RealPi

I understand your frustration, but i encourage you to wait a little bit more. this is only a waiting game, try not to think about it and just live your life and i am sure one day when you know that your case been approved you will check the mailbox and you will find what you've been waiting for.

This is so true. I won't forget how I had given up checking after a while, thinking it may well be months before I get a reply (and it may very well have happened that way). This way I missed my approval date by a few days. I just went to check one day 'for a laugh' and it had happened

So don't worry, it will be fine! Remember that we are not the ONLY August 10 filers around!

Congrats to all accepted and to all who are still waiting 'hang in there' and 'take it easy'!

Congratulations to all newly accepted and the rest 'hang on there'! Updating again (forgot to add when card was received) ....

California Service Center (23 applicants, 9 approved, 39% approval rate)

VJName.............Date of I-751...NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO

SUPERMANBACK.......07/26/10........08/02/10.......09/03/10........09/09/10....ST. LOUIS, MO

MARIENMICHELLE.....07/29/10........08/09/10.......09/14/10........--/--/--....LOS ANGELES, CA

LILI...............07/30/10........08/02/10.......08/27/10........11/23/10....SEATTLE, WA (card received 12/02)

BRIAN&MEL..........08/03/10........08/09/10.......08/24/10........10/28/10.... (card received 11/5)

SWEETPIANO.........08/03/10........08/13/10.......09/10/10........--/--/--....DETROIT, MI

PSHO...............08/04/10........--/--/10.......09/27/10........--/--/--....SAN FRANCISCO, CA

RMC................08/05/10........08/09/10.......10/01/10........--/--/--....SAN JOSE, CA

REALPI.............08/05/10........08/09/10.......09/03/10........11/24/10....MILWAUKEE, WI (card received 12/01)

KGSODIE............08/06/10........08/09/10.......08/30/10........10/21/10....OMAHA, NE (card received 10/30)

MOUNTAIN CLIMBER...08/07/10........08/09/10.......08/27/10........10/21/10....LAGUNA NIGUEL,CA

THE2OFUS...........08/08/10........08/10/10.......09/02/10........11/18/10....MILWAUKEE, WI(card received 11/26)

FREEAGENT..........08/09/10........08/13/10.......09/27/10........--/--/--....CHICAGO, IL

Z AND S............08/09/10........08/16/10.......10/05/10........--/--/--....CHICAGO, IL

MURDOCK............08/09/10........08/16/10.......10/05/10........--/--/--....LOS ANGELES, CA

GOUCHO727..........08/10/10........08/10/10.......09/08/10........11/24/10....

CAMISTANBUL........08/10/10........08/20/10.......09/16/10........10/07/10....SAN FRANCISCO, CA (card rcvd 10/16)

DANYELYMIGUEL......08/11/10........08/16/10.......10/05/10........--/--/--....DETROIT, MI

ALI E JEFF.........08/12/10........08/16/10.......09/27/10........--/--/--....SEATTLE, WA

MACPARA............08/17/10........08/23/10.......09/30/10........--/--/--....TUCSON, AZ (Early Bio 09/16)

DDKM...............08/20/10........08/23/10.......09/29/10........--/--/--....TUCSON, AZ

HARDY376...........08/25/10........08/29/10.......09/17/10........--/--/--....CLEVELAND, OH

GINA-S.............08/26/10........08/30/10.......11/29/10........--/--/--....URBANA, IL

LUCCI..............08/26/10........08/27/10.......10/08/10........--/--/--....SEATTLE, WA

Vermont Service Center (21 applicants, 12 approved, 57% approval rate)

VJName.............Date of I-751...NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO

MARKANDLADA........07/29/10........08/02/10.......11/08/10........--/--/--....Charlotte, NC

BABYBEBITA.........07/29/10........08/03/10.......09/03/10........--/--/--....

HELIOSPHAN.........07/31/10........08/03/10.......09/01/10........11/08/10....

MURFIE.............07/31/10........08/02/10.......08/24/10........--/--/--....

WI751..............07/31/10........08/04/10.......11/10/10........--/--/--....

V&STEVE............08/02/10........08/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/--....

MEL AND SYL........08/02/10........08/06/10.......09/27/10........10/26/10....Tampa, FL (card received 11/1)

PAUL&OLENA.........08/04/10........08/06/10.......09/27/10........11/22/10....Tampa, FL

DAU QUE............--/--/--........08/10/10.......09/16/10........11/13/10....Houston, TX

BUTTERFLY1978CN....08/09/10........08/11/10.......11/23/10........11/01/10....Houston, TX (Early Bio 11/3)

RAINBOW007.........08/11/10........08/16/10.......09/30/10........11/30/10....

