AOS Interview Today

[Beautiful_years 0]

you will be fine nagish i am sure of that...just continue to pray for the best things to come..

my prayers are with you...just think positive...no matter what be positive.

Hey Jkevs...

How's work going for you? See you were online 1am lol. Couldn sleep?

Nagish is special!

Hope everything is okay with you too.

Where's bluekiss (Vida Taylor) Hope you okay!

Regards y'all.

[Beautiful_years 0]

N -

You may recall that my husband spent 17 months in background check during the AOS phase. It really has nothing to do with having a middle eastern name. Anyone can get caught, and interviews are often held before the check is complete.

Research and preparation? Yes they are a must for this process. But anyone who thinks that research and preparation alone guarantees smooth sailing is poorly informed. The process is fraught with little areas and hitches where things can go wrong. Don't ever get so cocky about your knowledge that you think it alone can save you - or that it gives you the right to beat somebody else up for a mistake.

God Bless you for this Post. You hit the nail right on its head!

We are all but pencils in the hands of our creator!

Just Like USCIS decides what goes and what doesnt... being prepared is a good thing but not a 100% guarantee that there ll be no hitches.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Thank you, RJ. I was thinking of you and LaL in particular when we were told we are still in checks. Question: Does this mean there will be a second interview ?

Beautiful-years and j-kevs.....thanks for everything! You two have been a great support!

[rebeccajo 14]

Thank you, RJ. I was thinking of you and LaL in particular when we were told we are still in checks. Question: Does this mean there will be a second interview ?

Beautiful-years and j-kevs.....thanks for everything! You two have been a great support!

No it doesn't mean a second interview at all. Neither LaL or I, nor anyone I can recall, were ever interviewed a second time because of namecheck. It's just a process that has to sort itself out. Fortunately, USCIS has policy (for about a year or so now) wherein they will issue MOST cards within six months even if the query is not complete. Such was not the case when LaL and I processed.

[Beautiful_years 0]

Hi Nagish,

Tried to PM you but says your inbox is full.

Hope you are ok? So what steps are you taking towards resolving the immigrations issues while awaiting the RFE?

There are also other questions i asked that i wont want to post here on the general board so if you do have an old message you can delete pls pm ne so il write again.

[Nagishkaw 510]

Thanks again, RJ! I appreciate your imput here. We will just play the waiting game as there is not much anyone can do but wait.

Beautiful-years....lemme see what I can do. I may not be able to get right back with you because I had an out patient surgery this morning and I need to rest a bit. Since we submitted all of my husband's pay stubs, letter from his employer, W2 form and our 2008 tax forms, I did order transcripts in case there will be an RFE. The CO took our bank account statements, so I don't know what else they would want. In fact, we were asking the CO to please take more proof, but she said she didn't need more to add to our already huge file.

Hope you are feeling better today!

[Beautiful_years 0]

Thanks again, RJ! I appreciate your imput here. We will just play the waiting game as there is not much anyone can do but wait.

Beautiful-years....lemme see what I can do. I may not be able to get right back with you because I had an out patient surgery this morning and I need to rest a bit. Since we submitted all of my husband's pay stubs, letter from his employer, W2 form and our 2008 tax forms, I did order transcripts in case there will be an RFE. The CO took our bank account statements, so I don't know what else they would want. In fact, we were asking the CO to please take more proof, but she said she didn't need more to add to our already huge file.

Hope you are feeling better today!

oh my gosh, well get all the needed rest.

Health is important and yes i'm getting better thanks.

[JeffnBhing 0]

your inbox is full

[KHPerfectMatch 1]

I just keep thinking when I read the "background check is not complete" excuse/reason...

WHY DO THEY LET PEOPLE INTO THE USA IF THEY AREN'T SURE OF THEIR BACKGROUND?

It makes no sense to me that they are still futzing around with this, AFTER issuing the Visa... why let them come here at ALL if they are still suspicious of someone??? What a ridiculous system...

As if someone with bad intentions coming here would sit around waiting for the green card to be approved BEFORE they committed an act or terror, or WHATEVER the big fear is!!!! I can just see an Al Qaeda operative calling OBL and saying "sorry boss, I can't blow anything up... I still haven't gotten my green card..."

I kind of understand why most background stuff goes on after the interview in Cairo... they are likely trying to weed people out completely at the interview and don't want to bother with a background check before when they think they might be able to spot fraud at first sight... but doing it AFTER they are here? And after an EAD, SS#, AP, etc. have already been issued???? I find that just bizarre...

Bet the right wing zenophobes would freak out if they knew that black haired, brown skinned MENA men are coming into the USA BEFORE all the background checks are done...

WHAT A COUNTRY!!!!

P.S. What do you wanna bet I hear the same thing on Monday....

[rebeccajo 14]

I just keep thinking when I read the "background check is not complete" excuse/reason...

