kasper-k

12 hours ago, Srdan said:

I filled my joint i751 on April 2018, in February 2019 got divorced and only communication were fingerprints in almost 3 years of time, so in January 2021 I decided to go Mandamus route after numerous tries to kick the case with congressman ombudsman etc...So once I filled mandamus in January 2021 I got interview set in February 2021 for March 16, attended it and was grilled for 1h45minutes, after it had a hard feeling that I am actually a human being, she told me at the end that she still needs some more time and that will inform via mail about the decision, my case tracker is stuck ever since in fingerprints done on July 22, 2019, bottom line feeling miserable after all this bs, plenty of proof, entered 100% my marriage in good faith, got cheated by ex wife and mutual friend at that time, she stayed pregnant that’s why we divorced...on top of all that misery they kept me another 2 years lingering in that past life, if I didn’t sue them who know when I would actually get moving, so was left with Mandamus as the only option and got grilled like I am a criminal

I'm really sorry to hear about about your experience, I've been in your shoes so I know exactly how you feel, I will tell you how I escaped from that hell, first, let me inform you that I have tried everything that you can think about to speed up my process, nothing worked, in fact I feel like it made it worse, anyway, when Covid hit last year, the immigration office at my location had to close, everyone was panicking at that time,  my I551 stamp was going to expire that week and my employer kept sending me emails to provide them with a new one asap, so I called the USCIS and I told them if I don't get the stamp by tomorrow, I might lose my job, the emails from my employer backed my story, they had to schedule an emergency appointment with my local office, they called me and asked me to show them my employers email, ultimately, the next day they asked me to go to the immigration office, the only person who was working was the supervisor, the building was almost empty, just the security, at the gates and the supervisor who had to come to stamp my passport, when I went to his office, I had my golden chance to talk to him in person and shared my struggle and frustration, I tried my best to make him understand my journey, I also told him a joke so he laughed a little, after he finish he told me that he will ask an officer to take a look at my application, I guess he wasn't lying, after a week, an officer called me and asked me to confirm my address for my 10 years greencard as well as the ceremony letter.

The 10 min meeting with the supervisor solved my very complex situation that stressed me for 3 years, one last thing to add, even after I become a citizen, I kept receiving emails from ombudsman office saying that they're checking with USCIS about my case, this means that they are completely useless, from the beginning they were just send me some generic emails saying that they are following up with my case, at some point I had to email them and inform them that my case was already approved 6 months ago, so cut the bs and stop emailing me as if you were following up from the beginning you would've known that information, I literarily said that and it felt good. 

12 minutes ago, H&T said:

There must be some reasons( as a regular citizens we never know) which hold of USCIS took action on your case. Contact ACLU or Obudsman is your best option right now.

I didn't contact ACLU but this is the answer from the Ombudsman

Quote

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Thank you for your email. Please be advised that this case remains under review with USCIS. Currently, we do not have any updated information to provide to you. While we understand your concerns and the reasons that have compelled you to write us, we will continue to monitor this case and contact USCIS on your behalf. Any information that we receive about this case will be forwarded to you as soon as we receive the information.

 

Sincerely,

 

I just received this from them after submitting a service request last month, note that this message is different from the other generic replies:

Quote

The status of this service request is:

On February 20, 2020, you or your representative contacted USCIS concerning your Form I-751, Removal of Lawful Permanent Resident Conditions, to notify us that you believe your case is outside of our normal processing time. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved.

Our records show that due to pending security checks, we cannot make a decision on the case. Until we receive the results of these security checks, we cannot move forward on your case. We require the results of security checks before we make a decision on any pending case.

We cannot predict when we will receive the results of these security checks. Please be assured that we will make every effort to make a decision in your case as soon as the security checks are complete. 

We hope this information is helpful to you.

The usual generic responses I received are like this: 

Quote

"Your case is currently pending required security checks. We cannot make a decision on your case until we receive the results of these security checks."

13 minutes ago, jakelake said:

What if the next time you go you ask to speak with another officer to look at your case? Sometimes it all depends on who you reach.

