Sascafig

UPDATE

We received the RFE letter two weeks after the interview. The letter did not give any specifics as to what information was lacking in our case. All it included was an appointment page showing when and where to appear, and three sheets or so of "If your Petition is (fill in the blank) Based", giving generic instructions for all kinds of immigrant visa application types. And, as luck would have it, the interview was scheduled for the day after we were to leave for Mexico to visit both our fathers for Father's Day Weekend. We had bought plane tickets months ago, so of course Murphy's Law applied full force for our trip. We didn't know what to do. We called in to USCIS and asked for information about moving the interview sooner so we wouldn't have to flush all the money we paid for the trip down the toilet. We were told to send in a letter to the Houston Field Office with the request to see if maybe it would be honored, which we did. Then we waited, and waited with no response. Finally, the day before we were to leave for the trip I told my husband to go to the field office and try to find out what was going on. He only spoke to the person at the front desk who told him that they didn't have access to tell us if the request had even been received much less acted upon, and that if we missed the interview our case may be considered abandoned and we would have to start all over again. He called me after he left, frustrated to be no closer to an answer and pretty much defeated about being able to go to see his dad that weekend. I Googled "USCIS Customer Complaint" and got this page:

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume1-PartA-Chapter6.html

which says basically that, if you felt that your case had been handled poorly you have a right to ask to speak directly to a supervisor at a USCIS office, and that this supervisor would be required to address your complaint and attempt to satisfy it at that time, if possible. So I tell my husband to pick me up from work and I go spend my lunch hour at the USCIS Houston Office.

Here's how that went...

We went into the office, passed through security, and went directly to the reception desk. I gave the gentleman there the new appointment letter, and asked if we could please speak to a supervisor. He looked at the date on the letter, and asked me "What is this?" I responded that it is for an appointment we were to have later that week, and we need to speak to a supervisor about the case. He handed back the letter and directed us to take a seat in the waiting area near a specific window and then he flitted around the office talking to a few other workers apparently to find out where the supervisor was. We waited less than ten minutes before a lady came to the window and motioned at us asking if we were the couple who requested to speak to a supervisor. We went up to the window and took a seat while she asked us how she could help. I explained first about the first interview not being approved, and the next interview being scheduled for the day after we were to leave town. I told her we were desperate to find some way to avoid losing all the money we spent on the trip but not put his application in jeopardy. She asked when we were leaving, and how long we would be gone, and if there was a special reason for the trip. She then asked what had happened at the first interview. I told her about the bank statements not being accepted, the weird request for a history of expired car insurance IDs (I then pulled out a stack of bank statements I had printed off quickly that morning). I asked her why all the other evidences I had submitted been ignored. I gave her copies of the cover sheets I had submitted with both the I-751 and the N-400 applications which detailed all the proofs that I had sent in. She asked if we had the letter from the original interview. When we told her the lady had kept it she got a "that's strange" look on her face and asked us "She didn't give it back to you?". My husband said he had asked if he needed to keep it at the time of the original interview and the officer had told him no, she had to keep it. At that point the supervisor asked me if I was pressed for time since I had mentioned I had come in on my lunch break, and when I said I had all the time she needed, she excused herself and went to the back to pull our file. She came back with a monster file folder and started flipping through about a thousand pages. She stopped at the itinerary I had sent in with the request to move up the appointment (so they DID get it!), and asked us again what days we were coming and going from the trip. She asked my husband what kind of work he did, and asked about our bank accounts and our direct deposits, asked my husband if he knew how much I got in child support from my ex husband, asked if we normally take trips together or on our own. She flipped through more pages and asked my husband if he was ready to take the citizenship test right then. She let me know that it would be okay if I went back to work since she didn't know how long it would be until they were all finished. She was very professional and attentive, very thorough, pleasant to talk to, everything that the first interviewer was NOT. She approved my husband's ROC in that first few round of questions, and she finished his interview within thirty minutes of taking him back for the test. He passed, and was approved and given his oath date for the following week, two days after our return from vacation.