ODOJOE.............08/12/10........08/16/10.......10/04/10........11/22/10....Orlando, FL (card received 11/29)

BOURNE25...........08/13/10........08/19/10.......10/12/10........11/15/10....New York, NY (Early Bio 10/04)

EJBROOKS...........08/16/10........08/19/10.......10/20/10........12/03/10....

SCOTSVISA..........08/17/10........08/20/10.......11/08/10........--/--/--....

MIKIMIKI...........08/20/10........08/24/10.......10/08/10........11/29/10....Philadelphia, PA

SURYA..............08/21/10........08/28/10.......--/--/10........--/--/--....

JGREENIE...........08/23/10........08/27/10.......10/07/10........10/21/10....

MANILA_2005........08/23/10........08/30/10.......11/02/10........--/--/--....Nashville, TN

SOLIDPOWER.........08/26/10........08/27/10.......09/27/10........11/12/10.... (card received)

STORYANGEL.........08/26/10........08/31/10.......12/14/10........--/--/--....Houston, TX

IMPORTANT!

* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.

* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.

* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.

* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.

* Please check that you have not deleted anyones NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application

NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter

Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment

Approved = The Date your case was approved

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Congratulation RealPi on your approval......

I hope we can all have an approval message sooner...

Thanks Hardy. And to you and to all who worked hard to get to this point and who are still waiting for their results best wishes. I'm sure it will all work out well. We're definitely keeping our eye on the posts for we're all together in this journey! And congratulations again to all who got accepted.

This is more an advice for others who are not quite as far.

If you are an immigrant, tax returns are a part of every step of the immigration process, all the way up to naturalization. You need to have a folder labeled "USCIS" from early on, and you need to feed it with everything that may be needed or helpful on your journey.

Excellent post. Absolutely right.

Hi

I have been a US resident for 5+ years. Now, I am filling my N-400 application to get my US citizenship. I have few questions about the application:

1- In the last 5 years, the first 2 years I wasn't working and I was taking care of my mom after the death of my father at the end of 2005. In year 3,4 and 5 I only worked part time and I didn't make enough money to file for taxes(according to my accountant). I just wanted to know if that will affect the acceptance of my N-400 application?

2- On the N-400 application, and on part 3: question F it asks: ARE EITHER OF YOUR PARENTS US CITIZENS? my mother is only a green card holder and my father was a US citizen but he passed away, should I answer the question with yes or no?

Thank you very much

I haven't looked too much into the N-400 material yet but here's my two cents.

1. I presume you still filed your tax returns as normal every year? So long as you have no issues with the IRS (i.e. your tax returns are all in order) and you can prove this (you will be requiring to show tax return transcripts from the IRS for the past 5 years) I don't think it matters how much you worked or how many taxes you ended up paying (though if anyone else has info on this matter please feel free to add the info). However, I would double-check first with the IRS to make sure all your taxes are in order and that e.g. you were truly justified not to file with them. Go to your local IRS office and discuss this matter with them. If you end up having to make back payments they will need to give you some proof of this repayment process for you to send with your N-400 application.

2. It's a bit of a bummer, isn't it. I think you should answer Yes. Personally I would attach a sheet that points out he is deceased, in case this information is not easily deduced from the application form.

California Service Center (23 applicants, 8 approved, 35% approval rate)

VJName.............Date of I-751...NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO

SUPERMANBACK.......07/26/10........08/02/10.......09/03/10........09/09/10....ST. LOUIS, MO

MARIENMICHELLE.....07/29/10........08/09/10.......09/14/10........--/--/10....LOS ANGELES, CA

LILI...............07/30/10........08/02/10.......08/27/10........11/23/10....SEATTLE, WA

BRIAN&MEL..........08/03/10........08/09/10.......08/24/10........10/28/10.... (card received 11/5)

SWEETPIANO.........08/03/10........08/13/10.......09/10/10........--/--/--....DETROIT, MI

PSHO...............08/04/10........--/--/10.......09/27/10........--/--/10....SAN FRANCISCO, CA

RMC................08/05/10........08/09/10.......10/01/10........--/--/10....SAN JOSE, CA

REALPI.............08/05/10........08/09/10.......09/03/10........11/24/10....MILWAUKEE, WI

KGSODIE............08/06/10........08/09/10.......08/30/10........10/21/10....OMAHA, NE (card received 10/30)

MOUNTAIN CLIMBER...08/07/10........08/09/10.......08/27/10........10/21/10....LAGUNA NIGUEL,CA

THE2OFUS...........08/08/10........08/10/10.......09/02/10........11/18/10....MILWAUKEE, WI

FREEAGENT..........08/09/10........08/13/10.......09/27/10........--/--/--....CHICAGO, IL

Z AND S............08/09/10........08/16/10.......10/05/10........--/--/--....CHICAGO, IL

MURDOCK............08/09/10........08/16/10.......10/05/10........--/--/10....LOS ANGELES, CA

GOUCHO727..........08/10/10........08/10/10.......09/08/10........--/--/10....

