aosapplicant

Chat logs are the evidence , you bet.

Send somebody a chat message that you will spit on their driveway tomorrow and see what happens next. I assure you that you will be in trouble if recipient calls 911 and the log will be used as an evidence against you. And there are forensic experts who can distinguish between a chat log you created on your computer vs one that actually exists in archives.

This being said, chat logs alone may not be enough evidence depending on what you

are required to prove. Or they may be needed whatsoever.

I think if you or anyone really married to your wife and do what married people naturally would do under any circumstances then you should simply submit your petition with the supporting evidence and answer any questions at an interview.

1986 law was written to deter fraudulent marriages where strangers would sign few pieces of paper to get a GC, it was never meant to put undue burden on those who have a genuine marriage and evidence of the same.

Provide the evidence you have. Truthfully and clearly explain things like gaps in common residence and so on (which you may not even apply to you, since you lived together since you two got married).

Good luck.

Wa Alaykum Assalaamu' Wa Rahmataullahi Wa Barakatuhu

IMHO being Muslim is the biggest problem.

What can we do now?

How old were you when your father became a US citizen?

Good question.

If you (meaning OP) were grandfathered due to minor age and timing of your dads' Naturalization (which has to be after statutory date when the relevant law was enacted) , then you may have been a US Citizen all along and all yo may need is a form that you file to get the Certification or confirmation of your Citizenship.

On the other hand, if you were not grandfathered then first you must find out what grounds do you have to claim any benefit now.

If you ever gained a benefit (work , border cross etc.) claiming to be a US Citizen while not being one and which you would not be able to get with your existing at the time status status while not a citizen then you have a lifetime ban, otherwise you should be ok.

You need a good attorney who is well aware of all governing statutes, case laws and regulations who may be able to assist you.

Please note: I am not an attorney and the above is not a legal advise. For legal assistance consult a practicing immigration attorney.

Actually is "VAWA" (Which stands for "Violence Against Women Act") not "WAVA" ...

You are right about the order of letters.

Your knowledge of how to properly spell the abbreviated letters of the ACt is commendable, although irrelevant to the essence of the matter of discussion.

...and no they're not "often approved based on testimony of applicant only". Where on earth did you hear/read that? People are regularly RFE'd for evidence. Perhaps there's more involved in those cases that you're not aware of but evidence is required. Just like I require evidence that my marriage is valid, people require evidence of abuse. Psychologist reports are often used for emotional abuse where physical evidence might not be present... but it's not just a statement from the supposed victim, there's a lot more to it than that... as it should be!

Goodle is your friend, as saying goes. As to me I have read countless numbers of articles and court decisions , many randomly , never bothering to keep footnotes because I read most of the stuff out of curiosity ,like you read whether there is a life on Mars, and not for research paper.

But I do recall reading about it and how some American husbands lamented the law that provided opportunity for their

foreign spouses to get a GC by making the claim that they could never dispute , since under VAWA everything was kept private and out of reach of alleged party. Go google it, the law DOES provide for benefit based on testimony only (it doesn't mean that everyone is approved , only that in some cases it may suffice).

The real question none of you even try to examine is what exactly happened between the couple?

And lately, since he asked 'what if', the important question is did she do the alleged thing? If so why is he only now asking the forum members about it and not mentioned the same in OP and follow-up posts?

And if she didn't then isn't he asking forum members whether he should commit a crime?

Everything else is secondary.

Unless you have police reports, witness reports, photos etc, the likelihood it would be approved is low. Especially seeing you didn't apply until after you filed jointly and after she left you. Screams fraud.

Vanessa & Tony, both of you are wrong.

WAVA apps are often approved based on testimony of applicant only.

The alleged spouse may never even know what happened, because of strict privacy laws protecting the victim.

The question is not so much whether he has reports, witnesses , photos etc, as whether he is telling a truth or not.

Logic of moderator 'penguin' is very difficult to decipher.