WHY DO THEY LET PEOPLE INTO THE USA IF THEY AREN'T SURE OF THEIR BACKGROUND?

It makes no sense to me that they are still futzing around with this, AFTER issuing the Visa... why let them come here at ALL if they are still suspicious of someone??? What a ridiculous system...

As if someone with bad intentions coming here would sit around waiting for the green card to be approved BEFORE they committed an act or terror, or WHATEVER the big fear is!!!! I can just see an Al Qaeda operative calling OBL and saying "sorry boss, I can't blow anything up... I still haven't gotten my green card..."

I kind of understand why most background stuff goes on after the interview in Cairo... they are likely trying to weed people out completely at the interview and don't want to bother with a background check before when they think they might be able to spot fraud at first sight... but doing it AFTER they are here? And after an EAD, SS#, AP, etc. have already been issued???? I find that just bizarre...

Bet the right wing zenophobes would freak out if they knew that black haired, brown skinned MENA men are coming into the USA BEFORE all the background checks are done...

WHAT A COUNTRY!!!!

P.S. What do you wanna bet I hear the same thing on Monday....

The question isn't whether or not they let someone in whose background they are unsure of. The question is whether or not they will grant permanent residency and they WON'T do that without being sure of their background.

Not everybody adjusts from a visa. And some adjust from visas that are years old.

The portion of the background query that has traditionally delayed the process is the intending adjustee's criminal background in the US, not in their home country. An IBIS check is run at the same time the FBI check is begun, and that check has never been mentioned (in research or congressional testimony about namecheck delays) as the reason for delaying the grant of adjustment.

A stranger point one should ponder is why applicants for adjustment are not asked to produce a police certificate from their home country. VJ readers rarely notice this oddity because our foreign born spouses have recently done this to obtain their visa. But again, not everybody adjusts from a visa. Others adjust from visas granted years before the 9/11 tightening of entry to the US.

And finally it is useful to take perceptions of persecution out of the equation. Many persons other than "brown skinned black haired MENA men" find themselves caught in this debacle. Many from India and Asia do. Pale-skinned Brits whose English names match up to US names in FBI files do. A poster in Nagi's other thread has a British flag in their profile. My lily-white Irish husband got caught. You will find many members in this community with MENA spouses who sailed through their adjustment without their "brown skinned black haired" husband having a single issue with his namecheck query.

Edited April 11, 2009 by rebeccajo

[vichygurl 1]

hello Nagish,

Been a while.. I was busy with work. So tired everyday that I can't have time to surf the net.

I have just read your interview experienced. I'm sorry to hear that. It will be fine Nagish.. Just don't lose hope, ok? It might be just the background check..as what they said. Keep your faith!

With your finances... I don't think that's going to be a problem. My case, from the time we send the AOS application until the day of my interview... my husband was jobless. We have a co sponsor though.. and that's all we have for our finances. We don't have bank account back then let alone my husband. No insurances... just the income tax return was the proof of out "joint" thing. That's it! It may be a case to case basis but don't stress up yourself for something you can't control. If ever they will send you RFE be sure to respond immediately.

I'm keeping you to my prayers.

I'm sorry beautiful_years..not checking this site lately! I hope you are doing fine as well..hope you got your green card already.

Nagish...be strong ok? have to get ready soon for work!

Talk to you guys later!!

Happy Easter guys!

Vida Taylor

[Nagishkaw 510]

Thanks again for the input, RJ! I appreciate your expertise in this department, as I am hungry to learn more about this process.

Thanks, Vida. We are not loosing hope, just having some disappointment, buy hey...we are rather used to playing the waiting game and I am sure we will be fine. After all, there are many here who have/ had it much worse.

JeffnBhing...not any more. I did some 'house cleaning' .

[KHPerfectMatch 1]

The question isn't whether or not they let someone in whose background they are unsure of. The question is whether or not they will grant permanent residency and they WON'T do that without being sure of their background.

Oh yes that IS the question IF the issue is Homeland Security! Who cares what a person's immigration status is if they are a threat they are a threat!!!! You seem to have missed my point! If the idea is to keep out people who might do harm, then delays in giving them green cards are not keeping them OUT!

Not everybody adjusts from a visa. And some adjust from visas that are years old.

So what? Some don't even go on with the immigration process and live here illegally! And that means they are still HERE! And if they have bad intentions, they are still HERE... background check or not! If they have been here on visas that are way old, why not do the background check BEFORE they come for the interview?

The portion of the background query that has traditionally delayed the process is the intending adjustee's criminal background in the US, not in their home country. An IBIS check is run at the same time the FBI check is begun, and that check has never been mentioned (in research or congressional testimony about namecheck delays) as the reason for delaying the grant of adjustment.

That shouldn't take long... my husband has been here about 6 months! They do background checks when cops pull you over for traffic violations! And they check local and national data bases in minutes! I worked in a 911 Center for 10 years I know the drill...

