New York AOS 2018 Filers

[blenheim 243]

So happy to see movement on your cases! No EAD/AP here yet, but hopefully soon ☺️

[vaksurik 106]

Hey all! I'm so glad I found this group! My fiance is coming into JFK from the Netherlands this Tuesday and we're getting married on Oct 6th! Happy to have some support in the NYC AOS process! 😄

[nullaccount234 882]

1 hour ago, vaksurik said:

Hey all! I'm so glad I found this group! My fiance is coming into JFK from the Netherlands this Tuesday and we're getting married on Oct 6th! Happy to have some support in the NYC AOS process! 😄

Welcome! And congratulations. ☺️

 

Some advice, if you didn't already know - have your fiancé visit the SSA before marriage to get SSN, sometimes they give you trouble if you go after you're married and then you can't get your SSN until you get the work authorization, which would be a bummer. Start prepping the AOS paperwork asap - waiting times for work authorization/travel permit are 3,5-6 months, and for GC here in NY is about a year. You can basically finish all AOS paperwork before marriage if you wanted to, all you need to attach after marriage is the marriage certificate. And last but not least, if you want to enroll your fiancé in health insurance, there's a general rule that that needs to be done within 60 days of the qualifying life event (ie the marriage or the US move), and also, enrollment needs to be done before the 15th one month (say Oct) to be covered from the 1st of the following month (say Nov). Just good to know, I guess for you guys it won't matter that much though since open enrollment starts soon (November I think). Good luck! 😊

[vaksurik 106]

On 9/22/2018 at 1:48 PM, LizM said:

Welcome! And congratulations. ☺️

 

Some advice, if you didn't already know - have your fiancé visit the SSA before marriage to get SSN, sometimes they give you trouble if you go after you're married and then you can't get your SSN until you get the work authorization, which would be a bummer. Start prepping the AOS paperwork asap - waiting times for work authorization/travel permit are 3,5-6 months, and for GC here in NY is about a year. You can basically finish all AOS paperwork before marriage if you wanted to, all you need to attach after marriage is the marriage certificate. And last but not least, if you want to enroll your fiancé in health insurance, there's a general rule that that needs to be done within 60 days of the qualifying life event (ie the marriage or the US move), and also, enrollment needs to be done before the 15th one month (say Oct) to be covered from the 1st of the following month (say Nov). Just good to know, I guess for you guys it won't matter that much though since open enrollment starts soon (November I think). Good luck! 😊

Thanks for all the advice! Thankfully, he already has an SSN from previous visas in the US, so hopefully we're covered there. 

 

We have definitely been prepping the paperwork already. We've compiled a list of all the necessary evidence that he'll need to bring with him for the AOS, work permit, and travel parole forms. I have all three documents printed and read to be filled out! 

 

Thanks for the health insurance tip! I'm self-employed and my personal insurance is terrible, so I'll be looking for a new provider anyway. We'll get on that once  as soon as open enrollment begins.

 

Have you ever heard of a US company being able to expedite the work permit? My fiancé has a prospective job beginning in January for a company I freelance for. He has a friend from NZ who just went through this whole process and told us to get a letter of employment which would expedite the work permit - his (the friend's) permit took ONE MONTH to receive! (This summer!) This just sounds too good to be true to me, but otherwise I don't see the job working out since the current processing times are obscenely long. Just wondering if you or anyone has tried this or has heard of it working for anyone else. 

 

Thanks again for everything!

[nullaccount234 882]

9 hours ago, vaksurik said:

Thanks for all the advice! Thankfully, he already has an SSN from previous visas in the US, so hopefully we're covered there. 

 

We have definitely been prepping the paperwork already. We've compiled a list of all the necessary evidence that he'll need to bring with him for the AOS, work permit, and travel parole forms. I have all three documents printed and read to be filled out! 

 

Thanks for the health insurance tip! I'm self-employed and my personal insurance is terrible, so I'll be looking for a new provider anyway. We'll get on that once  as soon as open enrollment begins.

 

Have you ever heard of a US company being able to expedite the work permit? My fiancé has a prospective job beginning in January for a company I freelance for. He has a friend from NZ who just went through this whole process and told us to get a letter of employment which would expedite the work permit - his (the friend's) permit took ONE MONTH to receive! (This summer!) This just sounds too good to be true to me, but otherwise I don't see the job working out since the current processing times are obscenely long. Just wondering if you or anyone has tried this or has heard of it working for anyone else. 

 

Thanks again for everything!

