Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Why ME?!

You know, there are days when I can almost believe that I must have done something horrible in a past life to earn this ridiculous turn of events.  Let me show you the latest string of emails between myself, the CIS Ombudsman office, and our attorney that demonstrate the shabby treatment I receive on a regular basis.


Dear Sir/Madam,
 
The Ombudsman’s Office has determined that USCIS issued decisions regarding the I-601 and I-485 applications referenced in your inquiry. Because USCIS has issued a decision, our office will be closing this matter. If you did not receive the decision notice , it has been attached to this response.
 
Thank you for giving the Ombudsman’s Office the opportunity to assist you. 
 
Sincerely,
WM 
Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman

Naturally I was just a little, upset, when I read this email.  I got up, walked away for the computer until my rage dissipated, and crafted the following response.

Dear WM,

I wish to thank you for contacting me to ensure that I received the response issued by the USCIS-CAO regarding the inquiry I submitted through your office.  Our attorney was as disappointed as I was upon reading the response since it did not address what USCIS was doing with our file nor why it was back in California.  

To me, the mildly chastising letter indicates that they were under the impression that we were appealing the denial we received on July 18, 2012, and instructs us to re-read the denial notice and follow the instructions since they cannot extend the period of time in which we would have been eligible to appeal.  We waived our right to appeal at the hearing that immediately followed the denial because my poor husband had been in jail for 14 months and was losing his will to survive.  

We were not looking to appeal, but rather to resubmit the application after he appears for an immigrant visa.  Our inquiry was to find out why the USCIS is holding our file hostage in California after it was forwarded to them by the NVC.

I have renewed contact with the constituent services director in the office of Senator Al Franken and she assures me that their liaison has requested our entire file and will contact us when they are in possession of the reams of paper that entails.  I have been instructed to make sure if I contact any government office that they do not request our file as it would delay the work that the liaison has been doing on our behalf.

In the time that Alberto has been gone, our daughter Ashley has gone from a 2 month old infant to a bright soon-to-be kindergartner and he has missed every single milestone along the way.

I trust this information is helpful and thank you again for your assistance,

Deza Mendez


I was furious when I wrote this, and I sent it after a brief review by a truly awesome lady I work with.  As the fury subsided I became terrified of the repercussions of this perhaps rashly sent email.  I didn't have long to wait, for within an hour I received a reply:

Dear Deza Mendez,

Thank you for your note explaining the issue.  We have forwarded this email to the analyst responsible for your file.

Sincerely,
PB 
Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman


I immediately forwarded this email string to our attorney who also, surprisingly, responded within the hour.


Dear PB:

Please include me in all future correspondence.  I have several G-28s on file with USCIS regarding this matter.   All we want is the I-130 to go back to the NVC, and then onto the Department of State for further proceedings.   The I-485 proceeding is irrelevant at this point.  

Sincerely,
Lance, Esq.



This was the end of the emails for today, but hopefully this might continue tomorrow.  Come on little white feather, give us a hand here won't you?



Ciao

 

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