Talked to a nice IIO today

H

haraputta

Registered Users (C)
My RD is Oct. 18, 2001 and ND is Nov. 21, 2001. I asked her about the "Status" of my case. She was very polite and cooperative because she dug into the case details and told me that based on the location of my file and being an adjudicator herself, my case is waiting for the responses for the requests BCIS made to get securtiry clearance on my case.

She assured me that my case is not sitting in their office and collecting dust. The case is being worked on and the adjudicator has probably made a decision on the case. It is now waiting for
the security clearance. The ball is pretty much out of their court. It was good for me to know that the progress has been made on my case but I am still facing the bottle neck. Upon my asking of the time frame it may take for the appropriate authorities to send BCIS a security clearance, she told me that sometimes it is very quick and sometimes it may take some time. She acknowledged that it was a vague answer but there is nothing more
she can tell or do to help my case.

Just wanted to share the information with the board here. By the way I am from one of the SR countries.

Thanks.
 
security clearance and special registration

what is the difference on these two? are those both under SR (majority muslim) countries? I am little bit confused on this. Does India belong to this?
 
Security Clearance...

Ghee,
According to the IIO I talked to, security checks are run on each and every case, regardless the nationality of the applicant.

SR, on the other hand, was only applicable to the nationals of list of 18 or 20 countries and India was not included in that list.

Hope this helps.

Thanks.
 
I also called IIO again just a while ago to see

anything has been changed in a week or if I get a better IIO who can talk without getting nasty.
Here comes a lady with some typical afro-american twang. Immediately after she picked up the phone, she almost chewed me up looking at my feb 02 rd.
she asked be why I called 3 times in last 2 weeks. she told me with a growling voice it is a 'looong wait, we are working on Aug 2001 cases now so yours is indefinitely long and each cases for 485 takes extra time than normal because they go through different layers of screenings.' I asked for any estimates from her side, she said 'no estimates but a long time'.

I was speechless, just said, ' thank you.' and put the phone back.
This is not a positive as we would like to hear..
 
Haraputta...

Which # did u contact IIO on

The NSC # (402 323 7830) or the new centralized one (800 375 5283)?

These days, I am not able to reach the NSC number!

What are your dates (RD, ND, PD etc).

Please post.

Thanks.

StillWaiting...
 
After posting my last reply...

I spoke to an IIO at NSC. Alas, one I go was lukewarm (may not even count it as that...)

She said that currently they are processing 8/22/02 and that it would be additional 4-6 mos. before they get to mine. [I am not sure why I did not question as to how come there are so many cases of SEP/OCT/NOV being processed?]

Any way, I am not sure, if some one can reliably answer, but i have these queries.

1. How much can the IIOs be relied on?

2. How does calling and speaking to IIO affect one's case status / processing speed?

3. Is there a reliable way to figure out the case status (neutrality of IIOs)?

Since long...I am stillWaiting....
 
StillWaiting...

I called BCIS around 10:00 AM and I called 402 323 7830.

My RD: Oct. 18, 2001
ND: Nov. 21, 2001
FP: Apr. 30, 2002
RFE: Feb. 28, 2003
RFE Received: March 11, 2003

Thanks.
 
If you get standard answers that you can look up in published
information, it is pretty clear the IIO isn't helping much.

I called up the national 800 number some time back to check
why I did not receive the reciept notice for my 485 application
that was filed about 45 days back. The IIO said, it can take upto
60 days. My lawyer had already notified me of the LIN number
that was on the encashed cheque and I can see the information
on the case status web site that they mailed me a receipt almost
within 5 days of filing.

My lawyer mentioned that I can use a copy of the cheque and a
printout of the case status page as a substitute for the reciept
notice.

I am planning to call the IIO again to see if they can resend the
reciept notice. But I will wait 2 more days so that I don't get the
same 60 day crap again.
 
It is just the matter of luck

IIOs can be very helpful, provided he/she is nice, cooperative and friendly. May be it is better to call in the early hours as they tend to be in a good mood in the begining of the day and the mood deteriorates by the "Annoying" calls as the day passes by.

So whats next... we all have to take psychology 101 now? :)

Thanks.
 
One question that is still unanswered...

...is

whether it hurts one's case to call BCIS to speak to an IIO more frequently?

In other words, what call frequency would be safe, if it does hurt?

StillWaiting...
 
Re: One question that is still unanswered...

this topic came under discussion in these forums a year or more ago, and the consensus was that, since each call an IIO receives for a particular is logged, it might not look too good to an adjudicator if there were an inordinate number of calls reported with a case file, so a modicum of caution would be judicious.

and since most IIOs are either uncooperative or morons, why bother anyway?
 
There is a difference of opinion on this one!!

I personally know folks who used to call IIOs everyday without any break. Their cases got approved, although they had RD and ND way later than mine.

Then I know people who were told either by lawyers or IIOs themselves that too much jingling of phone at their ends by an applicant raises red flag on his/her case.

Pork Chop, you are right as most of the time information given to a caller by an IIO adds nothing to what the caller already knows, it is futile to call BCIS. But then again, To human is imaptience!!

I personally think that calling all too frequently should not effect the case. BCIS cannot blame an applicant getting impatient about his/her case after 18 -19 months of wait: it is or at least it should be understandable. It is just a phobia spread by BCIS to reduce the number of calls at their center.

Just my 2 cents.
 
I received my I-485 approval last March. Here is what my attorney had to say about calling NSC while my application was still pending:

You may use the INS Nebraska Service Center customer service telephone number at 402-323-7830 to check the status of your pending application. This number is provided to you to check the automated system only. You should not speak to an INS officer about your case, as this may adversely affect your case.

I heeded that advice, never spoke to an IIO, and my case was approved exactly one month after I had sent in the RFE response.

Just thought I'd share my experience with others on this forum.
 
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