Oct, 14, 2007, Sunday, 9:30AM, as usual, I was checked my I-485 case status from the USCIS website which still says that my case has been pending since June 5, 2006. A surprise call came in with caller id: 202. It is a guy from USCIS. He told me that USCIS received a letter from a senator regarding to my FBI NC case. Then he said that my NC is actually cleared and my I-485 was approved on Oct, 11th, 2007 with card production ordered.
What a pleasant surprise!
Here is my case information:
Type: EB2
485 Filling date: June, 2006
Filling Office: TSC
Changed job on Jan, 2007
I have a very common name. So I know my NC might take longer than other people. However, like everyone else, I hate waiting. Inspired by the movie “ The Shawshank Redemption” (remember how that ex-banker get money for his little library project in the prison? ). 6 months after my I-485 has been filled and was informed NC pending. I came up with my own redemption plan. The plan is simple: Sending letter to various people to ask for help. The following 11 persons/offices have been bothered by me constantly:
First lady
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Senator Barbara Boxer
Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo
FBI San Francisco Local office
FBI Michael Chertoff
FBI Robert Mueller
FBI Record processing Management Division
FBI Michael A. Cannon
FBI William L. Hooton
CIS Ombudsman
In the beginning, I sent written letters to them once per months. Start from this May, I sent letters to them once per week. Starting from this Sep, I sent them letter twice per week.
In each letter, my first line is always:
Dear XXX:
My name is XXX, This is Xth letter I have written to you regarding to the delayed FBI Name Check issue of my Adjustment of Status petition with USCIS
In the beginning, people like CIS Ombudsman, my senators and FBI tried to reply all my letters, but since this May, they can not catch with my frequency. Some of them actually called me to ask me to wait instead of sending them letters every week!
But I did not stop. I believe the only possible way for me to get my NC expedited is to arouse enough attention to those people. I don’t care if my letters were thrown into their garbage bin. I have the energy to write. My plan was to write them everyday staring from 2008. Then by June, 2008, if my NC is still not get cleared. I will sue FBI and USCIS.
I pre-prepared shipping labels and complaint letter templates. Therefore, write a letter, print , sign, put in envelope and stamp it only take a 2 mins. For 11 letterss, it takes me only around half an hour to prepare and ship them. So it is not that a big deal to me.
2 month ago, some of the people/offices I wrote to told me that they will expedite my NC for me and ask me to stop writing to them. Finally. My NC was cleared and this morning’s phone call for USCIS is my reward. I smelled freedom this morning.
I will write my last letter to each of the 11 people after I receive my plastic card saying my sincere appreciation for their helps.