Green Card still not produced after 6 months - Tale of woe!

[angloamerican 2]

Let me preface this by saying "I probably already know the answer", but thought it was worth recounting this miserable tale to see if anyone else has encountered the same problems, or perhaps have a magic solution. The answer? We trapped in the misery of government bureaucracy and can do nothing but wait and hope.

Fast forward through the usual story of a family member getting LPR status, and arriving in the US, so I'll pick up once my daughter arrived. FYI We are Brits, and I have my unconditional status through marriage to an American, who has since sponsored my daughter.

My daughter (age 20 if it matters) arrived thought Boston on January 7th 2014, handed over her package to CBP, and was welcomed to the land of opportunity. Prior to this we have paid the fee via Elis in November 2013, have an IOE number and so on. The trail of events then goes something like this.

• Ellis Fee Paid November 22nd 2013.

• Daughter entered Jan 7th 2014 Boston. Paperwork handed to Customs.

• Email from USCIS 1/21 confirming receipt of fee, stating card would be received in 30 days, in response to online inquiry I made.

• Email from USCIS 3/3 in response to an inquiry I made - A search of USCIS records indicates your Immigrant Visa Fee has been paid. However, after a thorough search, the Texas Service Center is unable to locate a record for you in our electronic systems based on the information you provided. The Texas Service Center has recently implemented a new database to track these cases and provide better customer service. The process of moving from one database to another has caused a slight delay. We hope to have this delay corrected as soon as possible. If you do not receive your Permanent Resident Card within the next 90 days, please contact customer service. We apologize for the inconvenience.

So this first 90 day standard go away email had almost elapsed so we inquired again.

• Email from USCIS 5/20 in response to a further inquiry I made - Your card was placed in production on March 19, 2014, but a card was not produced at the time. A request has been made to produce your Permanent Resident Card. Your Permanent Resident Card should be mailed within 90 days. If the card is not received within the time frame indicated, please contact us at the phone number listed below. We apologize for the inconvenience.

• A parallel inquiring with the TSC yielded this response also on 5/20 - Thank you for contacting the Texas Service Center National Customer Service Center (NCSC) Follow-Up e-mail account. A search of USCIS records indicates the Immigrant Visa Fee has been received. We are actively attempting to resolve the payment issue in regards to your Immigrant Visa Fee. If you do not receive your Permanent Resident Card within the next 90 days, please contact customer service. We apologize for the inconvenience.

At no time has anyone actually told us what the damned issue is, or why if they've had the fee no card is being produced. Incidently I just had my conditions removed, and my card took 5 days from ordering production to actual receipt.

• 5/23 attended an Infopass appointment in MASS. Very nice, but could shed no additional light on the issues. Said to use to come back in September and they can put a temporary green card stamp in the passport valid for another year (September as she needs to be out of the US beyond her initial temp I-551 expiration). We were also told they were having numerous issues caused by a lack of integration between the Ellis and USCIS computer systems, and that USCIS were having issues processing Green Cards as payments were not been recorded at USCIS correctly due to these issues. In fact he showed us an internal email where he himself had applied for, and was still waiting for, access to the Elis system to check payments etc.

I have spoken to the immigration attorney who handled the case for us, and indeed my case, and the best they can offer is to start an I-90 process, which is free on the basis of no card ever received, but can take up to 6 months to be processed. I-90 for the initiated is the process to replace a Green Card.

So anyone want to add any useful knowledge here, other than critique the spelling

[Darnell 8,479]

I too have an ELIS problem - dealing with misrouted/mis-shipped green card.

Numerous phone calls and a service request have not gotten the greencard reshipped out from TSC.

I have been in contact with the Immigration Liason Staffer in my Congressman's office - and they are on a hunt for it next week.

So - at this stage - I suggest to you to engage with the constituent liason at your Congressman's office (You have 3 - 2 senators and 1 representative) and ask around - ask who is fulfilling the role there of 'Immigration Liason Staffer' and ask that the privacy release forms be emailed out to you...

you = USCitizen Spouse - is best that that person make the initial phone call/contact.... best done on Monday - they be gone for the weekend.

