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Verrou

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Everything posted by Verrou

  1. Summary: 10 months to conditionally approved. show up 4 hours before your flight for ur CBP interview at YYZ. CBSA has 3 years legal residence rule. Just sharing my experience, and I don’t want to have Nexus vs Global Entry which one better debate. I already got approved for Nexus ! Nexus is $50/5 years and Global entry and TSA precheck are included. (This is 100% fact that many many people didn’t know about this and thought nexus card is to expedite entry between USA and Canada only). It seems silly to pay $100/5 years, because I don’t have credit card that gave reimbursement. in October 2024, both nexus and Global Entry will be $120/5 years. Also, i live in a city that required me to travel hours to do either Global Entry or Nexus interview anyway. Timeline : US lawful permanent residence - first time applying. Applied: 4/8/23 Conditionally approved: 1/29/24 (10 months) Interview CBSA at YYZ airport: 3/22/24 Interview CBP at YYZ airport with boarding pass and after preclearance: 3/26/24 Approved notification: 1 hour after CBP interview while still in airport lounge Activated membership card appeared on TTP portal when I checked on: 3/30/24 (don’t know when it first appeared) 5 years 7 months validity since it’s going to expire on my bday in 2029. After debating myself whether I should: 1. go to land border and drove 10 hours round trip or 2. to fly and do 2 steps interview at Toronto airport. I decided to booked appointment on TTP website with CBSA for 2 steps interview in Toronto Pearson 2 months later 3/22/24 when I have time to travel. CBSA interview slots are wide open. I made sure my flight time to go back to the US is in line with what CBP recommendation hour for Pearson airport, so I choose afternoon flight. I also added additional 1 hour or my ETA time when I booked the interview slot, just in case my flight got delayed (it’s not). Flew into Toronto, after custom and got out from terminal 1 arrival entrance, i take elevator up to level 3 (departure). The Nexus Enrollment Center is in terminal 1 departure on level 3 aisle 8 (number is right on top near the ceiling). The office is empty. Got called immediately and interview conducted booth style. CBSA officer asked for my passport and GC. Asked basic questions from the application like full name, address, birthday, yada2. Thought it’s going to be smooth sailing interview (I prepared I will be grill by CBP and not CBSA). Turned the CBSA officer grilled me about my US LPR status. She kept repeating some questions over and over again especially “how long have you been an LPR?”. I kept responded with “the day I got my LPR card as shown on my green card (that she hold) I immediately applied for nexus). It’s literally few days shy a year ago today.” I didn’t understand why she kept asking the questions but of course I can’t ask her why, so I just answered with the same response. she asked couple of times how did I get my status repeatedly. Since I have RBF no matter what I do and it always show, she then offered explanation that the reason that she asked me how long I got my LPR status because Canada has rule that the applicant need to be either US or Canada legal resident for at least 3 years. (I didn’t know that and when I checked after the interview there’s no such rule stated on CBP website, but it did show on CBSA website that I didn’t bother look at all). I guess their nuance about legal resident VS lawful permanent residence because I did have working permit for years before I got my LPR status. The moment she explained about 3 years rule, it felt like my blood drained from my body. I literally did this trip just for nexus interview and I was thinking did I just spend xxx money only to be denied? I did asked her “then why did I got conditional approval?” She then made a comment “since you had your working permit from 2018, you should be okay”. She also asked why my spouse didn’t apply for nexus. My answer “he already has Nexus for many2 years, that’s why I applied”. At the end of the interview, she told me 3 times to come early for the second step interview with CBP that can only be done when I’m heading back to US with boarding pass in hand few days later. I asked her “so did I pass the interview? Did I get approved from Canada side or not? “And she said, “yes you are good, its approved”. If I didn’t ask, she probably didn’t tell me. No picture or biometric taken by CBSA. It will be conducted by CBP on the way back. Total interview time: less than 10 minutes. Few days later Tuesday 3/26/24 I went to Pearson airport terminal 1 almost 4 hours before my flight time (afternoon) on purpose. It was about 10.30 am, my Mobile Passport Control app can’t approve my submission, not sure why. But the security and also custom was super empty anyway so it doesn’t matter. CBP agent knew I came for step 2 interview just by looking at the system. After he’s done with me, he told me to walk through the double door and wait on the small waiting area on the right-hand side and take number on the machine. There are 3 people in front of me and the first guy said he’s been waiting for 1 hour and no agent showed up yet. (Usually, CBP agent will only conduct the interview when the line is not busy in the pre-clearance) He said he arrived at 10 am and until 11:30 am no movement. I was there at 11:10 am. The first guy almost gave up because his flight was boarding at 11:20 