I just called the USCIS "mis-information"-line to inquire about my year-old I-751 application filed at the lovely NSC. After taking all my information the USCIS representative told me that my case was definitely out of the time range by as much as 180 days. I was dumbfounded of course and said the current priority date for NSC is Feb 10th 2007 so how can I be out by 180 days. He then said NSC is currently processing applications filed in Aug 2007 and that the 02/07 date just shows "when visas become available" or something of that sort. He put in a service request for my case and said an immigration officer should have it by 03/16. I was also advised to make an infopass appointment to get a stamp in my passport (extension expires 04/08).

What he said does not sound right to me. What do you guys think? I didn't want to argue with him because he sounded a bit stressed but the whole time I'm thinking "What the heck is this guy talking about?".

Honestly, what do the dates on their site mean?? We know that those dates are not accurate. i once heard those dates are the date of the absolute last application they are processing, but that's not true either, since people have NOA's predating those.

California says to be processing applications received July 19, 2007, but we all know that date is crap, because people who applied in November and December are being approved.

Anyhow, I've always said they can stop wasting their time on posting those...

I would do the infopass.

It would just be a matter of having peace of mind. I would never take any information over the phone from these people.

You'll have no tangible proof of any conversation with them if it's found that they mislead you, and from what I've read in these forums, that's a likely scenario.

@winterpassing, interesting...! I have no confidence in their "services".
I see you are also in Chicago. I was just at the Chicago office with an Infopass appointment, to inquire about my case (you and I have about the same timeline). The lady just read off the screen what I have been reading for one year now..." the petition was received on 2/2/07 and we will notify you once a decision has been made...". Well, that was NO news to me. She did not know anything further.
I was also told that Chicago only gives 60 days extension at a time. I will be travelling in April (I'll be gone on the day my ext.expires) and was asked to come back right before my trip so I could get the most out of my 60 days extension stamp. Then I'd have to return every 60 days for more, until the case is decided. Sounds great, doesn't it!
Good luck with everything!

And that's what frustrates me the most... people say "what's the big deal about waiting to get approved, you're with your loved one" well, when they don't approve us we have to go through the inconvenience of getting stamps, showing employees extension letters etc.
I'm also traveling in April, and I need a visa to go to France since I'm from South Africa... and I can tell already the SA & French consulate is not going to be excited about me having some letter showing I'm legitimately here.
We paid good money for this petition and we should be approved in a time fashion!

My boss asks me at least once a week if I've received my GC and I've told him about the letter and showed it to him, but he is not familiar with it, and I know he too will be more comfortable knowing I have the actual card.

That's funny, my company does not even seem to care. Well, if you go through the "NCS processing times - is USCIS lying" thread, there is a memo posted from www.uscis.gov (I think posted by Sandeep?). Maybe it would help if you had your employer pull it up. It clearly states we are not out of status if we have that extension letter and a filed petition.

I agree, the customer service person was befuddled. If you have an NOA that extends the expiry date of your GC until April 2008, you are not out of the time range. USCIS anticipates that it could take up to 12 months, ergo the extension letter. If you do not see something by mid-March I'd get an INFOPASS and see what's up.

I'm not worried about loosing my job, but my boss is just curious about the whole thing. I told him he'd be *close to* the first person who finds out when my new card is ordered.

Thanks for your replies, everyone. I made an infopass appointment for next Friday to get my passport stamped. I'm so ready for this to be over!

Guess what …I called them today also and all I could get was “call back in 30 days” suggesting on the same time to keep checking on USCIS website like we don’t know already how much crap they post on their website . NOBODY KNOWS FOR SURE ..what’s the processing time date for I-751 right now at least at Nebraska Service Center .
I contacted again my Congressman today and one of their clerks told me that Nebraska replied back to their request (my case) saying that some cases will take a lot longer based on the applicant place of birth .Hmmmm…..I’m Canadian so I’m just wondering how long will take to process an application coming from an Iranian, Syrian, or any Arab nationality ?????? Let’s admit this is another screw-up like we got accustomed to see coming from USCIS
Their solution to my problem was “ go and get a stamp on your passport “ WELL…..I DON”T WANT THAT . I WANT MY GC not all kind of extensions .I hope someone from USCIS is checking on this website and maybe will make some notes!!!!!!!

