Well I just got back from my appointment and it was terrible, a total waste of time.

I went in around 10:15 and went to the middle window and handed them my print out from online. I had a 10:15 appointment but wasn't seen for about an hour. There was one person working the window and about 20 -25 people waiting inside.

When my number was finally called, I thought I was going to be sent to an immigration officer, but instead I had to speak with the man who was working the window ( not sure if he WAS an immigration officer or not but it wasn't what I was expecting)

He proceeded to ask me why I was there and I told him I was there to check on my wife's petitions. He then rudely corrected me and told me they were MY petitions and she was the beneficiary, like it was some powerful insightful new information he was giving me.

I told him I was there to see if I could find out anything about the cases, like perhaps if they were going through security checks, or just anything. He asked for my drivers liscence and typed some stuff up in his keyboard. I knew at that point he was going to the USCIS processing times website to read me what was on the screen. He told me that the applications were being processed from April 5th and that my NOA dates were still very far away. I told him I understood that, but I had been doing research on my own and knew from statistical analysis gathered by lawyers and from individual petitioners that the April 5th date was inaccurate.
He told me that it wasn't his concern what research I had done because he was looking at the processing dates right in front of him. I then told him that I was expecting to talk to someone who could give me insight on my case. He then said ( and I am not lying ) "My job is not to give you insight into your case, IT IS TO READ YOU WHAT IS ON THE WEBSITE."

He said that if I wanted insight into my case that I could call the individual service centers. When I told him there was only a general USCIS number he told me I could write them a letter. I knew at that point there was nothing I could do so I just thanked him and left.


I figured it would be a bad experience going to infopass, but this exceeded my expectations for just how bad it could be. I hope whoever else has an appointment scheduled has better luck than I do. Well i just thought I would share this.

So sorry to hear this, Libersolis. Miserable people want everyone to be miserable. Try to shake it off.

Hang in there...it WILL happen, I promise

Funny thing is I pretty much expected this to happen, but it was just different after actually being treated so poorly. I think I can deal with this kind of stuff if people are at least cordial to me, but to be rude from the start just put things in a bad place.

Yep...and there's really no excuse for that kind of behavior.

I know what you went through! I scheduled an appointment at USCIS to get more info too, and was appauled at the process/handling. Thank goodness for this website, it gives me hope on different timelines than "what is on their screen".

I had an appointment a while ago,waited for 15 min to have the lady at the front desk hand me a number and tell me there is a 2 - 2:30 hour wait! And in the end the officer told me to check their website, because they have no info. Inefficiencies as they are, but we have to have faith. Hang in there, its coming. Patience pays off

Wow!!!

and to think ..................government employees get paid how? Oh yeah, OUR tax dollars and fees!
What a crock of crap!

I'm so sorry you had that experience Libersolis.

Wow - I am so sorry that happened! That was not what I would have expected at all -- I guess I'm crazy to have expected actual service. I hope they aren't all like this!

How awful. I would not have expected such behavior either. Hang in there.

Hang in there and sorry to hear that you got someone with an attitude. I know when we were in AP we just wanted someone to tell us and update and be courteous to us in the process.

Think it was back in late 2003 my then girlfriend (now wife) went to the local immigration office. There there wasnt appointments, first come first served. She arrived there just prior to opening (0900) and didnt get seen until just before 5 pm!!! When she finally got to see someone, they were clueless and very rude. The person made it sound it was nearly impossible for me to come in on a marriage (or fiance) visa and would take many yrs!! Thast pretty much the reason we wasted $2500 on an attorney!! Best of luck in the process

Wow, the fellow seems rather rude. I guess being a civil servant one doesn't have to worry about offending the public that they serve

Same thing happened to me. It was really frustrating.

Im sorry you had that experience Libersolis, Well now I really dont know if I should bother doing the info pass here in Houston because from you feed back as well as others it looks as if doing an info pass would just be a waste as I can log in online my self. At least the dates on the uscis have changed to April.I feel your pain.

Libersolis, I'm sorry you were treated so rudely. You'll get more information here than anywhere. I looked at your timeline, and see:

You sent your I-130 May 24. That was more than a month after getting married.

You didn't send the I-129f until July 14. That was about a month after you could have, since you had a receipt for the I-130 June 20.

We all need to be realistic, based on our own filing dates as well as their responses. I realize you and I are from different countries and have different particulars, but if you want to compare, it took 3 months for my I-129f to be approved. With any luck, your NOA2 should be coming soon. What do the stats for South Africa tell you?

