April 2009 Applications

[dlpinokc]

hi again all, well i scanned all the certified mail recepts and emailed them to helper avid Parnell from Texas State Representative Ana E. Hernandez office... he emailed me the fax that dps sent him with the info i had to refill out and faxed them back to him and he faxed the info back to dps to judy dunnam. now i recieved a email back from David Parnell saying "I emailed the paperwork to DPS & verified that they have received it.
Now, they can request the field investigations to begin.
The Harris County region has a very large backlog.
I'll keep monitoring it."
so now wait and see... the ball is in their court....

[USA1]

Sounds like they're scared of the hearings or something

Or are they scared that we actually might hold them to the law?

thats what i think ...
i wonder if i call to inquire on mine ,
if i also inquire as to who to send a request for a hearing ,
what will happen ?

[Kevinf2349]

A little update.

So having not heard anything from Austin at all since I faxed my Certificate of Naturalization (July 8th) to them and having read that it would be best to check to see if they got it. I called Austin and sure enough, they are waiting for it still! So I told the nice lady that I had faxed it, emailed it and sent an internet fax all on the 8th. She asked me to fax it again. So I did, and immediately called to see if they got it. They did but the picture wasn't clear (what do they expect from a fax?). So I sent a copy of it, and called again. The picture is better but still too dark. So I copied it on a photcopier but with a lighter setting, faxed it and called again. Success!

So I asked the lady if my background check was back yet. They haven't even sent for it yet, they are waiting for the certificate.

What makes me really seethe is that after I was sworn in as a new US citizen I called and asked them if they needed anything and was told that they had everything that they needed. (About June 23rd). I also emailed the same question to the CHL email address on the same day. Then on the 3rd July I get a reply to my email asking me to fax a copy to them...which is where this post started.

So here are my questions.

A) Where is the snail mail telling my there is an issue and that they need the certificate.
B) Why does the website only show "Processing Application" even before today. That is all it has ever shown.
C) Why haven't they had the decency to reply to my previous emails asking if they got the fax
D) What would have happened if the email the sent to me didn't get to me? (Work has email filters and email is not a garaunteed delivery system anyway)
E) Why all the background checks I had to have to become a citizen aren't good enough for Texas. Trust me I have had more fingerprints taken then I care to recall.

Anyway. I emailed them and basically told them I was expecting a CHL to be issued within 14 days or I was requesting a hearing.

So I guess mine is at the bottom of the pile right about now!

[dicion]

Unfortunately, if they Were missing something, your fault or theirs, you did not give them a 'Completed Application' as required by the statutes, until you sent them the information.

They have 90 days from That day... so unfortunately, your clock has been reset to 0 as of the day you sent them the information.

Sorry man, you'll just have to wait it out. Please do not request a hearing and set bad precedent.

[Kevinf2349]

But my point is that I never actually got a letter saying 'Incomplete"....nor did the website ever say that.

In fact it wasn't 'incomplete' when I filled it in, it was 100% correct, all the information asked for was given. Copy of Green card and proof of residency.

My immigration status changed from permanent resident to citizen....and what difference should that make? None whatsoever. Heck there isn't even a requirement to adjust the immigration status to my knowledge.

[Kevinf2349]

Please do not request a hearing and set bad precedent.

...and that precedent would be? Standing up and requesting my rights?

I have some time to go before I can even request a hearing, but it is maybe because people aren't doing so that the DPS is getting away with the sort of service they are providing.

[dicion]

Please do not request a hearing and set bad precedent.

...and that precedent would be? Standing up and requesting my rights?

I have some time to go before I can even request a hearing, but it is maybe because people aren't doing so that the DPS is getting away with the sort of service they are providing.

no, the precident would be DPS winning their first 'implicit denial' hearing. We need to make sure that every 'implicit denial' hearing request is black and white their fault. Your case would have some 'lawyering room' due to your status changing mid-application. Please do not take this as me not wanting you to assert your rights. I just don't want to give ANY ammo to DPS to have even the slightest chance to win an implicit denial hearing, that could set bad case law, or bad case examples that DPS could use in later cases.

I do believe you Would win, however, you have to realize that if dps did take it to court, they will be bringing their lawyer, and may be able to convince that since your status changed, your application was no longer correct, therefore making it incomplete. I'm not sure of the date you got your citizenship, but if *anything* changed in that 90 day period that would have modified your original application, they could argue that the application became incomplete on that day, thereby resetting your clock.

Hopefully Charles will execute his plan soon, and then we will all win.