I am getting the same every time I call too. Last time I called I got through to an immigration officer and she said that I-751 processing at NSC now takes 1 year and 30 days. One person on the NSC-list, Bertrand, fits into that timeframe. But no one has been approved after that as far as I know.

I would say maybe 14 to 16 months before these ###***ES will do any applications reviews .What can we do about it ????
Is there anybody there that wants to join in a law suit against them???I'm more then interested to know how many people out there wants to join me !

Yep, after reading these posting, I have a feeling that I have to wait a bit longer. My NOA date was 1/25/07. In a week it will be a year and a month for me. Betrand's NOA date was 12/19/06 and her case was approved on 1/29/08... At NSC's current processing speed, it will probably take at least a couple more months before they will touch my case. My extension expires in April. I will definitely need a stamp then. Luckily my company's HR hasn't started asking questions about my status yet.

I called last week too, and was given the processing date that is posted on the web. On top of all, the woman had the nerve to tell me that USCIS posts processing dates biweekly. I basically lost it, asked her if she lives in a different universe, and accused her of lying to cusomers. That day, I was most likely being the "customer from hell"!!! I am not proud of it, but I've had it up here with USCIS. They should get rid of the customer service agents who serve no productive role, and use that money to hire some folks to adjudicate the papers.

The appointment system for Infopass says if you are following up on a pending application, you should have a service request confirmation if coming for an interview. It does not make sense for those of us stuck at NSC.

I have an opportunity to do some freelance work, and cannot follow up because right now, I have less than a month of valid time on my extension. I wonder if USCIS can provide restitution for opportunities foregone because of their incompetence. I also need to travel in the next few months. Oh! But wait! We should get used to it, according to some VJ folks

Yes ,for sure they should get rid of of the customer service agents ,no help or any new information's will come from them just an extra waist of money ,your money ,my money....our money ! Like you I'm also sick and tired of hearing more and more that "we are not a priority " and other type of applications should be processed first .That's BS!
I won't be surprised at all to see Nebraska moving again one day from the last date posted on their website last month

Nobody asked for it when I went to Infopass. Go ahead and schedule without the service request, it will be fine!


if you can, wait until right before your exp. date and schedule the infopass. They will stamp you for at least 60 days in Chicago. Yes, it's a pain in the xxx but no, they cannot prevent you from travelling and you will not lose your status as cond.perm.resident. The stamp, the expired extension letter, and the expired Greencard will allow you to travel.

Take a deep breath :-) It stinks but it really does not interrupt anything we do in terms of work and travel. It's just some extra work we have to do in terms of travelling to the infopass office, managing our extension stamps etc. Yes, I wish they would do the legwork for me but that's not going to happen so we have to take it as it is, unfortunately.

Good luck!

I'm wondering how would they react sending just a portion from the application fee instead of the whole amount ?
Or maybe sending the money only when the application is processed ? I know it will be rejected right away but how about us ,what do we get for the money we paid ?
Why do I have to do the extra work and go and waist time ,take time off from work just to comply with their inefficiency ? There is no justice here !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

like I said, it's a major inconvenience for us, but we do not lose status, nothing will "happen" to us - so there is nothing we can do but wait our turn. We want something from them and not the other way around.
I get upset, too, but to say you cannot do your work or you cannot travel is simply incorrect. It's not THAT bad guys.. just annoying

We live in a society where nothing comes for free and every service that you get you supposed to pay for it but then again ...to see it that I have to beg for something that I paid then ,I'm sorry to say it but I think is quite bad .
This is my opinion and I will stop here as I see that some of you guys are quite OK with this crap served by USCIS
After waiting over one year for something they claim it will take 8 months and then 10 months and then again 12 months I THINK IS PRETTY BAD

That is good to know. I will surely do this. I called up my congressman's office. According to his immigration liason, they were told Chicago would not stamp the passport for such cases. She wants me to put off the Chicago appointment until they get a response. I let her know that some folks on my immigration message board have successfully received a stamp. I am now questioning how informed the Congressman's office is I think I will take my chances with Chicago....


