Letter to IO after citizenship interview

[OKflyboy 35]

Now it has been more than 100 days! yes, AND STILL NO WORD from USCIS.

Anything else to consider?

Not much besides waiting til days and filing a request...

[Sherifeg 0]

Not much besides waiting til days and filing a request...

I am assuming you mean 120 days! I made an InfoPass for the end of this week...I am so frustrated!

[OKflyboy 35]

I am assuming you mean 120 days! I made an InfoPass for the end of this week...I am so frustrated!

yes, sorry, I meant 120 days, of course

Good luck!

[Sherifeg 0]

yes, sorry, I meant 120 days, of course

Good luck!

BTW CONGRATS on your oath letter! I am sure you are very excited about this!

[NickD 203]

We are Wisconsinites, Senator Feigngold set up a special in field office oath ceremony for us at the St. Paul office. At least once a month, thought the new office manager changed all that. At my stepdaughters oath ceremony last month, even pointed out five applications that had their interview that morning. Thought the new office manager changed all that for Minnesota residents, was concerned three years ago this month, we would have a nine month wait as was an article in one of the St. Pauls' newspapers on this exact subject. Would wait until 3,500 applicants were available for the oath ceremony.

With this knowledge, instructed my wife to request a same day oath like other field offices have due to her medical work and the long distance we have to travel. We don't do that here. If told no on this question, told my wife to ask when she could expect an oath letter, was told within two weeks. I let seven weeks go by and called Rebeca at Senator Feingolds' office. Just two hours later received an e-mail from the St. Paul office with her oath letter, this was on a Friday, and she was scheduled for her oath ceremony at 8:00 AM the following Tuesday. Everyone we met, including the old office manager was super nice to us.

Even spoke to a nice young woman that worked in their filing department, said it was a madhouse for oath ceremonies, she had to dig out all those applications, like 3,500 of them. Said my wife told me hers was over three inches thick. She confirmed this, very heavy work. Wouldn't it be more efficient to have same day oaths like other field offices, I asked? She replied, strictly at the discretion of the office manager. The one at the time like huge crowds, but had additional problems scheduling a judge to conduct the service or finding a location. Viking stadium was one of them as well as several different universities.

Thought this new office manager didn't like crowds, for my stepdaughter, no photos, she just wanted to get it over with a quick as possible, but guess that didn't change. Its a lip sync service anyway, you already signed and recited the oath at your interview. Just and in your oath letter with the eight questions on the back and signed, turn that and your green card, get your certificate and leave.

[Sherifeg 0]

We are Wisconsinites, Senator Feigngold set up a special in field office oath ceremony for us at the St. Paul office. At least once a month, thought the new office manager changed all that. At my stepdaughters oath ceremony last month, even pointed out five applications that had their interview that morning. Thought the new office manager changed all that for Minnesota residents, was concerned three years ago this month, we would have a nine month wait as was an article in one of the St. Pauls' newspapers on this exact subject. Would wait until 3,500 applicants were available for the oath ceremony.

With this knowledge, instructed my wife to request a same day oath like other field offices have due to her medical work and the long distance we have to travel. We don't do that here. If told no on this question, told my wife to ask when she could expect an oath letter, was told within two weeks. I let seven weeks go by and called Rebeca at Senator Feingolds' office. Just two hours later received an e-mail from the St. Paul office with her oath letter, this was on a Friday, and she was scheduled for her oath ceremony at 8:00 AM the following Tuesday. Everyone we met, including the old office manager was super nice to us.

Even spoke to a nice young woman that worked in their filing department, said it was a madhouse for oath ceremonies, she had to dig out all those applications, like 3,500 of them. Said my wife told me hers was over three inches thick. She confirmed this, very heavy work. Wouldn't it be more efficient to have same day oaths like other field offices, I asked? She replied, strictly at the discretion of the office manager. The one at the time like huge crowds, but had additional problems scheduling a judge to conduct the service or finding a location. Viking stadium was one of them as well as several different universities.

Thought this new office manager didn't like crowds, for my stepdaughter, no photos, she just wanted to get it over with a quick as possible, but guess that didn't change. Its a lip sync service anyway, you already signed and recited the oath at your interview. Just and in your oath letter with the eight questions on the back and signed, turn that and your green card, get your certificate and leave.