[dicion]

My immigration status changed from permanent resident to citizen....and what difference should that make?

It changes a couple of answers and yes/no boxes on the application, which they are still able to mark 'incomplete' up to the 90 day mark. That's what could hang you in court.

[bk2506]

Not sure how many folks have had "problem letters" sent by DPS during the BC, but I'm fighting one now...

2009-04-04 Attended 10 hour classroom instruction, completed written exam
2009-04-06 Completed fingerprinting, completed field proficiency exam
2009-04-07 Mailed application to DPS via USPS w/ delivery confirmation
2009-04-09 Delivery confirmed at DPS by USPS
2009-04-17 Check cashed by DPS
2009-05-30 Received PIN via USPS for checking status online
2009-06-26 Received letter from DPS stating application MAY be denied due to an error when wide background check performed and referenced "attached documentation" which was really just a Post-It note stating I had deliquent property taxes in Dallas County. Apparently, there was another person in 1987 who failed to pay a $20.00 property tax bill on an undeveloped plot of land and who happened to have the same First, MI, Last name as me. When I contacted DPS to explain I was mistaken for someone else, they balked and advised me to have Dallas County issue a "Mistaken Identity" report clearing my name. I then retorted I was 14 years old when the property taxes were due, and they finally agreed to "continue processing my application and would call me if they needed any more information".
2009-07-13 Still no word on status of CHL app with DPS. Website says same "processing application" status as the past several weeks. Called DPS who confirmed problem still existed with my BC. Called both Dallas County Tax Assessor and Dallas County Clerks Office and neither knew anything about a "Mistaken Identity" report. They both acknowledged their respective offices did not keep SSN or TXDL information on file in the 80's for property records, so there would be absolutely no way DPS could have queried using those fields during the BC.
2009-07-15 Mailed letter to DPS requesting they ignore their findings on the deliquent property tax based on two grounds: 1) BC query was too broad and did not use personally identifiable information, 2) I was 14 at the time the taxes became deliquent, which would have been impossible for me to legally own property in Texas. Also, I told them I did a quick people search on the Internet and found 20 different people with my same first name, middle initial, and last name in Texas. I asked them to prove their results excluded all other 19 people with my same name. Also requested they review their BC procedures and controls as this type of loose querying results in what I considered to be a substandard BC.

[Kevinf2349]

My immigration status changed from permanent resident to citizen....and what difference should that make?

It changes a couple of answers and yes/no boxes on the application, which they are still able to mark 'incomplete' up to the 90 day mark. That's what could hang you in court.

Not wishing to be argumentative but....not on my copy it doesn't. All I needed was to prove legal residence in Texas....which my green card did.

Now I am worried that I filled in the wrong form!

[dicion]

I'm trying to find a copy online, but I'm pretty sure the Affidavits that you had to sign and have notarized had a few questions that would have different answers for Permanent Residents Vs. Citizens... Let me see If I can dig those up.

I may be incorrect, but I seem to remember checking a 'I am a citizen' box somewhere...

[dleewo]

I'm trying to find a copy online, but I'm pretty sure the Affidavits that you had to sign and have notarized had a few questions that would have different answers for Permanent Residents Vs. Citizens... Let me see If I can dig those up.

I may be incorrect, but I seem to remember checking a 'I am a citizen' box somewhere...

The affidavits didn't have any citizenship questions. The fingerprint cards do ask for citizenship.

The main application has a "Place of Birth" and if I recall correctly, the instructions say that if your place of birth is outside of the US, you have to provide a copy of your passport (or green card if not a US citizen). I'm a naturalized US citizen so I had to provide a copy of my passport.

Derek

[Chip]

Just got off the phone with a technician at DPS - both my background checks (Harris County and Montgomery County) are complete. According to this calculator, that's 105 days since DPS received my application (I'm using April 6 for the receipt date, the check cleared the bank on April 9).

Then the technician told me that it's another 2-4 weeks before I receive the card. I guess she was talking about the time it takes to decide whether they'll accept everything and print the card. Maybe we can push that along a little faster....

[texas1234]

Chip if your background checks are complete you should have the card in hand in two weeks. Your application has already been looked through at this point and most of the time they are only waiting on background checks. The only thing that can delay that two weeks now is a screwup from the printer. From my experience and what i have seen the only thing that holds up DPS is background checks and they are normally right on once they get them back.

[Tireshred]

Congrats Chip! 2 weeks seems to be the norm for the printers nowadays.