biggish data

QUOTE (milimelo @ Dec 12 2007, 08:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Alan,

the POE officers made sure I was immediately in the 'SAVE' system (as I was the only CR1 immigrant at that hour) and it turned out to be true since I went four days after we arrived to update my SS card status and there was no problem with that. It's the misinformation line people who are giving out wrong information that gets to me. Oh well, I have made an infopass appointment for 12/19 so will let everyone know what happens.
Do you suggest coming with a filled form for replacement of the card and check book ready?

That sounds a really good idea - the 7 P's .......

perfect planning and preparation prevents p... poor performance

I think calling the USCIS could actually make things worse. I said my initial address would be in Milwaukee but put my friend's address in Georgia as the place to send the green card to. Then 2 weeks after arriving i changed my address at USCIS online so that it is now Florida.

I am tempted to ask em where the green card will go now but I fear they will just put a block on it if they cannot comprehend

The Milwaukee address is Carolyn's mother's and is still valid
The Georgia address is my friend's and is still valid
The Florida address is current

So I really don't care which address it goes to, and as it does not have to be signed for, it won't be returned to them hopefully

Yes let's keep in touch us IR1/CR1 people using this thread because the other forum for GC is really about AOS folk who get theirs quickly (usually!)

alan

Edited by saywhat, 12 December 2007 - 07:37 AM.

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-12 07:37:00

QUOTE (JA Tam @ Dec 11 2007, 11:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can't understand why it takes so much longer for those of us that interview out of the country and POE.

You know, if 99.9% of GC's were sent out correct then we wouldn't really bother would we ?

As long as we were certain to get it within 6 months we could just relax...

It's the knowledge that we might have 6 months plus of horrible mess and fighting and struggling and being blocked and told wrong information that causes the anxiety...

I know it takes a couple of weeks for the POE stuff to get on the 'SAVE' system whereas a K1 is already on it, so it might be that extra leg

I am assured by Florida DMV that my 'immigration status' has been verified and so my driver's license has been issued - I look like an emaciated dog which is no wonder after 12 months of this stuff...... also the Social Security people can see me on the 'SAVE' system though they have sent the case off for verification anyway

So I am that far but no further which is more than some poor people get.

I will read that green card 6 times before I believe the details are all correct - and get a second opinion from 'her indoors'

Then I will check it again the following morning

alan

Edited by saywhat, 11 December 2007 - 06:49 PM.

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-11 18:48:00

QUOTE (milimelo @ Dec 10 2007, 02:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Let me join the club of those who still do not have the physical green card.

For me, it has been close to 6 months - I arrived on 5/31, first welcome letter 7/6 then another one on 7/19. Called the useless info line first in October as I wanted to give them time since they had the fee increase in July. Told me the same thing I can see on case status online - it has been approved but they do not know why I still do not have it and they will do the "service info request" or whatever that is called and that I should call back on 11/29. I call on 11/29 no news, but the guy tells me call tomorrow maybe we will have news then. I call on 11/30 only to be told by a lady that since I called the day before I now need to wait another 30 days before I call them back.

Now I am just going to make an Infopass for next week and go see should I just apply for a replacement of the card I never received.

I hope no one else has to go through anything similar to the above!

That's tough it really is...

Yes info pass sounds the way to go

As soon as they confirm it was sent out, you can just do the 'lost greencard' thing which is very common and should work.

If they say it wasnt sent out then you want it NOW

Its one or the other...

If mine is not here by the end of next week (7 weeks) I will do an infopass because that is scary..

We all think the 12 months temporary endorsement on the visa is plenty of time to deal with the USCIS and receive the green card but I always thought that limit could be bumped easily

You have my sympathy with this but now you are doing infopass I think the problem will be solved

very good luck

alan

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-10 10:00:00

QUOTE (hhk3 @ Dec 10 2007, 02:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My wife's green card finally arrived last Friday, about eleven weeks after she entered the US. I guess anything within three, four months is to be considered normal these days.

That is pretty dire..

As they are all issued from Mesquite Texas, I wonder why the big disparity in 'time to issue' times ?

I know there will be a few days difference in going from various POEs to the USCIS, but one would imagine that they all proceed along a conveyor belt..

I saw 3 or 4 VJ folk who were reporting spot on 7 weeks - so 11 weeks is undenkbar

NOTHING would surprise me... don't even think I will apply for citizenship as that means handing the green card in and WAITING.. Think I will just hope to die before the 10 years is out on the green card

Edited by saywhat, 10 December 2007 - 09:52 AM.