I did contact both MN Senators, but nothing! Very lazy case workers!

[OKflyboy 35]

BTW CONGRATS on your oath letter! I am sure you are very excited about this!

Thanks! I did not see it coming:) My online status never changed, no emails, nothing.

[CoffeeBeans 1]

Now it has been more than 100 days! yes, AND STILL NO WORD from USCIS.

Anything else to consider?

Sorry to hear that. Did you ever call your senator office again and ask for your super lazy case person ? What was the respond you got from this case person ?

From reading the posts on this board. it seems MN is pretty slow in lining people up for oath ceremony after they have passed their interviews. Sounds like you have exhausted all options, except the last one - take USCIS to court ... I seem to recall seeing this option at the foot of the N-652 form, something like you can go for this after 120 days.

Continue to hang in there. Cheers

[Sherifeg 0]

Sorry to hear that. Did you ever call your senator office again and ask for your super lazy case person ? What was the respond you got from this case person ?

From reading the posts on this board. it seems MN is pretty slow in lining people up for oath ceremony after they have passed their interviews. Sounds like you have exhausted all options, except the last one - take USCIS to court ... I seem to recall seeing this option at the foot of the N-652 form, something like you can go for this after 120 days.

Continue to hang in there. Cheers

I did call the Senator's office last week and got the same answer, when we hear something we will call you. I understand that it is not important to them but it is to me, and it frustrates me that they are so nonchalant about it. I made an InfoPass appointment for Thursday (unless something happens before, but again what are the odds?). It has been 105 days now! What concerns me, is what you wrote earlier about USCIS not contacting you about your Oath Ceremony!

[NickD 203]

St. Paul office is well known to be the slowest office in the country. Another strike against you is poor timing, was in September of 2008 I called Feingold's office and started off by saying if you want my wife to vote, you will help us. No elections going on right now, but should be assured of getting your certificate for the 2012 election. After all, the USCIS the most important part of becoming a US citizen is the right to vote.

Here is one of the articles I found back then: http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2007/12/18/citizenship-delayed-indefinitely.html

"

By Colette Davidson, TC Daily PlanetDecember 19, 2007 The heated national debate over immigration largely ignores the plight of long-time, documented immigrants whose citizenship applications are stalled in bureaucratic limbo. The cancellation of naturalization ceremonies in St. Paul in October and November is one symptom of the administrative meltdown that has left applicants waiting in line with no end in sight. The number of immigrants applying to become naturalized citizens has increased steadily since 2004. (Naturalization is the process of becoming a U.S. citizen for anyone who is not a citizen by birth.) In 2006, 702,589 people became naturalized U.S. citizens, a 16% rise since 2005. Following the influx of applicants this year, that number seems sure to go up in 2007.

Marissa Hill-Dongre, an immigration attorney at Centro Legal in St. Paul, believes that the current political climate has pushed immigrants to ensure their place in the U.S more than in recent years. “People are scared with all the immigration concerns going on and the raids that are happening,” says Hill-Dongre.

As hundreds of thousands of immigrants apply for citizenship each year, many find that their quest has been severely delayed or denied. FBI name check slowdowns and application fee increases are among the obstacles faced by immigrants seeking citizenship. The recent cancellation of four oath ceremonies in St. Paul in October and November by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security has indefinitely delayed citizenship for hundreds of immigrants—and potential voters.

Judy Stuthman, Co-President of League of Women Voters in Minnesota, and her colleagues register new voters at naturalization ceremonies around the Twin Cities. They didn’t find out about the fall cancellations until they arrived to find an empty room, chairs still positioned at the ready. “We showed up at the ceremony,” says Stuthman, “no one had told us.”

Stuthman says that each of the four ceremonies scheduled in St. Paul this fall had the potential to swear in 450 people, and that past ceremonies averaged about 400 people each. Although the St. Paul ceremonies are usually filled to near capacity, some people were scheduled for the Minneapolis oath ceremonies in October, November and on December 19 instead. Those ceremonies are scheduled for an average of 75 people each. On December 19, for example, a total of 135 people became citizens in two ceremonies in Minneapolis. That leaves questions about what happened to the 1,000-plus people who would have taken their citizenship oaths in St. Paul.

Corleen Smith, the Citizenship Coordinator at the International Institute of Minnesota, works with immigrants to help explain the citizenship process and fill out applications. She has observed several clients who have experienced delays.

