ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
You may want to let the USCIS people at the local office know when you go in to see them next time. I could be wrong, but I think the swearing in procedure is set each month, and you are put on the list by the local office. Might want to ask them simply add you to the next month's swearing in ceremony.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-08-08 00:55:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
I called the local USCIS for a clarification. I was told that returned mail does not automatically initiate an abandoned N400.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-08-07 06:48:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
Have to admit the post office people seem to be a bit dull. Had to talk to a supervisor to get the address change/mail hold problems resolved.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-08-05 11:08:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
Yeah, we are waiting for the interview letter but we suspect the letter was sent already but got bounced back to USCIS by the post office.

Sleep well.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-08-05 07:00:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
Do you ever sleep, Nick? They need to make you an admin here.

So, according to your calculations, the USCIS has not yet mailed my wifes interview letter, even though her appointment is in 3 weeks?
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-08-05 06:06:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
Oh, the AR-11 issue. We went to the post office and put a hold on all mail to the "family". The post office took more then a week to process it and they screwed up the address, then took another week to correct the address.

I can safely assume the letter with my wife's N-400 appointment date got bounced back to USCIS. I can only hope they didnt get the letter back and declare my wifes as "abandoned".

I think Ill call the USCIS right now and ask about that.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-08-05 05:38:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
Well, it would be considered bribery...UNLESS you create your own political action group and offer a "donation" of a million or so.

Then its perfectly legal.

Anyhow, my wife's N-400 interview is set for August 26th and we were told she will be added to the October swearing in queue IF she passes the test...which she will.

So, I assume that by the end of the year she will have her U.S. Passport.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-08-05 05:28:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
Everone moving along nicely. Moving to Montana has been one of the biggest mistakes of my life, but the silver lining is having a fairly fast N-400 processing time.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-07-25 16:43:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
Ok, the bad news first. Got another call back from the USCIS local office. They could not verify with 100% accuracy that the AR-11 address change has been fully processed.

The good news is, they were able to look into the computer system and give us BOTH our N-400 interview date (set for late August) AND our swearing in timeframe and location of October at Missoula, Montana.

My wife should have her US passport by the end of November.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-07-24 20:16:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
I cant complain too much about the Helena office. I called them last week and got a call back today asking for the new address. Thats a good sign.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-07-24 01:46:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
Well we just moved to a smaller/cheaper apartment pending our escape from America. We called the USCIS and did an address change, and we mailed in the form as well.

We assumed the mail would forward along to the new place, but we assumed wrong. I have a bad feeling the interview letter has been sent, and we were informed that those letters have DO NOT FORWARD stamped on them. God, I can only imagine how badly the local office will screw this up.

We may have to take a trip there physically to get this issue settled. We did request that the post office start a "hold mail" for us but who knows what will happen.

Anyone had any issues from an address change? Feedback is always appreciated.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-07-22 02:11:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
Ya know Nick, I used to think my wife and I had the worst luck when dealing with USCIS. You have us beat by a mile.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-07-19 16:34:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
I called the FBI to verify that my wifes biometrics had processed.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-07-19 01:19:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
Isnt a green card good enough to get into college?
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-07-17 01:29:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 June Nebraska Filers...
Were June as well, check my signature for dates.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-06-30 21:42:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionMotivations for citizenship.
I know NickD, I should gave dived on a grenade during the war. This way the gov't only expense would have been dropping me into a hole in the ground. Now I feel bad because I am cutting into ####### Cheney's 10 BILLION a month Halliburton profits. whistling.gif

Anyhow, I already have a 5 year Ukrainian visa and my wife got me a Ukrainian social security number and assigned me an address for legal permanent residency, for lack of a better word.

My concern is standard of living and ability to produce income. The USD dropped 5 freakin cents in a week and a half vs the Canadian Loonie. Regardless, we are sending off for my wifes US passport next week, then I will consider going for the Mexican M2 long-term residency visa or pushing northward into Canada.

If the US Border Patrol worked as hard to keep people away from our southern border as the Canadians work to keep Americans out of Canada, wed have no problems at all. Time will tell of course, but the citizenship issue is solved once and for all. We have freedom of movement...for now.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-09-24 22:05:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionMotivations for citizenship.
To continue NickD's line of thought. I was going to trade school back in 1989. I took out some student loans and joined the Army Reserve for some extra educational benefits. The war came along in 1990 and off I went. Came back in 1991 pretty banged up. Couldnt work, thus couldnt go to school, and certainly couldnt pay back the student loans. They were $3000 back then, but are $15,000 now with interest and penalties.

