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johnandxiaoyan

Call me foolish, but please help

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: China
Timeline

Call me a naive optimist if you like, but up until two weeks ago, I had thought our AOS case would grind its way -- slowly but inexorably -- toward a happy ending.

We had obtained out I-129f without hitting any stumbling blocks, gotten married soon after Xiaoyan's arrival, obtained her EAD without a problem, and, last September got a letter suggesting her AOS interview would be waived. Happy day! All we had to do was sit back and wait for her Green Card to arrive in the mail, right?

Wrong.

Our I-485 was received by USCIS on June 17, 2014. Two weeks ago, we checked the USCIS website and found that the Atlanta USCIS office (as of Jan. 31) was already processing cases filed July 19 -- a month after ours. So we called USCIS and requested an update, which I understand we are supposed to get within 15 days. Now 15 days have passed and still nothing from USCIS.

So here are my questions:

1) Should I call USCIS and make another request for an update? Does that 15-day requirement mean anything?

2) At what point, if ever, would it be smart to contact our congressman or an immigration attorney? Can they do anything to speed the process?

3) Is the Atlanta office any slower than other offices?

4) At what point should we apply for a renewal of Xiaoyan's EAD? It expires in mid August. How long does it take to obtain a renewal?

Thanks for any help you can offer -- anything that would renew my flagging optimism.

John Reiter

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Everything can be a factor for delaying approval. Maybe a pending background check. Actually waiting time counts from the day on waiver letter, which was in September. Interviewer waiver can take up to a year to receive greencard. My sister waiver letter was received in July and she is still waiting so you are still in processing time. She submitted a request last week, and they automatically notified she was in normal time.

You can renew EAD with a i485 receipt copy. Good luck.

N400

12/06/2014: Package filed

12/31/2014: Fingerprinted

02/06/2015: In-Line for Interview

04/15/2015: Passed Interview

05/05/2015: Oath letter was sent

05/22/2015: Oath Ceremony

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: China
Timeline

Are you certain the casefile is in atlanta?

Sometimes my language usage seems confusing - please feel free to 'read it twice', just in case !
Ya know, you can find the answer to your question with the advanced search tool, when using a PC? Ditch the handphone, come back later on a PC, and try again.

-=-=-=-=-=R E A D ! ! !=-=-=-=-=-

Whoa Nelly ! Want NVC Info? see http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

Congratulations on your approval ! We All Applaud your accomplishment with Most Wonderful Kissies !

 

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Mexico
Timeline

Does your status state your case is ready for interview? You could still be approved without interview. It is taking a while for cases approved without an interview, 10+ months. So, it is possible to have to wait 11 months or a year or more. There are people in the AOS progress forums posting about the long waits on a daily basis.

You could have file for a renewal of the EAD up to 120 days before expiration. File for it now, as it could take 60-90days to get the renewal.

~ Moved from AOS from Family Based main forum to Progress Reports sub-forum - topic is case status ~

Link to K-1 instructions for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico > https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/K1/CDJ_Ciudad-Juarez-2-22-2021.pdf

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: China
Timeline

It took a little over 11 months for my wife to receive her GC. Filed AOS March 2014. She received notice for the possible interview waiver in June, received her Notice and GC February 2015.

Hang in there, you will get there. But yes call for updates. We started calling after the 6 month waiting date on the waiver notice in June.

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline

Call me a naive optimist if you like, but up until two weeks ago, I had thought our AOS case would grind its way -- slowly but inexorably -- toward a happy ending.

We had obtained out I-129f without hitting any stumbling blocks, gotten married soon after Xiaoyan's arrival, obtained her EAD without a problem, and, last September got a letter suggesting her AOS interview would be waived. Happy day! All we had to do was sit back and wait for her Green Card to arrive in the mail, right?

Wrong.

