AOS March 2016 filers/Part 2

[sparkles_ 456]

33 minutes ago, msmontader said:

Good News !!!
I just got an update status from USCIS and they have scheduled an interview on October 4 2017. I am so excited finally this thing is going to an end. 
Any suggestions on how to prepare and what to do ? i am excited but also a bit nervous !!

Yes, at last!!!! 

 

The interview notice will have any specifics listed. Go ahead and get your tax transcripts ordered for any years you and your spouse filed jointly. Leases, utility bills, phone bills, car insurance, bank stuff in both names. Any invitations you've gotten listed to both of you maybe, I included an invite to a family member's wedding address to Mr and Mrs XYZ. Any joint memberships like gym, zoo, museum, AAA, etc. 

 

Time to start making your USCIS photo album, lol. I got a hard covered album that held 3 photos a sheet, front and back and filled it up. It held a total of 120 something and I labelled the back of each photo with the date, place/event and anyone else's first name that was in the photo. I also got an accordion folder and put all our paper documents in it and labelled the tabs for things like USCIS notices, lease/utility, bank stuff, extras, etc. If your spouse is listed as an emergency contact on anything, include this as well.

 

If you have a lot of things, bank and phone statements for example, I printed one for every 3mo versus all of them and told them this. We had over 2yr worth of those and I wasn't about to print every single one. You should have a full copy of your entire AOS packet with you as well to reference if they need it. And make sure your medical is up to date!! Glad to see you are finally at the end of this

Edited September 1, 2017 by sparkles_

[britontherun 35]

On 8/15/2017 at 4:39 PM, elikhom said:

Congrats! It seems this thread is coming to an end. Only msmontander and I are left.

 

 

We are still here.. waiting on the 28th...

1 hour ago, msmontader said:

Good News !!!
I just got an update status from USCIS and they have scheduled an interview on October 4 2017. I am so excited finally this thing is going to an end. 
Any suggestions on how to prepare and what to do ? i am excited but also a bit nervous !!

 

Awesome... March filers are moving right along

[sparkles_ 456]

1 hour ago, britontherun said:

We are still here.. waiting on the 28th...

 

Awesome... March filers are moving right along

Are you guys looking like you will skip ROC?? I honestly found that was the best part of the entire process

[Linyahui 103]

On 9/1/2017 at 0:07 PM, msmontader said:

Good News !!!
I just got an update status from USCIS and they have scheduled an interview on October 4 2017. I am so excited finally this thing is going to an end. 
Any suggestions on how to prepare and what to do ? i am excited but also a bit nervous !!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! How exciting!!

 

Sparkles has provided excellent advice about what to bring and prepare. Although we didn't end up having an interview, I had prepared a binder very similar to what she has described, just in case. Actually, we are still waiting on the physical green card, so I'm keeping everything up-to-date. One never knows with USCIS....

 

Soon this will all be behind you! It might not hurt to practice answering some questions so you don't feel as nervous on the day of the interview. You could ask a friend or family member to go through the i-485 form and just ask you some of those questions. Even if those aren't the questions that are asked on interview day, you will have practiced answering questions in a somewhat uncomfortable setting, and that could help. 

[sparkles_ 456]

On 9/4/2017 at 1:43 PM, Linyahui said:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! How exciting!!

 

Sparkles has provided excellent advice about what to bring and prepare. Although we didn't end up having an interview, I had prepared a binder very similar to what she has described, just in case. Actually, we are still waiting on the physical green card, so I'm keeping everything up-to-date. One never knows with USCIS....

 

Soon this will all be behind you! It might not hurt to practice answering some questions so you don't feel as nervous on the day of the interview. You could ask a friend or family member to go through the i-485 form and just ask you some of those questions. Even if those aren't the questions that are asked on interview day, you will have practiced answering questions in a somewhat uncomfortable setting, and that could help. 

We went through the stokes interview questions as well as normal ones to be extra prepared 

Edited September 6, 2017 by sparkles_

[msmontader 10]

On 9/1/2017 at 10:40 AM, sparkles_ said:

Yes, at last!!!! 

 

The interview notice will have any specifics listed. Go ahead and get your tax transcripts ordered for any years you and your spouse filed jointly. Leases, utility bills, phone bills, car insurance, bank stuff in both names. Any invitations you've gotten listed to both of you maybe, I included an invite to a family member's wedding address to Mr and Mrs XYZ. Any joint memberships like gym, zoo, museum, AAA, etc. 

 

Time to start making your USCIS photo album, lol. I got a hard covered album that held 3 photos a sheet, front and back and filled it up. It held a total of 120 something and I labelled the back of each photo with the date, place/event and anyone else's first name that was in the photo. I also got an accordion folder and put all our paper documents in it and labelled the tabs for things like USCIS notices, lease/utility, bank stuff, extras, etc. If your spouse is listed as an emergency contact on anything, include this as well.

