intuitionsys

My wife crossed the border with an IR-1 visa last March. After three months we finally decided enough was enough and made an appointment with our local USCIS office after getting nowhere on the phone. After two such visits we finally found out the Montreal consulate used the wrong number on her visa so the packet we sent to Texas from our initial border crossing was just sitting there. They just extended her visa expiry date and told us to wait for several months.

Several months later after another call to USCIS went nowhere again we were off to the local USCIS office. This time we find out supposedly nothing is wrong they just haven't started processing it yet. Of course they couldn't have just told us that on the phone. We were advised at that time all we could do was pray, call, wait, e-mail and pray some more. So we waited about a month like they suggested and tried calling, got nowhere, e-mailed, no answer.

We recently moved so I sent in the change of address form. Within about a week and a half whamo she finally gets her welcome letter notice and that she should receive her green card within 30 days. There is no way that could be coincidence. Especially since the letter had our correct new address on it. Obviously the change of address notification triggered something and somebody (or something) noticed our packet has been waiting to be processed for a very very long time.

I'm certainly glad she's finally getting her card but man oh man we had to constantly pester them to get anything at all done or find out anything. Very frustrating. They always want a receipt number especially over the phone but she never even got that so we were stuck in limbo (the receipt from the welcome letter we never received). Why sending in a change of address form should finally get the ball rolling I have no idea but as long as it did we're happy I guess. Our local USCIS people were nice enough; it seems they are just as frustrated as everyone else.

If we hadn't moved recently we'd probably be off to the Ombudsman at the recommendation of the guy at the local office. At the last visit they told us they'd just have to keep extending her visa expiration until the Texas processing center would do something as they won't respond to any communication. What a wonderful system!

anyone talking to an ISO ? (that's a 2nd tier staffer, btw, never the first person that answers the phone)

http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/gc_1221837986181.shtm#5

anytime I read ' they advised there was post decision activity ' then I think is tier 1 staffer, as they read exactly what is on the same uscis status portal that you can see, without any other real info.

I didn't know that's what they were called. The two times I talked to USCIS on the phone both times they were highly reluctant to pass me along to anyone else. It took two InfoPass appointments with real face-to-face meetings to even find out somebody messed up many months ago. I know I sound cynical but it kind of irks me that all they needed to do was type a few letters and hit tab a few times and they wouldn't even do that. The lady who did use her brain was curious who we talked to last time as she seemed genuinely annoyed as well that they didn't do for us the first time we were there what she did, so at least there's that

I am just curious if how long to have the greencard. Arrived usa july 10 of 2010 but until now i didnt received anything from them. ( greencard and ssn.) what should i do? wait? please share what you know. thanks.

I've gotten busy and been meaning to post regarding our ordeal in the hopes that it might help someone else, which is directly related (or at least could be) to your situation:

My wife arrived at the end of March 2010 and after two months of no welcome letter no SSN no nothing we took things into our own hands (at the suggestion of several VJ members I might add ) and first did the SSN application ourselves even though like most people we requested one be automatically assigned. The SSA had no record of us in their system even after two months. Less than a month later she had her SSN in the mail anyway. After three months and still no welcome letter no nothing regarding her greencard we made an InfoPass appointment at our local USCIS office and they had no record of her in their system either. They told us to wait until the end of July before inquiring again "just because". No real affirmative reason mind you "just on the off chance something might be delayed", and if still no update regarding our case number by then to bring all our original documents next time and we'd have to resubmit everything basically recreating the package that should have been sent to Texas many months ago by the POE. So we made another InfoPass appointment the first week of August and then things were much different. The lady that time actually got off her behind and did something besides punching in a few numbers and saying "sorry my computer doesn't tell me anything about that specific number so it's not my problem". The mountain of paperwork we brought with us was I'm sure somewhat of an encouragement to do a little more research

All they would have had to do the first time, which the lady did this time, was search for my wife's name, which is unusual enough to be unique, at least among Canadian immigrants, and bingo "oh there she is right there". It turns out the Montreal consulate put the wrong registration number on her visa, so as far as the processing center in Texas was concerned, she hadn't crossed the border yet. Of course the system isn't smart enough to put two and two together; how does a package arrive FROM the border without someone CROSSING the border? And why if the SSA found the wrong number in their system did they not forward that information to the USCIS? Or more likely they just rubber stamped everything.

So anyway, once they had the right number they notified the processing center of the correct number and I guess our paperwork needs to come back through that office so it can get processed but at least now it is being processed, and she did extend her visa another year from the beginning of August so as long as the greencard processing doesn't take another year, everything is peachy.

