Biometrics tomorrow in New Orleans

[sjoefl01 1]

After more than 5 months we finally have biometrics tomorrow in New Orleans. The internet still say the office is closed but insider information told me they have moved and opened on Monday. We had a friend go to the new office but the security guard could not say if they were able to do biometrics and he would not ask anybody.

It is a 6 hour drive one way for us so I hope they are able. If not then we still have time to go to Jackson Mississippi which is another 3 or 4 hours.

[tnh9479 1]

Wow! New Orleans? You live in the panhandle of FL, why not Jacksonville? Just curious.

Twila

[sjoefl01 1]

It really sucks. A year ago you got biometrics in Pensacola and your interview in Jacksonville. Now they have stopped bios in Pensacola ( 45 minute drive ) and evedently they are sending everybody to New Orleans. We would be more understanding if we hadn't filed after the storm. Surely somebody could have sent the app somewhere else being that the office was closed.

Wow! New Orleans? You live in the panhandle of FL, why not Jacksonville? Just curious.

Twila

[Autumnal 25]

Disorganization from the hurricane apparently pervades all levels of DHS.

[Jasman0717 9]

Wow, a six hour drive!

[ktun 0]

Goodness, I guess we're spoilt living 10 minutes from our local office. I really hope that it works out for you tomorrow and that the drive doesn't end up being to Jackson too!! Could you not find out from USCIS # if it is definately open for fingerprints. I know they're not particularly helpful most of the time, but perhaps worth a try?

Good Luck!!

Kate

[sjoefl01 1]

Well we just got back. We left at 2 AM and it is 5 PM.

What a bunch of jerks:

We were there when the office opened. There was a sign on the door explaining that they were not yet a full service office so they were unable to answer questions. If you had a question then you should call the 800 number or make an infopass to Memphis Tennessee. You could also write a letter to Memphis if you just insisted on bothering them. The letter also said that within 2 months they will be a full service office at another location.

When they opened there were only about three people working there and there were three armed guards to keep you from asking questions. The guards took one person in at the time and if you didn't have a letter then you could not come in. So all of the Americans had to wait at the food court while this was going on.

We have a friend that has an interview there on the 18th of April. All we saw was biometrics. I asked some of the Americans at the food court and they were all waiting for bio.

There was on American looking lady inside sitting with what looked like a foreign husband and perhaps his son. That was the only clue I saw that led me to believe that, just maybe my friend would not have to drive 6 hours for nothing.

There was a hilarious grand finale. After they did the biometrics they asked Angelica if she felt like she was treated well in the office. They had a customer service card and they fill it out for you. What a joke. Who in the world would say how they really felt when these folks hold your life in their hands?

I tell you what. I have been living in Florida for 27 years. I have been through about a dozen hurricanes and I have never seen anything like the carnage that I saw on this trip. New Orleans was hammered. We tried to take a scenic route back to see the damage in Mississippi. We followed the signs to a southbound road just after the Mississippi/ Louisiana state line. The road promised to take you through Gulfport and Biloxi. I have never seen anything like this. There were brick houses on the ground 5 mile from the beach. We got stopped in some small town that had lost all of the bridges so we had to go north again. When we got back to I 10 we stopped for gas and there was a small tent village beside the gas station with about 25 tents. The people were using the bathroom in the gas station and living in these tents. I almost cried thinking of what 7 months and the winter must have been like for these folks. You could tell the people were probably poor even before the hurricane. I don't see them coming out of these tents for another year or 2 unless the people from the gas station make them leave.

I can personally testify that all of the Katrina victims were not laying up in FEMA funded condos on the beach. There are at lest 25 families whose lives are completely destroyed.

