Ramba
08-21 05:25 PM
. The ambiguity of the law for the preference of vertical vs. horizontal spill-over allowed them to do that.
There is no ambiguity in law. The law is clear. One law (and one rule) should yield one interpretation. If someone interperting the languge of law differently; then that is their mistake. Thats what DOS was doing in between 2001 and 2006. This could be possible for them because no one was going after DOS. Now somehow they realized (or some affected applicants notified DOS). If the old practice is a result of correct interpretation of law, why they should change now? This is very high sensitive area; DOS might have not changed their practice without risk analysis. They should not care about how much retrogression in India; They should only care about implementing the law correctly, as becuase they are executive branch of government not legislative branch to worry about retrogression.
There is no ambiguity in law. The law is clear. One law (and one rule) should yield one interpretation. If someone interperting the languge of law differently; then that is their mistake. Thats what DOS was doing in between 2001 and 2006. This could be possible for them because no one was going after DOS. Now somehow they realized (or some affected applicants notified DOS). If the old practice is a result of correct interpretation of law, why they should change now? This is very high sensitive area; DOS might have not changed their practice without risk analysis. They should not care about how much retrogression in India; They should only care about implementing the law correctly, as becuase they are executive branch of government not legislative branch to worry about retrogression.
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srgadi
09-10 06:30 PM
I see soft LUD on my 485 today, but the status has not changed. I had an interview in Jan 2009 and at the end of interview the IO told me that he could not approve my case as it was not current. So I believe my case is pre-adjudicated?
Someone in the same boat? Hopefully the approval e-mail comes in the next few hours or next week. <<fingers crossed>>
Someone in the same boat? Hopefully the approval e-mail comes in the next few hours or next week. <<fingers crossed>>
chanduv23
09-21 09:38 AM
Approved on Sep 10th, got physical cards on Sep 20th. Best wishes to all who are still in the journey.
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vls
06-22 10:14 AM
I have direct responses from Murthy and Rajiv Khanna now . Plus 2 other american lawyers I know. The answers have variations. I'm going to do my own research and would encourage others to do the same before coming to a conclusion on this.
If you have asked this question to your own lawyers about multiple I485 filing, please post them here.
Members can then look at all the information and make their own decisions.
I work for MSFT - I am a dependent on my husband's process (he works for another company), and I also have my own process filed, where he is my dependent.
When I asked if we could have 2 processes, the lawyer answered:
"There is no problem with you pursuing I-485 applications through the two companies since you and you husband have reverse roles in each process as principal beneficiary and dependent".
Hope this helps other people on the same situation.
If you have asked this question to your own lawyers about multiple I485 filing, please post them here.
Members can then look at all the information and make their own decisions.
I work for MSFT - I am a dependent on my husband's process (he works for another company), and I also have my own process filed, where he is my dependent.
When I asked if we could have 2 processes, the lawyer answered:
"There is no problem with you pursuing I-485 applications through the two companies since you and you husband have reverse roles in each process as principal beneficiary and dependent".
Hope this helps other people on the same situation.
more...
smitha
07-09 10:09 PM
I exactly know where your statements about 2005-2006-2007 coming from. Your basic assumptions is that 2005-2006-2007 guys are those who just came to US 2-3 yrs back and now want their GC asap whereas you are waiting in line for 6-7 years...right?
Ma'm with all due respect, that is not correct for most of the cases. There are several people who has to re-file their labor for several reasons (employer greedy, company overtaken, laid-off, company gone bankrupt etc etc.). That does not mean that 2005-2006-2007 guys are asking that they should get GC before 2001-2004 people. What most of the people need is an ability to file for AOS so that they can indepenedent of the clutches of their employers.
I'm sure if you widen your horizon, you will be able to understand the plight of all your brothers and sisters stuck in this retrogression.
For your information
Smitha
EB2 India
PD-2005-May
I140 approved-Sept 2006
I have MS in EE from US and working since 2001,filed my GC in 2005 May(PERM).
However can you please tell me anyone who got GC in Eb2/Eb3(India) in 1-2 yr in the last 15 yrs?
Exactly that is now 2006-2007 PD guys are expecting to happen a miracle, right? I mean, apply 485,EAD ASAP.