am. The second guy on the same flight with the first guy already left and didn’t bother to wait for interview. Just when the first guy slowly walked out and passed me his “wait number” one agent shows up and ask all of us (5-6 people total) to follow her to the office next door. She asked for my passport, GC and driver license. I got fingerprinted and picture taken (no contact lens but I don’t think they did iris scan anymore), tucked hair behind the ear. She told me to speak louder because she can’t hear me, and I have to speak up. There is thick glass between us, and the ceiling is very high so… Basic question similar with what CBPSA agent asked me: full name, address, work history, why did apply for nexus (answer always: I want global entry and TSA precheck benefits). etc. when she asked about “Between the application and the interview is there any changes on the past 5 years trip outside the US”- I printed out my trips and just showed it to her and she typed it on the computer. She asked the “how did you get ur LPR status” and did my spouse also have nexus. She nods when i said “he did and has one for long time, that’s why im applying so i can use the nexus line on the border / land when we travel “. She didn’t say if I got approve or not and just said “wait up to 48 hours for approval or denial and if I got denied, I will know from the letter that they are going to send it to my address”. It’s quite intimidating hahaha so i didn’t dare to ask if I got approved or not. Total time from waiting to the end of interview on Tuesday noon was 50 minutes. The interview itself probably 5 mnts. 1 hour later while I still in the airport lounge, I got an email notification from TTP website. I got approved for nexus (including TSA pre check <- this is one of the reasons why I applied for nexus)
  2. there's no fix how long. i personally will do just one way and it always via mail. if there's RFE IMO just tracking info from UPS,USPS, Fedex is not enough, i always a bit worried. so what i did is : pay extra for USPS for " certified mail + e-return receipt". but i saw many people did both ( mail+upload it on portal). to each their own. and especially if u are overseas. why not?
  3. Filed for a friend online n-400 on 12/22/23 she became USC on 03/19/24 same day oath ceremony. LA office also filed for a friend back in January 2022 online under 3 years rule married with active military, got approved around 2,5 months. Same day oath ceremony, Jacksonville, FL.
  4. my friend (the immigrant) swore by it. i understand what are u trying to say, and i also think that invitation letter has no weight. but who am i to force her to change her mind. it's not that i can screamed at her and said 'YOU ARE WRONG !" right? unless i want to ruin our friendship. its not my place. all she knew the husband write a invitation letter for her mother, and the mother got approved after the interview. obviously this is not a request from the consulate, but it's their initiative action. i understand ur point truly but i only shared what my friend's experience to OP, thats all
  5. USA never ever stamp the passport when u leave the US as long as i remembered. the only stamp US gave on the passport( they dont even give stamp anymore in certain POE now) is when the person entered USA. so i was hoping OP can give explain more with the timeline started from the beginning. i think it will be easier for us to understand the problem and perhaps can give suggestion. im scratching my head about this "backstamp" issue and still didnt get it
  6. can you please rephrase ? im just puzzled. so u come to USA with a visa and then CBP send u back home at the airport because of this issue? but what it has anything to do with your misrep?
  7. no. u dont file i-485 every month lol just follow the visa bulletin. uscis release it once a month. can only file for i-130 now ( after u receive ur GC) and thats it
  8. yeah a friend got approved on 3/5 and just got the card 3/27... what im saying is just wait a little
  9. my friend have similar situation. her mother got denied tourist visa few years ago because the consulate asked : Q : where u gonna go? A : NYC sightseeing Q : what do u want to see? A: Disneyland (LOL!) auto denial hahaha. but few years later ( last year), her daughter finally got her 10 years GC through marriage after being overstayed for 22 years. and the mother reapply tourist visa again. she swore that the invitation letter from her USC husband did the trick. in my understanding, the invitation letter bear little weight, but hey, the mother got the tourist visa and that's it. I'm in no position to correct what she believe because she believed its the invitation letter is the key. and mind you, many many people think the same. just little background : her mother never worked, early 70, doesnt speak english. my friend havent set foot in the home country for 22 years, mother went to the interview alone. in the interview your mother can ask to be interview in her own language. look, it's $180 that you need to spend to find out wether she will get it or not. if you have $180 that u are willing to spend, dont see the reason why not.
  10. if approved march 12th, just give it 3 week-ish to receive your actual GC. its a bit slow lately for shipping u can always file i-130 for her but thats about it. she cant get working permit, until her priority date become current and she can file i-485. every month you have to check the visa bulletin. still a good news. when is the interview date? break a leg !