You might want to suggest they do the same the next time you talk to the USCIS. Every time I've talked to them all they ever want is this number and that number. They don't seem willing to do much else unless push comes to shove. In our case a mountain of paperwork.

My wife is calling the POE tomorrow as I just never have a chance at work. We also made an INFOPASS appointment for this Thursday so if my wife doesn't find out anything from the POE tomorrow we can talk to a real person who can find out why our paperwork was never processed.

One other question is we keep getting asked for a receipt number. What receipt number? Were we supposed to get a receipt number at the border? If they're referring to the receipt number we should have received in the letter we never received how the bleep do we provide it?

1. CR-1/IR-1 Visa holders never get an I-94 - so don't sweat that.

2. Are you certain you activated the CR-1 visa at the POE? Stranger things have happened, but if the CBP folk dinna take yer 'sealed envelope' then there is good chance this visa wasn't activated, and you came across on some regular 'Canadien visit USA' thingie.

I do suggest calling the POE and inquiring - but -

Customs n Border Patrol also maintain 'secondary inspection' offices across the USA - you might get some 'relief' by showing up there, as well.

FWIW, you can also go into a SSA office, apply for a SSN card, and if there is any hassle (can't find you in the SAVE database system) then that'll be another 'example' of 'USCIS NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU'.

Good Luck !

I thought USCIS asking for an I-94 was odd for an IR-1 visa so that's a bit of a relief. It is pretty clear a good number of the people that work at USCIS only know what their computer screens tell them and little else.

We did go to our local SSA to apply for a SSN about a week or so ago and they were unable to find my wife in their system (I didn't know it was called the SAVE database) so they sent off something to "immigration" (DHS or USCIS I assume she didn't say which) because she couldn't verify anything on her computer.

I called USCIS yesterday and basically got the same attitude. What? You're not in our system! Well that's your problem you figure it out! All I can do is parrot what's on my screen (sarcasm intended). She wouldn't offer any recourse or who to contact or anything. I asked "well umm should I call back in a week or two then?". "I guess if you want." with an apathetic tone was the response.

I got busy at work and couldn't call the POE but I'll be calling tomorrow for sure. They took our packet and went through it doing this and that at the border and explained they'd be sending the packet we gave them the same day we crossed but that doesn't appear to be the case. If they did send it then maybe it got lost in the mail or something. I'm just guessing because everybody we've talked to so far assumes we must have done something horribly wrong and they couldn't possibly have made a mistake.

We should have just stayed in Canada I hate this #######. Here I thought the "journey" was all but over and still more waiting and fighting with bureaucrats. Grrrr! Hopefully I'll get some answers at the POE tomorrow.

Well I'll definitely be calling the POE tomorrow. I never thought about them possibly waiting for some documentation but I can't imagine what they would be waiting for. Everything that was required was sent to and approved by the consulate. My congressman's office is right upstairs from my own office so if the POE gives me the runaround that will definitely be my next stop. Thanks for the info and suggestions guys.

I have a question maybe someone here can answer or has had something similar happen.

My wife received her IR-1 visa on March 20th and we crossed at the Alexandria POE on the 29th. It's now May 12 and still nothing from USCIS not even the usual welcome letter we should have received within about a month. I called USCIS and they can't even find the entry information in their system. They are asking for receipt numbers and other information that was never given us at the border we were supposedly supposed to have been given. They didn't give her an I-94 or an I-797 receipt or anything that USCIS says she should have.

Would it help to call the POE and ask if they've actually submitted her paperwork?

She never received her SSN either and it was the same issue when we went to the SSA; they don't see any of her info in their system. What's going on? It seems like nothing was ever submitted from the packet we gave them at the border. No welcome letter, no greencard, no SSN, no nothing. We're becoming very concerned that someone has seriously screwed up somewhere.

We went to the SSA office last week and big surprise my wife wasn't "in the system". We were told it could be another four weeks as they had to mail something to USCIS to confirm her information. She hasn't received her greencard or welcome letter or any notice whatsoever yet and it's been about six weeks now. I'll be calling USCIS sometime this week to find out what is taking so long. She should have at least received her welcome letter by now.

Hi Everyone,

So I see there is a range of how long it takes to get your visa approved after sending in the additional documents. We sent in ours March 30th (proof of domicile), and I just received a letter from US DOS dated April 21st that they received the documents and my husband's application is currently pending and a decision will not be made until the Consulate finishes reviewing. I know Intuitionsys received this letter and 4 days later had their visa. Intuitionsys, did you call DOS in those 4 days and if so, what did they say the status was of your case? We already got our Senator involved back in mid-Feb after we sent in our first of of documents and Montreal had requested even more information.I also called them last week to inquire again. Thanks for your help.