Our I-485 was received by USCIS on June 17, 2014. Two weeks ago, we checked the USCIS website and found that the Atlanta USCIS office (as of Jan. 31) was already processing cases filed July 19 -- a month after ours. So we called USCIS and requested an update, which I understand we are supposed to get within 15 days. Now 15 days have passed and still nothing from USCIS.

So here are my questions:

1) Should I call USCIS and make another request for an update? Does that 15-day requirement mean anything?

2) At what point, if ever, would it be smart to contact our congressman or an immigration attorney? Can they do anything to speed the process?

3) Is the Atlanta office any slower than other offices?

4) At what point should we apply for a renewal of Xiaoyan's EAD? It expires in mid August. How long does it take to obtain a renewal?

Thanks for any help you can offer -- anything that would renew my flagging optimism.

John Reiter

No worries friend! Everything you've stated is entirely normal for for waiver cases. The unfortunate part is you still have a few months of waiting ahead of you, unless you're one of the lucky ones :P

Pay no attention to your local USCIS office, as the waiver cases can end up at pretty much any USCIS office since we don't require an interview (unless some sort of red flag shows up in your case). The service requests are a waste of time. It usually takes a good 30+ days for a response (if any), and when they finally do all it says is "Due to workload factors not related to your case, USCIS anticipates a delay in completing your case." blah blah blah blah... totally useless information!

As far as the EAD renewal goes, you're allowed to file for it 120 days before it expires. I'm not sure how long the renewal takes, but it should hopefully be faster than the first time if you kept that little tear-off portion that came with your first EAD with all the barcodes. My guess would be around 70 days since my original took around 80ish-- though I'd take full advantage of the 120 days if I were you, that should give you plenty of time.

As far as contacting your Congressman goes, I haven't done it. But, many people in this Waiver Case thread have! I suggest you check in to this thread from time to time and see where most of the waiver cases are currently at. Right now it seems a lot of people who filed around the first week of April 2014 with waiver cases are getting approved.

Come join us!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/541331-notice-of-potential-interview-waiver-case-part-ii/

K-1 Visa

01/26/13 -- I-129F Sent
02/05/13 -- I-129F NOA1
08/28/13 -- I-129F NOA2 (204 days from NOA1 date)
01/21/14 -- Montreal Interview (350 days from NOA1 date)
01/27/14 -- K-1 Visa Received
02/01/14 -- POE at Canada-USA Border Peace Bridge (Buffalo, NY)
02/24/14 -- Private Courthouse Marriage
02/26/14 -- Private 2 Week Honeymoon
04/13/14 -- Wedding with Friends/Family


AOS

04/08/14 -- Filed for AOS/EAD/AP
04/11/14 -- NOA
05/12/14 -- Biometrics Appointment

07/02/14 -- EAD/AP Card Received (84 days from NOA date)
07/10/14 -- NPIW Letter
02/24/15 -- Service Request Filed
03/05/15 -- Filed for EAD/AP Renewal

03/10/15 -- Received email acceptance notification for EAD/AP Renewal
03/20/15 -- Filed for Ombudsman Case Assistance (DHS-7001)
04/03/15 -- Biometrics Appointment (Round 2)
04/08/15 -- RFE (Expired Medical)

04/21/15 -- Medical Appointment (Round 2)
04/24/15 -- RFE Response Sent
04/30/15 -- GC Approved (Card In Production)
05/08/15 -- GC & Welcome Notice Received

Hasta la vista, USCIS B-)

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Filed: AOS (pnd) Country: China
Timeline

So here are my questions:

1) Should I call USCIS and make another request for an update? Does that 15-day requirement mean anything?

2) At what point, if ever, would it be smart to contact our congressman or an immigration attorney? Can they do anything to speed the process?

3) Is the Atlanta office any slower than other offices?

4) At what point should we apply for a renewal of Xiaoyan's EAD? It expires in mid August. How long does it take to obtain a renewal?

Thanks for any help you can offer -- anything that would renew my flagging optimism.

John Reiter

EAD - I would apply around May.