I actually did, last year they stopped allowing people to make an info pass appointment online, you can only ask to do it by calling them and you have to have a valid reason such as stamping your passport, thus I had to go without an appointment and waited in the hallway looking for any staff passing by so I can ask them for help, lucky there was a nice lady which I felt she can help, I start telling her about my case and she felt sorry and apologized in behalf of the other officer's behavior, then she asked me to wait while she went inside to check. She came back after 20min and said that there is nothing that she can do and she can't share any useful information, then she suggested if I can keep pushing and maybe reach out to the Ombudsman office, she encourage me to push back and keep doing service requests. 

3 minutes ago, mindthegap said:

5 years since my first (joint) I-751 was filed....

Ohh I see, I though it was 2.5 years, so what are you planing to do next ? why didn't you do WoM, my lawyer asked for $5000, but I want to find people with the same situation who filed the lawsuit and seek their experience, honestly people in this forum are a great resource. 

1 minute ago, jakelake said:

Why was the officer not happy? It is legal to file N-400 while also waiting for I-751. It seems that the officer did not do the right thing. Unfortunately, it all depends on who interviews you.

12 minutes ago, jakelake said:

Why was the officer not happy? It is legal to file N-400 while also waiting for I-751. It seems that the officer did not do the right thing. Unfortunately, it all depends on who interviews you.

9 minutes ago, jakelake said:

You are able to travel and enter the US without any problems?

Assuming that you have to have your passport stamped every 6 months, what effect does that have on whether you can stay and work in the US? If no effect, then the big inconvenience is making the info appointment every 6 months to have passport stamped.

it is what it is, I wish I took a lawyer with me, I remember one of the times I made an info pass appointment and wanted to ask about my case, I was insisting to talk to the same officer who conducted my interview and to her if she received the proofs I submitted, she showed up eventually after I kept pushing the agent to call her, you probably won't believe it but when she showed up, I told her I brought you proofs last month and I was wondering if you got it, she said yes but I asked you to wait for my letter. I said I never got that letter but all the documents you were asking for during the interview I brought it, can you please review it. She said I don't have time I'm busy doing interviews and I'm not sure when I will review it, maybe this weekend, maybe next month, maybe next year and if I do then I have to send it to my supervisor who's in vacation right now, and she left, she was so unprofessional. Since that day I knew my case is going to be very complicated.  

Yes, I can travel but the stamp is not a solution, in the last 5 years I went to visit my family twice, each time they gave me a hard time at the airport before boarding, I have to go to different interviews and endless questions since other countries are not familiar with that stupid stamp in the passport, I don't even have my expired green card since they took it. Now I'm avoiding traveling. 

5 minutes ago, jakelake said:

Unless the Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program (CARRP) was not in effect 5 years ago, why would a visa be approved and then the N-400 approved? If it were a national security issue, I would think that the I-130 petition would have been denied by NVC?

 

If the decision for I-751 is still pending, have you received another extension? 

yes each 6 months I make an info appointment to have my passport stamped I515 

23 minutes ago, mindthegap said:

Still thinking about it...

 

My FOIA request returned with so many redacted pages it is next to useless...I did find out a handful of minor details I wasn't aware of before, but undecided how to proceed at this point. 

It has now been more than 12 months since my N-400 interview was cancelled on the day and promised an expedited reschedule (ha!) and now 2.5 years since the second I-751 was filed. If I had had my N-400 interview then a writ would be more appropriate, but as I haven't it is a little more unclear, despite both being classed as well outside of normal processing time.

 

USCIS. Absolute ****ing clowns the lot of them.

 

I was reading your case and I think we both went through the same nightmare, however I waited more than you. 

ok this is really terrifying if I'm in that list... for the case of the Irania guy you guys mentioned, he lied about so many things which made his case hard, but let's assume that I'm in the list, regardless if I file the WoM or not  the answer in both cases is a denial, so waiting is just a wast of time if they are sending me home then I rather know now so I will figure out my life and my future, also to discuss that with my wife as we are both stressed. I'm also assuming if they deny me based on a security concerns they must have evidence to support that claim, they can't just send a paper to the judge saying this person is national security threat just because he is from a Muslim country. In the last 6 years all what I have been doing is working and studying. 

4 minutes ago, Ray.Bonaquist said:

That’s your answer right there. You should have revealed this earlier after I asked instead of giving bits and pieces of your story and leading us on a wild goose chase fact finding odyssey.

 

Google Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program (CARRP), things will become clearer to you. I suppose you’re a Muslim?

