Jump to content
Tommy27

AoS help please: What if I'm currently out of status.

By Tommy27 in Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from K1 and K3 Family Based Visas

 Share

27 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Tommy27 Apprentice

Tommy27   1

Posted
Country: South Africa
 Timeline
  • Author
Posted (edited)
8 minutes ago, geowrian said:

That's fine.

 

Yes, you can. Or if/when they do an outreach in your area, you can do it. I don't know the South Africa process, sorry.  Flights between states never checked my passport...only my boarding pass and license. YMMV

What?! Really? I mean I haven't flown since my Visa expired. I've just assumed that after your visa expires you can't fly inside the US. Was your license a US license? 

 

Edit: Not visa. Passport. My Visa hasn't expired per se. just my allowed time of stay. 

Edited by Tommy27
Link to comment
Share on other sites
geowrian Grand Master

geowrian   22,335

Posted
Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Philippines
 Timeline
Posted
22 minutes ago, Tommy27 said:

What?! Really? I mean I haven't flown since my Visa expired. I've just assumed that after your visa expires you can't fly inside the US. Was your license a US license? 

 

Edit: Not visa. Passport. My Visa hasn't expired per se. just my allowed time of stay. 

Yeah. Many Americans don't even have a passport, but fly domestically fine. Yes, it's a US license. I would check with the airline, but a valid photo ID is generally all they need.

 

Either way, the visa itself is invalid.

Timelines:

ROC:

Spoiler

7/27/20: Sent forms to Dallas lockbox, 7/30/20: Received by USCIS, 8/10 NOA1 electronic notification received, 8/1/ NOA1 hard copy received

AOS:

Spoiler

AOS (I-485 + I-131 + I-765):

9/25/17: sent forms to Chicago, 9/27/17: received by USCIS, 10/4/17: NOA1 electronic notification received, 10/10/17: NOA1 hard copy received. Social Security card being issued in married name (3rd attempt!)

10/14/17: Biometrics appointment notice received, 10/25/17: Biometrics

1/2/18: EAD + AP approved (no website update), 1/5/18: EAD + AP mailed, 1/8/18: EAD + AP approval notice hardcopies received, 1/10/18: EAD + AP received

9/5/18: Interview scheduled notice, 10/17/18: Interview

10/24/18: Green card produced notice, 10/25/18: Formal approval, 10/31/18: Green card received

K-1:

Spoiler

I-129F

12/1/16: sent, 12/14/16: NOA1 hard copy received, 3/10/17: RFE (IMB verification), 3/22/17: RFE response received

3/24/17: Approved! , 3/30/17: NOA2 hard copy received

 

NVC

4/6/2017: Received, 4/12/2017: Sent to Riyadh embassy, 4/16/2017: Case received at Riyadh embassy, 4/21/2017: Request case transfer to Manila, approved 4/24/2017

 

K-1

5/1/2017: Case received by Manila (1 week embassy transfer??? Lucky~)

7/13/2017: Interview: APPROVED!!!

7/19/2017: Visa in hand

8/15/2017: POE

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fr8dog Rising Star

Fr8dog   312

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Netherlands
 Timeline
Posted

Beware of flying out of status prior to receiving an NOA for the AOS, DHS has the authority to check your status at random even for national flights and you could be in for a nasty surprise if they do.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AC77 Apprentice

AC77   45

Posted
Filed: Other Country: South Africa
 Timeline
Posted

Tommy,

 

I am from SA living in Missouri, married to USC, currently with AOS pending. I have my biometrics appointment on Monday and I was 6 months out of status before we filed and there were no issues, as confirmed by others here. As long you are an immediate relative, there is nothing you need to worry about:-)

 

I have two contacts from SA Consulate and SA Home Affairs (based here in the US obviously)  for you that you may try for renewal of your passport.

 

Email me at : chrissrocc@gmail.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pennycat Proficient

Pennycat   880

Posted
Filed: AOS (apr) Timeline
Posted

Did you ever work? That, and associated things can put a wrinkle in it.

