mhathi
01-11 02:33 PM
Thats is waht they say.. But their actions always show that they are against ALL immigration. Some of us have been looking at them for a while now. As you can see, they DO NOT support the letter campaign.
I agree with you, it does not make sense... but go figure!
I agree with you, it does not make sense... but go figure!
wallpaper Kari Ann Peniche
tempy
09-15 05:40 PM
I would like to give update on visa availability. My PD is 03/06- EB2. Opened SR for me and my spouse on 08/30/10
1. For me, letter by USPS came stating that, I485 is at USCIS local office and will notify about decision in 30 days
2. Spouse got below response by email (On 09/13/2010)
"The status of this service request is:
Your I-485 application is waiting for a visa number to become available. When it becomes available, it will be assigned to an adjudicator to make a decision on the case.
If you have not heard from the service within 30 days after your number becomes available, you can make an Info pass appointment to visit the Customer Service Division,
at the District office"
On 09/14/10 we took infopass and spoke to customer service representative. She told that visa Numbers are not available any more and also checked validity of finger prints in system.
Told us that they are expired (Till now we gave 2 times, one in sept 07, 2nd one in may 09 (FP are valid for for 15m)) - I guess we need to give 3 rd time soon.
She told that dates for FP at ASC center are not available and will try to send us ASAP when Visa Numbers are available.
Did you check if you are under EB2 or EB3 with USCIS?
1. For me, letter by USPS came stating that, I485 is at USCIS local office and will notify about decision in 30 days
2. Spouse got below response by email (On 09/13/2010)
"The status of this service request is:
Your I-485 application is waiting for a visa number to become available. When it becomes available, it will be assigned to an adjudicator to make a decision on the case.
If you have not heard from the service within 30 days after your number becomes available, you can make an Info pass appointment to visit the Customer Service Division,
at the District office"
On 09/14/10 we took infopass and spoke to customer service representative. She told that visa Numbers are not available any more and also checked validity of finger prints in system.
Told us that they are expired (Till now we gave 2 times, one in sept 07, 2nd one in may 09 (FP are valid for for 15m)) - I guess we need to give 3 rd time soon.
She told that dates for FP at ASC center are not available and will try to send us ASAP when Visa Numbers are available.
Did you check if you are under EB2 or EB3 with USCIS?
GC_2008
07-09 09:39 PM
I can't believe your statements. I think we all die in battle field together if all think like you. Of course we all have to be careful and be smart on our actions, but please do not embarrass yourself...
2011 A new season of quot;Celebrity
drona
07-10 10:31 PM
From the Washington Post article, this was an interesting comment:
"We know the reason behind it and understand the symbolism. We donated them in the same spirit in which they were provided to us," said an agency official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lawsuit over the matter filed by an advocacy group.
"We know the reason behind it and understand the symbolism. We donated them in the same spirit in which they were provided to us," said an agency official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lawsuit over the matter filed by an advocacy group.
more...
mambarg
08-05 05:59 PM
my lastname is unique.
will it help ?
will it help ?
logiclife
06-18 12:03 PM
W2's/tax returns are not part of the initial evidence USCIS requires to process your application but they may ask for it later if required
A lot of lawyers try to preempt a possible RFE by including "AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE" documentation. 3 years of tax returns prove nothing more than what 1 year of tax return would prove.
Also, having a tax return of 2004 doesnt prove that you were in status at all times during 2004. Tax return shows total income that includes salary, bonus, deductions etc, and even Einstein cant figure out the immigration status in 2004 and whether the candidate was in good status at all times just by looking at the tax return.
Some lawyers send many years' tax returns, thinking that it might pre-empt the RFEs. Some lawyers send only whats neccesary. I've heard that one of the lawyers in New York doesnt even send employer's letter. That means, basically nothing from the employer. And he too gets cases approved.
Overloading the USCIS with a heavy file, sending a ton of things in addition to what they expect, may be a good strategy if you believe that it might thwart a RFE (and the delay caused by RFE). However, sending too thick a bunch, would also make your case look like a "difficult" case. (my belief, I dont know but just common sense would indicate that thicker bigger files are complicated cases if you give it a first look). And what that means is that it will get delayed because the CIS ombudsman report has documented that officers tend to work easy cases first (get the low hanging fruit first) and beef up their performance statistics by doing more cases in less time. Therefore, the complicated bigger cases that should be work on first, instead get worked on last.
So think a little before sending USCIS 20 pounds of paperwork. More paperwork and overwhelming USCIS with documentation may not mean faster RFE-free processing. (Again, my belief - something to ponder about. But do what you think is right and what your lawyer tells you. I am not a lawyer).
