joeychen: (Default)
joeychen ([personal profile] joeychen) wrote2003-08-26 10:57 am
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Immigration SUCKS

So, I have to send in another application, get new photos done, new fingerprints etc etc etc. And probably wait over a year again, to get my new green card. Guess I won't be applying for citizenship anytime soon!
This is so friggen frustrating, they are the ones that fucked up, and I'm the one that has to do all the work, and take time off for an appt to fix this.
I was so upset it made me cry, I just want my damn green card!
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[identity profile] pot-t-mouth.livejournal.com 2003-08-26 06:24 pm (UTC)(link)
That's not fair! You need to talk to someone else. Keep going up the heirarchy until they are so sick of seeing your face that they'll give what you want.

[identity profile] joeychen.livejournal.com 2003-08-26 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)
You're right, it's not fair, and I wish I could go up the heirarchy, but they pretty much make it impossible, and I think it would make me too upset to do that. They don't ever see your face, the only number out there is the generic customer service number. But when I go in to submit everything again, I'll have an appt time, so I won't have a line closed on me, and I'll ask them how this happened, and if there's anyway to rush it, so I don't have to wait another year. Because if I want to travel anywhere, then I would have to go in *again* to get emergency travel authorization.
I tell ya, I'm not putting in for any days off this.

[identity profile] brdgt.livejournal.com 2003-08-26 06:52 pm (UTC)(link)
My best friend's husband just broke through one barrier in the process - now he can leave the country and come back. In two years they have to go again and apply for citizenship or residency.

Just to get into the building in Miami, they would have to drive over the night before, get a motel room, get there at 4 am to get a number and then wait to find out if they got to your number that day. If they didn't you would have to get another number the next morning!

Once they finally got into an interview with a real person though - he took one look at them and spent the rest of the interview time putting their paperwork in the right order in the folder!

[identity profile] joeychen.livejournal.com 2003-08-26 07:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Yuck, I'm glad all I have is a 45 min drive up to San Francisco. And I should have an appt time etc. I'll ask them when I go in if I should wait till I get a corrected card before I file for citizenship, or if I can do it anyway.
Hopefully going in in person, I will get better help and some more answers.
I had to call again this morning to ask a question about the e-filing, they had listed 3 different Australia options in the e-file form, and they themselves didn't know what the difference was! They listed AUSTRALIA, and then 3 different suffixes - -TASMA, -RALIA and -NORFO.
Now the last one is probably for Norfolk Island, a kinda territory of ours, but the first one seems to be Tasmania, which is just a regular old state. I don't know why they would list it out seperate like that. Under their advisement I went with the -RALIA option. However if in a year I get a new card and find out that means I'm from the Christmas Islands or something, I will probably go in there and go postal or something.
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[personal profile] mizrobot 2003-08-26 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
bastards! that is so freaking unfair. i'm mad and it didn't even happen to me. go kick some immigration ass, jo!

[identity profile] anmeikitty.livejournal.com 2003-08-27 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
I'm so sorry you have to deal with this bullshit!

I think it would be funny one day if all the people Immigration has screwed just stormed the building and took over. It would be a multicultural event, to say the least :) I imagine files thrown out windows and green cards for everyone...

Boy do I feel ya!

[identity profile] deborahthecraft.livejournal.com 2003-08-27 11:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Been there and done that,I prommise it will feel good once it's done and the wasted time will fade away into memory.My husband and I went thru it for over a year,we even had to sleep outside of the building and wait 11 hours in line.At least they are doing appointments again!

Re: Boy do I feel ya!

[identity profile] joeychen.livejournal.com 2003-08-28 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
eek, yes, appts good. I figure once I'm there I can lay on my other questions as well.
When we intially got our green cards, the procedure at the time meant that we had to leave the country to have them processed (cause we were illegal at the time, had received all the extensions possible on our visas), so we decided to take a holiday back home to Australia and did our interviews at the Sydney consulate

Re: Boy do I feel ya!

[identity profile] deborahthecraft.livejournal.com 2003-08-28 03:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Imagine if you were from an un-friendly country that you dreaded going back to at all!Why so complicated hu? I'm cheering for you!
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