If you guys really care about 2002-2003-2004 guys, then please please wait for OCT 07 bulletin and after that you can do anything you want. If they will retrogress the dates, then please fight but not before that.
This is just a suggestion. If you like follow it, otherwise ignore.
Ma'm with all due respect, that is not correct for most of the cases. There are several people who has to re-file their labor for several reasons (employer greedy, company overtaken, laid-off, company gone bankrupt etc etc.). That does not mean that 2005-2006-2007 guys are asking that they should get GC before 2001-2004 people. What most of the people need is an ability to file for AOS so that they can indepenedent of the clutches of their employers.
I'm sure if you widen your horizon, you will be able to understand the plight of all your brothers and sisters stuck in this retrogression.
For your information
Smitha
EB2 India
PD-2005-May
I140 approved-Sept 2006
I have MS in EE from US and working since 2001,filed my GC in 2005 May(PERM).
However can you please tell me anyone who got GC in Eb2/Eb3(India) in 1-2 yr in the last 15 yrs?
Exactly that is now 2006-2007 PD guys are expecting to happen a miracle, right? I mean, apply 485,EAD ASAP.
If you guys really care about 2002-2003-2004 guys, then please please wait for OCT 07 bulletin and after that you can do anything you want. If they will retrogress the dates, then please fight but not before that.
This is just a suggestion. If you like follow it, otherwise ignore.
vikki76
10-05 02:56 PM
Hi vikki76, bpositive, dipika, caliguy, leoindiano:
If I am correct, your PDs are current, right? Do you guys know if your case was pre-adjudicated and/or assigned to an IO? I keep reading from the forums that some apps with PDs as late as Dec 2004 and a couple of Jan 2005 got approved. Wondering why the earlier (eg. mine is July 04) not approved yet. Could we all join togther and write a letter to Napolitino(Thanks to SoP for the idea) and ask her to take some action on our cases?
Yes my case is pre-adjudicated and currently with a IO.My colleagues who had filed around same time as me got it in September itself.I am thinking that we are just bit unlucky in that our apps haven't been picked up yet (depending which batch they landed up in)
If I am correct, your PDs are current, right? Do you guys know if your case was pre-adjudicated and/or assigned to an IO? I keep reading from the forums that some apps with PDs as late as Dec 2004 and a couple of Jan 2005 got approved. Wondering why the earlier (eg. mine is July 04) not approved yet. Could we all join togther and write a letter to Napolitino(Thanks to SoP for the idea) and ask her to take some action on our cases?
Yes my case is pre-adjudicated and currently with a IO.My colleagues who had filed around same time as me got it in September itself.I am thinking that we are just bit unlucky in that our apps haven't been picked up yet (depending which batch they landed up in)
more...
bayarea07
09-15 03:52 PM
Why we cannot have a EFax facility on this site so that people can send fax to senators.
Sometimes People find Efaxing easier than calling
(especially passive viewers of this site)
Called all but nine of congressmen. Will try to call all of them before 5:00pm eastern
Sometimes People find Efaxing easier than calling
(especially passive viewers of this site)
Called all but nine of congressmen. Will try to call all of them before 5:00pm eastern
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superdude
07-31 05:07 PM
Well suppose they reject your 485 for lack of Initial Evidence then you are in some trouble. The people who applied prior to new Memo was passed had there applications receipted even without EVL. What will happen after the Memo is passed ...can't say. I think EVL is considered Initial Evidence. Thats my guess.
Not this time. USCIS clearly mentioned that Completed application with Signatures, Correct Fees should be sufficient. They are even accepting without medicals.
Not this time. USCIS clearly mentioned that Completed application with Signatures, Correct Fees should be sufficient. They are even accepting without medicals.
more...
sreenivas11
07-11 03:08 PM
www.andhrajyothy.com
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gbof
10-06 09:10 PM
guys,
I replied to the PMs abd as req I sent the letter sample that I sent to Janet N. Kewlchap and fatjoe I didn't get ur email ids......
