Summary

An immigrant shares their frustrating experiences with the USCIS process, detailing the challenges faced even as a privileged individual, including a misspelled last name and poor communication from the agency.

Abstract

The author, who has been navigating the U.S. immigration system since 2019, describes the complexity, cost, and emotional toll of the process, despite their relatively privileged position as a white European with a higher education degree and no debts. They recount their struggle with USCIS's errors, such as a misspelled last name, and the difficulty in reaching a human representative due to an uncooperative automated phone system. The author also expresses concerns about the potential consequences of sharing their immigration story publicly. With a final interview approaching, the author seeks advice and reflects on the broader challenges faced by immigrants, emphasizing the need for support and the reality that many feel unwelcome in the U.S.

Opinions

The author believes that dealing with USCIS is inherently difficult, time-consuming, and expensive.
They express a sense of privilege, acknowledging that their situation is more manageable than others due to their background.
The author is critical of the automated customer service system, describing it as inefficient and frustrating.
They are skeptical of the promise of a callback from immigration services, anticipating it will not occur at a convenient time.
The author conveys a sense of irony and dissatisfaction with the immigration process, particularly with the lack of urgency and accuracy from USCIS.
They highlight the absurdity of repeatedly proving they do not have syphilis as part of the health examination process.
The author empathizes with immigrants who choose to go off the grid due to the complexity of changing their immigration status.
They challenge the notion that immigrants are unwelcome, pointing out that the process itself constantly reminds immigrants of this sentiment.
The author is seeking practical advice from others who have gone through the final immigration interview.

Immigration Hiccups: A Daily Frustration

I Want To Write About Immigration But I’m Afraid Of The Consequences

I’ve been dealing with immigration since 2019, but it got worst after I got married.

If you’ve never had to deal with USCIS, consider yourself lucky. It is not an easy process, nor a quick one, least of all cheap. Yet, it’s often a necessary process for families, including mine.

I have been wanting to talk about my immigration story for a while, but I’ve been worried. What if sharing too many details costs me a green card? Being an immigrant is precarious, even for lucky people like me.

I’ve often been asked if I was worried about obtaining my visa. I was not: I’m white, I come from Europe, I have a higher education degree, no debs, proofs of relationship, I was granted a work permit once and never stayed longer than my visas. I had no reasons to doubt.

Yet, even for privileged people like me, immigration can be quite a headache.

After spending 40 minutes on the phone with immigration today, it lit a fire strong enough to write this article.

They misspelled my last name — my French one. It’s an easy one too. Five non-complicated letters. But they messed up, and have not been able to rectify their mistake since last August.

I sent three requests. I even did my biometrics, where they told me to call, again. They have copies of my passport, birth certificate, marriage license — all of those with the right last name.

You might think that a misspelled name is not the end of the world, and you are right. My issue is more global: the lack of communication and how complicated it is to reach them. My situation is not an emergency. Had it been one, it would have been the same.

It’s been going on for months, and I’m almost at the end of the immigration process. Next month, I have my final interview. I have no idea what it entails but they’ll probably ask about the relationship and the information we gave. As long as everything is true, nothing to be worried about!

If you are one of the lucky people who never call immigration, you do not know Emma, the robot that answers the contact center. She’ll drive the sanest person crazy as she repeats herself over and over. And if you dare ask to speak to a real person, she’ll threaten you.

No, no, this is not a joke.

You have not been speechless until you’ve been told off by the rude immigration robot. Not only is she unhelpful, but if you insist too much to talk to someone, she’ll simply hang up. There is no mercy.

Thankfully, the internet is full of helpful people sharing magic words to get someone real to answer. After a 10-minutes non-conversation with the robot, I achieved to have her put me on hold for a representative. Hallelujah! 25 minutes of waiting time… not ideal, but I’ll take it!

After more than 25 minutes, someone answered. They asked me for my file number, listen to my last name problem, and asked if I sent a request…as if it was not on my file! I know it’s on my file, I talked to someone 3 months ago who could read it on my file and was surprised no one answered my first 2 requests.

The call was fruitless. Nothing was done, but they said someone will contact me within 30 days and can call me anytime between 7 AM to 8 PM.

I explained I didn’t have an American phone as of yet but I could give her my husband’s phone. I even tell her “if you call in the morning I’ll be there.”

We all know they are going to call at 6 PM when my husband is at work, and they’ll never get back to me.

Fed up, I decided to email them too. Gave them my 3 requests numbers. Told them their link to report an error was down, and send it.

They answered in less than an hour, my last name correctly written at the top of the email… but addressing an issue that wasn’t mine. At least they had the name right, right? Yes, but it still didn’t motivate them to change it on the official papers.

I have much more to say on the subject, but it will have to wait. For now, I have to prep for my interview, pass a physical exam for the third time, prove I don’t have syphilis for the third time (yes, they ask about syphilis).

If you don’t hear from me for a while, or that my next article is about being sent back to France, you’ll know something went wrong — or a Walmart consumer will have finally called immigration after hearing my rant on fake French cheese.

More seriously, people who do not go through the immigration process cannot begin to imagine how complicated it can get. You need money, time, patience, and support. There’s almost an infinite amount of paperwork, and always something missing.

Contrary to what many believe, it is not easy to change an immigrant status. It is not easy to be granted a green card, which is why many decided to go off the grid. I understand. I’m lucky enough to have people able to vouch for me, and be financially held responsible for me. Not everyone has that kind of support.

One last thing … If you are one of those people who wish immigrants would “come back from where they came”, do not worry. Every step of the process, we remember we are not very welcome here.

If you’ve been through immigration, any tips about the final interview?

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