I can't describe the relief of having this all finished finally, and of having the experience of one person being the difference and trying to help us after so many months of jumping through hoops and dealing with red tape. It's frustrating to know that he could have been approved at the first interview since all the information she based her decision on was what I had sent in with the petitions, but nothing can be done about that. I'm just happy that tomorrow my husband and two of the boys will be US citizens!

It looks like that is what it was. They were going to concurrently adjudicate the ROC and N400 but since you weren't there they issue RFE. As you said, they should have informed you guys what to expect ahead of time but I read on some other forums before the local office failed to inform about the joint interview. I also read before people get naturalized without having ROCs approved but the USCIS guidelines say otherwise. N400 shall not be approved before approving the ROC. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws%20and%20Regulations/Memoranda/cond_perm_resident_.pdf Page 4, section 2A.

That being said, the officer could certainly behave much nicer and explain why you needed to be there and excuse for not informing you guys ahead of time. Not sure what caused her to behave like. Call it a bad day. I hope they don't delay your case any further and whole thing resolves as soon as possible. Good luck!

Well, that would certainly make sense if their "action within 30 days" meant they were shipping off our case to the field office for processing and just failed to notify us about it. I'm wondering now if the people who completed naturalization were in the same boat as me, where their ROC was completed at the same time and they just had no idea that's what happened. If he had been approved today I would be under the impression that the ROC was still flapping in the breeze somewhere when in fact it had been decided jointly with the citizenship. Thank you for the insight, I really think you hit the nail on the head. I'll just hope they can get us back in there quickly which is my only concern. The marriage is valid and we have no shortage of evidence, I'll just know to be less environmentally conscious next time and bring enough papers to wipe out a small woodland forest. Oh! And of course show up whether I'm invited or not! I hope this can help someone else that comes along later with the same situation, spare them the frustration I'm feeling right now.

Maybe you never updated your approval but the timeline on your signature page does not show if your ROC was approved or not. It says in red "over a year and no news..." I am assuming it is approved after this long, but if it is still pending, could that be why the officer wanted you to be there? Maybe they wanted to have a joint ROC - N400 interview?

It is possible I suppose, but if they planned on giving a Stokes interview (which is the only case I've seen where they even dignify the USC spouse during the interview process), would they not be required to notify us of that in order for us to plan accordingly? I think it's a little strange to not issue notice that the spouse needs to be in attendance and then find fault in the fact that they did not attend. Like I said, it would have been difficult for me to go, but had they said I had no other option, I would have been there.

I can understand your frustration. However, based on your timeline, it appears that your ROC was not approved (or the process was never completed). I am not certain if you have a 10-year greencard or not. If your ROC was never approved, you should have attended the interview.

Also, did you miss the first citizenship interview? Anyways, the officer question the legitimacy of the marriage/relationship and hence, the need for additional documentation to be furnished as evidence.

What I stated above compounded with in a bad mood officer (given that there is nothing more to the story) caused the situation to turn against you.

Unless I am mistaken the N-400 says you must have been a permanent resident for a specified amount of time. A conditional permanent resident is still a permanent resident. I know I have seen cases on here where the citizenship ceremony takes place while the ROC process is still going on. Right now we have been in the ROC process for 16 months with no end in sight. No RFE, no movement at all. My husband has called many times, we have gotten letters saying "Hey! Thanks for your call, we'll jump right on that!" (in the incredibly frustrating USCIS-speak, of course), promising we would get a decision in 30 days (three months ago). So with us pushing to get this done before August, there was no way to not send off for the N-400.

And yes, we never received notice of the first interview, we just got a notice that we had missed it. That's a whole other nightmare with another department of the Federal gov't, the post office. For some reason, they refuse to deliver our mail. We finally had to give a friend's address as a mailing address to make sure we get important mail. If you'll notice, we didn't receive either of the NOA1 letters either. Fingerprint appointment letters, yes. There's no rhyme or reason, our post office is just a joke.

I'm the USC spouse and this, specifically, scares me because I told my wife when she sent in her N-400 that USCIS only needed to see a couple of the summary pages covering each of the last 4 years and not every page. I really don't understand why USCIS would need to know every time someone used their debit card at the 7-11, wrote a check to the DMV or any other transaction for that matter?