You can get my letter from caliguy or gbof I sent them my letter too.YES I DID APPROACH CIS OMBUDSMan
Regards,
SoP
SoP, i got NO mail from you-- just check if you got my e-mail right
I replied to the PMs abd as req I sent the letter sample that I sent to Janet N. Kewlchap and fatjoe I didn't get ur email ids......
You can get my letter from caliguy or gbof I sent them my letter too.YES I DID APPROACH CIS OMBUDSMan
Regards,
SoP
SoP, i got NO mail from you-- just check if you got my e-mail right
more...
answers_seeker
07-09 10:54 PM
This is just a message to 2005/2006/2007 PD guys. Please don't think that some miracle will happen and dates will be current soon, it will take its own time. Mostly for EB2 & EB3June 2006- June 2007 guys, it will be like a lottery if the PD becomes current somewhere in 2007 Oct-Nov time. Right??
So life is not always easy. There are people waiting since 2002-03-04.
Don't think that life is not a FIFO always.
Why some of the guys became violent when I said, INDIA IS GREAT???
Guys.. do you know why I always feel like this???
As my parents,in laws and most of my relatives stay there. Not only mine, allmost all guys who are in the IV, they must have parents and relatives in India for sure. There is no other reason why I said India is great.
Someone asked me to pack up... YES, I will if nothing happens;however, I will be waiting to see the progress for sure. This is July. Let's have a look over OCT bulletin after 2 months and for sure dates will move atleast 4-6 months for EB2 guys and 1 year for EB3 guys. So wait, be patient, instead of doing all this.
Anyway, our turn will come sooner or later, so why to become impatient just seeing the JULY bulletin CURRENT and then "U".
Mainly this is the message for 2005-2006-2007 PD guys. Please don't take it otherwise.
In the name of thinking differently we have smitha, senthil1 , asdqwe..and these guys confusing this struggle / fight for us trying to get ahead of the line or as senthil1 keeps saying uscis/dos made an honest mistake and asdqwe..keeps saying we need to fight for legislation rather than wasting time with these efforts. What all these guys and their ilk fail to understand is most of us are pissed off about the way it was implemented and handled rather than the ability to file AOS itself. If we sit and do nothing is like asking uscis / dos to walk all over us again and again. Besides in US law whenever there is a gray area, the decisions are based on precedents. This means if they have done this now means they can do this in any bulletin hence issued. They can issue a bulletin in Oct 2007 and on Nov 2 say "oops sorry my bad wrong bulletin" . Please come out of the basement and face the sun.
So life is not always easy. There are people waiting since 2002-03-04.
Don't think that life is not a FIFO always.
Why some of the guys became violent when I said, INDIA IS GREAT???
Guys.. do you know why I always feel like this???
As my parents,in laws and most of my relatives stay there. Not only mine, allmost all guys who are in the IV, they must have parents and relatives in India for sure. There is no other reason why I said India is great.
Someone asked me to pack up... YES, I will if nothing happens;however, I will be waiting to see the progress for sure. This is July. Let's have a look over OCT bulletin after 2 months and for sure dates will move atleast 4-6 months for EB2 guys and 1 year for EB3 guys. So wait, be patient, instead of doing all this.
Anyway, our turn will come sooner or later, so why to become impatient just seeing the JULY bulletin CURRENT and then "U".
Mainly this is the message for 2005-2006-2007 PD guys. Please don't take it otherwise.
In the name of thinking differently we have smitha, senthil1 , asdqwe..and these guys confusing this struggle / fight for us trying to get ahead of the line or as senthil1 keeps saying uscis/dos made an honest mistake and asdqwe..keeps saying we need to fight for legislation rather than wasting time with these efforts. What all these guys and their ilk fail to understand is most of us are pissed off about the way it was implemented and handled rather than the ability to file AOS itself. If we sit and do nothing is like asking uscis / dos to walk all over us again and again. Besides in US law whenever there is a gray area, the decisions are based on precedents. This means if they have done this now means they can do this in any bulletin hence issued. They can issue a bulletin in Oct 2007 and on Nov 2 say "oops sorry my bad wrong bulletin" . Please come out of the basement and face the sun.
