Can an AOS interview be postponed?

[BirdyGirl85 23]

I'm just researching ahead a bit about the AOS process... My fiance will get here Oct. 25, and even though we will try to get married as soon as we can (I think we will get married in November) we are thinking our honeymoon in Hawaii will happen in January or February. The reason for this is that November and December will be very busy because I work at a store and that's the busiest time of year and plus Thanksgiving and Christmas will just make it very busy in general. So we thought the best time for me to take off time off from work for our honeymoon would be January or February. I know we have to file for my fiance's AOS before the 90 days is up, and we will do that, but I wonder, if the interview is scheduled before or around our honeymoon, are we allowed to postpone the interview date? I just thought it would be better if the interview happened after the honeymoon, we could also bring pictures from the honeymoon to the interview. We won't have many pictures from the wedding, I don't think we will... We will be getting married in a court. So unless we get dressed up for it, I think it seems silly to take photos... (I might get some kind of dress, but at this point in time I haven't thought about it and didn't plan to do that)

Also, another question I thought of. Does the interview have to be at your local USCIS office? The only USCIS office in Oregon is in Portland. Portland is a 5 hour drive north for us. But Sacramento California is a 5 hour drive south and if my fiance and I went to the USCIS office in Sacramento, at least we could stay with my dad while we go there instead of having to pay for a motel room in Portland.

Edited September 24, 2010 by BirdyGirl85

[Darnell 8,479]

This is wrong --> I know we have to file for my fiance's AOS before the 90 days is up

You only have to be married within that 90 days, and that's it.

Is no federal guideline/regulation on WHEN to file the AOS. USCIS will tell you 'asap' , but if you delay it as much as 6 months past POE date, is no issue, usually.

There IS a federal reg to be MARRIED within 90 days, and that's it.

I'd be worried to be at the airport with any expired I-94 attached to a passport, but if you don't go through any Immigration CheckPoint (domestic flights usually not do this) then he should be ok after the I-94 expires.

Edited September 24, 2010 by Darnell

[BirdyGirl85 23]

Oh ok. Well I guess even if the AOS interview can be postponed or we wait until after the honeymoon to file the AOS, I guess this issue you brought up would still be there:

I'd be worried to be at the airport with any expired I-94 attached to a passport, but if you don't go through any Immigration CheckPoint (domestic flights usually not do this) then he should be ok after the I-94 expires.

I didn't think about that, I guess because it's a domestic flight. But I hope it would be ok, hmm...

[Dave&Roza 748]

A couple of other things to consider is that the AOS is taking most people 3 months, so let's say you get married in November and file for a certified copy of your marriage license. My county takes two weeks to process the request and get you the copy. Now you file the AOS two weeks after your marriage and it takes 3 months--December, January, February. The other thing is that you may not have an interview for your AOS.

Considering all this you need to ask how important the GC is for your spouse. You can file the AOS as soon as you possibly can and hope there is no interview or hope the interview is after your honeymoon. Or wait a bit and file so that your honeymoon falls somewhere around the sixty day mark and you should be safe. Yes, the interview can be rescheduled, but the USCIS does recommend that you do not do this as it will SERIOUSLY delay your AOS. I think that would mean to the bottom of the pile you go and it maybe sevral months before your file sees the light of day. That may not be a bad thing if the AOS takes over two years then the GC will be a 10 year GC and not a 2 year conditional GC.

Good Luck to you as I hope to be in your shoes very soon.

Dave

[BirdyGirl85 23]

Thank you very much for your replies. I guess we could wait to file for AOS until after the honeymoon, or at least, not right after the marriage. Maybe in December or January we can file and I doubt an interview would be scheduled around our honeymoon.

