New processing times - is the USCIS lying?

[NickD 202]

The truth is my wife and I found each other and fell deeply in love and we knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, but we were from different countries that have different laws and she also had a daughter that was subject that was subject to even a different set of laws.

The girls biological father, while absent from his family for over six years and living in a different country had all the power over her and the say whether she could leave her country or not, but it came down to whether he wanted to pay child support payments for her until she was 18, was that minor detail that led to a neogotiation where in exchange for his signature would free him of those payments, that little detail postponed our marriage plans for nine long months. But it was done legally. Then there was the problem of bringing them here with proper vistas and paying blackmarket prices for a new cover on their passports, the blackmarket was right inside of their consulate office. Wasn't a case of going in the street to some shady character wearing a long black coat.

I had my own problems being divorced for over nine years and even though I had full custody of my then three minor children was still paying alimony payments, not very good for entering a new marriage, so got my ex to agree to a one time payoff, raised the money and paid all that off plus other bills of hers that I got stuck with, and I feel illegally that led me to get that marriage annulled by my church, I was finally free of that.

While I considered my mating IQ to be around 0.314 in that first marriage, had to learn something from that very bad experience. Wife also had a very low mating IQ. Then there was all the USA laws to learn and comply with, one was proving to our state we were both free to marry before they would even issue us a marriage license, the State of Illinois screwing up on my transfer of my original birth certificate with typo's to their computer system didn't help. Can't they hire people that can read? Then problems finding a good USCIS approved doctor for the I-693, many of the nearest ones had their own interpretation of this simple form and were trying to hit us with many additional tests that weren't even required to give some pretty stiff bills, like $5,000.00 per person? They have you by the proverbial balls and love to twist, thank God their are some honest people left int this world, was a 300 mile trip for us, but covered both for under a thousand, and yes, USCIS approved. Then finding an honest and approved translator for all those Spanish documents, wondered about that since the USCIS has all kinds of Spanish lines, but that cost another small fortune.

Finally in the interviewer's office to get two said stories, the good news was my wife did get here PRC, the bad news was my attorney didn't have me do a separate I-130 on my daughter. When you read that form, the language is so poor it does say her child is covered under this form, but then it doesn't. Anyway, my attorney apologized paid the fee out of his own pocket and got it through and my daughter receiver her PRC six weeks later. But I cannot tell you how she felt during those long six weeks, mom, are they going to send me back?

My attorney didn't feel it was necessary for him to send in our I-751, but I did send in the entire package for him to look over, said I had more than enough proof that our marriage was honorable and that we are still living together, this was all done a month in advance of that 90 day limit, said not to send it in even a day earlier, they may reject it, I paid the 15 bucks and sent it over night on a Wednesday, my check was already deposited and cashed the following Friday, God, that is quick, as was the biometrics, again with a 400 mile round trip, then nothing, nothing, nothing.

Both of our families highly approve of our marriage, in research after my divorce plus problems with my ex's family, families play an important role in determining the fate of a marriage, all of my kids love their new step mother, and my wife's family love me for how I am taking care of my wife and her daughter. This is not a problem for us. Are only problem and cause of stress is the USCIS, what else can we do?

And why don't other legal and state agencies know about this extension notice? You not only have to deal with the feds on this issue, but other forms of government as well. Sometimes feel this country should be renamed the United State and get rid of that "S" with a zillion different other laws to deal with. Even George Washington had his problems in trying to deal with 13 different states, should have been an indication to him that a state system doesn't work from the very start. Now states are making their own immigration laws as the feds can't agree on anything.

There has to be a way to contact the SS and IRS in regards to the USCIS, if they don't put pressure on the USCIS, they are both going to see a dent in their income if my wife loses her job due to their delays. Last year the IRS made a big deal out of a 20 buck error I made in my taxes, God, more government forms that twist my brain, they got their 20 bucks plus 1% per month interest, but they stand to lose thousands if my wife loses her job.

So is it 1.6 million or 3 million Mexicans that apparently are here legally that wanted to vote in last years November election, and didn't do anything about it for years until they heard there was going to be a rate increase? And is this the reason why our I-751's are being delayed?