Marriage/ AOS Timeline:

23 Dec 2015: Legal marriage

23 Jan 2016: Wedding!

23 Jan 2016: "Blizzard of the Century", wedding canceled/rescheduled (thank goodness we were legally married first or we'd have had a big problem!) :sleepy:

24 Jan 2016: Small "civil ceremony" with friends and family who were snowed in with us. December was a bit of a secret and people had traveled internationally and knew we *had* to get married that weekend, and our December legal marriage was nothing but signing a piece of paper at our priest's kitchen table, without any sort of vows etc so this was actually a very special (if not legally significant) day. (L)

16 Apr 2016: Filed for AOS and EAD/AP (We delayed a bit-- no big rush, enjoying the USCIS break)

23 Apr 2016: Wedding! Finally! :luv:

27 Apr 2016: Electronic NOA1 for all 3 :dancing:
29 Apr 2016: NOA1 Hardcopy for all 3
29 Jul 2016: Online service request for late EAD (Day 104)
29 Jul 2016: EAD/AP Approved ~3 hours after online service request
04 Aug 2016: RFE for Green Card (requested medicals/ vaccination record. They already have it). :ranting:
05 Aug 2016: EAD/AP Combo Card arrived! (Day 111)
08 Aug 2016: Congressional constituent request to get guidance on the RFE. Hoping they see they have the form and approve!

K-1 Visa Timeline:

PLEASE NOTE. This timeline was during the period of time when TSC was working on I-129fs and had a huge backlog. The average processing time was 210+ days. This is in no way predictive of your own timeline if you filed during or after April 2015, unless CSC develops a backlog. A backlog is anything above the 5-month goal time listed on USCIS's site

14 Feb 2015: Mailed I-129f to Dallas Lockbox. (L) (Most expensive Valentine's card I've ever sent!)

17 Feb 2015: NOA1 "Received Date"
19 Feb 2015: NOA1 Notice Date
08 Aug 2015: NOA2 email! :luv: (173 days from NOA1)

17 Aug 2015: Sent to NVC

?? Aug 2015: Arrived at NVC

25 Aug 2015: NVC Case # Assigned

31 Aug 2015: Left NVC for Consulate in San Jose

09 Sep 2015: Consulate received :dancing: (32 days from NOA2)

11 Sep 2015: Packet 3 emailed from embassy to me, the petitioner (34 days from NOA2).

18 Sep 2015: Medicals complete

21 Sep 2015: Packet 3 complete, my boss puts a temporary moratorium on all time off due to work emergency :clock:

02 Oct 2015: Work emergency clears up, interview scheduled (soonest available was 5 business days away--Columbus Day was in there)

13 Oct 2015: Interview

13 Oct 2015: VISA APPROVED :thumbs: (236 days from NOA1)

19 Oct 2015: Visa-in-hand

24 Oct 2015: POE !

15 Dec 2015: Fiance's mother's B-2 visa interview: APPROVED! So happy she will be at the wedding! :thumbs:

!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Usagi_tsukino Collaborator

Usagi_tsukino   89

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Timeline
Posted (edited)

1) Overstay is forgiven for spouses of US citizens (i'm in the same situation. My timeline may scare you but i have no idea what is going on with our case, all i know for sure it's not because i overstayed.)

2) You can fly inside the country, all they [airline and TSA] care about is that the person who bought the ticket is in front of them. Well, TSA cares about more stuff, but different kind of stuff, unless of course they find something really dangerous in your bag and take you off the flight, then yeah they will most likely ask you about your status eventually. Of course, it doesn't mean that you are safe since you are out of status, just like anywhere else. I flew 100500 times when i was out of status lol I heard there are checks, like those on buses going from state to state, but like i said, you are technically not safe anywhere, all i'm saying is that they don't specifically check your status at the airport. You are not going through immigration if you fly inside the country.