About traveling with a expired I-94, I just thought about my fiance getting an Oregon Driver's License and he can travel to Hawaii with that. At first I wasn't sure if he could get an Oregon Driver's License before the AOS, but I just researched about the Oregon DMV and it says:

"The following immigration documents can be used as proof of U.S. citizenship, U.S. naturalization, permanent lawful residence or temporary legal presence:

A valid foreign passport not expired and includes one of the following:

* Arrival/Departure Record (I-94, CBP I-94A)"

So I guess that means he can apply to get an Oregon Driver's License before the AOS?

Edited September 24, 2010 by BirdyGirl85

[Darnell 8,479]

Oh ok. Well I guess even if the AOS interview can be postponed or we wait until after the honeymoon to file the AOS, I guess this issue you brought up would still be there

Given yer data -

I would posit that the 'right window' to file AOS to be AFTER the retail sales rush is over, sometime in mid-January. Then, is no 'concept' for postponing the interview, as you'd prolly get scheduled for stuff starting in late February (biometrics) with an interview in April or May.

Thank you very much for your replies. I guess we could wait to file for AOS until after the honeymoon, or at least, not right after the marriage. Maybe in December or January we can file and I doubt an interview would be scheduled around our interview.

About traveling with a expired I-94, I just thought about my fiance getting an Oregon Driver's License and he can travel to Hawaii with that. At first I wasn't sure if he could get an Oregon Driver's License before the AOS, but I just researched about the Oregon DMV and it says:

"The following immigration documents can be used as proof of U.S. citizenship, U.S. naturalization, permanent lawful residence or temporary legal presence:

A valid foreign passport not expired and includes one of the following:

* Arrival/Departure Record (I-94, CBP I-94A)"

So I guess that means he can apply to get an Oregon Driver's License before the AOS?

Ya, probably - but

it might have an expiration date that co-incides/is the same as the expiration date on the I-94. I'm not sure.

*** moving to other AOS forum ***

[BirdyGirl85 23]

Ya, probably - but

it might have an expiration date that co-incides/is the same as the expiration date on the I-94. I'm not sure.

Ah ok, I didn't think about that. I'll ask about that at the DMV.

Thanks for all your replies.

[JimVaPhuong 4,864]

The drivers license will almost certainly expire the same day the I-94 expires. The last time I checked, there were only three states left in the US that were granting a drivers license to someone without proof of lawful immigration status, and Oregon wasn't one of them. The few states that were still doing it were in the process of changing their laws to conform with the RealID act, which requires that any state issued identification be valid only as long as the immigration status is valid. That said, they do occasionally screw up. Someone posted not long ago that they got a drivers license valid for two years even though their I-94 was due to expire in a little over a month.

Unless I missed it, the I-485 doesn't allow you to specify which USCIS field office you want to interview at. I think they have the country sliced up into regions, and you'll be assigned a field office according to which region you live in. If you're lucky, your application will be sent to CSC and you won't have an interview. Otherwise, I think you're stuck with whatever field office they give you. In either case, you'll have a biometrics appointment within a couple of months, but you may be able to do a "walk-in" and get the biometrics done before the actual appointment date. There's no way I'd drive five hours - that's why they have airplanes.

We got married at a county clerk's office. We didn't even think to bring a camera. I didn't realize until afterward that we didn't take any photos, so I had my daughter take a picture of us standing in front of the county clerk's office after we were married using my cell phone. I put the picture in one of the photo albums we brought to the interview, but the IO never specifically asked about wedding photos. She did look through all three of the photo albums I brought. One album of pics in Vietnam, one album of 'professional' pics from our engagement ceremony and party (see my avatar), and one album of pics after coming to the US.

TSA has a person stationed in every US airport called the "Travel Document Checker" (yep, that's their real job title). Their job is to look at the identification document of every traveler, determine that the name matches the boarding pass, and determine (using their little UV MagLite) if the ID might be fake. They don't usually look for immigration status unless they become suspicious of the ID itself. If they do happen to discover that the traveler is out of status then they'll call CBP or ICE to come over. CBP/ICE are not supposed to take someone into custody for being out of status if they determine the person is eligible to adjust status. Bring a copy of the wedding certificate. If you've already filed the AOS then bring a copy of the I-797C receipt notice.