We got a letter from DOS about a week (or was it two?) after my wife received her visa, basically stating that the documents had indeed been received and that they were currently being reviewed. Obviously a huge lag. We never did receive the "approval" letter or e-mail but we didn't have any difficulties when we crossed the border. One issue we still have though is she is still waiting for both her SSN and Green Card. It's been about five weeks since we crossed. We're going to go to our local SSA office next week and make sure everything is at least in process, unless of course they show up before then.

Thanks. I actually got an e-mail today. It was forwarded to the DOS "public inquiries division". At least the DOS took the time to respond with a reasonably personal letter with the details about our case that we asked for, not just a canned response. I'll give them that. I dunno if the DOS fields all these types of e-mails or only ones regarding cases in AP. The letter is dated the 18th about four days before they approved the visa and sent it out, but I just got it this afternoon. They must be using Commodore-64s for e-mail servers

We never did get an e-mail notification. It arrived XPressPost today. Apparently it was mailed out yesterday. I don't really care much now if we ever get an e-mail now but I think I've read here before that other people have gotten an e-mail several days after receiving theirs. It would have been nice though to get a status update instead of living in limbo for a month.

This is a bit of a rabbit trail but I also heard today we may be able to adopt a pair of twin girls this summer. Talk about your life changing all at once!

Well a little over a month and a half after the interview, my wife finally received her visa in the mail today! YES!!! :dance:

I'll probably be heading up to Ottawa this weekend barring any scheduling issues. FINALLY! YES! No I'm not relieved I just like using all caps a lot

My wife recieved her visa today!!! Woohoo!!!

I guess I won't be pestering my congressman. Funny thing is I was about to use his online form last night and I figured no I'll wait one more day. Divine intervention I guess

It would be interesting to know if any others who have been waiting about the same amount of time as us get their visas soon. We'll be hoping and praying for everyone still waiting. I dunno if I'll get any sleep tonight...

Well we hit the four week mark today. I'm seriously considering contacting my local congressman within the next few days. Montreal has not responded to the last two e-mails I've sent. They still have my wife's passport and we still don't know if they even picked up our package, we can only assume they have. While about a month isn't a long time, one always must consider the four and a half months previous, waiting for a 5-minute interview, with the consulate of our largest and closest neighbor.

I'm just over a month now, with no answer after sending in additional proof of domicile. Not sure that it will help any, but i'm planning on sending an email this afternoon inquiring about my case, and its status.

I am not too confident that i'll even get a reply, since I sent an email at the beginning of February about a related matter, and about 5 1/2 weeks later, I haven't got a reply!

We're nearing the month mark since our additional docs arrived in late Feb. I sent an e-mail two weeks ago today just asking at least for confirmation that they received my docs and no big surprise haven't gotten a reply yet (other than the instant auto-response ). I sent an e-mail about 6 weeks ago and never got a response for that either. Their attitude towards customer service reminds me of Bell Canada

Wow...just reading what others have gone through with Montreal makes me really stressed about what kind of result Joey and I will have later this year. What does or doesn't constitute enough information or proof?

My recommendation is to go through everything you have, even if it has been previously approved/completed/whatever by the USCIS or NVC and ensure it is perfect and conforms exactly to all instructions. For people who are having rediculous requirements for proof of domicile I'm not sure why they're being so picky. I just recently moved back to the U.S. from Canada and they didn't even ask to see any proof of domicile documents at all. For us it was something else. I'm sure they have their reasons but what they are is a mystery to me.

Well if I were a consular officer and had my choice, Montreal would definitely not be my first pick, especially if I perused VJ once in a while And who wants to move to Montreal if they don't speak a word of French and know they will be deluged every day at work, and probably as Flames mentioned the "hardship" allowance wouldn't be all that great? I wouldn't want to that's for sure.

It could be a) it is very poorly managed, b) very poorly funded, c) very poorly staffed, or d) some or all of the above. Just judging from a distance it just seems very odd that the United States' closest neighbor doesn't also have one of the better/faster/friendlier consulates. That was something we kind of naively assumed when we started this mess. Who would have guessed without investigating it's the complete opposite of all three. The NVC is hard to get through to and you have to push to get answers sometimes but at least you CAN get answers, and not always a canned 5-line e-mail. You can actually talk to a real person. Most of them are actually very nice too. They may be the nicest people in the world at the Montreal Consulate as well but you sure don't get that impression from what comes off from the average joe's perspective as arrogance. That may or may not be the case but that's how they come across given it's almost impossible to communicate with them and when you can the answer is either too late to have done any good or a canned response you could have just as easily read on the USCIS website.

