Can anyone suggest a good immigration lawyer?

[Gulskjegg 0]

We are officially outside the 12 month "normal processing" window for I-751, Nebraska of course. We are giving consideration to filing for naturalization as well, as she will be eligible in about 2 months.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Carolyn 1]

Why get an immigration lawyer?

Unfortunately, a good number of people who applied to Nebraska some time ago never got transferred to California, and it seems that your petitions are just stuck on a shelf somewhere. Very frustrating, I'm sure.

It sounds like you need to make yourself an Infopass appointment for your local ASC and get the stamp in your passport to again extend your Permanent Residence (it sounds fairly simple to get this).

Then go ahead and apply for naturalization if that is what you want.

I don't think you'd need an immigration lawyer unless there is something unusual about your case or you really hate doing paperwork (you would do most of the work with a lawyer, anyways).

Good luck!

[Gulskjegg 0]

Well, we have spoken with the USCIC people here in Montana. They said we can simply mail in her passport, they put a stamp extending another year, then mail it back. As far as naturalization, we have grown very weary of the fear and restrictions regarding "green card" holders. We have been virtual prisoners here in America, terrified to go anywhere for fear of missing a letter demanding we show up 300 miles away within 24 hours, or face deportation. 35 million illegal Mexicans running around America murdering raping and pillaging, but they make me the disabled veteran jump through 500 flaming hoops? God forbid the USCIS keep you informed via email, so that you could plan accordingly. We would love to take off for Ukraine for the summer or head north to Canada for spring. But for those without an American passport, thats impossible. Once she gets her naturalization and passport, we can go anywhere we want for as long as we want. We would also like to have someone monitoring our case, thus allowing us to travel overseas with confidence.

If anyone knows a decent lawyer, let me know.

[sandy2000 0]

well i have a lawyer , and he is not that much help, everytime I call him, he said you have been waiting for 9 mts wait 12 mts at least and when i tell him people filed after me and they got transferred to California office and got approved in 3 mts, he just say they are lucky and USCIS is all about luck??????? I think I might get another one, but I think the most helpfull thing is to talk to your senator he would probably do something, I don't think lawyer can do anything, look at mine he is not doing anything he still wants me to wait like 3 mts like USCIS will care????

[Okiebollweevil 0]

We are officially outside the 12 month "normal processing" window for I-751, Nebraska of course. We are giving consideration to filing for naturalization as well, as she will be eligible in about 2 months.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I would not trust my passport to the mail system. If you don't want to make the drive, I would fed ex it with a prepaid fed ex return envelope to give some assurance that the passport will return. You do not want to lose the passport on top of everything else.

[KarenCee 3]

Well, we have spoken with the USCIC people here in Montana. They said we can simply mail in her passport, they put a stamp extending another year, then mail it back. As far as naturalization, we have grown very weary of the fear and restrictions regarding "green card" holders. We have been virtual prisoners here in America, terrified to go anywhere for fear of missing a letter demanding we show up 300 miles away within 24 hours, or face deportation. 35 million illegal Mexicans running around America murdering raping and pillaging, but they make me the disabled veteran jump through 500 flaming hoops? God forbid the USCIS keep you informed via email, so that you could plan accordingly. We would love to take off for Ukraine for the summer or head north to Canada for spring. But for those without an American passport, thats impossible. Once she gets her naturalization and passport, we can go anywhere we want for as long as we want. We would also like to have someone monitoring our case, thus allowing us to travel overseas with confidence.

If anyone knows a decent lawyer, let me know.

What is the "fear and restrictions" concerning the GC are you referring to?

The stamp in her passport will allow her to work and travel while waiting for the conditions to be lifted off the 2 yr card. Why in the world would you think she would be deported????? My husband doesn't have an American passport, but he does have his 2 yr green card. That and his passport from his country are all he will need to fly or travel anywhere outside the US for a visit. Can you show me a link that proves she cannot fly home to Ukraine or go visit Canada without an American passport? I've never heard this so I'm just curious.

[tammiandtom 0]

I don't see what a lawyer is going to do at this point with regards to the I-751. Get one if you need help with filing for naturalization though (although we just did that and found the form to be easy and straightforward). There are a lot of us that have been waiting for over a year for the 10 year PR card. But our lives have not been run by the USCIS. We have traveled etc., to Canada by car and also to Scotland. I don't understand why you say it's impossible to travel. That just isn't so.

When do they ever demand that you show up within 24 hours? I've never heard of this before. Tom gets his letters to get his fingerprinting done, etc., and it's usually a good two weeks notice that they give. And if he can't make it to that one, he can reschedule.

I also wouldn't trust sending the passport in through the mail. How far do you live from your service center?

Edited March 23, 2008 by Tammi

[Carolyn 1]

I think the OP's "fear and restrictions" has to do with waiting for their 10-year green card to be approved. I think they are worried that if they travel for any length of time, they will be asked to come in for an interview, or receive an RFE and not be able to deal with either of those because they are out of the country.

Undoubtedly, the OP wants their case to be finalized so they can move on with their lives. If they had a lawyer monitoring their case, then they could leave the country and be sure that things are taken care of even if they aren't in the country to receive their mail.

To the OP: please try to relax and do what you need to do to be done with this ridiculous process. By no means are you being held hostage, the USCIS is NOT going to demand that you show up withing 24 hours and your wife is NOT going to be deported. You can travel--just have someone (a lawyer? a family member? a friend?) collect and read your mail--be sure that they know how to get ahold of you wherever you go. Appointments can be changed.

Good luck to you,

Carolyn

P.S. I am not even going to touch the "35 million illegal Mexicans running around America murdering raping and pillaging" comment...

[Gulskjegg 0]

Carolyn basically nailed it. When we got her biometrics appointment letter, we were required to show up 48 hours later in Helena. Only problem is, we had packed up the car and were leaving for Canada for a few months vacation the day we got the letter. Granted, the two points to consider were it took the letter 3 odd weeks to get from Nebraska to Montana, and the lady at the USCIS said that we could have called and rescheduled the appointment if it was that much of a problem.

We want this whole thing to be over with, as was also stated. Our filing date was just about to come up on the webpage, but instead of seeing our date, NSC fell back to 2006. I have been planning on taking a program at a college in Canada for about a year now. Its 1/3 the price of the local American college and the curriculum is much better. But, we cant go anywhere for any length of time. We have called the USCIS people and begged them to phone us should any appointments come up. That way I could at least check the answering machine each day, but I would be insane to put my faith and trust these people. They would ruin our entire lives and still sleep well at night.

My wife has not seen her family in almost 3 years, and that isn't healthy. Being military myself, I am used to traveling when where and as long as I feel. For us, this is a prison without a fence. In perfect Orwellian fashion. I just hope we get her 10 year GC before years end. I think since we are more then 12 months, we can put in a service request, as well as stopping by to see our senator.