20+ Months and Waiting

[SamAbdul 2]

8 hours ago, H.Angy said:

                                                                  

                                                                                                            USCIS wake up !!!

 

                                                                                        It's time to solve your backlogged cases !

 

                                                                                               You want taxes, let people work !

Amen! 

[Dashinka 24,504]

18 hours ago, RamonGomez said:

No problem. I believe USCIS has some amount of time (I don't recall what it was, maybe 30-60 days) to respond to the service request. It worked for us when my stepdaughter's green card didn't arrive 4 months after she came to the US. A few weeks later the status of the request changed to "Closed" and the next day we got a notice the card was in production. 

 

I don't understand why extension letters are still 18 months when some service centers are taking over 2 years to process a petition, and they make it incredibly tedious to get an InfoPass appointment. It's ridiculous.

 

Don't be afraid of "bothering" USCIS - you're paying them for a service, and they are failing. You have to advocate for yourself and occasionally make noise for things to get done. Best of luck, please keep us updated, and sorry that this is happening to you. We just sent our ROC packet a few weeks ago and really worried we'll also get stuck 2+ years with no updates. Because we interviewed during AOS we're praying we'll get an ROC interview waiver.

They were only 12 months just three years ago.  It is a pain and it appears that USCIS is treating the ROC as a low priority item.  I would not mind the Feds doing away with this requirement.

[SamAbdul 2]

3 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

They were only 12 months just three years ago.  It is a pain and it appears that USCIS is treating the ROC as a low priority item.  I would not mind the Feds doing away with this requirement.

 

I am all for it to protect citizen from fraud relationship; but in the time I've waited for this application; we bought a house, got our first baby, re-mortgaged the house and million other milestone as a family. (thank goodness). And were it not for work, I'd care less about it; but god it is stressful not having DL given how it is basically equivalent to a passport in this country! My friend in IL, his wife happened to get 5 years DL even though she has only 18-month standard extension! (NJ WAKE UP! lol) 

 

The other issue; some people, like myself, have to go abroad every now and then for both work and family. I can't do neither without the insane level of stress about not being able to get back to my family! 

 

Just want to say thank you, the level of support of this community is amazing! 

[amarsolo 9]

On 2/24/2021 at 4:51 PM, SamAbdul said:

 I hear you. Did you get a stamp? 

Yes I did get my stump , I call them waited about 1hour to talk to some body and he said they will call me back so they call me back couple days later and schedule an appointment for 1 year stup on the passeport

[SamAbdul 2]

2 hours ago, amarsolo said:

Yes I did get my stump , I call them waited about 1hour to talk to some body and he said they will call me back so they call me back couple days later and schedule an appointment for 1 year stup on the passeport

been waiting for 10 days and no one called back yet. I mean if we can get appointment for such important things, I don't know what else can be done! 

[SamAbdul 2]

Update: my representative office reached after I sent them all the documents and said they sent the request to USCIS and waiting on them. 

 

 

[Villanelle 4,122]

Ok so the general process is you send your package to the service center (Texas) they can either approve it/deny it outright or send it for interview at local office. Interviews can be because their is an issue or for just general quality control purposes so dont panic that theres a problem hence needing an interview. Now when the service center decides to send a case for interview it takes a quick stop through NBC. The role of NBC is to do a general 'pre-processing check' before passing it to the local office. They make sure all the paperwork is there because they dont want to pass incomplete cases to the local office, they want to make sure the local office has everything they need so they can have the interview w/o any delays. The last thing anyone wants is to end up in an interview and be told parts of your package arent there so they cant proceed. 

 

NBC also tends to send stuff in bulk packages to the local office as its more efficient then sending one case file at a time. On occasion peoples cases have 'slipped through the cracks' at NBC- meaning NBC gets it from the service center but for no specific reason fails to forward it to the local office. They also do not consistently send transfer notices- so if one gets a transfer notice thats great. If they dont that doesnt mean the transfer didnt occur though. NBC also does this thing where they 'hold' cases until the local office is ready to accept them. Meaning NBC may have your case ready to send to them but your local office may have a full queue and cant handle anymore (imagine an assembly line- you cant add more until theres space made by completed items leaving the line) so as their workload allows NBC will send over batches of cases.  