So after I finished my NINE YEAR fight with the Department of Veterans Affairs, which fought 100 times harder then the Iraqi Republic Guard did in order to deny me my EARNED PENSION. I was designated "Totally and Permanently Disabled" by the VA in 2002. I found out shortly after that those that become T&P can have student loans forgiven.

So I filed the paperwork back in 2005. The Department of Education denied me for LACK OF EVIDENCE. The previously stated nine years of VA medical records, plus my grant of Social Security Disability Insurance. So thats two federal agencies that agree, whole heartedly, that I am a physical and psychological wreck. But all that apparently isnt good enough for the DoE.

I actually had a DoE Disability Determination Board phone bank drone BRAG that they routinely deny forgiveness to soldiers coming back from Iraq with missing limbs. I would like any future war crimes tribunal to drag these enablers of tyranny up for crimes against humanity. Openly putting cash before the welfare of wounded veterans whos lives are already in shambles.

The silver lining is, this years Education Bill includes a clause that essentially forces the DoE to recognize VA letters of Total and Permanent. I also dug up a DoE memo that discusses this very problem, but the consensus was to IGNORE the problem until DoE is forced, by law, to recognize VA or SSA decree. The clause comes into effect on July 1, 2010.

So is the crummy pension worth all the misery? Im not sure, because I was a fairly normal kid before with war with lots of friends and hobbies. I think Id rather have my health and sanity and let Uncle Sam keep the 30 peices of silver. Had I known back then that the gov't would stomp me over and over then kick me in the teeth every time I tried to get up I would have renounced my citizenship and headed for greener pastures long ago.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-09-23 22:09:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN400 June Filer
Maybe we should have created a generic June filers topic.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-08-05 11:10:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN400 June Filer
Here is an existing June N400 topic.

http://www.visajourn...howtopic=136377
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-08-05 05:49:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI think I found out why Nebraska is so slow...
From an article regarding service members and USCIS processing dated 10/1/2005.

(17) U.S. DEP'T OF ARMY, REG. 27-3, THE ARMY LEGAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM para. 3-5(0 (21 Feb.1996) [hereinafter AR 27-3]. All service member applications are processed through the USCIS Nebraska field office, where a staff of thirteen processes the entire caseload.

Could be the 13 member team is set aside for military only, but considering we have hundreds of thousands deployed, its still critical understaffing. Then you stop and wonder, maybe the entire Nebraska service center is a mere 13 people. Would certainly explain the delays.

http://www.encyclope...-140709848.html
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-02-26 01:46:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionCan anyone suggest a good immigration lawyer?
Carolyn basically nailed it. When we got her biometrics appointment letter, we were required to show up 48 hours later in Helena. Only problem is, we had packed up the car and were leaving for Canada for a few months vacation the day we got the letter. Granted, the two points to consider were it took the letter 3 odd weeks to get from Nebraska to Montana, and the lady at the USCIS said that we could have called and rescheduled the appointment if it was that much of a problem.

We want this whole thing to be over with, as was also stated. Our filing date was just about to come up on the webpage, but instead of seeing our date, NSC fell back to 2006. I have been planning on taking a program at a college in Canada for about a year now. Its 1/3 the price of the local American college and the curriculum is much better. But, we cant go anywhere for any length of time. We have called the USCIS people and begged them to phone us should any appointments come up. That way I could at least check the answering machine each day, but I would be insane to put my faith and trust these people. They would ruin our entire lives and still sleep well at night.

My wife has not seen her family in almost 3 years, and that isn't healthy. Being military myself, I am used to traveling when where and as long as I feel. For us, this is a prison without a fence. In perfect Orwellian fashion. I just hope we get her 10 year GC before years end. I think since we are more then 12 months, we can put in a service request, as well as stopping by to see our senator.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-03-23 18:56:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionCan anyone suggest a good immigration lawyer?
Well, we have spoken with the USCIC people here in Montana. They said we can simply mail in her passport, they put a stamp extending another year, then mail it back. As far as naturalization, we have grown very weary of the fear and restrictions regarding "green card" holders. We have been virtual prisoners here in America, terrified to go anywhere for fear of missing a letter demanding we show up 300 miles away within 24 hours, or face deportation. 35 million illegal Mexicans running around America murdering raping and pillaging, but they make me the disabled veteran jump through 500 flaming hoops? God forbid the USCIS keep you informed via email, so that you could plan accordingly. We would love to take off for Ukraine for the summer or head north to Canada for spring. But for those without an American passport, thats impossible. Once she gets her naturalization and passport, we can go anywhere we want for as long as we want. We would also like to have someone monitoring our case, thus allowing us to travel overseas with confidence.

