Hello,
first of all thanks for this great forum and everyone who's involved with it.
I hope I can get some input here from people who are knowledgeable about the USCIS or possibly had similar experiences like me. So this is my case:
I'm a conditional permanent resident based on marriage to a USC and I got my receipt for the I-751 on July 22, 2003. Til this day there has been no decision which is VERY frustrating. Bascially what happened is that at the time the extension of my GC had expired (August 2004) I tried contacting the Vermont Service Center (where my I-751 was processing) several times and it was not until after I had moved from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Little Rock, Arkansas (to share a residence with my parents in law) that I finally received a reply in January 2005. The note was from the Center Director telling me that my file was in Norfolk, VA awaiting interview scheduling and since I had moved I need to make an appointment with the Phoenix center (???) to have my file transfered there and complete the interview process. You can imagine that I was a little shocked at first as Phoenix was MANY miles away. Well, after I called the hotline they clarified with me that Phoenix was a mistake and that I need to get my file transfered to Memphis. Ok - so in March 2005 I went up there, initiated my transfer and received a card for temporary evidence of lawful admission for conditional residence. (I didn't have my passport with me) That card didn't do me any good though I was assured it would - I couldn't even open a bank account as no bank accepted this type of ID! Luckily I was able to get an Arkansas State ID through my expired GC (!) so I was able to function in the system. A year later (now that my Temporary Card is expiring) I finally receive a note from the Memphis office about the status of my case. I almost fell out of my chair. It states that "following information is required before a decision on your application may be considered: Evidence of a common residence and shared life with your spouse, joint tax returns (from 2002 on), joint banking accounts," etc, etc. You get the drift! It also says in bold letters: "please include evidence that spans the time you were first married up until the present". They give me 90 days to respond or my application will be denied. I'm very upset about this treatment because can anybody tell me why I basically need to file my I-751 all over again with them?? When I originally filed in 2003 all evidence was included as required: tax returns (including 2002!!), 2 signed affidavits, joint banking accounts, lease agreements etc etc. Shouldn't they make a decision based on the original filing like they are supposed to (what else is the filing fee good for?) and not punish me for their incompetence? I mean it is not my fault that it takes too long for them to process applications - why do I need to pay for that with more hassle? Why can't they just make a decision based on what they already have and why am I being told that I'm awaiting interview scheduling but instead need to file more evidence?? Why not have me bring it to the interview if it's really necessary? Is it actually common at all to come to a second interview in the PR-process?? What's going on? I feel like I'm being mistreated by the USCIS. What also confuses me is that when me and my wife had our original interview in Norfolk it went so smooth and the officer concluded very soon that our marriage was bona fide (rightly so!) and when we commented about the quickness I remember him saying "I'm just trying to help you guys 2 years down the road". Does anybody have an idea what he meant by that? Because 2 years later, when I filed I-751, it has been nothing but trouble ever since! Even the most basic things like filing for changes of adress seemed to not process with them! (When I inquired on the hotline one day it turned out that they still had my old adress from 2 moves prior!! And yes I always did AR-11!) So I really dont understand...what do you guys think? Any similar experiences? Is this common with the USCIS? Is it possible that they lost evidence from my file during the transfer or even previously? How can I find out? Would hiring a lawyer help at all in such a case or would that just be a waste of money? Would filing a complaint do anything?? And what do you guys think they mean by "before a decision on your application may be considered"? Would this be the ultimate deicision (removal of my condition) or maybe just a decision whether they will call me for an interview? Because I do not feel like gathering and filing all this stuff just to be told half a year later that I need to appear to an interview, please bring following information with you etc etc! So please, if you guys can answer any of these questions for me and can give me any insights as to what might be going on and what would be a wise course of action I would tremendously appreciate it! I want this thing over with!! Thanks!
Dennis
first of all thanks for this great forum and everyone who's involved with it.
I hope I can get some input here from people who are knowledgeable about the USCIS or possibly had similar experiences like me. So this is my case:
I'm a conditional permanent resident based on marriage to a USC and I got my receipt for the I-751 on July 22, 2003. Til this day there has been no decision which is VERY frustrating. Bascially what happened is that at the time the extension of my GC had expired (August 2004) I tried contacting the Vermont Service Center (where my I-751 was processing) several times and it was not until after I had moved from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Little Rock, Arkansas (to share a residence with my parents in law) that I finally received a reply in January 2005. The note was from the Center Director telling me that my file was in Norfolk, VA awaiting interview scheduling and since I had moved I need to make an appointment with the Phoenix center (???) to have my file transfered there and complete the interview process. You can imagine that I was a little shocked at first as Phoenix was MANY miles away. Well, after I called the hotline they clarified with me that Phoenix was a mistake and that I need to get my file transfered to Memphis. Ok - so in March 2005 I went up there, initiated my transfer and received a card for temporary evidence of lawful admission for conditional residence. (I didn't have my passport with me) That card didn't do me any good though I was assured it would - I couldn't even open a bank account as no bank accepted this type of ID! Luckily I was able to get an Arkansas State ID through my expired GC (!) so I was able to function in the system. A year later (now that my Temporary Card is expiring) I finally receive a note from the Memphis office about the status of my case. I almost fell out of my chair. It states that "following information is required before a decision on your application may be considered: Evidence of a common residence and shared life with your spouse, joint tax returns (from 2002 on), joint banking accounts," etc, etc. You get the drift! It also says in bold letters: "please include evidence that spans the time you were first married up until the present". They give me 90 days to respond or my application will be denied. I'm very upset about this treatment because can anybody tell me why I basically need to file my I-751 all over again with them?? When I originally filed in 2003 all evidence was included as required: tax returns (including 2002!!), 2 signed affidavits, joint banking accounts, lease agreements etc etc. Shouldn't they make a decision based on the original filing like they are supposed to (what else is the filing fee good for?) and not punish me for their incompetence? I mean it is not my fault that it takes too long for them to process applications - why do I need to pay for that with more hassle? Why can't they just make a decision based on what they already have and why am I being told that I'm awaiting interview scheduling but instead need to file more evidence?? Why not have me bring it to the interview if it's really necessary? Is it actually common at all to come to a second interview in the PR-process?? What's going on? I feel like I'm being mistreated by the USCIS. What also confuses me is that when me and my wife had our original interview in Norfolk it went so smooth and the officer concluded very soon that our marriage was bona fide (rightly so!) and when we commented about the quickness I remember him saying "I'm just trying to help you guys 2 years down the road". Does anybody have an idea what he meant by that? Because 2 years later, when I filed I-751, it has been nothing but trouble ever since! Even the most basic things like filing for changes of adress seemed to not process with them! (When I inquired on the hotline one day it turned out that they still had my old adress from 2 moves prior!! And yes I always did AR-11!) So I really dont understand...what do you guys think? Any similar experiences? Is this common with the USCIS? Is it possible that they lost evidence from my file during the transfer or even previously? How can I find out? Would hiring a lawyer help at all in such a case or would that just be a waste of money? Would filing a complaint do anything?? And what do you guys think they mean by "before a decision on your application may be considered"? Would this be the ultimate deicision (removal of my condition) or maybe just a decision whether they will call me for an interview? Because I do not feel like gathering and filing all this stuff just to be told half a year later that I need to appear to an interview, please bring following information with you etc etc! So please, if you guys can answer any of these questions for me and can give me any insights as to what might be going on and what would be a wise course of action I would tremendously appreciate it! I want this thing over with!! Thanks!
Dennis