CAMISTANBUL........08/10/10........08/20/10.......09/16/10........10/07/10....SAN FRANCISCO, CA (card rcvd 10/16)

DANYELYMIGUEL......08/11/10........08/16/10.......10/05/10........--/--/10....DETROIT, MI

ALI E JEFF.........08/12/10........08/16/10.......09/27/10........--/--/10....SEATTLE, WA

MACPARA............08/17/10........08/23/10.......09/30/10........--/--/--....TUCSON, AZ (Early Bio 09/16)

DDKM...............08/20/10........08/23/10.......09/29/10........--/--/--....TUCSON, AZ

HARDY376...........08/25/10........08/29/10.......09/17/10........--/--/--....CLEVELAND, OH

GINA-S.............08/26/10........08/30/10.......11/29/10........--/--/10....URBANA, IL

LUCCI..............08/26/10........08/27/10.......10/08/10........--/--/10....SEATTLE, WA

Vermont Service Center (21 applicants, 7 approved, 33% approval rate)

VJName.............Date of I-751...NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO

MARKANDLADA........07/29/10........08/02/10.......11/08/10........--/--/10....Charlotte, NC

BABYBEBITA.........07/29/10........08/03/10.......09/03/10........--/--/10....

HELIOSPHAN.........07/31/10........08/03/10.......09/01/10........11/08/10....

MURFIE.............07/31/10........08/02/10.......08/24/10........--/--/10....

WI751..............07/31/10........08/04/10.......11/10/10........--/--/10....

V&STEVE............08/02/10........08/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MEL AND SYL........08/02/10........08/06/10.......09/27/10........10/26/10....Tampa, FL (card received 11/1)

PAUL&OLENA.........08/04/10........08/06/10.......09/27/10........11/22/10....Tampa, FL

DAU QUE............--/--/--........08/10/10.......09/16/10........11/13/10....Houston, TX

BUTTERFLY1978CN....08/09/10........08/11/10.......11/23/10........--/--/10....Houston, TX (Early Bio 11/3)

RAINBOW007.........08/11/10........08/16/10.......09/30/10........--/--/10....

ODOJOE.............08/12/10........08/16/10.......10/04/10........--/--/10....Orlando, FL

BOURNE25...........08/13/10........08/19/10.......10/12/10........11/15/10....New York, NY (Early Bio 10/04)

EJBROOKS...........08/16/10........08/19/10.......10/20/10........--/--/10....

SCOTSVISA..........08/17/10........08/20/10.......11/08/10........--/--/10....

MIKIMIKI...........08/20/10........08/24/10.......10/08/10........--/--/10....Philadelphia, PA

SURYA..............08/21/10........08/28/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

JGREENIE...........08/23/10........08/27/10.......10/07/10........10/21/10....

MANILA_2005........08/23/10........08/30/10.......11/02/10........--/--/10....Nashville, TN

SOLIDPOWER.........08/26/10........08/27/10.......09/27/10........11/12/10.... (card received)

STORYANGEL.........08/26/10........08/31/10.......12/14/10........--/--/10....Houston, TX

IMPORTANT!

* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.

* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.

* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.

* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.

* Please check that you have not deleted anyones NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application

NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter

Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment

Approved = The Date your case was approved

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list

* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly*

* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so.

After Thanksgiving tonight, we came back home and I thought I'd log on and congratulate the newly accepted folk. Then I realized I hadn't checked my case at CIS for a while (I don't have automatic email set up with them).

So I went and I found the following message:

On November 24, 2010, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you. If you move before you receive the card, call customer service at 1-800-375-5283

WOO HOO! Now that is what I call something to be thankful for!

Thanks for the info. I haven't yet decided if I'll go early or just wait till my appointment. I'll post my experience if I do a walk-in.

First of all congratulations Good to see they did not forget you after all!