Hopefully, the interviewer was just in a bad mood, asking for that isn't normal and your husband's case will be completed soon!

Yes, that's exactly what I thought! I figured I'd save a few trees because, since my husband and I use our debit cards so much, we have pages and PAGES for each statement. I was worried we'd make the IO mad if he handed her dozens of bank sheets to go through. I had no idea she'd take the complete opposite tack. Thank you for the well-wishes, hopefully it was just a freak incident and you won't have this issue!

1) You were not required to attend. She could have asked for the same information and given you and RFE even if you were there. She was in a bad mood or didn't like your husband... assuming there's nothing else to the story. It makes absolutely no sense that simply seeing you would make her think that your relationship was legitimate... she's questioning the fact that you have joint finances, not the fact that you exist, so I don't see what seeing you in the waiting room (you wouldn't have been allowed in the interview room) proves.

2) They actually have 120 days from the time they receive your response, but they sometimes go over that by months. Legally, you can file a lawsuit to ask a judge to force them to make a decision, but who's got time and money for that?

3) In all likelihood, your husband will be approved shortly after sending in the required information. The interviewer may be unreasonable, but the best thing is to giver her what she wants or something close to it... if you don't have the insurance cards, get a letter from your provider stating that you've both on the policy since xx/xx/xxxx.

4) I'd say you've got a good chance of being done before your son turns 18 in August. There are oath ceremonies in Houston on 05/18, 06/22, 07/27, and 08/24... hopefully your husband will be approved and naturalized at one of those ceremonies.

That is very useful information to have, I didn't know the ceremonies had a set schedule available, so thank you! Right now I'm trying to be optimistic, hopefully they don't sit on their thumbs like they have done for his ROC process.

I really don't understand why she made such a big deal about me not being there either, I knew I'd be stuck in the waiting room anyway. She really threw us for a loop with that one. And putting so much weight on not having every page of our joint statements when we showed that we do have joint bank accounts and also have filed joint taxes for the past three years. Someone definitely pissed her off this morning because usually people take an instant liking to my husband. Who knows

Any information from someone with answers is appreciated!

My husband had his citizenship interview today at the Houston field office. He passed through the questions and language assessments with ease. He presented the required IDs and copies of my proof of citizenship. He also handed over the packet I had helped him prepare that included our 2012-2015 joint tax returns, a printout from my work benefits site showing that he has been listed and insured as my dependent since 2012 and his four sons listed as such since 2014, our water bill in both names, the summary pages from two banks where we have joint checking accounts with both our names on it, and our car insurance ID with us both listed as drivers. He also had with him a notarized letter from his sons' mother saying he paid child support while they were with her, and I included their registration summary sheet from the student accounts of their high school to show they currently live with us and attend school here, just in case there was any questions concerning his character insofar as child support went (he never got that far). Since his appointment was on a weekday morning and I was not able to get out of work to go with him for moral support, I wrote a letter for him to bring where I said as much, and gave my contact information just in case they wondered why I didn't come. Sure enough, the IO asked. My husband gave her my letter and she said that wasn't sufficient, that I should be there. Ok, so if that was a requirement I would have asked for time off without pay and risked the reprimand at the office. But it was never stated in any communication from USCIS that I had to be there; I just sent the letter as a courtesy, just-in-case, CYA worst-case-scenario type deal. Other than using that as the basis for denial, she also said she needed to see all three years of car insurance IDs to prove our relationship over time (apparently me having him and the kids as dependents on our health insurance wasn't proof over time?). I'm sorry, but who keeps three years worth of expired insurance IDs around? She also was mad that I only sent in the summary pages of the statements. They show our bank account number, both our names, starting balance and ending balance to show movement. I didn't think I would have to print out an extra 20 pages of transactions to have it count. She told him the pages were useless. She would not give him specifics as to what to prepare to satisfy the RFE, told him that he would have been approved had I "bothered to come" (I'm sorry, we have six children to support, both of us losing a day of work is a little rough, and I think she could have been understanding about that), and that he has to wait 10 days for the RFE letter, has 30 days to respond, and then they have "by law" 100 days to issue a decision.

