No Infopass Appointments Available - Expiring Extension Letter

[Harold_Oakland 133]

My wife just received her call back about scheduling an infopass appointment to get an i-551 stamp as her 18 month extension letter will expire in two weeks. We've been waiting since May 2019 and haven't had a status update since biometrics in Nov 2019.

We're at a complete loss. They will not schedule an infopass appointment as they claim that there aren't any available and of course, didn't explain exactly what that meant. Are we to believe they have none available for all eternity?

Her work might terminate her and her driver's license will become invalid. We'll lose almost everything. So far I've contacted a senator in a desperate plea for help and awaiting their staff's reply.

What exactly are we to do here? Any other pathways forward here?

 

Thanks in advance!

[RamonGomez 271]

Sorry to hear of this. It's ridiculous that you can't do walk-in I-551 stamps. Even pre-covid it was a hassle to get an appointment after they removed the online scheduling system. The online system kinda sucked but if you were motivated enough and checked often you could usually get an appointment within a week. What happens if someone has an emergency and needs to travel ASAP? This whole system is, frankly, messed up. These are necessary critical services.

 

And if you look at processing times, some service center upper bounds are 28 months, so why are extensions only 18 months?? As an example, if your case is at the Nebraska service center, you can't even inquire about your case unless you filed before September 2018 (!). 

 

USCIS will schedule InfoPass appointments for stamps if the letter is about to expire - I believe within 10 days (?). I would keep calling until you get a Tier 2 callback that schedules the appointment. Make sure you tell the T1 agent that it's an emergency, dire need situation (and yours is). You should get a call back in a few days. Congressperson is another option which you've already done. If there's a good immigration attorney in your area, it may be worth paying to speak to them for an hour.

 

Good luck and please keep us updated.

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by RamonGomez

[Crazy Cat 41,981]

It's time to get a Senator or Congressperson involved to ask them to schedule an appointment if she needs evidence of her status as an LPR. 

 

 

1 minute ago, RamonGomez said:

USCIS will schedule InfoPass appointments for stamps if the letter is about to expire - I believe within 10 days

Can you provide a reference for that?

Edited February 8, 2021 by Lucky Cat

[mindthegap 2,590]

 1)Status does not expire when the letter does

2)Employers have set criteria and things they are allowed/not allowed to do. 
Plenty of prior I-9 threads here, and the instructions and list of documentation are very clear.  
If in possession of a valid (at the time of presenting) drivers license and an unrestricted social security card, this is legally sufficient for I-9 requirements.
 

 

 

Try again.

Cite imminent emergency family related travel as the reason - meaning you will be out of the country upon expiry,  requiring a stamp to get back into the country.

If they require confirmation (they did not for me) book a fully refundable flight, print it, go to the appointment,  then cancel.

Also try a different zip/office if you get the same result. 

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by mindthegap

[RamonGomez 271]

3 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

It's time to get a Senator or Congressperson involved to ask them to schedule an appointment if she needs evidence of her status as an LPR. 

 

 

Can you provide a reference for that?

Reported here. Obviously not official, and given it was probably a T1 officer that told this to the poster, who knows how accurate it really is. Nonetheless, it's one data point:

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by RamonGomez

[Harold_Oakland 133]

1 minute ago, RamonGomez said:

Sorry to hear of this. It's ridiculous that you can't do walk-in I-551 stamps. Even pre-covid it was a hassle to get an appointment after they removed the online scheduling system. The online system kinda sucked but if you were motivated enough and checked often you could usually get an appointment within a week. What happens if someone has an emergency and needs to travel ASAP? This whole system is, frankly, messed up. These are necessary critical services.

 

And if you look at processing times, some service center upper bounds are 28 months, so why are extensions on 18 months?? You can't even inquire about your case if it's at the Nebraska service center unless you filed before September 2018 (!).

 

USCIS will schedule InfoPass appointments for stamps if the letter is about to expire - I believe within 10 days (?). I would keep calling until you get a Tier 2 callback that schedules the appointment. Make sure you tell the T1 agent that it's an emergency, dire need situation (and yours is). You should get a call back in a few days. Congressperson is another option which you've already done. If there's a good immigration attorney in your area, it may be worth paying to speak to them for an hour.

 

Good luck and please keep us updated.

 

I agree that this is an infuriating and demoralizing experience; 28 months is outrageous! I'm thinking about a lawyer as well.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

1 hour ago, Harold_Oakland said:

I agree that this is an infuriating and demoralizing experience; 28 months is outrageous! I'm thinking about a lawyer as well.

Is she unable to apply for citizenship??

[Harold_Oakland 133]

6 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

Is she unable to apply for citizenship??

She has applied for citizenship but we're still waiting on that as well.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

39 minutes ago, Harold_Oakland said:

She has applied for citizenship but we're still waiting on that as well.

Ok gotcha. The backlog is so bad. I personally think they should get rid of RoC altogether or streamline it to be a quicker process somehow. I understand why they do it but it becomes a moot point for so many people because most end up just applying for citizenship. I'm not sure if this trick still works but I used it a couple times to get an actual person on the USCIS customer line. Select "Change Your Address" at the main menu. At some point the line will ask if you want to talk to someone about changing your address. Select YES and they should connect you and the agent probably won't even know you selected "Change Your Address" so you can just tell them what's going on. Like I said, I'm not sure if it still works. I say dramatize your situation as much as ppssible to get that InfoPass appointment for the stamp. Technically the expired letter does not mean your wife's status is expired too. But still, it'd be best to get the stamp. And contact your senator or the USCIS ombudsman. Lawyer will not be able to do anything.