The following is all speculation and therefore not to be taken to heart. From what I've seen so far from folk, experiences differ widely and they may also depend not only on the CIS center but also on the person you happen to talk to. The only thing that I've always worried about early walk-ins is that (in theory) someone may get annoyed; particularly if it's not too close to your appointment date (i.e. more than one day in advance, say). Since you want people to remember you well, particularly if you are also scheduled for an interview as well at some point (especially true for those of us who didn't have an interview at AoS, as the VJ community suspects), it's probably wise to be careful. I don't think all officers appreciate early walk-ins. However, I'd definitely recommend that if you do go on the day of your appointment you should try to get there much earlier than the appointed time. If they're not busy, they'll definitely take you and will not complain. Other than that, I don't think that going in two or three days earlier will make any difference with your application being delayed. Thinking of how red tape usually works, I'm sure your case is currently 'suspended' (except for rudimentary checks perhaps) until after the date of your ASC appointment. After that date, there are many variables: the personal factor (who looks at it), their schedule otherwise (how busy they are with other things), the amount of information you gave them (the more the better but also more usually means delays in checking that information), the service center workload, your personal circumstances which may vary (e.g. if one of you is out of work, some illness, problems with family) and so forth.

But if you do decide to check in early please do tell us of what your experience was like.

Congratulations to all those who got accepted

Also, as regards the comments about VSC vs. CSC: If I am not mistaken (and I may very well be ) it appears that VSC's average is higher than CSC's which is currently at the level of the expected mean of the ideal 6 months (the national average is 11.6 months). Also, it seems that each case depends heavily on who picks it up since an officer may also have a lot of other things to take care of, while another officer might be less busy.

Also one one question from the 5 people who got accepted so far:

How many of you have had an interview at a previous stage of your immigration process?

It would be useful to find out (for it appears likely those who never had an interview before might be delayed by having to go through one now) ...

Anyway just a random thought

Real Pi

Thanks for the suggestion, RealPi. Right now I have a bunch of stuff going on (good stuff, just a busy life!) and if I have to wait then I have to wait. It's frustrating, but I do know I'm in the system, and they told me to call back at the end of November if I haven't got my bio letter before then. My local CIS office is actually pretty close to where I work so if I get bored waiting before the letter/end of November (whichever comes sooner) then maybe I'll go and visit.

Fair enough... Personally I'd wait 3 weeks at most after they received the package and I'd make an appointment and just go... losing an hour is so worth it compared to losing a whole month in waiting ... Let us know as soon as you know something... Good luck

I just received this email from USCIS. Did I get approved or not, or is this an administrative review?

*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

It sounds like it Although to me that 'post decision activity' sounds a little confusing; but since it does say 'approved' I see nothing to worry about

I suppose in theory something particular to your case may also be required after approval (I won't even begin to guess here), but once you have the actual letter in your hands you'll know...If there's anything else though let us know... Oh and congratulations

I was told the same thing.......

So long as you know that they recognize you on the system under the current petition I wouldn't worry .

Now over the phone, well, that's all they would normally say (wait wait wait).

So what I would do (if you have not already done this) is go to your local CIS office if it's nearby; you could always make an appointment to ask if all is going OK and that you felt you just wanted to check all is fine. I have the feeling they may have access to additional info about your case to that of someone over the phone (I presume they didn't check who you were over the phone and just told you to wait). One way or another, you will at least be assured that you're OK in their system and all is fine. For example, if somehow the appointment was meant to be sent and they think they sent it, it will show up on the officer's screen. I recall when I went once about some confusing letter I had received just prior to receiving my ASC appointment (won't go into the details again it's in earlier threads) I noticed that the officer could see all the details each center had on me including addresses and status and probably other info as well.

Alternatively, if you live too far, you can always write to your local office center; but I find that the personal touch is always best .

You are welcome; anything for a fellow Badger Hopefully someone will arrange a Wisconsin VJ meet-up some time in future? It'd be fun to meet some people from VJ

Ack... it's late and I can't have with this thing again... I apologize; the usual problems with editing a reply ... it forbade me to make changes, for some strange reason. I was trying to multi-reply to you and The2ofUs which didn't work as planned and I was trying to edit something and something else went horribly wrong ... it told me it saved the data, I clicked "back" on the browser and, sadly, editing options were lost forever. This is the second time this has happened to me in a week! My comment on "fellow badger" was meant for The2Ofus, obviously... Still you guys also live close enough; maybe we should update the Wisconsin meet-up to a Midwest VJ meet-up

Anyway, what I meant to say was that if any one of you (or in fact anyone else) has issues to ask and they think of doing it at the bio, best thing would be not to expect to get anything from the bio IO per se; you'd probably need to have made an INFOPASS app as well.