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gc28262
06-18 12:20 PM
If companies could survive with GCs and Citizens alone, they would have done it already. The fact is there aren't enough quality resources to be picked from GC/Citizen pool. That is the reason companies are willing to deal with complex immigration laws for hiring a non-immigrant worker.
Of course companies will look for cheaper and easier ways of doing things.( outsourcing route) I agree with puddonhead that threshold for outsourcing is low in these times. Vast majority of outsourcing was initiated during the last recession ( 2000- 2001).
Of course companies will look for cheaper and easier ways of doing things.( outsourcing route) I agree with puddonhead that threshold for outsourcing is low in these times. Vast majority of outsourcing was initiated during the last recession ( 2000- 2001).
more...
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sc3
08-20 06:09 PM
Ron says at this site
http://www.immigration-information.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5456
that the change in interpretation is done intentionally. I am not sure if we can call it a mistake any more. For some agency to go all out and claim that they have "reviewed" and are therefore going to do things in a new way is kind of casting things in stone.
Thoughts.
http://www.immigration-information.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5456
that the change in interpretation is done intentionally. I am not sure if we can call it a mistake any more. For some agency to go all out and claim that they have "reviewed" and are therefore going to do things in a new way is kind of casting things in stone.
Thoughts.
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mk26
03-31 08:44 AM
Looks like this year USCIS understood they need some money and accept some extra applications, which may be the same file I485 when PD is not current. and date might go to end of 2007.
Just a thought
Just a thought
more...
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gc_buddy
11-12 02:53 PM
I have recieved Omb response since I partificipated in the campaign. But, I have not used AC21 yet. Will be contacting PD_Recap for further direction.
Those who are willing to provide their denial info (no name or address - everything can be scratched - just the letter), please send PM to pd_recapturing
Those who received Ombudsman responses to send denial info - please contact pd_recapturing via a PM (private message)
Those who are willing to provide their denial info (no name or address - everything can be scratched - just the letter), please send PM to pd_recapturing
Those who received Ombudsman responses to send denial info - please contact pd_recapturing via a PM (private message)
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naushit
10-01 03:17 PM
Finallly, my online status changed from "Initial review" -> "Document production" and also got email from Senator's office that my case is approved.
I think I got it....but not 100% sure yet...no approval emails yet... or no other proof.
Thanks,
-N
Guys
please report your Approvals in this thread . wish you luck for EB2 / EB3 guys whose PD s are current in October 2009
�If you think IV as an organization, IV�s leadership team and many members who donated their time and money were in anyways helpful in your GC journey, please consider making a �Thank You� donation to IV. Also, keep visiting IV and support your fellow immigrants stuck in this GC queue� __________________
I think I got it....but not 100% sure yet...no approval emails yet... or no other proof.
Thanks,
-N
Guys
please report your Approvals in this thread . wish you luck for EB2 / EB3 guys whose PD s are current in October 2009
�If you think IV as an organization, IV�s leadership team and many members who donated their time and money were in anyways helpful in your GC journey, please consider making a �Thank You� donation to IV. Also, keep visiting IV and support your fellow immigrants stuck in this GC queue� __________________
more...
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gc28262
08-07 10:09 AM
LC substitution was wrong because it became a business thing for some unscruplous employers who started to sell LCs and get people to work like slaves.
Bkarnik
LC substitution is not wrong if you look at what it was intended to do. Employment based greencard application is an employer's application and he has the right to give it to whomever he wants to.( especially when an employee leaves him)
The issue was that this provision was misused by many employers.
Bkarnik
LC substitution is not wrong if you look at what it was intended to do. Employment based greencard application is an employer's application and he has the right to give it to whomever he wants to.( especially when an employee leaves him)
The issue was that this provision was misused by many employers.
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grupak
03-25 09:11 PM
I have sent an email to the id listed on that site (osccrt@usdoj.gov)with emails from Capital One which says they are not in favor of EADs. Will update once I hear back.
Thats great. Thanks for stepping up. Keep us posted.
Thats great. Thanks for stepping up. Keep us posted.
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DallasBlue
09-13 03:00 PM
Caught in a Bureaucratic Black Hole
By Anna Gorman
The Los Angeles Times
Monday 10 September 2007
Applicants seeking US citizenship languish for years as the FBI conducts cumbersome records checks. Lawsuits are a result.
