I was browsing the net and found a web site that reflects experiences of those who wait for their green cards especially asylee. at least 7 of them, whose receipt notice was on october 1st, 1998 got their approvals last october. I thought of sharing this with you hoping everyone get their approvals
More Approvals
- Thread starter shamshon
- Start date
It is actually a forum in yahoo. if you are a member in yahoo, it may be easier for you to get the messages http://groups.yahoo.com/group/immigrationforum/messages
I also had a chance to look under I-485 issues in this forum. Many folks are getting their approval. Hang in there. By the way, Jw , how long have you been waiting?
I also had a chance to look under I-485 issues in this forum. Many folks are getting their approval. Hang in there. By the way, Jw , how long have you been waiting?
kaoticfury
Registered Users (C)
i guess everyone has to wait for 4-5 years
my FP saga
I would like to describe my FP saga. It is quite interesting and you can draw many conclusions from it. Perhaps people who have frustrating experience with the INS can take some comfort from this too.
I was interviewd at the local asylum office in June 1997. The asylum application was submitted in 1991, so the FP on file was expired. At the end the interview, the officer asked me to bring a new FP set when I returned to pick up the decision. I took that as a good omen. I thought that she would not need FP if she were to deny the case.
Sure enough, I received a recommended approval two weeks later. The clerk at the window said that an offical approval notice would come by mail in "about three months"--the amount of time the FBI needed to clear the FP. That was in late June.
In early September, I received a big fat envelope from the Nebraska Service Center. It said that the FP sent by the asylum officer over the summer was not "readable." It asked me to redo the FP and mail it directly back to the NSC. I did as directed via certified mail, return receipt requested.
After I celebrated the New Year holiday there still was no news from the INS. Half a year had gone by since my interview. So I called the asylum officer to ask what the hell was going on.
The asylum officer actually returned my call in a few hours. She said that she was still waiting for my FP results. She did not know anything about the NSC notice and the second FP I did in September. She then helpfully suggested that I got yet another set and bring it directly to her. She got it in person the next day and promised that she would send my FP via express mail, given the delays I had already suffered. I had the impression that it had been sent to the NSC.
I obtained the FBI FP inquiry phone number by then and I called them every week. The response was always the same: sorry we had no entry under your name.
It was now late March and I was still waiting. I spoke to the asylum officer again and she said that she was querying the other INS offices regularly. It looked like that she was doing her very best. I also spoke to the asylum office director. He asked me to send him yet another FP set which he would then send to its proper destination. On his suggestion, I also wrote my US Senator and the central INS office in Washington.
In the middle of May I received a phone call from the senator's office in Washington. His aide was very familiar with INS matters and she took my case very seriously. She arranged for me to be fingerprinted yet again. The fingerprint set was mailed to her rather than any INS office. She told me that she would deliver it to her contact person at the central INS office.
This did the trick. When I called the FBI in early June, the operator (with whom I could joke now since we have talked so many times) could finallly give me a positive answer.
I received my final asylum approval in mid-June, a few days shy of the first anniversary of my successful asylum interview!
What an experience.
I would like to describe my FP saga. It is quite interesting and you can draw many conclusions from it. Perhaps people who have frustrating experience with the INS can take some comfort from this too.
I was interviewd at the local asylum office in June 1997. The asylum application was submitted in 1991, so the FP on file was expired. At the end the interview, the officer asked me to bring a new FP set when I returned to pick up the decision. I took that as a good omen. I thought that she would not need FP if she were to deny the case.
Sure enough, I received a recommended approval two weeks later. The clerk at the window said that an offical approval notice would come by mail in "about three months"--the amount of time the FBI needed to clear the FP. That was in late June.
In early September, I received a big fat envelope from the Nebraska Service Center. It said that the FP sent by the asylum officer over the summer was not "readable." It asked me to redo the FP and mail it directly back to the NSC. I did as directed via certified mail, return receipt requested.
After I celebrated the New Year holiday there still was no news from the INS. Half a year had gone by since my interview. So I called the asylum officer to ask what the hell was going on.
The asylum officer actually returned my call in a few hours. She said that she was still waiting for my FP results. She did not know anything about the NSC notice and the second FP I did in September. She then helpfully suggested that I got yet another set and bring it directly to her. She got it in person the next day and promised that she would send my FP via express mail, given the delays I had already suffered. I had the impression that it had been sent to the NSC.
I obtained the FBI FP inquiry phone number by then and I called them every week. The response was always the same: sorry we had no entry under your name.