Of course, what I wrote addressing you also holds for you if you replace "Milwaukee" with "Chicago". It also doesn't help that you two had your names next to each other's

Anyway, all the best to both and to all others who are expecting bio letters and apps!

Thank you, RealPI and Yurika & Jim!!

That's very good to know that we aren't the only ones and it seems to have worked out for MountainClimber. We contemplated making an InfoPass but figured that Biometrics appointment should be in near future and would be a good time to get this sorted out. Based on our past experiences, we didn't think calling National Call Center would go far in resolving the issue. We will take both notices to Biometrics appointment and see what they have to say.

The "Receipt Date" on both NOA letters is 8/16/2010.

Thank you, once again, to both for your information!

You are welcome; anything for a fellow Badger Hopefully someone will arrange a Wisconsin VJ meet-up some time in future? It'd be fun to meet some people from VJ

Anyway, back to topic!

Well, I just wanted to add one thing. Basically, assuming you have any non-biometrics-related queries you'd like to ask an IO at the Milwaukee Office... Well, the thing is that the officer who will be taking your biometrics will most likely NOT help you with any questions; it is very likely you will get no answers from them except "go upstairs and make an appointment". And you would need an appointment for that; I think at the appointments they have access to information not normally available elsewhere. Anyway you have nothing to lose, really. So if, say, your ASC appointment is at 10:30AM why not make an INFOPASS for 12:00PM (say) on the same day so that after you are done with your bio on the 1st floor you can go and talk to an officer upstairs at the INFOPASS section about your issue? They can look at the screen and answer some questions.

Of course, if you are busy that day and relatively close to Milwaukee, you could always schedule another appointment at another time. I just wanted to point out that you should not count on the officer who takes your biometrics to answer other questions.

It actually took 6 days for my ASC number to appear in the USCIS website from the day I received the appointment in the mail. And yes, NOA and ASC numbers are different.

This is good to know, thank you. I was not certain about my aforementioned suggestion for those who got their ASC number but their case not appearing online whether "to wait" or do something else, but it seems from your input I was correct. In my case the online status appeared immediately after I received the ASC number, so I suppose it depends on when CIS finish updating their records.

Hence the title "10 Annoying Thing Non-Car-People Say".

Personally, my biggest pet peeve is #2. One of our friend's wife boasts that she never learned to drive a manual and thinks she is being cute.

Personally, as there is no well-defined semantics I am aware of attributed to the term "car-people", the first thing that sprang to mind was "people who are interested in and know something about cars on some degree" as opposed to "people who are truly nuts about cars", i.e. "fans", so excuse my misunderstanding.

I agree that thinking one is cute for not knowing how to drive in stick is a bit sad (it's not even a rarity among the US population), but if you also think how many things "car-people" discuss on a daily basis about their car concerns in the presence of "non-car-people" who could not even care less, it becomes rather obvious that the list is easily reversible, like most such stereotypical lists usually are. For example, consider "car-people" who brag about being able to drive in stick; particularly annoying to a "non-car-person" like myself who has learned to drive in stick like everyone does in Europe and yet never even though of mentioning it as anything special...

These things are only annoying if you're crazy about cars. For people that HAVE a car but only see it as a practical means of living daily lives, I doubt they care if people say these things.

Well-said. I suppose "car culture" is bound to "matter" in places where there is no good public transport system; e.g. many rural US areas. Of course, wherever there is good public transport, people tend to care less for cars in that manner, e.g. in New York where it is not uncommon for people not to even have drivers' licenses.

It also depends on how people say things. For example, if I laugh at your old model and sneer at you for still having a car that is old yet reliable, I am just a typical "fashion jerk", probably following every fashion style that the "trendy car fans" follow and enthusiastically speak about how nice my car's latest interior is before I move to "comment on your "inferior" car. On the other hand, if I notice that your old model has wheels rattling and the exhaust fumes surpass a nuclear factory's output, maybe talking out of concern for your safety as well as that of the environment's, in a friendly sort of way of course, and making one or two suggestions is not that annoying after all .

Bragging about what we possess is (in my opinion) even more annoying and ridiculous than bragging about ourselves.

@The2ofUS

I just wanted to point out that if you received your ASC appointment letter which gives you the new and important Application Number, that number when input on the CIS website should give you your current status for your case (click on "Check File Status"). I presume that where it asks for a Receipt Number that you entered your new Application Number found at the ASC bio letter? No dashes, just the letters and digits all together? And it does not recognize your case?

