Urgent !!! Can FBI directly contact i485 Applicant during Background Checks

[cheema2k]

Hello -

 

I have been in USA for more than 6 years on H1B visa and currently have H1B status status extended based on my Approved  GC EB3  I-140 Petition.Now recently my PD became current  and now I-485 application is pending with USCIS for last 3 months (I fall under EB3 Rest of the World Category). My online  case status says that my case is in "Initial Review". I suppose that all different types of Backgroun Checks are being performed by FBI on behalf of USCIS  about me at this point. Few days ago, I was contacted by a Special Agent from local FBI field office. He wanted to meet me alongwith one of his colleague over the lunch or something. I not knowing what else to say, agreed to meet them. I asked him what this is about ? is about my background checks ? He did not give me specific answer but acknowledged that my background checks are part of it. I have no criminal or bad credit history. However, I had 2 speeding tickets only with no arrests (not DUI) or anything. I did not contest the tickets and simply paid the fine. I am very surprised / curious and a bit worried that why would an FBI agent want to talk to me. I just wanted to know that if any  one here had this very same experience ? Is it normal that FBI agents from local offices contact Green Card Applicantsduring Background Checks ? I'll really appreciate timely and helpful Replies.

 

Thanks a lot!

[murthybabu]

They are probably some scam artists. FBI doesn't take people out for lunch. 

[JoeF]

Did they show you their badges? You may want to verify their names with the FBI office.

They can do background checks, and even ask your neighbors about you, but they pretty much never do.

[Belle]

Based on the public information, the FBI did talk to Tamerlan Tsarnayev during his citizenship application, based on the tip they got from the Russians. The application was put on hold after that, where it remained for a few years, and was never adjudicated.

 

So, first, consult a lawyer. Get a consultation. Everything you say can - and will - be used against you. If you can bring a lawyer to the meeting, do that. Confirm their names. Meet in a public place. In short, no, this is not common, and I am afraid, this is not good news for your application.

[pontevecchio]

It is incredibly naïve and dangerous to meet so called FBI agents unless it is in the FBI building. OP, kindly give the local Office a call and describe what happened.

[Belle]

It is incredibly naïve and dangerous to meet so called FBI agents unless it is in the FBI building. OP, kindly give the local Office a call and describe what happened.

I second that. Meet at the FBI office. And bring a lawyer. Remember the guy who got shot 7 times while being "interviewed" at his home in the middle of the night?

[omshiv]

wow...never hrd such a thing before..but hope you had a great lunch with them footing the bill.

[cheema2k]

Thanks a lot for prompt replies. I actually got call from the FBI local office's official number. So, nope this is not scam at all. I called back the "agent" and I was connected to him by local FBI Office. Although, there is nothing in my background which would interest FBI and the agent actually asked my schedule first and then decided the meeting time accordingly. I have called my Immigration Attorney about the issue and waiting to hear back from him. Like I said, I am just a "Joe" kind of 9-6 guy, could it be that my "Name Checks" had "hits" and FBI wanted to meet me to make sure their findings?

 

Thanks

[permaudit]

Thanks a lot for prompt replies. I actually got call from the FBI local office's official number. So, nope this is not scam at all. I called back the "agent" and I was connected to him by local FBI Office. Although, there is nothing in my background which would interest FBI and the agent actually asked my schedule first and then decided the meeting time accordingly. I have called my Immigration Attorney about the issue and waiting to hear back from him. Like I said, I am just a "Joe" kind of 9-6 guy, could it be that my "Name Checks" had "hits" and FBI wanted to meet me to make sure their findings?

 

Thanks

Never heard of such a thing at all. But please do keep us posted on their purpose of meeting you.. All the best!!

[Belle]

It's possible that someone with a similar name has come up in an investigation. I would consult a good criminal attorney, even if you just go for a consultation. You need to understand your rights. If this conversation is consentual (aka voluntary on your part), you should know it, and be free to leave at any time. It is unlikely, but possible, that the FBI suspects you of something, and starts pressuring you to "confess". In this case, you should have your criminal lawyer phone number on a speed dial.