 

If you have a lot of things, bank and phone statements for example, I printed one for every 3mo versus all of them and told them this. We had over 2yr worth of those and I wasn't about to print every single one. You should have a full copy of your entire AOS packet with you as well to reference if they need it. And make sure your medical is up to date!! Glad to see you are finally at the end of this

Thank you Sparkles for your amazing response. I am in the process of getting everything and putting all those papers together. I have lots of papers ready ( insurances, phone bills, apartment leases ..etc). I do have all the taxes for the past years so should i just copy those or i have to order them from the IRS?. Also for the medical exam, i did submit my medical exam when i filed last year but i am not sure if i need a new one or how this process even goes?. On the interview notice they said a to bring a medical exam unless you have submitted one but i am not sure if it's still up to date. 

On 9/1/2017 at 11:42 AM, britontherun said:

We are still here.. waiting on the 28th...

 

Awesome... March filers are moving right along

Thank you !!

On 9/4/2017 at 10:43 AM, Linyahui said:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! How exciting!!

 

Sparkles has provided excellent advice about what to bring and prepare. Although we didn't end up having an interview, I had prepared a binder very similar to what she has described, just in case. Actually, we are still waiting on the physical green card, so I'm keeping everything up-to-date. One never knows with USCIS....

 

Soon this will all be behind you! It might not hurt to practice answering some questions so you don't feel as nervous on the day of the interview. You could ask a friend or family member to go through the i-485 form and just ask you some of those questions. Even if those aren't the questions that are asked on interview day, you will have practiced answering questions in a somewhat uncomfortable setting, and that could help. 

Thank you so much !!. You guys will get it soon in the mail and all this will be behind and we will never look back haha. 
In  terms of the questions.. where can i find like typical interview questions just to practice them before going to the interview. 

[sparkles_ 456]

11 minutes ago, msmontader said:

Thank you Sparkles for your amazing response. I am in the process of getting everything and putting all those papers together. I have lots of papers ready ( insurances, phone bills, apartment leases ..etc). I do have all the taxes for the past years so should i just copy those or i have to order them from the IRS?. Also for the medical exam, i did submit my medical exam when i filed last year but i am not sure if i need a new one or how this process even goes?. On the interview notice they said a to bring a medical exam unless you have submitted one but i am not sure if it's still up to date. 

Thank you !!

Thank you so much !!. You guys will get it soon in the mail and all this will be behind and we will never look back haha. 
In  terms of the questions.. where can i find like typical interview questions just to practice them before going to the interview. 

Honestly, I would re do the medical exam if it's older than 365 days. It would suck to be told you would be approved on the spot but you need a new medical.

 

I always heard the transcripts are better because they show an easy break down and it's official. 1040 forms can only show you filed not that it was accepted and processed by the IRS. 

 

We googled stokes interview questions and a ton of sites came up with lists. Also you can search green card interview questions as well. We just prepped for a stokes just in case.

 

The best advice I can give you is keep any answer short and to the point. No extra details, just exactly what they ask for. Where did you meet your spouse? Example, at a college class. Done. Wait for another question. Not in a college class and we were lab partners, they grew on me and I asked them out but he or she turned me down the first time. Too many details can actually make problems as per our lawyers words and open an avenue for more questions.

Edited September 7, 2017 by sparkles_

[msmontader 10]

6 minutes ago, sparkles_ said:

Honestly, I would re do the medical exam if it's older than 365 days. It would suck to be told you would be approved on the spot but you need a new medical.

 

I always heard the transcripts are better because they show an easy break down and it's official. 1040 forms can only show you filed not that it was accepted and processed by the IRS. 

 

We googled stokes interview questions and a ton of sites came up with lists. Also you can search green card interview questions as well. We just prepped for a stokes just in case.

 

The best advice I can give you is keep any answer short and to the point. No extra details, just exactly what they ask for. Where did you meet your spouse? Example, at a college class. Done. Wait for another question. Not in a college class and we were lab partners, they grew on me and I asked them out but he or she turned me down the first time. Too many details can actually make problems as per our lawyers words and open an avenue for more questions.

Yup i figured that would be the case. I will do the medical exam first thing on Monday and i will order the IRS transcripts now. I do have a copy of the AOS packet and i made copies of all other immigrations documents along with originals. Thank you for clearing up all these issues!!. I really appreciate it !. 
I remember when i was on the asylum case, the lawyer said the same things " your answer should be short and clear nothing more and nothing less". so i think i will take your advice and his when i go to the interview. 
I will post here the things i have prepared before i go just to make sure that i am not missing something. I am also preparing papers as per your advice and other advices here on VJ. 
Thank You !

[Chelleyandaaron 511]

On 27/07/2017 at 7:58 PM, Linyahui said:

YOU GUYS!!!!