It was now late March and I was still waiting. I spoke to the asylum officer again and she said that she was querying the other INS offices regularly. It looked like that she was doing her very best. I also spoke to the asylum office director. He asked me to send him yet another FP set which he would then send to its proper destination. On his suggestion, I also wrote my US Senator and the central INS office in Washington.
In the middle of May I received a phone call from the senator's office in Washington. His aide was very familiar with INS matters and she took my case very seriously. She arranged for me to be fingerprinted yet again. The fingerprint set was mailed to her rather than any INS office. She told me that she would deliver it to her contact person at the central INS office.
This did the trick. When I called the FBI in early June, the operator (with whom I could joke now since we have talked so many times) could finallly give me a positive answer.
I received my final asylum approval in mid-June, a few days shy of the first anniversary of my successful asylum interview!
What an experience.
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Shamshon,
I think your attitude about the whole immigration process is even more negative than mine. Do you mind describing your concrete experience? Best wishes.
I think your attitude about the whole immigration process is even more negative than mine. Do you mind describing your concrete experience? Best wishes.
Originally posted by shamshon
That is so annoying. We can't afford to lose a day and they made you lose 2 years
I mentioned my experience before but since you joined the forum not too long ago, I will tell you the gist of it. ( I hope I do not tick some people off). Well I applied for political asylum in 1991 ( a week after arrival to the US.) I received an EAD every year but did not get any word about an interview. I talked to one of my professors and he suggested that I call Senator Boxer of California. This happened in late 96. For some miraculous reason, I received an appointment with an asylum officer 2 weeks after receiving a response from the senator. The interviewer was a snub who basically did not know anything about my home country and showed extreme ignorance as she asked her questions( i could swear to you that she does not even have a collge degree). I was eventually declined and was referred to an immigration judge. I met the judge in october 97 and in less than 30 minutes, the judge approved my case. In her statment concerning her decision, she apologized for the long wait and the mistreatment of asylee by some asylum officer (she just could not understand how this officer overlooked many of the evidences given to her). Even the government attorney could not speak more than 5 minutes because of the overwhelming evidence that i provided. Among this evidence is my status as a minority in my country and how the US continued to advocate for a better treatment of us and even threatened my country because of its mistreamtent of us. A year after my approval, I applied for the GC (that is in 1998). I finally got my approval last month. Why i have a negative attitude? Imagine yourself going through horror and torture. Imagine yourself uprooted from your country. Then, you tell someone this and instead of empathizing with you, they tell you we do not believe you. You experience total invalidation and your misery worsens. Also, the sense of uncertainty just killed me. Once a great philosopher said: the misery of uncertainty is worse than the certainty of misery. I was uncertain about whether one day someone would validate me and offer me shelter. I am grateful to America and everything but human nature is greedy i guess. Since i love America so much and could not imagine myself living some where else, I considered America as a mother who continued to reject me for 10 years. Words can not explain the overwhelming happiness and validation that I have felt since I got my approval. Please people do not hate me for speaking up my mind.
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This whole process depends on luck to an unbelievable extent. Some asylum officers are very sympathetic to applicants. The one who interviewed me, for example, used to work for the UN Refugee office in Indochina. Other officers are ignorant as Shamshon says.
The same goes for judges. The one you got was good. But I have heard many horror stories too. The majority of judges are former INS prosecutors who retain their earlier mentality.
The same goes for judges. The one you got was good. But I have heard many horror stories too. The majority of judges are former INS prosecutors who retain their earlier mentality.
kaoticfury
Registered Users (C)
OMG,seriously? where u get the information from?
i am glad that so many ppl got GC so far. i applied it in 2000, i heard lots of ppl who applied in 1998 have gotten their GC(like yourself), i am hoping that i can get it between 2005-2006.
best wishes
Kaotic,
I am copying and pasting the information you requested. It is in the INS official web site:
June 1, 2002
Adjustment of Status for Asylees
By law, only 10,000 asylees can adjust status to Lawful Permanent Resident per year; however the Service is receiving 15,700-28,200 applications per year. As a result, as of May 10, 2002, approximately 96,600 asylee adjustment applications were pending. Through September 30, 2002, we are processing applications received on or before June 9, 1998. We anticipate that we will process the remaining pending applications according to the following schedule:
Date Received Timeframe Timeframe to be Processed
June 10, 1998-Feb. 1, 1999 Oct. 1, 2002-Sept. 30, 2003
Feb. 2, 1999-Sept. 14, 1999 Oct. 1, 2003-Sept. 30, 2004
Sept. 15, 1999-Mar. 13, 2000 Oct. 1, 2004-Sept. 30, 2005
Mar. 14, 2000-Aug. 3, 2000 Oct. 1, 2005-Sept. 30, 2006
Aug. 4, 2000-Dec. 27, 2000 Oct. 1, 2006-Sept. 30, 2007
Dec. 28, 2000-Apr. 30, 2001 Oct. 1, 2007-Sept. 30, 2008
May 1, 2001-Aug. 16, 2001 Oct. 1, 2008-Sept. 30, 2009
Aug. 17, 2001-Nov. 26, 2001 Oct. 1, 2009-Sept. 30, 2010
Nov. 27, 2001-Feb. 20, 2002 Oct. 1, 2010-Sept. 30, 2011
Feb. 21, 2002-undetermined Oct. 1, 2011-Sept. 30, 2012
We emphasize that these dates are APPROXIMATIONS; unforeseen occurrences may delay processing. In September 2002, we will determine and publish the received dates to be processed between October 1, 2002 and September 30, 2003 more precisely.
