T-Bone
07-01-2003, 10:15 AM
20 years ago my parents got their citizenship and I always remember my
dad telling me his lawyer told him to put $50 in an envelope marked
'George'. Ask for George at the window and hand him the envelope.
Magically my dad was called to review his case, no wait involved.
I got my citizenship 2 months ago doing the paperwork myself and not
much thinking about 'George'. My fingerprint appointment lagged about
30 minutes and my interview was 'spookily' on time to the minute.
Imagine the look on my face when exactly on time this young gal who
could have passed for a runway model called my name. It wasn't really
an interview, more like an informal chat. She read the mandatory 10
questions from her monitor and had to ask the standard dumb questions
like:
Have you ever plotted to overthrow the government?
Have you ever been a member of a terrorist organization?
I had to wonder if anyone had ever answered yes?
My next project was to sponsor my wife with the I-130, I-485, I-864
and I-693. Wading through the paperwork the BCIS insists on original
copies and it's illegal to photocopy your naturization certificate. I
completed the forms, made copies of everything and decided to
'walk-in' the documents so my 'originals' could be verified and then
hand them off copies. It sounded like a good plan but as you'll find
out, it was mainly a waste of time. I say 'mainly' because these forms
HAVE to submitted by mail. I DID get to speak for about 10 minutes
with a very friendly, knowledgable desk clerk who dispelled some of
instructions on the web site. Send certified copies, never originals,
and don't worry about the illegality of copying the nat. certificate.
She also filled me in on the I-131 and how to get moved to the head of
the line. More about that later.
We're in Los Angeles and because it's close to Mexico big crowds
arrive downtown and line up early. I'd heard 2am but it's more like
1am. We arrived at 4:30am and we're about 500th in line. As we got to
the end of the line a guy said something to us. I didn't even hear
him, my wife did. I guess she must have gave him some kind of
encouragement because he came right up to us and offered to sell us
his 'space', # 30 in line, for $50. I only had a couple of bucks in my
pocket so never even considered it but my wife eager to make the long
wait for me less painless haggled with him but he wouldn't budge on
the price. Indicating we were 'interested' he laid out the plan. He
would take my wife the long way, across the street, back to the head
of the line and establish her in his position. He would then come back
for me and we would also cross the street and head for the start of
the line. When we reached her position she would wave to me if
everything was O.K (no riot by the neighbors). At that point I'd hand
over the money and he'd disappear. It sounded relatively foolproof,
the money changed hands and I joined the wife. The guy in front of us
was sound asleep on a blanket and the couple who doubtfully spoke
English behind us were still 31st in line. It felt more like a
business arrangement, I was just buying someone elses time, he's there
every night, not a big deal.
Come 6am a security guard shows up and he could have easily passed for
a marine corps drill instructor. The line had to move from the curb
side of the street to the building side, a move of about 30 feet. This
was to be done in groups of 20 (not 21). He was barking out loud
orders asking 'has anyone cut in line or bought a space? Point them
out and I'll get rid of them'.
A Korean gal in a pink outfit in maybe the #5 slot was cast to the
wolf and he barked at her to go to the end of the line. Maybe she paid
big $ for her spot. She sure put of one hell of a fight. Everything
came to a standstill....she stomped her feet and the tears flowed. All
of a sudden I wondered if we were next. Things were getting
interesting and I had up fronts seats for the $50 show. The guy in
front of me was still sound asleep and I had to kick his feet to wake
him up. As the group moved the 30 feet another woman who'd just showed
up and was heading for the end of the line did a quick 2 step and
tried to mingle with the crowd at the building. The drill instructor
barked halt, and everyone froze in their tracks. NOBODY cuts in line
on his watch, he had her doing the double march so fast....
We moved one more time, to the adjacent side of the building where the
entrance was. People waved papers and were quickly pulled from the
line and placed in a new line, right next to the door. It wasn't long
before there were 100 people in the 'new line'. I had to know what
they were waving to security. Turned out to be work permits.
By 7:30 I was at one of the 7 counters. I'd paid $10 to park and $50
for the space and they told me to put the papers in the mail. It was
fun though. People actually bring lounge chairs and sleep on the
sidewalk. They won't let you bring them inside though. There are no
bathrooms in sight so if you go taking drinks isn't a good idea.
Another thing. If you bring along a family member as company to
anything to do with immigration they split you up. You can't sit
together. I never figured that one out. For fingerprinting my wife had
to sit in a different section. They had blue seats and gray seats for
applicants. They never told us where to sit. They must have had 100
blue seats with nobody on and about 20 people on about the same gray
seats. One guy sat on a blue seat and the fuss security made?? They
won't do your fingerprinting if you can't give them a 'clean' set.
Security checks your fingers for cuts and they'll tell you to
re-schedule if they don't like your print areas. One guy tried to
carry in 2 cans of sprite to the waiting room and got stopped.
The same seat issue for the interview. About 500 seats, maybe 60
people there and my wife had to sit at the end of the room behind an
elastic barrier?
On the 'advanced parole' or travel document. The desk clerk told us
NOT to show up early as security walks the lines. Just wave the
document and they'll pull you from the line and get you in fast.
Hope you've enjoyed the story.