If anyone knows a decent lawyer, let me know.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-03-22 19:42:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionCan anyone suggest a good immigration lawyer?
We are officially outside the 12 month "normal processing" window for I-751, Nebraska of course. We are giving consideration to filing for naturalization as well, as she will be eligible in about 2 months.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-03-22 18:57:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionOMG I was Touched!!!!
Thanks for the clarification, James. If we are lucky we will have our N-400 interview within 4 months of filing. Things are pretty quiet here in Montana...I hope.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-04-02 06:55:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionOMG I was Touched!!!!
I thought that once you filed for N-400, your I-751 file was moved to your local office? Can anyone verify that?
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-04-02 03:49:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionDoes Filing N-400 Stop I-751 Processing?
The N-400 section seems pretty quiet, actually. Mostly administrative questions. The form itself seems pretty straightforward as well. The main hurdle is the $700 filing. But if paying that money helps me rid my life of Nebraska, I'm all for it.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-03-30 15:11:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionDoes Filing N-400 Stop I-751 Processing?
Not to bust any stones, but has anyone been over to the N-400 forum? I have, and I don't see any of the hand wringing, screaming, and people running around with their hair on fire like I do here in this forum. Myself included, of course.

Perhaps thats the attitude USCIS wants to foster? Marginalize I-751s to force everyone into N-400? They get two piles of cash from us, plus more potential cannon fodder. For the USCIS its a win/win scenario. The only losers are us!

Anyhow, we can apply for N-400 in a few weeks, and we will do so. If for no other reason then Nebraska loses our file to the local office. I have found the locals to be semi-kinda-sorta reasonable and almost competent so far. Nebraska on the other hand, they should all be fired and trained monkey shipped in to replace them. The monkeys could not possibly do any worse then the current crop of "pay-us-to-ruin-your-life" clowns.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-03-29 18:36:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionDoes Filing N-400 Stop I-751 Processing?
I will answer from my own personal perspective. First, having a green card limits travel to a large degree. And for my wife and I, its all about freedom to travel. As I said before, my wife would like to attend a college right across the border in Alberta, Canada. She has access to military spouse educational benefits, but Canada will not give her a study permit without the legal right to stay or return to America during and after her schooling. That aside, we would like to take 6 months off in Ukraine, or check out the job market in Japan or even Germany. I am a disabled veteran, we have no children yet, and 14 years in the military gave me a nomadic urge. My wife, having spent her whole life in one town, is likewise inclined to see the world.

That being said, we have to take into account the actions and behavior of the USCIS. The USCIS could, and would, gleefully strip my wife of her green card and deport her over the slightest of mistakes. This in light of the USCIS being utterly unable to keep to even the simplest of timelines, answer queries honestly, demonstrate consistency, or treat citizens with anything remotely resembling respect or compassion.

Thus, the USCIS has defined itself as a tyrant of the worst sort. I am used to this, as I spent years wrestling the Department of Veterans Affairs over my pension. If having my wife apply for naturalization gives her a passport and the ability to travel abroad, once and for all, then were going for it. I have reviewed the N-400 form, and it looks pretty simple. Chances are, our I-751 will take 18 months to process. Why not put the extra 6 months to good use?

Given the choice between the two, and the timeframe being virtually identical, we choose the passport over the green card. Sure, the cost is an extra $700, but if after paying you never have to deal with USCIS again, its a bargain.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-03-29 06:03:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionDoes Filing N-400 Stop I-751 Processing?
Oh well. I guess we are at the point where it cant hurt to file the N-400. Processing times for Nebraska I-751 are reported to be as long as 18 months, maybe even more. Since we are already at 12 month, and we could possibly be made to wait a further 6 months, we might as well put that time to good use. I do look forward to the day my wife gets her passport...this way we can go anywhere we want, for as long as we want.

