Katleen

WOW! Congrats Katleen... very happy for you! Amazing that they printed the biometrics appt letter for you right there and then.. I guess it really does depend on who you get that day. I just scheduled another Infopass appt for next Friday here in Dallas (that was the next available appt!). It may be worthless... but will never know unless I keep trying..

Thx! I think it's very important to not get mad, get right to the point, and don't go babling about online forums and other people's cases. I didn't do much talking, I just said I was there to inquire about my biometrics appointment, and the IO took it from there. I mentioned my job offer that I was afraid to lose, but he was already printing the letter. That simple.

Good luck next Friday! Don't give up. I wish waiting was the answer, but I don't think that's how things get done when bureaucracy is involved

Could we actually go to another state? I didn't think that was possible. If it is then it might be worth a try.

For an infopass you can go for sure, they have the exact same access to your file.

If they are willing to print you an appointment for their local biometrics, that I am not sure of. But it seems logical to me that if you go through all this trouble, and explain your situation properly, they will be willing to help. After all, since they're backed up in Texas, and don't seen to find a way to fix it, they should appreciate "our" effort in "fixing" their problem

It's a bit of a long shot, but the reason I made my infopass is because I kept reading about people waiting 3 months and a half, even with the stupid request. Therefore, I concluded it's worthless. Wish I would have done it sooner... It would have saved me a lot of frustration.

Service request useless. Still no biometrics, even if the various customer representatives (level 2!) kept saying that there is movement on my case, and it's probably the biometrics being scheduled.

So I had an infopass this morning, quick 10 min. Mentioned the fact that I've been waiting for 70 days to be fingerprinted. The very nice IO looked at my case, and said that my EAD was approved on September 3rd. (like Bullwinkle's). He just went ahead and printed a biometrics appointment for me (for 10/26), and advised me to just go ahead and have that done, and that I should have the card in the mail in 5 days.

I really wanted to ask why had I had to wait for so long, when it was that simple, but there was no point in placing blame anymore. It would probably be mine, for giving customer service so much credit.

So I rushed to get the fingerprinting done with, and by the time I got home, I received a text, an e-mail, and my status was updated to "card production ordered".

All of you still waiting in Texas.. If you don't mind taking a longer trip, you can try an infopass in a neighboring state (since yours doesn't seem to want to do anything), and they might send you to the ASC near by (since you already took the drive). Mentioning a job offer might also be of help

Yippee!! We successfully attempted a walk-in for Biometrics today at the Taylorsville ASC. They were extremely helpful and let us right in. There were four of us (hubby, two sons and myself) so I almost expected to be turned away. But the place was entirely empty. The center here is so much less intimidating than I thought it would be - just a simple large room and office type setup. We were the only people there and it took less than 30 min for all of us to be processed. My husband talked with the lady who took his fingerprints and she told him that we had just missed the rush. She mentioned that all appointments are on the hour so you have a much better chance of getting in if you arrive at 15 or 20 minutes to or past the hour. We got there at 1:15 today (a Friday) and were out of there by 1:45pm. If anyone is considering a walk-in, I'd say do it! Totally unintimidating and nothing at all to be nervous about - honestly.

That's wonderful news! Hope you have smooth sailing from now on The appointments by the hour explain why it takes so long to be scheduled for biometrics sometimes, but people actually still do walk-ins.

Oh well... victory dance time!

Sonblom, I don't think they'll turn you away, and you can especially use the excuse that it's hard to get your family together for something like this (different schedules bla bla bla).

But if they do turn you away, make sure you ask when do they have a lighter schedule. Most of the guys at the ASC are nice enough to tell you.

Good luck!

So I called customer service again to bug them, after I saw that August fillers in Salt Lake have no problems getting their biometric letters. That of course, excluded the possibility that my ASC is overwhelmed with applications.

I got a nice lady on the phone that checked and.. she told me I'm on the schedule for the biometrics appointment - somebody was making updates on my case as we were speaking. She mentioned a 20/10 which I assume is the date of my appointment - Octomber 20th. (I'm not a very good listener when I get excited )

Maybe they'll be kind enough to send me an e-mail tomorrow, to let me know to STOP CALLING them! - the bio letter is on it's way

Fingers crossed for Texas, and all you out there waiting still. Don't be afraid to call them, get transferred, and inquire whether your appointment has been set yet or not.

I can finally ease on calling USCIS... and go back to stalking the postman!

No I didn't request an expedite or anything...so I really can't explain the delay on yours. But relax, it's more than likely just an admin glitch - I'd do the Infopass anyhow to make sure. Even though tomorrow's a Friday I'm going to attempt an afternoon walk-in for biometrics at Taylorsville. Will let you know if that is successful. Good luck with yours and kep us posted!