I am ignorant on this subject, but do not see anything on the internet where the four key service centers process N-400 forms, but it does show processing of the N-400 forms at all the local field offices, so shouldn't these supposed new N-400 applications put the burden on the field offices and not the service centers? Something here is not adding up. And the USCIS did report the number of I-751 applications decreased from 2007 compared to 2006.

Nothing about this makes any sense.

Get this, during our original interview was asked why my wife was not on my key savings account, showed her a letter from that band they couldn't add her until I could show proof she was a permanent resident due to their interpretation of the American Patriot Act, that I could show as proof with her PMC, now. I can tell you, we were not dealing with 25 million bucks that the families of those terrorist got, substantially less than that, but nevertheless, a big deal with the banks.

Another new agency, more rules, and the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

[tammiandtom 0]

USCIS will only care about citizenship applications , but not about the I751 and now everybody left in leadership in USCIS , who will care about us waiting for the I-751? I am pretty sure the person that will replace Gonzales will only care about the N-400 applications so he/she show themselfes, but not I -751 anyone thinks the same??????

Probably true.

[iansig40 1]

USCIS will only care about citizenship applications , but not about the I751 and now everybody left in leadership in USCIS , who will care about us waiting for the I-751? I am pretty sure the person that will replace Gonzales will only care about the N-400 applications so he/she show themselfes, but not I -751 anyone thinks the same??????

No, the agency was criticized for their activity in general not only for the N-400 , we will see what's going to happen in the next few weeks

I suggested at one time that a lawsuit against them may speed up the process but....

[Illinois 0]

http://www.nysun.com/comments/63252

"The Ombudsman left DHS also, but he was actually trying to help petitioners and beneficiaries by actually RESPONDING to the complaints and concerns and attempting to resolve the problems.....and if you look at all the recommendations he's made to USCIS to improve their services and ease the immigration process, he was right on point. Sadly, USCIS hasn't responded to ANY of his suggestions since July 2007, after the price hikes....and coincidently a serious decline in customer service and efficiency. Gonzales was NOT prepared for the surge in applications just before they raised ALL application fees....and that's poor leadership. He should go, only they shouldn't have given him the 'option' to resign, they should have just fired him....months ago."

Does this mean there is no Ombudsman at present as well? If so, any petitions sent to that address would be in the same boat as NSC petitions.

Does anyone know for sure?

[iansig40 1]

http://www.nysun.com/comments/63252

"The Ombudsman left DHS also, but he was actually trying to help petitioners and beneficiaries by actually RESPONDING to the complaints and concerns and attempting to resolve the problems.....and if you look at all the recommendations he's made to USCIS to improve their services and ease the immigration process, he was right on point. Sadly, USCIS hasn't responded to ANY of his suggestions since July 2007, after the price hikes....and coincidently a serious decline in customer service and efficiency. Gonzales was NOT prepared for the surge in applications just before they raised ALL application fees....and that's poor leadership. He should go, only they shouldn't have given him the 'option' to resign, they should have just fired him....months ago."

Does this mean there is no Ombudsman at present as well? If so, any petitions sent to that address would be in the same boat as NSC petitions.

Does anyone know for sure?

No, they will find a replacement pretty soon if they didn’t find one already .That should future explain how messy is out there and the people we’re dealing with!!!!

What does it take to fire all these incompetent bureaucrats?

Here is what I found :

http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1204720623164.shtm

Statement by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on the Appointment of the CIS Ombudsman

Release Date: March 4, 2008

For Immediate Release

Office of the Press Secretary

Contact: 202-282-8010

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Timothy Dougherty as the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman. Michael will serve the department by directly interacting with individuals and employers ensuring that USCIS meets its obligations to the public in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Michael previously served as Acting Director of Immigration Policy and Senior Policy Advisor for Immigration at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Policy and Planning. He returns to DHS after working as legislative counsel to U.S. Senator Jon Kyl, where he advised the Senator on legal and policy issues related to homeland security and immigration. Michael has also worked at the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney in the office of Immigration Litigation and an Attorney Advisor for the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Michael’s 15 years of policy and litigation experience and a deep understanding of immigration law will serve him well as CIS Ombudsman. In this capacity, Michael will identify areas for improvement in the communication individuals and employers have with USCIS and will recommend solutions that will mitigate identified problems. I’m grateful for Michael’s steadfast dedication to the American public, and I look forward to his leadership and many contributions as we further enhance immigration services.