I see your point. I looked it up and I'm now terrified, yes I'm Muslim, so what should I do ? how do I know if I'm listed in that program ? will filling for WOM helps ?

why would I hide, I might not provided all details, because my question was more to WOM, but back in 2018 I applied for N400 while I751 was pending, I was called for an interview for N400, the officer was not happy with the fact that I applied for both cases at the same time, she checked my file and wasn't happy with the evidence, she interviewed me and my wife, then told us she will ask for more documents and she will send us a letter, explaining what we need to do. I never received anything from them so I made an info pass appointment and took more proofs ( same proofs the officer was asking about during the interview since I didn't take any with me that time). after a year they rescheduled my N400 interview, I went again with my wife hoping to have a joint interview and end this nightmare, unfortunately, they only ask about N400 and I passed the test but they said they have to wait for the decision of I751, this was back in June 2019. no updates since then.
Last September 2019, I went to have an info pass to extend my I515, I asked the officer about the status of my case, he said that the background check was completed and my case is in the queue waiting to be reviewed by a supervisor, however, all service requests still come up as waiting for background checks. 
I'm from Algeria. 
I've been married since 2015, living together filing taxes together, life and health insurance, trips, bills, no criminal records, I came here as a student and I'm still a student finishing my master's this year. 

4 minutes ago, jakelake said:

Why is your I-751 petition still pending, if that is what you are filing? What country is the petitioner from? 

It seems that the issues that you are describing would have more likely occurred when filing the I-130. If you were granted a visa, then that means suspicion of fraud or any issues with background check would have already been cleared.

Of course, when filing to remove conditions, USCIS will still look to see if there are any fraud.

 

 

 

 

 

The only excuses they gave me is background checks, and nothing have changed in my status, if there was any fraud detected they would ask for evidence ? also when I applied for N400 the background checks was cleared and I was called for an interview and I passed the test, so it doesn't make any sense, N400 background checks should be more strict than I751 

12 minutes ago, Ray.Bonaquist said:

Did you understand what I wrote? There’s no point copy and pasting your answer to previous people which is totally unrelated and irrelevant to my posting.

I apologize I meant to send this to @Ray.Bonaquist

I'm still new with this forum. 

I read your answer and it make sense, just to give you an update, I met with other officer and explained the situation but there was no notes in my file about fraud, I even spoke to the supervisor and they keep insisting on the background checks, I have submitted so many proofs, I have nothing in my background check and I haven't committed any crime, not even a speeding ticket. why you think I should wait till Nov 3rd ?   

13 minutes ago, Ray.Bonaquist said:

Reading from your posting history, you have some serious issues. You’ve had two N400 issues, you didn't submit enough evidence of cohabitation/commingling of assets for the I-751, and you’ve been accused of fraud by the interviewing officer so you definitely have an unusual case. You also haven’t divulged what country you are from etc.

 

If I were in your shoes I wouldn’t rock the boat now and will hold off filing the WOM until after November 3 😉 and hope (yes I know hope is not a strategy) there is new kinder direction at DHS. 

 

Your choice.

 

 

Yes I tried everything you can think about including ( contacted two congressmen, contacted ombudsman office, countless service requests and info pass appointment, sent letters)

1 minute ago, Bill & Katya said:

My understanding is that the WoM only forces USCIS to make a decision one way or the other.  As @missileman stated, I have heard a few stories, both positive and negative, but this route is very rare.  At this point, it is really up to you.  Filing a WoM may result in a negative outcome which I believe would require another I751 filing to avoid removal proceedings.  I am surprised the N400 did not do anything to move your ROC to the local office.

 

Good Luck!

Thank you @missileman

I know and the only excuse was background checks, considering that background checks were cleared in few months when I applied for N400 and I was called for an interview, also last year I spoke to one of the immigration officers when I asked for another extension and he stated that it was cleared in May 2019, but still USCIS keeps sending the same excuse

1 minute ago, missileman said:

I see only 2 choices.......wait ......or try filing the WOM.......this is very odd.....

I'm done waiting to be honest, have you ever seem success stories with WOM ? what factors will effect the decision?

3 minutes ago, Balaji_v said:

I am sorry to hear about your case. Hope they attend to your case soon.

 

Have you tried filing for N-400 if you are already eligible for citizenship. ?? 

In most cases, filing N-400 appears to speedup the removal of conditions or getting a combo interview.
f you have already done that and it didn't not help, may be try to contact your local ombudsman or senator's office for help.