Sounds like you've got everything under control  He might need to make sure his SSN is still active, another user here had an SSN from earlier and said she couldn't use it right away and had to visit the SSA to reactivate it, but maybe it was because she hadn't lived here in a long time, I'm not sure of the details.

 

Sounds good! Just a heads up, as someone who is adjusting status you're eligible for Marketplace coverage (Obamacare) as per their own guidelines, but they ended up kicking me out of the plan anyway... So just beware if you choose to go via them.

 

Yes, if you have an employment offer from a US company, you can try to expedite your work permit. I have not tried it myself but I have seen a few people who were successful in doing it. After you marry and file for the work permit, wait until after the biometrics are done, and then call the USCIS. You have to cite a reason for your expedite and most people that I've seen choose "severe financial loss to individual". Make sure to highlight that this is an opportunity that will not come back, ie that there's some sort of urgency, and that financial loss will ensue from not being able to take on the job (that's not entirely true - because you can't lose something you never had - but people have been successful in making this argument nonetheless, see my link below). Also note that some people with job offers get denied before they've even been asked for proof (employment offer), so make your case already in the first call with them, otherwise they could just deny you because they didn't sense that urgency to start with. Here's an excellent guide on exactly how to go about it:

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/453753-how-to-request-to-expedite-your-ead-based-on-a-job-offer/ 

[kendorii 27]

Glad to see some movement on cases filed from NYC, as I just sent my package a few days ago. Just waiting on the EAD so I can do something productive, like open a bank account!

[Michelle M 133]

Got a " new card in production" update on Saturday 9/29  making it a 113 days . Thank God for the movement. 

[streanor 405]

2 hours ago, Michelle M said:

Got a " new card in production" update on Saturday 9/29  making it a 113 days . Thank God for the movement. 

Wow that's great progress!!! Congrats!

[streanor 405]

On 9/30/2018 at 2:14 PM, kendorii said:

Glad to see some movement on cases filed from NYC, as I just sent my package a few days ago. Just waiting on the EAD so I can do something productive, like open a bank account!

You should be able to open a bank account before you get your EAD. I know some people have had issues trying to open one but I had no problem with Bank of America.

[Sellamalola 222]

When we submitted the application, all notifications were done so quickly, it was scary but after the Bio appointment notice it has been a deafening silence and i have been power checking the online case on both USCIS and DHS sites with no avail. They’re both stuck at “case received” and “fingerprint fee received” since june, so you can see how nerve wracking it’s been 😫😫😫

Im expecting news in a couple weeks, merely based on you guys and our timelines being fairly similar 🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽 Wish me luck 🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽

I filed everything in such a professional manner (exactly how it was described on the filing instructions 😶), no RFEs thank God! I even joked with my husband that as soon as i got my EAD I was going to apply at an immigration lawyer’s office as a paralegal 🤣 ooooooor maybe apply as an USCIS online file updater because they reeeeeeally need it!!!!

Congratulations to all of y’all on your awaited EAD! It’s the perfect timing since hiring season is the highest during these months! And thank you for sharing your experience on this platform, it’s been of tremendous help ♥️

[Sellamalola 222]

On 9/30/2018 at 2:14 PM, kendorii said:

Glad to see some movement on cases filed from NYC, as I just sent my package a few days ago. Just waiting on the EAD so I can do something productive, like open a bank account!

Actually, you should be able to open a bank account with your passport! Banks like Bank of America, TD bank, Chase, Wells Fargo. When i was still a tourist I opened a checking account with Bank of America because i was going to be here for 3 months and the exchange rate was very expensive, so you shouldn’t have a problem with just your passport, bring your NOAs just in case! Good luck and let us know how it goes! 👍🏽

[NjK 96]

Hello everyone!I'm following this thread too.We sent AOS on Saturday.Good luck to all of you guys. 🙂

[Michelle M 133]

Even though we may be waiting months for an interview date, we got "case is ready to be scheduled for interview" as of 10/4/18.  Whoop.  One step closer.  

[sremlif 51]

Hi All,

 

Following this thread now as we filed AOS a couple of weeks ago 😁

 

I noticed all of our forms (AOS, EAD and AP) have been sent to the National Benefits Center (as the case numbers begin with MSC). Was this the case for those of you that have been approved for EAD/AP already?

 

I'm just conscious that processing seems to be taking up to a month longer at this center than the others - at least according to the USCIS processing times site.

[Michelle M 133]

Got our AP/EAD and SS card. Whew.... now on to the next step.