Seeking to become a U.S. citizen, Biljana Petrovic filed her application, completed her interview and passed her civics test.
More than three years later, she is still waiting to be naturalized - held up by an FBI name-check process that has been criticized as slow, inefficient and a danger to national security.
Petrovic, a stay-at-home mother in Los Altos, Calif., who has no criminal record, has sued the federal government to try to speed up the process. She said it's as if her application has slipped into a "black hole."
"It's complete frustration," said Petrovic, who is originally from the former Yugoslavia and is a naturalized Canadian citizen. "It's not like I am applying to enter the country. I have been here for 19 years."
Nearly 320,000 people were waiting for their name checks to be completed as of Aug. 7, including more than 152,000 who had been waiting for more than six months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. More than 61,000 had been waiting for more than two years.
Applicants for permanent residency or citizenship have lost jobs, missed out on student loans and in-state tuition, and been unable to vote or bring relatives into the country. The delays have prompted scores of lawsuits around the country.
Already this fiscal year, more than 4,100 suits have been filed against the citizenship and immigration agency, compared with 2,650 last year and about 680 in 2005. The mandamus suits ask federal judges to compel immigration officials to adjudicate the cases. The majority of the cases were prompted by delays in checking names, spokesman Chris Bentley said.
"There is nothing in immigration law that says that a citizenship application should take two, three, four years. That's absurd," said Ranjana Natarajan, an ACLU staff attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit in Southern California last year on behalf of applicants waiting for their names to be checked. "People who have not been any sort of threat ... have been caught up in this dragnet."
In addition to the bureaucratic nightmare that the lengthy delays present, attorneys and government officials say there is a far more serious concern: They could be allowing potential terrorists to stay in the country.
Fallout From 9/11
The backlog began after 9/11, when Citizenship and Immigration Services officials reassessed their procedures and learned that the FBI checks were not as thorough as they had believed. So "out of an abundance of caution," the agency resubmitted 2.7 million names in 2002 to be checked further, Bentley said.
Rather than simply determining if the applicants were subjects of FBI investigations, the bureau checked to see if their names showed up in any FBI files, including being listed as witnesses or victims. About 90% of the names did not appear in the agency's records, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said.
But for the 10% who were listed, authorities carefully reviewed the files to look for any "derogatory" information, Carter said. Because many documents aren't electronic and are in the bureau's 265 offices nationwide, that process can take months, if not years.
"It is not a check of your name," said Chuck Roth, director of litigation for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, which also filed a class-action suit. "It is a file review of anywhere your name happens to appear. It has just created a giant bureaucratic mess."
Although many of those stuck in the backlog are from predominantly Muslim countries, there are also people from Russia, China, India and elsewhere. They include government employees and Iraq war veterans. Many have been in the U.S. legally for decades.
In one case decided in Washington, D.C., recently, a federal judge wrote that a Chinese man's four-year wait for permanent residency was unreasonable and ordered the government to decide on the application within three months. Petrovic, who has two U.S.-born teenagers, doesn't know what delayed her application. The only explanation she can think of is that her name is common in her native country.
She and her husband, Ihab Abu-Hakima, also a Canadian citizen, applied for citizenship in April 2003 and had their interviews in February 2004. Her husband was sworn in that summer, while her application continued to languish. She checked the mail daily.
When she still didn't hear anything, Petrovic contacted immigration officials, who told her that the FBI had her file and that it was still active. She also contacted her representative and her senator, whose offices asked Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite the application. She filed a Freedom of Information Act request for her FBI file, which simply showed that she had never been arrested.
"I have a feeling that the system has broken down," she said.
Joining a Different Group
In August, Petrovic joined an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed in Northern California against the federal government. She is waiting to become a U.S. citizen so she can sponsor her elderly parents, who live in Canada and visit often.
"Every time they leave, I feel bad," she said. "This is their life here, more than there."
The problem extends beyond the disruption of personal lives.
In his yearly report to Congress in June, immigration services ombudsman Prakash wrote that the policy on checking names "may increase the risk to national security by extending the time a potential criminal or terrorist remains in the country." questioned the overall value of the process, writing that it was the "single biggest obstacle to the timely and efficient delivery of immigration benefits."