Edited June 6, 2014 by Darnell

[angloamerican 2]

So - at this stage - I suggest to you to engage with the constituent liason at your Congressman's office (You have 3 - 2 senators and 1 representative) and ask around - ask who is fulfilling the role there of 'Immigration Liason Staffer' and ask that the privacy release forms be emailed out to you...

you = USCitizen Spouse - is best that that person make the initial phone call/contact.... best done on Monday - they be gone for the weekend.

Glad to know someone else is in this boat, although sorry you are

I did think of the congressman route, but wonder how succesful it will be. Nothing to lose so will try as you suggest.

Richest and most advanced country in the world, but they can't link a fee to an application. Before anyone says anything, I am an IT project manager, so understand computer issues. What's broken here is the process

Do any USCIS staffers frequent these forums I wonder...

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

Glad to know someone else is in this boat, although sorry you are

I did think of the congressman route, but wonder how succesful it will be. Nothing to lose so will try as you suggest.

Richest and most advanced country in the world, but they can't link a fee to an application. Before anyone says anything, I am an IT project manager, so understand computer issues. What's broken here is the process

Do any USCIS staffers frequent these forums I wonder...

Go the congressman route. I was having a similar issue, with it being very frustrating that after each query I was given a number of days to wait before I could make another query...after 4 months (and with the rest of my family who entered with me having received their cards after 2 months) I contacted the congresswoman. It took her office a couple of weeks to get back to me, but when they did it was to say they had spoken to TSC, and if I hadn't received the card within 3 weeks to call her back personally and she would follow up with them again. ELIS changed to card production that same day and the card arrived a week later.

[angloamerican 2]

Go the congressman route. I was having a similar issue, with it being very frustrating that after each query I was given a number of days to wait before I could make another query...after 4 months (and with the rest of my family who entered with me having received their cards after 2 months) I contacted the congresswoman. It took her office a couple of weeks to get back to me, but when they did it was to say they had spoken to TSC, and if I hadn't received the card within 3 weeks to call her back personally and she would follow up with them again. ELIS changed to card production that same day and the card arrived a week later.

I've now written to our congresswoman via her webpage, and if I don't get a reply after a few days, will call and ask.

I'll update this post as and when I have any further progress, whether via USCIS/TSC or the congresswoman.

Here's hoping

Edited June 8, 2014 by angloamerican

[Darnell 8,479]

make sure you start with the privacy release form - printed out - signed - then scanned back in and emailed in as an attachment. Also include some word document that clearly outlines all of the silliness you have gone through - complete with any screen shots of uscis or ELIS webpages stored as PDF.

However - you should use a telephone - talk with the constituent liason who is acting as 'Immigration Liason Staffer' - a phone call early on opens that door.

'just an email' IMO is never sufficient...

Edited June 9, 2014 by Darnell

[angloamerican 2]

Just a quick update.

Emailed our congresswoman's office on Saturday as indicated above, and today Wednesday received a phone call from her Constituent Services Representative, who was extremely nice and immediately offered to help.

Release forms will go back today with relevant information, and then the appropriate person will contact TSC about the case.

Will update as things develop.

I think it's important to recognize when our elected government officials respond so quickly to try and help a constituent. So initial thanks to the office of Niki Tsongas, the Representative for Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district. Fingers crossed they prevail.

Edited June 11, 2014 by angloamerican

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

Just a quick update.

Emailed our congresswoman's office on Saturday as indicated above, and today Wednesday received a phone call from her Constituent Services Representative, who was extremely nice and immediately offered to help.

Release forms will go back today with relevant information, and then the appropriate person will contact TSC about the case.

Will update as things develop.

I think it's important to recognize when our elected government officials respond so quickly to try and help a constituent. So initial thanks to the office of Niki Tsongas, the Representative for Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district. Fingers crossed they prevail.