Just got of the phone with an IO. Unless she was trying to ditch me, she said that the system showed they were in the process of updating me with the appointment, today, Thurday, September 23rd She also mentioned that it will be mailed out and if I don't get it in 30 days, I should call them again.

I wanted to say that if I don't get it next week, there will be no need for it, as my husband will divorce me, he's so fed up with my stressing over this

Good luck tomorrow. From what I read, Fridays and Mondays are the worst ones.. but it doesn't hurt to take a shot. If not, there's always Wednesday As for the hours, the reports are contradictory. People seem to have a higher success rate early in the morning, but sometimes afternoon works for their application center.

Be prepared to have a formal excuse ready - in case they ask. Planning a trip, dog's vet appointment... and if they ask, you forgot the "evidence". Puppy face and smile

From what I understood, you can do the early walk-in, but you should try on Wednesday's, it's safer.

You have to wait for the appointment letter, they won't let you in without it. I've been waiting for mine for a pretty long time now, I would really like to know what's going on with the appointments

It hasn't been proven that a walk-in really speeds up your case. But it can sure slow you down if you don't get the biometrics done. They've did all the processing they could on my applications, and now everything is suspended while they're waiting on the fingerprints.

Very frustrating.

Silly me.. I was afraid of the scary RFE's...

Yes!!! Received our biometrics appointment notices today.

Timeline:

8/27 - Mailed AOS & EAD packet

9/2 - Received at USCIS

9/14 - NOA1 hardcopies received

9/23 - Biometrics Appointment Notices received

10/14 - Biometrics Appointment

Did you expedite your case through the congressman or anything like that?

I've been waiting a while for my biometrics appointment, and until now I assumed the ASC must be really busy! ...But if you got yours without expedite.. them something must be wrong with my case

Infopass... here I come..

(Oh, according to my zipcode, my ASC is Taylorsville, UT)

Congrats everyone, glad things are moving along. Keep the good news coming!

shakira08, you've had movement - AP and EAD approved and received. I don't see anything wrong with your process. You shouldn't be too stressed out, your letter will be there

If you want to ease your mind, call customer service, get transferred to an IO, and inquire if an interview letter has been issued to you or not. Use the excuse that you suspect maybe not receiving a mail, if you must have one (like a recent letter has been returned as "undeliverable")

Also, if you're changing addresses, make sure you keep proof that you notified them, just in case they mess it up. I'm not saying they will, but it has happened, and it's better to have peace of mind.

Happy waiting

Awesome! I'm sure you'll get you EAD approval within days of being fingerprinted, if not even the same day, as some people did.

If you can't walk-in tomorrow, you should try Wednesday, that's usually their lightest day of the week.

I'm still wondering why you had such a delay to get the letter Probably they just forgot about you file, and when you put the SR, they dust it off and took care of business

Yup, service request is the only thing you can do so far. I'm still waiting on mine...

What is your local ASC (Application support center)? It seems that most people have problems with Dallas, Tx.

You can use the link below to find your ASC, which is not necessary the same as the filed office (where you will have the interview)

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=ASC

Good luck on your journey!

Hii,

I'm in the same boat as both of you. I've made an info pass appointment hoping they will do my biometrics then.

will keep you posted. hopefully i'll have good news

Wow! Today was exactly 90 days since the date of NOA1 (June 22nd)... That means you are now officially outside processing dates.

Hope you have the infopass in the next few days, they better pull an EAD from where the sun don't shine, and give you a good explanation on what happened

I don't think I've seen anyone from L.A. to have their bio late, I didn't think the office was busy... Maybe you got skipped somehow. Lui and Gzel are from L.A. also and I see they got their biometrics..

I also can't tell by your signature if you put in a service request with USCIS or no. If you did, but it didn't produce any results, well.. it doesn't look good for me either

Hope to hear some good news soon!

I was google-ing about not being issued a biometrics appointment and I found this, for all you guys in Texas. It's from 2008, but who's to say they really fixed their act

http://www.ocimmigrationattorney.com/blog/?p=21

Fingers crossed for an easy-breezy interview experience yorkshirerose22, come back with good news

I had asked the agent if she could issue me the biometrics letter.. since I was already there I could just go right on in to do my biometrics. She was not game

I think The National Benefits Center is in charge of scheduling all the appointments, according to the available slots. But if you haven't been assigned one yet.. then there's nothing she can do.

Let's say they do setup an appointment, but you fail to receive the letter for some reason ( I think that would be more then 10 days from the date it was sent), then you can make an infopass an the IO can actually re-print the letter and hand it to you.

My best guess

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/260857-biometrics-and-infopass-appointment/

Read the last post. Guess an IO can print a biometrics letter. Of course, the appointment might have been set already, the letter just never reached it's receiver (unlike with our cases). But who knows I'm planning on doing an Infopass after the 60 days are up, but I'm really hopping they find a slot for me somewhere by then

Oh yeah... I hate weekends now. There's no news, no letters to be received, no touches...