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-10 09:51:00

5 weeks today and no sign of green card - expecting it in the name of hillary clinton with george bush's photo on it at the end of next week...

taking my temporary driver's license to the DMV today as it is expiring

they would not give me a proper license until the USCIS confirm that my IR1 visa is not a fake ! we VJ people know how long that is going to take .... that could be years but the DMV hinted that they would just issue a license if the USCIS dont respond in a month... we will see today

still no car title

still no SS card

still no 'real' driver's license

but i have received real car license plates with a little yellow peel off date sticker that would not survive the vandals for one evening in the UK

Edited by saywhat, 10 December 2007 - 07:23 AM.

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-10 07:22:00

QUOTE (trailmix @ Dec 5 2007, 07:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (saywhat @ Dec 5 2007, 12:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Jigi @ Dec 5 2007, 07:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hi,

I agree with you Alan, but we have to respect the law of the country
Lets keep it that way only.

Jigi

Don't talk total TOSH ! - it isn't the law of the country that government departments should be massively incompetant in their work systems

The USCIS are obstructing the law of the land being carried out quickly and efficiently as intended - not me !

I WANT the law to be carried out whereas you are happy to see the legislation frustrated by the administration because you are scared to criticize in case they pick on you and you think that sucking up to them will help you

By being submissive to this you perpetuate the problem

Don't worry, they are not reading this and they won't throw you out for not being servile

Well that is good to know! I personally don't do well with servile. Alan is right Jigi, I don't think there are any laws on the books for this particular mess. It is a common thread in most (not all, there must be some good ones out there) government departments in all countries.

What I see with USCIS is a system that is getting more and more maze like as it grows. They keep throwing cups of water on the fire - like having you exchange this fee for that form, then another fee for another form - who in their right mind would ever imagine, let alone implement, a system like that?

I'll answer that myself - a person who is trying to think of a way to slow everyone down (instead of thinking up a solid way to make the process work right).

I was a bit hard on Jigi there - taking out my frustrations - sorry

But Trailmix I came to the same conclusion today - it's deliberate and piling up a one year queue works once only - then it stays an expensive mess

They should be more honest about it and impose a quota on family visas or a points system and then administer it right. At least we would know where we stood then

alan

Edited by saywhat, 05 December 2007 - 02:57 PM.

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-05 14:56:00

QUOTE (Jigi @ Dec 5 2007, 07:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hi,

I agree with you Alan, but we have to respect the law of the country
Lets keep it that way only.

Jigi

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-05 14:44:00

QUOTE (Jigi @ Dec 5 2007, 06:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hi

takes 30 working days.... = 7 weeks becos of high load.

Jigi

High workload my middle aged bottom

they are creating workload by their own slap-dash errors

they have a department doing nothing else but sort out their self-generated messes and it takes months to do anything

they could not organize a good time in a brewery that lot

The whole crew sound like they have been selected for having attention deficit and/or learning difficulties and are then force fed tranquilisers and sleeping tablets before starting work each day

I used to manage a department of 30 who had a lot of data input and I would have strung myself up rather than run a shower of an operation like this...its not the number of immigrants, it's the pathetic, authoritarian, closed - minded, old-fashioned, robotic and error tolerant system - and that is management's fault.

The standards by which they judge themselves are lower than whale poo and that is the problem

I have toned this down as I dont want to sound too judgemental

Edited by saywhat, 05 December 2007 - 01:53 PM.

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-05 13:52:00

QUOTE (RandyandRina @ Dec 5 2007, 01:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Does it really take that long?

I am concerned...

about 7 weeks seems to be the norm at the moment..i am 4.5 weeks and certainly dont expect anything yet..

I would advise people to go get a social security card 14 days after immigrating if yours has not arrived. At least you will confirm that your details are on the system

what is scaring me is the percentage of people with incorrect cards who go into the agony of several months wait to have it corrected. I wonder what that percentage is ?

Both my 'classmates' from NVC stage have hit some problems and I had a wrong name at K1 and a neighbour in Wisconsin had her file lost and ended up flying to Australia and doing DCF !

I know of so many people who are having their paperwork lost or wrongly completed that I wonder if the percentage is ---40 or 50% or something ?

The fact that SS has regulations to allow people a card who 'only have one letter of their name spelled wrongly' or USCIS having a special form and department for GC's that are sent out wrongly, and that department is months behind, makes me think the percentage is high..

I have called the USCIS many times over the last 3 years and although they have charming people who say things like 'I wish to take this opportunity to welcome you to America', they do sound like they are on some sort of affirmative action program for people with learning or language difficulties and the chances of them getting all the pieces of information correct are slim.