“There are thousands of people who can’t vote who were hoping to vote, if [the naturalization process] was going to take less than a year and now it’s going to take much longer,” says Smith, “When I’m talking to people about why they want to become citizens…voting is an important aspect… and a way to be a bigger part of the community.”

The League of Women Voters was recently given permission by Judge Donovan Frank, the U.S. District Court Judge who leads naturalization ceremonies in the Twin Cities, to be the only group allowed to register voters before naturalization ceremonies in the Twin Cities. Frank’s decision was not well received by USCIS, says Stuthman, but she hopes the delays come to an end so that she can continue helping people register. “I think it’s sad if it takes so long and people won’t be able to vote,” says Stuthman.

Marilu Cabrera, spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the North Central region spanning almost a dozen states, says the word “cancellation” should be used lightly.

“We didn’t have to call people up and cancel the ceremony,” says Cabrera, “the ceremonies are set up a year in advance so if we don’t have enough [applicants] for a particular ceremony, we will just not schedule them.” Cabrera says the St. Paul ceremonies were not filled enough to justify holding the event. She could not answer questions about how many applicants were waiting for the St. Paul ceremonies.

Asked whether staffing shortages caused the cancellation of ceremonies, Cabrera said they did not. The Bloomington office (which handles all cases in the St. Paul area district) currently has 44 people on staff with 15 vacancies. In the USCIS Annual Report sent to Congress in June 2007, the USCIS Ombudsman, Prakash Khatri, says that “substantial workforce staffing and training challenges remain for USCIS.”

“We don’t go around canceling ceremonies,” says Cabrera, “that ceremony [in St. Paul] will be rescheduled as soon as possible….[but] staffing and ceremonies have nothing to do with each other.” She notes that they have conducted several ceremonies since the four were cancelled.

Huge numbers of applications for naturalization have flooded immigration offices nationwide over the past several months. Effective July 30, the application fee accompanying the N-400 naturalization form rose from $400 to $675. People scrambled to get their applications in before the fee hike, resulting in a record 1.4 million applications landing on immigration desks in 2006, nearly double the number received the previous year.

“We’re still in the process of dealing with all those applications,” says Cabrera, “it’s created a lot of work for us. Nationwide, I don’t know how it’s going to affect each individual office.”

After filing a ten-page application for citizenship and paying the $675 fee, those seeking naturalization must go through a series of steps—photos and fingerprints, FBI background and name checks, a 100-question test on U.S. history, a demonstrated proficiency in English, a personal interview—culminating in a ceremony and oath of citizenship.

Back in 2002, the Homeland Security Act abolished the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and divided its responsibilities between the USCIS and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), moving both to the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At that time, DHS boasted that the entire naturalization process would take only six months. Now, due to the fee increase, those who filed applications as early as June 1 can expect to wait a minimum of 16 to 18 months.

One woman from the Twin Cities, who wished to remain anonymous for fear that identifying herself would further delay her naturalization, has been waiting patiently for notice of the date when she can take her 100-question test and ultimately, her oath. After filing the N-400 form, she followed the appropriate protocol but has heard nothing since submitting her fingerprints more than a year ago. She has since hired a lawyer to find out the source of the problem, and gets weekly tutoring to prepare herself for the 100-question U.S. history test.

“I don’t know. A lot of people, three weeks, the fingerprint is done and [soon after] they have citizenship,” she says, “but I’m waiting.” She has been in the U.S. since the late 1990s and would prefer to have citizenship instead of renewing her green card every ten years. Most of her family members have become citizens without any problem. Why has she had so many issues getting naturalized? “No idea,” she says, “I don’t have any idea.”

One possible answer for this Minnesota woman could be that the USCIS passes so-called “difficult” cases to the side in favor of more cut-and-dried ones. In the USCIS Annual Report, the Ombudsman explains that, from his many visits to USCIS field offices in the U.S., adjudicators “pick the low hanging fruit,” preferring to push the time-intensive cases to the side. “These cases remain pending, perhaps for years, while backlog reduction appears generally to be succeeding,” the report states.

In addition, field office workloads vary, and funding is assigned depending on completion rates. “Offices with more than the average numbers of difficult cases or offices that try to work the difficult cases thoroughly will not be adequately funded because the number of completions will be low,” the report says, “meanwhile, offices that push to complete the easy cases will see their budgets grow.”