[cheema2k]

It's possible that someone with a similar name has come up in an investigation. I would consult a good criminal attorney, even if you just go for a consultation. You need to understand your rights. If this conversation is consentual (aka voluntary on your part), you should know it, and be free to leave at any time. It is unlikely, but possible, that the FBI suspects you of something, and starts pressuring you to "confess". In this case, you should have your criminal lawyer phone number on a speed dial.

 

Thanks a lot for piece of advice! I'll do that. I hope its just a formal official check only and nothing serious.

[catx]

Belle's suggestion that "it's possible that someone with a similar name has come up in an investigation" is a reasonable one.  There have been many cases were federal 'watch list' type databases had / have incorrect information and people with similar names run into various difficulties.  An example is the federal database that lists people who are considered a possible threat used by airlines so these people do not get onto a plane.  I knew someone whose name was similar to a person on that list and he continually had problems flying, even domestically.  He was often pulled aside by police at the airport and questioned / interviewed until he provided sufficient proof that he was not the person listed in the no-fly database.

 

Beyond the sound advise from Belle, your attorney should help you put together the necessary documentation to prove who you are and there is nothing in your background that would raise any 'red flags'.

[cheema2k]

Thank you all for the replies. I just wanted to share my experience here in case someone else is in this very same situation. So, I met with the agents as they had asked me to meet for a lunch. There were 2 agents (One was from the local office and the other was from some other city/office). They seemed very friendly and asked me all sort of questions related to my personal, educational, financial, family and employment background at first. They also asked questions about my political/religious views, financial stuff and about close family members and friends back home.

 

They also informed me that my GC file has been transferred to local USCIS office of my area of current residence. During all this time, they were making jokes along with asking all these questions and overall it was a very friendly conversation. They told me that they would need to meet me again and they will let me know about the time of it. They called and scheduled a second lunch "session" after a month from the first meeting. During the second meeting they told me that they were glad that I was being very co operative with them. This time they had specific questions regarding some family members and about my finances. After the end of 2nd meeting, they told me that they no longer need to meet with me and these meeting would not effect my Green Card process at all. They also told me that its not uncommon for them to conduct such interviews if they find a need to do it. He said such interviews may or may not be the part of Green Card Background check.

 

So, now after the second meeting , it has been more than a month and I have not heard back from USCIS. I scheduled an info pass appointment at local USCIS office but they said that my FBI background checks (Finger Print Checks have been cleared) have not yet been cleared (appointment date was before the 2nd meeting with the agents).

I need your advice now, what should I do ?

 

Should I just wait to hear back from USCIS (My case has gone beyond normal processing times for last 3 months now)? 

 

Should I schedule another info pass appointment  or contact local congressman etc ?

 

Thanks in advance for the help.  

[Belle]

Call a couple of lawyers. I believe, filing a Writ of Mandamus is your best option. I am happy you thought the conversations were friendly, but I would still be more comfortable if you had your lawyer present, if only as a witness. No, it is NOT customary to have conversations like that during the green card process. Good luck! 

[catx]

From what you posted it would seem that something came up or was flagged in the background check -- even if it is by purely coincidence of having a similar name, profile, background, family history, etc. to someone else or other mistake.

 

"Friendly" meetings do not mean, and should not be taken as, everything is okay.  That could well have been a tactic to get you to open up, without you even realizing it.  Not all questioning is adversarial, intimidating, and/or threatening.  I would take all sort of questions regarding your personal, educational and employment background, political and religious views, finances, family members and friends -- and your FBI background checked not being cleared yet -- as red flags.

 

As Belle posted, this is not customary or normal during the permanent residency (green card) application process.  You should immediately consult with a qualified, experienced attorney, and let them make inquires to the USCIS and even the FBI on your behalf.  Even if through coincidence and/or mistake the FBI thinks you maybe a person of interest (who is actually someone else), your permanent residency (green card) application process could be dragged out for months or even years.  Remember immigration is a discretionary benefit not a right.

[Belle]

Just a side note - I would not like it at all if anyone, including the FBI, were to ask me about my political views, religion, or my family finances.

[cheema2k]

Thanks once again for providing all the information and advices so far. I took another infopass appointment Today at the local USCIS office and IO told me following:

 

1: My Background Checks have been completed and the my case file was sent to the another office for final adjudication but for some reason that local office in turn simply sent the file to National Record Center and it has been there now for last 4-6 weeks.