Good luck on your ventures with the BCIS.
T-Bone
dad telling me his lawyer told him to put $50 in an envelope marked
'George'. Ask for George at the window and hand him the envelope.
Magically my dad was called to review his case, no wait involved.
I got my citizenship 2 months ago doing the paperwork myself and not
much thinking about 'George'. My fingerprint appointment lagged about
30 minutes and my interview was 'spookily' on time to the minute.
Imagine the look on my face when exactly on time this young gal who
could have passed for a runway model called my name. It wasn't really
an interview, more like an informal chat. She read the mandatory 10
questions from her monitor and had to ask the standard dumb questions
like:
Have you ever plotted to overthrow the government?
Have you ever been a member of a terrorist organization?
I had to wonder if anyone had ever answered yes?
My next project was to sponsor my wife with the I-130, I-485, I-864
and I-693. Wading through the paperwork the BCIS insists on original
copies and it's illegal to photocopy your naturization certificate. I
completed the forms, made copies of everything and decided to
'walk-in' the documents so my 'originals' could be verified and then
hand them off copies. It sounded like a good plan but as you'll find
out, it was mainly a waste of time. I say 'mainly' because these forms
HAVE to submitted by mail. I DID get to speak for about 10 minutes
with a very friendly, knowledgable desk clerk who dispelled some of
instructions on the web site. Send certified copies, never originals,
and don't worry about the illegality of copying the nat. certificate.
She also filled me in on the I-131 and how to get moved to the head of
the line. More about that later.
We're in Los Angeles and because it's close to Mexico big crowds
arrive downtown and line up early. I'd heard 2am but it's more like
1am. We arrived at 4:30am and we're about 500th in line. As we got to
the end of the line a guy said something to us. I didn't even hear
him, my wife did. I guess she must have gave him some kind of
encouragement because he came right up to us and offered to sell us
his 'space', # 30 in line, for $50. I only had a couple of bucks in my
pocket so never even considered it but my wife eager to make the long
wait for me less painless haggled with him but he wouldn't budge on
the price. Indicating we were 'interested' he laid out the plan. He
would take my wife the long way, across the street, back to the head
of the line and establish her in his position. He would then come back
for me and we would also cross the street and head for the start of
the line. When we reached her position she would wave to me if
everything was O.K (no riot by the neighbors). At that point I'd hand
over the money and he'd disappear. It sounded relatively foolproof,
the money changed hands and I joined the wife. The guy in front of us
was sound asleep on a blanket and the couple who doubtfully spoke
English behind us were still 31st in line. It felt more like a
business arrangement, I was just buying someone elses time, he's there
every night, not a big deal.
Come 6am a security guard shows up and he could have easily passed for
a marine corps drill instructor. The line had to move from the curb
side of the street to the building side, a move of about 30 feet. This
was to be done in groups of 20 (not 21). He was barking out loud
orders asking 'has anyone cut in line or bought a space? Point them
out and I'll get rid of them'.
A Korean gal in a pink outfit in maybe the #5 slot was cast to the
wolf and he barked at her to go to the end of the line. Maybe she paid
big $ for her spot. She sure put of one hell of a fight. Everything
came to a standstill....she stomped her feet and the tears flowed. All
of a sudden I wondered if we were next. Things were getting
interesting and I had up fronts seats for the $50 show. The guy in
front of me was still sound asleep and I had to kick his feet to wake
him up. As the group moved the 30 feet another woman who'd just showed
up and was heading for the end of the line did a quick 2 step and
tried to mingle with the crowd at the building. The drill instructor
barked halt, and everyone froze in their tracks. NOBODY cuts in line
on his watch, he had her doing the double march so fast....
We moved one more time, to the adjacent side of the building where the
entrance was. People waved papers and were quickly pulled from the
line and placed in a new line, right next to the door. It wasn't long
before there were 100 people in the 'new line'. I had to know what
they were waving to security. Turned out to be work permits.
By 7:30 I was at one of the 7 counters. I'd paid $10 to park and $50
for the space and they told me to put the papers in the mail. It was
fun though. People actually bring lounge chairs and sleep on the
sidewalk. They won't let you bring them inside though. There are no
bathrooms in sight so if you go taking drinks isn't a good idea.
Another thing. If you bring along a family member as company to
anything to do with immigration they split you up. You can't sit
together. I never figured that one out. For fingerprinting my wife had
to sit in a different section. They had blue seats and gray seats for
applicants. They never told us where to sit. They must have had 100
blue seats with nobody on and about 20 people on about the same gray
seats. One guy sat on a blue seat and the fuss security made?? They
won't do your fingerprinting if you can't give them a 'clean' set.
Security checks your fingers for cuts and they'll tell you to
re-schedule if they don't like your print areas. One guy tried to
carry in 2 cans of sprite to the waiting room and got stopped.
The same seat issue for the interview. About 500 seats, maybe 60
people there and my wife had to sit at the end of the room behind an
elastic barrier?
On the 'advanced parole' or travel document. The desk clerk told us
NOT to show up early as security walks the lines. Just wave the
document and they'll pull you from the line and get you in fast.
Hope you've enjoyed the story.
Good luck on your ventures with the BCIS.
T-Bone
