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Bieloanya

AOS from ESTA, do I have any chances of approval? VERY LONG STORY (merged)

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Filed: AOS (pnd) Country: Italy
Timeline

Hi everyone, 

I would have never thought that by now I would still be posting on here, but here I am. 

 

I applied for AOS from ESTA in August 2020, marriage based, got an RFE for i944 form, then submitted it and my case status is "waiting to schedule for an interview" since March 2021.

 

I got EAD and AP, but can't work as my field is aviation and nobody wants to employ someone without a GC (need to be able to fly in and out of the country freely and they don't trust AP). 

I live in Sacramento and my field office seems to be still NBC

 

I applied for an expedite request yesterday, but I have very little hope that it's actually going to be accepted.

 

So, now, based on these info, what do you think I should expect? Is there any hope that I'll actually get an interview soon? Or is it possible that they lost my case or something like that? 

What can I possibly do to get things moving? 

I feel really sad and discouraged to be honest. 

My husband and I have two little daughters (USC) and I really need to work (other fields are not an option for many reasons that would take too long to disclose on here), not to mention that it's very emotionally draining to be in this limbo for so long, almost without any rights and with the fear of rejection/denial/deportation... 

My husband and I would like to buy a house, develop our careers, put down roots, build our life together... But none of that is possible untill I finally get a GC. 

 

I don't know what to do or think. 

Does anybody have some insight for me or maybe someone can share their story if they had a similar experience? 

I would really appreciate it

 

Thank you 

 

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Filed: AOS (pnd) Country: Italy
Timeline

Hi guys, 

I thought I'd share my story as I'm worrying every single day for my situation and maybe someone can help me see things in a more objective (hopefully positive) way. 

 

So, as the title says, I applied for AOS from ESTA, which per se is quite a risky move, that I didn't really wanna do, but didn't have much of a choice. I divorced shortly before that and I also was pregnant. 

 

Here is my story. 

 

I am originally from Italy, where I was married to an Italian man, no kids. Things were not going well and we were already planning on divorcing, but didn't do it as there was no rush. 

 

In the meantime, in November 2018, I met online the man who is now my husband and we started chatting to help each other with our languages (the app was Tandem, it's a language exchange platform). Neither of us had any romantic intention, nor we were looking for a partner, but slowly we started developing feelings for each other. 

 

But we thought that a relationship between two peiole who live on the opposite sides of the world is never going to work, right? So we didn't think much of it at first. 

 

In the meantime I decided to cut ties with my previous husband, I applied for divorce, moved out and lastly, moved to England (all of this in January/February 2019).

Also, I decided to fly to the US to meet "the guy from Tandem". The idea was to spend 3-4 days there, I wanted to visit NY and take the occasion to meet him (as friends!!!)...

Or at least that's what I was telling myself, because the moment we saw each other for the first time, it was clear that we had huge feelings for each other. 

 

But, again, I didn't think a long distance relationship was really possible. Moreover I was moving to England and in the middle of a divorce. Such a complicated new relationship wasn't appealing to me at all. 

 

And yet, we kept on talking every day and falling even more for each other and in April 2019, "the guy" flew to London for my birthday and we spent another week together. 

 

That's when it was clear to both of us that we already were in a relationship, weather we wanted it or not. 

So we kept seeing each other every 6-8 weeks for 5-15 days (it was mostly me flying to California, but he came a couple of times to Italy too as in the meantime I went back there, to finish my university degree and he has relatives in Italy), until January 2020, when I got pregnant (yep. Crazy story.) while visiting him in California for his birthday (on that same occasion he proposed to me, but that was before we found out about my pregnancy, and we thought we'd get married that summer or maybe the following year, we didn't have any concrete plans). 

 

I flew back to Italy and our plan was for him to come to Italy at the beginning of March for a week and then for me to fly to California for my birthday for few weeks, to help him sell his belongings and then we'd move together to Europe, where I'd start my masters degree. 

 

I spent February in Italy, when I was also finally able to finalize my divorce and set a date for my graduation. 

 

But when he was visiting me in Italy, covid hit and there was a lot of talking about lock-downs, so he proposed that I flew back to California with him, instead of waiting for my birthday in April, as we didn't know how long it would take for the pandemic to be over (I thought it would take few weeks at the time. LOL). 

