October 2023 - AOS Filers

[SaraClaire11 134]

21 hours ago, ThailandR said:

I-797 came on the mail today. Appointment is the first week of June, but at an ungodly hour of 6:45 am.  Lol

Oh wow that is super early! Ours is at 1pm about 25 minutes from where we live.

 

I'll be sending you all the positive vibes that day!

Edited May 4 by SaraClaire11

[ThailandR 45]

17 hours ago, S I A N said:

Is it close to your house though?

Nope a 2 hour drive to a different county unfortunately

[eatplaysleep 8]

Well I felt like the day would never come but... I-130 just got approved! 🥳

 

After waiting six months I reached out to our senator's office on Thursday and today the I-130 approval was posted online. Status still says 4 weeks, but the notice was posted in the documents. Hopefully I-485 happens this week! 

[eatplaysleep 8]

On 5/4/2024 at 4:07 PM, eatplaysleep said:

Well I felt like the day would never come but... I-130 just got approved! 🥳

 

After waiting six months I reached out to our senator's office on Thursday and today the I-130 approval was posted online. Status still says 4 weeks, but the notice was posted in the documents. Hopefully I-485 happens this week! 

Exactly one week! I-485 approval notice popped up online today and the status of the I-130 case was updated to “Closed”. 
 

Not gonna believe it until we get that plastic in our hands. 😆

 

Hang in there October Filers! 

[ThailandR 45]

3 weeks until my wife's interview. Have a stack of photos, all documents, plane tickets, Disney tickets, joint bank account documents and hopefully I will have her on the house title by then.  Happy to see folks get the GC without an interview. Wish my wife was as lucky but it is what it is 

[SaraClaire11 134]

On 5/13/2024 at 12:21 AM, ThailandR said:

3 weeks until my wife's interview. Have a stack of photos, all documents, plane tickets, Disney tickets, joint bank account documents and hopefully I will have her on the house title by then.  Happy to see folks get the GC without an interview. Wish my wife was as lucky but it is what it is 

I feel the same about my husband! I really hope there isn't something crazy missing from our application to cause further delays - I have anxiety about it! Just hoping everything goes smooth, I have all the documents, evidence and photos ready to go in an organized folder, just trying to figure out what we should wear! 13 days to go!

[mw & rg k1 629]

On 5/12/2024 at 11:21 PM, ThailandR said:

3 weeks until my wife's interview. Have a stack of photos, all documents, plane tickets, Disney tickets, joint bank account documents and hopefully I will have her on the house title by then.  Happy to see folks get the GC without an interview. Wish my wife was as lucky but it is what it is 

 

So sad they are putting you through all of this

[ThailandR 45]

On 5/17/2024 at 1:32 PM, SaraClaire11 said:

I feel the same about my husband! I really hope there isn't something crazy missing from our application to cause further delays - I have anxiety about it! Just hoping everything goes smooth, I have all the documents, evidence and photos ready to go in an organized folder, just trying to figure out what we should wear! 13 days to go!

Let us know how the interview went if possible.  My wife is in a panic wondering what more they need and want after she had interviewed in Bangkok for the K1 visa, and we submitted all of the same documents for the AOS, except we now had a marriage certificate.  I wonder if it's the age difference between us that's the issue or that I was previously married to an Immigrant I sponsored over 10 years ago and that marriage ended in divorce after 6 years.....my wife and I have been together for almost 5 years now.

[R3411y 24]

On 5/4/2024 at 5:07 PM, eatplaysleep said:

Well I felt like the day would never come but... I-130 just got approved! 🥳

 

After waiting six months I reached out to our senator's office on Thursday and today the I-130 approval was posted online. Status still says 4 weeks, but the notice was posted in the documents. Hopefully I-485 happens this week! 

If you don't mind me asking, what did you ask/state was your issue when contacting your senator's office? I was thinking of going that route, but unsure what to put down as my "issue". We filed on 09/29/23 and still no updates besides our biometrics appt in November of last year.

[eatplaysleep 8]

On 5/26/2024 at 9:23 AM, R3411y said:

If you don't mind me asking, what did you ask/state was your issue when contacting your senator's office? I was thinking of going that route, but unsure what to put down as my "issue". We filed on 09/29/23 and still no updates besides our biometrics appt in November of last year.

I just laid it out honestly and asked for help. He hasn’t seen his family in two years and his mother had been having some health issues and that he has been unable to work and it was beginning to take a toll on the family finances and relationship. 
 

I didn’t try to come up with anything extraordinary — just pled for humanity. 
 

I don’t know for certain if the request to my senator is what did the trick or not but it was pretty convenient how quickly everything suddenly happened almost immediately after doing so. 

[smashtic 6]

Today we received notice that our case was transferred to our local field office.

 

They are also asking for a I-693 Medical. For context our DS-3025 was not marked complete for some reason after the exam. In the FAQ for the 693 it says if a medical exam was performed prior to entry (and less than 1 year), then a medical exam is not needed but that a confirmation / translation of vaccine updates is required if the DS was not filled out correctly.

 

Is it safe to just perform the full 693 or thoughts on having them translate the vaccine portion? 

 

Also I assume the next step is interview if it is at our local office.