A lot of lawyers try to preempt a possible RFE by including "AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE" documentation. 3 years of tax returns prove nothing more than what 1 year of tax return would prove.
Also, having a tax return of 2004 doesnt prove that you were in status at all times during 2004. Tax return shows total income that includes salary, bonus, deductions etc, and even Einstein cant figure out the immigration status in 2004 and whether the candidate was in good status at all times just by looking at the tax return.
Some lawyers send many years' tax returns, thinking that it might pre-empt the RFEs. Some lawyers send only whats neccesary. I've heard that one of the lawyers in New York doesnt even send employer's letter. That means, basically nothing from the employer. And he too gets cases approved.
Overloading the USCIS with a heavy file, sending a ton of things in addition to what they expect, may be a good strategy if you believe that it might thwart a RFE (and the delay caused by RFE). However, sending too thick a bunch, would also make your case look like a "difficult" case. (my belief, I dont know but just common sense would indicate that thicker bigger files are complicated cases if you give it a first look). And what that means is that it will get delayed because the CIS ombudsman report has documented that officers tend to work easy cases first (get the low hanging fruit first) and beef up their performance statistics by doing more cases in less time. Therefore, the complicated bigger cases that should be work on first, instead get worked on last.
So think a little before sending USCIS 20 pounds of paperwork. More paperwork and overwhelming USCIS with documentation may not mean faster RFE-free processing. (Again, my belief - something to ponder about. But do what you think is right and what your lawyer tells you. I am not a lawyer).
more...
srinivas_o
10-10 10:32 PM
I am july 2nd filer, got my receipt numbers by calling USCIS. My data was entered in their system on Oct 5th. I called them today and the Immigration Official gave them. I also filed for my wife, but still her information is not yet there in the system. My application went to NSC, signed by R.Mickels at 9:01 AM, but transferred to TSC as my receipt number starts with SRC.
Good Luck to everybody else who yet to receive the receipts...
Good Luck to everybody else who yet to receive the receipts...
2010 Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew
paskal
01-27 08:42 PM
Just a couple of comments about Heathrow. The mainland of Britain was plagued with the IRA bombing it periodically for decades which forced them to be diligent about security long before the USA knew what terrorism was. Being security conscious has become a way of life on that little island in the North Sea. Just try finding a garbage can on a railway station platform? There are none so the IRA could not plant bombs in them.
Now about the staff at Heathrow. Surely anyone with eyes that work can see most of them are not British at all but immigrants of some variety or another. A true Brit is a very friendly individual. The invasion of their island during the past fifty years has changed the face of the entire community, not all for the better that is for certain.
And finally, transit visas etc. If they are needed and that is the rule and you cannot find a different route then it is something that has be lived with. The US had them and still has them for certain nationalities, the UK is certainly not on its own. I have been living in the US for almost a decade now and have been stung by their immigration rules as all of the contributors to this forum probably have but we chose to come here so have to put up with the system.
We all have choices so if you do not want to get transit visas just choose a route that precludes the need for one. Ten pages bad mouthing the UK is not helping anyone it is just antagonizing those of us who originated there.
Just because the majority of immigration voice are Indian it is certainly not all and I think that gets missed on so many occasions. We are in the midst of the US immigration system together, or so I thought.
Every country has its own rules, some will be in our favor some will not but if we choose to go there we have to live by them. It is entirely NOT appropriate to expect countries we visit to bow to us on any level!!!!!!!
i do not know why there is any bad mouthing of the English frankly...this has nothing to do with the people or even the city in question. my only visit to London was wonderful, i would happily visit again. i would though avoid transiting through Heathrow for reasons i explained. this is a govt policy- right or wrong and finding historical/colonial reasons is silly. it has a lot do with visa overstays as well, as was discussed earlier.
just to clarify the issue itself though- and trying to keep it to the narrow focus- the direct airside transit visa is literally a run about created to check people that get off a plane at one gate and climb another plane at another gate- in some cases even the same plane! i do hope our british friends at least realise that it is a major pain to obtain visas to be able to do this- and it's not some kind of anti UK stand to avoid flying through LON (and other such airports) that enforce this. in the end it does create some bad feeling- i wish that were not true- but perceptions are fickle things. it's too bad though that everything seems to become about some wounded national pride or historical wrong or suchlike. wish we could all grow up :-)
btw, since we have some engaged brits listening....is it worth the money to take the chunnel between paris and london? anyone done it? what's the best way to find cheap flights in europe? local insight would be much appreciated!!
as you can see i'm looking forward to london again ;)
Now about the staff at Heathrow. Surely anyone with eyes that work can see most of them are not British at all but immigrants of some variety or another. A true Brit is a very friendly individual. The invasion of their island during the past fifty years has changed the face of the entire community, not all for the better that is for certain.
