AOS interview successful, but waiting for FBI name check

[shermike 1]

After my touch yesterday but no update I just checked my email a few minutes ago to see three emails from the USCIS. I was DREADING opening them for some reason, just in case it was bad or they were transferring my case or something. This is what it said....

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

ADJUST STATUS

Current Status: Notice mailed welcoming the new permanent resident.

On January 19, 2007, we mailed you a notice that we had registered this

customer's new permanent resident status. Please follow any instructions on the

notice. Your new permanent resident card should be mailed within 60 days

following this registration or after you complete any ADIT processing referred

to in the welcome notice, whichever is later. If you move before you get your

new card call customer service. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as

we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.

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.

I think I am being very dense here because it does not say APPROVED in big bold letters. Is this it? Am I through? If so I am going to be doing a greencard dance all night! The whole bit about the greencard arriving after this notice or after ADIT processing is confusing me LOL. I think my brain is just fried. So this will be the approval notice and then the greencard come later? Will we have to fill in and send some stuff out once we get the notice or are we done?

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

[Immigrant 0]

*BUMP*

Have there only been a lucky few to get of this list in the past 2 months or are people leaving without saying goodbye.

I hope it's the latter!

Edited January 24, 2007 by Immigrant

[LaL 418]

*BUMP*

Have there only been a lucky few to get of this list in the past 2 months or are people leaving without saying goodbye.

I hope it's the latter!

unfortunately i *believe* its the former. No one is being added to the list which would indicate they are doing what they stated (no interview until namecheck done)

[jen&darcy 0]

I feel bad for everybody in the namecheck status. My heart goes out to you. I can only hope we don't end up there.

Jen

[WifeOHunkyJohn 2]

I feel bad for everybody in the namecheck status. My heart goes out to you. I can only hope we don't end up there.

Jen

Alas there is no predicting who will fall into the FBI Name Check black hole...

[kim&james 0]

I feel bad for everybody in the namecheck status. My heart goes out to you. I can only hope we don't end up there.

Jen

Alas there is no predicting who will fall into the FBI Name Check black hole...

My concern now is that there is no way to find out (if they are not giving interviews without FBI checks being done) whether or not we are in fact, stuck in namecheck hell or just a slow processing office (which I also am). These are questions that Im going to ask at my infopass appointment next week. I just want to make sure that they havent lost me in the system.

[WifeOHunkyJohn 2]

I feel bad for everybody in the namecheck status. My heart goes out to you. I can only hope we don't end up there.

Jen

Alas there is no predicting who will fall into the FBI Name Check black hole...

My concern now is that there is no way to find out (if they are not giving interviews without FBI checks being done) whether or not we are in fact, stuck in namecheck hell or just a slow processing office (which I also am). These are questions that Im going to ask at my infopass appointment next week. I just want to make sure that they havent lost me in the system.

Hubby spoke with someone in USCIS who confirmed to us we are in FBI Name Check, which is why we know even though we have not (as yet) had an interview. We also have a senatoral request from the 2 CA senators still pending, and a congressional request for information still pending. We also have been informed by the USCIS miss-information line that we should contact them again around the 24th of February as we will be outwith CSC processing times.

My only advice to you is pester power, because without it, we would still be in the dark about our case which was sent to the CSC and touched on the 18th of October [only to be ignored until our mysterious *touch* on the 15th of January].

Chin up, and know you are not alone

[WifeOHunkyJohn 2]

*bump*

[rebeccajo 14]

This thread musn't be allowed to sink.

There are over 400,000 immigrants to this country caught in namecheck. The figure will rise before it gets better.

DHS is issuing greencards now without interview if namecheck is done.

We are waiting to see if the directives that no interview be granted if namecheck is imcomplete comes to fruition.

If that comes to pass, there is going to be a great divide between those 'favored' and those with absolutely not a shred of communication on their cases.

I predict this issue will become a firestorm in this community within the next few months.

[hockeybrain 0]

This thread musn't be allowed to sink.

There are over 400,000 immigrants to this country caught in namecheck. The figure will rise before it gets better.

DHS is issuing greencards now without interview if namecheck is done.

We are waiting to see if the directives that no interview be granted if namecheck is imcomplete comes to fruition.

If that comes to pass, there is going to be a great divide between those 'favored' and those with absolutely not a shred of communication on their cases.

I predict this issue will become a firestorm in this community within the next few months.

Heck, I can not determine what the heck we are stuck in. This timeline thing is so frigging difficult to fill out. I just looked up the exact dates that mean the most. All you all need to know is we are over two years since our marriage, our I-485 was received by the BCINS on November 26, 2004 and we were transferred to the California service center August 2005. We went to the NYC office twice, the last time this past Tuesday. They tell us there is nothing they can do because it is in the California Service Center but they will try to help. Our next step is to see our local congressman. I strongly suspect it is because of the dreaded black hole of an FBI name check but talk about inequality. The biggest joke is that the govmint is talking about a guest worker program. How do you think they are going to administer that??? They can not even come close to getting legal immigration timely equitable and fair. It is so dispicable you just have to laugh.......................

[caitlino 0]

A strange story, with a happy ending... We had been waiting for my husband's green card since our interview on Oct 19. We found out around New Year's day that he was on the FBI namecheck list, so we sent a letter to our interviewing officer asking for his EAD and AP documents back (she'd taken them at the interview), since we figured the wait might be months. We also scheduled an infopass appointment for the end of January. We received the requested documents on Monday, and then on Tuesday the USCIS sent an email telling us the welcome letter is on the way! Then, a mysterious note from our interviewer saying that she'd 'requested the green card', and he should have it in 3-4 weeks.