  11. If you are not ready to get marry then k1 is the way. That’s why u got 90 days for you to get marry and you already file it anyway. U already spent the money for the I-129F fee. How long ago did you file for k1 ? Either her family compromise with K1 -means no wedding whatsoever (moslem or not moslem, not even religious marriage) or if they refuse (typical) u just bit the bullet and get marry over there then file for CR1 obviously only if u actually wanna do it. I have few moslem Indonesian lady who came to the states with K1 and never ever did religious marriage whatsoever before they leave. Can always do the big wedding later in Indonesia once she got her GC ps. I’m Indonesian so I think I know what I’m talking about
  12. then i-130 for now until uscis approved, after that = consular processing (DS260)
  13. where's ur parent now? outside or inside the US? 2 different process outside US = only i-130 for the first step
  14. can't u renew ur canadian passport from inside the US? if you said 20 days, thats more than enough. if you are not sure, call the consulate/embassy/passport office and ask, how long is the average time now. ( as you know, 1 year ago, 10 years ago, even 6 months ago the average time will varied)
  15. so did you expedited it or not? friend just expedited it (first US passport), need to have ticket 13 days from today, pay extra $60. submit 3/25 received 3/28
  16. 3/20/24 congressperson’s aid reached out after my inquiry. I sent 3 pages of explanations along with screenshots of the myuscis account to explain the problem. 3/25/24 congressperson’s aid forwarded email from STARS congressional (USCIS), they said they checked the system, and it appears the inquiry is closed (well I know that!) and that’s about the content of the response. I was like, whatever. It is what it is. 3/27/24 USCIS actually called from 202 number and leave a voice message (!!!) I called back and the person is from Access and information services / customer services. she told me she got my inquiry along with 3 pages of my complaints haha. She’s working remotely and not based in DC and we decided to set up teams call at 6 pm my time so they can take video recording of my screen to get better understanding of the issue. It’s very technical video call. There were 2 of them and me. Person #1 the woman who called me said there were issue on their end last year about the same time when I sent the secure messages, and they thought the bug already got fix. She also saw even the bottom of my profile on the portal also missed something and it supposed to have my profile info. Person #2 the other lady is more the “technical” person and she’s explained what probably caused the issue. It’s very interesting discussion. I feel so weird not talking to the usual not helpful emma agent or tier 2. i chuckled when person #1 said, their system is " a bit dated" because they are not government funded and relied to the fee that we paid for their operation. i almost said "yeah.... hence april 1st increase " but i decided not to make funny remark about it. Person #1 asked me when I’m eligible to apply for n-400 and I laughed hysterically and said “not in the next 1 year 9 months”. I told them many people on the internet told me to just let go this problem and both of them at the same time said “no, u can’t just let it go, it need to be fix” and they said they are glad I reached out to the congressperson because it meant I’m not the only one who has the issue but probably the only one who OCD ( I said this not them) enough to reach out to congressperson. Person #2 said she will definitely discuss the issue with her team. I personally think that’s the end of it and my issue still won’t get it fix. 3/28/24 8 am EST got message from USCIS inbox. They responded my old messages on the portal, so my inbox is free up again. Yay ! im gonna write thank you email to both of them now. ( yes i have their emails, and no they are no adjudication officers lol )
  17. you can wear whatever u want. my friend got naturalize 2 weeks ago and shes wearing jeans and a shirt ( not t-shirt) and she got same day oath ceremeony, i personally like to dress up, but thats me. also few months ago when i was in my field office doing something else, a couple looks like going to fish ( literally tank top and short) came for their naturalization and USCIS didnt say "no you cant get in" LOL
  18. @TBoneTXi reached out to congressperson, and reported the issue last week, and a real USCIS agent from Access and information services actually just called me few minutes ago, we have discussion and we will meet via zoom tonight because she wants me to share my screen so they can get better understanding and fix the problem. she said USCIS indeed have problem last year regarding of this glitch that they think it's solved but apparently isn't solved. so thank for your suggestion, i think this is the first time USCIS called me and not related to my immigration "cases" at all and i actually can talk and discuss instead of asking questions regarding on my case. @OldUser do not worry, not all USCIS agents job are to adjudicate immigration cases, there are in fact other division and it wont affect "backlog" and my complaint wont take "resources" and delayed adjudication of i-751. ( it's long and delayed not because of my complaint anyway). the agent actually said she appreciate my "complaint" because she wants USCIS to fix the problem and this agent is not adjudication officer, hence, none "resources" taken. @randomstairs
  19. yes, she can file adjustment of status. 130,130A,485,765,864 did she enter with visa/passport or cross ilegally? (entry without inspection)
  20. Same day oath ceremony Los Angeles office. Interview at 9 am, by 10 am just waiting for the oath ceremony. Parents of USC 5 years rule filed 3/22/2023 ( 3 weeks AFTER 90 days open to avoid problem since GC 5 years anniversary will be 3/4/24) interview and ceremony : 3/18/24
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