And finally, transit visas etc. If they are needed and that is the rule and you cannot find a different route then it is something that has be lived with. The US had them and still has them for certain nationalities, the UK is certainly not on its own. I have been living in the US for almost a decade now and have been stung by their immigration rules as all of the contributors to this forum probably have but we chose to come here so have to put up with the system.
We all have choices so if you do not want to get transit visas just choose a route that precludes the need for one. Ten pages bad mouthing the UK is not helping anyone it is just antagonizing those of us who originated there.
Just because the majority of immigration voice are Indian it is certainly not all and I think that gets missed on so many occasions. We are in the midst of the US immigration system together, or so I thought.
Every country has its own rules, some will be in our favor some will not but if we choose to go there we have to live by them. It is entirely NOT appropriate to expect countries we visit to bow to us on any level!!!!!!!
i do not know why there is any bad mouthing of the English frankly...this has nothing to do with the people or even the city in question. my only visit to London was wonderful, i would happily visit again. i would though avoid transiting through Heathrow for reasons i explained. this is a govt policy- right or wrong and finding historical/colonial reasons is silly. it has a lot do with visa overstays as well, as was discussed earlier.
just to clarify the issue itself though- and trying to keep it to the narrow focus- the direct airside transit visa is literally a run about created to check people that get off a plane at one gate and climb another plane at another gate- in some cases even the same plane! i do hope our british friends at least realise that it is a major pain to obtain visas to be able to do this- and it's not some kind of anti UK stand to avoid flying through LON (and other such airports) that enforce this. in the end it does create some bad feeling- i wish that were not true- but perceptions are fickle things. it's too bad though that everything seems to become about some wounded national pride or historical wrong or suchlike. wish we could all grow up :-)
btw, since we have some engaged brits listening....is it worth the money to take the chunnel between paris and london? anyone done it? what's the best way to find cheap flights in europe? local insight would be much appreciated!!
as you can see i'm looking forward to london again ;)
more...
sledge_hammer
11-22 07:57 PM
Real mature! You make shitty decisions of buying expensive homes, you don't own up your mistakes, you don't keep up your commitment of paying back the loan you have taken, you screw up people who ARE paying their mortgages, then blame the banks ALONE for the mess you are in!
What banks did was "predatory" lending. Now I would sympathize with if someone with no education to fall into such a mess and balme it on the lender. You and others like you who balme the banks all consider yourselves "higly educated" and "higly skilled". Hell you are even demanding congress to hand you a green card claiming to be one. But now that you have gotten yourself into a financial mess you blame the banks for all of your problems?
punjabi77 has claimed that his loss would be in the 20K ballpark. So he's not even in such a financial mess that he has to foreclose. He is merely looking for better opportunities in other cities. Then how is his decision to foreclose a "smart" thing to do? Last time I checked what he is trying to do is absolutely unethical! Nothing "wise" there!
Didn't your parents ever tell you what it means to be an adult? You ARE responsible for your actions and decisions. I guess they didn't instill any moral or ethics in you now did they?
I support kumar1 openion.
Buddy sledge_hammer this is the mess mortgage companies created, they need to face it.fanie's and fadie's caused this mess and they to need face it ? Do you think the individual should sit in that home and hit on their head with the 'sledgehammer' when they are in this mess? I would say get the f**k out of that house and lead peaceful life.
Sledge_hammer, use the thing in your screen name on your head to make your thoughts work correctly. Hey don't get me started.
What banks did was "predatory" lending. Now I would sympathize with if someone with no education to fall into such a mess and balme it on the lender. You and others like you who balme the banks all consider yourselves "higly educated" and "higly skilled". Hell you are even demanding congress to hand you a green card claiming to be one. But now that you have gotten yourself into a financial mess you blame the banks for all of your problems?
punjabi77 has claimed that his loss would be in the 20K ballpark. So he's not even in such a financial mess that he has to foreclose. He is merely looking for better opportunities in other cities. Then how is his decision to foreclose a "smart" thing to do? Last time I checked what he is trying to do is absolutely unethical! Nothing "wise" there!
Didn't your parents ever tell you what it means to be an adult? You ARE responsible for your actions and decisions. I guess they didn't instill any moral or ethics in you now did they?
I support kumar1 openion.
Buddy sledge_hammer this is the mess mortgage companies created, they need to face it.fanie's and fadie's caused this mess and they to need face it ? Do you think the individual should sit in that home and hit on their head with the 'sledgehammer' when they are in this mess? I would say get the f**k out of that house and lead peaceful life.
