Nothing like Immigration...

to test your faith in the government!

Some of you may remember I had to ask for a special stamp in my passport when I went for fingerprinting 3 weeks ago, because we hadn't received a receipt and extension after 6 weeks.

A few days later the NOA-1 or extension letter finally arrived here and so I then had both. Well guess what showed up Saturday?

Yep yet another NOA-1 extension letter with a different later date on it! Kinda makes you wonder if the right hand knows what the left hand's doing? Still now I have 3 proofs of extension for another year whilst I wait on a 10yr Green card, and some poor people still don't have any!

Went to be fingerprinted but....

....came back with a new car! :-)

Well like everyone else around the world the gas prices have been killing us, especially with my Pickup getting 14mpg and the Hubsters getting 18mpg! So we decided it was time to take decisive action and go for economy with my car.

It's a 2006 Mazda 3 Sedan S Grand Touring, so fully loaded with extra's including a black leather interior, auto climate control, auto lights, electro-lumescent blue dials at night, 17" alloys, airbags everywhere, computer that tells you - mpg, gas left in miles, indoor and outdoor temps; and heated seats, very dark tinted windows all round, a 2.3 16v Manual (which I prefer) that really gives it some welly. One previous owner and it likes new inside and out, it even has the new smell still!



Plus it takes up approximately 2/3rds of the space in the garage my Pickup did and the Hubsters pickup is even bigger than mine. So with the 26-32mpg average this is just an all round winner and it's soooo pretty too :-)

I had a Mazda Miata (MX-5) in the UK and love Mazda - always reliable, quality build, fantastic drive and road handling, really well equipped and has the ZOOM-ZOOM thing going on! (First 3 piccies enlarge if you double-click on them)

It was actually a great day generally! On the way down I won a radio competition and a cool prize, then during the day we found 2 brand new pennies head up on the sidewalk (a great omen) and I also got the immigration stamp I needed in my passport; so all good until a year from now and by then I should have the 10yr green card.

Some days are just hard to beat! :-)

Okay....so now I need a name for our new baby?

Off to the big lights for fingerprinting!

Today's the day we are off to our local (take that term with a very large pinch of salt!) USCIS office for my biometrics appointment. Yep we have to make a 6 hour round trip to OKC just to get my unchanged fingerprints and picture taken again after 20 months!

I have also arranged what's known as an Infopass appointment with an Immigration Officer to request that they give me what's known as an I-551 stamp in my passport. I need this because I (along with many others) have still not received the NOA1 letter which extends my current Green Card for a further year from July, whilst we renew it for the 10 year card.

So keep your fingers crossed we get an Immigration Officer in a good mood, as they don't have to give me this until a week or so before my card expires in July. But of course then we'd have to make yet another long trip to OKC, so we are hoping they know there is an ongoing problem and just give it to me now.

It's a flying visit to the 'big lights', as this weekend the Hubster has 2 music gigs tomorrow and so we need to get back home.

Bloody Wonderful (that's Brit' sarcasm!)

Immigration Update:

Well first the good news, we received an appointment to get my Biometrics done today in OKC on May 16. That was really fast, they only received my application at the Texas Service Centre 10 working days ago!

Now the REALLY bad news :-(

Our case was transferred to the Vermont Service Centre on April 14 and we are now under their jurisdiction. The VSC is currently processing 'Removal of Conditions' applications dated March 1 2007 - NOTE 2007!!

So right now they are 14 months behind and we are in for a long wait, don't even get me started on how much money wonderful service like this costs us!

I am probably going to have to make what's known as an INFOPASS appt (face to face with an Immigration Officer) for the day we are at OKC, in order to grovel and get an extension stamp in my passport ready for when my green card expires in July. Being 3 hours from OKC does not make it easy for us just to pop back!

One extremely PEED OFF Brit' Gal :-(

We're in the system...

Well the USCIS (United States Customs & Immigration Service) has officially received our missive and cashed our monstrously huge cheque(check) and now we are in the lap of the gods.

I would love all my readers to put their collective minds to work on our behalf and just occasionally chant this mantra to yourselves:

"USCIS please transfer Brit' Gal Sarah & her Hubster to the California Service Centre pretty please"

Why? Because applications to Remove Conditions from a Green Card that are transferred there take on average 5 months to succeed. The dreaded alternative is the Vermont Service Centre, currently averaging 12 months minimum - unbelievable I know!

So I am 'California Dreaming' of 'Californication'!

Here we go again....

At about 1am this morning I finally got our I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions completed and ready to go.

For all those who have been through the immigration process, I don't need to tell you what it involved! But needless to say as usual with these immigration things it was alot of work getting all the required evidence together.

For the rest of you here's an idea of what went into it:

Cover Letter, then index pages throughout, 2 years of Tax Returns, a statement from every bank, saving or credit card account we have, life insurances, wills, retirement policies, mortgage, warranty deed, green card, passport, drivers licence, 3 sworn affadavits from friends, joint memberships, travel bookings, pictures, then lots of misc' pieces of paper that prove we live together or I live here. Oh and last but not least, a check for $545 to process it all :-)

The next step is I will get called into the USCIS (United States Customs and Immigration Service)in OKC for biometrics (fingerprints and picture) despite them having done this just 2 years ago. Then hopefully inside the 9-12 months it's currently running at, I will receive a 10 year Unconditional Green Card and be done with the USCIS for a few years!

Having said that, I plan on applying to Naturalize as a Citizen next July, as the fee's seem to double each year.

So above is our 'small' missive to the USCIS, all I have to do now is find a binder big enough to get it into, as they get very upset if you punch holes in it! It will be on it's way tomorrow, as they are also very insistent it arrives close to 90 days before my Conditional Green Card expires, but not before 90 days or they will send it back to us.

I think you get the picture!

Still got a pain in the neck

Okay I am signing off here apart from little snippets for a week to give my neck a chance to recover fully! It's just not good still and any PC work seems to aggravate it even after a few minutes.

Plus we are about to apply to Remove the Conditions of my Green Card and as some of you know, it involves alot of paperwork so I am busy with that too.

So I will post when and if I can this week with a few simple bits and pieces, please don't desert me.

In the words of Arnie "I'll be back"!