[NickD 202]

Isn't the Ombudsman an agency rather than a person and strange to find it listed in the USCIS site. So far a letter and a form to Ombudsman, contacted two senators, one congressman, a wasted stamp and time to the USCIS local field office.

Nobody seems to know for sure if Nebraska is still in the running, referring to the USCIS where we are not even close to the processing dates, if California, we are way past due.

Our major problem is losing my wife's passport, she hasn't lived in Venezuela for the last four years, we still own property there and are paying taxes and the USCIS is very one sided on making sure the immigrant is living in the USA. That can get us to bend over, but don't seem to have that power with a foreign country and expecting an immigrant to hold a valid passport for years while not living there seems a bit way out of hand. This is really unreasonable.

Hearing about people getting word on I-751's that applied in as late as September 2007, this has led me to wonder if I should send another 625 bucks with the same I-751 application to the USCIS for maybe a better second shot at this. But the latest form still says to send this application to:

If you live elsewhere in the United States mail your petition to:

USCIS Nebraska Service Center

P.O. Box 87751

Lincoln, NE 68501-7751

So why should I send this form to that service center if they are not even processing it anymore. I am so screwed up, I don't know if I am coming or going.

[2long 0]

USCIS will only care about citizenship applications , but not about the I751 and now everybody left in leadership in USCIS , who will care about us waiting for the I-751? I am pretty sure the person that will replace Gonzales will only care about the N-400 applications so he/she show themselfes, but not I -751 anyone thinks the same??????

No, the agency was criticized for their activity in general not only for the N-400 , we will see what's going to happen in the next few weeks

I suggested at one time that a lawsuit against them may speed up the process but....

Officer charged with demanding sex for green card

immigration screening officer faces felony charges for allegedly demanding and receiving oral sex from a woman seeking a green card, according to authorities and court documents.

A spokesman for the Immigration agency says the agency "has absolutely no tolerance for employee misconduct."

Isaac Baichu, 46, was arrested last week. According to charging documents filed in Queens County, New York, criminal court, Baichu met with the woman and her husband regarding her green card application and initially told her there were no problems. However, he asked for her telephone number in case he needed to reach her.

The woman told authorities Baichu soon called her and said he wanted to meet with her alone, in a location other than his office, to "discuss matters," court documents said. He also informed the woman that "she needed him and that she had to work with him."

The two met in December in the man's car, and during that meeting, the man told her that "in return for assisting her in her green card application, the complainant must have sex with him at least two times," according to the documents. The woman said she tried to leave the car, but, documents said, Baichu grabbed her and forced her to perform oral sex on him.

She told authorities "that she feared that if she did not comply with the defendant's demand ... the defendant would use his position as a public servant to cause her green card to be denied," according to court documents.

The New York Times, which first reported the case, said in a story Friday the 22-year-old Colombian woman was recording the encounter with her cell phone, and that she later approached the Times and prosecutors with the recording.

"I want sex," the man identified as Baichu says on the recording, posted on The New York Times Web site. "One or two times. That's all. You get your green card. You won't have to see me anymore."

Baichu's attorney, Sally Attia, told CNN, "we're denying any wrongdoing at the moment. There are always two sides to a story."

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She questioned why the woman would meet Baichu and plan to record him if she was going to be forced to do anything inappropriate, and alleged the woman is seeking a "U-visa," which provides a form of legalization for immigrants who are victims of crimes or are cooperating with a criminal investigation.

Charging documents, however, said that in a recorded conversation March 11, Baichu told the woman her file was complete, but he would call her a few days before she received the letter. The woman asked if she would have to do anything, the documents said, and authorities heard Baichu say "just like the last time, and it would only take a minute."

The woman told Baichu that she loves her husband and that she was uncomfortable, court documents said, but Baichu told her "this was business, not love, and that if he were her, he would do it in a minute." He also offered to take her to a garage, a friend's real estate business or to a bathroom if she would be more comfortable there, according to the documents.

CNN is not naming the woman because authorities believe she is the victim of a sexual assault.

Baichu's employer, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, "has absolutely no tolerance for employee misconduct," spokesman Peter Vietti said Friday.

At least two immigration authorities have been convicted on criminal charges in recent years.