So here's the question: How long will this take? Two of our boys are already too old for parent-based citizenship, but two are still minors and we were hoping they would be able to derive citizenship along with their dad and save themselves the nightmare and financial hardship of having to go through all this when they turn 21. The oldest of those turns 18 at the end of August, which is nail-bitingly close, if not a pipe-dream based on the time frame this woman gave my husband. Has anyone gone through this process recently that can give us hope that it might move faster?

Well, we finally got the biometrics appointment letter. Appointment date is Jan 16th. We STILL have not received the NOA letter with the extension. Has this happened to anyone else? Do I need to schedule an InfoPass appointment or do you think USCIS will send another (assuming they sent a first and it just wasn't delivered)?

You should get a response from USCIS in about a week!

Thank you, that's good to know! I was going to be sweating bullets if it took longer.

i am going to send one check of $590 . is it work ? or do i have to send two checks one is $505 and one is $85.

I checked the USCIS website beforehand, and sent in one money order for both fees according to this information:

$505. (Add $85 biometric fee for a total of $590, where applicable. See the form instructions for payment details.)

http://www.uscis.gov/i-751

Hello all, I just sent off my husband's ROC packet via FedEx overnight to the Vermont Service Center. We had to wait longer than I would have liked to submit it, cutting it close to the Dec 20th deadline. My fingers are crossed that all goes well. Does anyone know about how long it will be for us to get the notice from USCIS that the packet was accepted in time?

Congratulations!!! I am happy to hear that everything went smooth. My kids' interview (they are 10 and 8 years old) is on October 1st in Ciudad Juarez. I was concerned with the issue that they have been denied a tourist visa 2 years ago, and I mentioned that on their DS-260. I hope it won't be a problem, because it looks like your stepsons did not have any problem....

The other thing is that I won't be able to be with them at the interview, but their mother (my ex) will be with them. Do you think that she still need to bring a notarized letter saying that she agrees for them to immigrate to the USA with me (I am their father, and US citizen)?

Thank you for your advice...

Thank you! My stepsons were also denied a tourist visa about 18 months ago and I also put that on their DS-260 but it wasn't an issue. As for notarized letter, we had one ready but they didn't ask for anything of the sort. We anticipate needing it when they leave the country, so it's good to have, even though notarios are so expensive down there! Your kids are younger than ours, so they'll be stuck in lovely Juarez for a few days longer than we were for their TB tests. Our youngest turned 15 the day of the medical exam, so we were spared the extra hassle. Talk about luck (well not him, poor kid, what a way to spend his birthday!) Hope all goes well for you!

Here's the link to my review of the consulate, if you're interested: http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/view-dos-cis-reviews.php?entry=15156

Unfortunately the embassy gets final say. NVC doesn't approve anything. They just looking to make sure you filled out the forms right and everything is cool. They are just a document gathering facility.

Well since you and husband are bringing kids over that might be okay. But yes you have to update your I-864.

And yes people take updated I-864 all the time. You are suppose to update whenever there is a job, salary, address change. So yes I would do it. Hope it works out okay.

dwheels, thanks as always for your reply. I did send in a complete updated I-864 package with my husband but apparently the consular officer who interviewed my stepsons didn't ask for one piece of paper before saying APPROVED! From the time my husband stepped up to the window with the boys he says the guy was joking with them, making cracks about my husband and his entourage of personal bodyguards (all four boys are pretty tall, lol). He asked them a few simple questions, how old were they when my husband and I married, where are they going to live in the US, what they do to keep busy at home. My husband said it was so anticlimactic after all the nerves of the week to have such a good-natured guy let them breeze on through. Didn't ask for copies, the photographs, not one thing! And my poor husband schlepped around the 80 pounds of paperwork I sent him with all day. But better over-prepared than under! It's good to know prayer does work, because I believe 100% that God put my family in front of that particular window on that particular day. What a blessing!

Our interview is this Friday, quick question for the group:

I got a raise recently. Is it better to just leave things the way they are or should I give my husband a new I-864 to reflect the increase in salary to turn in at the interview?

