GC for a parent. How long after the interview?

A

Anahit

Registered Users (C)
I filed petitions for my parents in December 2004. They were interviewed in LA DO on July 6, 2005. The officer said that everything was fine, and that they'll contact us thru mail in about 2 months.
2 months passed... In September we went to DO to find out what's going on. We were told that the INS has 6 months to respond to this kind of cases. Later on I called the 800 number, made a request about the status of their cases. Got a response from USCIS with the same answer.
On January 6, 2006 (in 15 days) it will be 6 months after their interview, and we still haven't gotten anything. I kind of lost hope that coming 15 days would make any difference. Just tired of waiting...
And because the applications were sent to LA DO, I don't even have a receipt number for them (per CIS, they don't give receipt numbers to applications sent to the district offices). Their FP letter did not show any receipt number, the cashed checks don't have anything like that, either.
Is anyone in this kind of situation? Or, Has anyone received his or her GC recently? Please share your experiences.
Thank you.
 
Is it possible that the results are held up, by Name checks for both?

Were you/they told at the interview that no name check is pending?
 
Anahit

Yes, you are right that local INS offices don’t issue a Notice of receipt if someone files an application/petition with them unlike INS Service Centers. The only proof you could have in the meantime is either the cancelled check or any mail received from them. Alien number mentioned on either Fingerprint Notice or Interview Appointment Letter is the real file number even though it is not a receipt number.

However, a lot of people mistakenly believe that an alien number on EAD is also a real alien number, which is not true at all. Because the alien number on EAD is temporary and not an alien number as to say alien’s real immigration file’s number.

If you think you could check the status of your parents online if you could have receipt numbers for them, then I don’t think receipt numbers would help you anymore. Why? Because INS normally doesn’t update file/record online once they move a file or do a little action in a case.

Since you guys (your parents) are from a country which was a part of former Soviet Union then it is obvious why it is taking so long in your parents’ case. INS does check people’s past very carefully and attentively who are from that part of the world. And I think you know why.

Since you did not mention if your parents’ security checks were cleared by the time of their interview, then it could be very much possible that all the security checks have not cleared on them yet. As for the officer having said “everything is fine” to your parents after their interview, doesn’t mean officer was specifically talking about ‘clearance of security checks’; rather officer might have been talking about the interview as a whole.

Nevertheless, it is my suggestion to contact your congresspersons to inquire their status. There is no such thing of waiting for 6 months after the interview. And don’t even bother to call INS on 1-800 number or going in person thru Info pass because it is useless as you would hear the same answer from them what you already got. If you still don’t get succeed in finding their status, then you may choose to PM me if you would like me to find their current status, only if you would like.

Good Luck!
 
jenimmi said:
Is it possible that the results are held up, by Name checks for both?

Were you/they told at the interview that no name check is pending?
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input, jenimmi.
We weren't told anything about the name checks at the interview, but most likely that's the problem.
 
JohnnyCash said:
Yes, you are right that local INS offices don’t issue a Notice of receipt if someone files an application/petition with them unlike INS Service Centers. The only proof you could have in the meantime is either the cancelled check or any mail received from them. Alien number mentioned on either Fingerprint Notice or Interview Appointment Letter is the real file number even though it is not a receipt number.
However, a lot of people mistakenly believe that an alien number on EAD is also a real alien number, which is not true at all. Because the alien number on EAD is temporary and not an alien number as to say alien’s real immigration file’s number.
Click to expand...
I have A-numbers for both of them.
If you think you could check the status of your parents online if you could have receipt numbers for them, then I don’t think receipt numbers would help you anymore. Why? Because INS normally doesn’t update file/record online once they move a file or do a little action in a case./QUOTE]
I know. It just would've been another way of getting disappointed every time I would check their status on-line...
Since you guys (your parents) are from a country which was a part of former Soviet Union then it is obvious why it is taking so long in your parents’ case. INS does check people’s past very carefully and attentively who are from that part of the world. And I think you know why.
Since you did not mention if your parents’ security checks were cleared by the time of their interview, then it could be very much possible that all the security checks have not cleared on them yet. As for the officer having said “everything is fine” to your parents after their interview, doesn’t mean officer was specifically talking about ‘clearance of security checks’; rather officer might have been talking about the interview as a whole.
Click to expand...
I can't believe I did not ask at the interview specifically about the name checks. Especially, that I had a reason to think that could be the case...
The whole interview took less then 10 min. All she wanted to know was where my parents were born (I have posted about that interview here somewhere). On I-130 it asks for the Birth Place (town or city) and the country. My parents were born in a village, so I put the village name and the country. She said I should had put the city name that the village belongs to, not the village name: they had a problem, she said "finding that village on the map". I guess they did not look at the right map... Of course, that city name was on the other papers in the file, but she didn't bother to look.
Anyhow, she replaced the name of the village with the name of the city in computer, and told us to leave. I asked her if there was going to be another interview. She said "No. You're all set. We'll send you the results in the mail." The officer (a young girl) sounded so positive. I said "Well, I brought some papers that were requested on the appointment letter". She only took the recent tax returns "since I brought them", and assured me they had everything they needed.
Nevertheless, it is my suggestion to contact your congresspersons to inquire their status. There is no such thing of waiting for 6 months after the interview. And don’t even bother to call INS on 1-800 number or going in person thru Info pass because it is useless as you would hear the same answer from them what you already got. If you still don’t get succeed in finding their status, then you may choose to PM me if you would like me to find their current status, only if you would like.
Click to expand...
It is the only thing left to do at this point. I'll contact the congressman immidiately. When I went to DO, the page they showed me on the computer for my parents case was stating "pending". The officer wouldn't tell me why. She only said that they have 6 months to respond, and that the interviewing officer or the 800 number operators were mistaken telling me that it usaully takes 2 months. I'm sure if I go after 6 months, they would say "These things sometimes take longer. Be patient!" :D
Good Luck!
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Thank you, Johnny. I appreciate your help.
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I contacted a congressman, and now we're waiting for a response from a liaison office about the status of my parents' case.
Now, a little detail about my parents' case:
My parents' birth certificates were lost, so I got affidavits for them. It was hard to get a non-availability certificate: they were born in a country, which is not in good relations with my home country. However, I contacted the embassy of that country in Washington, and applied for duplicates of my parents' birth certificates. This was back in November 2004.
Since I wasn't sure how long it would take to get a response from that country, or if they would ever respond to my requests, I went ahead and just sent the copies of applications, that I had sent to that embassy, with my petitions.
By the way, the immigration officer didn't even mention about it at the interview.
Yesterday, over a year after my request, I got a letter from the embassy stating that they weren't able to find my parents' birth records. Would that suffice as a non-availability certificate (if they ever need it), or they have to have a certificate from the registration office of civil records of the city where they were born.
 
