BCIS - formerly the INS...

“My wife is stuck back in Canada for 90-120 days...

Got married in May to a Canadian as many of you know. Drove across the border with no problems in June and continued driving down to California to start our lives together.
My wife got a call about a week later from her best friend back in Canada asking her to be in her wedding. We called the BCIS to see if it would be ok to go back across the border and they said YES, so long as we hadn't started filing our paperwork yet for my wife's green card - which we hadn't. We called them back twice more to make sure it was ok and got the same response. We thought everything was going to be fine...yeah right!
What we should have done is talked directly to a BCIS officer instead of the help line staff. The support operators turned out to be as full of crap as most computer tech help lines out there.

Anyway...this morning, my wife tried to fly back out of Vancouver and was blocked from entry into the US. They told her she should have already started filing her paperwork and without it she had to stay in Canada.
I made some calls and here's what I found out:

I have to file for her to get a "K-3 Nonimmigrant Visa". First I have to pay around $100 and send in an I-130 form to their offices in Laguna Niguel, CA. They review it, and follow up by sending me a reciept in the form of an I-797 form. Then I have to fill out an I-129F, attach the I-797 and another $100 or so, and then send all that into their offices in Chicago. Once reviewed and accepted, they send her a letter to her home address in Canada asking her to please make an appointment at the US Embassy so she can pick up her K-3 Visa. What a nightmare...

Again, this whole process takes between 3 and 4 months to complete. If she tries to enter the US illegally she'll be fined up to $2,000 and banned from the US for up to 5 years.

I'm beside myself...”

“I know everything about the damn INS that i have ever wanted to know...we have been married since march '02 and she has her employment card and is waiting on the green card...she hasnt been home in over 4 years...not for anything...she even sent off a request to leave the country for 2 weeks to attend to her grandmother who is sick...but it was denied...im afraid it is next to impossible to leave until you get "THE CARD"...good luck and i hope you have a fat wallet cuz those forms can cost some real dough...”

“This BCIS thing sucks. I've been trying to renew my green card for some time now, and have only been able to get ahold of ONE phone number for them, which is a national 1800 number- I have to call it in order to make an appointment at an office which is less than ten blocks from where I live. They do not give out the numbers to the individual offices, if you can belive that. On top of that, the 1800 number is an automated system that will, if you're trying to make an appointment, simply forward your call to the office anyway. Except when there's something wrong with the system, and it hangs up after ringing a few times while trying to make that connection, for about a month straight while you're watching the expiration date on your card get closer and closer. The INS might have been proven to be inefficient in many ways after 9/11, but at least you could talk to someone who didn't know what the hell they were talking about.”

“Hey shep:

Actually, from what I found out today as long as she has a valid K-3 visa she is free to travel abroad. This info came from 4 different BCIS (INS) agents I talked to today as well as what I read on the BCIS website. Here are a couple of links you should read if you haven't already:

http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/life081401.htm
http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/howdoi/hdiknonimm.htm

Here's a quote from one of their FAQ pages:

"Can I Travel Outside the United States?
If you are in K-3 or K-4 status, you may travel using your unexpired K-3/K-4 nonimmigrant visa to travel outside of the United States and return, even if you are applying for adjustment of status simultaneously."

Let me know what you find (or have found) out as I am still new to this thing.

Thanks,

ERIC”

“Corporal Nasty:

Yeah, I've had the same luck. You sit on hold forever too...
Not sure about the office you're dealing with, but most direct numbers I've needed I've found online through a HARD scour of search engines. Just a thought...have you tried calling 411 directory assistance by any chance? That'd be sweet if that really worked!”

“Yeah, I've tried that- You know, I got the address of the office near me on the BCIS website, and when I called 411, they said there were no BCIS (Or INS) offices at that address, and they had no numbers to give me.
Sorry to hear about your situation, hope everything works out.”

“that's too bad. same to you bro.”

“Next time you're in the office, pick up one of their phones and call your home or, if you don't have caller i.d., the home of a friend who does. It's worth a shot, maybe the number will show up, or with my luck, it would be routed through another state first.”

“nice idea stickman!”

“she actually came here on a tourist visa....and it somehow got mixed up with some #&%!$ and they keep telling her that some date had gone past before we got married and applied for the whole marriage deal....anyways its one big clucster #&%!$ but its almost over for us.....or so i think”

“I'll be in INS court tomorrow.”

“shep:
I talked to my congressman today and he said he might be able to speed things up for us. We'll see if he can walk the walk...

catskhiker:
For what reason?”

“good luck, that sux”