Background Check - Got email from USCIS

N

ncc

Registered Users (C)
Hello Guys,

I got the following email from uscis.

"The status of this service request is: Thursday, August 21, 2008The processing of your case has been delayed. A check of our records establishes that your case is not yet ready for decision, as the required investigation into your background remains open. Until the background investigation is completed, we cannot move forward on your case. These background checks are required to be completed on all applicants who apply for the immigration benefit you are seeking. We will make every effort to make a decision on this case as soon as the background checks are complete. If you do not receive a decision or other notice of action from us within 6 months of this letter, please contact us by calling our customer service number provided below".

The above information is contradictory to what an IO at national customer service told me. When I had called 800 number 2 months ago, an IO told me that my case is normal and not stuck in name check or background check. He did something (he had to override something, I dont know what) that got the case transferred to local office on 20th June. I took an infopass and was told that my case is being transferred, wait 2 months and come back.

In the mean time I called national customer service again and they submitted a service request to find out what's going on and I got the above response.
(They didnt transfer my call to IO, I tried hard but they didnt).

Can someone please tell me what are my options? Do I just wait and someday it will happen or I can do something to expedite the processing?

Thanks
ncc
------------
TSC - Dallas
Notice date March 2007
Missed first FPP as was in India
Talked to USCIS and told them I missed FP - May 2007
FP scheduled - 01/24/2008
Still waiting for everything else
 
ncc said:
Hello Guys,

I got the following email from uscis.

"The status of this service request is: Thursday, August 21, 2008The processing of your case has been delayed. A check of our records establishes that your case is not yet ready for decision, as the required investigation into your background remains open. Until the background investigation is completed, we cannot move forward on your case. These background checks are required to be completed on all applicants who apply for the immigration benefit you are seeking. We will make every effort to make a decision on this case as soon as the background checks are complete. If you do not receive a decision or other notice of action from us within 6 months of this letter, please contact us by calling our customer service number provided below".

The above information is contradictory to what an IO at national customer service told me. When I had called 800 number 2 months ago, an IO told me that my case is normal and not stuck in name check or background check. He did something (he had to override something, I dont know what) that got the case transferred to local office on 20th June. I took an infopass and was told that my case is being transferred, wait 2 months and come back.

In the mean time I called national customer service again and they submitted a service request to find out what's going on and I got the above response.
(They didnt transfer my call to IO, I tried hard but they didnt).

Can someone please tell me what are my options? Do I just wait and someday it will happen or I can do something to expedite the processing?

Thanks
ncc
------------
TSC - Dallas
Notice date March 2007
Missed first FPP as was in India
Talked to USCIS and told them I missed FP - May 2007
FP scheduled - 01/24/2008
Still waiting for everything else
Click to expand...

As much as I hate to say this, it appears that you should start preparing a WOM lawsuit. After reading your story, the idea that I get is that the USCIS completely screwed up your case and there's no telling when it will be processed or what exactly is going on with it. The fact that it took them more than half a year to reschedule your FPs sets off a lot of flags. Something is definitely not right here.

Also, a quick way to speak to an IO is to call the customer service line and tell the operator that you submitted your N-400 nearly 2 months ago and still haven't gotten a receipt. That'll trigger an automatic transfer to an IO. Once you get an IO on the line, s/he will be able to look up your case and tell you exactly what stage it's in. Good luck!
 
Thanks Vorpal. I'll try that trick next time.

I found the following news. If this is true, it'll be a great news for all of us.

Posted On: April 3, 2008 by James M. Tyler
Name Check Delays - Good News for N-400 Applicants and others as USCIS and FBI Announces Plan to Reduce the Backlog
On April 2, 2008, the USCIS and the FBI jointly announced a plan to eliminate the backlog of name checks pending with the FBI. Here is the breakdown of the plan:

By May, 2008 the FBI will process all name checks that have been pending more than three years. (It has already eliminated the backlog on name checks pending more than four years).

