APPROVED FINALLY....I think

EricNeesGC

Registered Users (C)
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. :rolleyes:

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 :rolleyes:

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 :rolleyes:

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 :mad:

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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Congrads! I can't imagin how thrilled you are :D

Well for me I am still waiting for some response, its been 30 Days, so 30 more days left i guess lol.
 
Wow --- congratulations. I remember reading your posts when we first started the process. I can't believe you had to wait till now. But you must feel wonderful now.

Again, congratulations and best wishes.
 
EricNeesGC

Big congratulations! I am really happy for you.
I am in the process of exhausting all administrative remedies now. I will be filing a WoM in January if I don't get the "magic emails" before then.

Happy holidays!
 
Hi EricNees GC
Congratultions. Believe it or not I was actually thinking about you over the last few days looking at your posts as to what steps you had taken to sort out this issue. Your message on this post is very infromative and thank you for posting in detail unlike lot of others who do not share. I hope you will be around for providing help.
Congratulations and Good luck. Well if they had done your GC in time you would have been ready to apply for citizenship. I am in the same shit. 2 years of waiting.
 
Congratulations

Finally, you are done after being roasted in the USCIS burueacratic OVEN... :rolleyes: .... I will agree with Dr Lha... instead of sticking a fork at yourself.... ask your wife to stick a spade... :rolleyes: and take a picture for USCIS...

At the back of the picture.... just tell them " Thanks for roasting me, and I am so well done, a fork was too small to show my gratitude to your unparalleled incompetence " :D

Enjoy your new card... I hope is for 50 years.... one for the future.. :p
 
Oh my God EricneesGC!!!! Congratulations. I am so happy for you. It is nice to see someone getting out of this long frustrating thing. I am inspired by your story and am determined to act on my case. Thanks for providing us all the details.
 
Congratulations!
One question: what is the First Lady's office number and mailing address(or even fax?).
thank you!
 
Awesome! Congratulations!

"Fortune favors those who help themselves" - certainly seems true in your case - Congratulations and all the best...
 
Thank you Brenglen, pianoplayer, dr_lha, NikaDV2007, Hiddendragon38, tangohi, Al Southner, Jewel12, amishah, tapskap, imcaffeine and imhopeful. It was surely friends like you and many others who helped me find all the information needed to point me to correct people and write letters to them. I hope all of you get your names cleared soon.

imcaffeine, I am sorry, I do not have First Lady's office or fax number but her address is

First Lady Laura Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

You can get the general number for White House from 411 and ask them to direct your call to her office. Obviously, you won't get her on the phone but someone in her office will direct you to the right person.
 
Hi EricNeesGC,

Congratulations.....

Your journey just mimics my struggle...Contacted Congressman/Senators to no luck ...contacted CIS Ombudsman/Laura Bush.....finally.. got a confirmation card from Laura Bush ...only to get disappointed today ...to get the update from FBI that my namecheck was submitted in 2005/still being processed!!...Also, few weeks back, I did get that letter 45 day letter from CIS Ombudsman office too....I may soon be getting followup letter from CIS ombudsman...that I am still stuck...Hee Hee Hee

so...what can I say, I tried it all....and still waiting...hoping for a miracle....


----------------
PD: Sep 02
485 ND: Sep 05
 
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I have not contacted anyone as yet.No Congressman/Senator.
I believe its a waste.Should I contact Laura Bush directly.

Also,how should I contact CIS Ombudsman?Where can I get the contact info...email/fax?
 
Wow, Congratulation!

good for you!
its seems like you went through a lot.....

how long does it normally take a congressman to reply?
 
banta4gc said:
Hi EricNeesGC,

Congratulations.....

Your journey just mimics my struggle...Contacted Congressman/Senators to no luck ...contacted CIS Ombudsman/Laura Bush.....finally.. got a confirmation card from Laura Bush ...only to get disappointed today ...to get the update from FBI that my namecheck was submitted in 2005/still being processed!!...Also, few weeks back, I did get that letter 45 day letter from CIS Ombudsman office too....I may soon be getting followup letter from CIS ombudsman...that I am still stuck...Hee Hee Hee

so...what can I say, I tried it all....and still waiting...hoping for a miracle....


----------------
PD: Sep 02
485 ND: Sep 05
banta4gc,

So far your chain of events are same as mine. It took over a month for me to get the signature confirmation from Laura Bush's office. After 6 more weeks, got a letter from FBI that they have received a case from Laura Bush's office and that my name check was submitted on November 9th 2006. 3 weeks after that, I got the approval email. Lets see if you get something in 3 weeks also.

Good Luck!
 
Elad said:
good for you!
its seems like you went through a lot.....

how long does it normally take a congressman to reply?
Elad,

Most congressmen reply within 24 hours. They will ask you to submit a signed "release of information" form. Then they will submit an inquiry on your behalf and give you an update in 3 weeks. However, I can assure you that they will not do anything to expedite your case. Their reply to you will not be other than what you already know but it will help you build your case.

Eric
 
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