ARE ALL AOS CREATED EQUAL?

[MAGTATANONG POE 1]

I’m A K1 Visa Beneficiary. 
My Husband Picked Me Up From The Philippines 
And We Flew In Chicago Aug 31, 2015; We Got Married Two Days After.  
We Filed My AOS Sept 28, 2015.  Then, Got A Notice Of An Interview Waiver.
And I Thought I Might Be Getting My GC Faster Than The Flash!  Why? Because:

Https://Www.Uscis.Gov/Archive/Blog/2012/05/Three-Myths-Adjustment-Of-Status:
...even though there is no time limit to make a decision on an application for a green card, 
uscis strives to adjudicate these cases within four months.

I Spoke Too Soon...And The Horrorfest Began!

HORROR STORY #1:  
The Next Time I Heard From USCIS Was October 19, 2016!   They Said I Need A New I-693 As The One On-File Expired, To Continue Reviewing My AOS!  We Filed A Congressional Inquiry; To Call The USCIS Hotline Is, As Most Blogs Say, Bootless!  If Not For The Good Senator Donnelly’s Office We Would Not Have Known Why.  The Response?  The National Benefits Center Was Understaffed And Thus, The Backlog!  Thats’s $340 On Me For A Government Shortcoming?  My EAD Was About To Expire And Because Of This Backlog,  USCIS Through The Senator’s Office Asked Me To Reapply For The Combo EAD/AP Free Of Charge!  Fine!  Better Than No Deal.  And Then, Enter…

HORROR STORY #2:  
I Got Another Notice That I Need To Go To Indianapolis For My AOS Interview.  Last March 21!  So What Was The Word We Got From USCIS Thru The Good Senator’s Office.  That My Interview Was Waived?  I Just Raised My Hands In The Air And Again Said Fine!   Just Go Through The Motions Like Good Ol’ Robot.  So Drive We Did—160 Miles This Time—To Indianapolis For The Interview.    The Io Was A Gracious Lady, She Had A Trainee Sitting Behind Her And My Husband Behind Me.  The Interview Went Fine, Noted On My Folder That I Was Already Working,   Two Jobs In Fact So I’m Not A Charge Or Burden To Anyone Or Any Institution.  And Then, Enter…

HORROR STORY #3:  
Before Deciding On My AOS, The IO Realized That My Immigration Doctor Missed Putting An “x” On The Had-All-The-Necessary-Vaccination-Done Box, And Signing At The Line Underneath Part 7 Of My I-693, As Part Of The Remarks!  Holy _____, ______, ______ (Pls Fill In The Blanks For Me, For I’m A Faint-Of-Heart)!!!  And So She Issued A Continuance And Asked Me To Deliver It Personally To The Immi Doctor’s Office Right Away, Then Mail It To Indianapolis As Soon As They Can.  As A Farewell Note, As With Most, She Said Further That Succeeding Correspondences Will Be In The Mail.  Oh No...It Doesn’t End There Tho’ My Horror Movie Is Done With The 3rd Part.  As A Clincher Scene, The Crusher Came At The Immigration Clinic.  And Finally, Enter….

THE EPILOGUE: 
 At The Clinic, The Head Attendant Upon Hearing Our Interview Experience, Said They Never Had Any Problems Of That Sort Before.  She Said As Long As All The Pertinent Boxes Above Part 7 Of The I-693 Where I Was Given Said Vaccines Were “x”-ed, The IOs  Did Not Require Anything Else.  She Quipped “they’re Becoming Picky Now.” So With That, She Said The Doctor Is Away For Days, But Not A Worry For Us For She Will Overnight Him To Do As The Io Instructed And Then When It Comes Back To The Clinic, She’ll Call Us For Us To Come And Sign And Then Immediately She Fedex’s It To Indianapolis...That Was March 21st.

THE K.O. SUCKER PUNCH:  
It’s March 27th Already And No Call Yet!!! Cant Hold It No More...Rushed To The Clinic...And We Found Out My Paperwork Has Been Sitting There...Just Sitting There! And The Receptionist Said She Just Found It Laying There On The Front Desk...Awaiting...Patiently Waiting, Almost Like Its Applicant.

