chiks24

While my spouse's AoS process and interview was pending, she called and got an appointment at the SSA in late November/early December. The rep told her that her SS card was mailed out in October. Address was verified and it was correct. The rep said that sometimes the delivery folks don't look at apartment numbers and misplace them, so she personally wrote our apartment number in huge bold font and said it will be expedited and delivered within 10 business days. She also printed out a paper that had my spouse's info and SSN on it.

Nothing arrives in two weeks and we think it'll come eventually and we fly abroad. We come back and it's still not delivered. Tried calling at different times, different days, on hold for hours, nothing. I emailed SSA and they responded back that these matters could not be discussed via email, and to call them. 

My spouse now has a green card but she can't get a state ID or driver's permit because it's impossible to reach SSA. Her two credit card applications got denied too for whatever reason, and I think it has something to do with this?

They've opened up a few offices for walk-in recently but there have been 3-7 hour lines outside! 

We wrote to our US rep (Lizzie Fletcher) but it's been a week and no response on their end. 

What do we do???? 

@Misscloud @Lorin123 @pm5k

Seems like immunity for chickenpox showed up in the blood report, so all is good! Thanks y'all! 

My spouse (27) currently has shots for Flu, Covid, Tdap. She got two doses of MMR shot as a child. However, she does not have record of the Varicella shot or record showing she got chickenpox (age 1.5). 

We called up the doctor's office where we made an appointment for immigration physical. They said the doctor will check for immunity in the blood work? Since she got chickenpox so long ago, would it even show up on the blood work 25 years later? 

On 2/5/2022 at 1:06 PM, Allaboutwaiting said:

If the letter is returned, you can try getting it at the local post office. 

 

USCIS envelopes do not allow USPS to forward them. Most -if not all- envelopes indicate “Return Service Requested”, so they cannot be forwarded.

How do you get them at the local post office? I'm assuming the mail carriers just deliver them at the old address anyway. Also, based on my experiences with government offices and several USPS locations, I doubt they'd help me with figuring this one out lol

12 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

Sign up for USPS forwarding!

Also congratulations. You’re a warrior!

I signed up for USPS forwarding but I have heard it takes effect in a week or two. If a notice has already been mailed before I applied for forwarding, I don't think they would deliver to the new address? I made management of my older apartment complex aware of the situation and to please request the new residents to contact me and not to toss away any mail in our names.

@Allaboutwaiting

Case reopened on February 4! Didn't get any phone call, email or notices (yet), but I logged into my USCIS account and there it was. So relieved!

..but also I'm pretty sure the notice will deliver to the old address so I gotta obtain that somehow. 

2 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

So you are the sponsor/petitioner and your wife is the beneficiary? But now you moved and you no longer live together?

(1) Yes

(2) We moved and still live together

3 hours ago, milimelo said:

Strike that - the form is different now. Just list your spouse’s info and A# for the immigrant you’re sponsoring. 

So.. Do they need to fill out the I-865? We are the ones going through the annoying issue you linked in one of the responses. We also just moved this weekend (same city/county). Wondering if only the AR-11 will suffice. 

On 1/31/2022 at 1:00 AM, Allaboutwaiting said:

I forgot to share that with you earlier. 

So you can wait for them a little longer to respond to your request to reschedule before filing a motion or refiling for AOS again. 

Yes, hopefully it all works out... 

I just moved to a new address in the same city.. Would you happen to know if I need to submit an I-865? (Sponsor's Notice of Change of Address)

On 1/28/2022 at 12:51 PM, Allaboutwaiting said:

USCIS extended the time to file motions due to covid.

Read this: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-extends-flexibility-for-responding-to-agency-requests

At least that's some positive news. Thanks for sharing! 

10 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Probably, yes. 

And you shouldn't use a lawyer as you followed the protocols properly.

I also hope the Ombudsman acts in a timely manner. Or the field office accepts the mistake. Whatever makes them schedule the interview.

I'm just worried that they won't respond by first week of February because the deadline to file the motion is second week of February. Ugh. 

8 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

What?!

So according to them they rescheduled for a date before January 9? They did not send the interview letter but they were quick to send the denial. 

I'm truly sorry. And don't lose hope. 

Contact the Ombudsman including ALL the evidence; they have the power to reopen the case if it was a USCIS mistake. 

I think he was BS-ing that he rescheduled it and apparently we didn't show up lol. It's clear that they don't want to admit any error, at least not in front of us. 

I filled out the form and attached the evidence for the Ombudsman on Friday.. I really hope they can do something coz I don't have the money for a lawyer. 

On 1/21/2022 at 9:54 PM, Allaboutwaiting said:

Issue an RFE.

 

And if they don't suggest interviewing you on Monday don't be shy and ask them if it is possible. 

Latest update: the officer we were assigned to heard our case, saw our evidence and initially said the same stuff we've been hearing - "you missed your appointment and unfortunately we can't reopen a case that has been closed. You can file a motion since that is the procedure." After explaining to him that we followed the exact protocol/procedure to reschedule an interview and that we see online that it was rescheduled, he still was hesitant until we started to really press him that it was not our error that led to us. 

