USICS sent my 485 approval notice to my old address(even though I'd called them with the correct address, AR 11 et al. 3 months ago, go figure!) and it was returned as undeliverable. So I called the 800 number to update my address, again.
First off, the lady I spoke to had no idea that my case had been approved. All she could see on her system was the last update information, which is what was displayed on the website:
"Our last written notice in this case was returned as undeliverable by the post office on December 3, 2004. To update the mailing address so this notice can be re-sent, please call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283."
We went thru the usual routine of name, dob, new address blah blah. Since I plan on travelling abroad next week, I asked her if, assuming my 485 had been approved(remember, she had no idea), I could use my AP to travel abroad. Her reply was, and I quote,
"If ur 485 has been approved, I don't think your AP is valid anymore, but to be sure, let me transfer you to my supervisor."
So she transferred me to her supervisor. I gave him my receipt number and gave him a brief outline on my case.
A few interesting things:
in summary,
First off, the lady I spoke to had no idea that my case had been approved. All she could see on her system was the last update information, which is what was displayed on the website:
"Our last written notice in this case was returned as undeliverable by the post office on December 3, 2004. To update the mailing address so this notice can be re-sent, please call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283."
We went thru the usual routine of name, dob, new address blah blah. Since I plan on travelling abroad next week, I asked her if, assuming my 485 had been approved(remember, she had no idea), I could use my AP to travel abroad. Her reply was, and I quote,
"If ur 485 has been approved, I don't think your AP is valid anymore, but to be sure, let me transfer you to my supervisor."
So she transferred me to her supervisor. I gave him my receipt number and gave him a brief outline on my case.
A few interesting things:
He used a different system he referred to as the "National System".
This "National System" had a complete list of all the updates that had occurred on my case, except for the latest update. He could see that my case had been approved and a notice had been mailed out, but not that it had been returned as undeliverable. I guess the "National System" still hadn't been updated.
I asked him if my AP was valid for travel given that my 485 had been approved. His reply was, and I quote, "Yes Sir". (fyi, this is the second time that the initial customer rep has answered no to this question, transferred me to a supervison, and the supervisor has answered in the affirmative.)
I then asked the supervisor if he could confirm his answer as the lady I had spoken to earlier had said no, and he said,
"She was hired to answer phones, she is not an immigration officer". (ahem, some class conflicts at USCIS)
in summary,
cutomer reps who answer the phones are just that, customer reps who answer phones, not immigration officers.
customer reps don't allways have the correct information.
customer reps are supervised by more senior people.
if customer reps are unsure of something, they will transer u to the supervisors.
the sytem used by the customer reps is the same as the system which drives the case status web site.
the supervisors use a different, "National System".
The national system and the web site system are updated at different times and not synchronously.