Obviously the NVC accepted the packet the way it was, but our case is a little complicated since I'm petitioning four kids and even after the raise my salary is a few hundred short the poverty guidelines for our huge combined family. My husband did file the I-864A and added his income in which put us well over...but his job is commissions-based and his most recent paychecks have fluctuated WILDLY. I don't know what would be a safer bet, stick with what we have or submit the new employment letter and forms to show the few thou increase. Has anyone heard of anyone submitting a new affidavit of support at the interview?

So, I'm scheduling the ACS appointments for our boys and I'm trying to remember what all that particular office requires. Will we just need to bring their passports and the DS-260 confirmations? Or the interview letter as well, or something I'm not thinking of? And since we already paid the visa fees they won't want more money from us, just when they go for their medical, right? It's been two years since my husband had his ACS appointment and I'm kind of drawing a blank.

Did the usual morning check on the CEAC website today and I saw N/A. So I called immediately and, sure enough, all four cases for our boys were completed yesterday!

Scan date June 6.

I'm stuck with the stupid AOS checklist for not writing N/A in place of residence.

I feel your pain. I got checklisted for the same thing on the I-864A. I wish on the form they would remove the clause "IF different than mailing address". I swear, these forms were written on the wrong side of the looking glass. What's up is down, what's down is up, and instructions must be disregarded at all cost.

Hey, how did you find out that the police certificate is not required for your country at the NVC stage? Is there a list of countries somewhere?

Just in case you're wondering, a police certificate IS required for Mexico.

Ok thank you. How were you able to find that out?

How do you get one? What is it called in Mexico? Thanks.

When I petitioned my husband in 2012 we were not required to get a Police Certificate. This scared me for a moment thinking that maybe things had changed and they are now required. I double checked country specific reciprocity for Mexico and if you'll scroll down you'll see that they are still unavailable. Phew. I think I just had a stroke.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/fees/reciprocity-by-country/MX.html

I hope that's not true!!! So, today I was able to submit Choice of Address and Agent for 1 of my kids. For my second child, it's still not available. I wonder though for the AOS, are you sending the I-864W form?

No, unfortunately my husband won't be able to naturalize until next year, so we don't qualify for exemption and had to file the I-864. One note for you (if you didn't know already) don't pay the AOS fee until all cases show as payable on their site or you'll have to pay more than you have to. When you wait until all cases are available to pay, you'll see a link on the payment portal that says Related Cases and you just pay the $88 one time for all cases listed there. They staggered our four cases in such a way that there was a few days gap between the first and last and I was getting so impatient that I almost didn't wait, but I'm glad I did!

Today, I called NVC and they told me that a case number has been assigned for my 2 kids on May 2nd. I got case number, invoice ID and Beneficiary ID. They asked me about an e-mail address. I told them to use just mine. They said it's fine. They said they will send me instructions by e-mail. Minutes later, I tried to check the information on NVC website, but still shows "case unavailable for further processing" . So I think may be by Friday it should show up there. Meanwhile, I'll be renewing my kids passport since it's going to expire in few months. One step closer to have them here!!!

Congratulations on getting the numbers assigned! I hope things pick up at the NVC, but even with the backlog things seem to be moving pretty steadily. I hope we can get in for a July interview, but I'm hearing that Juarez is so busy right now that they may be scheduling two to three months out. I hope that's not true!

IV fee still says "in process"... what the ####

They are all over the place with the fee payments, it's nuts. I have four applications going at the same time. I was able to pay two of the IV fees last Tuesday that showed as "Paid" on Friday. I was able to pay another on Wednesday that is still showing "In Process", but the last one I was able to pay on Thursday is showing "Paid" as of this morning. Same bank account, same everything. Wth?

To clarify, the issue is that the site seems to be down -- I'm wondering if this is a problem for anything else or maybe it is a regional issue?

I didn't see anything about this in the Wiki.

I'm not able to access the site either. I keep getting a "Connection was Reset" error on various browsers. Grr.