Sledge_hammer, use the thing in your screen name on your head to make your thoughts work correctly. Hey don't get me started.
hair Previous. Brigitte Nielsen
rameshvaid
03-12 09:37 PM
Great effort Saralayar. I just voted. Vote for this, everyone. This is the least we can do get on the radar. There are so many voices crying for attention --- please vote so that we may be heard.
It is very easy:
1. Go to http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/home
2. Register, by clicking on "sign in to get started now" (very quick --- no email verification steps, etc.)
3. Search for "Citizenship if you have lived legally in this Country for 10 years continuously" (without quotes), in the "find an issue you care about" search box
4. Vote by clicking on the up arrow.
Post a quick comment as well. This way we will draw more attention to it.
Could not find the link..Which page do I need to go on to vote.. I have searched about 500 pages.. Pls. advise..
RV
It is very easy:
1. Go to http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/home
2. Register, by clicking on "sign in to get started now" (very quick --- no email verification steps, etc.)
3. Search for "Citizenship if you have lived legally in this Country for 10 years continuously" (without quotes), in the "find an issue you care about" search box
4. Vote by clicking on the up arrow.
Post a quick comment as well. This way we will draw more attention to it.
Could not find the link..Which page do I need to go on to vote.. I have searched about 500 pages.. Pls. advise..
RV
more...
like_watching_paint_dry
06-18 09:46 AM
bloody cognizant. I was winking at their L1A EB1 misuse for sometime but now they denied me the job (I have ead) ;) god knows why. Since then I am against that company. lets screw them :p
Maybe you did not get a reference.
Maybe you did not get a reference.
hot celebrity rehab 5.
DallasBlue
09-13 03:00 PM
Caught in a Bureaucratic Black Hole
By Anna Gorman
The Los Angeles Times
Monday 10 September 2007
Applicants seeking US citizenship languish for years as the FBI conducts cumbersome records checks. Lawsuits are a result.
Seeking to become a U.S. citizen, Biljana Petrovic filed her application, completed her interview and passed her civics test.
More than three years later, she is still waiting to be naturalized - held up by an FBI name-check process that has been criticized as slow, inefficient and a danger to national security.
Petrovic, a stay-at-home mother in Los Altos, Calif., who has no criminal record, has sued the federal government to try to speed up the process. She said it's as if her application has slipped into a "black hole."
"It's complete frustration," said Petrovic, who is originally from the former Yugoslavia and is a naturalized Canadian citizen. "It's not like I am applying to enter the country. I have been here for 19 years."
Nearly 320,000 people were waiting for their name checks to be completed as of Aug. 7, including more than 152,000 who had been waiting for more than six months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. More than 61,000 had been waiting for more than two years.
Applicants for permanent residency or citizenship have lost jobs, missed out on student loans and in-state tuition, and been unable to vote or bring relatives into the country. The delays have prompted scores of lawsuits around the country.
Already this fiscal year, more than 4,100 suits have been filed against the citizenship and immigration agency, compared with 2,650 last year and about 680 in 2005. The mandamus suits ask federal judges to compel immigration officials to adjudicate the cases. The majority of the cases were prompted by delays in checking names, spokesman Chris Bentley said.
"There is nothing in immigration law that says that a citizenship application should take two, three, four years. That's absurd," said Ranjana Natarajan, an ACLU staff attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit in Southern California last year on behalf of applicants waiting for their names to be checked. "People who have not been any sort of threat ... have been caught up in this dragnet."
In addition to the bureaucratic nightmare that the lengthy delays present, attorneys and government officials say there is a far more serious concern: They could be allowing potential terrorists to stay in the country.
Fallout From 9/11
The backlog began after 9/11, when Citizenship and Immigration Services officials reassessed their procedures and learned that the FBI checks were not as thorough as they had believed. So "out of an abundance of caution," the agency resubmitted 2.7 million names in 2002 to be checked further, Bentley said.
Rather than simply determining if the applicants were subjects of FBI investigations, the bureau checked to see if their names showed up in any FBI files, including being listed as witnesses or victims. About 90% of the names did not appear in the agency's records, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said.
But for the 10% who were listed, authorities carefully reviewed the files to look for any "derogatory" information, Carter said. Because many documents aren't electronic and are in the bureau's 265 offices nationwide, that process can take months, if not years.
"It is not a check of your name," said Chuck Roth, director of litigation for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, which also filed a class-action suit. "It is a file review of anywhere your name happens to appear. It has just created a giant bureaucratic mess."