Wonderful news, but confusing! Did the completion of the name check just happen to coincide with our pestering? Or was there something else going on. Anyhow, another plug for pester power, and good luck to all still waiting!

[Muuuuah 0]

This thread musn't be allowed to sink.

There are over 400,000 immigrants to this country caught in namecheck. The figure will rise before it gets better.

DHS is issuing greencards now without interview if namecheck is done.

We are waiting to see if the directives that no interview be granted if namecheck is imcomplete comes to fruition.

If that comes to pass, there is going to be a great divide between those 'favored' and those with absolutely not a shred of communication on their cases.

I predict this issue will become a firestorm in this community within the next few months.

I totally agree

[WifeOHunkyJohn 2]

*bump*

Not much to update at this point but we are still awaiting feedback from our senators, our congressman and the person at USCIS who has kindly been keeping us updated since this process began. No more touches or updates since the mysterious one a few weeks ago and the last we heard was we are still pending the FBI Name Check (which we got told on January 12th - hence our surprise at this Federal Holiday touch we received 3 days later).

I did find this curious article while googling FBI Name Check in the news, and it was posted on January 10th on the Kansas City Infozone News website here

Special Conditions Merit Expedited Immigration Background Checks

Consumer InformationImmigration Lawyers Can Help Applicants Negotiate Complex System

Kansas City, Mo. - infoZine - For immigrants to the United States who are mere steps from completion of their residency or citizenship applications, the wait has become agony.

Background checks form the bottleneck that slows this process to an average of eight months for all applicants. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) requires an FBI fingerprint check, FBI name check, and an IBIS name check on applicants for residency. IBIS is a database that allows USCIS to check names against approximately 20 different federal agencies' records. The FBI receives more than 60,000 name check requests each week, and there is still a backload of unprocessed requests numbering more than 2 million.

Because federal law requires that applicants receive notification of the decision on a residency application within 120 days of the interview, some applicants have successfully filed suit when the process has stretched beyond this time limit due to background checks. In fact, the FBI now considers a "lawsuit pending in Federal Court" as grounds for expediting stalled background checks. The number of such lawsuits grew in 2005, with immigrants citing long waits on their applications for citizenship or residency.

USCIS officials are now refusing to schedule citizenship interviews and tests unless an applicant's background checks are already complete, effectively circumventing the 120-day time limit.

There are a few circumstances under which the USCIS will expedite a background check. These are:

* When the applicant is about to be deployed by the U.S. Armed Forces.

* When an applicant is close to "aging-out." An example would be when a child who had filed for residency through a parent is about to turn 21. Because the child is about to become too old to remain in the category under which he or she filed, USCIS may consider expediting the background check.

* When the applicant shows a compelling reason that necessitates speeding up his or her name check-such as a critical medical condition.

* When a Refugee or Asylee has applied for residency within two years of gaining asylum or refugee status. In this case, the applicant can request that USCIS expedite the name check if he or she has already waited at least one year for FBI security clearance, and there are no other obstacles to residency.

* When the applicant, through an attorney, files a mandamus action. A writ of mandamus essentially forces the government to make a decision in a case. A mandamus action does not guarantee a decision in the applicant's favor, but it can speed up the background check.

A qualified immigration attorney can help individuals determine if their case meets any of the criteria necessary to expedite the FBI name check. If such conditions do not exist, the USCIS will refuse to make the FBI expedite the process unless it is sued. Your attorney can also review your case to determine if, or when, such action might be advisable.

"I understand the frustration many applicants feel with the slow pace of this process. Even just checking on the status of your application can be a complicated endeavor," said Rekha Sharma-Crawford, a Kansas City-based immigration lawyer. "We urge immigrants to talk to an immigration lawyer. They can help applicants stay current on any changes in the law that might affect them, and help to avoid delays in the process if possible."

It may have been posted already, and the information in it isn't really that surprising, but I did find it interesting to note the line: "Background checks form the bottleneck that slows this process to an average of eight months for all applicants."

Now if only the USCIS would be honest about that fact with us, the stress of all this leaning-against-their-wall-of-silence while we wait for someone to get back to us, wouldn't be so frustrating.

Anyhoo, that's my shameless bump of this topic.

Hope there are more positive updates soon.

Annie

[Immigrant 0]

Hi all,

I just got back from my 5th infopass since our interview. It is just a ritual that I go through every 30 days to exhaust all avenues but today I told the officer that I will be filing a writ of mandamus because I need to travel for work. He was a nice guy and proceeded to show me an internal USCIS memo dated December 21 2006 stating that the USCIS will no loger be expediting AOS cases on the bases of mandamus actions filed against them. The memo also stated the that only naturalization cases will be expedited by mandamus.

It seems strange that they have decided not to pay attention to mandamus actions regarding AOS applicants, I thought a court decision was legally binding. Based on these attributes, maybe I should write a memo to myself stating that I will no longer be paying tax. Ha!

What a bunch of knobs, I'm still filing WOM in February.

[BlueRaiderUK 0]

I was wondering at what point (after Interview/or Submission of AOS), what procedures should be taken to see if I can find out more about where I stand (such as the Ombudsman).

I know it's all in this thread, but 76 pages seems alot to wade through, so I would appreciate if someone could give a rundown of what can be done.

Thanks,

Michael