Useless, really!

First of all, you'll make it home for Christmas, I'm sure of it. Interview letters are already popping-up, and even if we get delayed by another month, we should still have ours by November, first half of December at the most.

Because really, the worst I can see happening is they're gonna make us wait the full 90 days for the EAD, and when we're out of processing times, then they'll have no choice but to move things along. That's what I saw happened to Kimbear, but she did put in the SR much later... so hopefully that won't be the case for us.

As for your walk-in plans, you can't do it without the appointment letter, or more like the receipt number on it. Which means one has to be issued to you. But I'm sure that if you're willing to take a longer drive to a different ASC, or even to a neighboring state (don't be thinking about AZ now ).. you'll walk right in. Do a little research, find out where they're not busy. From what I see, Wednesday's are the best days to do that.

Hopefully the second SR will be a red flag for them, and remind them you're still out there.. waiting.. But you'll have to call on Monday, as far as I know they're closed for the weekend

I applied a little before you, and as you can see, I still haven't received bio letter. We must have the same ASC - Taylorsville, UT, and I think they're extremely busy for some reason.

If you look at the July fillers thread, there are a few people still waiting for the biometrics letter, mostly in Dallas.

I suggest you make the service request call - to push you in the waiting list (you can do that if 30 days from you NOA1 date have passed, and you still haven't received your bio letter).

Let me know if you get any news. All I could figure out until now was that their appointment scheduling is messed up and/or they might be installing a new system. (or at least that's how it seems to be in Dallas).

After you make your service request, and you get the number for it (they will give you a number to write down), make sure you ask for your call to be escalated to someone with higher clearance. Ask them if they have mailed you a biometrics letter, and you just haven't received it (USPS does that sometimes, and you wanna make sure it wasn't returned to them as "undeliverable"), or you just haven't been scheduled yet. Maybe they could even give you a reason for the delay (they didn't have one for me).

Remember, higher clearance. The first guy you talk to can put in the service requesr (SR) for you, but besides that, he reads off a script, and only has access to the same information you see online.. And he will repeat it over and over again...

Good luck!

Hmm... If the AP thing was true, I think everybody would be applying for in, in an effort to escape the interview. Maybe your question caught her off guard and she just made up an answer, I don't want to think she actually thinks a little thing like that can have such an influence on the AOS process.

Another thing: I've read about people doing walk-ins to a less busy ASC, or even in a different state (not even a neighboring one!). They weren't turned down, maybe they just had to plead their case a little bit. The data base is the same, your receipt number is unique, so I don't see the problem with it.

Of course, she couldn't have admitted that, just one of those things that aren't suppose to be happening, but they close their eyes to.

New system doesn't sound very good, probably my ASC is doing the same thing. It just means all the employees are gonna have to find their way around with new clicks and situations, and it's gonna be chaos for a while. Hope I'm wrong, and they really are professionals, not just bureaucrats

We're all around that mark of 8.5 weeks, so hopefully our bio's will be scheduled any day now

Thanks for posting your experience, and I guess.. Congrats for having the EAD approved Even if... you know...

AandB, BULLWINKLE, you guys are not alone! Unfortunately for me And I'm not even in Dallas..

I called customer service today and got escalated to an Immigration Officer. Besides that e-mail on 09/07 that everything is on hold, I never received anything, so I wanted to make sure it's not about mail not getting to me.

It seems that the e-mail was all I was gonna get regarding the Service Request I put in (I know some people received both, e-mail and regular mail), and I'm still not assigned a biometrics appointment. The nice officer I spoke to couldn't tell me why, but she asked me to wait a little bit longer, so I'll do just that for another week or two.. then maybe march in for an infopass and demand things move along! Okay, I'll ask nicely : innocent:

Hopefully that's not gonna be the case.

So hang in there guys, and Bullwinkle, I hope you get some more info out of them. Maybe they could even print you one of those biometrics letters, without a specific appointment time on it (read about something like that somewhere), so you could just do a walk-in.. (it's become quite obvious to me that their appointment scheduling system needs a lot of improving)

Fingers crossed!

Hi everybody.

This may sound silly but I have a question. Does it matter which receipt number you give when you put in the service request for biometrics? I gave them the one for I-485, but it seems we're suppose to be getting two biometrics letters, one for I-485, one for I-765.

It shouldn't make a difference, but all this waiting is making me paranoid I'm wondering if I should call them and try to put in another SR one with the other receipt number.

Also, how exactly do you find out if the Bio was set? Do you ask customer service to transfer you to somebody that can actually help?

Take my fingerprints and put me to work already! Hubby says I'm such a pain in the ####, he's threatening to divorce me

Happy for everyone that got the fingerprints done, and congrats for the AP's flying all over