A# forevah!.. or is it?

[TBoneTX 45,287]

C will have to take the day off at work to drive me there and fix all this.

"Yo-o-o-o... road trip, du-u-u-de!"

[C-ma'am 684]

lol he is not so happy... he's wondering if USCIS will pay for the day off he'll have to take

[C-ma'am 684]

Go Bears

Keep trying!

Is it 8am EST or 8am PST that they start answering their phones, I wonder ...

lol did you watch the game? My goodness.... I'm an extreme rugby fan; but since rugby isn't big here, I'm ok with football.

Football needs a little more blood

[Penny Lane 8,159]

lol did you watch the game? My goodness.... I'm an extreme rugby fan; but since rugby isn't big here, I'm ok with football.

Football needs a little more blood

I personally don't care too much about football, but my husband is a die hard Bears fan. When they play, I don't have much of a choice.

[GCPony 14]

Time to get ready for the game..... Go Cowboys!

How'd that work out for you (asks the man from Houston)

[C-ma'am 684]

I have just received all my NOA1 for AOS/EAD/AP + the biometrics appointment notice.

I went on to check ALL the information on the papers and on ALL OF THEM, the A# is not the one that has been, so far, mine.

Mine: A205 XXX XXX

On the NOAs: A204 XXX XXX

I went to my InfoPass appointment to clarify this A# situation. Whatever scenario I had thought of in my head, was completely out of my control, as USCIS was responsible for this mistake. I was just hoping, though, that they hadn't screwed up SO bad as too give me someone else's number.

So, this is what happened and this is what I learned:

• The agent who received my AOS application decided to assign a new A# to me, because I filed under my married name. My application contained all the evidence of the A# that was originally designated for me (NOA2, Copy of K1 Visa, I-94, Copy of passport page where the CBP officer wrote down the number). In the words of the IO at the InfoPass appointment... "Someone was off their game".
• I was told that this is not an uncommon mistake and that the information on both A numbers is the same and will be consolidated later on, keeping one of the A#s (most likely the original). I was also advised to make sure this was taken care of at the time of the interview (if one takes place).

So, if this happens to you, don't panic. It cannot be resolved over the phone so don't even waste your time there and get an INFOPASS appointment .You want to make sure that if this happens to you, it's because someone assigned a new number and not because someone confused the numbers. So, please, go and ask!

1. Go here http://infopass.uscis.gov/ to Create an InfoPass appointment
2. Click the language of preference
3. Select Make your appointment with
4. Continue to fill out the information and when you get to the page that says "Please select Kind of Service you need", select "You need information or other services"
5. Continue to complete the appointment information. The process is easy and self explanatory.

If you read my original post, quoted at the beginning of this one, the day I receive all the NOA 1 with this new A#, I also received the Appointment Letter for my biometrics. Since the Baltimore Field office (only office available in Maryland) is an hour away from home, and my husband had to request a day off to drive me there for the biometrics, I requested the InfoPass appointment for the same date (a couple of hours earlier).

So everything worked out conveniently.

• I showed up at my 11.45 am InfoPass on time
• Was called to the window at 11.50 am
• Was done with the IO by 12 pm
• Biometrics Appointment was at 2 pm at a different building that's just around the corner from the Baltimore Field Office
• Walked into the ASC center at 12.30 pm (grabbed some lunch in between buildings)
• I was given a new form to fill out. I told my A# story to the receptionist. She consulted with a supervisor and instructed me to use the A# given on the appointment to fill out this form.
• Was out of the ASC office 15 minutes later

DONE!

FYI- The USCIS page tells you there's Parking available under the Federal building, where USCIS is located, for approximately $15/day..... We were there for less than 2 hours and paid $23.

[Pitaya 2,577]

I went to my InfoPass appointment to clarify this A# situation. Whatever scenario I had thought of in my head, was completely out of my control, as USCIS was responsible for this mistake. I was just hoping, though, that they hadn't screwed up SO bad as too give me someone else's number.

