The Immigration Process

I am so angry right now. This immigration process is frustrating to the point where you want to give up and just go home, but you know you've waited so long and your almost done but the little things that get in the way sets you back three steps and then you have ot wait longer.

We went for our interview, got a really cool immigration officer to interview us, the only thing that set us back was the joint financial papers, wills, and life/health insurance papers.

I'm mainly pissed at brian because he dragged his feet on this and now we're at the end of july it's been a whole month and he's just starting to get the ball rolling on this?! You have no idea how mad I am right now, i've been telling him (my way of venting) that i'm going to go home because I really am sick and tired of the bs, I understand why they have to make the process long and drawn out but damn, i'm not a terrorist, i'm not a mexican who's going to suck off the government tit, i'm #ing canadian who wants to #ing live here without the hassle of all this #ing paper work that is holding me back.

I want to break every window in this house, thats how frustrated I am.

And you can't tell brian anything because he knows it all, he should of had this # taken care of months before the interview, and because he didn't we're going to have to wait another 3-4 months till the process is completed.

:bnghd: :bash:

By the way i've been here since Nov 11, 2003 that's how the long the process has been.

[edit on 25-7-2005 by TrueLies]

suck off the govt huh??

Originally posted by Lysergic
suck off the govt huh??

What?

The post read, "suck off the government tit" as in going on the 'dole'.

Sanc'.

True Lies, i know exactly what you are talking about .. its a pain in the but... for example by primary green card has been outdated for ONE year, and i still havent heard for the INS to set-up an interview to go get my final green-card...im getting all sorts of problem at the bank, at the post-office, everytime i have to show ID, i get "weird looks", "faces"...and all sorts of attitude.

and off course if i try to call the INS office i get the automatized phone recordings, that drive you ain a maze of circles around and aroun and around....

ARRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Originally posted by BaastetNoir
And off course if i try to call the INS office i get the automatized phone recordings, that drive you ain a maze of circles around and aroun and around....

ARRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

My lawer and the the immigration officer both said that 800 number is the worse number... You get different answers all the time by people who don't take their job seriously.

They told me before I couldn't get a ssn until after I get my green card, I go the interview the guy told me I could of gotten one!

I take this pretty serious and for those reps not to, just goes to show me that government workers are lazier then i thought. why don't they hire government workers to pave the highways? because they know they'd have to redo them every so often... It's ridiculous.

I feel your pain, having been there and done that, too.

First though - you can apply for a SS# without your greencard; all you need is the Notice Of Action saying your interview was approved (assuming everything was in order).

They're so terribly understaffed; depending on which Service Center serves your area, you could wait from 3 to 13 months to actually receive your card. The only ways you can more or less guarantee a faster turnaround are getting an Immigration lawyer involved on your behalf, and/or supplying every last piece of required evidence with your initial application.

Also - if your initial (conditional, I'm assuming) greencard has expired, all you have to do is turn up in person at the nearest Service Center and they'll either restamp your passport with the renewed date (this is all an employee needs), or at least give you temporary evidence of your status - meaning you can work, and/or obtain a driver's license, SS# etc etc.

Hang in there. If you went the marriage visa route (instead of the K1 fiancee visa), it can take a couple of years to get from application to receipt of your actual card. They're so incredibly backlogged (and it's nothing to do with laziness, believe me - they're critically understaffed and underbudgeted).

(and then there's the "removal of conditions" paperwork after you've been married for awhile...oh, the joys of paperwork)

I went through this in 1998/1999, and it's only since 2003 that the "conditional status' was removed and I became a full legal resident.

Originally posted by Tinkleflower
Also - if your initial (conditional, I'm assuming) greencard has expired, all you have to do is turn up in person at the nearest Service Center and they'll either restamp your passport with the renewed date (this is all an employee needs), or at least give you temporary evidence of your status -

Thanks for the tip, thats what i was thinking about doing ...

Also, when i went to get my SS card, i found out they had given me the wrong card number, and the ID i was carrying, tho it had my name actually belonged to some marrocan girl...:shk: but that was solved fast .

yes they are pretty understaffed, the Office in Philly has lines of 4 to 4 hours waiting.

As soon as my hub recovers form the described in this thread
www.abovetopsecret.com...'

i'll have to take a ride to Philly and try to solve this...

Hey I was "done" at the Philly office too

They're not the fastest, but they're not the slowest, either.

Good luck though - and hang in there during that wait....I found it better to turn up at least an hour before the doors opened, to get my passport stamped, because the lines outside start early, and never seem to lessen any....

You know, thats really unfair. Lots of people just illegally invade countries and don't even try to get naturalized, and when people do go the legal route, they get a stupid hassel. And no matter how 'restricive' some countries make their rules, it almost does nothing! A simple criminal record check and a language ability test is all that should suffice. And if a prospective immigrant has some talent, whether its a technical skill or a labour skill or even an artistic skill, they should be given preference!

That and all hotties should just get a free pass!

Originally posted by Nygdan
A simple criminal record check and a language ability test is all that should suffice. And if a prospective immigrant has some talent, whether its a technical skill or a labour skill or even an artistic skill, they should be given preference!

Talented indivuals are given preference

(if you're rich and/or famous, your immigration process is much, much easier - and a heckuva lot faster, too!)

Part of the reason it's slow in the US is down to "fake" marriages; sadly it wasn't until the 80s that the rules were changed, and it was no longer "Marry an American, gain residency or citizenship immediately".

Nowadays you have to remain married to the person for at least two years, and provide evidence that you have a legitimate relationship (joint utility bills, etc etc).

When it comes to work visas/residency based on work, preference is given to those with rare or unique talents; the other professions come further down on the priority list. Moreover, to obtain a work permit, the company you're working for has to prove that no American could do the job (this is easier than it sounds - it's a formality more than anything).

The Immigration service in the US is suffering from a terrible lack of resources; with more money and staff, we'd probably see things moving at a much faster pace.

I do understand why they've made it hard - and to be honest, I actually support it for the most part. The real problem with immigration, as far as I can see, is that once you've landed there's virtually no way to check up on you - there's no way to find out if you've overstayed your visa, disappeared, whatever.

That's the bit that needs to be rectified, as a huge portion of illegals fall into this category (entered legally, but overstayed).

yeahhh...the "thilthy rich" are always given a option...lol...Look how fast Pamela Anderson got her things going ...hehehehe

But like you said Tinkle, Philly is so under"staffed" that is it not suprising... annoying yes...suprising ..no.

And i was "lucky" because the process with Portuguese citizens prior to 9/11, was really easy and simple ...i had no problem coming in at all... but now post 9/11 they demand more paper work and its a litle harder.