Hi all,

I found out recently that one of our kids will have to be in Juarez four days prior to the interview for the TB test, which is really unfortunate since the interview will likely fall about a month before his 15th birthday. Shenanigans! I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this wait period, and if it would be possible for him and his mom to fly in one day for his medical and fly back home that evening, and then just return with his brothers when they are all ready for their medical and interviews? It seems like it's complicating matters, but when you take into consideration the costs of missing an additional four days of work, four additional nights in a hotel, four additional days of eating out...two extra round trip tickets on Viva Aerobus begin to sound like a real bargain! Does anyone know if once the medical exam has been administered the beneficiary is expected to remain in Juarez or is he free to roam about?

Thanks!

Thank you Sascafig!! My husband petitioned for both my son and I and we sent the petitions last week Wednesday in the same package. How do we let them know i'm the primary beneficiary?

It's nothing formal you need to request. When you get to the next stage of the process and pay for your Affidavit of Support your husband will pay one fee for you and you will get a receipt for you calling you the primary beneficiary, and as long as the cases are linked in the system you will not be required to pay the fee again for the children.

Congratulations!!! I am still waiting!!! Happy for you!

Thank you, I hope you get yours soon! The last son's DS261 became available on Monday, and I waited until his was processed before paying the AOS bill. The AOS bill had been available for a while on the other boys, but when I clicked the Related Cases link on the payment portal only two linked cases showed, not the three. I'm glad I waited so I only had to pay the $88 one time! Now I'm waiting to pay the last two IV fees, two became available to pay this morning. So once the case numbers are assigned it looks like everything else is moving pretty fluidly. Now I'm just double, triple, and quadruple checking all the paperwork I'm submitting. I don't want to make a stupid mistake!

Hi everyone! Im new to this site. Just wanted some advice/thoughts/suggestions. My spouse is a US citizen and i am a Canadian citizen. We currently reside in Canada ( i sponsored him to become a permanent resident of Canada and he was approved and got his pr in 2011). Just wondering, we have 2 children together do we still have to attend an interview? Also, i have a son from a previous relationship (when i was 17) my son is almost 12 and has never seen his biological father EVER!! i do have a court order giving me sole custody of my son and i was granted child support based on a standard amount (the courts just chose a number because the father would never show up to court) my order does not say that i cannot relocate with my son, nor does is state any visitation (of course because there isn't any and never has been any) i have taken my son to the US about 4 times and all i do is show them my court order and i have no questions or trouble in regards to him. Will i have trouble trying to get my son to relocate as well? My husband filed and i-130 for my son as well as a step child. Your help is so appreciated. Thanks!!!

Hi and welcome

Your situation is a little different but I'm happy to chime in with what I can. I know that with your husband living abroad you can go a slightly different route. Take a look at this link http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/621-dcf-canada-yes-virginia-you-can/ for DCF in Canada. Also, check this link, under the Step 4 section titled DOMICILE. http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process for an idea of what extra steps you'll need to go through when your husband files his Affidavit of Support.

I know nothing really about the process but I see it discussed a lot on the forums so the information is out there. Hope the links help.

You will have an interview, I've never heard of an immigrant visa being granted without one. Your husband should have filed for you as the primary beneficiary so you will attend with your children. Depending on the specific consulate, your husband may or may not be allowed to attend as well.

As for your child from a previous relationship, the court orders granting you sole custody should be all you need. It's always advisable, however, to do country-specific requirements to verify exactly what will be required. But I think Canada is pretty straightforward and you shouldn't need more than the court order. Countries like the Philippines are where people have the most difficulties regarding non-immigrating biological parents and custody issues.

The best of luck to you!

hi, at least now the ball can start rolling. am sure for the 4th one it will be available for you to fill the ds261. all the best so glad for you.

ps-can you request nvc to join all the four cases together?

Thank you! Yes, I called the NVC again this morning just to double check and to try to speak with someone who didn't sound like an automated recording. I got lucky, and this operator was able to tell me that they are preparing the final case for initial instructions and that I shouldn't have to wait very long before I can access it on the CEAC site. So that's a relief. Also, she assured me that the four cases are still linked, something the operator on Friday was either unable or unwilling to confirm. At least now I can start putting the case numbers on all four packets. That should keep me busy for a while at least!