Hey people…I think after a long and frustrating wait, my application to adjust status has finally been approved. YEEEHAAA!
Alright…I am sure you guys are anxious to know the details…so here it goes
On December 1st, I received 3 emails from CRIS. All of them had the following text
***************EMAIL STARTS HERE****************
*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***
The last processing action taken on your case
Receipt Number: MSC0000000000
Application Type: I485 , APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS
Current Status: Notice mailed welcoming the new permanent resident.
On December 1, 2006, we mailed you a notice that we had registered this
customer's new permanent resident status. Please follow any
instructions on the notice. Your new permanent resident card should be mailed
within 60 days following this registration or after you complete any ADIT
processing referred to in the welcome notice, whichever is later. If you
move before you get your new card call customer service. You can also
receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow
the link below to register.
If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case
status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from
USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS
Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.
*Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at
www.uscis.gov under Case Status & Processing Dates.
*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.
Sincerely,
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
****************EMAIL ENDS HERE*****************
Although the text of the email looks different than most of the approval emails I have seen on this forum, I think this is for real. They may have changed the format recently.
Here is my case history.
Eligibility
I filed based on being married to a USC. We got married in 2001. At that time, my wife was a permanent resident. She filed for my I-130 in April 2001 and it got approved in May 2002. Since the visa number was not available at that time, I had to wait.
However, she became a US citizen on November 18th, 2004 which made me eligible to file for adjustment of status right away.
Filing & Interview Process
We filed I-485 on November 19th, 2004 (yes the very next day my wife became US citizen) through DORA. I had prepared all documents and forms prior to my wife’s citizenship oath. The appointment was at 8:30 in the morning. We were at the Dallas District office at 8:00 AM. After turning in the forms, IDs, passport and documents we had to wait for about 2 hours. At 10:00 AM, we were called in by a lady. She walked us down the hall and took my fingerprints. Then she took us to her office and swore us in. After that, she asked us to be seated and started going over the form and documents we had submitted. She was basically telling us what forms were needed for the filing process. After about 5 minutes, she said that all documents are complete and we are eligible for DORA process. She asked us how we met and how long we have been married etc. We discussed my wife’s college and her major at length. We also talked about how some people are crazy about getting Halo2 (it was released the night before). In all…we joked around for about 15 minutes. Finally, she said that we will get a letter in the mail which will tell us the process to go get fingerprinted.
Fingerprinting
The fingerprinting was scheduled form November 30th, 2004. It was a smooth process. On December 4th,2004 my LUD was updated that the processing of my case has begun and they will updated me when it’s complete (or something along those lines).
70th day letter and i-EAD
I received the infamous 70th day letter on day 85. It mentioned that processing on my case could not be complete. I was advised to come in and file for an interim EAD. I went in on the date stated on the letter with appropriate form and a cashier’s check. I think it was $175 at that time. It was a quick process and I was in and out in less than an hour.
Wait Game
After I got my interim EAD, I waited and waited but did not hear any good news. I made several infopass appointments throughout the year 2005 but every time I was told that my name check is not clear yet. I filed FOIPA which came out clean. I also contacted Congressman Kenny Marchant but his office could not help more than what the case status already said. I also contacted USCIS customer service several times where they started a trace on my file and gave me a reference number. However, the result of every trace was that my case is pending FBI name check.
Getting tired and frustrated
By August 2006, I gave up chasing USCIS and congressman and decided to file a Writ of Mandamus. However, to prepare for the law suit, I needed evidence that I have exhausted all resources to move my case ahead. Therefore, I started writing to people from congressman to FBI to First lady Laura Bush. Here is a sample of the letter I wrote
Recipient
Recipient’s title
Recipient’s Address
August 28, 2006
Dear Recipient
I am writing to you to request your help with my Adjustment of Status (I-485) application filed with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services on basis of being married to a US citizen. I had filed my application on November 19th, 2004 in Dallas District Office through DORA pilot program. During the interview, the immigration officer was satisfied and said that as soon as the FBI name check is cleared, my card would be mailed to me.