Although many of those stuck in the backlog are from predominantly Muslim countries, there are also people from Russia, China, India and elsewhere. They include government employees and Iraq war veterans. Many have been in the U.S. legally for decades.
In one case decided in Washington, D.C., recently, a federal judge wrote that a Chinese man's four-year wait for permanent residency was unreasonable and ordered the government to decide on the application within three months. Petrovic, who has two U.S.-born teenagers, doesn't know what delayed her application. The only explanation she can think of is that her name is common in her native country.
She and her husband, Ihab Abu-Hakima, also a Canadian citizen, applied for citizenship in April 2003 and had their interviews in February 2004. Her husband was sworn in that summer, while her application continued to languish. She checked the mail daily.
When she still didn't hear anything, Petrovic contacted immigration officials, who told her that the FBI had her file and that it was still active. She also contacted her representative and her senator, whose offices asked Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite the application. She filed a Freedom of Information Act request for her FBI file, which simply showed that she had never been arrested.
"I have a feeling that the system has broken down," she said.
Joining a Different Group
In August, Petrovic joined an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed in Northern California against the federal government. She is waiting to become a U.S. citizen so she can sponsor her elderly parents, who live in Canada and visit often.
"Every time they leave, I feel bad," she said. "This is their life here, more than there."
The problem extends beyond the disruption of personal lives.
In his yearly report to Congress in June, immigration services ombudsman Prakash wrote that the policy on checking names "may increase the risk to national security by extending the time a potential criminal or terrorist remains in the country." questioned the overall value of the process, writing that it was the "single biggest obstacle to the timely and efficient delivery of immigration benefits."
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged the threat, last month announcing plans to work with the FBI to address the backlog and reduce delays. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reassess the way name checks are done and earmark $6 million toward streamlining the process, Bentley said.
Though 99% of the agency's name checks are completed within six months, Bentley said, the lengthy delays for some applicants is "unacceptable."
"That requires a lot of patience on the part of an applicant because they have to wait sometimes multiple years," he said.
Nevertheless, he said, no benefit will be approved until that name check comes back clear. Security checks have produced information about sex crimes, drug trafficking and individuals with known links to terrorism, according to the agency.
Carter, the FBI spokesman, said he understands that applicants waiting for answers are anxious, but he said the process is complicated and involves dozens of agencies and databases - and, in some cases, foreign governments.
"The FBI's No. 1 priority remains to protect the United States from terrorist attack," Carter said. "To that end, we must ensure the proper balance between security and efficiency."
In addition to clearing the backlog and processing the 27,000 new name checks it receives each week from immigration officials, the FBI is trying to accelerate the process by making more documents electronic. It is also adding more staff and moving resources to a new records facility in Virginia, Carter said.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, said the government needs to make sure that it carefully checks every application. And working with foreign governments is inevitably going to slow the process down, he said.
"We correctly have much more stringent standards for immigration," he said. "I am not really sure that there is any way to do this kind of deep background check efficiently."
But attorneys said that because of the inefficiency, the program isn't serving its purpose.
"Let's say this guy is a terrorist or a criminal," Los Angeles immigration attorney Carl Shusterman said. "Why wouldn't the FBI rush the case?"
Mervyn Sam, a South African native who got a green card in 1998, has been waiting more than four years for the FBI to complete his name check. Sam said his career has been affected by the delay. He lives in Anaheim and is a project manager at a software company but cannot work on certain government projects because he is not a U.S. citizen. He has sued the federal government.
"I am not sure what the hiccup is on my end," he said. "It is very, very frustrating."
Shusterman, whose office is representing Sam, said applicants waste their time by contacting the immigration services agency, the FBI or their legislators.
"There is only one thing that works, and that is suing them in federal court," he said.
--------
anna.gorman@latimes.com
By Anna Gorman
The Los Angeles Times
Monday 10 September 2007
Applicants seeking US citizenship languish for years as the FBI conducts cumbersome records checks. Lawsuits are a result.
Seeking to become a U.S. citizen, Biljana Petrovic filed her application, completed her interview and passed her civics test.
More than three years later, she is still waiting to be naturalized - held up by an FBI name-check process that has been criticized as slow, inefficient and a danger to national security.
Petrovic, a stay-at-home mother in Los Altos, Calif., who has no criminal record, has sued the federal government to try to speed up the process. She said it's as if her application has slipped into a "black hole."
"It's complete frustration," said Petrovic, who is originally from the former Yugoslavia and is a naturalized Canadian citizen. "It's not like I am applying to enter the country. I have been here for 19 years."
Nearly 320,000 people were waiting for their name checks to be completed as of Aug. 7, including more than 152,000 who had been waiting for more than six months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. More than 61,000 had been waiting for more than two years.