3) Renew your passport, you'll be asked for it at the interview. I had to go to a different state twice to get mine since there is no consulate in my state. Who knows low long will it take, i suggest you get to it before you file AOS.

4) Even if you worked, as long as you did not commit any fraud (faking ssn, claiming to be a us citizen - the last one is huge actually, i believe there are waivers for even faking papers but not for claiming to be a us citizen), you are also fine, illegal work is forgiven just like overstay. If you paid taxes it even makes you look good lol But even if you didnt, uscis is not irs.

Edited by banana_princess

Citizenship:

09/15/2020 - Filed online. Estimated completion given - July 2021 (10 months).

January 2021 - biometric reuse letter

April 2021 - interview scheduled

24/05/2021 - Interview (approved)

 

Passport:

July 23 - applied, expedited service

August 11 - received the passport

Aug. 16 (approximately) - received passport card

August 20 - received citizenship certificate back

 

Story of my almost 3 years long pending AOS - click below for details

Spoiler

2015

  • March 10 2015 - USCIS received i-130/i-485
  • March 30 2015 - got a RFE saying that my husband cannot be my sponsor because of his income, which is not true, but we didn't know what to do so we hired a lawyer.
  • August 10 2015 - interview (went great, by the way). Were told to wait 120 days.
  • December 10 2015, April 10 2016, May 10 2016 - sent SR, responses: "your case is pending"

2016

  • May 25 2016 - Went to Info Pass, the case is taken to the supervisor, were told we will get something in 30 days (of course, after 30 days we got nothing....).
  • June 27 2016 - Went to Info Pass again, they told us to wait for 2 more weeks and if we still get nothing send a service request letter by mail. Did it on the same day.
  • June 27 2016 - After Infopass, went to senator Durbin office in Chicago.
  • July 8 2016 - Went to Mike Quigley office.
  • July 8 2016 - Received useless response from Durbin. All they know is that the case is pending and it's in Chicago, can't do anything else.
  • July 12 2016: Infopass, spoke to the supervisor, promises promises.... more wait.
  • July 17 2016: Filed Ombudsman.
  • July 26 2016: Another info pass, same story. We talked to 3 supervisors already! I don't get it!
  • July 29 2016: Sent another useless SR just because.
  • Aug 9 2016: Talked to the officer we had interview with! She was supposed to mail us RFE a year ago but she forgot (!!!) ! They admitted it. Gave us RFE.
  • October 11 2016: Response to RFE is received by uscis (the RFE was ridiculous. Basically all same papers we ALREADY GAVE HER at the interview: bank statements, lease, etc).
  • October 20 2016: Infopass, useless, did not have time to wait for the supervisor.
  • November 9 2016: Infopass, talked to the supervisor, he said there are no problems with our case and he will make sure the officer will make a decision within a few days. Gave us his email and phone number, told us to contact him directly instead of going to info pass.
  • November 15 2016: emailed the supervisor, since a few days have passed and still no decision. No response.
  • November 17 2016: called the supervisor, no answer.
  • November 17 2016: sent Service Request about i-130 (Lol, like that will help..)
  • November 19 2016: sent a letter to the director of Chicago Field Office.
  • November 22 2016: sent Service Request about i-485 (Lol[2])
  • November 23 2016: talked to the supervisor again to learn that..........my medical and fingerprints have expired and i need to wait for a notice to do it all again.
  • November 25 2016: The response from the Field Office Director Martha Medina-Maltes: your case is pending and every effort is being made blah blah blah
  • December 5 2016: Received a response to i-485 SR that my case is "pending supervisor review"... absolutely random since the supervisor said i'll need redo my medical and fingerprints again.
  • December 19 2016: Went to USCIS, the officer came out and told me we need to come back for a 2nd interview!!! I'm shocked because our marriage is 100% real and i can't believe they have doubts about it! But i'm glad that it's at least something.
  • December 27: 2nd interview (Strokes). Reason: i-130 petition. We did fine but the officer said we will receive a NOID! Our lawyer said it must be something else, not our answers... but what?!