By November, 2008, the FBI will process all name checks that have been pending more than one year.

By February, 2009, the FBI will process all name checks that have been pending more than 180 days.

Finally, by June, 2009, the FBI plans on processing 98% of all name checks within 30 days and the remaining 2% in 90 days.

This really would be great progress if it can be achieved and sustained.
 
ncc said:
Thanks Vorpal. I'll try that trick next time.

I found the following news. If this is true, it'll be a great news for all of us.

Posted On: April 3, 2008 by James M. Tyler
Name Check Delays - Good News for N-400 Applicants and others as USCIS and FBI Announces Plan to Reduce the Backlog
On April 2, 2008, the USCIS and the FBI jointly announced a plan to eliminate the backlog of name checks pending with the FBI. Here is the breakdown of the plan:

By May, 2008 the FBI will process all name checks that have been pending more than three years. (It has already eliminated the backlog on name checks pending more than four years).

By November, 2008, the FBI will process all name checks that have been pending more than one year.

By February, 2009, the FBI will process all name checks that have been pending more than 180 days.

Finally, by June, 2009, the FBI plans on processing 98% of all name checks within 30 days and the remaining 2% in 90 days.

This really would be great progress if it can be achieved and sustained.
Click to expand...

That's old news that's been posted here before. Since then we haven't seen any follow up stats from USCIS to determine if they have met any of the goals up to date.
 
Vorpal, thanks again for the trick you told me.

They escalated my call today to an IO. This is what she told me and I dont know what to make out of it.

She told me that my NameCheck and FP both are cleared. I asked, then what the hell that background check, you guys are referring to? She gave me a vague answer such as there are many things uscis reviews and checks and your application is one of those that has to undergo all of that.

I asked her, is my application waiting on FBI. She was crystal clear and told me 'NO'. Your application is not waiting on FBI as namecheck and fp both are clear but I cannot tell you more than that because I do not have access to your file. May be your file has more information. She told me, going to the local office (Dallas office) will not help as well because your file is not with them. Your file is with TSC. In the end she submitted another service request to find out what's going on.

Can anyone please tell me what may be going on here and what can I do to find out what's going on?

Thanks
ncc
 
ncc said:
Vorpal, thanks again for the trick you told me.

They escalated my call today to an IO. This is what she told me and I dont know what to make out of it.

She told me that my NameCheck and FP both are cleared. I asked, then what the hell that background check, you guys are referring to? She gave me a vague answer such as there are many things uscis reviews and checks and your application is one of those that has to undergo all of that.

I asked her, is my application waiting on FBI. She was crystal clear and told me 'NO'. Your application is not waiting on FBI as namecheck and fp both are clear but I cannot tell you more than that because I do not have access to your file. May be your file has more information. She told me, going to the local office (Dallas office) will not help as well because your file is not with them. Your file is with TSC. In the end she submitted another service request to find out what's going on.

Can anyone please tell me what may be going on here and what can I do to find out what's going on?

Thanks
ncc
Click to expand...

As far as I know, the ONLY background checks that the USCIS performs for N-400 purposes are FPs, name check and IBIS check. The IBIS check only takes a couple of minutes to complete, so that's definitely not the issue with your application. Unless your background check revealed possible adverse information, it definitely seems that you should explore the possibility of filing a WOM. Otherwise, there's no telling how long the USCIS will sit on your application.
 
Be aware that Customer Service agents and IOs (young IOs such as junior IO) are not fully trained. I believe that email is just a general standard email letter.

I think you should start preparing a WOM lawsuit like Vorpal said or set up an INFOPASS appointment to talk to IO and ask what is going on.
 
Do you think the local office can be of any help? IO told me that local office still do not have my file. (File is with TSC).

I'm still planning to go ahead and make an infopass this friday.

Thanks
ncc
 
I just reread your original post, and it definitely seems like you're stuck in name check. An InfoPass is definitely a good idea, because you can at least speak with someone face to face. Since your file hasn't been transferred to your DO, it's a good sign that your name check is still pending. You can either wait it out or take the USCIS to court.
 