 

2: She said that in her system, she could not tell why the file was sent to National Record Center and it seems like a mistake.

 

3: She then sent email to the supervisor at the local office about it and told me to wait to hear back from her (She always says that but never calls me and I always have to take infopass to know the next status)

 

I have following questions:

 

In your experience , why instead of making any decision on my case, my file was sent to National record Center? Is it a good / bad news or does not mean anything ?

 

Do they adjudicate cases at National record Center in MO state or is it just a record keeping place only ?

 

IO also told me that she cant tell if my Background Checks were cleared or not. She just can tell that they are completed. Any Idea about her statement what it really means?

 

Kindly let me know if you guys had experience or read someone else's post where i485 case file was sent to NRC without making any decision after the completion of background checks. I really appreciate all the help.

[yinweini]

Hi Cheema2K,

 

I am glad I found your post as I have experienced exactly the same situation.  I was called by a local FBI agent for a casual conversation while my case is pending. Now my case has been pending for almost 3 months since it became current. I have tried to turn to the US Senator for help and they got back to me with a response from my local USCIS office saying my case is going through extensive background and still waiting for information from another agency, which I assume is FBI. If anyone else saw this post, please share your experience and thoughts in terms of how to handle the situation.

 

[catx]

... please share your experience and thoughts in terms of how to handle the situation. 

 

In both your and the case previously posted about there would seem to be something in the application and/or documentation, even if purely coincidental, which triggered a 'flag' for a more extensive background check (by the FBI).  There is nothing you can do "to handle the situation" except be patient and let things go through the processes.  It is the U.S. government's right to do a thorough, and even exhaustive, background check of a person applying for permanent residency (green card).  In today's age (post 911) this may unfortunately mean some 'false positives', which in turn causes delays in processing an application.

[cheema2k]

Another Update on my case: The IO (from my last Infopass appointment) called me Yesterday and said that my Extended Background checks have been completed and due to a mistake on USCIS part, my file was sent to National Record Center. She said that now my local USCIS office has requested that file back to review it to make a decision. So, I guess what catx said is right as we cant really do anything but just wait for the final decision. However, in my case, taking infopass appointments helped me and i got a nice office who bothered to follow up with my case. Yinweine, I wish you good luck and anyone else in this very same situation. Lets hope for the best!

[ar_prat]

Hi Cheema,

 

Do you have any other updates on your case? Please keep us posted.

[cheema2k]

Last week, I learnt through InfoPass appointment that the local USCIS office has decided to call us for Interview. So, as of this moment , we are waiting for the Interview letter to arrive. The Immigration Officer told me that the Case Officer assigned to our case was not satisfied the way our background check report was written (It was confusing for him) and he wanted to further discuss it one more time with the agent who prepared the background check report. After their discussion, the case officer has decided to call us for an interview. I'll keep updating this thread if we learn something new. If anyone out there is going through the same experience then please let us know and share your situation with us.

[cheema2k]

We got the interview letter finally. The USCIS has asked to appear for the interview on 04/11/2014. It is just one letter with my and my spouce's name on it. They have not asked any specific document and the letter looks pretty generic one. However, one thing is very confusing for us. The USCIS Memphis, TN office (where we are supposed to go for interview) usually is closed every Friday (As per the USCIS Website) but they have asked us to appear for interview on Friday (04/11/2014). I am not sure if this is a mistake or it is on purpose.Not knowing what type of documents they would require, I am taking everything which was sent to them as part of our application  and any additional document like, latest passport copy, pay stubs, tax returns and W2s etc. Can anyone please tell us if they know that Memphis, TN office conducts AOS interview on Friday ?

[cheema2k]

Hi all,

 

I just wanted to update about my case. We went for our interview on April 11, 2014 at Memphis, TN Office. Interview went really well and it seemed very simple and took us about just 10 minutes to finish it. The case officer told us that she is going to adjust our status and our green cards are approved. She told us that we should receive our Green Cards in mail in 2 weeks. She never asked any difficult question related to our background etc. We are so happy and excited that finally we got it after 6 very long years. We just wanted to say thanks to all of you who supported us here by answering our questions and providing valuable input. We wish everyone out there all the best for their pending cases and / or people who are going through in similar situation like us.

[shandan]

Congratulations!!