Brenda2010

Wow that is some crazy stuff. So if someone calls and inquires about their case three times they automatically get a green card? That doesn't seem right lol. I am glad you got everything figured out and you kept calling them. Congrats on finally getting approved! It's about bloody time.

Seriously! Thanks so much!! And now I anxiously check the mail every day...lol

Aw thanks J&J, mandaNchris! Sorry, haven't been on in a while, just so sick of the whole thing...

So here's what happened - once I finally got through to the immigration officer he said he would submit another inquiry and that because it was the third inquiry I'd made they'd probably just spit out my 10 yr card...what??? My other option was to email the uscis ombudsmen and report my situation/complain...so I did that too, and voila, one week later I got an RFE to get a criminal record history pulled in light of the fact that my fingerprints suck/won't match.

So I did that...interestingly enough they do have to take your fingerprints to get your criminal record pulled but for some reason they seem to know how to do it, andddd it worked! Mailed in my rfe evidence May 8 and on Friday May 30 I got my congratulations/approval letter saying my cards been ordered and should be here in 60 days. Thank god! My 1 yr extension expired May 23 so I was getting a little stressed!!

Very sorry to hear about that, Brenda. Have you heard anything yet? That's just crazy of how long you have had to wait, I'd be so upset. I hope they start working on it for you, it's not fair for you to have to wait this long, when all you have done is everything right since the beginning. Other then Immigration problems... I hope you had a wonderful Easter!!!

Wow that is insane! I'm so sorry you are going through this still. Someone needs a kick in the butt over there at USCIS. Hope everything gets moving for you.

Aw thanks J&J, mandaNchris! Sorry, haven't been on in a while, just so sick of the whole thing...

So here's what happened - once I finally got through to the immigration officer he said he would submit another inquiry to vermont and that because it was the third inquiry I'd made they'd probably just spit out my 10 yr card...what??? My other option was to email the uscis ombudsmen and report my situation/complain...so I did that too, and voila, one week later I got an RFE to get a criminal record history pulled in light of the fact that my fingerprints suck/won't match.

So I did that...interestingly enough they do have to take your fingerprints to get your criminal record pulled but for some reason they seem to know how to do it, andddd it worked! Mailed in my rfe evidence May 8 and on Friday May 30 I got my congratulations/approval letter saying my card's been ordered and should be here in 60 days. Thank god! My 1 yr extension expired May 23 so I was getting a little stressed!!

Hi all - you're not gonna believe this but I'm still waiting!

After my second biometrics done on November 5th I've heard nothing. Called twice - in December and January - whereat they said they would send an inquiry to Vermont. Nothing. Went in for an info pass appt end of February and was told 'someone' was working on my file (as of Feb. 12...what?). Today/April 3 I called USCIS again and was told they would issue another inquiry to Vermont and that I should call back in a couple weeks to check status - or maybe I'd get an email, or maybe a letter. Awesome.

Getting a little nervous...my GC extension expires end of May.

Apparently, if nothing happens after this round I should file a customer complaint with the Vermont Service Centre and/or contact my politician to expedite. Anyone else have a better idea? This is beyond frustrating. Guess I had it coming, it's been pretty easy for me up till now.

Appreciate your input.

Dunno if any of you will see this post...you've hopefully, happily all got your 10 yr cards and are now living life in the US without the worry of dealing with immigration issues! I, however, am not so lucky...thought I'd share my experience in case someone else is having the same problems.

Here it is now April 2014 and I STILL haven't got my card after filing end of March 2013 - re-did fingerprints back in November, heard nothing, called in December, again in January (both times was told they were 'working on it, still within the 1 year timeline...what?? what happened to 6 months???), had an info pass meeting mid-Febrary (they said someone had my file as of February 12 and to be patient), and here it is April andddd nothing!

I'm currently on hold for an immigration officer with USCIS, we'll see what they say today. Good lord, sooooo frustrating!

Well, yesterday I opened the mailbox to find a letter from USCIS. It was a response to our phone call inquiry, and only stated that "your address has been updated with the new information given during your call." Thing is, we didn't update our address during that call. We moved over a year ago and updated then. I was getting ready to call back and find out what was going on, but I decided to check our case status online this morning. Card production ordered 10/30/13, card will arrive in 30 days. Seems like they're finishing up us stragglers from March/April - I hope you'll be approved soon.

Well that's wonderful news, congratulations! I'm going to go do a walk in for second set of fingerprints next week - hope it doesn't take them 6 months to tell me they don't work either, hahaha!!