This is typical of any governmental agency. It is the only place where people are not held accountable for their actions!!!

I feel very bad for you, I think you should write to your congressman. Just tell him about this and your experience at the infopass. Lets see, I don't think it would hurt.

All of the service centers are operated by contract employees, these are not government workers. There are very few government positions at any service center and it is highly unlikely you will ever see one or speak to one. The service center contracts are recompeted periodically and detailed information can be found on the http://www.fedbizopps.gov/

????

Not true at all. Maybe contract employees in the cafeteria, mail room, and janitorial services. A contractor would never make committments or denials to petitioners in the name of the government.

Well the reason I watied until May 24th to file the I-130 was because I attempted to file DCF in South Africa ( was initially told I could then told I couldn't)

Since I have 3rd party filing the papers for me, it took them a while to actually send me the stuff to send out for the 129-F. Of if I had found this forum first I would have filed the paper work myself, but at the time I knew very little.

As far as stats for South Africa, welll there isn't a large enough sample size to make any accurate analysis IMO.

I really am fine with the waiting, be it 2 months or 2 years. I am just most upset at the experience I had at the infopass office more than anything. I hope others have much better experience than I do.

Desert_fox,

You are completely wrong!!! Here is the actual synopsis of the SOW for just one of the contracts:

APPLICATION SUPPORT CENTERS (ASC) Operations and Facilities Services ? The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (DHS/USCIS) has a requirement to operate, lease, and maintain facilities for the Application Support Center Program. Requirements include biometrics collection, mobile route operations, application collection, local scheduling, facilities leasing/ maintenance, special projects, and project/administrative support to process USCIS customers seeking immigration benefits. Currently, biometrics capture and other services for approximately 3.5 million applicants (5 million processed benefits) are performed annually by approximately 1,300 contractor staff at 136 government or contractor-leased ASCs through the USA and its territories. The prime vendor must assume all leases for contractor-leased space (currently 81 leases), and may be required to obtain leases for and operate a new domestic scheduling center and potentially overseas sites. DHS anticipates significant ASC organizational and process changes during the life of the contract to meet future workload and homeland security issues. Sites may be added, moved, or deleted as needs change. Significant workload lulls and surges are expected. All contractor staff must be U.S. citizens and must be able to obtain a T-2 (mid-risk) or T-1 (high-Risk) clearance. Labor categories will vary by site and may consist of site supervisors, quality assurance specialists, quality assurance processors, biometrics technicians, unarmed guards, armed guards, schedulers, and other labor categories that cover the work listed above. The Government plans to post the Request For Proposal (RFP) to FedBizOpps on or about September 19, 2005. The RFP will be issued on an unrestricted basis (full & open competition). The Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract period of performance will be for a base year and four one-year option periods.

I am sorry for ur bad experience Libersolis. My experience with info was ok. I only had to wait around 30 minutes. I was there to find out why I had not received my NOA1 since it had been so long. The lady told me the date it was received and even gave me my receipt number. The reason while it took so long was that it had gotten transferred from TSC to CSC. I am so glad that I found this site cuz by looking at peoples timeslines from the same country as my husband is better than looking at the one at USCIS!! Good luck with the rest of ur journey.

ASC = Application Support Center. You apparently dont know what a ASC is. It is not a Service Center. It is the small canter co-located with the local offices in the major cities, where you go to give your biometric data...fingerprints, photos, etc. Handful of employees at each location, and could easily be done by a contractor. they make no decisions and only collect data.

Apparently you dont get it, but good luck anyway. Dont tell ppl that the service centers are contracots, as nothing could be further from the truth.

What an experience! Please do not worry about it. You can contact your local congressman and they can find it out about what stages your petition is in now, but again, they may just reply to congressman's inquiry from the USCIS website's processing dates. Again, it does hurt to contact the congressman's office.

miker32us,

desert_fox is correct. The Service Centers, which you first mentioned, are roughly 50-50 contractors and USCIS employees, with the contract people running the physical plant and doing the clerical work and the USCIS staff adjudicating the petitions and applications and other decision-making functions.

The ASCs, which you mention now, are support facilities with clerical responsibilities only, no decision making, so yes they can be staffed by contract personnel with perhaps a few USCIS management positions at the top.

The District and Sub offices are going to be predominantly USCIS personnel, with perhaps contractors performing the security and clerical functions.

Yodrak