I didn't wanna do it, as I was staying in Rome with him and I only had a carry on with me, with enough stuff for a week together. I was definitely not ready to fly across the ocean and stay for weeks in the US! 

But things got very scary, so we booked a ticket for Paris for the next day (as there were no more flights to the US from Italy) and the following morning, while standing in line to board the plane for Paris, we bought the tickets for Los Angeles for a flight that same afternoon. CRAZY. 

 

I was terrified of denied entry in the US as I spent three weeks in California in January and it has passed only a little over a month since I left and now I wanted to spend about 10 weeks in the US (our plan was still to move to Europe together). 

 

(I am not mentioning anything about my pregnancy because I have pretty important hormonal issues and I was pretty sure I'd miscarry.) 

 

But somehow everything went well, the CBS officer asked me only one question, which was how long I was planning to stay for and I answered "for 10 weeks, is that ok?", to which he replied "OK" and approved my entry. 

 

I was so relieved! We were in California together and we could decide together what to do next. 

 

My pregnancy went ahead and it was clear that I needed medical care (I was about 2m pregnant when I flew to the US). My application to the two universities in Europe was denied and our flights back to Europe were canceled by the airline. 

I didn't have a job in Italy as I was planning to move to another European country as mentioned above, whereas my husband had a very good job in California. 

 

So we decided that it made way more sense for us to stay in the US together, because I had no more reason to go back to Europe and there was no guarantee for my husband to find a good job giving the raging pandemic and the widespread lock-downs. 

 

So we got married in May 2020 (I was maybe in day 70-75 of ESTA stay at that point) and in June, we applied for AOS (a couple of days after my ESTA was over, as we needed to wait for some documents to be able to send the application to USCIS). 

My application was denied because form I944 was missing. So we applied again in August 2020 and I've been waiting for the GC ever since (got an RFE, got my EAD/AP, but that's a different story). 

Now I'm waiting for my interview to be scheduled, hoping that it will happen soon, but I'm also quite terrified of being accused of immigration fraud! 

 

How can I prove that I had no intention of staying in the US? 

I didn't have a job in Italy, I was 2m pregnant and I finalized my divorce 3 weeks before entering the US. If I were a USCIS officer, I would see that as big red flags! 

 

What I have as proof is my return ticket to Europe, the applications to the two universities in Europe (dated February 2020) and their rejection letters (dated April 2020) and the cancelation email from the airline. Also, I was genuinely scared of flying as I thought that covid my cause issues to my pregnancy (at that time, there was not much information about its effects on pregnant ladies, but it was definitely feared as pregnancy means compromised immune system)

My husband had conversations with his boss about the possibility to work remotely from Europe for him after moving there and he can ask his boss to write a note stating that. 

 

Do you guys think I have any chance to be approved a GC? 

At this point I'm very scared. 

 

I'm the kind of person who always plays by the rules and I would have wanted to get married in Europe and live there with my husband. And should we have wanted to move to the US together, we would have opted for the CR1 route. But somehow I ended up doing an AOS from ESTA and I've been worrying about it like crazy ever since. 

 

What do you guys think?

A giant thank you to anyone who took the time to read my long post. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Bieloanya
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Filed: Lift. Cond. (apr) Country: China
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~~~Post merged with existing thread~~~

 

1 hour ago, Bieloanya said:

Hi everyone, 

I would have never thought that by now I would still be posting on here, but here I am. 

 

I applied for AOS from ESTA in August 2020, marriage based, got an RFE for i944 form, then submitted it and my case status is "waiting to schedule for an interview" since March 2021.

 

I got EAD and AP, but can't work as my field is aviation and nobody wants to employ someone without a GC (need to be able to fly in and out of the country freely and they don't trust AP). 

I live in Sacramento and my field office seems to be still NBC

 

I applied for an expedite request yesterday, but I have very little hope that it's actually going to be accepted.

 

So, now, based on these info, what do you think I should expect? Is there any hope that I'll actually get an interview soon? Or is it possible that they lost my case or something like that? 

What can I possibly do to get things moving? 

I feel really sad and discouraged to be honest. 

My husband and I have two little daughters (USC) and I really need to work (other fields are not an option for many reasons that would take too long to disclose on here), not to mention that it's very emotionally draining to be in this limbo for so long, almost without any rights and with the fear of rejection/denial/deportation... 

My husband and I would like to buy a house, develop our careers, put down roots, build our life together... But none of that is possible untill I finally get a GC. 