2017

  • Jan 23 - infopass, asked if anything was mailed regarding i-130. Were told that nothing was.
  • Jan 27 - sent a service request regarding I-130.
  • March 1 2017 - went to uscis (no info pass), our officer's supervisor finally gave us the noid full of nitpicking and lies, that shows that they do not pay attention to anything. 
  • March 10 2017 - 2 years AOS anniversary...wow. 
  • March 31 - The response to the noid is received by uscis!
  • June 1st - went to the office, the supervisor promised we will get the decision in 4-6 weeks.
  • July 19 - 7 weeks passed, went back to uscis. The supervisor said he will give the case to the officer tomorrow, we asked when we will get the decision, he said he doesn't know. 
  • September 6: My husband talked to the supervisor again, he said he gave the case to the other officer, and the case is huge so the officer has a lot to do, and we will get a decision in 2 weeks. 
  • September 25: Went back since no decision was received (as expected). The supervisor said the same thing: we will get a decision in 2 weeks
  • September 29: USCIS asked for medical! Eureka! First time in 2 and a half years they sent something by themselves! :wacko: i-130 still not approved.
  • October 2: Notice that i-130 is approved (notice date September 26, still no online update). Also went to get medical done (should be ready by the end of the week)
  • October 3:  biometrics
  • October 10: medical delivered to uscis! The waiting games begins again :wacko:
  • December 11: 2 months after medical was delivered talked to the supervisor again, he said the decision will be made BY tomorrow and we will find out from the website on Wednesday. 
  • December 14: Called uscis, tier 2 officer told me that the case is approved.
  • December 18: Received Approval notice (Dated December 12)

 

Long story short:
After the initial interview we received:

1) a RFE asking for the same papers again,

2) then were asked to come to the 2nd interview that went fine of course, 

3) then a NOID that was full of mistakes.

All that was given to us in person, only when we made our way straight to our officer. And still waiting. Lots of fun (not).

4) 6 months after receiving our response to the noid i-130 is approved. 2 years 6 months and 16 days of waiting for i-130. Supposed to take 5 months. No words.

5) After 2 years 9 months and 2 days (or 1008 days) of waiting i-485 is approved.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
QueenComley Community Regular

QueenComley   295

Posted
Filed: Lift. Cond. (apr) Country: England
 Timeline
Posted

your fine - I was 2 years out of status too. Adjusting status was plain sailing. Good luck

heart.gif Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite heart.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tommy27 Apprentice

Tommy27   1

Posted
Country: South Africa
 Timeline
  • Author
Posted
11 hours ago, AC77 said:

Tommy,

 

I am from SA living in Missouri, married to USC, currently with AOS pending. I have my biometrics appointment on Monday and I was 6 months out of status before we filed and there were no issues, as confirmed by others here. As long you are an immediate relative, there is nothing you need to worry about:-)

 

I have two contacts from SA Consulate and SA Home Affairs (based here in the US obviously)  for you that you may try for renewal of your passport.

 

Email me at : chrissrocc@gmail.com

Hey AC77, I'll be sending you an email shortly. Thanks for the help. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tommy27 Apprentice

Tommy27   1

Posted
Country: South Africa
 Timeline
  • Author
Posted
4 hours ago, banana_princess said:

1) Overstay is forgiven for spouses of US citizens (i'm in the same situation. My timeline may scare you but i have no idea what is going on with our case, all i know for sure it's not because i overstayed.)

2) You can fly inside the country, all they [airline and TSA] care about is that the person who bought the ticket is in front of them. Well, TSA cares about more stuff, but different kind of stuff, unless of course they find something really dangerous in your bag and take you off the flight, then yeah they will most likely ask you about your status eventually. Of course, it doesn't mean that you are safe since you are out of status, just like anywhere else. I flew 100500 times when i was out of status lol I heard there are checks, like those on buses going from state to state, but like i said, you are technically not safe anywhere, all i'm saying is that they don't specifically check your status at the airport. You are not going through immigration if you fly inside the country.

