Question:
No Green Card or Welcome Notice after getting Immigration visa?
Answer:
My parents obtained an immigration visa in November 2005; they arrived
to USA in December 2005. My mother got a welcome notice within 3 weeks
and green card in total of 4 weeks. But for my father it's been 9
months and we have not received anything.
Here is what i did so far.
- Called USCIS customer service several times, They told me that there
is absolutely no record of my father's status. They don't even have him
in the system. I called multiple times to make sure it's not a user
error, but every time they could not find him in the system either by
name or number. Also they told me to go to local USCIS office to
resolve this.
- I went to local USCIS office in Detroit three times and every time
they told me we will have to wait until 11 months before they can take
any action (like lost visa etc..). Also they told me that they would
give him a temporary green card at that time. Well i went there (local
USCIS office) with my father 4th time, now they told me that they can't
give him any temporary card because he is not in the system. Also they
told me that they will try to find his file and if they can't find it
than i would have to do the entire green card process again for my
father, including filling out all the forms again!!!
Also while all this is happening, my father can't get Driving License,
Can't work, Can't get Social Security Card, and can't
travel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Currently i am waiting for their response on finding my father's file.
Why don't you just refile instead of agonizing about paperwork that may
or may not ever turn up?
But this case was already approved and
somehow they misplaced the visa package.Re-apply would take a long time
and My father need to travel now.
Your father should have a stamp in his passport that is still valid.
This should allow him to get a driving license, social security number
and fulfil the requirements for employment.
Contact your senator's office or a lawyer for how to proceed with USCIS.
I don't think you're going to solve this one without help.
You are correct about the stamp, there is stamp that says he should
have a temp green card for 1 year but.. when we tried to get driving
license, SSC... no luck. He was denied because they could not verify
his status with USCIS so they won't issue him those cards.
Do you think senator's office will help? I know my last option will be
to contact lawyer.
If they arrived in the US with an immigrant visa, their passports would
have been stamped as such The proof is there!
Fair enough. Surely you have some proof that the case was approved,
right? A letter from USCIS, an email perhaps, a case number...
something? If you don't, it's just your word against theirs and I'm
afraid your dad may be on the butt end of things. That truly sucks.
I agree but, entirely contrary to my nature, I didn't want to second
guess the guy!
Sounds like there is some misunderstanding here... Let me try to clear
that.
Fatbrit,
"If they arrived in the US with an immigrant visa, their passports
would
have been stamped as such The proof is there! "
Yes his passport has stamp for One year valid green card, nobody is
disputing that. But same information is not in the USCIS system, that's
the reason we have not received his green card yet.
Also there is a "A" # on his passport as well, But again when i call
USCIS they can't find any information for that A #.
lan,
His passport is his proof, Also we have the copy of front of his visa
package that has his A#, which would be his green card number as well.
So it's not "IF" but "WHEN" will he get his green card.
And yes I know this case is beyond most people's imitation...
It sounds like the visa package was filed without it being entered into
the system and/or that it was not forwarded by the agents at the POE
and/or misfiled. Just to clarify was your mother's and father's visa
paperwork in the same envelope? Or two separate envelopes?
After determining this, contact your congressperson for assistance. If
it was in one envelope then they will have to pull the envelope from the
storage units in Lee's Summit and unearth your father's visa information
and issue his green card and input his data into the system. If it was
not, the congressperson's liaison will know what to do at that point.
Or you can hire an attorney to work this end for you.
Seeing mention of Detroit -- I'm wondering what's your father
nationality. Detroit is mighty strange.
When it comes to certain nationalities, DHS can get mighty weird.
Both visas were in seperate envelope. They both had thier own envelope
with their A#. I think you are right, it's either lost of misfiled. I
am going to ask for congressperson's help and will hire an lawyer if
necessary.
I don't think nationality has anything to do with it, it's just a
matter of lost/misplaced file. Like Rate said my mother had no issues.
Also My father is from one of the US-friendly nation, so this won't be
a problem anyway.
Your best bet is probably to contact your senator or congressman. I know
you aren't US citizens, but they are the only ones who will be able to get
through to the authorities.