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Anahit said:
I contacted a congressman, and now we're waiting for a response from a liaison office about the status of my parents' case.
Now, a little detail about my parents' case:
My parents' birth certificates were lost, so I got affidavits for them. It was hard to get a non-availability certificate: they were born in a country, which is not in good relations with my home country. However, I contacted the embassy of that country in Washington, and applied for duplicates of my parents' birth certificates. This was back in November 2004.
Since I wasn't sure how long it would take to get a response from that country, or if they would ever respond to my requests, I went ahead and just sent the copies of applications, that I had sent to that embassy, with my petitions.
By the way, the immigration officer didn't even mention about it at the interview.
Yesterday, over a year after my request, I got a letter from the embassy stating that they weren't able to find my parents' birth records. Would that suffice as a non-availability certificate (if they ever need it), or they have to have a certificate from the registration office of civil records of the city where they were born.
Click to expand...

Do you have reasons to believe that besides the NameCheck, that your parents' cases are held up b'cos of the Birth / Non-Availability certificate as well? In that case, it may be better for their case, if you send that letter that you got from the embassy to USCIS. From what you explained, the letter has similar content as the Non-availability cert and should act like one.

This website link might give you a better idea as to what you should do when you cannot obtain certain certificates from certain countries. You may be able to find out from here, what a Non-availability cert should contain, when it is issued from the country your parents were born:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/reciprocity/index.htm

But the question is, where will you send it to - either the letter from the embassy or the NAC? Is it to the DO, b'cos the file is still lying there after the interview? In most cases that I've seen on this forum, there usually is a RFE and these certs are sent with the RFE notice to the address mentioned in the RFE.
 
Well, I did not get an RFE, nor did the officer mention anything about missing documents. And, even when we went to the DO (another mis-information place) 2 months after the interview, we were assured by the officer that everything was fine. So, I don't have any reason to think that their case is pending because of that. On the other hand, this is USCIS we're talking about... Everything is possible...
Thanks for the website. I already looked there, and I did exactly what they suggest.
 
Yesterday I got a letter from the congressman. Here is the response for my father's case he received from the Congressional Liaison Unit, CIS:
"Your constituent's case is pending the completion of routine background checks. Once these background checks have been completed, your constituent's case will be reviewed and you will be notified of the next action taken on the case."
It's getting better and better... It was only my husband, and now my father? They still haven't responded to the request for my mother's case. If her case is also pending because of the "routine background checks", then I guess I have a record - 3 people from the same family stuck in background check :D :D :D
 
Sorry to hear this.. So, it seems like Congressional help is only to the point of giving you an update on what's happening with the case. If the same people initiate any action to speed up the background name / check process, would it help your Parents' case?

Anahit said:
I guess I have a record - 3 people from the same family stuck in background check :D :D :D
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Wow Ana.. I think it might help me, if you rubbed off some of your positive energy on me .. You are not complaining at all :)
 
jenimmi said:
Sorry to hear this.. So, it seems like Congressional help is only to the point of giving you an update on what's happening with the case. If the same people initiate any action to speed up the background name / check process, would it help your Parents' case?
Click to expand...
Exactly, the congressional help is about giving you case status updates. I asked the congreesman to inquire about my husband's case a year ago. And, he has been periodically receiving updates about his case from the congressman (every time he gets the case status from the liaison unit). Of course, it's still the same "pending" status. But, at least we know they did not loose his case. ;)
About speeding up the process: my understanding is that the name check could be expedited only if is a life and death situation.
Wow Ana.. I think it might help me, if you rubbed off some of your positive energy on me .. You are not complaining at all :)
Click to expand...
Well, I guess I just got used to it :D
 
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Anahit said:
About speeding up the process: my understanding is that the name check could be expedited only if is a life and death situation.
Click to expand...

May I also add to the above.. and when a petitioner files a legal suit? ;)
 
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