We are about 2.5 hrs away from Chicago. I'll wait until the very last day possible. It sucks having to go there on a weekday, specially in this extra cold weather. We get enough of that where we are already


On principle, it just bugs me. Jumping the line is just not cricket!

Thanks for the wishes!

So getting that stamp requires a valid passport, right? I just found out my passport is about to expire, too. So I can get a stamp in there. Wait till the passport expires. Get a new copy. Then get another appointment to get another stamp... Wait, applying for N400 will save me all these trouble, right? Except I don't want to become a citizen and pay NSC almost $700. Yes, people, we still have to file through NSC. VJ listed relieve the spouse from the I-864 responsibility as the most logical reason to apply for citizenship. LOL. No thanks, I want to be a mooch. Sometimes I wonder how much the people get paid working at NSC. Maybe the most logical reason for me to become a citizen will be so that I can apply for a job at NSC...

I'm in the same situation like you ,just sent an application to renew my passport and then who knows what's going to take to get the stupid stamp on the new passport .
So ,for those people that claim,we are just fine in the position we are right now I would say ...THINK AGAIN !
YES, citizenship will probably give you the option to take a job with USCIS and do the same job as they do right now .Basically NONE, a bunch of A******S

Just wanted to clarify that I did not yet receive a stamp. I went to Infopass about 90 days out from my expiration date and they informed me they only stamp for 60 days. I will have to come back right around the expiration date to get the stamp, which is in mid-April for me. ugh, 2.5 hours is a long drive. If you plan on travelling, bring your flight booking reservation with you to the appointment, even more reason to give you a stamp!
Also, read throug the "is the USCIS lying?" thread here in this forum, I think sandeep posted a memo that is actually posted on www.uscis.gov under press releases. It is about how with an expired extension letter the local uscis office should provide a 12 month stamp to the applicant. I am planning on taking that to Infopass next time.

Since you quoted me, no, I am not ok with this but I'll save myself the stomach ulcer of getting SO upset over it. It's not worth it. So far, yes it is taking forever, but we have not yet had to pay more and we are not out of status. So really, nothing different than it was the first 2 years I was here with a "valid" conditional Greencard.

Well, my esteemed Congressman's office got back in response to my request for assistance - guess what? NSC is processing dates are July 2006, and therefore our case is not out of timeline. Duh!

I was also advised to go to Chicago office to get a stamp. This from the same office who told me a few days ago that I should wait for them to put in a request, because their office had been told Chicago does not stamp passports. At that time, I told the liason that they had the wrong information, because Chicago does give a stamp.

The only good thing was that they got back to me in 3 days. I sent back a tongue-in-cheek note, thanking them for giving me information I provided in the first place

Off to Chicago in two weeks!

I get to read some of your comments here and some are just crazy
How can you not see this whole mess being terrible wrong ??????
Expired status ,having to go every two months for a stupid extension stamp in the passport ,lose time for work ,lots of agravation ,stress and more .....still you don't see the situation to be THAT bad
That's just insane !!!!!!
I'm sorry but you must be living in a different world

Congresscritters are not much help, obviously. Other than speculation about one case in which someone got an approval from TSC not long after making an inquiry through his (Texas) Senator's office (the person likely was due to be approved soon anyway based on his timeline), I don't know of such inquiries every doing any good or even revealing much in the way of helpful information.

The only way to get tough with CIS is through the courts. The thing is, assuming you have been waiting more than a year and are willing to proceed pro se instead of hiring an attorney, are you willing to cough up the $350 filing fee just to file the complaint in your local federal district court?

Aye, and I must be her next door neighbor.

Iansig, the process sucks, it's unwieldly and archaic. But no amount of !!!!!!!!!!!!!! and swearing on a message board is going to change it. You sound like a very motivated person -- why not channel your energy into an organization that is lobbying for changes to the system? There are a couple of VJ'ers doing that as we speak (rebeccajo comes to my mind immediately).

Just because people don't scream and shout with righteous indignation like you do, doesn't mean they don't care. It just means they choose to deal with things differently.....and IT"S OK.