September 2017 AOS Filers

[PR&PR 325]

On 10/27/2018 at 7:10 AM, Chelleyandaaron said:

There is an option to expedite if I can demonstrate that not getting the AP in time would cause financial hardship or humanitarian hardship. I did the math and on top of the cost of the flights ($1600) it would also cost me around $2000 to take unpaid leave to travel when my AP does come through (and the cost of the flights again / so an estimated $5000-$6000 in total. 

My daughter has had some health issues and is likely to take it very badly if I can’t make it for Christmas - it would undoubtedly affect her health / but it would be a lot of hassle to get a doctors letter to that effect. I am hoping that gathering enough evidence will help get it expedited. I wonder how successful others have been / or if anyone else is in a similar situation? I am annoyed that my PD date is nearly two and a half weeks AFTER the date of receipt of my application. This buys USCIS more time. When I applied the first time, processing time was supposed to be 90 days so I was shocked to discover that it is now 4/6 months. I sent my application 5 months and three weeks ahead of my travel date - you would think that should be long enough?

thanks for your feedback. On another forum someone was just downright rude and told me I should have sent it sooner and that I had only given myself four months and that wasn’t enough time. 

They told me to send it 90-120...I went with 90 since I want my EAD/AP to be valid as long as possible. You would think they handle renewal quicker than original application.

We have been waiting for our green card interview for over a year, so yeah reapplying for what we did is not a top priority and is really a waste of everybody's  time. 

So upsetting they force us to go through this again.

[Mike V 56]

On 10/27/2018 at 9:10 AM, Chelleyandaaron said:

On another forum someone was just downright rude and told me I should have sent it sooner and that I had only given myself four months and that wasn’t enough time. 

Unfortunately this is the Internet, where there is no shortage of "experts" to tell us how stupid we are, etc.  They often run up high post counts with little or no experience in the actual subject.

 

The best approach is to focus on constructive replies, acknowledge the polite ones, and ignore the rest.

 

On another note we did get our 180 automatic EAD extensions.  They are wonderful examples of bureaucratese.  I'll parse it in more detail when I have time, but I can see why some authorities (e.g. driver licensing) are reluctant to accept them.

 

[Chelleyandaaron 511]

On 10/28/2018 at 2:45 PM, Mike V said:

Unfortunately this is the Internet, where there is no shortage of "experts" to tell us how stupid we are, etc.  They often run up high post counts with little or no experience in the actual subject.

 

The best approach is to focus on constructive replies, acknowledge the polite ones, and ignore the rest.

 

On another note we did get our 180 automatic EAD extensions.  They are wonderful examples of bureaucratese.  I'll parse it in more detail when I have time, but I can see why some authorities (e.g. driver licensing) are reluctant to accept them.

 

I can't understand why the AP is not automatically extended in the same way - although you are right about the legalese on the EAD letter.  'This might count as an extension of your EAD if you have fulfilled these very vague requirements...'

[cupidmommy 5]

Anyone have done second interview!? For 1-485. I did interview on September 18th but USCIS wants second interview for us. My husband is deployed though. I hope deployment order works... 

[Mike V 56]

5 hours ago, Chelleyandaaron said:

I can't understand why the AP is not automatically extended in the same way - although you are right about the legalese on the EAD letter.  'This might count as an extension of your EAD if you have fulfilled these very vague requirements...'

Before I left work today I assembled any documentation (past I-797C documents, official list of category/class designations that qualify for the automatic renewal) that might be useful to explain the bureaucratic legalese to the drivers license peopole and wrote up some point-by-point instructions so she could explain each of the bulleted items..

 

However, when I sat down with my wife to explain it all, I learned that she had received a drivers license extension yesterday through Feb 19 (almost 3 mos.) for her MN driver license based on the I-797C with bureaucratic legalese. 

 

She used the MN driver license office at Chicago Ave. & Lake St. in Minneapolis  If you are in Minnesota & having trouble getting them to accept the convoluted 180-day extension language, you might try this office if you can.

Edited November 2, 2018 by Mike V

[Mike V 56]

5 hours ago, cupidmommy said:

Anyone have done second interview!? For 1-485. I did interview on September 18th but USCIS wants second interview for us. My husband is deployed though. I hope deployment order works... 

That's discouraging.  How long can they drag this out?  We did our interview (first & hopefully last) on Aug 1, have heard nothing since.