Marissa Hill-Dongre has worked with several clients seeking naturalization, particularly families, and victims of crime and violence. She says that the real issue behind citizenship delays in the U.S. is the FBI name check.

“They won’t do the interview [part of the naturalization process] without the name check clearance,” says Hill-Dongre, who (seconded by Stuthman) says that the Minnesota Somali community is feeling the brunt of the name check issue. As part of becoming a U.S. citizen, all names are subject to an FBI check for criminal records or other FBI records. These checks often cause delays because similar names produce false “hits." In addition, the name check process is backlogged, resulting in major delays, since the process cannot proceed until the name check is cleared.

Calling the long waits a violation of the law, groups in California have filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court. The lawsuit, Bavi v. Mukasey, names Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the FBI, and the USCIS as defendants. Plaintiffs, who include the ACLU of Southern California, the National Immigration Law Center, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olsen, say that name check delays violate time limits, and will ask that these time limits be enforced in order to reduce naturalization backlogs while still upholding national security.

“[The name checks] hinder backlog reductions efforts, and may not achieve their intended national security objectives. FBI name checks may be the single biggest obstacle to the timely and efficient delivery of immigration benefits,” says the USCIS Annual Report, “…The delay caused by the FBI name check has substantial consequences to applicants and their families, as well as to our country and the economy.”

Copyright: ©2007 Colette Davidson"

Could try writing a letter to the editor of this newspaper, seems like not much has improved. During my stepdaughters' oath ceremony, we did meet people as far away as from Fond du Lac, only 60 miles from Milwaukee, but 330 miles from Bloomington, that stayed in a motel that night. We are slightly closer to Milwaukee, but as it goes, somebody always has it worse than you do.

See Bloomington has a new ink jet printer, judging by the poor quality of my stepdaughters' biometrics photo, used double sided sticky tape on my wifes' photo. But still don't have anyone that knows how to place fields on a preprinted form. Added print is not on the blank spots but over writing the print on the certificate. But what the hell, DOS accepted it.

Again, the oath ceremony is just lip syncing service, you already read and signed your oath, and if you want to listen to the Star Spangled Banner, just switch on a Vikings game. Ha, swore if they held out ceremony at the Vikings stadium, would have purchased a Packers jacket for my wife and myself, and would wear it.

[Sherifeg 0]

St. Paul office is well known to be the slowest office in the country. Another strike against you is poor timing, was in September of 2008 I called Feingold's office and started off by saying if you want my wife to vote, you will help us. No elections going on right now, but should be assured of getting your certificate for the 2012 election. After all, the USCIS the most important part of becoming a US citizen is the right to vote.

Here is one of the articles I found back then: http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2007/12/18/citizenship-delayed-indefinitely.html

"

By Colette Davidson, TC Daily PlanetDecember 19, 2007 The heated national debate over immigration largely ignores the plight of long-time, documented immigrants whose citizenship applications are stalled in bureaucratic limbo. The cancellation of naturalization ceremonies in St. Paul in October and November is one symptom of the administrative meltdown that has left applicants waiting in line with no end in sight. The number of immigrants applying to become naturalized citizens has increased steadily since 2004. (Naturalization is the process of becoming a U.S. citizen for anyone who is not a citizen by birth.) In 2006, 702,589 people became naturalized U.S. citizens, a 16% rise since 2005. Following the influx of applicants this year, that number seems sure to go up in 2007.

Marissa Hill-Dongre, an immigration attorney at Centro Legal in St. Paul, believes that the current political climate has pushed immigrants to ensure their place in the U.S more than in recent years. “People are scared with all the immigration concerns going on and the raids that are happening,” says Hill-Dongre.

As hundreds of thousands of immigrants apply for citizenship each year, many find that their quest has been severely delayed or denied. FBI name check slowdowns and application fee increases are among the obstacles faced by immigrants seeking citizenship. The recent cancellation of four oath ceremonies in St. Paul in October and November by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security has indefinitely delayed citizenship for hundreds of immigrants—and potential voters.

Judy Stuthman, Co-President of League of Women Voters in Minnesota, and her colleagues register new voters at naturalization ceremonies around the Twin Cities. They didn’t find out about the fall cancellations until they arrived to find an empty room, chairs still positioned at the ready. “We showed up at the ceremony,” says Stuthman, “no one had told us.”