3) Renew your passport, you'll be asked for it at the interview. I had to go to a different state twice to get mine since there is no consulate in my state. Who knows low long will it take, i suggest you get to it before you file AOS.

4) Even if you worked, as long as you did not commit any fraud (faking ssn, claiming to be a us citizen - the last one is huge actually, i believe there are waivers for even faking papers but not for claiming to be a us citizen), you are also fine, illegal work is forgiven just like overstay. If you paid taxes it even makes you look good lol But even if you didnt, uscis is not irs.

Thats a long time! did you every get your employment permit during this time? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tommy27 Apprentice

Tommy27   1

Posted
Country: South Africa
 Timeline
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, QueenComley said:

your fine - I was 2 years out of status too. Adjusting status was plain sailing. Good luck

Was it really that smooth sailing? Did your overstay come up in interviews or anything?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Usagi_tsukino Collaborator

Usagi_tsukino   89

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Timeline
Posted
20 hours ago, Tommy27 said:

Thats a long time! did you every get your employment permit during this time? 

You mean during overstay? No. During AOS yes. Going to apply for my 3rd employment authorization card soon (they are only good for 1 year)

Citizenship:

09/15/2020 - Filed online. Estimated completion given - July 2021 (10 months).

January 2021 - biometric reuse letter

April 2021 - interview scheduled

24/05/2021 - Interview (approved)

 

Passport:

July 23 - applied, expedited service

August 11 - received the passport

Aug. 16 (approximately) - received passport card

August 20 - received citizenship certificate back

 

Story of my almost 3 years long pending AOS - click below for details

Spoiler

2015

  • March 10 2015 - USCIS received i-130/i-485
  • March 30 2015 - got a RFE saying that my husband cannot be my sponsor because of his income, which is not true, but we didn't know what to do so we hired a lawyer.
  • August 10 2015 - interview (went great, by the way). Were told to wait 120 days.
  • December 10 2015, April 10 2016, May 10 2016 - sent SR, responses: "your case is pending"

2016

  • May 25 2016 - Went to Info Pass, the case is taken to the supervisor, were told we will get something in 30 days (of course, after 30 days we got nothing....).
  • June 27 2016 - Went to Info Pass again, they told us to wait for 2 more weeks and if we still get nothing send a service request letter by mail. Did it on the same day.
  • June 27 2016 - After Infopass, went to senator Durbin office in Chicago.
  • July 8 2016 - Went to Mike Quigley office.
  • July 8 2016 - Received useless response from Durbin. All they know is that the case is pending and it's in Chicago, can't do anything else.
  • July 12 2016: Infopass, spoke to the supervisor, promises promises.... more wait.
  • July 17 2016: Filed Ombudsman.
  • July 26 2016: Another info pass, same story. We talked to 3 supervisors already! I don't get it!
  • July 29 2016: Sent another useless SR just because.
  • Aug 9 2016: Talked to the officer we had interview with! She was supposed to mail us RFE a year ago but she forgot (!!!) ! They admitted it. Gave us RFE.
  • October 11 2016: Response to RFE is received by uscis (the RFE was ridiculous. Basically all same papers we ALREADY GAVE HER at the interview: bank statements, lease, etc).
  • October 20 2016: Infopass, useless, did not have time to wait for the supervisor.
  • November 9 2016: Infopass, talked to the supervisor, he said there are no problems with our case and he will make sure the officer will make a decision within a few days. Gave us his email and phone number, told us to contact him directly instead of going to info pass.
  • November 15 2016: emailed the supervisor, since a few days have passed and still no decision. No response.
  • November 17 2016: called the supervisor, no answer.
  • November 17 2016: sent Service Request about i-130 (Lol, like that will help..)
  • November 19 2016: sent a letter to the director of Chicago Field Office.
  • November 22 2016: sent Service Request about i-485 (Lol[2])
  • November 23 2016: talked to the supervisor again to learn that..........my medical and fingerprints have expired and i need to wait for a notice to do it all again.
  • November 25 2016: The response from the Field Office Director Martha Medina-Maltes: your case is pending and every effort is being made blah blah blah
  • December 5 2016: Received a response to i-485 SR that my case is "pending supervisor review"... absolutely random since the supervisor said i'll need redo my medical and fingerprints again.
  • December 19 2016: Went to USCIS, the officer came out and told me we need to come back for a 2nd interview!!! I'm shocked because our marriage is 100% real and i can't believe they have doubts about it! But i'm glad that it's at least something.
  • December 27: 2nd interview (Strokes). Reason: i-130 petition. We did fine but the officer said we will receive a NOID! Our lawyer said it must be something else, not our answers... but what?!

