Our Islamabad Nightmare of Waiting 2 yrs 7 mo now!

[Neverending]

If you think you are waiting long for waivers, we are waiting 2 yrs and 7 months now for Rome to adjudicate our waivers. We filed them in May 2005 in Islamabad and there is NO END IN SIGHT! Nobody has been able to help us,,,not any congressman, not any attorney and the ombudsman is worse than all of them. Totally HOPELESS!! We just want an answer. I dont even care what the answer is at this point. Just end our misery so we can get our lives back. Its been nothing but complete total hell.

[emt103c]

If you think you are waiting long for waivers, we are waiting 2 yrs and 7 months now for Rome to adjudicate our waivers. We filed them in May 2005 in Islamabad and there is NO END IN SIGHT! Nobody has been able to help us,,,not any congressman, not any attorney and the ombudsman is worse than all of them. Totally HOPELESS!! We just want an answer. I dont even care what the answer is at this point. Just end our misery so we can get our lives back. Its been nothing but complete total hell.

I just want to offer some options, in case you haven't tried them yet. Please don't take it as insulting...mine has been in Islamabad for five months only and I'm frustrated, so I can only imagine how you feel.

Have you gotten any information back with inquiries on who even has it, as in do they even know where it is? Is it lost?

Have you tried ALL three of your representatives?

Which attorney did you contact? There are several that specialize in this, and the others who don't would be absolutely worthless to you.

Did you call the Dept of State directly yourself? (202-663-1225) This is where I found out that mine had been transferred all the way back to Islamabad, the rep told me on accident (long story.)

Do you have other options of where to live?? My hubby is a citien of Canada, and while he is now sponsoring me, they have good options for people to immigrate as skilled workers, at least then you could be together while you wait, or are you living with him in Pakistan?

[M&M]

I'm so sorry Neverending!!!

I'm hoping one SOON day you'll be able to get on here with good news!!

[gaby]

I am sorry neverending, well here in Mexico seems little bit faster, but I was not lucky myself, my waiver was denial, I wait for 15 months. Now I am applying to get a new interview.

Good luck

[jesuslovesyou]

if ur just apply for 212 then ur one of those really unlucky ppl ...some times ud wish why din i have over stay my visa so then i could have applied 212 ad 601 and it would be simpler.

technically 212 supose to be more lenient but parctically its more tough and its more like chasing a ghost .

[Neverending]

Hello again,
We applied for both waivers 601 and 212. Ive contacted the senator, congressman. Who else is there? What can any attorney do at this point? The waivers are already filed, hardships done, theyve had these now for 2yrs and 7months. They havent been denied. At this point no attorney can do anything. If its denied then I can have someone appeal it, etc but right now we're pretty much stuck. My husband and I are separated now for 6 yrs come this April. Almost 3 waiting for waivers, the previous years waiting for 130 that took almost 2 yrs to get approved, then forever for an interview and initial clearance to even file the dam waivers after that.

Ive contacted the Dept of State they were NO help. All they said is we cant do anything until we hear if the waiver is approved or not. I cant beleive it.
I have no options of living anywhere with my husband. He cant go ANYWHERE. Hes stuck in Pakistan.

Im a Registered Nurse and there is no way I can live in Pakistan right now. Its the worst its ever been there right now. Not that bad though to ajudicators whove denied my friends waiver case there though, if thats not hardship then I dont know what is!! She appealed it. The attorney said in the appeal the they have made the hardship impossible for anyone to overcome/meet, if she did not meet the hardship then nobody can ever meet it because they set the standard so high theyve made it impossible to be overcome. Can you beleive that crap??!! Maybe they should go and live there before they deny someone and say its not a hardship to live there for an American. My husband himself is having a hell of a time there can you imagine being American in Pakistan right now?! Right now we need nothing short of a miracle. Thats it. Im ready to be committed at this point into a insane asylum. It wont be long, trust me.

[Neverending]

Our case isnt lost, in fact its very much alive and "pending security clearance" thats all I hear when I call, I hear those words in my sleep at night. Ive heard them for the last 2 yrs and 7 months since we filed these waivers.

It will soon be SIX yrs since my husband and I are separated. This April of 08 marks 6 yrs. Since 2002 in this hell. Almost 2 waiting for an I130 and then another 1 waiting for interview and clearance to even be able to file the dam waivers. Now 2yrs and 7 mo waiting for waivers. So total almost 6 yrs. No attoney could help at this point as the waivers and hardships have been all done already and there is no denial to appeal at this point so right now we are stuck. No senator or congress person has been able to do a thing.

As far as a mandamus does anyone have any experience with this or know anyone who has went this route? Please let me know. My husband is stuck in Pakistan and hes going through hell there and he cant go anywhere. I am a RN and I defintiely cant live there, esp now when its the worst its ever been.

[emt103c]

You can ask Laurel or one of the attorneys that she recommended on this thread:

http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?t=889

Have you visited at all??