Stuthman says that each of the four ceremonies scheduled in St. Paul this fall had the potential to swear in 450 people, and that past ceremonies averaged about 400 people each. Although the St. Paul ceremonies are usually filled to near capacity, some people were scheduled for the Minneapolis oath ceremonies in October, November and on December 19 instead. Those ceremonies are scheduled for an average of 75 people each. On December 19, for example, a total of 135 people became citizens in two ceremonies in Minneapolis. That leaves questions about what happened to the 1,000-plus people who would have taken their citizenship oaths in St. Paul.

Corleen Smith, the Citizenship Coordinator at the International Institute of Minnesota, works with immigrants to help explain the citizenship process and fill out applications. She has observed several clients who have experienced delays.

“There are thousands of people who can’t vote who were hoping to vote, if [the naturalization process] was going to take less than a year and now it’s going to take much longer,” says Smith, “When I’m talking to people about why they want to become citizens…voting is an important aspect… and a way to be a bigger part of the community.”

The League of Women Voters was recently given permission by Judge Donovan Frank, the U.S. District Court Judge who leads naturalization ceremonies in the Twin Cities, to be the only group allowed to register voters before naturalization ceremonies in the Twin Cities. Frank’s decision was not well received by USCIS, says Stuthman, but she hopes the delays come to an end so that she can continue helping people register. “I think it’s sad if it takes so long and people won’t be able to vote,” says Stuthman.

Marilu Cabrera, spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the North Central region spanning almost a dozen states, says the word “cancellation” should be used lightly.

“We didn’t have to call people up and cancel the ceremony,” says Cabrera, “the ceremonies are set up a year in advance so if we don’t have enough [applicants] for a particular ceremony, we will just not schedule them.” Cabrera says the St. Paul ceremonies were not filled enough to justify holding the event. She could not answer questions about how many applicants were waiting for the St. Paul ceremonies.

Asked whether staffing shortages caused the cancellation of ceremonies, Cabrera said they did not. The Bloomington office (which handles all cases in the St. Paul area district) currently has 44 people on staff with 15 vacancies. In the USCIS Annual Report sent to Congress in June 2007, the USCIS Ombudsman, Prakash Khatri, says that “substantial workforce staffing and training challenges remain for USCIS.”

“We don’t go around canceling ceremonies,” says Cabrera, “that ceremony [in St. Paul] will be rescheduled as soon as possible….[but] staffing and ceremonies have nothing to do with each other.” She notes that they have conducted several ceremonies since the four were cancelled.

Huge numbers of applications for naturalization have flooded immigration offices nationwide over the past several months. Effective July 30, the application fee accompanying the N-400 naturalization form rose from $400 to $675. People scrambled to get their applications in before the fee hike, resulting in a record 1.4 million applications landing on immigration desks in 2006, nearly double the number received the previous year.

“We’re still in the process of dealing with all those applications,” says Cabrera, “it’s created a lot of work for us. Nationwide, I don’t know how it’s going to affect each individual office.”

After filing a ten-page application for citizenship and paying the $675 fee, those seeking naturalization must go through a series of steps—photos and fingerprints, FBI background and name checks, a 100-question test on U.S. history, a demonstrated proficiency in English, a personal interview—culminating in a ceremony and oath of citizenship.

Back in 2002, the Homeland Security Act abolished the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and divided its responsibilities between the USCIS and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), moving both to the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At that time, DHS boasted that the entire naturalization process would take only six months. Now, due to the fee increase, those who filed applications as early as June 1 can expect to wait a minimum of 16 to 18 months.

One woman from the Twin Cities, who wished to remain anonymous for fear that identifying herself would further delay her naturalization, has been waiting patiently for notice of the date when she can take her 100-question test and ultimately, her oath. After filing the N-400 form, she followed the appropriate protocol but has heard nothing since submitting her fingerprints more than a year ago. She has since hired a lawyer to find out the source of the problem, and gets weekly tutoring to prepare herself for the 100-question U.S. history test.

“I don’t know. A lot of people, three weeks, the fingerprint is done and [soon after] they have citizenship,” she says, “but I’m waiting.” She has been in the U.S. since the late 1990s and would prefer to have citizenship instead of renewing her green card every ten years. Most of her family members have become citizens without any problem. Why has she had so many issues getting naturalized? “No idea,” she says, “I don’t have any idea.”