Thanks for all the input, folks.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-03-28 09:42:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionDoes Filing N-400 Stop I-751 Processing?
By district office you mean local state office of the USCIS? For us this would be Helena, Montana? As opposed to Nebraska Service Center? I guess this would make sense. I can only hope the local folks would be more responsive, maybe.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-03-28 08:56:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionDoes Filing N-400 Stop I-751 Processing?
Kathryn, thanks so much for the reply. It does sounds pretty logical. I was just worried that, in typical USCIS fashion, they would get my N-400 and promptly heave my I-751 into the trash bin. I wish there was some sort of way to actually verify that putting the N-400 in does actually boost your I-751 processing. Be it in a USCIS memo or on a USCIS webpage somewhere.

Great point about stacking up the voters for the 2008 elections, I had not even considered that but its totally in line with what we have come to expect. Thanks again for the input!
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-03-28 08:05:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionDoes Filing N-400 Stop I-751 Processing?
We are very close to my wife being able to file for naturalization. If we do so, will they throw her 10 year green card out the window? Anyone know if there is any adverse effect otherwise? Maybe a confirmation letter extending her out another year? If anyone know, please post. If not, Ill take a shot at the naturalization forum.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-03-28 03:01:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 recived e-mail today from CRIS after 18 monts later
Consider yourselves lucky. In 12+ months we have gotten zip nadda nothing on our I-751 in Nebraska. It seems it will take at least another 6 months to complete.

We will be filing the N-400 in May, thus putting that 6 months to good use and stripping Nebraska of the ability to ruin our lives and further.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-04-02 03:45:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionClose call! Biometric apptt in 8 days!
That one event shook us from our fantasy of "freedom" and into the reality of "prison". We have gotten one email from USCIS, nothing more. Phone calls are returned on a 50/50 basis. Cost are outrageous, by design. Decisions are arbitrary, at best. Your entire life hangs on a roll of the dice.

My wife and I constantly talk about all the things we COULD have done these last 3 years. Go back to Ukraine, spend more time in Canada, visit my relatives on the east coast. But no, we sit and wait for USCIS. I cant really work on expanding my business, because it would require travel or even relocation.

We have a strong marriage, but this is a time in our relationship we would very much like to put behind us. That being said, perhaps its like the military. You dream about the day you ETS, and you enjoy the freedom all the more. Ive alot of pent up energy that I plan to put to good use, so maybe its for the better.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-04-10 01:55:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionClose call! Biometric apptt in 8 days!
Bingo! They did the same for us. But, ours was 2 days from the day we got the letter and we were at that very moment packing up the car to leave for a 6 month vacation in Canada.

Only after it was all over did we find out we could have called the local office and rescheduled the biometrics for a more convenient time for us. If there is a problem, you may want to call your local office. Our local office returns about 50% of our calls, which is spectacular customer service for the USCIS.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-04-09 02:24:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussionhow long does the over all process takes
We just passed our 12 month mark, and our claim was transferred from Nebraska (AKA 9th Circle of Hell) to another service center. Were hoping for California. Regardless, we know it can take as long as 18 months, so were gonna file an N-400 next month so as to put the next 6 months to good use.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-04-10 20:46:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionGreen Card Production Ordered...When Do We Get The Card?
No, our file date was march 2007, about a month before yours. Maybe give it a few weeks.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-04-12 03:51:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionGreen Card Production Ordered...When Do We Get The Card?
On one hand, we are happy its over, but its depressing to think of those that have gone longer then us with no result.
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-04-11 22:14:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionGreen Card Production Ordered...When Do We Get The Card?
Well, since the card was ordered yesterday, maybe we should expect it before the end of the month...I hope. Thank you for the reply!
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-04-11 17:35:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionGreen Card Production Ordered...When Do We Get The Card?
Ok, as of April 10, 2008 the card has been ordered. The phone line said "if you don't get the card within 30 days contact us". I suspect this is along the same lines as "I-751 processing takes 6 months" joke. Or, we will be lucky if we get the card before the end of 2008.

Question is, has anyone gotten notification, then gotten a card within 30 days? If not, has anyone gotten it in less then 30 days? Or is 60 days a more logical amount to plan for?

Thanks in advance!
GulskjeggMaleUkraine2008-04-11 17:19:00