AOS - If you received the potential interview waiver letter,

they should have indicated to contact them after x months

if the decision hasn't been made yet. My wife just received her's

and it says to contact them after 6 months...which is their estimated

remaining processing time.

Since we filed on Dec 9, 2014, and adding 6 months to that makes it

total of 13 months.

So I think you are very close to approval.

10-04-2013 We met online
11-21-2013 We met in person in Shanghai for 2 weeks

12-13-2013 I-129F packet sent via express

12-19-2013 USCIS NOA #1 (text and email) received

12-24-2013 USCIS assigns Alien Registration Number
12-31-2013 USCIS NOA #1 hard copy received
06-02-2014 USCIS web site shows NOA #2 approval
06-06-2014 USCIS web site shows case sent to NVC

06-xx-2014 Fiancee acquired birth, marriage, and police certificates from local police station (wrong)

06-16-2014 NVC creates case with GUZ### number

06-19-2014 NVC sends case sent to Guangzhou, China
06-24-2014 Received packet 3 express mail from embassy
06-25-2014 Completed DS-160 and paid K1 visa fee

06-26-2014 Mailed packet 3 response back to Embassy

06-26-2014 Requested police certificate from Russian embassy

07-08-2014 Received packet 4 email from Embassy

07-17-2014 Picked up Russian police certificate

07-25-2014 Fiancee medical exam (received MMR & Varicella, but they missed required TD shot)

07-31-2014 Picked up medical exam reports

08-01-2014 Request (correct) birth, marriage, and police certificates from Notarial Service (GongZhengChu)

08-06-2014 Picked up birth, marriage, and police certificates from Notarial Service

08-14-2014 Passed Interview Guangzhou embassy

09-01-2014 Received passport, visa, & sealed envelope

09-13-2014 POE

09-17-2014 Went to CBP office to get (US entry) I-94 updated correctly

09-18-2014 Applied for Social Security Card
09-19-2014 Applied for Marriage License (via online)
09-25-2014 Received Social Security Card
09-30-2014 Picked up Marriage License
10-09-2014 Marriage by Justice of Peace
10-09-2014 Got Certified Marriage Certificate Copies
10-17-2014 Received a letter from SS office that they need the marriage license
10-09-2014 Applied to change the social security card name
10-24-2014 Went back to SS office to provide the marriage certificate documents again!!!
12-09-2014 Submitted AOS, EAD, and AP
12-16-2014 Received 16 emails and 16 text NOA messages
01-05-2015 Received Biometrics appointment letter for (01-12-2015)
01-12-2015 Had Biometrics (fingerprint & picture) - Required Marriage Certificate!!!
02-17-2015 EAD and AP is approved
02-23-2015 Received AP is approval letter
02-25-2015 Received EAD/AP combo card (expires 02/16/2016)
02-27-2015 Applied for SS card name change (they took her SS card)
02-27-2015 Driver's learner permit test was denied since the SS card was given to SS office for name change
03-17-2015 Received SS card with married name
03-17-2015 Started to change all her accounts to married name
03-23-2015 Received potential interview waiver letter
03-27-2015 DMV rejects learner's permit due to "legal status=pending" and vision test failure
04-05-2015 Vision test for learner's permit
04-06-2015 DPS sent us letter that DHS cleared my wife's status to acquire driver's license.
04-10-2015 Passed Driver Learner's Permit
04-22-2015 Received Driver Learner's Permit ID card (expires 02/16/2016)
08-27-2015 Green Card approved
08-31-2015 Received Green Card "Welcome Notice Was Mailed" letter
09-05-2015 Received Green card
10-26-2015 Passed Driver's License Road Test (on 3rd attempt)
11-03-2015 Received Driver's License (expires 02/16/2022)
11-06-2015 Applied to remove conditional work remark on SS card
11-23-2015 Received updated Social Security Card.
- - - - - - - - - - Pending Future Processing - - - - - - - - - -
05-27-2017 File 10 Year Green Card
08-27-2017 2 Year Green Card Expires
05-27-2018 File USC

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