One possible answer for this Minnesota woman could be that the USCIS passes so-called “difficult” cases to the side in favor of more cut-and-dried ones. In the USCIS Annual Report, the Ombudsman explains that, from his many visits to USCIS field offices in the U.S., adjudicators “pick the low hanging fruit,” preferring to push the time-intensive cases to the side. “These cases remain pending, perhaps for years, while backlog reduction appears generally to be succeeding,” the report states.

In addition, field office workloads vary, and funding is assigned depending on completion rates. “Offices with more than the average numbers of difficult cases or offices that try to work the difficult cases thoroughly will not be adequately funded because the number of completions will be low,” the report says, “meanwhile, offices that push to complete the easy cases will see their budgets grow.”

Marissa Hill-Dongre has worked with several clients seeking naturalization, particularly families, and victims of crime and violence. She says that the real issue behind citizenship delays in the U.S. is the FBI name check.

“They won’t do the interview [part of the naturalization process] without the name check clearance,” says Hill-Dongre, who (seconded by Stuthman) says that the Minnesota Somali community is feeling the brunt of the name check issue. As part of becoming a U.S. citizen, all names are subject to an FBI check for criminal records or other FBI records. These checks often cause delays because similar names produce false “hits." In addition, the name check process is backlogged, resulting in major delays, since the process cannot proceed until the name check is cleared.

Calling the long waits a violation of the law, groups in California have filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court. The lawsuit, Bavi v. Mukasey, names Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the FBI, and the USCIS as defendants. Plaintiffs, who include the ACLU of Southern California, the National Immigration Law Center, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olsen, say that name check delays violate time limits, and will ask that these time limits be enforced in order to reduce naturalization backlogs while still upholding national security.

“[The name checks] hinder backlog reductions efforts, and may not achieve their intended national security objectives. FBI name checks may be the single biggest obstacle to the timely and efficient delivery of immigration benefits,” says the USCIS Annual Report, “…The delay caused by the FBI name check has substantial consequences to applicants and their families, as well as to our country and the economy.”

Copyright: ©2007 Colette Davidson"

Could try writing a letter to the editor of this newspaper, seems like not much has improved. During my stepdaughters' oath ceremony, we did meet people as far away as from Fond du Lac, only 60 miles from Milwaukee, but 330 miles from Bloomington, that stayed in a motel that night. We are slightly closer to Milwaukee, but as it goes, somebody always has it worse than you do.

See Bloomington has a new ink jet printer, judging by the poor quality of my stepdaughters' biometrics photo, used double sided sticky tape on my wifes' photo. But still don't have anyone that knows how to place fields on a preprinted form. Added print is not on the blank spots but over writing the print on the certificate. But what the hell, DOS accepted it.

Again, the oath ceremony is just lip syncing service, you already read and signed your oath, and if you want to listen to the Star Spangled Banner, just switch on a Vikings game. Ha, swore if they held out ceremony at the Vikings stadium, would have purchased a Packers jacket for my wife and myself, and would wear it.

But that was in 2007! You would think that with all the taxpayer money, they have a more efficient system! When I go to the Oath Ceremonies schedule on MN Courts system, there seem to have been NO Oath Ceremonies for June, July and August for Mpls/St Paul! However, there were ceremonies for Duluth/Fergus Falls (Some of those were held in Mpls and St Paul). I am going to the InfoPass appointment on Thursday and keeping my hopes down! Looks like this will be decided in a court!

[NickD 203]

But that was in 2007! You would think that with all the taxpayer money, they have a more efficient system! When I go to the Oath Ceremonies schedule on MN Courts system, there seem to have been NO Oath Ceremonies for June, July and August for Mpls/St Paul! However, there were ceremonies for Duluth/Fergus Falls (Some of those were held in Mpls and St Paul). I am going to the InfoPass appointment on Thursday and keeping my hopes down! Looks like this will be decided in a court!

Will let you in on a little secret if you promised not to tell anybody, when first contacting Kohl or Feingold, also enclosed a check for $250.00 for their campaign fund. What the heck, that is less money than paying the current IRS rates to Bloomington, plus having to take time off of work. We can also call that an expedient fee. Feingold surprised us for inviting wife and me to one of those overpriced dinners they have, no additional money was requested. Nothing from Kohl yet, doubt it, not running in 2012.

