Need urgent help,, received RFE for K2

[flxibl2006 0]

The sad fact is the USCIS "loses MOST of the files" turned over at the POE (port of entry). This is from an email to my Senators' assistant. There is no receipt given or any other form of tracking for the "sealed brown envelope" A-files. We have spent an enourmous amount of time and money on this K-1 fiance Visa process and have followed the guidelines/requirements to the letter. After numerous phone calls and emails we have learned SLMCEC (St Lukes)is willing to provide the files from my (now) wifes medical, but the request must come from the US Embassy. The US Embassy says they are able to obtain the medical files from St lukes, but the request has to come from the USCIS. It gets better...The USCIS says (again, in an email to my Senator and highlighted) "The USCIS does NOT contact ANY consolates" and the email ended with "have a nice day". We are still trying to get the medical files replaced but the deadline for the "intent to deny" is looming. So, on to the Civil Surgeon of which there is exactly 1 in the entire state and he is an hour and a half away. When I made the appointment I inquired to the cost of completeing the I-693 and the receptionist said it will be a MINIMUM of $200. So I asked how much money should I bring...she did not know. If these files are being "lost", where are they going? According to the GAO (Government Accountability Office)in a 2006 report over 110,000 had been lost. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0785.pdf?source=ra and that train seems to have only gained speed since. I am concerned with identity theft. The envelope we turned over at the POE contained, to the best of my knowledge, complete personal and financial information for 2 people. Where is it? Neither my Congressman nor my Senator have been able to get anywhere with the USCIS or CBP (Customs and Border Protection). I am still mystified how a "government of the people, by the people, for the people" (Abraham Lincoln) could treat it's citizens and prospective citizens in such a manner.

[roseTX 0]

we send a respond letter yesterday back to NBC as what the level 2 customer representative had advice us to do regarding the matter but if they won't honor the letter our next step is to ask help in our senator here.

i am just wondering are these people being trained and informed about thier duties and responsibilites of thier job areas? are they aware of the processes if they encounter such applications of K1 or K2? Are databases of NBC, UCIS and POE immigration are not connected? Why are others are found and others are lost or if they are looking for something and requires a digging in there databases they will just automatically send a generated letter to the applicant becuase they are lazy to dig more and just leave the hassles to the applicant the digging more.

if this would always be the case why they won't instruct the authorized hospitals by every consulate overseas to give a copy of medicals to the applicants, (just like here they give a copy of you in your I-693 form)so just in case it will be lost, the applicant can provide a copy of the medical overseas.

i thought america is very high tech, now that i know,, i strongly beleived people overseas are more higly trained and informed of their jobs...

[Nik+Heather 121]

I don't know why you would delay in contacting your representatives. Why send a letter declining to provide all that the RFE asks for and risk getting an intent to deny letter? Why not get some action taken on your case and make sure someone *looks* in your K-2 file?

There have been an increasing number of VJers who have successfully gotten their congressperson/senator involved and resolved this exact issue. My story is in the link on my signature, and here are two others.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/248441-great-news-regarding-my-medical-rfe/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/248255-medical-exam/

Make sure your representatives know that you are having these problems. When I called and mentioned that a lot of people were having issues with the medical, the immigration expert I spoke to had NO IDEA!

[obbynox 0]

I don't know why you would delay in contacting your representatives. Why send a letter declining to provide all that the RFE asks for and risk getting an intent to deny letter? Why not get some action taken on your case and make sure someone *looks* in your K-2 file?

There have been an increasing number of VJers who have successfully gotten their congressperson/senator involved and resolved this exact issue. My story is in the link on my signature, and here are two others.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/248441-great-news-regarding-my-medical-rfe/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/248255-medical-exam/

Make sure your representatives know that you are having these problems. When I called and mentioned that a lot of people were having issues with the medical, the immigration expert I spoke to had NO IDEA!

