Finger Printing Notice not received

[anupamk2005]

Hi,

I have not received my finger printing notice. I had filed for I-485 on first week of April, 2005. My lawyer sent an email to UCSIS to inquiry about finger printing. They replied back by stating that they will send it again. Has anybody passed thru similar situation. I would appreciate if somebody can provide me advice on what should I do ?

[coldface]

If you already received the Notice of Action for your I-485, I suggest you visit your local district office for fingerprinting on the spot. Bring the original NOA, and all other letters or notices that you have received from the USCIS concerning your AOS application. Tell the district office staff that you never received an appointment as promised and it's been more than 90 days since your application.

If you applied in April, I think you'd still be under the old system where you'd have to call a toll-free number to make an appointment for the fingerprinting. Apparently, since June/July the new process is for applicants to sit tight and wait for the appointment.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[anupamk2005]

What do you mean by Notice of Action - I485

Hi Coldface,

What do you mean by Notice of Action - I485? My lawyer had inquired about fingerprinting notice. Can their reply be considered Notice of Action. Do I need to call UCSIS service center ? If so, what should I ask them.

Thnks for your reply

[coldface]

When USCIS receives an I-485 application, they will send out a Notice of Action to the applicant. It's like the NOA that your then fiance received after he first filed the K1 petition when you two started the visa process. This is something like an official acknowledgement of your application and to inform you that your application is being processed. ALL applicants are supposed to receive NOAs. Since you hired an attorney, I am guessing that your attorney's address was used in your application? If so, he would have received the NOA from USCIS.

If you are going to call USCIS, you need to have the NOA and other correspondence from them with you in case they ask you for specific information. If you or your lawyer never received any NOA, I am going to guess that there's a backlog at their end and you may have to wait further. Don't take my word for it, though. Call USCIS to find out more about your case, or make an Infopass appointment on their website to see someone at your local district office for more information.

[coldface]

I also want to add that you might want to check your case status online to see which dates of applications your local office is processing currently. Find your local office through this link and follow the instructions:

http://uscis.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/index.htm

My husband and I are in Indianapolis, IN and I know the field office is currently experiencing a 7-month backlog on I-485 applications. So perhaps your field office has not started processing your application yet? Long waiting times are not uncommon. But check again with your lawyer about the NOA.