If you move, please notify us by sending a letter or Form AR11 to PO Box 87865, Lincoln, NE 68508-7865. Please note that only address changes will be processed at this address. For all other inquiries, call the National Customer Service Center at 800-375-5283. Non-address-change inquiries received at the PO Box cannot be answered. Also be aware that notifying the Center of an address change for a pending application DOES NOT satisfy the requirement to notify the Service of your whereabouts. Instructions for that notification can be found at http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/ar-11.htm.
While your I-485 is pending, you are permitted to travel outside the US; however you must have a valid Refugee Travel Document to reenter the country. You can apply for a refugee travel document by filing Form I-131. Due to new security procedures, allow for 90 to 120 days prior to beginning travel to obtain a travel document.
As an asylee, you are authorized to work in the United States incident to your status. If you with to receive a document from the INS that can serve as evidence of both your work authorization and identity, file Form I-765 with the service center that serves your location. Allow for a 90-day processing time.
I am copying and pasting the information you requested. It is in the INS official web site:
June 1, 2002
Adjustment of Status for Asylees
By law, only 10,000 asylees can adjust status to Lawful Permanent Resident per year; however the Service is receiving 15,700-28,200 applications per year. As a result, as of May 10, 2002, approximately 96,600 asylee adjustment applications were pending. Through September 30, 2002, we are processing applications received on or before June 9, 1998. We anticipate that we will process the remaining pending applications according to the following schedule:
Date Received Timeframe Timeframe to be Processed
June 10, 1998-Feb. 1, 1999 Oct. 1, 2002-Sept. 30, 2003
Feb. 2, 1999-Sept. 14, 1999 Oct. 1, 2003-Sept. 30, 2004
Sept. 15, 1999-Mar. 13, 2000 Oct. 1, 2004-Sept. 30, 2005
Mar. 14, 2000-Aug. 3, 2000 Oct. 1, 2005-Sept. 30, 2006
Aug. 4, 2000-Dec. 27, 2000 Oct. 1, 2006-Sept. 30, 2007
Dec. 28, 2000-Apr. 30, 2001 Oct. 1, 2007-Sept. 30, 2008
May 1, 2001-Aug. 16, 2001 Oct. 1, 2008-Sept. 30, 2009
Aug. 17, 2001-Nov. 26, 2001 Oct. 1, 2009-Sept. 30, 2010
Nov. 27, 2001-Feb. 20, 2002 Oct. 1, 2010-Sept. 30, 2011
Feb. 21, 2002-undetermined Oct. 1, 2011-Sept. 30, 2012
We emphasize that these dates are APPROXIMATIONS; unforeseen occurrences may delay processing. In September 2002, we will determine and publish the received dates to be processed between October 1, 2002 and September 30, 2003 more precisely.
If you move, please notify us by sending a letter or Form AR11 to PO Box 87865, Lincoln, NE 68508-7865. Please note that only address changes will be processed at this address. For all other inquiries, call the National Customer Service Center at 800-375-5283. Non-address-change inquiries received at the PO Box cannot be answered. Also be aware that notifying the Center of an address change for a pending application DOES NOT satisfy the requirement to notify the Service of your whereabouts. Instructions for that notification can be found at http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/ar-11.htm.
While your I-485 is pending, you are permitted to travel outside the US; however you must have a valid Refugee Travel Document to reenter the country. You can apply for a refugee travel document by filing Form I-131. Due to new security procedures, allow for 90 to 120 days prior to beginning travel to obtain a travel document.
As an asylee, you are authorized to work in the United States incident to your status. If you with to receive a document from the INS that can serve as evidence of both your work authorization and identity, file Form I-765 with the service center that serves your location. Allow for a 90-day processing time.