Again I am sorry to hear about your case being pending for 3 years.

Yes I did, as I mentioned I tried everything you can think about including ( contacted two congress man, contacted ombudsman, countless service requests and info pass appointment, sent letters) I applied for N400 and passed the tests but decision can not be made due to I751 pending😭 

Hi, 
my case is pending for almost 3 years and I tried everything you can think about, at this point my lawyer suggested that filing a lawsuit is the only option left but I'm hesitating as you know it costs money and the outcomes are not guaranteed in your favor, however, I'm tired of waiting and watching time passing by without a clear answers, at least with a clear answer you would be able to decide what will be the next step in your life, most of you understand that it's mentally challenging, so my question is direct, has anyone file a lawsuit or have experience with this or heard about some other stories, either approval or denial, I will have to decide by the end of this week to proceed with the case, thank you.

13 minutes ago, NYCruiser said:

Really odd because her decision goes through a quality review. (Not sure if this aspect is new?). I just came from a N-400 interview. The Officer gave me a paper saying will recommend for approval but has to go to his QC team for approval. Five minutes later the approval was affirmed. This to say, their QC team should be doing their work and either cancel her decision and call you back in or affirm. What was the outcome?

I think it's  different in my case, my interview was this week and she only told me that they will send me a letter by mail soon and nothing further, she kept saying my application is not even close to be approved. 

2 minutes ago, NYCruiser said:

Did you find out the outcome of that 'interview'?

she just said that I will receive a letter with denial because she didn't believe us, she said that I only submitted the tax return and it's not enough, I keep telling her that I also have the letter from the bank and health insurance and proof of respondent but she refused to listen to me.  

11 minutes ago, NYCruiser said:

Agreed. He too filed for the N-400 while the wait for the I-751 (took 15 months). Either the Officer was completely incompetent or had a 'personal issue' going on. Either way she is completely WRONG!! 

she didn't even review my file and refused to let me talk and explain anything 

1 hour ago, mushroomspore said:

Reach out to the ombudsman and contact your senator and/or congressperson as well. This is totally abnormal. LOTS people file N400 with a pending I751. It is perfectly fine. Lots of people get a joint interview but some people do not. It doesn't really matter though. It does not say anywhere that you are not allowed to file N400 with a pending I751. You ARE allowed. That IO was just terrible at her job and clearly didn't know anything. It's not your fault.

Thank you, are they able to help with immigration issues or cases like this ? all what I want is my file to be reviewed again by another officer 

@Russ&Caro I'm till shocked about what happen to be honest, when I spoke to the lawyer on the phone she said to wait for the letter to see what they say,  for the N400 the officer canceled my appointment and didn't ask me any  civics questions. 

Hi everyone, I'm new here and and this is my first post. I want to share with you a horrible experience with the immigration office in Boston.

I'm married to a us citizen since 2014. before 3 months of the expiration of my 2 years green card I filed form I751, for proofs I submitted out tax return for the last 3 years, a letter from the bank stated that we have joint account since 2014, proof of health insurance with both our names, and a copy of our both government ID with same address.   since the the process took more than a year and my application was pending, I files N400, to make this short they called me for the citizenship interview and I went this week, when I was in the office, the officer noticed that I have I751 pending and she got mad, she kept saying that you're I751 is pending why you apply for n400, even thought i tried to explain that the process took more than a year and I was eligible for the citizenship but she was not happy,  she took a look at my I751 and she kept saying you have no proof that you and your spouse are living together, you have no house, car nor children's, she called my wife to interview her separately, the first thing she said to her was " I don't believe you!" she kept asking her a million questions while I was waiting in the hallway for an hour ( the longest hour in my whole life) after she finished my wife left the office crying, I didn't know what happened as I was shocked, the officer called me and start asking me questions in a very rude way, I answered her questions but at the end she said that she suspect some fraud and my application could be denied, she refused to let me talk as she kept saying don't talk over me, I felt helpless, she was rushing and wanted me to leave quickly as she have other people waiting, she said you will receive a letter in the mail, and refused to talk to me after that. me and my wife we left the building devastated and didn't know what to do, we really did nothing wrong, I called an immigration lawyer immediately and took an appointment for next week. if anyone had a similar experience please share it with me, I'm really scared and I don't know what will happen next. please help.... :(