Assuming this is true, it could be that they need to update their info, so check in a day or two and they should be there. This Application Number that you received with your biometrics letter IS the one that is meant to be used to track your case on-line. I know because mine works.

I would theorize at this stage that they simply have not updated some of the records, but I am sure others have had such experiences before and they might have other suggestions. The only three things I can think of are the obvious ones: a) Make sure you input your number in the correct format as it appears on the Biometrics letter without dashes; b) wait for a few days and try again to input the number; c) call up the National Hotline and ask if this matter is worth making an INFOPASS appointment for (or simply make one anyway if your local CIS office is close by).

I haven't gotten my bio appointment letter yet, but I did call the USCIS about the case # not being recognized on the website, and they said that often after the bio appointment you will be given a different case # than the one on your initial letters, and that case # will be able to be tracked on-line. Relatively standard procedure to not put the case # on-line until after the bio appointment.

I concur from the info I received from our NOA1 and ASC bio (see my comment below to Z&S).

That's interesting! We received two NOA1 with two different case numbers, none of which are recognized by the case status online. Both NOA1 are identical except for the case number and the time (one NOA1 was printed one hour after the other). We were wondering what was that about. Perhaps, one case number is for the later appointment letter that you are talking about.

That is strange. There should be only one NOA1 letter as I far as I know. I would call the National Hotline to inquire about this just to make sure that the second NOA is not due to some error that might cause problems later on (e.g. generate two different ASC numbers by mistake). If they tell you over the phone to make an INFOPASS appointment, you might as well wait for the bio date and try and make an INFOPASS appointment on the same day to talk to an IO about this (so you don't make the trip to your local office twice).

Also, if my understanding is correct, the NOA1 gives a Receipt Number and the instructions on the NOA1 say not to attempt to track the case on-line before the biometrics appointment notice arrives ("enter the app number found at the top of the ASC app notice"). Our bio appointment arrived and (as promised) gives a new number, called an Application Number. The formats of (original) Receipt and Application Numbers are indeed identical (number and order of letters and digits) but the two alphanumeric 'numbers' are quite differ (except for the letters which indicate the service center).

The USCIS website asks for you to input a "receipt number" but in this case it refers to the Application Number that you will receive in the near future from your ASC appointment notice (biometrics). Indeed, I just input mine and it works fine giving me the obvious info viz. that they are at the stage of "Initial Review", as well as the mean app time values Nationwide as well as Center-specific (in my case CSV).

California Service Center (18 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO

SUPERMANBACK.......07/26/10..........08/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....ST. LOUIS, MO

MARIENMICHELLE.....07/29/10..........08/09/10.......09/14/10........--/--/10....LOS ANGELES, CA

LILI...............07/30/10..........08/02/10.......08/27/10........--/--/10....SEATTLE, WA

BRIAN&MEL..........08/03/10..........08/09/10.......09/08/10........--/--/10....

SWEETPIANO.........08/03/10..........--/--/--.......--/--/--........--/--/--....

PSHO...............08/04/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....SAN FRANCISCO, CA

RMC................08/05/10..........08/09/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

REALPI.............08/05/10..........08/09/10.......09/03/10........--/--/10....MILWAUKEE, WI

KGSODIE............08/06/10..........08/09/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....OMAHA, NE

MOUNTAIN CLIMBER...08/07/10..........08/09/10.......08/27/10........--/--/10....

THE2OFUS...........08/08/10..........08/10/10.......09/02/10........--/--/10....MILWAUKEE,WI

GOUCHO727..........08/10/10..........08/10/10.......09/08/10........--/--/10....

CAMISTANBUL........08/10/10..........08/20/10.......--/--/--........--/--/--....SAN FRANCISCO, CA

DANYELYMIGUEL......08/11/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....DETROIT, MI

ALI E JEFF.........08/12/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....SEATTLE, WA

MACPARA............08/17/10..........--/--/--.......--/--/--........--/--/--....TUCSON, AZ

DDKM...............08/20/10..........--/--/--.......--/--/--........--/--/--....TUCSON, AZ

Z AND S............08/09/10..........08/21/10.......--/--/--........--/--/--....CHICAGO, IL

Vermont Service Center (10 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....Local DO

MARKANDLADA........07/29/10..........08/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....Charlotte, NC

BABYBEBITA.........07/29/10..........08/03/10.......09/03/10........--/--/10....