[True Love at Last 15]

I tell you what. I have been living in Florida for 27 years. I have been through about a dozen hurricanes and I have never seen anything like the carnage that I saw on this trip. New Orleans was hammered. We tried to take a scenic route back to see the damage in Mississippi. We followed the signs to a southbound road just after the Mississippi/ Louisiana state line. The road promised to take you through Gulfport and Biloxi. I have never seen anything like this. There were brick houses on the ground 5 mile from the beach. We got stopped in some small town that had lost all of the bridges so we had to go north again. When we got back to I 10 we stopped for gas and there was a small tent village beside the gas station with about 25 tents. The people were using the bathroom in the gas station and living in these tents. I almost cried thinking of what 7 months and the winter must have been like for these folks. You could tell the people were probably poor even before the hurricane. I don't see them coming out of these tents for another year or 2 unless the people from the gas station make them leave.

I can personally testify that all of the Katrina victims were not laying up in FEMA funded condos on the beach. There are at lest 25 families whose lives are completely destroyed.

I live in Kenner, Just outside of New orleans and its nice to hear finally someone knows that our lives are not OK FEMA sucks and we are far far from being anything NORMAL.

[motu 6]

Hey joe:

Good to hear that the biometrics are over - what a long drive but you saw the destruction that Katerina caused and now is being kept in limbo forever by Bush and company! Best of luck with the interview - have you received the appointment yet?

[Peggy 1]

That is really disgusting that those people are still living in tents after 7 months.

Did the gov't just forget about them, or do they just not care about the poor there.

[sjoefl01 1]

It is good to see you here Motu,

They have us so jacked up right now that we really just want the EAD. I think it would be better if the interview didn't happen until next year when ,hopefully, New Orelans Office has gotten their ###### together. I don't have a clue how far they will want us to go, or if we will really get the interview when we get there. Most of the New Orleans folks have been sent to Memphis after a long wait. Some people have been sent to Atlanta. There is even one here in Ft. Walton that got sent to Philadelphia. I don't know if you are up on your geography but it is pretty insane to schedule an interview in a city that is about 18 hours drive.

Sorry about the tirade. We are a little sleep deprived right now. Also, to be perfectly honest those poor folks at that gas station are really eating away at my conscience. I really feel like going back and bringing them all here. nobody should have to live like that.

Hey joe:

Good to hear that the biometrics are over - what a long drive but you saw the destruction that Katerina caused and now is being kept in limbo forever by Bush and company! Best of luck with the interview - have you received the appointment yet?

[sjoefl01 1]

This is all so much different than a normal hurricane. I don't think anybody knows what to do.

In a normal hurricane you lose power for a couple of weeks. You've got a bunh of missing shingles and a bunch of trees down. Maybe you even have a busted window or some roof damage but this all goes to the curb. The water has come up and body slammed all of the rich people that live on the water in multimillion dollar homes.

For a change the poor feed off of the rich. If you get out there you can make a fortune before they even restore electricity. I am not talking about cheating anybody. I am just talking about people that want to go back to normal and they don't care about the cost. There are folks that just chase storms like this to make money.

This one is much different. It is the poor that suffered. Those that had resources and means laid up in hotels here on the beach while people that could not just leave suffered. 7 Months after this storm this area is where most communities are in a couple of weeks.

I tell you what. I have been living in Florida for 27 years. I have been through about a dozen hurricanes and I have never seen anything like the carnage that I saw on this trip. New Orleans was hammered. We tried to take a scenic route back to see the damage in Mississippi. We followed the signs to a southbound road just after the Mississippi/ Louisiana state line. The road promised to take you through Gulfport and Biloxi. I have never seen anything like this. There were brick houses on the ground 5 mile from the beach. We got stopped in some small town that had lost all of the bridges so we had to go north again. When we got back to I 10 we stopped for gas and there was a small tent village beside the gas station with about 25 tents. The people were using the bathroom in the gas station and living in these tents. I almost cried thinking of what 7 months and the winter must have been like for these folks. You could tell the people were probably poor even before the hurricane. I don't see them coming out of these tents for another year or 2 unless the people from the gas station make them leave.

I can personally testify that all of the Katrina victims were not laying up in FEMA funded condos on the beach. There are at lest 25 families whose lives are completely destroyed.

I live in Kenner, Just outside of New orleans and its nice to hear finally someone knows that our lives are not OK FEMA sucks and we are far far from being anything NORMAL.