Representatives arent always all that, we're still waiting for ours to get back to us. I was also instructed (by the lovely lady on the phone at USCIS) to send in a letter and was promised it would be forwarded to 'the right person to deal with this'....and most people tend to do as the USCIS tells them. This problem needs resolving at source, both mine and my sons medicals were handed in at the POE together, they had no problems locating mine yet my sons' has gone AWOL. I'd dread to think where all that vital information now is......there is no simple solution to this, until the USCIS wake up and start doing their job!

[Filipinawife0210 15]

I wonder if something has changed recently with regards to USCIS and who processes this paperwork? I know I sent the AOS to the Chicago lockbox but then sent the response from RFE to Missouri. What the ****? Take care and God Speed in your journey through the muck they call USCIS!!!

Actually, you send the applications through the lockbox, and once they are processed there, they are sent to the appropriate service center for where you live.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Representatives arent always all that, we're still waiting for ours to get back to us. I was also instructed (by the lovely lady on the phone at USCIS) to send in a letter and was promised it would be forwarded to 'the right person to deal with this'....and most people tend to do as the USCIS tells them. This problem needs resolving at source, both mine and my sons medicals were handed in at the POE together, they had no problems locating mine yet my sons' has gone AWOL. I'd dread to think where all that vital information now is......there is no simple solution to this, until the USCIS wake up and start doing their job!

You're right, I really do feel for people who have two dud senators AND a dud congressperson. I find it difficult to go along with what the people on the 800 number say - so many times people have been given dead wrong information. On the other hand, the person who replies to the congressional inquiry is actually a full-on immigration officer who actually physically retrieves the file and looks through it and takes the action personally and then responds to the congressional inquiry. Maybe it's possible to get escalated to someone who is called an immigration officer (I've never done it myself) but since the way they might respond to the letter they propose you send is discretionary and a DIFFERENT officer will get your letter, they can't possibly guarantee an outcome. Going the congressional inquiry route means that there is only one point of contact with USCIS and no crossed signals.

I also agree that USCIS needs to get straightened out, and it is my opinion that if our representatives know of this problem they have more weight to get it fixed than we do. If they never know of the difficulties, how are they to represent our interests with the government?

[obbynox 0]

Thats the main reason why we contacted ours (even though we'd pretty much decided with the timeframe we had to work with we were just going to go for another medical) like you say, if they aren't aware how can they help make a change?

I know one person who WON'T be getting our vote next time round if he doesnt get back to us soon...lol

Would an infopass appointment help? maybe going to speak to someone face to face would shed some light on it all?

Edited April 1, 2010 by obbynox

[Nik+Heather 121]

I know one person who WON'T be getting our vote next time round if he doesnt get back to us soon...lol

Haha, Yeah, I'm STILL waiting for the staffer from McCain's office to call me back. You'd think after so many years in the Senate he'd have a well-oiled machine for this sort of thing!!!

[KikuyuLove 0]

And thus, that's probably why it took another 3 months for us to actually get the K2 visa after they told us to come in. BTW, our daughter was at the original K1 interview. Hello?

[flxibl2006 0]

obbynox, I left out a lot of what has transpired due to the huge amount of bs we have been dealing with. A few things. My Senator is on the Senate foreign relations commitee, how embarrassing is that? I have a folder with numerous emails directly from immigration officers at the California Service Center sent to my Congressman, Senator and us that are obstinant, arrogant and dehumanizing. NONE of us has been able to get in touch with ANYONE at Customs and Border Protection to find out their procedure for handling and forwarding the brown envelope. I think the reason we don't have such a huge outcry on this is people are afraid of the government. I know my wife is, last year, when this started, she was afraid the police would show up at any time to take her. She was so stressed she had a miscarriage and we had to go back to the Philippines as soon as she got her advanced parole. At least now she can sleep at night.