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged the threat, last month announcing plans to work with the FBI to address the backlog and reduce delays. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reassess the way name checks are done and earmark $6 million toward streamlining the process, Bentley said.
Though 99% of the agency's name checks are completed within six months, Bentley said, the lengthy delays for some applicants is "unacceptable."
"That requires a lot of patience on the part of an applicant because they have to wait sometimes multiple years," he said.
Nevertheless, he said, no benefit will be approved until that name check comes back clear. Security checks have produced information about sex crimes, drug trafficking and individuals with known links to terrorism, according to the agency.
Carter, the FBI spokesman, said he understands that applicants waiting for answers are anxious, but he said the process is complicated and involves dozens of agencies and databases - and, in some cases, foreign governments.
"The FBI's No. 1 priority remains to protect the United States from terrorist attack," Carter said. "To that end, we must ensure the proper balance between security and efficiency."
In addition to clearing the backlog and processing the 27,000 new name checks it receives each week from immigration officials, the FBI is trying to accelerate the process by making more documents electronic. It is also adding more staff and moving resources to a new records facility in Virginia, Carter said.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, said the government needs to make sure that it carefully checks every application. And working with foreign governments is inevitably going to slow the process down, he said.
"We correctly have much more stringent standards for immigration," he said. "I am not really sure that there is any way to do this kind of deep background check efficiently."
But attorneys said that because of the inefficiency, the program isn't serving its purpose.
"Let's say this guy is a terrorist or a criminal," Los Angeles immigration attorney Carl Shusterman said. "Why wouldn't the FBI rush the case?"
Mervyn Sam, a South African native who got a green card in 1998, has been waiting more than four years for the FBI to complete his name check. Sam said his career has been affected by the delay. He lives in Anaheim and is a project manager at a software company but cannot work on certain government projects because he is not a U.S. citizen. He has sued the federal government.
"I am not sure what the hiccup is on my end," he said. "It is very, very frustrating."
Shusterman, whose office is representing Sam, said applicants waste their time by contacting the immigration services agency, the FBI or their legislators.
"There is only one thing that works, and that is suing them in federal court," he said.
--------
anna.gorman@latimes.com
By Anna Gorman
The Los Angeles Times
Monday 10 September 2007
Applicants seeking US citizenship languish for years as the FBI conducts cumbersome records checks. Lawsuits are a result.
Seeking to become a U.S. citizen, Biljana Petrovic filed her application, completed her interview and passed her civics test.
More than three years later, she is still waiting to be naturalized - held up by an FBI name-check process that has been criticized as slow, inefficient and a danger to national security.
Petrovic, a stay-at-home mother in Los Altos, Calif., who has no criminal record, has sued the federal government to try to speed up the process. She said it's as if her application has slipped into a "black hole."
"It's complete frustration," said Petrovic, who is originally from the former Yugoslavia and is a naturalized Canadian citizen. "It's not like I am applying to enter the country. I have been here for 19 years."
Nearly 320,000 people were waiting for their name checks to be completed as of Aug. 7, including more than 152,000 who had been waiting for more than six months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. More than 61,000 had been waiting for more than two years.
Applicants for permanent residency or citizenship have lost jobs, missed out on student loans and in-state tuition, and been unable to vote or bring relatives into the country. The delays have prompted scores of lawsuits around the country.
Already this fiscal year, more than 4,100 suits have been filed against the citizenship and immigration agency, compared with 2,650 last year and about 680 in 2005. The mandamus suits ask federal judges to compel immigration officials to adjudicate the cases. The majority of the cases were prompted by delays in checking names, spokesman Chris Bentley said.
"There is nothing in immigration law that says that a citizenship application should take two, three, four years. That's absurd," said Ranjana Natarajan, an ACLU staff attorney who filed a class-action lawsuit in Southern California last year on behalf of applicants waiting for their names to be checked. "People who have not been any sort of threat ... have been caught up in this dragnet."
In addition to the bureaucratic nightmare that the lengthy delays present, attorneys and government officials say there is a far more serious concern: They could be allowing potential terrorists to stay in the country.