A stranger point one should ponder is why applicants for adjustment are not asked to produce a police certificate from their home country. VJ readers rarely notice this oddity because our foreign born spouses have recently done this to obtain their visa. But again, not everybody adjusts from a visa. Others adjust from visas granted years before the 9/11 tightening of entry to the US.

That's right he DID produce one just a few months before he came here as a part of the K-1 Visa process... IF he had done something in his home country between the time he sent in the police report and the time he got his Visa, he would have either been in jail, or been stopped at the airport. And getting one for the time period he's been here... well what a monumental waste of time that would be! He's been HERE.... Never mind the logistics of getting a report FROM THERE, when he is HERE...

I don't know what kind of visas last for more than 5 years (pre-9/11) that people adjust from. But I am down right disgusted when I hear of women marrying men who have been in this country illegally for 10 or more years and they breeze through the AOS process without anyone at USCIS batting an eye.... That to me makes less sense than letting in people who they aren't sure of yet... The ones who have lived here illegally already show their willingness to break the law and circumvent our processes... The ones coming here all "papered up" at least show the good intention of following our Immigration laws.

And finally it is useful to take perceptions of persecution out of the equation. Many persons other than "brown skinned black haired MENA men" find themselves caught in this debacle. Many from India and Asia do. Pale-skinned Brits whose English names match up to US names in FBI files do. A poster in Nagi's other thread has a British flag in their profile. My lily-white Irish husband got caught. You will find many members in this community with MENA spouses who sailed through their adjustment without their "brown skinned black haired" husband having a single issue with his namecheck query.

I didn't say that the USCIS is persecuting MENA men. I said right wing zenophobes would be freaking out over brown skinned MENA men entering the USA prior to a COMPLETE background check (that didn't finish until LONG AFTER they have put their feet on American soil)... it was your interrpretation that the USCIS is that group! I'm sure some right wing zenophobes them MIGHT work for the USCIS, but that is not who I was talking about...

Interestingly we have only been treated with large doses of sarcasm and disrespect by one "brown-skinned" USCIS employee... all the "lily-white" ones have been very helpful and professional....

Your Irish husband could have come here as a tourist without any background check so I think it's strange for them to have such high levels of scrutiny over his background after he's married to you and been through much processing already.

MENA men haven't been able to get tourist visas (99.9% of the time) for many years now... They are treated differently. They are obviously considered more of a potential "threat" than the millions of people from the 28 or so countries that can come here without visas as tourists... (as long as they were not born in a MENA country and then became naturalized citizens of European countries, in that case, they still can't come in). Having lived through "Special Registration" while married to an Immigrant from Egypt I can tell you that believing that all immigrants are treated equally, regardless of their country of origin, is about the same as believing in the tooth fairy.

But again considering that I'm writing about immigrants who came here on K1 Visas, who have had police background checks in their country, and USCIS or DOS background checks during the long months of AP while we waited for them in the USA. AND now they are already here, and it CONTINUES to be an issue makes it appear to be a poorly designed process or sloppy. It seems it would be easier to just put in a caveat in the Immigration Law (if it isn't already there) that Permanent Residence could be revoked if new information is obtained...

Physical presence of non-citizens in the USA is the security issue they should analyze (if the assumption is that non-citizens pose a threat). Having a green card doesn't give people security clearance or access to different places, etc. Neither does withholding the approval of a green card prevent terrorism, or whatever it is they are trying to stop AFTER a person has landed here as an Immigrant by delaying their AOS with prolonged background checks.... And if they can't figure out if he's been in trouble since arriving HERE, in less than 5 minutes, they need a new system...

Let's face it the USA is heavy on military might, and light-weight on Intelligence... (internal and external) and it's Intelligence that is needed to stop whatever they are trying to stop at Homeland Security....

I'm sure as long as people wait in AP when coming from Egypt we all feel really sure that our spouses have been THOROUGHLY CHECKED OUT by our government before they are allowed to come here!!! To find out that maybe we've been "sleeping with the enemy" for the last 6 or more months at the AOS Interview, because they hadn't REALLY determined who or what our spouse was about or up to, would be a devasting blow to our trust that Uncle Sam is taking good care of us!

I'm 100% for effective security measures. But just like the faux security process that the TSA has developed for the airports (at a very high cost) the Immigration process seems meant to APPEAR thorough, when delaying,stalling, and occasionally down right sloppy handling of documents seems a more accurate description of what goes on at many steps in the process...

Nothing about this process has made me feel safe, or more secure because of personal observation of the measures the USCIS is taking to "keep out the bad guys"...

[rebeccajo 14]

Your Irish husband could have come here as a tourist without any background check so I think it's strange for them to have such high levels of scrutiny over his background after he's married to you and been through much processing already.

Why do you think it strange?

MENA men are subjected to additional scrutiny (at the consular level).

Persons applying to adjust are given equal scrutiny.