Applicants for permanent residency or citizenship have lost jobs, missed out on student loans and in-state tuition, and been unable to vote or bring relatives into the country. The delays have prompted scores of lawsuits around the country.
Already this fiscal year, more than 4,100 suits have been filed against the citizenship and immigration agency, compared with 2,650 last year and about 680 in 2005. The mandamus suits ask federal judges to compel immigration officials to adjudicate the cases. The majority of the cases were prompted by delays in checking names, spokesman Chris Bentley said.
"There is nothing in immigration law that says that a citizenship application should take two, three, four years. That's absurd," said Ranjana Natarajan, an ACLU staff attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit in Southern California last year on behalf of applicants waiting for their names to be checked. "People who have not been any sort of threat ... have been caught up in this dragnet."
In addition to the bureaucratic nightmare that the lengthy delays present, attorneys and government officials say there is a far more serious concern: They could be allowing potential terrorists to stay in the country.
Fallout From 9/11
The backlog began after 9/11, when Citizenship and Immigration Services officials reassessed their procedures and learned that the FBI checks were not as thorough as they had believed. So "out of an abundance of caution," the agency resubmitted 2.7 million names in 2002 to be checked further, Bentley said.
Rather than simply determining if the applicants were subjects of FBI investigations, the bureau checked to see if their names showed up in any FBI files, including being listed as witnesses or victims. About 90% of the names did not appear in the agency's records, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said.
But for the 10% who were listed, authorities carefully reviewed the files to look for any "derogatory" information, Carter said. Because many documents aren't electronic and are in the bureau's 265 offices nationwide, that process can take months, if not years.
"It is not a check of your name," said Chuck Roth, director of litigation for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, which also filed a class-action suit. "It is a file review of anywhere your name happens to appear. It has just created a giant bureaucratic mess."
Although many of those stuck in the backlog are from predominantly Muslim countries, there are also people from Russia, China, India and elsewhere. They include government employees and Iraq war veterans. Many have been in the U.S. legally for decades.
In one case decided in Washington, D.C., recently, a federal judge wrote that a Chinese man's four-year wait for permanent residency was unreasonable and ordered the government to decide on the application within three months. Petrovic, who has two U.S.-born teenagers, doesn't know what delayed her application. The only explanation she can think of is that her name is common in her native country.
She and her husband, Ihab Abu-Hakima, also a Canadian citizen, applied for citizenship in April 2003 and had their interviews in February 2004. Her husband was sworn in that summer, while her application continued to languish. She checked the mail daily.
When she still didn't hear anything, Petrovic contacted immigration officials, who told her that the FBI had her file and that it was still active. She also contacted her representative and her senator, whose offices asked Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite the application. She filed a Freedom of Information Act request for her FBI file, which simply showed that she had never been arrested.
"I have a feeling that the system has broken down," she said.
Joining a Different Group
In August, Petrovic joined an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed in Northern California against the federal government. She is waiting to become a U.S. citizen so she can sponsor her elderly parents, who live in Canada and visit often.
"Every time they leave, I feel bad," she said. "This is their life here, more than there."
The problem extends beyond the disruption of personal lives.
In his yearly report to Congress in June, immigration services ombudsman Prakash wrote that the policy on checking names "may increase the risk to national security by extending the time a potential criminal or terrorist remains in the country." questioned the overall value of the process, writing that it was the "single biggest obstacle to the timely and efficient delivery of immigration benefits."
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged the threat, last month announcing plans to work with the FBI to address the backlog and reduce delays. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reassess the way name checks are done and earmark $6 million toward streamlining the process, Bentley said.
Though 99% of the agency's name checks are completed within six months, Bentley said, the lengthy delays for some applicants is "unacceptable."
"That requires a lot of patience on the part of an applicant because they have to wait sometimes multiple years," he said.
Nevertheless, he said, no benefit will be approved until that name check comes back clear. Security checks have produced information about sex crimes, drug trafficking and individuals with known links to terrorism, according to the agency.
Carter, the FBI spokesman, said he understands that applicants waiting for answers are anxious, but he said the process is complicated and involves dozens of agencies and databases - and, in some cases, foreign governments.
"The FBI's No. 1 priority remains to protect the United States from terrorist attack," Carter said. "To that end, we must ensure the proper balance between security and efficiency."
In addition to clearing the backlog and processing the 27,000 new name checks it receives each week from immigration officials, the FBI is trying to accelerate the process by making more documents electronic. It is also adding more staff and moving resources to a new records facility in Virginia, Carter said.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, said the government needs to make sure that it carefully checks every application. And working with foreign governments is inevitably going to slow the process down, he said.
