Concurrent filling of I360 (widower) and I 485 timeline

[Greg&Emmie 0]

Friends of ours entered the US on a K-1 fiancee visa in 2011. They were legally married prior to the 90 day expiration, however the USC petitioner began suffered serious back pain shortly after they arrived in the US (he had spent a considerable amount of time with his fiancee prior to filing for the K-1). He was diagnosed at S-4 cancer, and passed away about 30 days after they were married. My wife and I were friends with them for some time when we all lived in the Philippines. I have done my best to assist our friend (the beneficiary) to self petition, my research indicated she needed to file the I-360 as a widower, and could file it concurrently with her I-485 and should be filed through Chicago lockbox. She filed in early April 2012 and received her NOA1, later her petition was transferred to CSC for processing. She received her bio-metric appointment notice and had her bio-metric completed mid April. Received her Work auth. & Travel doc. mid May. She had an address change (Aug 2012) and filed it online as required, then she got a job opportunity and moved again in Oct 2012, also filing the address change online as required. Her online status for her I 360 still shows "Initial Review" it also lists the Oct address change. Her online status for her I 485 shows "Initial Review". She is concerned about her work authorization expiring (May 2013) prior to receiving a green card. She/we would like to inquire about the present status and what to expect. She talked to a USCIS person via phone about 30 days ago and they said she would just have to wait for the processing, and that is 5 months. I was under the impression the processing time starts at the NOA1 date. She believes the 5 month processing time is re-starting from her last address change in Oct, which would push her approval (assuming it is approved) very close to the expiration date of her work authorization. Its been over 8 months since the initial filing, and almost 8 months since her bio-metric. Is there anyway to inquire/expedite this process? She is easily confused when talking with the USCIS, is there anyway I can become an authorized representative to obtain information on her behalf. Any info would be greatly appreciated...

[Greg&Emmie 0]

Friends of ours entered the US on a K-1 fiancee visa in 2011. They were legally married prior to the 90 day expiration, however the USC petitioner began suffered serious back pain shortly after they arrived in the US (he had spent a considerable amount of time with his fiancee prior to filing for the K-1). He was diagnosed at S-4 cancer, and passed away about 30 days after they were married. My wife and I were friends with them for some time when we all lived in the Philippines. I have done my best to assist our friend (the beneficiary) to self petition, my research indicated she needed to file the I-360 as a widower, and could file it concurrently with her I-485 and should be filed through Chicago lockbox. She filed in early April 2012 and received her NOA1, later her petition was transferred to CSC for processing. She received her bio-metric appointment notice and had her bio-metric completed mid April. Received her Work auth. & Travel doc. mid May. She had an address change (Aug 2012) and filed it online as required, then she got a job opportunity and moved again in Oct 2012, also filing the address change online as required. Her online status for her I 360 still shows "Initial Review" it also lists the Oct address change. Her online status for her I 485 shows "Initial Review". She is concerned about her work authorization expiring (May 2013) prior to receiving a green card. She/we would like to inquire about the present status and what to expect. She talked to a USCIS person via phone about 30 days ago and they said she would just have to wait for the processing, and that is 5 months. I was under the impression the processing time starts at the NOA1 date. She believes the 5 month processing time is re-starting from her last address change in Oct, which would push her approval (assuming it is approved) very close to the expiration date of her work authorization. Its been over 8 months since the initial filing, and almost 8 months since her bio-metric. Is there anyway to inquire/expedite this process? She is easily confused when talking with the USCIS, is there anyway I can become an authorized representative to obtain information on her behalf. Any info would be greatly appreciated...

Hello...anyone have some input here...

[Hypnos 6,576]

Unfortunately there is not much information out there about widow/er adjustment of status, however I will try to share what I have learned as one of the few going through it.

Assuming that they had filed no AoS paperwork prior to the husband's death, then his widow did need to file I-360 (widow petition), I-485 (AoS), and optionally I-765 (employment authorisation) and I-131 (advance parole) applications, and these needed to be filed at the Chicago Lockbox when filed concurrently (i.e. the I-360 and I-485 together).

What happens from there is more in question. My applications have been transferred from pillar to post (see my sig), from MSC to Dallas to VSC to Houston, and I still have not been approved. USCIS does not receive many widow/er petitions and so do not seem as familiar with them as they should be, so there has been some jurisdictional squabbling over who has the authority to adjudicate them. It's only with the assistance of the DHS Ombudsman that my cases are now closer to getting straightened out, although as I say I am still waiting, and I also filed in April 2012 as your friend did.

The good news is that her work authorisation (I-765) and AP (I-131) can be renewed if her I-485 has still not been adjudicated. Four months (120 days) before it expires, she should complete a new I-765 and I-131 as renewal applications, and enclose colour copies of the front and back of her current EAD / AP card. There is no charge for doing so, and it can be done as many times as is needed until her I-485 is finally adjudicated. Make sure she also encloses a copy of the NOA for her I-485 at the same time, to indicate that she has a pending AoS application.

To find the latest information on her case I would recommend that she contact one of the her congressional representatives and have them enquire on her behalf. On top of that, she may need to contact the DHS Ombudsman if her case shows no signs of moving, as she is beyond the indicated processing times for her I-360 (her I-485 cannot be adjudicated until the I-360 is, so I-485 processing times for her are moot) which currently stand at 5 months for "all other special immigrants" (since an I-360 is used for several different classification purposes, such as widow/er, VAWA, international broadcasters, and others).

Hope this helps.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Hypnos

[Ontarkie 13,917]

~~~~Moved to Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits, from K-1 Fiance(e) Visas and Procedures~~~~

[smithfield 0]

did she gets her green card??