Indeed, even more impressive that they are prepared to help new immigrants who will not even be able to vote for some years yet...

[angloamerican 2]

Indeed, even more impressive that they are prepared to help new immigrants who will not even be able to vote for some years yet...

But my wife is a US Citizen, and will be voting come November not to mention her family, and our extended relatives...and I will be a citizen this time next year, and will be voting in the mid-terms. Voter support is of course a strong incentive to help, but a record of solving immigration issues is a powerful electoral call out, especially given her ward in Mass has a high immigrant population from many cultures.

Cynicism aside, I think that helping your fellow man is not only part of the service of a representative of the people, but also the right thing to do.

Edited June 11, 2014 by angloamerican

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

But my wife is a US Citizen, and will be voting come November not to mention her family, and our extended relatives...and I will be a citizen this time next year, and will be voting in the mid-terms. Voter support is of course a strong incentive to help, but a record of solving immigration issues is a powerful electoral call out, especially given her ward in Mass has a high immigrant population from many cultures.

Cynicism aside, I think that helping your fellow man is not only part of the service of a representative of the people, but also the right thing to do.

Well for us...we are a family of new immigrants and they still helped us ....no USC spouse etc... And we won't be citizens for another almost five years... so no cynicism here, just thankful

[angloamerican 2]

Well for us...we are a family of new immigrants and they still helped us ....no USC spouse etc... And we won't be citizens for another almost five years... so no cynicism here, just thankful

Email received today (6/13), and I quote "Sent an inquiry to the congressional liaison on Wednesday and just waiting to hear back. Will keep you posted."

Fingers crossed

[angloamerican 2]

6/19: Another Update from the congresswoman's office. Not sure what ELIS POC unless it means Production of Card?

A request has been sent to the ELIS POC for action on the alien card production for your constituent and upon a response, I’ll provide you further information.

Thank you for your inquiry and please do not hesitate to contact us again if you have further questions regarding this case.

Immigration Services Analyst
Department of Homeland Security
USCIS/Texas Service Center
Congressional Relations

As I said when I replied to the congresswoman's office, "everytime I contact ELIS they refer the inquiry to TSC". Now the congresswoman's office has contacted TSC they've referred the inquiry to ELIS. Irony or a system in turmoil? I guess we'll find out

It took TSC 8 days to reply to the congresswoman's request.

My congresswoman's office said they will follow up again with TSC next week, assuming they haven't had an update before then.

Edited June 20, 2014 by angloamerican

[angloamerican 2]

So not sure if anyone cares about this post any longer, but for consistency I'll keep updating it in the hope it does some good one day when someone else is despairing.

I check the ELIS status daily, as it takes only a few seconds, and suddenly after months there is action!

The status date changed to today's date - June 23rd 2014, and the Case Status is now moved past closed to 'reopened'! It had been stuck at 'optimized' for months, and never ever got to closed! I guess this now indicates someone has started working on the problem!

More as I get it, but clearly the congresswoman's office intervention has had an effect. Who knows maybe we'll see a Green Card soon

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

So not sure if anyone cares about this post any longer, but for consistency I'll keep updating it in the hope it does some good one day when someone else is despairing.

I check the ELIS status daily, as it takes only a few seconds, and suddenly after months there is action!

The status date changed to today's date - June 23rd 2014, and the Case Status is now moved past closed to 'reopened'! It had been stuck at 'optimized' for months, and never ever got to closed! I guess this now indicates someone has started working on the problem!

More as I get it, but clearly the congresswoman's office intervention has had an effect. Who knows maybe we'll see a Green Card soon

Sounds just like my story!! Great, did you check the case status page to see if it says anything about card production?

[Darnell 8,479]

we talk an ISO again yesterday - she promises GC to arrive in 10 to 12 days, plus a promised call back today. I ain't holding my breath till the USPS tracking number is issued . It'll be scary if it comes in first class without tracking, IMO.