Dallas DORA Challenge

[Peachy]

Hi guys and gals!

 

Well, just wanted to give an update on a problem we experienced with the Dallas DORA (Dallas Office Rapid Adjustment) pilot program that is used to get the green card within 90 days so that you don't have to file for work authorization or advanced parole for travel (and therefore save some extra money).

 

So here's the issue in relative chronological order:

 

We are under the K-1 Visa process so keep that in mind.

 

Did the medical exam for the I-693 at GUZ in July. We decided to wait to have the vaccinations done (I-693A) in US since I could get them done on my insurance cheaper after marriage.

 

Got the fun brown envelope with the corner cut off when we picked up her Visa.

 

Arrived in the US in August at Chicago Ohare airport and went through the process of handing over the fun brown envelope that contained her I-693 as well as other various papers.

 

Grabbed the connecting flight to Dallas and arrived home safely.

 

Got married and logged into InfoPass and setup an appointment for DORA.

 

Went to have the vaccinations done at the civil surgeon in Richardson that is covered by my insurance. Minor snafu was that he can't just do vaccinations unless he does a normal physical (not an immigration physical) with it so we had that done as well. No worries, just some blood drawn and then they administered the 3 vaccines (with a schedule of when to return for 3 and 6 months to get the follow ups). I-693A completed and locked into another brown envelope for DORA. Total cost: $15. sweet.

 

Arrived at DORA interview yesterday (9:30am on 10/12) and they took all my papers and forms (the usual stuff I485, Approved K1 I797C, G325A, I864 and other docs) and all looked great to them. They approved our entry into DORA and we had our interview scheduled for noon that day. 2 hour wait so we went to get some breakfast (it was a bit early still).

 

... So far so good....

 

9) Interview time: a few silly questions that she answered easily and we laughed and talked for a while but there was one problem:

 

The immigration officer needs to physically SEE the I693 before she can continue the process. Unfortunately, the I693 is sitting in Chicago in some sort of NRC (National records center) where it won't get to Dallas for probably a “few” months.

 

I tried and tried to explain to them that it is IMPOSSIBLE to get a K1 visa without having done the required I693 physical so how can they say we haven't done one? Her answer: "Don't try to be logical about the problem. You have to suspend logic. If I don't have the physical file then I will get into trouble." Retarded, but understandable give the idiocy of the US Govt.

 

How odd: A is done before you can get to B. B must be done before you can get to C.

However, at the USCIS... If you try to do C so you can go to D and you don't have the papers from A then they don't give a rats ass. Oh, and they know you have no way of getting the papers from A since they are sealed and surrendered at the point of entry. Thanks for playing.

 

Here's the rub. Since “normally” what happens is that the applicant sends his AOS paperwork to Chicago Lockbox and then waits for the interview date around 6-8 months later this gives the sloooow USCIS time to mail the fun brown envelope from the point of entry back to the USCIS local office where the interview will be done. However, since we've been married and are applying for AOS within 3 months of her arriving in the US they have yet to forward the envelope to the Dallas office.

 

So what are our choices?

1) Wait for the NRC to send the papers to Dallas (Like hell if you think I'm waiting for them)

2) Get ANOTHER immigration physical and I693. (cost $95)

 

Obviously, we are going with option B. She went ahead and gave us the RFE to get another I693 done and we have that scheduled for Monday. Granted, I don't care about the cost but it's just another minor pain in the ass. Seriously though, I am pleased overall with the level of service this program is trying to provide. I can, however, see why it is still in the "pilot" phase.

 

Don't worry. We are doing great and this is just another snag. I'm not writing this to complain, but rather as an fyi to others that might experience the issue as well.

 

Suggested solution to avoid this in the future:

 

I'm not sure if the hospital in GUZ would give you 2 sealed brown envelopes (or at what cost that would be), but if you plan to do the DORA process you might want to consider having that done if you are going to follow my timeline of activity. Otherwise, be aware of what to expect.

 

 

Live well, B)

Love deeply,

Laugh often,

Smile Always...

 

Peachy and Melody

Edited October 13, 2006 by Peachy (see edit history)

[Yuanyang]

Good post Peach.

 

 

It's a government operation so keep expectations LOW.

[tywy_99]

It sounds like you did enough at the civil surgeon's office to get the I-693 instead of the supplement form.

 

-always a snag, I know.

 

-good luck

[xtal]

That's crazy. My wife and I also went through DORA and we were never asked about the actual I-693 (which of course, we also didn't have).

 

Please keep us posted on how your DORA case progresses. My wife and I have been waiting for 5 months so far - still no GC. After about 70 days after the interview, we got one of those letters in the mail saying that they probably wouldn't be able to complete our case within 90 days but that we were welcome to come to their office at a scheduled date/time to apply for a work permit and/or advance parole. So we did. Oh and the reason why our case is held up? FBI background check. I guess only around 60% of DORA cases are actually completed within 90 days, and about 90% of the ones that don't complete within 90 days are all held up due to FBI delays.

 

BTW, I hope your case will complete fast, but if you do get that letter after about 70 days, then I would go to the appointment as they will give you at least the work permit on the same day (not sure about AP because we didn't apply for it). You just need to fill out the forms ahead of time and bring them to the appt.

 

Good luck.

[se_lang]

That's crazy. My wife and I also went through DORA and we were never asked about the actual I-693 (which of course, we also didn't have).