I'd almost rather get that letter than the "nothing" we've been getting. Good luck - sounds like you're in the home stretch.

Yeah, true, nothing sucks - but you might hear from them earlier...they told me i'd get a response in a month and yet I got the rfe two weeks after my call. Hope they get back to you sooner than later!

Ridiculous update: 2 days ago I got a letter from USCIS saying they couldn't get a hit on my fingerprints taken back in APRIL!! Way to go guys, nothing like waiting 6 months to tell me that. So I've got an appt to do the prints again November 14 but I'm just gonna do a walk in. Lord. This is what happened with my 2 year card - I ended up going 3 times, the last time to a special 'print' place. Blech.

You really are the best people, I'll miss you guys!

Looks like I'm in it for a while still - 2 days ago got a letter from USCIS saying they couldn't get a hit on my fingerprints taken back in APRIL!! Way to go guys, nothing like waiting 6 months to tell me that. So I've got an appt to do the prints again November 14 but I'm just gonna do a walk in. Lord. This is what happened with my 2 year card - I ended up going 3 times, the last time to a special 'print' place. Blech.

Patience, must have patience...

Thanks for the info - we called Friday after work and I spoke with a Lvl. 1 who basically read me the info available on the website word for word. I said I wanted to confirm my address, and he said he'd have to pass me to a Lvl, 2 for personal info. It rang a few times, then we got another message - opted for the call-back feature instead of waiting on the line for the estimated 45 minute wait. I received a call back at around 6:45 ET and spoke with a helpful operator who confirmed our correct address, then like you, said we were outside the normal timeframe so he sent out a service request. I understand the request will take a month to hear back on, which hopefully we will all be approved by then... either way, it was a relief to know our app was still in process instead of an RFE or approval sent to the old address. Thanks again.

No problem, happy to help. And now we wait some more...

Does the 6 mos time-frame start from receipt of NOA1? I can't understand why we're still waiting while people who filed more than a month after us have been approved. Makes me feel like it went to the wrong address, or some neighborhood kids snatched our mail.

Apparently yeah, starts from receipt of NOA1. I can't understand it either - thought maybe it got lost in the mail too, we moved, but they have our new address and they say it's still in review so that's not it. Guess we just have to try and wait patiently, not stress ourselves over why they chose to drag their feet on ours. I swear though, if I get and RFE after all this time I'm going to freak out! I just want this done/to be able to stop thinking about it.

Update: I got fed up waiting so I went on the USCIS site again this morning - status was the same, 'initial review', but there was a # to call (1-800-375-5283) if you felt your case was taking longer than usual. Called the #, 5 mins later spoke to a representative who confirmed that indeed, mine was outside the normal processing times of 6 months from application. I filed end of March and Vermont's now processing end of April. Lord!

Now they're going to send an inquiry to the Vermont office, hopefully that'll speed things up, but in the interim I can expect a 30 day wait to get their response to the inquiry. Nice. I think I'd like to work for the USCIS, long turnaround time = less workplace stress, hahaha!

If you're concerned about your application do call - in the long run may not do anything but short term makes you feel better!

Congrats mandaNchris, what a relief!

I so envy you being in Canada Vero, it is such a lovely time of year - so weird in Baltimore...we had a 90 degree weekend! Can't wait to put on a sweater and a pair of boots.

Update: I got fed up waiting so I went on the USCIS site again this morning - status was the same but there was a # to call (1-800-375-5283) if you felt your case was taking longer than usual. Called the #, 5 mins later spoke to a representative who confirmed that indeed, mine was outside the normal processing times of 6 months from application. I filed end of March and Vermont's now processing end of April. Lord!

Now they're going to send an inquiry to the Vermont office, hopefully that'll speed things up, but in the interim I can expect a 30 day wait to get their response to the inquiry. Nice. I think I'd like to work for the USCIS, long turnaround time = less workplace stress, hahaha!

Thanks Vero. I have no idea why they would transfer it there. It says that our center is the Vermont one on the USCIS site. I'm also wondering why after all this time has passed that they decided now to transfer it. It just seems so weird to me.

That is very odd, sorry, super frustrating! My case seems to be stuck in limbo - have heard nothing, filed back in March, just checked on the uscis site and it's still under 'initial review'. Hate the waiting!!

Wow, just catching up on all the news...you guys have been busy! I was up in Canada for 3 weeks in August, so wonderful - the weather, the swiss chalet, poutine, hahaha!