Fallout From 9/11
The backlog began after 9/11, when Citizenship and Immigration Services officials reassessed their procedures and learned that the FBI checks were not as thorough as they had believed. So "out of an abundance of caution," the agency resubmitted 2.7 million names in 2002 to be checked further, Bentley said.
Rather than simply determining if the applicants were subjects of FBI investigations, the bureau checked to see if their names showed up in any FBI files, including being listed as witnesses or victims. About 90% of the names did not appear in the agency's records, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said.
But for the 10% who were listed, authorities carefully reviewed the files to look for any "derogatory" information, Carter said. Because many documents aren't electronic and are in the bureau's 265 offices nationwide, that process can take months, if not years.
"It is not a check of your name," said Chuck Roth, director of litigation for the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, which also filed a class-action suit. "It is a file review of anywhere your name happens to appear. It has just created a giant bureaucratic mess."
Although many of those stuck in the backlog are from predominantly Muslim countries, there are also people from Russia, China, India and elsewhere. They include government employees and Iraq war veterans. Many have been in the U.S. legally for decades.
In one case decided in Washington, D.C., recently, a federal judge wrote that a Chinese man's four-year wait for permanent residency was unreasonable and ordered the government to decide on the application within three months. Petrovic, who has two U.S.-born teenagers, doesn't know what delayed her application. The only explanation she can think of is that her name is common in her native country.
She and her husband, Ihab Abu-Hakima, also a Canadian citizen, applied for citizenship in April 2003 and had their interviews in February 2004. Her husband was sworn in that summer, while her application continued to languish. She checked the mail daily.
When she still didn't hear anything, Petrovic contacted immigration officials, who told her that the FBI had her file and that it was still active. She also contacted her representative and her senator, whose offices asked Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite the application. She filed a Freedom of Information Act request for her FBI file, which simply showed that she had never been arrested.
"I have a feeling that the system has broken down," she said.
Joining a Different Group
In August, Petrovic joined an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed in Northern California against the federal government. She is waiting to become a U.S. citizen so she can sponsor her elderly parents, who live in Canada and visit often.
"Every time they leave, I feel bad," she said. "This is their life here, more than there."
The problem extends beyond the disruption of personal lives.
In his yearly report to Congress in June, immigration services ombudsman Prakash wrote that the policy on checking names "may increase the risk to national security by extending the time a potential criminal or terrorist remains in the country." questioned the overall value of the process, writing that it was the "single biggest obstacle to the timely and efficient delivery of immigration benefits."
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged the threat, last month announcing plans to work with the FBI to address the backlog and reduce delays. Citizenship and Immigration Services will reassess the way name checks are done and earmark $6 million toward streamlining the process, Bentley said.
Though 99% of the agency's name checks are completed within six months, Bentley said, the lengthy delays for some applicants is "unacceptable."
"That requires a lot of patience on the part of an applicant because they have to wait sometimes multiple years," he said.
Nevertheless, he said, no benefit will be approved until that name check comes back clear. Security checks have produced information about sex crimes, drug trafficking and individuals with known links to terrorism, according to the agency.
Carter, the FBI spokesman, said he understands that applicants waiting for answers are anxious, but he said the process is complicated and involves dozens of agencies and databases - and, in some cases, foreign governments.
"The FBI's No. 1 priority remains to protect the United States from terrorist attack," Carter said. "To that end, we must ensure the proper balance between security and efficiency."
In addition to clearing the backlog and processing the 27,000 new name checks it receives each week from immigration officials, the FBI is trying to accelerate the process by making more documents electronic. It is also adding more staff and moving resources to a new records facility in Virginia, Carter said.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, said the government needs to make sure that it carefully checks every application. And working with foreign governments is inevitably going to slow the process down, he said.
"We correctly have much more stringent standards for immigration," he said. "I am not really sure that there is any way to do this kind of deep background check efficiently."
But attorneys said that because of the inefficiency, the program isn't serving its purpose.
"Let's say this guy is a terrorist or a criminal," Los Angeles immigration attorney Carl Shusterman said. "Why wouldn't the FBI rush the case?"