I understand the the U.S. only wants one immigrant visa consulate per country and that's fine but one thing that's always kind of bugged me is why they don't have it in central Canada or at least Ottawa or Toronto? I know the Ottawa embassy is huge as I've been there a couple times. Just my 2c.

I am in the same boat. I had my interview at the beginning of January, and sent in additional documents and passport a month ago. I did email them a question as well at the beginning of February, and am yet to hear back.

How long have you been waiting?

I feel like contacting a congressman won't help much. May just prolong things by annoying them, is my thought. I think just waiting it out is the best option...will let you know how I do. I'm hoping everyday with fingers crossed to get some type of response, hopefully a positive one!

Our interview was in early Feb and we got the docs they required sent and showing as successfully delivered by CanadaPost on Feb 23. Our wait hasn't been as severe as a lot of others here (yet) but what drives a person crazy is the complete lack of communication, not knowing if it will be four weeks or four months.

Brock, it's good to hear you had favorable results from contacting your Congressman. We were told four weeks, so if we have no e-mails or anything by then, I think I will go that route soon afterwards, if for no other reason than the peace of mind of knowing what the heck is going on. If the current backlog is eight weeks that's what they should have told us, not the canned response stated on the form, especially knowing full well that we may not ever hear from them if they decide our e-mail doesn't merit a response.

Trailmix, your comment is eerily similar to the discussion I had with my wife videoconferencing last night. She's worried about annoying them and delaying things further too. Knowing the backlog is 8 weeks puts me a bit at ease knowing at least there is at least a dim light at the end of this long dark tunnel but the fact remains they work for us and we were told to contact them if we do not receive any communication within four weeks. Well, after four weeks, we will honestly try, and expect to get no response, just like the last two e-mails, so I think contacting our Congressman is more than warranted when the time comes.

My two cents worth would go on the side of contacting your congressman. We have been "dealing" with Montreal over additional proof of domicile documents since last June. Now we've not had good success by any means on anything but the times we have got some response and information is when we've got the senator's office to call the consulate.

Since last June!?! That's crazy! Have they given you any indication what is taking so long?

That's what worries me. Are they just going to go on doing nothing until we force the issue by contacting our Congressman or a Senator.

I was curious if anyone was either in our situation or has already gotten through it. Two documents at our interview were deemed unacceptable at our interview so we had to gather acceptable ones and mail them to the consulate which we have already done, and according to the tracking number, they have arrived and were "successfully delivered" whatever that means. Montreal has yet to contact us to let us know they have actually received the documents let alone whether or not they are reviewing them. They haven't responded to any e-mails that is also no big surprise but also extremely frustrating.

Does anyone know on average how long they take to review documents that are sent in after the interview? They told us it might take an extra four weeks but never specified an extra four weeks from what exactly. Should we consider contacting our Congressman once we reach the four week point?

Without any communication whatsoever this living in limbo leaves us wondering if there is any other choice. Some people say no, you'll just annoy them further and give them more cause to give you grief, while others seem to have had some success going this route when all else fails. We're not to that point yet but it would be nice to hear from anyone who might have had some results, negative or positive, involving their Congressman or Senator. My Congressman actually has an office in the building I work in so it's a tempting option assuming it's not also a futile one.

Congratulations!

Yea exactly! I also asked what happens if they dont respond within two weeks. No answer to that question.

That sounds like an answer in itself.

Holy #######, I could be waiting that long?

What will the expiry of the visa be? I mean, if they date it from the day I got the email of my case being approved, but then they don't issue it for months, is the 6 month expiry still the same?

This is ridiculous.

Yes it is. It seems everybody in AP is waiting an absurd amount of time. Our documents were just indicated as received (according to the tracking number not anything from the Consulate obviously) earlier this week. Sounds like we have a few months not weeks yet to wait. You know if I had known Montreal was so slow when we started this whole process I would have just stayed in Canada, kept the job I wasn't crazy about, and just waited it out there. This waiting is just nuts.

My wife and I are nearing the point of just forgetting it all and settling down back in Canada. I really hate this #######. Living in limbo for months and months and months on end severely wears on a person. The guys at work can't believe we've waited as long as we have. Anybody who has not immigrated from Canada to the U.S. has no clue how long and trying it is. I've yet to meet anyone who even knew this nonsense was going on for countless Canadians.

Maybe I should have posted in one of the venting threads

The Senator's office usually calls me back within a few hours if I dont get a hold of him when I call. The main delay is how long it takes for them to get an answer from Montreal. They told us last time that Montreal is required to respond to Senatorial requests within 2 weeks but last time it took 5-6 weeks and two seperate requests. So much for a requirment eh?

Is that a legal requirement or a suggestion?