"We correctly have much more stringent standards for immigration," he said. "I am not really sure that there is any way to do this kind of deep background check efficiently."
But attorneys said that because of the inefficiency, the program isn't serving its purpose.
"Let's say this guy is a terrorist or a criminal," Los Angeles immigration attorney Carl Shusterman said. "Why wouldn't the FBI rush the case?"
Mervyn Sam, a South African native who got a green card in 1998, has been waiting more than four years for the FBI to complete his name check. Sam said his career has been affected by the delay. He lives in Anaheim and is a project manager at a software company but cannot work on certain government projects because he is not a U.S. citizen. He has sued the federal government.
"I am not sure what the hiccup is on my end," he said. "It is very, very frustrating."
Shusterman, whose office is representing Sam, said applicants waste their time by contacting the immigration services agency, the FBI or their legislators.
"There is only one thing that works, and that is suing them in federal court," he said.
--------
anna.gorman@latimes.com
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drirshad
01-06 11:11 AM
Guys got a reply from Mattew Oh as follows on enquring about section 8001.
--- Matthew Oh <ohlaw@immigration-law.com> wrote:
> Irshad: I am glad that you have started a new
> portal. I was going to
> contact you to address problem of setting up a link
> to the immigrationportal
> as it has to go through another attorney's website.
> Some attorneys may have
> a problem with that. Since you have a new web site,
> I will take a look at
> it and may consider setting up a link on our web
> site.
>
> With reference to 8001, the community should focus
> on the Comprehensive
> Immigration Reform legislation rather than S. 1932
> issue. That legislation
> is gone. Thank you for keeping in touch with me.
>
--- Matthew Oh <ohlaw@immigration-law.com> wrote:
> Irshad: I am glad that you have started a new
> portal. I was going to
> contact you to address problem of setting up a link
> to the immigrationportal
> as it has to go through another attorney's website.
> Some attorneys may have
> a problem with that. Since you have a new web site,
> I will take a look at
> it and may consider setting up a link on our web
> site.
>
> With reference to 8001, the community should focus
> on the Comprehensive
> Immigration Reform legislation rather than S. 1932
> issue. That legislation
> is gone. Thank you for keeping in touch with me.
>
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needhelp!
09-09 01:38 PM
Thanks, updated the number of Robert Scott to (202) 225-8351
I spoke all the the reps that someone posted not on this list.
To add to the list of sponsors/co-sponsors, Congress Debbie Schultz is a co-sponsor for the bill (so don't call asking for support, but you can call to appreciate their efforts).
I think it would be better to keep it brief. They don't have time, and we can't spend lot of time, or else we won't be able to call all of them. It took me 30 minutes to call all of them.
I read somewhere that Steve King is not supportive, infact he's opposed to this bill. So it would be wise not to call his office. I don't he'll change his stance 'coz he's part of numbersusa/other nut cases.
Also note the phone number of Robert Scott is wrong, it shows the phone number of Adam Schiff. I realized only after I called twice. but luckily I realised before I could go through the whole talking points.
Pls everyone call before its too late. we need to get this passed as this is our only hope. PLS CALLLLLLL!!!
I spoke all the the reps that someone posted not on this list.
To add to the list of sponsors/co-sponsors, Congress Debbie Schultz is a co-sponsor for the bill (so don't call asking for support, but you can call to appreciate their efforts).
I think it would be better to keep it brief. They don't have time, and we can't spend lot of time, or else we won't be able to call all of them. It took me 30 minutes to call all of them.
I read somewhere that Steve King is not supportive, infact he's opposed to this bill. So it would be wise not to call his office. I don't he'll change his stance 'coz he's part of numbersusa/other nut cases.
Also note the phone number of Robert Scott is wrong, it shows the phone number of Adam Schiff. I realized only after I called twice. but luckily I realised before I could go through the whole talking points.
Pls everyone call before its too late. we need to get this passed as this is our only hope. PLS CALLLLLLL!!!
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leo2606
11-22 07:43 PM
I support kumar1 openion.
Buddy sledge_hammer this is the mess mortgage companies created, they need to face it.fanie's and fadie's caused this mess and they to need face it ? Do you think the individual should sit in that home and hit on their head with the 'sledgehammer' when they are in this mess? I would say get the f**k out of that house and lead peaceful life.
Sledge_hammer, use the thing in your screen name on your head to make your thoughts work correctly. Hey don't get me started.
sledge_hammer - You call me fool, I think you are a #1 "you know what"! And, I am not even going to reply...so write whatever you want to write.