• In 2005, Kelvin Renard Owens, 34, of Jonesboro, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault and was sentenced to serve every weekend in a federal jail for six months, as well as five years' probation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta, Georgia. Owens, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employee, grabbed and sexually assaulted a 45-year-old woman during a citizenship interview, prosecutors said.

• Earlier this month, Lloyd W. Miner, 49, of Hyattsville, Maryland, was sentenced to a year in prison, according to federal prosecutors. Miner, the assistant chief of investigations for internal affairs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' Office of Security and Investigations, was convicted in December 2007 of harboring an illegal alien and encouraging and inducing an illegal alien to reside in the United States. The immigrant in question, according to court documents, was Miner's girlfriend, Tsomorlig Batjargal, 21, of Mongolia. She was sentenced to one month in prison for conspiring to commit fraud with identification documents. A statement from prosecutors earlier this month said proceedings were under way to return her to Mongolia.

Immigrant advocate Michelle Brane said such conduct is not unusual. Immigrants, she said, are vulnerable and at the mercy and disposal of immigration officials.

In 2006 testimony before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director Michael J. Maxwell said, "The temptations for employees of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to commit crime are constant. Employees work in an atmosphere that permits -- and often encourages -- the waiving of rules. It is only a small step from granting a discretionary waiver of an eligibility rule to asking for a favor or taking a bribe in exchange for granting that waiver."

As of July 2006, Maxwell testified, the backlog of misconduct complaints against these employees was more than 3,000. More than 500 of those alleged criminal violations, he said.

Vietti, however, noted that of that 3,000, only 11 percent, or about 330, were shown to be allegations of employee misconduct. The rest, he said, were routine inquiries as to status of an immigration application. An e-mail address was posted on the agency's Web site for complaints of employee misconduct, he said, and "people that had applied for benefits and immigration services were going right to this channel." Staffers then had to "weed through a lot" to discover complaints, he said.

The e-mail address is no longer posted on the site for that reason, Vietti said. The agency works closely with the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, and complaints are channeled to the inspector general's hot line number, he said.

As of Friday, the agency had 165 open investigations into allegations of employee misconduct, he said. The agency lists 15,000 federal employees and contractors around the world.

The U-visa program -- or the "U" nonimmigrant classification -- was created in 2000 as part of an effort to strengthen authorities' ability to investigate and prosecute cases such as domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking of aliens and other crimes while offering protection to victims of such crimes, Vietti said. E-mail to a friend

[MDZJ 0]

If people who filed in Sept 2007 got approved, that means the FBI name check takes more than 12 months was just an excuse used by NSC. How else can they explain the same type of petition takes less than 6 months elsewhere other than NSC! A bunch of liars. Like many fellow applicants here, I have contacted my senator, my congresswoman, USCIS ombudsman and am going to an InfoPass appointment, though I am not expecting to get anything other than a stamp there. Here is what I got from my senator's office. I just don't see the light from the end of the tunnel here.

Dear Ms. X - I am in receipt of your email to Senator XX. An inquiry has been sent on your behalf to the Nebraska Service Center to determine the current status of your application I 751. Once I have a response, I will be back in touch with you.

Isn't the Ombudsman an agency rather than a person and strange to find it listed in the USCIS site. So far a letter and a form to Ombudsman, contacted two senators, one congressman, a wasted stamp and time to the USCIS local field office.

Nobody seems to know for sure if Nebraska is still in the running, referring to the USCIS where we are not even close to the processing dates, if California, we are way past due.

Our major problem is losing my wife's passport, she hasn't lived in Venezuela for the last four years, we still own property there and are paying taxes and the USCIS is very one sided on making sure the immigrant is living in the USA. That can get us to bend over, but don't seem to have that power with a foreign country and expecting an immigrant to hold a valid passport for years while not living there seems a bit way out of hand. This is really unreasonable.

Hearing about people getting word on I-751's that applied in as late as September 2007, this has led me to wonder if I should send another 625 bucks with the same I-751 application to the USCIS for maybe a better second shot at this. But the latest form still says to send this application to:

If you live elsewhere in the United States mail your petition to:

USCIS Nebraska Service Center

P.O. Box 87751

Lincoln, NE 68501-7751

So why should I send this form to that service center if they are not even processing it anymore. I am so screwed up, I don't know if I am coming or going.