Then somehow, he says "I had rescheduled your interview which was for January. You did not show up for that." lol

We say we never received a notice for that, none of the Tier-1 agents could confirm another appointment and the current denial notice says that we failed to show up for the INITIAL interview and for not doing any" correspondence" which we obviously did. 

He starts understanding, says he will be back after speaking to management. Comes back after 7-10 minutes, says he talked to his supervisor. His supervisor talked to his supervisor. None of them have authority to reopen a closed case. He said they will bring it upto "management" and they will let us know. Apparently manager or director were not there today. 

He said there is no guarantee but if it does reopen, to wait a week or two.

Bummer. 

1 hour ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

That's great! Worry not, everything will go fine. 

 

Just in case they can actually interview you on Monday, bring all your documents. As I think I mentioned a few days ago, I read a case here in the forum where a person missed their interview, got an infopass and ended up being interviewed by a supervisor.

 

Btw, not everyone knows but while at a field office, if you have a complaint, you can actually ask for a supervisor.

What happens if they do decide to interview on Monday and we don't have our I-693 yet? 

Latest update may sound confusing but here goes. 

Yesterday we were told that someone from our local field office was assigned to contact us by 01/21. In the morning of 01/21, we got an email from USCIS that basically didn't imply much except that an inquiry was requested on 01/14 and the case type was expedited and to click on link for InfoPass. I thought it was a general email but no idea why it was randomly sent. 

By late afternoon, no one had contacted us so I got anxious and got on live chat. Agent asked me if I had contacted them yet for an in-person meeting and I'm confused. Turns out I was apparently supposed to contact them after seeing that email (but I was waiting for someone to call us as stated by the agent the day before!!!). They said an officer will call to schedule an InfoPass appointment within 72 hours but to our surprise, an officer actually called at the end of the day.

We are going for an appointment on Monday morning. Please keep us in your prayers. I really hope they are kind and friendly and understand that it was some error on their part that led to this. 

16 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

I understand how difficult the situation is; again, try not to despair.

I don't think you should act upon that letter. She should not leave her job based on a mistake. 

To lessen your worries, even when out of status -which your wife is not-, the spouse of a US citizen is forgiven if working without authorization. 

I just did live chat via Emma and the agent told me that someone is assigned to us and is expected to contact by 01/21 so hopefully it can end our suffering.

I actually did not know about that fact. I Googled it and it seems you're right. Interesting. 

21 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

That's good! Sounds like the case is active and still on the queue.

You should go for the Ombudsman request now. By contacting everyone, someone at some point will have to get things moving. 

 

Adding to the experience I shared: our file took two weeks to arrive to the field office AFTER the interview and two more to reach the IO to be approved, so while others are approved "on the spot" we had to wait an extra month. Funny enough, we were "lucky" as some files actually go missing.

 

Your case will be reopened and interview rescheduled, I'm certain.

I sure hope they call or email us by tomorrow. We have been so anxious this whole time. Based on that denial notice, my spouse is supposed to stop working by Sunday unless we prove that her I-485 is still pending. 

I did fill out the form for the Ombudsman to look into this. 

I'm glad things worked out for y'all!

5 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

That's exactly how it works.

As an example I'll share with you what happened to us for AOS: we received the letter informing our interview was scheduled at the field office a few weeks prior the actual interview; the IO informed us AFTER being interviewed that our file was not there and requested it until that very moment when supposedly the file should have been there prior the interview. We were told that was common and after reading a good number of USCIS audit reports I found that indeed it is common and there's serious issues with the systems they use and the procedures they follow -some are internal, some are outsourced-.

This is crazy.

I decided to have a live chat with an agent today so we casually asked them if our rescheduled interview notice was mailed out and he gave us the same old "your interview notice was sent on this date and was on this date" (initial one). He did tell us that there was "a hold on your case by a supervisor" - I hope that's positive (saw their error) rather than negative (denial still going through). 

3 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

The more I read, the more I feel for you. It amazes me how an institution that decides on immigrants and their families can be so inefficient. 

Just to piggy back you on their lack of communication:

I was approved for my marriage- based AOS in April 2020. My husband and I moved from WV to Ohio on August 3rd 2021, and the very next day I was filing form AR-11 for a change of address. I even got a NOA from USCIS stating that they had received my change of address and all was good. 

Fast forward to now, January 2022. I am about to file for ROC (my window opens January 30th), and I received a letter reminding me to file... IN MY OLD ADDRESS!!!! Thank God the same morning I filed for change of address I signed up for USPS delivery, but I have heard that there are some USCIS notices that the postal system cannot forward. Uuuurggggh! So I called USCIS and today I chatted with Emma. After doing about a 10 minute identity confirmation, the agent ended up telling me that USCIS cannot update addresses unless you have a pending application. So I wonder what's even the point of AR-11 as is. It should have a note that says that it will not take effect if you're between applications. So so frustrating!

So I asked the agent if I should include the change of address NOA that USCIS sent me and he said "that would be at your own discretion". So back to square 1. I will file my ROC and on the same exhibit where my i-751 goes, I will include the change of address NOA with a short note so that the officer can connect the dots.