Both the DOS and USCIS for some forms have an expedient fee, but sure ran into that in dealing with both Colombia and Venezuela with their judges Miami Bank accounts. Even for such little things as correcting their typos in birth certificates that can only be done in their corrupt courts of law. Can also call that an expedient fee, if I didn't send them that money, wife and stepdaughter would still be in Venezuela or Colombia.

As you already pointed out, calling that 800 number or even making an infopass appointment is worthless. Money still talks.

[Sherifeg 0]

Will let you in on a little secret if you promised not to tell anybody, when first contacting Kohl or Feingold, also enclosed a check for $250.00 for their campaign fund. What the heck, that is less money than paying the current IRS rates to Bloomington, plus having to take time off of work. We can also call that an expedient fee. Feingold surprised us for inviting wife and me to one of those overpriced dinners they have, no additional money was requested. Nothing from Kohl yet, doubt it, not running in 2012.

Both the DOS and USCIS for some forms have an expedient fee, but sure ran into that in dealing with both Colombia and Venezuela with their judges Miami Bank accounts. Even for such little things as correcting their typos in birth certificates that can only be done in their corrupt courts of law. Can also call that an expedient fee, if I didn't send them that money, wife and stepdaughter would still be in Venezuela or Colombia.

As you already pointed out, calling that 800 number or even making an infopass appointment is worthless. Money still talks.

EXACTLY! Any advice on contacting the Ombudsman? Or just another worthless route?

[NickD 203]

EXACTLY! Any advice on contacting the Ombudsman? Or just another worthless route?

Ombudsman? Yeah, super duper worthless. Been there did that kind of thing. What they do is to monitor all processing dates of all aspects of the USCIS, type a large report, then run that through a paper shredder. They use the posted processing dates on those USCIS processing date sites.

Was having fits during our ROC stage when that one year extension was running out so contacted them via the phone, really very uncooperative guy I talked to. That is went I contacted Feingold, our application wasn't even in Nebraska, was moved to California no one at Ombudsman or at the USCIS knew nothing about. While on the line Rebeca contacted some secret number at the California Service Center. But it took them several hours to locate our application, misplaced was the word they used. Two weeks later, we received our ten year cards.

Misplaced was the word St. Paul used for my wifes' oath letter, Rebeca remembered me, didn't send a second check, since Feingold was on the USCIS finance committee, St. Paul acted super fast on that, wife had her special oath ceremony three days later.

During our AOS, stepdaughters application was misplaced, but my attorney handled that somehow, hers was dated 46 days after her mom's, but still in time so she could tailgate her mom on the I-751. Miscommunication was the word St. Paul used with proof of those minor paid traffic violations and false battery charges, Senator Kolh's daughter took care of that for us.

When I read things went smoothly for some people here, think we were born under the wrong star.

[Sherifeg 0]

Ombudsman? Yeah, super duper worthless. Been there did that kind of thing. What they do is to monitor all processing dates of all aspects of the USCIS, type a large report, then run that through a paper shredder. They use the posted processing dates on those USCIS processing date sites.

Was having fits during our ROC stage when that one year extension was running out so contacted them via the phone, really very uncooperative guy I talked to. That is went I contacted Feingold, our application wasn't even in Nebraska, was moved to California no one at Ombudsman or at the USCIS knew nothing about. While on the line Rebeca contacted some secret number at the California Service Center. But it took them several hours to locate our application, misplaced was the word they used. Two weeks later, we received our ten year cards.

Misplaced was the word St. Paul used for my wifes' oath letter, Rebeca remembered me, didn't send a second check, since Feingold was on the USCIS finance committee, St. Paul acted super fast on that, wife had her special oath ceremony three days later.

During our AOS, stepdaughters application was misplaced, but my attorney handled that somehow, hers was dated 46 days after her mom's, but still in time so she could tailgate her mom on the I-751. Miscommunication was the word St. Paul used with proof of those minor paid traffic violations and false battery charges, Senator Kolh's daughter took care of that for us.

When I read things went smoothly for some people here, think we were born under the wrong star.

So basically St Paul is the SLOWEST office in the country AND they lose files on top of it!