2017

  • Jan 23 - infopass, asked if anything was mailed regarding i-130. Were told that nothing was.
  • Jan 27 - sent a service request regarding I-130.
  • March 1 2017 - went to uscis (no info pass), our officer's supervisor finally gave us the noid full of nitpicking and lies, that shows that they do not pay attention to anything. 
  • March 10 2017 - 2 years AOS anniversary...wow. 
  • March 31 - The response to the noid is received by uscis!
  • June 1st - went to the office, the supervisor promised we will get the decision in 4-6 weeks.
  • July 19 - 7 weeks passed, went back to uscis. The supervisor said he will give the case to the officer tomorrow, we asked when we will get the decision, he said he doesn't know. 
  • September 6: My husband talked to the supervisor again, he said he gave the case to the other officer, and the case is huge so the officer has a lot to do, and we will get a decision in 2 weeks. 
  • September 25: Went back since no decision was received (as expected). The supervisor said the same thing: we will get a decision in 2 weeks
  • September 29: USCIS asked for medical! Eureka! First time in 2 and a half years they sent something by themselves! :wacko: i-130 still not approved.
  • October 2: Notice that i-130 is approved (notice date September 26, still no online update). Also went to get medical done (should be ready by the end of the week)
  • October 3:  biometrics
  • October 10: medical delivered to uscis! The waiting games begins again :wacko:
  • December 11: 2 months after medical was delivered talked to the supervisor again, he said the decision will be made BY tomorrow and we will find out from the website on Wednesday. 
  • December 14: Called uscis, tier 2 officer told me that the case is approved.
  • December 18: Received Approval notice (Dated December 12)

 

Long story short:
After the initial interview we received:

1) a RFE asking for the same papers again,

2) then were asked to come to the 2nd interview that went fine of course, 

3) then a NOID that was full of mistakes.

All that was given to us in person, only when we made our way straight to our officer. And still waiting. Lots of fun (not).

4) 6 months after receiving our response to the noid i-130 is approved. 2 years 6 months and 16 days of waiting for i-130. Supposed to take 5 months. No words.

5) After 2 years 9 months and 2 days (or 1008 days) of waiting i-485 is approved.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
 
Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Ask our VJ Immigration Lawyers.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
- Back to Top -

Important Disclaimer: Please read carefully the Visajourney.com Terms of Service. If you do not agree to the Terms of Service you should not access or view any page (including this page) on VisaJourney.com. Answers and comments provided on Visajourney.com Forums are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Visajourney.com does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. VisaJourney.com does not condone immigration fraud in any way, shape or manner. VisaJourney.com recommends that if any member or user knows directly of someone involved in fraudulent or illegal activity, that they report such activity directly to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You can contact ICE via email at Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov or you can telephone ICE at 1-866-347-2423. All reported threads/posts containing reference to immigration fraud or illegal activities will be removed from this board. If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by contacting us here with a url link to that content. Thank you.
“;}
×
×
  • Create New...