 

In some areas the local offices are extremely backed up and there is 1-2 yr waits for interviews to be scheduled. Theres nothing you can do about the wait. Your congressman can not do anything about the wait time for an interview either or get them to schedule you out of order. Due to the pandemic and increased workloads however many cases that were put in for having interviews are being pulled back so to speak and decided to be approved w/o interview. There is a chance that your congressmans inquiry will cause such to happen. Meaning someone will pull your case to see what the issue is and say hey, do we really need to do this interview and keep the case in line for such or can we just approve it to get it done with. Again thats not something you can control or ask for them to do.

 

Your congressman should be able to tell you exactly where your case is. Its either already at the local office -or- its still at NBC awaiting the local offices ability to receive it -or- NBC has dropped the ball and failed to send it.

 

You need to keep pushing for an infopass stamp before your extension expires. Infopass apts are scheduled currently through T2 reps and they are not consistent in scheduling them. The local office will also dictate what kinds of infopass appts they will let infopass schedule. Some are refusing requests for general information or stamps they dont deem as 'urgent'. Their definition of 'urgent' may not include needing it for DMV purposes. If you are being rejected for an infopass for a stamp consider changing the way you are asking for it. Upcoming travel and severe financial loss are more often viewed as 'urgent'.

[SamAbdul 2]

45 minutes ago, Villanelle said:

Ok so the general process is you send your package to the service center (Texas) they can either approve it/deny it outright or send it for interview at local office. Interviews can be because their is an issue or for just general quality control purposes so dont panic that theres a problem hence needing an interview. Now when the service center decides to send a case for interview it takes a quick stop through NBC. The role of NBC is to do a general 'pre-processing check' before passing it to the local office. They make sure all the paperwork is there because they dont want to pass incomplete cases to the local office, they want to make sure the local office has everything they need so they can have the interview w/o any delays. The last thing anyone wants is to end up in an interview and be told parts of your package arent there so they cant proceed. 

 

NBC also tends to send stuff in bulk packages to the local office as its more efficient then sending one case file at a time. On occasion peoples cases have 'slipped through the cracks' at NBC- meaning NBC gets it from the service center but for no specific reason fails to forward it to the local office. They also do not consistently send transfer notices- so if one gets a transfer notice thats great. If they dont that doesnt mean the transfer didnt occur though. NBC also does this thing where they 'hold' cases until the local office is ready to accept them. Meaning NBC may have your case ready to send to them but your local office may have a full queue and cant handle anymore (imagine an assembly line- you cant add more until theres space made by completed items leaving the line) so as their workload allows NBC will send over batches of cases.  

 

In some areas the local offices are extremely backed up and there is 1-2 yr waits for interviews to be scheduled. Theres nothing you can do about the wait. Your congressman can not do anything about the wait time for an interview either or get them to schedule you out of order. Due to the pandemic and increased workloads however many cases that were put in for having interviews are being pulled back so to speak and decided to be approved w/o interview. There is a chance that your congressmans inquiry will cause such to happen. Meaning someone will pull your case to see what the issue is and say hey, do we really need to do this interview and keep the case in line for such or can we just approve it to get it done with. Again thats not something you can control or ask for them to do.

 

Your congressman should be able to tell you exactly where your case is. Its either already at the local office -or- its still at NBC awaiting the local offices ability to receive it -or- NBC has dropped the ball and failed to send it.

 

You need to keep pushing for an infopass stamp before your extension expires. Infopass apts are scheduled currently through T2 reps and they are not consistent in scheduling them. The local office will also dictate what kinds of infopass appts they will let infopass schedule. Some are refusing requests for general information or stamps they dont deem as 'urgent'. Their definition of 'urgent' may not include needing it for DMV purposes. If you are being rejected for an infopass for a stamp consider changing the way you are asking for it. Upcoming travel and severe financial loss are more often viewed as 'urgent'.