Buddy sledge_hammer this is the mess mortgage companies created, they need to face it.fanie's and fadie's caused this mess and they to need face it ? Do you think the individual should sit in that home and hit on their head with the 'sledgehammer' when they are in this mess? I would say get the f**k out of that house and lead peaceful life.
Sledge_hammer, use the thing in your screen name on your head to make your thoughts work correctly. Hey don't get me started.
sledge_hammer - You call me fool, I think you are a #1 "you know what"! And, I am not even going to reply...so write whatever you want to write.
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nkalpana
01-31 04:06 AM
My Goodness... Prashanth! this is a total mess..
This is worse than our software product deadlines!!
Dont know whether to laugh or to cry!
Regards,
NK
This is worse than our software product deadlines!!
Dont know whether to laugh or to cry!
Regards,
NK
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ronhira
06-18 11:20 AM
There is nothing called h1b jobs. There is no job reserved for someone on h1b. So to say that people on l1 are taking h1b jobs is kind of funny.
At the same time, that anti-immigrant l1fraud is here to scare people and is against the community. But because most people here are not on L1, so most people are agreeing with l1fraud user. As if L1 folks are getting ahead of us, and L1 folks are taking our jobs, same mentality and outlook as that of the disgruntled programmers at programmers guild. Maybe there is nothing wrong about that because, humans as species have always behaved as part of the food chain, eating and living on the ones below us. Likewise, people here just want to blame someone else for their problems, including delay in GCs, on others on L1. So the entire focus of this thread is "l1fraud". From time to time, some anti-immigrant or someone from another site come in and divide people here without much of an effort, that we are just a bunch of losers, yes that's right, people who play into the hands of anti-immigrants and people who play into the designs of the agents of other agenda's are nothing but losers. Lets get back to blaming someone else for our problems. That's the best policy, keep it up.
Disclaimer-I'm not on L1 and I am not a damn fool.
At the same time, that anti-immigrant l1fraud is here to scare people and is against the community. But because most people here are not on L1, so most people are agreeing with l1fraud user. As if L1 folks are getting ahead of us, and L1 folks are taking our jobs, same mentality and outlook as that of the disgruntled programmers at programmers guild. Maybe there is nothing wrong about that because, humans as species have always behaved as part of the food chain, eating and living on the ones below us. Likewise, people here just want to blame someone else for their problems, including delay in GCs, on others on L1. So the entire focus of this thread is "l1fraud". From time to time, some anti-immigrant or someone from another site come in and divide people here without much of an effort, that we are just a bunch of losers, yes that's right, people who play into the hands of anti-immigrants and people who play into the designs of the agents of other agenda's are nothing but losers. Lets get back to blaming someone else for our problems. That's the best policy, keep it up.
Disclaimer-I'm not on L1 and I am not a damn fool.
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abhis0
09-18 09:09 AM
I am a July 2 filer , finally received my receipt for 485, EAD, AP from texas.
The notice date is Sep 6.
Also, EAD card ordered
Did you see your checks cashed?
The notice date is Sep 6.
Also, EAD card ordered
Did you see your checks cashed?
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ohio boy
09-25 05:09 PM
As it has been 85 days since my 485 reached in NSC and updates, so I called the 800-375-3283 and transfered to IO, she was very polite and told that now they are taking 120 days to issue receipts. ( ware...waa...how fast service)
As CAA dude post a 800-246-8253 this is Custom #. (lol)
So they started to say now all we have to wait for another 30 days, there is no other way to get the receipt #, she said call once in a week if u are lucky, u may get ur receipt #,
yes sending fax, e-mails, create a query this make sence to invistigate the pending application.
Ok again ur count down starts against 120 days..........
As CAA dude post a 800-246-8253 this is Custom #. (lol)
So they started to say now all we have to wait for another 30 days, there is no other way to get the receipt #, she said call once in a week if u are lucky, u may get ur receipt #,
yes sending fax, e-mails, create a query this make sence to invistigate the pending application.
Ok again ur count down starts against 120 days..........
newuser
10-28 04:08 PM
Did e-mail already as per the intial thread. Will mail the letters soon.
abuddyz
01-28 04:55 PM
I came across a couple who got their H1B approvals last yr with in 3 weeks to each other. One of them was in PIMS and other one not. So I feel approval date does not seem to be a criteria to base these delays upon.:confused:
Good Luck to everyone including myself!:(
both H1 were approved from the same USCIS center? the one which is stuck in PIMS, which service center it was?
Good Luck to everyone including myself!:(
both H1 were approved from the same USCIS center? the one which is stuck in PIMS, which service center it was?
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