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VANITY - A question for any immigration attorneys/legal consultants

Posted on 12/17/2007 7:36:33 PM PST by skiddle_deboppop

I need to file my naturalization application. There are stamps on my passport that are not too clear. I need to enter the dates that I entered and exited the US. Does anybody know of a way that I can access the record of my entries or is it necessary to get an attorney?

Thanks.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Your Opinion/Questions
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1 posted on 12/17/2007 7:36:35 PM PST by skiddle_deboppop
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To: skiddle_deboppop

I’d take a magnifying glass to the stamps, attach a xerox of these pages, indicate that relying on this material as best as you can read it—these are the relevant dates.


2 posted on 12/17/2007 7:43:50 PM PST by the Real fifi
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To: skiddle_deboppop
Well, not a lawyer here, but I had your same dilemma more than once for various reasons (immigration, clearance, etc.).

I just note the dates the best I can remember and put “Est” or “Approx” next to them... sometimes just he month and year will do. Never had an issue.

Hope all works out fine for ya!

3 posted on 12/17/2007 7:46:02 PM PST by elpinta (Tagline temporarily out of service)
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To: skiddle_deboppop

Use you passport to go to Mexico, then sneak back across the border and put these other pesky little details out of your mind.

My stepmother went thru the legal process, which took years.


4 posted on 12/17/2007 7:47:31 PM PST by umgud (no more subprime politicians)
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To: skiddle_deboppop

Just stay in the Country and wait for the next Amnesty, loose the Passport.


5 posted on 12/17/2007 7:49:37 PM PST by modican
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To: skiddle_deboppop

Enroll in college. Apply for instate tuition.


6 posted on 12/17/2007 7:51:01 PM PST by neodad (USS Wabash (AOR 5))
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To: skiddle_deboppop

If you are in the Philly PA area, Geno’s cheesesteak shop has all the forms. He can help you out./sarc J/K


7 posted on 12/17/2007 7:54:17 PM PST by Beagle8U (FreeRepublic -- One stop shopping ....... Its the Conservative Super WalMart for news .)
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To: skiddle_deboppop

The government does keep records of entries and exits for Americans. I have no idea what they keep on foreign nationals. Whether they’ll share that information on request, I don’t know.

I’d contact ICE and ask them. My best guess as to the proper mechanism would be a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request, giving them as much info as possible (name, nationality, passport number, etc). Some agencies are quite cooperative in telling you how to FOIA them; others are less helpful.

Start with this link http://www.ice.gov/about/legal.htm#foia

If it doesn’t help, you are just out a few stamps and some time.


8 posted on 12/17/2007 7:57:31 PM PST by PAR35
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To: PAR35; skiddle_deboppop

I forgot the standard disclaimer on my previous post.

Legal advice should only be obtained from an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction and who practices in the area of law of concern to you. General discussion of legal principles should not be construed to be legal advice as to any specific set of facts.


9 posted on 12/17/2007 8:02:34 PM PST by PAR35
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To: PAR35

TRust me, as a retired lawyer who handled lots of immigration cases, this won’t work.


10 posted on 12/17/2007 8:13:10 PM PST by the Real fifi
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To: skiddle_deboppop

You might visit (not call) the public information office of your local Customs and Border Protection Office. Show them your passport and explain that you are applying for naturalization and need accurate dates. They may be able to query your dates on their computer system for you.

Good luck! I hope you will be voting for conservatives by the next election!


11 posted on 12/17/2007 8:38:41 PM PST by passionfruit (When illegals become legal, even they won't do work American's won't do)
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To: the Real fifi

I need to file my naturalization application.

How long have you been a Lawful Permanent Resident (i.e., for how many years have you had your “green card”)?


12 posted on 12/17/2007 10:42:46 PM PST by eddiespaghetti ( with the meatball eyes)
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To: eddiespaghetti

Yes.


13 posted on 12/18/2007 7:06:24 AM PST by the Real fifi
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To: the Real fifi

Probably not, but it’s worth a shot.

There are usually a pair of dates for each trip - an exit stamp from the US matched by an entry stamp for Frankfurt, for example, then a departure stamp for London matched by an entry stamp for the US. If travel was on to a 3rd area (say Russia), there’d be another set of stamps. A bit strange that none of the dates are legible for a trip.


14 posted on 12/18/2007 8:09:50 AM PST by PAR35
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To: PAR35

I understand the record keeping, but do you understand how impossible it is to get anything out of those files? How long it would take to get a response ? How insignificant the exact dates are so long as he produced notarized copies of the stamps, an affidavit that he has no specific recollection other than the stamps and that as best he can read them they are_________?


15 posted on 12/18/2007 8:33:04 AM PST by the Real fifi
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