 

I don't know what to do or think. 

Does anybody have some insight for me or maybe someone can share their story if they had a similar experience? 

I would really appreciate it

 

Thank you 

 

 

Our journey:

Spoiler

September 2007: Met online via social networking site (MySpace); began exchanging messages.
March 26, 2009: We become a couple!
September 10, 2009: Arrived for first meeting in-person!
June 17, 2010: Arrived for second in-person meeting and start of travel together to other areas of China!
June 21, 2010: Engaged!!!
September 1, 2010: Switched course from K1 to CR-1
December 8, 2010: Wedding date set; it will be on February 18, 2011!
February 9, 2011: Depart for China
February 11, 2011: Registered for marriage in Wuhan, officially married!!!
February 18, 2011: Wedding ceremony in Shiyan!!!
April 22, 2011: Mailed I-130 to Chicago
April 28, 2011: Received NOA1 via text/email, file routed to CSC (priority date April 25th)
April 29, 2011: Updated
May 3, 2011: Received NOA1 hardcopy in mail
July 26, 2011: Received NOA2 via text/email!!!
July 30, 2011: Received NOA2 hardcopy in mail
August 8, 2011: NVC received file
September 1, 2011: NVC case number assigned
September 2, 2011: AOS invoice received, OPTIN email for EP sent
September 7, 2011: Paid AOS bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 9, 2011)
September 8, 2011: OPTIN email accepted, GZO number assigned
September 10, 2011: Emailed AOS package
September 12, 2011: IV bill invoiced
September 13, 2011: Paid IV bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 14, 2011)
September 14, 2011: Emailed IV package
October 3, 2011: Emailed checklist response (checklist generated due to typo on Form DS-230)
October 6, 2011: Case complete at NVC
November 10, 2011: Interview - APPROVED!!!
December 7, 2011: POE - Sea-Tac Airport

September 17, 2013: Mailed I-751 to CSC

September 23, 2013: Received NOA1 in mail (receipt date September 19th)

October 16, 2013: Biometrics Appointment

January 28, 2014: Production of new Green Card ordered

February 3, 2014: New Green Card received; done with USCIS until fall of 2023*

December 18, 2023:  Filed I-90 to renew Green Card

December 21, 2023:  Production of new Green Card ordered - will be seeing USCIS again every 10 years for renewal

 

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  • Ryan H changed the title to AOS from ESTA, do I have any chances of approval? VERY LONG STORY (merged)
Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Kuwait
Timeline

Ok, regarding your job. Are you in ground operations or mostly in air (i.e. pilot or flight attendant)? If it’s ground ops, you can work with just EAD.

 

AOS from ESTA is permitted given your situation you described. You had no intent to overstay your visa when you initially entered the US. So, no worries there. You just have to make sure your divorce overseas was finalized and have some final court or govt copy of that. Otherwise you might wind up w RFE for that. 

 

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2 hours ago, Bieloanya said:

Hi everyone, 

I got EAD and AP, but can't work as my field is aviation and nobody wants to employ someone without a GC (need to be able to fly in and out of the country freely and they don't trust AP). 

I live in Sacramento and my field office seems to be still NBC

 

 

 

  Quite a few immigrants have to get jobs that aren't in their field when they first arrive to the US. If you really need to work. I would apply for any and all jobs. So, you have income. Alternatively, as you were planning on going back to school. You can apply for another degree. 

1 hour ago, Bieloanya said:

I'm the kind of person who always plays by the rules and I would have wanted to get married in Europe and live there with my husband. And should we have wanted to move to the US together, we would have opted for the CR1 route. But somehow I ended up doing an AOS from ESTA and I've been worrying about it like crazy ever since. 

 

What do you guys think?

 

As you are worried about being denied. I would hire a competent immigration lawyer. Ask them to help you out and also consider filing a mandamus. 

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Filed: Timeline

Nothing you posted is alarming regarding your immigration journey. You just happened to file in a time of excessive delays. The backlog has and still is being addressed. Some places have a 2yr wait for interview. You will need an interview (most likely won't be waived) due to your adjustment from out of status ESTA. 

 

You can find an attorney to review your case if you want. It seems various errors were made along the way, but again I believe the wait right now is due to interview delays. You can check the wait time for your local office on USCIS's website. You can also do online inquiry if you are outside of normal processing times. 