 

In less than 11 months from now, the 12-year old that I adopted as soon as they were here will be a citizen anyway, I-485 would be moot issue for him at that point.

 

Edited November 2, 2018 by Mike V

[moosy 139]

I received my greencard in the mail two days ago (6 November). I was approved on the spot by the officer on October 23rd, and received an update to my statuses (both websites) on the 30th and 31st that I was approved, that they were producing my card, and that the card was mailed to me; the older site was faster than the new site it seems. 

So if anyone is wondering if two weeks is normal to receive a greencard, clearly it is, even if you are approved on the spot by the decision-making officer.

 

The greencard was in a special envelope that did not show up on my USPS summary as a letter: it was actually listed as a package (of which they do not show pictures in that app).

 

And by the way, my AP was lengthened, but they never gave me a combo card, despite putting both of them in the same envelope and clearly marking it on the outside as "combo AP and EAD renewal". I only received the AP (which now was a weird document with the picture I sent), and I never received word of the EAD; on the websites, the AP was processed, but the EAD was just dangling as accepted.

And then about a week or two later, I suddenly received my interview date from the local office.

I wonder if they have to check with your local office if you received a greencard yet, and that this inquiry somehow pushes your local office into action? Or if someone calls them up to check, and then they go "oh okay, I won't give them an EAD then, as they will receive their greencard soon" ? I dunno, but it seems awfully coincidental, and I know I am not the only one who is wondering.

[martin bk 19]

Finally my status has changed to interview scheduled as of this morning, will keep you guys posted as to the date once I receive my letter. 

So excited. 

[Path24 75]

1 minute ago, martin bk said:

Finally my status has changed to interview scheduled as of this morning, will keep you guys posted as to the date once I receive my letter. 

So excited. 

Which state you filed it from ?

[martin bk 19]

30 minutes ago, Path24 said:

Which state you filed it from ?

Utah. 

[martin bk 19]

So my interview is on December 26th. So it’s either going to be the best Christmas ever or the worst. 

[Vickrd 18]

Hey guys. Just wanted to update you on my case. I had my interview on Nov 6 and ten days later I got the text notification saying I was approved. Those 10 days sucked so much. The anticipation can really get to you.  I got the card in the mail last saturday. The officer was nice but serious, and she just asked us basic questions. One thing I didn’t know and I guess it could be based on the particular officer is that when they say they want joint documents they mean it. We had some stuff with the same address and apparently that doesn’t cut it. Apparently bills and stuff like that must show both names... which is kinda funny cuz not every couple does that necessarily. Specially younger ones like us. I just thought that was interesting. Anyways, now off to preparing the packet so that we can remove conditions in the near future  which i’ve seen here on visa journey that it can take a while for that to be approved and sometimes people file the N-400 simultaneously, I gotta do research on that. 

[Vickrd 18]

On 11/25/2018 at 1:17 PM, martin bk said:

So my interview is on December 26th. So it’s either going to be the best Christmas ever or the worst. 

Wishing you luck! 

[JoJoJoJo 170]

6 minutes ago, Vickrd said:

Hey guys. Just wanted to update you on my case. I had my interview on Nov 6 and ten days later I got the text notification saying I was approved. Those 10 days sucked so much. The anticipation can really get to you.  I got the card in the mail last saturday. The officer was nice but serious, and she just asked us basic questions. One thing I didn’t know and I guess it could be based on the particular officer is that when they say they want joint documents they mean it. We had some stuff with the same address and apparently that doesn’t cut it. Apparently bills and stuff like that must show both names... which is kinda funny cuz not every couple does that necessarily. Specially younger ones like us. I just thought that was interesting. Anyways, now off to preparing the packet so that we can remove conditions in the near future  which i’ve seen here on visa journey that it can take a while for that to be approved and sometimes people file the N-400 simultaneously, I gotta do research on that. 

Congratulations!!!

 

I am in the same boat! It has been about a week since my interview. The experience is almost like yours! Now I am just anxiously waiting...

[Vickrd 18]

1 hour ago, JoJoJoJo said:

Congratulations!!!

 

I am in the same boat! It has been about a week since my interview. The experience is almost like yours! Now I am just anxiously waiting...

Thank you!!! Yeah i would check my phone every two minutes!! and I used to think if I didn’t get a text immediately like the other experiences then there was something wrong, but honestly a healthy amount of time is probably like a month maybe two  You’ll probaly get it sooner than that though!!