 

Please keep us posted on how your DORA case progresses. My wife and I have been waiting for 5 months so far - still no GC. After about 70 days after the interview, we got one of those letters in the mail saying that they probably wouldn't be able to complete our case within 90 days but that we were welcome to come to their office at a scheduled date/time to apply for a work permit and/or advance parole. So we did. Oh and the reason why our case is held up? FBI background check. I guess only around 60% of DORA cases are actually completed within 90 days, and about 90% of the ones that don't complete within 90 days are all held up due to FBI delays.

 

BTW, I hope your case will complete fast, but if you do get that letter after about 70 days, then I would go to the appointment as they will give you at least the work permit on the same day (not sure about AP because we didn't apply for it). You just need to fill out the forms ahead of time and bring them to the appt.

 

Good luck.

 

yep D.O.R.A is a J.O.K.E my wife waited 16-18 months for her GC, had to pay for EAD 2 times and AP once. Gotta love our "Expedited processing"

[C4Racer]

That's crazy. My wife and I also went through DORA and we were never asked about the actual I-693 (which of course, we also didn't have).

 

Please keep us posted on how your DORA case progresses. My wife and I have been waiting for 5 months so far - still no GC. After about 70 days after the interview, we got one of those letters in the mail saying that they probably wouldn't be able to complete our case within 90 days but that we were welcome to come to their office at a scheduled date/time to apply for a work permit and/or advance parole. So we did. Oh and the reason why our case is held up? FBI background check. I guess only around 60% of DORA cases are actually completed within 90 days, and about 90% of the ones that don't complete within 90 days are all held up due to FBI delays.

 

BTW, I hope your case will complete fast, but if you do get that letter after about 70 days, then I would go to the appointment as they will give you at least the work permit on the same day (not sure about AP because we didn't apply for it). You just need to fill out the forms ahead of time and bring them to the appt.

 

Good luck.

 

yep D.O.R.A is a J.O.K.E my wife waited 16-18 months for her GC, had to pay for EAD 2 times and AP once. Gotta love our "Expedited processing"

 

Yeah, heck if that's their idea of the fast track, I'd hate to have seen their slow version.

I know the process times vary between local offices, but that is just absolutely ridiculous. We didn't have DORA available to us and she got her green card in 7 months.

The problem with new processes and promises, is no one holds them accountable to get it done. They are free just to blame another part of the system on the difficulty.

 

As a tech guy, I think their new updates we paid for are so last century. The new solutions I currently work with would help these agencies out big time. Why couldn't they scan them into a shared document management system. You could make documents available to GUZ thirty seconds after they were scanned and posted into the appropriate petition. Documents received at Chicago could be transmitted the same way. At any time, any embassy, service center or local office would have access to the same documents as needed. Once scanned and indexed, it wouldn't be as easy misplace or lose them. Yeah, okay I'll wake up from my dream now... Thanks

Edited October 14, 2006 by C4Racer (see edit history)

[esun41]

Just keep saying to yourself...

 

"WE do things different in Texas"

[C4Racer]

Just keep saying to yourself...

 

"WE do things different in Texas"

I thought the saying is, "Things are bigger in Texas." Maybe USCIS is just trying to stick with the program with bigger wait times...

[esun41]

Ya know, it's true that the women are fatter, cars bigger and there is a big blue sky most mornings here in Texas.

 

I hear this phrase almost every other day and it started out on our AOS appointment in August when I was told I needed to file DORA. Heck, I thought DORA was our interviewer.

 

Imagine a big Texas lady... too much makeup and saying "Ni Hao Y'all"

 

I'm not liking Texas immigration offices but just wait and see is all we can do.

 

Just keep saying to yourself...

 

"WE do things different in Texas"

I thought the saying is, "Things are bigger in Texas." Maybe USCIS is just trying to stick with the program with bigger wait times...

[Randy W]

We tend to always emphasize that the I693 is not needed for the AOS interview (only the vaccination supplement).

 

But there are two cases where it IS needed - if the original I693 for the K visa was more than a year old, or if it is missing or delayed somewhere. Or if required by the physician.

 

Basically, it doesn't hurt to have the full I693 physical, may save the bother of finding a physician who will do only the supplement, and guaranties that a fresh I693 will be at the interview.

[Larry & Meirong]

My personal opinion is to not use DORA. We filed 02/05 and still have not received the green card yet. It is now 21 months.

 

 

I don't know how the rest of the uscis is, but Dallas seems to be arrogant, incompetent, **&^%%%&***(((((&&^^&.

 

I don't expect good service from anyone-I will be OK with mediocre service. Dallas gives NO SERVICE.

 

DO IT BY MAIL. SAVE THE FRUSTRATION.

[Randy W]

My personal opinion is to not use DORA. We filed 02/05 and still have not received the green card yet. It is now 21 months.

 

 

I don't know how the rest of the uscis is, but Dallas seems to be arrogant, incompetent, **&^%%%&***(((((&&^^&.

 

I don't expect good service from anyone-I will be OK with mediocre service. Dallas gives NO SERVICE.

 

DO IT BY MAIL. SAVE THE FRUSTRATION.

 

 

I believe the program is being expanded:

 

For Individuals Living in the Jurisdiction of the:

Dallas District Office

El Paso District Office

Oklahoma City Sub Office

 

Effective October 23, 2006, if you are residing within the jurisdiction of the Dallas District Office,

and effective November 20, 2006, if you are residing within the jurisdiction of the El Paso District Office or

Oklahoma City Sub-Office, you must follow the special instructions in the Related Links section of his page

[Peachy]

Well, we are one of the lucky ones I guess. So far...

 

Handed in the med check forms to them and then we waited the requisite 10 days.

 

Got the 2 confirmation i-797s for both the approval and the fingerprint appt next week.

 

So far so good...

 

We shall see.

Edited November 6, 2006 by Peachy (see edit history)