HELIOSPAN1676......07/31/10..........08/03/10.......09/01/10........--/--/10....

MURFIE.............07/31/10..........08/02/10.......08/24/10........--/--/10....

WI751..............07/31/10..........08/04/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MEL AND SYL........08/02/10..........08/06/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

RAINBOW007.........08/11/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

ODOJOE.............08/12/10..........08/16/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....Orlando, FL

EJBROOKS...........08/16/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

SCOTSVISA..........08/17/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

IMPORTANT!

* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.

* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.

* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.

* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.

* Please check that you have not deleted anyones NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application

NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter

Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment

Approved = The Date your case was approved

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list

* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly*

* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so.

I still think that the whole mess with addresses is caused by them not updating the system and database.

Bingo. This is the crux of the problem. Most likely for security purposes, our details are not there for the picking of all departmental levels simultaneously and for all personnel. For example, perhaps an IO from VSC might have access to the London, KY details but if the person who deals with this auto-reminder has lower security clearance, they might not be allowed to view all the info on us, for obvious security risks involved and simply be looking at an outdated part of the database.

After London, KY updated the system with our new address (which we know happened successfully -- for the IO did not notice any new changes from London, KY which means they received our change of address form last year with success) last year, the question is: who is responsible for updating the various other systems? I doubt it is London, KY. Most likely someone from VSC, but it could be anyone from anywhere. These are internal matters and of course not discussed in public; it all comes down to who updates what and where and it also appears making changes to the system is very difficult to do and time-consuming and in many cases it appears that there is no need to do anything unless there is a reason e.g. if say CSV had a wrong record we'd be in trouble. That there is nothing that should be done, so long as CSV picked up our I-751 and sent us the NOA at the proper address, is something the IO stressed.

Consequently, sending out 5 SASEs to be returned to us would most likely either be ignored or taken care of while at the same time causing a huge delay to our petition and most likely to other peoples' petitions as well .

Thanks again for all the input from everyone.

Real Pi

Hi,

If you want to make sure that you have a file of new address for USCIS, you can fill up again an AR 11 online since this is faster and automatic updating of the address for the Permanent Residents.

While this topic has continued on the I-751 Forum, I felt I should reply to this now that I have the info. In fact, what you write is incorrect because the problem was never with London, KY; they had and continue to have the updated info. It is just the VSC never checked with Kentucky if any new address was available and automatically sent it to the one they had on their system since the time I had been doing the 485 material.

Since the problem was never with Kentucky, filling out an AR-11 would be not only pointless (they have the info already) but problematic. For, HOW do you fill in the AR-11 details now, say a year after you moved? What date do you put underneath? And to what effect?

As it turns out, the best action is this: soon after you file your AR-11 online or by snail mail, write a letter to your local CIS office requesting they ensure for you that all CIS departments have the correct address, INCLUDING London, KY (the one who picks up the AR-11 forms in the first place). This is important to do since you will NOT receive a NOA from an AR-11 and the I-865 NOA that you will receive shows only that the NSC has your new address on record. Once you do this, you will possibly be able to prevent VSC (who sends out these auto-reminders) from getting confused. Of course, before you even file your AR-11 and move, you must also set up redirection of mail with the Post Office. Form PS3575 I believe, and it can be done online.

Finally, you are correct that they prefer AR-11 to be filled online. However I prefer the 'offline' version because this way I know for sure that a human being picked up the form and it is less likely that they did not input the info (whereas online someone might neglect to copy over the info). Of course, I could be wrong and most likely either way it is the same thing. However, in our case VSC boo-booed even though London, KY had the correct address.

Cheers

Real Pi

Please, do share what you find out.

First, I am sorry for the delay in getting back to you guys. Thursday was super-busy so I could not log on.

Anyway, essentially there is nothing new and we were all on the right track. However I confirmed some interesting things.

So, the officer understood the situation and explained to me that what happened was that VSC still had the last address only because their records were still up to the time of the I-485 app which had taken place in St. Louis. In other words, from what I understand if your next 'case' with CIS is 'far into the future' this can happen with some departments; and it also confirms that there is a 'discontinuity' of sorts between the departments, which I suspect is also for reasons of security.

However, the IO was able to track all my addresses recorded at all centers. It turns out VSC was the only culprit and interestingly enough the most important of all departments for addresses (namely the London, KY that receives them in the first place) had received it and displayed it correctly. In short, this was a specific boo-boo of VSC. They put that 'if you haven't sent an AR-11 send it to London, KY' letter clearly without checking with London, KY. It is an automated thing.

