Special Registration for Bangladeshi's
Hello,
I went for the special registration (I am calling it MRA: Muslim Registration Act for obvious reasons) last week in Portland, OR.
I showed up at BCIS at 07:45. The security guards took my passport and showed me to the waiting room. The officer came in for the interview at 08:00. The first thing they do is swear you in (just like in the movies. you raise your right hand and swear under penalty of perjury that the information you are about to give is the truth).
The bulk of the interview is spent looking at the following items:
1. Visa: bring H1, F1, etc. Also bring any BCIS correspondence such as I485 receipt notice).
2. Proof of employment. I brought pay stubs and a letter from my employer. Students will probably need a letter from the university stating they are full time students and taking the minimum hours required.
3. Proof of resident. I brought my apartment lease agreement.
4. Names and addresses of 3 people in the United States who you list as contact persons.
Other questions you'll be asked is if you've ever been arrested or have had trouble with the law. The whole thing took 30 minutes. I was done by 08:30. My advice is all follows:
1. Get all your documents organized. Print out the names and addresses, passport information, place and date of birth. The BCIS officer has to type these in, and if you have them handy it gets them in a good mood.
2. If at all possible review what you're taking with a lawyer. I showed our company attorney the items and discussed it with my immigration lawyer.
3. Provided you are organized, everything should be quick if you are in status. If your status in questionable or in a grey area, I strongly urge you to seek legal counsel.
4. Show up early. Find out when the local BCIS opens its doors and be there before it does. This will reduce your wait time.
I've also ready numerous postings by others on-line and on the Daily Star (
www.dailystarnews.com). In general things have been going well.
In conclusion I would like to stae one thing. There is no good or bad country. Any nation on the BCIS special registration list is under suspicion. State Department officials saying otherwise are lying through their teeth.
Good luck to you all and go knowing most people from Bangladesh have had very little to complain about the procedue (aside from the fact that our country was the only Democracy on the list, but that's for another forum).
Best wishes.
sadiq.