That is a personal question and you don't have to answer...Hubby and I are planning on a visit to Pak soon.

[emt103c]

If they denied her case, he either had a really BAD violation, or she didn't use the right evidence....please tell her about the CIA world factbook, and the travel.state.gov site on travel/american warnings for Pakistan

[Neverending]

Sorry about the 2 in a row postings here, I thought I was posting in the other site also, but they both ended up here for some reason.

Anyway, my friend's husband who got denied from Pakistan, the reason they gave was that he lied on some previous immigration papers yrs back while in the US applying for benefits. Isnt that why you file waivers,,,to overcome this stuff?? Oh and that she created her own hardship by going there and marrying him in the first place. She met him in the US, he got deported, she went there. Now thats a crime too I guess. I dont understand, alot of people here have done this very thing and have had theirs approved so why is it ok for some not ok for others? So no, he didnt do anything so horrible, I mean there are people who do major crimes, repeated criminal activity and still get their waivers approved. Its the country, they dont want anyone from Pakistan coming in, bottom line. If he was from some other country he'd have been here yrs ago, no doubt, no matter what he did.

I will never understand how USCIS can make up their own rules and not have to apply the law/decisions to everyone. Makes absolutely NO sense at all. They are above the law. They don't have to answer to anybody, they make their own laws as they go and don't have to be accountable to anyone. This has got to change. I mean when senators and congress people,etc can't do anything or get any answers, who can? Wouldnt you love a job where you could take years to do it and didnt have to answer to anyone?? I sure would. They are in their own little world. Completely heartless. I think they have robots working in immigration. When I call they sure sound like one, repeat the same message over and over for yrs. They just press the "play"button thats it. Their goal is to make you crazy so you cancel everything and they think the longer they make you wait, that you will do that and give up, but Im not gonna let them win, it makes me want to fight them all the more. I think they work on commission, the more denials and waiting periods, the bigger bonus they receive.

[emt103c]

Trust me, I've gone on many tirades like the one you just posted. My husband got denied at the border (and given a DEPORTATION just for trying to enter) because he had a Pakistani visa in his passport.

If he had been from anywhere else, they would have just told him to come back with proof of ties to his home country, but make him from PAK and suddenly he's dangerous. So now we've been apart for 3 years, luckily he's a Canadian citizen and I can visit him once every four to eight weeks and still earn enough money to live on.

I agree with you.

As a side note, as I told you I've just filled out paperwork to move to
Canada, and you do know that nurses qualify as skilled workers in Canadian immigration, don't you?? and you would get to bring your spouse...just to put a bug in your ear. It would take a while, but you wouldn't have to be relying on people who've already proven your case is not priority.

My case just got sent from Montreal back to DOS and then to Islamabad...I think they are intent on "losing" it, don't you??

[lopay]

I really wish more Americans would wake up to what homeland security has become. To be honest, it's really scary. They answer to no one. The really sad thing is that the illegals who are pushing so much for amnesty really hurt us. I really wish I could say the words "immigration reform" without someone thinking of the illegal immigrants who are here that want a free ticket into this county without having to go through what so many of us have had to. Congress needs to wake up and do something about homeland security. They can destroy a person's life and then act like nothing ever happened.

I don't mean to take away from your question, but has anyone ever heard of this story:
http://mikulski.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=249844

America needs to do something about DHS. I work in missions and I hate when someone who is in a group on a mission trip says something like "why don't you just take your wife in, you can do that" or they don't believe my story at all. I have really been thinking of starting an organization that's goal would be to bring awareness to the average American about this stuff. No government has any right to do to you, or anyone else what DHS does to US citizens everyday. But as long as the average citizen keeps there head in the sand and thinks that the only immigration reform that is out there is that involving the illegals, nothing will ever change. Stay strong and know that you are not alone in what you go through. I have not had to wait for a waiver for the time that you have, but I have been trying to bring in my family since before 9/11 and still have a long road ahead to fight the system.

[Neverending]

How would I go about bringing my husband to Canada and how long do you think it would take to do something like this? His brother is going to sponsor him in Italy and that will take about a yr and a half. Would Canada be this long or longer do you know?? I never thought of that. Would his immigration violation in the US affect his chances going somewhere else or not? He has no criminal record. All I want to do is be able to be normal again thats it, in a NORMAL place.

[emt103c]

I'm reading the website and it says between 18-24 months to complete the whole process, with a chance of being less time, depending on how well you've filled out the paperwork and complete the steps they ask you for. The website is:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index.asp

Just like the U.S. you would have to transfer licensure for nursing, but they like us have somewhat of a shortage in this field. At least this way you'd get to be in the same country..that's how I feel about my situation.

I feel like I'M being deported....

[emt103c]

Other good thing is, if they complete your case, you just drop the Canada one and some of the fees get refunded, and you're still making headway!