Mervyn Sam, a South African native who got a green card in 1998, has been waiting more than four years for the FBI to complete his name check. Sam said his career has been affected by the delay. He lives in Anaheim and is a project manager at a software company but cannot work on certain government projects because he is not a U.S. citizen. He has sued the federal government.
"I am not sure what the hiccup is on my end," he said. "It is very, very frustrating."
Shusterman, whose office is representing Sam, said applicants waste their time by contacting the immigration services agency, the FBI or their legislators.
"There is only one thing that works, and that is suing them in federal court," he said.
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anna.gorman@latimes.com
lutherpaul
09-29 09:00 AM
What was the LUD you received on Sep 17th? I got the same msg on 09/09, but nothing after that. Is your online status changed to card production?
There is no message. Just a soft update on the date. I just called USCIS and no news was disclosed and asked to wait for another 30 days for response.
There is no message. Just a soft update on the date. I just called USCIS and no news was disclosed and asked to wait for another 30 days for response.
nk2006
11-18 12:38 PM
I received a phone call (WOW!) from a sweet lady from CIS Ombudsman's office. I sent letters to his office and in the letter I mentioned my cell #. Anyway she wants a real person who got deniel. I told her that my friend got deniel (IVens are my fried). Anyway, she sent an email too after I asked her to give her info so that my friend can send her his case details. Unfortunately, the email I received shortly after the conversation, looks like general and does not have her ID. Please PM me if you like to hear more about the phone call.
==================
Thank you for your correspondence to the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman).
We greatly appreciate your comments regarding issues concerning the American Competitiveness Act in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (AC21) processing at the service centers. As we have received several inquiries such as yours, we are currently discussing these issues with USCIS and reviewing their policies and procedures regarding adjudication of these petitions.
If you have evidence of a specific I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status case that you feel was erroneously denied due to USCIS not adhering to AC21 guidelines, we kindly ask that you please immediately forward us a case problem request, including a copy of your denial notice, detailed information as to the reasons for the immediate denial, and, if appropriate, evidence that you have submitted a Motion to Reopen or Reconsider.
Instructions for completing a DHS Form 7001 (case problem) can be found on our website: http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/programs/editorial_0497.shtm#10.
Please submit your case problem and supporting documents via email to cisombudsman@dhs.gov or via facsimile to 202-357-0042 with the subject AC21 Evidence of Immediate Denial.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
CIS Ombudsman
(cmp)
Thank you gc4me for sharing info.
Its very good that they are taking notice of the issue. It would have been great if their follow-up email had some more details but in any case please share any info (like phone number your received call from) with pd_recapturing - he is culling info together from the people who are really affected.
If anyone else receive similar call - please try to get their direct contact details (it might help in our next steps being co-ordinated by chanduv, pd_recapturing, itsnotfunny and a bunch of other volunteers).
==================
Thank you for your correspondence to the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman).
We greatly appreciate your comments regarding issues concerning the American Competitiveness Act in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (AC21) processing at the service centers. As we have received several inquiries such as yours, we are currently discussing these issues with USCIS and reviewing their policies and procedures regarding adjudication of these petitions.
If you have evidence of a specific I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status case that you feel was erroneously denied due to USCIS not adhering to AC21 guidelines, we kindly ask that you please immediately forward us a case problem request, including a copy of your denial notice, detailed information as to the reasons for the immediate denial, and, if appropriate, evidence that you have submitted a Motion to Reopen or Reconsider.
Instructions for completing a DHS Form 7001 (case problem) can be found on our website: http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/programs/editorial_0497.shtm#10.
Please submit your case problem and supporting documents via email to cisombudsman@dhs.gov or via facsimile to 202-357-0042 with the subject AC21 Evidence of Immediate Denial.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
CIS Ombudsman
(cmp)
Thank you gc4me for sharing info.
Its very good that they are taking notice of the issue. It would have been great if their follow-up email had some more details but in any case please share any info (like phone number your received call from) with pd_recapturing - he is culling info together from the people who are really affected.
If anyone else receive similar call - please try to get their direct contact details (it might help in our next steps being co-ordinated by chanduv, pd_recapturing, itsnotfunny and a bunch of other volunteers).
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