I'm sorry for the long wall text, but I needed to rant. Carry on.

I am so sorry you had to go through that. That is so unfortunate and crazy. Unfortunately, it's not even surprising anymore. Something as basic as change of address is such a pain in the butt. I also do not know why everything here in the US is mailed out. My wife's social security card was mailed out twice and we didn't receive it both times. I also read that some people don't receive their interview or RFE notices and then get denial letters. 

1 hour ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

USCIS uses different systems that unfortunately are not linked properly, so one can say one thing while the other says a different one. One is automated and the other one receives input from agents. 

Even though the situation is indeed scary you shall not despair. 

My suggestion is to gather all the evidence regarding your request to reschedule an interview -which you might have already done- and try getting an infopass appointment at your local office. 

Contacting the Ombudsman is a great idea.

Jeez. So the automated denial notice is signed by the field officer/director and mailed out so efficiently? The official does not even bother to check in their own systems?

I tried so hard for an infopass but apparently we don't qualify for it. It was extremely challenging and tedious just to get a Tier-1 agent to finally get a Tier-2 officer to call us back (which didn't help much as the officer just kept talking, said they will forward case to local field office, then hung up). 

On 1/13/2022 at 1:51 PM, Allaboutwaiting said:

But your online case status states that the interview is in process of being rescheduled, so go with that. The letter was a mistake based on the unfortunate discrepancies between the different softwares USCIS uses.

I don't know what to say. I feel like an official mailed notice from them telling us that she will be revoked of employment and kicked out of the US unless we prove a pending I-485 case seems to hold higher "status" than a case status online that doesn't even tell us when we would receive a rescheduled interview. This is such a frustrating and scary time for us.

I've overnighted a letter to the officer that denied us, spoken to a Tier-2 officer who said they will forward the inquiry to the field office, and also emailed the senator's office for assistance in this case. If I don't hear back anything by tomorrow, I'll also add the Ombudsman to this. I really hope someone can get this moving before we're forced to submit my spouse's combo card to the field office. 

On 11/30/2021 at 11:51 PM, USC4SPOUSE said:

If USCIS adjudicates the case after the 2nd year marriage anniversary, he'll get the 10 year green card. To be clear, what matters is when USCIS adjudicates/makes a decision on your case. You can interview a month before your 2 year marriage anniversary and say, USCIS takes 4 months to make a decision, then you would get a 10 year card because the decision was made AFTER your 2 year anniversary.

I said the "reschedule however many times" more tongue-in-cheek. He will probably only need to reschedule once. 

USCIS won't reschedule him right away. It seems they do things in cycles. And remember, they schedule people 4-6 weeks out. So if he cancels now, appts for the next 6 weeks are probably already set. So that's the imaginary speculative calculation that I am doing. (I do not have a source for it).

 

 

Seems like this really went downhill for us. I was able to call and get the interview rescheduled before traveling overseas but there was still no appointment letter when I came back two weeks later. Another two weeks later and I'm looking at a denial notice for failing to appear for the interview despite the online case status saying that the interview was rescheduled.

Cannot get the contact center to have me speak with a Tier-2 officer nor schedule an Infopass appointment to meet with an officer. 

On 1/11/2022 at 3:50 PM, Allaboutwaiting said:

If they're still valid, she can keep working.

Even if the denial notice states the following?

Any employment authorization based upon this Form I-485 is automatically terminated if the expiration date on the employment authorization document has been reached. See 8 CFR 274a. 14(a)(1)(i). Since this Form I-485 is denied, the condition upon which your employment authorization was based no longer exists. Any unexpired employment authorization based upon this Form I-485 is revoked as of 18 days from the date of this notice, unless you submit, within 18 days, proof that your Form I-485 remains pending.

27 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Absolutely.

And if it is that urgent, keep insisting.

Does she have an EAD?

Yes, EAD and AP 

23 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Give them a week and if they don't call, try again.

Going by the case status online, hopefully you'll receive a new interview letter soon.

One week is cutting too close to my spouse losing her job (they state that she has 18 days from notice date to prove that her I-485 is pending). I really hope it's sooner.

Question- even if I do receive a new interview letter soon, does that automatically nullify the denial letter? 

@Crazy Cat @Allaboutwaiting @Rocio0010

I have tried all morning - chats got disconnected, phone call got connected but they said systems are down so to call 2-3 hours later.

We have now been trying all afternoon. Call got disconnected after agent put us on hold to check on our case. We were able to successfully chat with an agent via Emma but the agent would not put me through to a Tier-2 officer citing it could take 30 days for a Tier-2 officer to call back. They said someone will email us within 7 business days to which I responded that this is an urgent matter and that is a lot of days. The agent then proceeded to say it should be resolved within 5 days. 

To verify, we called USCIS and thankfully were able to speak to an agent without it disconnecting. She said she could see the request as being emergency and expedited so we should hear from them soon. 

However, no one would schedule an Infopass appointment for us or put us through to a Tier-2 officer which was frustrating. 

Thoughts?