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-05 08:55:00

Yes, it sounds like I am trying scare everyone including myself, but I reckon it's best to be mentally prepared in case the next stage does go wrong. I find the most distressing experiences in the whole process is when something goes really wrong and it wasn't expected.

Then it's a mixture of disappointment, frustration, uncertainty and not least, shock.

At least the people on the IR1/CR1 forum will have an endorsed passport which is supposed to act like a 12 month greencard, unlike the adjustment of status people.

My mother is 93 and lives in the UK so I worry about being left high and dry without a green card. You hear about people taking 18 months to get a replacement card when their's is issued with a photo of someone looking like a member of ZZ TOP

Having suffered from the wrong name thing when I entered on a K1, I know that it can take months even to get a social security card when that happens

ok well fingers crossed - when/if the GC arrives I will careful check the name, sex, photo, date of birth and expiry date and then check em again and then check em again. If it is correct then all I have to decide is risk not carrying it with me and getting a fine and conviction, or carry it and lose the card. All decisions.

I was wondering about which forums this stuff should be on but the GC forum is really for AOS which is very different to us CR1/IR1 people so i reckon its best here and lets the people coming along after see what's up ahead and not get so cocky when they get their 'case complete'

The thing about this visa journey is that at each successful stage we breath a sigh of relief and think we have 'made it', only to realise a month further on, that it's far from over and there is another challenge to meet

I know that at naturalization stage there is a lot of worry as they take your GC from you and then you - yes you guessed it- you wait !

I reckon that only a U.S. passport will really take the lingering uncertainty away. My friend has been here 12 years and has not applied for citizenship , but he is running a risk because he loves a bit of 'moral turpitude' of a Saturday night.

alan

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-05 08:12:00

that's good news

I just found a massive thread for people who's green card is wrong ! There are trillions of em - well a lot

Ladies with their middle names spelled wrongly and some guy's photo on their green card !

Just shoot me if that happens as it is another nightmare to sort out and takes a loooooong time.....

If mine is right I will parcel tape it to my chest and never bathe again

If its someone else's photo and they are better looking than me I might just keep it

alan

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-04 19:03:00

Diana - it was hilarious - I thought I would take your lead and call the USCIS

They said they were unable to assist me until I had been in the country for 30 days and that would be tomorrow

So I have to call back then

Isn't it amazing how the bureaucratic mind works ?

Of course it wasnt her fault - its the person who made the rules and allowed NO flexibility and turned these nice people into rule slaves

alan

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-04 14:04:00

I came in on my IR1 exactly 4 weeks ago yesterday...

People on VJ who know, say the social security card tick box on the IV application does not work so I went to S Security office yesterday

VERY unsavory characters in and around there - flushed faces with heroin etc

anyway I AM on the 'save' system so thats good

I dont expect the green card for 3 more weeks as 7 weeks seems normal

It is worth going to SS office for a SS card as they will tell you if you are on the 'save' system - that is that your brown paper envelope was not lost at POE

I still do not have my Florida car plates after 3.5 weeks or my Florida driver's license after 3 weeks-only temporary bits of paper...-oh and no car title either

EVERYTHING is slow or fails or is lost

and now my UK bank is locking the money since they know my new address in Florida - I still have ongoing utility bills etc on my house in the UK to pay so its a problem

good isn't it ? Never mind, things can only get worse...

These folk who cheer when they get approved have no idea what is up ahead - this thing is NEVER over

PS yes the 'registration number' is the 'A' number (alien)

at POE they wrote an 'A' in front of my registration number using a black pen

alan

Edited by saywhat, 04 December 2007 - 09:56 AM.

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-12-04 09:53:00

Whilst it is true that the Police certificates are valid for 12 months the US embassy in London have recently changed their requirement stating that the Police Certificates must have been issued within the last 6 months. I saw this on their website and am trying to find where I saw it so I can post the link.

This is not true.. please read below directly from the US Embassy website

How long is a police certificate valid for?
With the exception of the U.K. police certificate which is considered valid for 12 months from the date of issuance, a police certificate is valid indefinitely, provided you do not return to the country and reside for six months or more, if it's your country of birth or current residence. The period is twelve months for any other country.

http://www.usembassy...a_iv.html#iv041

Here's the link with the other information that I was referring to about subject access (i.e. Police Certificate) being issued within the last 6 months. Note specifically the paragraph that reads:

A Subject Access Statement from the National Identification Service (NIS) or an Enhanced Disclosure Statement from the Criminal Records Bureau issued less than 6 months before your visa interview.

http://www.usembassy.../add_crime.html

oops now this is confusing - both the link to the 12 month and 6 month thing are correct - I wonder if the 6 month thing is just for people who have convictions (they never caught me haha !) - the fact that it is talking about 'enhanced disclosure' on the 6month one is making me think its for convicted persons

what do we reckon ?