[SaraClaire11 134]

APPROVED!!! 🥳

 

Good news! We were approved yesterday at our AOS interview! Here's how it went:

 

Showed up 15 minutes early, walked in through security (we left our cell phones in the car) put our belongings in a bin and walked through a metal detector - instructed to head upstairs. There was only one other couple in the waiting room. We placed out appointment letter in a bin at the desk and sat down. About 10 minutes later a man came out with our appointment letter and asked me to follow him. My husband stayed in the waiting room. The man advised he would be back for him in 20 minutes. 

 

I followed the man to his office and there was another man sitting in there (maybe he was training) and was placed under oath immediately. Then he asked for my ID I gave him my passport with my state issued driver license inside. He wished me a happy belated birthday (May 26th) and asked if we did anything special. I told him what we did but explained that last year I went to Ecuador to visit my then fiance for my 40th.

 

We made small talk and he asked if I had brought any additional documents I handed him my entire binder and explained that much of what was requested was sent in with the application, he looked at the copies of our photos, from our wedding day and other events over the last 9 months since he arrived. He kept the photos, the copy of of lease agreement, all the documents pertaining to him being my beneficiary and on my medical insurance, all the paystubs and employment verification. He was very nice and handed everything else in the binder back to me. He asked if I had any questions. I asked him about the EAD and why we we never approved. He explained that once we are approved today we will have our GC in 10 days and not need the EAD anymore.

 

I was escorted out and my husband was invited back alone, he was in there for about 15-20 minutes. The man interviewing him started in English and switched to Spanish which my husband is fluent in. He was asked a little about our marriage but a ton of questions about if he was ever involved in gang activity, trafficking, prostitution and all kinds of crazy things. He told my husband congrats you have been approved and he walked out. We didn't get a piece of paper or a notice but my app did update a couple hours later to "New Card Being Produced" so I am very relieved and happy and can't wait for it to arrive in the mail! 

[ThailandR 45]

9 hours ago, SaraClaire11 said:

APPROVED!!! 🥳

 

Good news! We were approved yesterday at our AOS interview! Here's how it went:

 

Showed up 15 minutes early, walked in through security (we left our cell phones in the car) put our belongings in a bin and walked through a metal detector - instructed to head upstairs. There was only one other couple in the waiting room. We placed out appointment letter in a bin at the desk and sat down. About 10 minutes later a man came out with our appointment letter and asked me to follow him. My husband stayed in the waiting room. The man advised he would be back for him in 20 minutes. 

 

I followed the man to his office and there was another man sitting in there (maybe he was training) and was placed under oath immediately. Then he asked for my ID I gave him my passport with my state issued driver license inside. He wished me a happy belated birthday (May 26th) and asked if we did anything special. I told him what we did but explained that last year I went to Ecuador to visit my then fiance for my 40th.

 

We made small talk and he asked if I had brought any additional documents I handed him my entire binder and explained that much of what was requested was sent in with the application, he looked at the copies of our photos, from our wedding day and other events over the last 9 months since he arrived. He kept the photos, the copy of of lease agreement, all the documents pertaining to him being my beneficiary and on my medical insurance, all the paystubs and employment verification. He was very nice and handed everything else in the binder back to me. He asked if I had any questions. I asked him about the EAD and why we we never approved. He explained that once we are approved today we will have our GC in 10 days and not need the EAD anymore.

 

I was escorted out and my husband was invited back alone, he was in there for about 15-20 minutes. The man interviewing him started in English and switched to Spanish which my husband is fluent in. He was asked a little about our marriage but a ton of questions about if he was ever involved in gang activity, trafficking, prostitution and all kinds of crazy things. He told my husband congrats you have been approved and he walked out. We didn't get a piece of paper or a notice but my app did update a couple hours later to "New Card Being Produced" so I am very relieved and happy and can't wait for it to arrive in the mail! 

Congratulations.  Let's hope when we go next Friday for my wife's interview we have similar luck

[SaraClaire11 134]

11 hours ago, ThailandR said:

Congratulations.  Let's hope when we go next Friday for my wife's interview we have similar luck

Wishing you the best of luck! Let us know how it goes!

 

The app updated again today and now our status says our case was approved as of yesterday. Already been looking into the I-751 and what's needed to remove conditions in 2 years. 

[rierose 15]

On 5/31/2024 at 5:30 PM, smashtic said:

Today we received notice that our case was transferred to our local field office.

 

They are also asking for a I-693 Medical. For context our DS-3025 was not marked complete for some reason after the exam. In the FAQ for the 693 it says if a medical exam was performed prior to entry (and less than 1 year), then a medical exam is not needed but that a confirmation / translation of vaccine updates is required if the DS was not filled out correctly.

 

Is it safe to just perform the full 693 or thoughts on having them translate the vaccine portion? 

 

Also I assume the next step is interview if it is at our local office.

 

Hi, I had this exact thing happen to me last week, also with the NYC field office.

I was positive that by DS-3025 was filed out correctly and that there was not a need to redo the medical examination. I made a cover letter where I explained everything and quoted the I-693 instructions underscoring why I did not need to file the form. I printed out the DS-3025 and the email which they sent to me. Then I went down to the office in person and was able to speak to multiple officers who were all luckily very accommodating and understanding.

This morning (i.e., two days after my visit), I got the approval notice.

 

I'm not sure if I was just lucky or why I got the approval so quickly after, but they were surprised by the fact that I showed up in person and said it underscored that I just wanted to do everything by the book and had good intentions. So, I'd highly recommend you trying to do the same, of course if your DS-3025 was marked not complete it complicates things. Our cases must've just arrived at the same time and gotten the same message