So, this is what happened and this is what I learned:

• The agent who received my AOS application decided to assign a new A# to me, because I filed under my married name. My application contained all the evidence of the A# that was originally designated for me (NOA2, Copy of K1 Visa, I-94, Copy of passport page where the CBP officer wrote down the number). In the words of the IO at the InfoPass appointment... "Someone was off their game".
• I was told that this is not an uncommon mistake and that the information on both A numbers is the same and will be consolidated later on, keeping one of the A#s (most likely the original). I was also advised to make sure this was taken care of at the time of the interview (if one takes place).

So, if this happens to you, don't panic. It cannot be resolved over the phone so don't even waste your time there and get an INFOPASS appointment .You want to make sure that if this happens to you, it's because someone assigned a new number and not because someone confused the numbers. So, please, go and ask!

1. Go here http://infopass.uscis.gov/ to Create an InfoPass appointment
2. Click the language of preference
3. Select Make your appointment with
4. Continue to fill out the information and when you get to the page that says "Please select Kind of Service you need", select "You need information or other services"
5. Continue to complete the appointment information. The process is easy and self explanatory.

If you read my original post, quoted at the beginning of this one, the day I receive all the NOA 1 with this new A#, I also received the Appointment Letter for my biometrics. Since the Baltimore Field office (only office available in Maryland) is an hour away from home, and my husband had to request a day off to drive me there for the biometrics, I requested the InfoPass appointment for the same date (a couple of hours earlier).

So everything worked out conveniently.

• I showed up at my 11.45 am InfoPass on time
• Was called to the window at 11.50 am
• Was done with the IO by 12 pm
• Biometrics Appointment was at 2 pm at a different building that's just around the corner from the Baltimore Field Office
• Walked into the ASC center at 12.30 pm (grabbed some lunch in between buildings)
• I was given a new form to fill out. I told my A# story to the receptionist. She consulted with a supervisor and instructed me to use the A# given on the appointment to fill out this form.
• Was out of the ASC office 15 minutes later

DONE!

FYI- The USCIS page tells you there's Parking available under the Federal building, where USCIS is located, for approximately $15/day..... We were there for less than 2 hours and paid $23.

That is great news!!!

Wishing you continued good fortune on your immigration journey.

[TBoneTX 45,287]

Great news and very helpful story, C-Bone, si man. Bummer about the parking, sigh man.

[actob99 156]

DA BEARS!

[bigdog 376]

Keep this up and you will pass me for info pass appointments. Good Job.

[C-ma'am 684]

I'm pleasantly surprised with all the communication flow with USCIS. We are always the first ones to rant about them in frustration but, as of today, I have nothing bad to say about them; even if they messed up the A#... and this is why:

The day I started this post, I called USCIS. I was on hold for 1 hour at a time. Before the CSRs transferred me to the Tier 2 queue and as part of their speech, they told me that USCIS is implementing new ways to communicate with us callers and that:

a) I could be transferred as I requested

b) A Tier 2 representative could call me back

c) I could send an email and report my problem.

I chose option A, but I asked the rep to give me the email, just in case ( NCSC-Customerconnet@uscis.dhs.gov )

The morning after, before I was finally able to speak to a Tier 2 and was advised to get the InfoPass appointment, I scanned all the documents I had as proof of my A# wrote an email describing the situation.

As you all know, I went to the appointment on Oct 24th and clarified the whole situation... but it didn't end there. Last Friday, Nov. 2nd, I get a letter in the mail from USCIS. My first thought was RFE!!! hahahah but NO to my surprise, it was the

answer to my email!! I was happy to see that their solution to my problem was the same one I was given verbally at the IPA and now I have a response in writing (SCORE!!!)

Sunday, I got an email from NCSC letting me know that they had forwarded my service request (the email) to the local office (Baltimore Field) and that they should be replying to me within 30 days (they already replied with the letter I got on Friday).

So, while the email and the letter were poorly timed, as I got the egg before the chicken, I thought that it was great that they didn't "lose" my email. They took their time to reply, but they did; and I liked that.