It has been over 21 months since that interview but I have not received an approval from USCIS yet. I have filed several inquires with them but their answer to all inquires was that my case is pending because FBI name check has not come back yet.
At this point, I am requesting you to please look into the matter and see if you can expedite the name check request. I will be more than happy to provide any documents that you may need.
The following information will help you track my case:
First Name –
Last Name –
Current Address –
Date of Birth –
Country of Birth – Pakistan
Receipt # – MSC000000000
“A” # – 000-000-000
Filing Place – Dallas District Office – DORA program
Filing Date – November 19th, 2004
I have attached a Privacy Release Form incase your office needs access to my records with FBI or USCIS. If you need any more information, please feel free to call me at (000) 000-0000 or email me at email@anywhere.com
Thank you in advance for your help.
******************************
Here is the list of people I contacted and details on correspondence. Please note that the letter to First Lady Laura Bush was a little different than the above format. In my letter to her, I had asked her to have FBI verify that my name check was indeed submitted. I had also referenced FBI’s testimony to Congress that most name checks were cleared in 120 days.
Congressman Kenny Marchant
Most of the conversation was via email and the response was that my case is pending FBI name check.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (TX)
No reply
Senator John Cornyn (TX)
Got a reply in 3 weeks that my case is pending FBI name check. Attached with the reply was information on FBI name check and why it is done…not something I was not aware of
Angela Barrows – Director Dallas DO
Got a reply in 3 months saying that my case is pending FBI name check. Attached with her letter was (once again) information about FBI name check and why it is done
Nuria Prendes – Director ICE Dallas
No reply
Robert Garrity – Deputy Chief Information Officer, FBI
No reply
Robert Casey – Special Agent in Charge, Dallas Field Office, FBI
Got a reply and I was asked to contact Criminal Justice Information Services Division to obtain a copy of my criminal history. Honestly, I don’t think they even read my letter
Frederrick Bennett – Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Dallas Field Office, FBI
No reply
Daniel D. Dubree – Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Dallas Field Office, FBI
No reply
Blaise F. Mikulewicz – Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Dallas Field Office, FBI
No reply
First Lady Laura Bush
I did not receive a reply from her office, however, I did receive a letter from DOJ that my case has been referred to them by First Lady Laura Bush. It confirmed that my name check was received by FBI on December 9th, 2004 and is currently in progress.
AH…finally after 2 years, I was atleast able to find out that my name check was indeed submitted
CIS Ombudsman Office
Received a reply in 3 weeks saying that they have initiated an inquiry with USCIS and I should receive something from them within 45 days. They asked me to contact them if nothing is received in 45 days. I did receive a notice after 30 days that that my name check is pending (grrrrr)
At this point, I had enough evidence that I have done all I could to move my case forward but due to FBI name check, my case was not going anywhere. I was planning to file a Writ of Mandamus after I renew my EAD. I applied for a renewal EAD on October 31st, 2006 and was asked to come for biometrics on November 25th, 2006. All went smooth and my 3rd EAD is currently pending. In the meantime, I wrote a letter to Angela Barrows, District Director – Dallas DO, notifying her that I am planning to file a WOM if my case does not move forward within 60 days. However, I never mailed the letter. I decided to wait until January to mail the letter because in December, most people are on vacation and I did not want my letter to get lost in someone’s vacation mail dump.
And today…742 days after the interview, I got the above email. I hope this is the real thing and I do not have to file WOM. I am not sure what worked but I have a gut feeling that the letter to the ombudsman office or First Lady did the trick. In any case, I don’t care who dropped the hammer on FBI…the fact is that my case has been approved.
I’ll have to wait for the welcome letter and see what the next step is. Hopefully, it will not be a conditional green card as my wife and I have been married for 5 ½ years.
Last but not least, I am thankful to all friends on this forum who made this happen. Without your help, it would have not been possible. There were times when I gave up and decided to just wait it out but friends pushed me to write to everyone I could and then file WOM and I guess it worked. Each and every individual on this forum has helped me learn and I hope I can return the favor by regularly contributing to this forum
I am sorry about the long post but I hope to help others stuck in name check to do all they can to get their names clear before filing WOM. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Good luck everyone.
Eric.
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