As I Was Walking Out Of The Clinic On The Way Now To The Post Office To Overnight My Reworked I-693,  I Began Thinking, But Before The Zombie In Me Ate My Brains, I Remembered A Filipina Friend Of Mine…She Met Her Husband Online...He Filed A K1 On Her...She Arrived July 2013, Got Married...They Filed Her AOS September Of That Same Year...She Got Her GC With Conditions Through The Help Of The Office Of Jackie Walorski November Of That Same Year...And December Of 2016 She Got Her Conditions Lifted...She’s Now Divorced. 

Here I Am, Married With My USC Husband Whom I Met 2006. He Bought A House For Us And We A Lived Together Since The End Of That Year. We Had A Civil Union Last Feb 2012 And Finally Made It Formal By Marrying Sep 2015.  Looks Like I’m Going To Grow Old With Him.  And As Of Now I’ve Had Just Two EAD’s To My Name.   And Sadly, That’s It...

Did The Change Of Government Have Anything To Do With Our Processing?  
‘Coz Mine Came In During An Election Year...And My Filipina Friend’s AOS Didn’t.
 
Is There Any Difference In Processing AOS’s If One’s Marriage Was Based On An Online Relationship;  Or One Is The Old Fashioned Way Of Getting-To-Know-You?

Finally, A K1 Upon AOS Has Only A Total Of 3 Years Married Before Applying For Citizenship, Compared To A Family-Based Petition That Has To Do Five Years, Correct?  

I’m Almost Into Two Years From The Day Filed My AOS
And I Should Be Filing To Remove My Conditions Anytime Now.  
But Because Of Government Backlogs, I’m Unable To Fulfill That Process.
But I Was Deprived Of That.  
Can I Appeal This Early, Even Without A Decision Yet On My AOS,
For Me To Get  Permanent Residence “Without Conditions,”
In Lieu Of The Above, Which Isn’t My Default?!
In The Same Manner I Was Given A Reciprocity Of A Free EAD/AP Card
To Make Up For The Delay In Processing My GC By The USCIS?

Enlighten Me Please...Before I Become Hard-Boiled...Or Zombied...Or A Conspiracy Theorist!
Thank you, I know This Post Is Long But Know What, It Gave Me Great Relief Just To Vent...

[geowrian 22,336]

I'm sorry to hear about your issues.

 

5 minutes ago, MAGTATANONG POE said:

Is There Any Difference In Processing AOS’s If One’s Marriage Was Based On An Online Relationship;  Or One Is The Old Fashioned Way Of Getting-To-Know-You? There's no data to suggest they are treated differently. Albeit, a marriage is not based on anything being online or not...that's just how people meet or communicate.

 

Finally, A K1 Upon AOS Has Only A Total Of 3 Years Married Before Applying For Citizenship, Compared To A Family-Based Petition That Has To Do Five Years, Correct?   Sorry, but incorrect. The 3 year rule applies from when you first gain LPR status. That's means you go by the date listed on the green card for when it became valid. It does not have anything directly to do with how long you have been married. However, you should get a 10 year green card and not have to go through ROC if you had been been married over 2 years at the time of the interview. If not, you must still file for ROC before you can qualify for citizenship (but the time pre-ROC still counts towards it!).

Can I Appeal This Early, Even Without A Decision Yet On My AOS, No, there's nothing to appeal. However, as noted above, you probably won't need to do ROC.

For Me To Get  Permanent Residence “Without Conditions,”
In Lieu Of The Above, Which Isn’t My Default?!

 

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

You file ROC 2 years minus 90 days from the date of issue on the green card. (Not from date of marriage).

You do not have the green card yet so check the date and mark your calendar when you do.
You married in Sept 2015 and will likely get the 2 year conditional card unless you will be approved after 2 years from your

marriage, so if you have to wait another 5 months for approval you get the 10 year, if before then you get the 2 year GC.

There is nothing to appeal !
AOS takes a year for many people. Ours has been pending in checks for almost 2 years.
You can't compare why your friend got approved more quickly than you, it depends on the service center and the case itself.
The renewal EAD is free for everyone, you weren't given a special exception.

Your story is not all that unusual, the process takes time and has hick ups along the way.

 

[MAGTATANONG POE 1]

thank you for both of your responses.  its very enlightening. as with everybody, sometimes the long agony of waiting bites one and the pangs go deep.  but i was additionally relieved with your responses it made my day.  became more hopeful. god bless