 

 

Hey, thank you so very much, there is a lot of information in your message and I appreciate it very much. So few points kinda replying to your message as well as an update from my "chat" with the USCIS agent online today;

 

 

-- Agents actually seems to NOT know where my case is; for example; for the last 5 times I've asked where my case is (within a span of 2 weeks) I got two different answers; either NBC or local-field office. Today specifically I asked if my case is exactly at Newark local office, and the agent confirmed it so! But I really am not going to believe anything until maybe hearing back from my rep.

 

-- Onto the second point; I am well aware that we are powerless in this situation, nothing we can do. I involved my Rep because my DL is literarily expiring in two days and I've been trying to get info pass appointment since the early Feb. That's when I was allowed to get an appointment, or ask for one, since my 18-month extension last 30 days in effect.

 

-- And to my third point; I've contacted USCIS many many time, telling them WITH ALL THE RESPECT IN THE WORLD and being extremely polite and respectful and patient, told them I am about to lose my DL and I won't be able to commute to work! Told them, I am the only provider for my family! Their response? oh we can see that you are on the line to be called; nothing else we can do. I have attempted to ask them very nicely please can you make this some sort of urgent request; the answer is NO! 

 

all in all, I understand the situation I am and I'm not alone. And I also understand the pandemic didn't make anything easy, even food shopping! And I am trying to be extremely patient and every time I speak to them, be EXTRA respectful and grateful! But feeling helpless, in the face of eminent financial threat and the well being of myself and my family simply because I can't get anyone of any kind of authority on a line to help me only makes me (and those many other of our community here) feel stressed and helpless! 

 

I know, there is nothing else I can do -- So I can do, is say thank God for everything, and thank you all for your support. It means a lot! 

 

edit: typo

Edited March 2, 2021 by SamAbdul

[Villanelle 4,122]

T1 agents- the people that first answer the 800 # -only have the same info you see online. The 800 # is a courtesy just as the online system is and there are various disclaimers about the info on such may not be accurate. So you should never trust something told by T1 or online status is accurate. T1 reps also have a variety of pre-written scripts to provide as responses however some take the liberty to add in their own input. You also will find talking to them can be like talking to an automated system. They may not understand your question and recite back to you irrelevant answers. From my understanding of the phone system in general its set up in a way where you call and ask questions and they select things on their computer in a flow chart sort of way that is suppose to lead them to the answer to read to you. One wrong step down the chart will end up with you getting 'misinformation'. 

 

T2 officers can actually access your file in a limited fashion, so any info they give is most likely accurate but again is going to be limited and the downside is there is no way to hold them accountable or follow up with them. Your congressman will be able to provide you with accurate info. Their staff member will reach out to their liaison at USCIS and you will get something back in writing and can easily follow up with them if needed in the future. You can also see if your congressman can provide you assistance in scheduling an infopass and you can officially voice your complaint about the current infopass process to them. 

 

As I said before infopass is being handled differently based on where you are located and the local offices ability and policies related to the pandemic. A general search will show discrepancies in call back wait times and success at scheduling so perhaps try searching google and VJ for current postings on the specifics of the infopass process for your local office.  A 1-2 week wait for a call back is not unusual in some places. Many people also report not getting a call back at all, and remember they only attempt to call you once. It can be from a blocked number or display on caller ID as 000-000-0000. You must make sure you are able to answer your phone at any time while waiting. Im also not suggesting that you were rude when calling but rather to consider the wording you are using when requesting the appt. Renewing a DL may not be considered 'urgent' so if you open with stating that is your purpose (or one of the reasons) for needing the infopass stamp you may not be given an infopass appt. Job/financial loss is usually considered urgent in which case when the supervisor does call you back you would make it clear that you are going to lose your job unless you provide proof of status to the employer hence you must get a stamp. If your local office is not considering job loss to be urgent right now (something you can attempt to determine by doing the search methods I described previously) then perhaps you need to take a vacation due to all the stress of losing your job and DL in which case you have upcoming international travel and need proof of status which is almost always a reason for being given an infopass appt.