My son met and started dating an Italian girl while we were station in Italy with the US military. When we moved to Florida she came for a visit and they decided to get married (which they did). They applied to a temporary work permit and a green card. The work permit was received in Dec 2007) but the green card process has been costly and very frustrating. First, they had $1200 in fees. Next, they were asked to drive to New Orleans (10 hour round-trip) for fingerprints, etc. Then they were asked to drive to Jacksonville, FL for an interview (12 hour round-trip). At the interview they asked for an undated pay-statement from my son since he had received a promotion (although I was a co-sponsor and my income was sufficient). They also requested a copy of my birth certificate and passport. These items were mailed with receipt confirmation within 2 days of my son getting back home and they were received approximately 2 days later. About 2 months after that the INS sent my son a letter saying his application was denied because they had never received the updated info asked for. The only avenue of appeal was to send $580 and state the reason why these items were not sent. The application asked for a check or money order. We sent a personal check (same as we have done for the other fees we have paid the INS) and then they sent a letter back saying they only accept money orders or bank drafts. We got a bank draft and re-submitted the application. Last week we received a letter stating the appeal is under review and we should hear something by July 2009 (12 months). Of course, if the appeal is denied our only recourse is to re-submit an application and $1200 in fees. If the appeal is accepted the original application will still have to be approved. Is this type of behavior normal for the INS? There are no listed phone numbers so we could not call and ask questions. Is there anything else we can do not only to expedite this process but to complain about their gross mismanagement of my son's case?![]()