[NickD 202]

Officer charged with demanding sex for green card

If that all it takes to get my wife a green card, I'll do it, but can a hire one those Emperor Club gals instead? Well one of the cheaper ones, there are certain things I prefer to job out, and this is definitely one of them.

[iansig40 1]

Officer charged with demanding sex for green card

If that all it takes to get my wife a green card, I'll do it, but can a hire one those Emperor Club gals instead? Well one of the cheaper ones, there are certain things I prefer to job out, and this is definitely one of them.

...and if the immigrant is a male then .....we get a piece of USCIS

It's interesting to read what other people posted on their website :

http://www.dhs.gov/journal/leadership/2008...t-to-print.html

Edited March 24, 2008 by iansig40

[NickD 202]

I read one statement from Emilio T. Gonzalez in an address to a congress committee that over 3 million applicants have applied for US citizen, then later, 1.6 million, now 0.6 million? And all these were processed already in record time? Somebody is confused.

But what does this have to do with I-751 applications and only 140,360 of them last year that was 360 less than the year before? And what does this have to do with background checks? That was already done with the I-485's and the G-325A's, they don't just issue out green cards without a thorough check first.

Have a son that sold automotive insurance, was shocked by the information he had about my family and me on a special website and also my complete credit history, he does this while talking to his customers, and the IRS knows more about me than I know about myself. Would think the USCIS also has this information and it just takes seconds to learn all about a person or a family.

Nothing is said anywhere about I-751 delays and no premium services available, already checked on that. Something here is bad wrong, I never in my most wild imagination thought this would lead to major problems.

[sandy2000 0]

everythink you said is 100% true, everybody is so frustrated by that , and no one knows what to do with NSC concerning the I-751 I suggested emailing the first lady but no one was with me, I have a lawyer and he su**** , I am going cazy because of that too, We need to do something, we don't care about citizenship yet, just give us our GCs that we paid for . I-751 should be one of the easiest thing an immigration officer have to do , they just loo at evidence and decide if it is a current marriage or not it is not like the first time they will give you a Green card, if they had doubt they should never give out the first green card( conditional) in the first place, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING PEOPLE otherwise nebraska will never go bak to our files and give us our GREEN CARD,... GOd i am so madddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

[MDZJ 0]

God i am so madddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd, too

everythink you said is 100% true, everybody is so frustrated by that , and no one knows what to do with NSC concerning the I-751 I suggested emailing the first lady but no one was with me, I have a lawyer and he su**** , I am going cazy because of that too, We need to do something, we don't care about citizenship yet, just give us our GCs that we paid for . I-751 should be one of the easiest thing an immigration officer have to do , they just loo at evidence and decide if it is a current marriage or not it is not like the first time they will give you a Green card, if they had doubt they should never give out the first green card( conditional) in the first place, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING PEOPLE otherwise nebraska will never go bak to our files and give us our GREEN CARD,... GOd i am so madddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

[surasak_oregon 0]

Maybe a Federal writ of mandamus is the way to go. By filing such a document in a Federal court it would force the USCIS to make a decision on your pending case provided that a reasonable amount of time has passed.

28 USC § 1361 :

The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any action in the nature of mandamus to compel an officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof to perform a duty owed to the plaintiff.

.

This doesn't guarantee a yes or no on the case but merely compels the USCIS to make a decision one way or the other.

[tammiandtom 0]

everythink you said is 100% true, everybody is so frustrated by that , and no one knows what to do with NSC concerning the I-751 I suggested emailing the first lady but no one was with me, I have a lawyer and he su**** , I am going cazy because of that too, We need to do something, we don't care about citizenship yet, just give us our GCs that we paid for . I-751 should be one of the easiest thing an immigration officer have to do , they just loo at evidence and decide if it is a current marriage or not it is not like the first time they will give you a Green card, if they had doubt they should never give out the first green card( conditional) in the first place, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING PEOPLE otherwise nebraska will never go bak to our files and give us our GREEN CARD,... GOd i am so madddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Why do you think we are NEVER going to get it? iansig40 got his. I have faith, yeah it might take over a year (already is for us) but it will come. A friend who applied two years before us, his took 10 months to get. So we wouldn't have been that much better off back then either.