That totally sucks about the RFE Alaba, sorry - I filed 3 weeks before you and am still expecting to get one any day based on their previous problems with my fingerprints. Lord. Seems so dumb - filing so long ago and just getting the RFE now. Oh well, just have to be patient.

Vero - yeah, we're experiencing home ownership woes/expenses as well. Our previous house was small, well built, no problems at all, but this one is much bigger and older and poorly renovated (which is why we got it for a good deal so I guess I shouldn't complain) - but I tell ya, if it's not the sewer backing up it's appliances breaking down, insulation issues. Jees. I love it, just a bit tired of forking out money all the time. Wish I was handy/could fix stuff myself. Oh well. Oh hey, honeymoon ideas - I've travelled a lot over the years, been to loads of all inclusives...any place in particular you wanna go? I love Mexico and am a huge fan of the RIU all inclusive resorts (which are all over the caribbean), check 'em out, lemme know if you have any questions.

Congrats Nickbits, J&J, Val erie and Vero and Chris!! And congrats on the new home Ken and Kate. We moved into our new house May 24th - still getting settled but we absolutely love it, even though we've still got boxes piled high in the office and can't find my dinner plates, lol!

Uh oh, just realised I have to change our address with immigration, uh oh, probably should've done that sooner!

Sent it express mail on Monday, it arrived in Gatineau today...know some others have renewed, how long did it take to process and return to you? Just curious. A little stressed not having a passport.

And much to my amazement Fedex just delivered my new one moments ago - 2 weeks to the day! Whew, feel so much better!!

Just filed our I751 in March so early days for us, but I'm curious about the timing of RFEs...

I've been looking at earlier filers' progress and it looks like if they get RFEs it's not until 5 or 6 months after they filed. Weird, having a hard time believing it takes them 5-6 months to review the file.

Anyone have any insight as to why it would take that long for them to issue? Other than 'they're busy', 'they're slow', lol.

Sent it express mail on Monday, it arrived in Gatineau today...know some others have renewed, how long did it take to process and return to you? Just curious. A little stressed not having a passport.

So renewed my drivers license today - got a new one for 8 years, weird, thought it would only be extended for 1 year as per the extension letter (which they were not interested in seeing, just my green card).

Constantly amazed at the somewhat arbitrary way things are done, oh well, at least I got it.

Yup, now you just wait They won't send you a receipt for bio appointment in mail.

Damn, that's what I was afraid of more waiting, lol! You'd think I'd be used to this by now, patience is not my best quality

Hey guys - so had my biometrics appt yesterday, guess I won't hear anything till a decision's been made or an interview's requested right? There's no notification of bio receipt or anything?

Decision Date: 4/16/2013

Status: Approved!

No interview or RFEs! Yeah!

Letter said new card should come in within 60 days. Never got a case update email though.. strange.

Wow that was fast, congratulations!

Just wondering if this info is still valid? I have a Mazda and want to keep my car. Is it an issue when you go to your local DMV in the usa with a "Canadian" car?

I didn't have an issue registering/getting plates for my Mazda at the DMV in Baltimore - I had a mechanic do a safety inspection prior to and just took the report with me. All they seemed to be interested in were the number of miles...which of course were kilometers but they insisted on recording them as miles cause they just couldn't seem to wrap their heads around it, even though I did the math conversion for them, hahaha! In the end, doesn't matter.

I also collected EI after I received my EAD card, great program, really appreciated it after paying in for years!

If you do end up collecting EI call Canada Revenue agency to see if you're eligible for a tax credit for income tax the following year, even if you filed an exit tax return - in my case it was the only income I earned for the 1st year I was in the US so I filed in Canada as a US permanent resident and was credited about 2/3 of the taxes they deducted!

Glad you got your Bio appointment date in the mail, I hope these dates are right, looks like people are waiting more in the 8 to 9 month wait right now, But it seems if you get randomly picked for a interview you get your card way faster. At least the waiting game isn't as bad as when we were doing the Fiancé visa. There is even a chance we could apply for citizenship before we are even approved for the 10 year green card..heh I guess we will seeee!!!

Really...8-9 months, wow. Yeah, as much as I hate waiting at least I've gotten used to it, not so stressed as I used to be, just have to be patient, it'll happen.

So citizenship - need to bone up on that. For some reason thought we had to be in the country for 3 years, and have our 10 year green card before we could apply. Will have to revisit the guides. Thanks for the heads up!