No bottlenecks here
- March 2007: apply for green card.
- April 2007: biometrics (fingerprints/photos) appointment.
- ~June 2007: green card case mysteriously put into storage.
- November 2007: told at appointment that it is in permanent storage with no decision, and it will be pulled out and sent to the Chicago office to find out why.
- January 2008: told at appointment that the case was pulled out, arrived in late December, and was instantly sent back. Also told not to apply for work permit renewal as I will have my green card before then, according to the immigration lady who seemed very put out about having to "fix someone else's mess". She promises to call.
- February 2008: hear nothing. Involve local congressman's office. Now just over 90 days till work permit expires.
- March 2008: hear nothing.
- April 2008: case is in Chicago! Yay! Hear nothing more.
- May 2008: told at appointment that case had just been assigned to a supervisor (~1 month after arriving) and that we should definitely apply for work permit. Which expires in less than 30 days. Oops, LOLZ!
Total time to receive fuck all information or movement on case: 14 months
- 12 May 2008: send work permit application, including cheque for $340.
- 22 May 2008: cheque cashed.
Total time for US Immigration to snort up more money: 10 days
My being in this country is certainly a privilege and not a right, and I respect that. I also respect that there are hundreds of thousands of people going through this process at any given time... but it is not a free service. If I spent hundreds of dollars on any other service, I would have the right (and a mechanism) to complain when the service I receive is poor.
It's not made any easier when I hear via immigration communities online that people who applied in March of this year have their cards in hand already. I can't imagine my name is so common that it requires much effort to check in the FBI's computers. My relationship with my wife is legitimate, and provably so. I have made every effort to integrate, finding stable employment and paying thousands of dollars in taxes. I cannot comprehend the delay.
What really busts my balls, other than the delay incurring another $340, is that I won't even get a full green card! The card I had to apply for is a conditional permanent residence card - this offers temporary status to newlyweds. After two years of marriage, you get the full fat version. The full fat version, by the way, will cost me another $465 plus $80 for biometrics.
The less educated American's response to the illegal immigration problem is to put up a big fence around the country. Fixing this horrible system will be much more effective.
Comments
Did you ever find out why your application was sent to storage? That just sounds so X-Files to me.
I could believe this was a process if it seemed to follow a standard procedure, but it is all over the place, with radically different steps and timelines every time.
Here is another example: Back in the 70's when the US encouraged people from certain countries to immigrate, there was an expectation (and a bit of arrogance) that these people would either become citizens or go back to their native lands. Thus, they issued green cards that did not expire. They have no real way of tracking these people and only find them when they enter the US or ask for a replacement card. It is crazy.
They make it harder on the people that are trying to go about things legally, the whole process is a joke anyway. I hope it's over soon.