 

Perhaps try to change how you negatively view your 'forced' unemployment in a more positive way? Enjoy the time with your child and spouse. Become active in the community. Hobbies. Friends. Lots of things are equally important if not more important than a career. I mean there's a joke about how no one ever says on their death bed they wish they worked more. You are more than your career. Don't let the lack of employment impact your self view. You will get your greencard, and then citizenship if you choose to obtain that as well. Until then-patience. 

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On your profile page it says your local office is Sacramento which currently has a almost 30 months wait time. You can check processing times for your field office here https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

 

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5 hours ago, Bieloanya said:

I got EAD and AP, but can't work as my field is aviation and nobody wants to employ someone without a GC (need to be able to fly in and out of the country freely and they don't trust AP). 

Illegal, surely?

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2 minutes ago, Bieloanya said:

What is illegal? O.O

I am by no means an expert but it doesn’t seem right/legal that you can be refused work because of the type of work authorisation you hold. 

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45 minutes ago, AW1704 said:

I am by no means an expert but it doesn’t seem right/legal that you can be refused work because of the type of work authorisation you hold. 

She was not excluded because of her status in the country. If a company request you to be able to flight internationally and you can’t this is not discriminatory. You just don’t have the required for it. 

 

I know because I deal with those case of cases a lot. 
 

There is nothing illegal in this situation.

 

If the company doesn’t allow her to work because they want to see a greencard and don’t want to accept the EAD, yes, this is a problem.

 

 

 

 

Edited by PaulaCJohnny
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5 hours ago, PaulaCJohnny said:

She was not excluded because of her status in the country. If a company request you to be able to flight internationally and you can’t this is not discriminatory. You just don’t have the required for it. 

 

I know because I deal with those case of cases a lot. 
 

There is nothing illegal in this situation.

 

If the company doesn’t allow her to work because they want to see a greencard and don’t want to accept the EAD, yes, this is a problem.

 

 

 

 

Thanks, Interesting to know, although I note OP *does* have AP. 

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Russia
Timeline

Overall, I don't see a lot of issues here other than the OP being stuck in a fairly long queue awaiting an interview.  If I were the OP, I would look for another job to fill the void until the AOS interview comes and the GC is approved.

 

Good Luck!

Visa Received : 2014-04-04 (K1 - see timeline for details)

US Entry : 2014-09-12

POE: Detroit

Marriage : 2014-09-27

I-765 Approved: 2015-01-09

I-485 Interview: 2015-03-11

I-485 Approved: 2015-03-13

Green Card Received: 2015-03-24 Yeah!!!

I-751 ROC Submitted: 2016-12-20

I-751 NOA Received:  2016-12-29

I-751 Biometrics Appt.:  2017-01-26

I-751 Interview:  2018-04-10

I-751 Approved:  2018-05-04

N400 Filed:  2018-01-13

N400 Biometrics:  2018-02-22

N400 Interview:  2018-04-10

N400 Approved:  2018-04-10

Oath Ceremony:  2018-06-11 - DONE!!!!!!!

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Argentina
Timeline
21 hours ago, Bieloanya said:

applied for an expedite request yesterday, but I have very little hope that it's actually going to be accepted

Did you submit strong evidence required for an expedite?

 

Also, I hope I am not coming off as nosy. You have mentioned you have your reasons not to work in other fields, but you also mention that you really need to work, so which is which? I guess what I am saying is, if you really, really need to work, then you might have to work to overcome those reasons and work in something else until you get your GC, does that make sense?

FROM F1 TO AOS

October 17, 2019 AOS receipt date 

December 09, 2019: Biometric appointment

January 15, 2020 RFE received

January 30, 2020  RFE response sent

Feb 7: EAD approved and interview scheduled

March 18, 2020 Interview cancelled

April 14th 2020: RFE received

April 29, 2020 Approved without interview

May 1, 2020 Card in hand

 

REMOVAL OF CONDITIONS

February 1, 2022 package sent

March 28, 2022 Fingerprints reused

July 18, 2023 approval

July 20, 2023 Card in hand

 

N400 

January 30,2023: Online filing

February 4th, 2023: Biometric appointment

June 15th, 2023: Case actively being reviewed

July 11th, 2023: Interview scheduled.

August 30th, 2023: Interview!

August 31st, 2023: Oath ceremony scheduled.

Sept 19th, 2023: Officially a US citizen!

 


 

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