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-01-08 06:53:00

Does your spouse have ILR in the UK?, if so why not DCF ?

spouse has been here since October last year and I believe she has to have been here 2 years and so have ILR before they will take it at London... I asked them by email and they were cagey like they might - but they wont say for definite and if i file there, they might sit on it some weeks and then send it back and tell us to file in Nebraska (her last residence area)

hum....

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-01-08 06:44:00

oh dear things have changed !!!

The medical centre at Nuffield Hospital Edinburgh no longer does medicals so no jumping the gun....

The embassy site says only 2 medical centres now - both in London and they wont even give you the addresses etc of the centres until they send out the packets from the embassy

No more short cuts - hum - cant get a cancellation interview if they wont give me the ok to fix a medical until they have given me an interview date....

jeez these loopholes get filled quickly !

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-01-08 06:26:00

UK police certificates are valid for 1 year, and take approx 40 days to receive. From what I understand you can only schedule your medical once you have an interview date..

All the best

jolly good news about the police certificate - might as well get on with it now !

when I did the K1 thing I thought i did it before I had an interview date as I emailed the embassy and told them i had the police and medical certs and i could be in London with no notice needed if they got a cancellation - they gave me an interview in about 10 days flat !
Hoping to do that again - ok I will phone the medical centre in Edinburgh and report back here on what they say ! thanks alan

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-01-08 05:59:00

Sorry to ask this as I am sure I saw it last year but can't find it -- is the Police Certificate valid for 6 months ? I am planning to apply for it on the day I get NOA2 as I reckon it will take 4 weeks to get by which time london embassy will be receiving the docs from NVC...

then I am hoping to jump the gun on the medical and get that done too immediately after NOA2 (or should it be when the NVC have finished ? - I know the medical centres in the UK will do the medical before the embassy packets are sent out as long as they have a ref number (NVC ref ?) but cant remember how long the medical is valid for either...

just 'lining my ducks up' and planning it all in advance - thanks

Alan

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-01-08 05:50:00

establishing domicile

aahh Yodrak - thanks for that... I hoped there might not be a problem with domicile..

yes i meant the I-864 affidavit of support - I dont want to see a I-485 ever again ! Yes I think the 864 goes into the domicile stuff....

However, I am at a loss as to whether we can put our intended address as a 'long stay america' motel where we intend to stay for a month or so while we find a permanent place - or should we just put her mother's address and leave it at that....as long as we can be reached while we are messing around trying to find somewhere, that should be the main thing ?

Don't know if I am making a mountain out of a mole hill here - her mother lives in 'sheltered' accomodation for the elderly with a warden etc so I have visions of the interviewing officer giving us a hard time on that if he looks at it hard or asks us how many bedrooms etc....

this bit seems a bit woolly and I am not quite sure as it is an area which is not spelled out on the forms

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-01-09 13:13:00

establishing domicile

We have filed cr-1 and we both live in the UK so now comes the question of domicile. I didn't see any questions on the I-130 so presumably it rears its interesting head at visa application time ?
My wife (USC) left the US in October 2006 and we plan to return November 2007.
She has her pension plan in the US
She has her bank accounts (2) in the US
She has kept her US credit card
She has furniture in storage in the US

However, all these things have her UK address on them now. She has no property in the US.

Also, if these are sufficient for domicile, should we say we are planning to stay with her mother in Milwaukee while we look for a place to rent/buy ? We will be away looking for somewhere and I will get an unconditional green card which apparently does not need to be signed for so thats ok..

I guess there are 2 questions here -

domicile ? are we ok ?
address to put on visa application when we don't have anywhere really ? We will probably stay in a long stay America apartment for the first month in reality

thanks for any advice on these two - we are ok for funds to satisfy the 485 form as I am retired with income which is sufficient and will continue

alan

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-01-09 12:29:00

I-864 tax-current year papers only then two amounts ?

the requirement is that you either list your income for 3 years and send the most recent tax form or if you feel it will help strengthen your case , send 3 years.

http://www.visajourn...mp;#entry599625

ah I think I get it - so if you had really poor earnings last year but good ones before that you would send all three years papers- otherwise just send the current year and then just enter dollar amounts for the previous 2 years with no paperwork backup ?

ok thanks alan

Captain Oates

Male

England

2007-01-10 15:09:00