[BirdyGirl85 23]

Ah, well I guess that makes me feel better about my fiance flying to Hawaii. As you suggested, we'll bring a copy of the wedding certificate and/or bring a copy of the I-797C receipt notice if we filed for AOS already.

I'm not sure what to do about the driver's license, I'll ask at the DMV when he's here. He doesn't have to drive before the AOS, but I thought it would also be good for the AOS for both of us to have Oregon IDs with matching addresses. But I guess we don't have to have that, we can have other evidence.

I wonder why some people end up not needing an AOS interview.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

re: your local office. Type your zipcode in here: https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=LO and it will tell you your local office.

[Nik+Heather 122]

I think what I would consider the safest and most trouble free route would be to marry before December, and get AOS filed sometime in December. Remember a lot of people go on USCIS (to shop at your store! ) and things slow down a lot over the holidays. Plan on that NOA1 arriving sometime in early January and jet off to Hawaii with a copy of it late Jan early Feb. If you have any interview, and the trends hold true as they have lately the earliest you'll have your interview - if any - is March.

With this general plan you are married and have filed AOS before the I-94 expires, and you can plan your honeymoon with reasonable expectation that it won't interfere with your immigration process.

All the best!

[jpcanon 0]

Thank you very much for your replies. I guess we could wait to file for AOS until after the honeymoon, or at least, not right after the marriage. Maybe in December or January we can file and I doubt an interview would be scheduled around our honeymoon.

About traveling with a expired I-94, I just thought about my fiance getting an Oregon Driver's License and he can travel to Hawaii with that. At first I wasn't sure if he could get an Oregon Driver's License before the AOS, but I just researched about the Oregon DMV and it says:

"The following immigration documents can be used as proof of U.S. citizenship, U.S. naturalization, permanent lawful residence or temporary legal presence:

A valid foreign passport not expired and includes one of the following:

* Arrival/Departure Record (I-94, CBP I-94A)"

So I guess that means he can apply to get an Oregon Driver's License before the AOS?

Not sure about Oregon DMV, but this happened to me a while back at a California DMV: I tried to get a California I.D. card for my fiancee who is hear on a K1 visa, and read where I just needed to show her valid passport and valid I-94. We got all the way thru the process at the DMV- even paid for the card- and the "gotcha" at the very end was that the I-94 had to have at least 60 days validity left on it. She had been here for a month and change when we did this, so it only had fifty-something days left out of the 90 day validity. So, they wouldn't give it to her after being there all day! This 60 day I-94 requirement is also the same here in CA. for obtaining a driver's license, as well... Just FYI

Joe

[trillium13 84]

One thing you should know is that there have been threads posted here about people who have received denial letters for not showing up to their interviews, even though they thought they had successfully rescheduled.

IMO (and I will probably get flamed for this) your GC interview should be more important than your honeymoon. It's about priorities. A death in the family is a good reason to want to reschedule the interview. Working around your convenience isn't.

[sachinky 465]

IMO (and I will probably get flamed for this) your GC interview should be more important than your honeymoon. It's about priorities. A death in the family is a good reason to want to reschedule the interview. Working around your convenience isn't.

Agreed 100%.

[BirdyGirl85 23]

IMO (and I will probably get flamed for this) your GC interview should be more important than your honeymoon. It's about priorities. A death in the family is a good reason to want to reschedule the interview. Working around your convenience isn't.

I was just wondering if it's possible to reschedule, I never said the honeymoon is more important. The reason I ask is because the place we might want to stay at in Hawaii is booked up even until the end of January. So we are thinking we might have to book it far in advance. We just want to make sure the interview doesn't end up be scheduled at the same time. Although I'm thinking the chance of that happening is small.

Edited September 25, 2010 by BirdyGirl85