Wednesday, March 24, 2010

AAAAAARGH!

OK. so this is the trail...
I called my adoption agency,NBC, NVC, the local USCIS, the Boston, USCIS, US Customs & Border Control, the airport Port Authority, the airport Immigration office.  Finally the right place to speak to someone that can help me - or so I thought.  Ever have some one talk AT you, and not listen to what you're saying?  You know the know-it-all type that thinks they have all the answers even though you're not asking those questions?  Yup, you guessed it, that's exactly what I got.  This one sided conversation lasted 10 minutes, and each minute I was getting more and more fed up, I was ready to jump through the phone and shake this guy.  Finally he heard what I was saying.  I said, "The immigration officer opened two packets from the Consulate. In them were two copies of each girl's papers & medical reports. He gave back to me two copies of the same daughter. SO now I have two copies of one daughter and immigration has two copies with one daughter. The problem is: I don't have the vaccination records for one daughter so I can register her in school, next problem: immigration does not have documentation for one of my daughters, so how can she get a green card or have it known that she's in the country legally?"
He said, "The Immigration Officer was wrong, he should not have given you anything from the packet. You only get that back when they send you the green card."    "But", I said, "I need the medical information for her school."  "You will get it when you get your green card."  "But you just continuously told me that it could take up to 11 months, I really need it now."  Again he said, for the 3rd time, "The Officer was wrong to give you anything. You will have to come here if you want to sort it out. We don't do anything over the phone."  "I am 2 hours away from you." "Well, that is the only way to do it, now you did ask for my help didn't you?"  (I am SO ready to kill him at this point.) "Yes", I said holding my temper and patience, "But it is very difficult for me to get to you, it would take about 5 hours to do something like that."  "I told you what you can do, but you tell me that you don't want to do it."  "I didn't say I didn't WANT to, I said that it would be difficult."  Then he goes into his spiel again about how a green card will get to me...  I suggested, "Perhaps, a Supervisor could find out more information, is that possible?"  "I am a Supervisor and I told you.......etc"  "Could I give you my USCIS Sim numbers?" "How can that help?  You have to call your local USCIS for that."  "I did call them and they have nothing to do with it."  " I told you the process to get their Green cards, and if you don't want to wait you have to come here."  OK, I give up, going further would get me now where.  This account is much shorter than what really happened, I didn't want to subject you all with the stupidity of it.  I called my adoption agency, and said, "Alright, I have gone as far as I can go, you need to do something.  He said that the Officer was not to give me any paperwork from the envelopes."  "That's not true." she said. "So what do I do now?" I asked.  She said that she would speak with the head of the adoption department and get back to me.  So I wait...  My only next step is to call my US Senator and ask for help.  I hate bureaucracy!

I am taking a break now.  I'll be adding more a little later today.
And yes Phyllis, I am thinking about summer and hoping you are coming here, because we can't afford to go anywhere for the next 10 years.

UPDATE: Didn't wait for my agency to call back. I called my Senator's office and sent them the information and they said that they would handle it. We shall see. I will be in daily touch with them.

3 comments:

  1. If I were you I would contact your senator soon. That is what they are there for right?
    We have done so several times in dealing with immigration. Good Luck! Cara

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  2. Kathleen, the girls shouldn't be getting a green card at all---they are already citizens from the day you landed back in the USA. They just need their certificate of citizenship issued (it comes automatically--did you receive it for one of the girls but not the other? It should show up in the next few weeks....see if one shows up for both girls?)Do not let them issue the girls a green card! They are citizens of the US now. What a mess!

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  3. And these idoits are going to take over health care now. We'll all be dead before we ever get to see a doctor!

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