Yes....it's true...it happened !!!!!
Hi All:
My wife and I applied for EAD and AP renewals in Oct'03. Our EAD's were expiring on 3/24. We went to Chicago INS office 2 weeks back to get Interim EAD and they said they couldn't issue, as their system showed that they requested for additional evidence on 2/5. We told the officer at Chicago INS that we didn't receive any notification...they said they couldn't help us in any way and they told us to write a letter to VSC (good luck with that !!!). I called INS Customer Service center and they said that their system didn't show any evidence being requested. So were in a limbo and didn't know what to do. Both of our jobs were dependent on the EAD's.
Then I got a great idea (I don't know where it came from)...to goto St.Albans VSC office directly and appeal our cases to them.
By God's grace everything worked out great at VSC office.
We flew to Burlington, VT on 3/14 and drove (30 mins drive) to St.Albans. We went to VSC office (lower Welden street not the sub-office) on 3/15 at 9 AM. We met with the information officer and told about our cases and I gave all the necessary documents. She then checked the system and told us that they did request for evidence and they did not update the web system. Guess what the RFE was about...our photos...it seems that the photos didn't meet their quality standards. We then took our photos nearby and gave it to them. Then we met with the officer who's working on our cases...he told us not to worry and said that he will approve our cases soon. As he said..I checked the case status online around 8:30 PM and our cases were approved. The people (including the security) at VSC were very very very friendly and cordial. The VSC office is not crowded..only a few applicants were there.
If anyone wishes to goto VSC office (goto VSC only if you have tried all the other options at your local INS office or expedite process through fax) take all the original receipts, strong recommedation letter from your employer/cleint, your passport, state id/driver licence etc etc...take as much documentation as possible.
If you are lucky your cases will be taken care of and even be approved the same day.
Bottomline: People who are in desperate situation with GC, EAD or AP problems should visit VSC...problems will be solved soon.
It's worth paying a visit to VSC office.
Now my wife and I are having a good vacation at Vermont.
Note: DON'T EVER TAKE PHOTOS AT WALGREENS EVER EVER FOR ANY OF YOUR APPLICATIONS...TAKE YOUR PHOTOS AT A PROFESSIONAL PLACE.
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE !!!!
Regards,
Karthik
Chicago
Hi All:
My wife and I applied for EAD and AP renewals in Oct'03. Our EAD's were expiring on 3/24. We went to Chicago INS office 2 weeks back to get Interim EAD and they said they couldn't issue, as their system showed that they requested for additional evidence on 2/5. We told the officer at Chicago INS that we didn't receive any notification...they said they couldn't help us in any way and they told us to write a letter to VSC (good luck with that !!!). I called INS Customer Service center and they said that their system didn't show any evidence being requested. So were in a limbo and didn't know what to do. Both of our jobs were dependent on the EAD's.
Then I got a great idea (I don't know where it came from)...to goto St.Albans VSC office directly and appeal our cases to them.
By God's grace everything worked out great at VSC office.
We flew to Burlington, VT on 3/14 and drove (30 mins drive) to St.Albans. We went to VSC office (lower Welden street not the sub-office) on 3/15 at 9 AM. We met with the information officer and told about our cases and I gave all the necessary documents. She then checked the system and told us that they did request for evidence and they did not update the web system. Guess what the RFE was about...our photos...it seems that the photos didn't meet their quality standards. We then took our photos nearby and gave it to them. Then we met with the officer who's working on our cases...he told us not to worry and said that he will approve our cases soon. As he said..I checked the case status online around 8:30 PM and our cases were approved. The people (including the security) at VSC were very very very friendly and cordial. The VSC office is not crowded..only a few applicants were there.
If anyone wishes to goto VSC office (goto VSC only if you have tried all the other options at your local INS office or expedite process through fax) take all the original receipts, strong recommedation letter from your employer/cleint, your passport, state id/driver licence etc etc...take as much documentation as possible.
If you are lucky your cases will be taken care of and even be approved the same day.
Bottomline: People who are in desperate situation with GC, EAD or AP problems should visit VSC...problems will be solved soon.
It's worth paying a visit to VSC office.
Now my wife and I are having a good vacation at Vermont.
Note: DON'T EVER TAKE PHOTOS AT WALGREENS EVER EVER FOR ANY OF YOUR APPLICATIONS...TAKE YOUR PHOTOS AT A PROFESSIONAL PLACE.
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE !!!!
Regards,
Karthik
Chicago