 

OK, mailed the RFE package on Saturday and this afternoon received a text message alerting me that our case status was updated on the USCIS website. I signed in, clicked on the i-485, and it said YOUR CASE HAS BEEN APPROVED!!!

 

That means the green card will soon be in the mail without interview, right? RIGHT?!?!??!

 

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

I just saw your update now that I am back online about to file for AOS at St Paul.  I was following your updates earlier in the year - so pleased to see that you finally got to the other end!  Though it doesn't leave me feeling warm and fuzzy about how this might go with our process...

 

However - you got there and we will too - however long it takes

 

I am so pleased for you x

[Linyahui 103]

1 hour ago, msmontader said:

Yup i figured that would be the case. I will do the medical exam first thing on Monday and i will order the IRS transcripts now. I do have a copy of the AOS packet and i made copies of all other immigrations documents along with originals. Thank you for clearing up all these issues!!. I really appreciate it !. 
I remember when i was on the asylum case, the lawyer said the same things " your answer should be short and clear nothing more and nothing less". so i think i will take your advice and his when i go to the interview. 
I will post here the things i have prepared before i go just to make sure that i am not missing something. I am also preparing papers as per your advice and other advices here on VJ. 
Thank You !

I second Sparkles's advice regarding the medical exam and short answers. We ended up getting an RFE for several items because our case took so long to get to the St. Paul local office, and one of those items was the medical exam and immunization worksheet. It didn't matter that when we submitted the AOS paperwork in March 2016 that the medical exam was still valid....at the point of review at our local office, it had expired and so they requested another one. 

 

I also sent IRS tax transcripts as part of our RFE. They had requested 2016 tax returns, but the tax transcript was more detailed and I didn't want to cause any further delays. As Sparkles said, I don't think the 1040 would have been enough (although it was accepted for the 2014 and 2015 tax year when I submitted with the original AOS packet). Better safe than sorry!

 

I can't direct you to specific AOS interview questions because we didn't actually get around to practicing those ourselves. However, I think Googling will give you plenty of resources. Again, I think just practicing answering questions (any of the questions you find) will be helpful, even if they don't end up being the specific questions asked during the interview. It's just helpful to get used to the process of being asked and answering. 

[Linyahui 103]

32 minutes ago, Chelleyandaaron said:

I just saw your update now that I am back online about to file for AOS at St Paul.  I was following your updates earlier in the year - so pleased to see that you finally got to the other end!  Though it doesn't leave me feeling warm and fuzzy about how this might go with our process...

 

However - you got there and we will too - however long it takes

 

I am so pleased for you x

Thanks for the message! Yes, unfortunately, those of us in Minneapolis-St. Paul tend to be in for a long wait...the average wait time is a year. I think if you know that going into the process, it can make the months more bearable (unless you're like me and call USCIS every few months "just to check").

 

Please feel free to PM me anytime with questions about filing. God knows that I know waaaaay too much about the AOS process now! I'd be happy to share my knowledge. 

[Chelleyandaaron 511]

10 minutes ago, Linyahui said:

Thanks for the message! Yes, unfortunately, those of us in Minneapolis-St. Paul tend to be in for a long wait...the average wait time is a year. I think if you know that going into the process, it can make the months more bearable (unless you're like me and call USCIS every few months "just to check").

 

Please feel free to PM me anytime with questions about filing. God knows that I know waaaaay too much about the AOS process now! I'd be happy to share my knowledge. 

Thank you so much!  I am fairly certain I will have to have another medical as mine will expire in March and I am not hopeful I will be anywhere close to GC by then (all the timelines are at least 7-12 months from filing and my medical is already 6 months old).

 

Knowing that it is slow here means that I will try not to worry - as long as I get my EAD in good time

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by Chelleyandaaron

[Linyahui 103]

Just received a text message update from USCIS....my husband's green card is now in production and we may expect to receive it in the next 30 days!! Woohoo!!! 

[Linyahui 103]

On 9/7/2017 at 2:38 PM, Chelleyandaaron said:

Thank you so much!  I am fairly certain I will have to have another medical as mine will expire in March and I am not hopeful I will be anywhere close to GC by then (all the timelines are at least 7-12 months from filing and my medical is already 6 months old).

 

Knowing that it is slow here means that I will try not to worry - as long as I get my EAD in good time

 

My husband received his EAD/AP card in about six weeks from the date of receipt, if I remember correctly. USCIS is pretty good about approving those applications, so at least you can work/travel while you're waiting for the green card to process.

[PaddyGirl13 75]

16 minutes ago, Linyahui said:

Just received a text message update from USCIS....my husband's green card is now in production and we may expect to receive it in the next 30 days!! Woohoo!!! 

Woo hoo!! I got mine within a week of that text message. I'm so happy for you!