They did not just lose her vaccination sheet, we have that, it was the only thing given to her by SLMCEC. They lost it ALL. My point is THEY lost it and THEY are not willing to even look for it. It is not necessary for her to get another physical exam after entering the U S as it was done just before she got her visa and is good for one year. However, since the papers are "LOST" somewhere, for us to proceed we need to get it done AGAIN. At OUR expense AND inconvenience. I have heard enough complaining about this agency, I intend to keep calling and emailing my government representitives until this is resolved and I do not mean just our case. A very different system and more importantly, a completely different attitude is needed. How many peoples lives have been irrepairably ruined by this agency we will never know. I think the problem starts with us, so many are just too apathetic and afraid to say anything.

[flxibl2006 0]

I forgot to add that when we first got the RFE we called the "customer service" number, many times, until we got through to a person who told us they did not have access to our file. They only had the same information as is available on the USCIS web site. big help... Next we made an Infopass appointment at our "local" (1 hour plus one way) office. We asked the woman what happened to our papers? How did they lose them? She just LAUGHED and said "oh that happens all the time, just send in an I-693". I did not think much about it again until I found out that it meant having her medical done all over again. I don't know about anyone else but my wife and I got up very early to be sure of a place in line for her medical at SLMEC in Manila. I waited outside the clinic for TWO days while this was done as only the examinee is allowed in. She was thoroughly examined and we paid over $200.00 and that is not including airfare to Manila, hotel room for 10 days (she did her medical and Visa appointment) and food. in all it was well over $1,000.00. After all that I was not too keen on getting anything done over.

[SunDrop 59]

Was just talking to Mum about this very issue. My daughter's Dad (my ex husband) is also emigrating, to Canada. She's is required to undergo a medical for his Canadian visa as well as our American ones. Because her dad is a cretinous eejit, he didn't bother to find out about the process, the timeframes, the who/ where/ whens. He'd led me to believe that his immigration was fairly imminent and that it was probable that she could have both forms completed during one examination. I talked to the Panel Physican in London who is authorised by both embassies and they confirmed that they would be able to do both appointments at the same time. Great! But no... by the time her Canadian medical comes up, we'll have been in the States for nearly a year. Yup, she can have it done there, but we'll have to drive a couple hours to the Canadian PP in Arizona. And yup, I can refuse the medical for his Canadian visa, but that means she won't ever be allowed emigrate to Canada as an IR if she ever chose to. I don't believe in burning anyone's bridges for them, so I'm forced to facilitate this 2nd medical in a year for my 10 year old.

So you can see why I'm going to be livid if she's got to have a 3rd medical because the US Gov' agencies can't keep track of their own processes and associated documentation. Bloody ridiculous...

Edited April 2, 2010 by SunDrop

[roseTX 0]

just a quick update:

we have received an email notification from USCIS today, please read below:

*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The last processing action taken on your case

Receipt Number: MSCxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Application Type: I485 , APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Current Status: Response to request for evidence received, and case processing has resumed.

On April 6, 2010, we received your response to our request for evidence. This case is being processed at our NATIONAL BENEFITS CENTER location. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283. We will notify you by mail when we make a decision or if we need something from you. You should expect to receive a written decision or written update within 60 days of the date we received your response unless fingerprint processing or an interview are standard parts of case processing and have not yet been completed, in which case you can use the processing time information on our website to estimate when this case will be done. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

*Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under Check My Case Status and Check Processing Times.

*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.

Sincerely,

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

- is this means that the letter we have sent them explaining that we have completed our medical overseas already is enough?

- is this means that my daughter does not need to have another full medical exam here?

hope to hear from your wonderful insights again..thanks allot

[Nik+Heather 121]

I think its an automatic response. The letter opener got your letter, and matched whatever was in the envelope with your file. I wouldn't count the saga as "over" Wait to hear about an interview/transfer to CSC.

[obbynox 0]

Yup, i agree with Nik+Heather, we got exactly the same response for my sons case via email...shortly before receiving the intent to deny letter....i'm keeping my fingers crossed your letter wound up in the hands of a competent member of staff