That's exactly what I thought. The email definately sounds like a namecheck problem. But IO's told me that my namecheck is clear. I was told this (namecheck being clear) by three different IO's. (2 at the national customer service and one at the local office)

So I'm guessing that this email may have been sent to me without researching the issues with my application.

I'll try to find out more in my second infopass appointment this friday.

Thanks
ncc
 
Hey ncc -

Print out a copy of the email and let the InfoPass IO decipher it for you. But first, let him/her tell you that your namecheck has cleared - then politely hand them the email and ask them to explain what this email means - as it is conflicting and confusing. Playing dumb at times comes in handy!

Let us know how it goes.
 
Thanks. I'll plan on doing that. Do you think the guys at local office will have access to the service request? If they do then he may have access to my email of background investigation being open and then the actual status of namecheck that he may see on the screen.

I'll find out more on Friday and update here.

ncc
 
You may hear from USCIS soon; but without delay or wait, send a letter of complaint to your congress REP in your dist.
Also go to you Local USCIS office (INFOPASS) and be nice to them when
explaing the :confused:.
I feel your :mad:, but a:) when talking to USCIS IO may make a difference.

USCIS is not organized lik fomer INS. Too much politics,,,,
 
As I was digging deeper into various posts on this forum I found that Service Centers dont send the file to the local office unless all your background checks are complete. IS THAT TRUE?

I had received the following information during my first infopass;

Thank you for visiting the Dallas field office today. Our system indicates that your application for naturalization is pending at the service center. Your case is being sent to the local office for processing. (IO told me a specific date: He said, 'your case is being dispatched to the local office on 20th June') If you dont hear from us in about 60 days, please return and check on the status of your case.

If what the IO told me is true, then my background checks should have been complete right? I guess we should never ask these guys on the phone to create service request. The response is always going to be the same. I wonder whether this auto generated.

I'll find out more this friday and post here.

Thanks
ncc
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think that's right as a matter of their policy. What the practice is probably a different story.
 
I was told by IOs at the Buffalo district office that in policy - yes, they generally transfer your file after all the checks have been cleared and the applicant has been scheduled for an interview. However, the IOs also mentioned that in cases where background checks take a longer than average time, service centers at times send the file to the DO and give them the option of scheduling an interview before the name check is completed. If it was one IO that told me this, I would have doubted it, but there were 3 of them at the time and they all collaborated on the story. This was during an informal discussion I had with them after I got fingerprinted back in 12/2007.
 
Infopass Update

I had an infopass appnt today with Dallas District office.

I was told a different story today. She told me that my name check and FP are clear. There is no background check that is still pending. Everything is complete. The problem was that TSC was waiting on my A-file. Till now they didnt have my A-file. But now they do. TSC has consolidate my A-file into 1 file. Now Dallas district is waiting on TSC to schedule my interview. As soon as they schedule the interview they will send the file to the Dallas field office.

She even gave me a letter(Customer Information Receipt) that says that "Our records indicate that your N400 application has been processed at TSC. Applicant is aware that Namecheck and Fingerprints are clear. TSC has consolidated the Temporary file into the A-file, Applicant is advised to allow 90 days for TSC to schedule N-400 interview"

Based on the outcome of appnt, I had decided to send letter to congressman, Ombudsman, Senators, USCIS secretary. (All the letters are ready). Should I send the letters now, or its not needed based on the story above? What do you guys think?

Thanks
ncc
 
ncc said:
Based on the outcome of appnt, I had decided to send letter to congressman, Ombudsman, Senators, USCIS secretary. (All the letters are ready). Should I send the letters now, or its not needed based on the story above? What do you guys think?


ncc,

There is no harm to inquire about your status thru your local senator or congressman. When you get a response from the senators office, you will then find out if there was any reality to the story that you were told. You can put 2 and 2 together and will get your answer if the story you were told had any weight and justification. Hope this makes sense.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top