The IO also confirmed that the only one that matters right now is CSV (for me), for the I-751 and asked if we already got our NOA for that and we said yes; so she said it was OK.

Finally, a very interesting thing: the IO said not only is there no need to examine what address the other departments have right now but it is probably not a good idea to try to change anything with VSC (I think she was talking about updating systems) because this was a one-off thing they do, basically, and we won't hear from them again. She said there is no way that e.g. they are going to be waiting for a week or so and not seeing us e.g. try to send an AR-11 to London, KY write back or something. Of course, the IO is definitely right and we know this from the simple fact that if VSC wanted to know in detail they would simply contact London, KY which DID and DOES have our correct updated address.

Like with many government departments around the globe, red tape takes precedence over common sense. Furthermore, trying to upset the Balance of the Red Tape (imagine if the IO had attempted to alter the VSC records or even worse if we had attempted to send an AR-11 to London, KY without consulting CIS what sort of chaos would ensue) is certain recipe for causing chaos, anarchy and utter destruction in our Universe

On a slightly more serious side, the IO did say that in such situations we can also write to them by snail mail if we wish to avoid doing the trip (for those of us who don't live around the corner from their local CIS office).

So the upshot is: So long as the current Center that is dealing with your case has your proper address details and so long as London, KY has your proper details, it does not matter if the others do or do not. The former covers you for your case and the latter covers your behind since if anyone does not have your updated details it is because they did not update their system from London, KY and not because you failed to give it to London, KY.

The moral of the story: after you have moved and sent out your AR-11, write a letter to your local CIS office (if it is far away) or make an INFOPASS appointment with them (if it is not too much of a hassle to drive there) and find out if London, KY received your new details. They can and do check it on their systems. While you are there you can also ask (or write) about the other departments' status in order to avoid a situation such as ours, but when all is said and done I think there is still a chance for error in that respect.

Any comments, I will be glad to answer but from Monday as I'm still running around like a headless chicken. On a different note (but more related to this Forum) I will also post some ideas on how to organize the I-751 evidence material together based on how we did it, as I think some people will find it useful.

From what I understood, they sent you the ROC notice although you had already filed I-751? If that is true, that only shows that the Centers are not that connected. The message itself may have been automatically generated based on the data when and how you entered. The second message is probably automatic as well.

Please, do share what you find out.

You are correct. However here is what happened in some detail. I sent the I-751 package on Aug 5. It arrived on Saturday where it waited at the local post office in Laguna Niguel, CA (most likely the Laguna Beach post office). It was picked up some time on Monday morning and signed for, before mid-day. The NOA has Monday's date on it (Aug 9) and I noticed the check cleared on Wed 11, which means they did everything on Monday: checked the basic parts of the package were OK (I-751 form with the possible addenda, check, green card front/back copies) and then they sent out the NOA the same day. (I know they do not check the extra evidence immediately, beyond what I mentioned, because as you know the NOA says that if you have not already submitted necessary evidence documentation you should do so now, giving you some idea, and don't forget by the way to add now also the NOA's receipt number since you are now having a case with us etc etc - basically for those people who never bothered to read the instructions ). Anyway, so they picked it up on Monday and dealt with everything on Monday at CSV. Now, the Vermont letter arrived a few days later but here is what happened precisely:

Originally, the VSC sent an automatic ROC to the OLD address in St Louis and the date is Aug 3. That letter has a postal service redirection date of Aug 4; when it was MEANT to go to us but was intercepted and sent back to them. Finally, what I received was: a) this ROC (originally sent on Aug 3 and redirected to VSC on Aug 4) inside its own envelope PLUS b) the aforementioned 'AR-11 reminder' note from VSC. Both a) and b) were included in a NEW letter that was sent DIRECTLY from VSC to us in Wisconsin (no redirection this time). In other words, they realized that we had changed address, made a note of the actual address and sent both the original ROC that had been returned to them PLUS the 'AR-11 reminder' letter AT THE SAME TIME in the SAME letter; I repeat this time DIRECTLY from VSC to us. I am sure some human being is involved in the second part of the process, but definitely these forms are clearly 'standard'. Overall it is quite impressive, except for the fact that they had no record of the updated address

Anyway, the answer is that it is still inconclusive if the departments are 'disconnected' in this sense or not.

Also I believe this way I clear out exactly what we received because it appears there was some confusion and you guys thought I received two separate notes at different times; I received one with both together in the sense described above.

I will try and ask what I can on Wednesday. Thanks again for the input