized. Not showing up for an interview on the date the NC office thinks you shoudl be there (in your case they think you should have been there on Nov. 5) can trigger a denial of your whole AOS...including the invalidation of your interim applicaitons of EAD and AP if you have those. I'm assuming you have Advance Parole and will be trying to enter the country with that when you come back?

What should I do? Should I call the National Service Center and explain? Has this ever happened to anyone, and if so what were your experiences? And I don't suppose anyone has a number for the NC office?

You should definitely call the service center and see what is going on. I would also be planning to return to the states ASAP....if your application has been denied, your AP will be invalid and you may have problems when entering the country. Definitely start calling and finding out about your case. You may also need to look into some legal advise on this.

Thank you so much to anyone who has the patience to read through this and offer advice!

Hi,

No...you don't have to worry about it because you have a VALID proof that your interview was cancelled. Just be aware, things happen when you are dealing with USCIS, even things that nobody would even thought would happen. Just make a call to USCIS or schedule an info pass as soon as you can and start fixing the problem. I would suggest you call them first and be ready with all the information you have, including the phone number and the officer name who left you the voice message. Wish you luck.

[Minya's wife 25]

Umm....did you actualy read the whole post? The OP is out of the country at this time. If the AOS is denied due to an interview no-show, which is a very plausible scenario, that invalidates all ancillary petitions associated to parent I-485....his/her EAD and Advance Parole become invalid. That VALID proof that the interview was canceled will be of no help when trying to enter the US with a voided Advance Parole document.

There have been people here on VJ, who received interview cancellation notices, but were advised to go to the originally scheduled interview anyways. Guess what, when they arrived at the interview, the local office had no clue of any cancellation and the interview proceeded as planned. Anecdotal evidence suggests that one should keep their original interview date at all costs...cancellations/re-schedulings seem to lead to unnecessary complications.

-P

[TrustnHope 0]

Umm....did you actualy read the whole post? The OP is out of the country at this time. If the AOS is denied due to an interview no-show, which is a very plausible scenario, that invalidates all ancillary petitions associated to parent I-485....his/her EAD and Advance Parole become invalid. That VALID proof that the interview was canceled will be of no help when trying to enter the US with a voided Advance Parole document.

There have been people here on VJ, who received interview cancellation notices, but were advised to go to the originally scheduled interview anyways. Guess what, when they arrived at the interview, the local office had no clue of any cancellation and the interview proceeded as planned. Anecdotal evidence suggests that one should keep their original interview date at all costs...cancellations/re-schedulings seem to lead to unnecessary complications.

-P

Yes, I am totally aware the person is out the country. And I know how complicated it is to deal with interview rescheduling. But, it is not the person's fault that USCIS messed up. Yes, she needs to spend time to fix this complication now, but it's not her fault that what the left-hand does....the right-hand doesn't know anyting about it. It seems quite common when you are dealing with USCIS sometimes. Calling the USCIS and tell them what the problems and all the worries she has is one suggestion I have for her.

[Minya's wife 25]

Umm....did you actualy read the whole post? The OP is out of the country at this time. If the AOS is denied due to an interview no-show, which is a very plausible scenario, that invalidates all ancillary petitions associated to parent I-485....his/her EAD and Advance Parole become invalid. That VALID proof that the interview was canceled will be of no help when trying to enter the US with a voided Advance Parole document.

There have been people here on VJ, who received interview cancellation notices, but were advised to go to the originally scheduled interview anyways. Guess what, when they arrived at the interview, the local office had no clue of any cancellation and the interview proceeded as planned. Anecdotal evidence suggests that one should keep their original interview date at all costs...cancellations/re-schedulings seem to lead to unnecessary complications.

-P

Yes, I am totally aware the person is out the country. And I know how complicated it is to deal with interview rescheduling. But, it is not the person's fault that USCIS messed up. Yes, she needs to spend time to fix this complication now, but it's not her fault that what the left-hand does....the right-hand doesn't know anyting about it. It seems quite common when you are dealing with USCIS sometimes. Calling the USCIS and tell them what the problems and all the worries she has is one suggestion I have for her.

Actually, USCIS can hold the OP 'responsible' for missing their interview and can deny the AOS. The "its not my fault, you guys messed up" excuse holds no water as far as they're concerned. The burden of proof, so to speak, is always on the petitioner. I've seen it happen...so glossing over it with your first statement that :

No...you don't have to worry about it because you have a VALID proof that your interview was cancelled

will not help the OP, nor will it help anyone in the future that comes across this thread. It is something that is worrisome, and more so because by being out of the country, the OP could be denied re-entry if while he/she is out of the country, the AOS is denied due to no-show at the interview.

I agree with you that the OP must get in touch with USCIS to fix the problem. He/she needs to get in touch with the officer who is working the case. (Perhaps when calling the service center, they will transfer her to the local office and to the officer who called and left the initial call back message). Most importantly the OP needs to make sure that the AP with which he/she plans on re-entering the US is still valid and usable...otherwise the OP's problem will definitely be complicated.

-P