Update AOS received. Jim123

[Jim123 0]

Hi

My previous entries here are lost. But, I'll say that despite waiting for so long for my wife's AOS, she finally received it last month.

Its been five years since we submitted the application I130. After some delays, we were informed a year after that, that seeing that she was already in the U.S.A. at the time, I should have also filed for the I485 at the same time.

Another year went by when we personally just dropped in to the office near us. We waited with dozens of others for our assigned number to be called. We were informed that we had I130 approval a year prior.

We submitted the I485 but it was returned because there was no I130 approval form in the package. Plus we had included a communication from one of the clerks we had seen in person, which said the I130 was approved. We had never received one and thought they'd just look it up on your computer. We were to learn that some of the INS computers don't talk with each other.

How to re-submit the I485 without the official opproval notice. Much communication via letter, accompanied documentation of telephone calls, etc. to the various offices proved fruitless.

THen to our astonishment we, living in Georgia (my wife never moved to anywhere else since arriving; myself umpteenth generation Georgian-born, sad to say, never lived anywhere else) received notice that our file was transferred to Calilfornia. Again, much communication, that after very long waits on the automated telephone systems, received no sensible response even from supervisors, other than being instructed to send letters to another office to tell them where to send our file. How are we to instruct INS where to send our file. Do we really have that authority? Apparently not. Those letters were never responded to.

Meanwhile, my wife's Canadian driver's license expired; her Canadian passport expired (because we didn't want to risk not having it with us for ID were we summoned to the INS offices); she couldn't enroll in a university without her S.S.N. or risked paying expensive out of country fees; etc.

In the end, it was writing to both our Congress and senate representatives which brought meaniningful attention to our files. When they started enqiring, INS produced the proof of approval. We were then able to submit our I485.

Next was the bio office. How strange, they only book some many days in advance. So we kept having to call everyday for an appointment only to hear that they are already booked for 45 days, or whatever it was then. We ended up booking the appointment in Tennessee. Later, thank God, we called the bio Office in Georgia and actually got a date so we canceled the Tennesse appointment. LOL.

The AOS interview lasted probably 5 minutes the most. The outdated passport could not be stamped with the permanent residency status, but can be, once I update the passport. The permanent residency card was mailed to us within a few weeks.

Good luck everyone and thanks to all of you who responded to my questions. I truly appreciated your kindness.

Jim123

Edited February 28, 2006 by Jim123

[snz1802 0]

That is great news, Congratulation