OP among other things is asking "what if i apply for spousal abuse that she humiliated me threatened that i would be deported attacked me and stuff".

What kind of question is that?

If she did alleged thing, then why is he only now asking the forum members about it and never mentioned the same before?

And if she didn't then isn't he asking forum members whether he should commit a crime?

Of course this is overlooked by mod, but an obviously satirical response isn't and is defined as 'advocating/pretending violence'.

It takes a very square head to take it that way, I must tell.

Congratulations!

The link I posted features information posted by AOS applicants who share their current timelines and report the scheduled interview dates. It is not a link to USCIS posted processing times.

I filed at the end of Dec application received on the 29th...had a RFE took a month to send that back (had to wait to get a joint sponsor) and 9 days after it was sent received interview date for April 12th in baltimore. Now all I need is a way to get around the expensive parking in the city.

I didn't expect any interview notice in the near future until I saw this:

http://www.trackitt.com/usa-immigration-trackers/i130-i485/page/2

There are 28 cases reported for the month of January.

2 have already been approved, 16 more have been scheduled for interview. That's total of 18 cases out of 28 that

has either been approved or got IL. That's 64%. Only 36% waiting for IL (and if you look further, out of those 10 remaining pending some haven't updated the trackline since 7th of March so some of them may already got IL).

Of course this data has very little statistical reliability and can't be used to make accurate conclusion about

individual office processing times, but could Baltimore. MD be so much behind? Or could it be that all the people who post timelines on trackit share some hidden variable that explains fast processing of their cases?

I called USCIS , was told to wait at least 60 days after receipt of RFE before making further inquiries, so for now will have to just wait and contact them only second week of May

if IL not received by then.

If more Baltimore, MD filers shared their timeline we would have a better picture of current processing times at our local office.

OP already said he came on a J visa, not a K

Well, no doubt I overlooked it if I said I do not know what visa he is adjusting from.

If he came on J visa and filed AOS then he won't be allowed to proceed without interview.

Again , interview now or later, the crux of the matter is what exactly happened, why his wife did what she did and

so on.

Please do not misinform - he is not going to get a GC without interview.

I share an opinion, I am not an immigration attorney and expressly state so.

As to GC without interview, if he adjusts from K visa he already was interviewed

and USCIS may not find it necessary to interview him once again ( IF he is adjusting from K visa. I do NOT know what visa he is adjusting from and I did NOT say he WILL get GC without an interview, but he MAY. Big difference if you understand plain English).

I am a UK citizen working in the US on an H-1B Visa. I am marring aUS citizen in May 2012. I will be applying for adjustment of status visa.

Do you recommend i use a lawyer to prepare my case for me? If not, then should i have one check over all of the forms once i have filed them out?

My H-1B expires in October 2012 so i will need the authorization to work and travel before this expires. I don't want to make mistakes and keep having to re-apply seeing as time is of the essence!

Sorry, I can't answer your question. If I do my posts will be deleted and I would be temporarily or even permanently barred.

Your best bet is to make your own decision based on your own discretion. Good luck.

It is difficult to say.

I personally have mixed feelings.

On one hand I look up official processing dates and browse posts of AOS approved beneficiaries who had their cases completed late last year and early this year.

It seems like Baltimore, MD office had an average of 4.5-5 months processing time.

If this standard holds true today I should not get IL for another month or so.

But I also look up the latest trends on trackit.com for ALL applicants nationwide (including from those local offices who reported SLOW processing times as late as the end of the last year) and I see that many applicants who filed 2 months ago already have their interviews scheduled (or so they report).

Again, there is no telling how accurate these reports are and what (if any) the statistical reliability of this random data is.

It also depends on how well your petition is prepared (any typo or disorganized assembly of paperwork will naturally cause delays).

Good luck.

It all depends on what really happened.

The law is not unreasonable. At crux is what you did, what she did and why you both did what you did.

You may get a GC without interview, but it will be valid only for 2 years.

Then you will have to explain what happened.

If you get denied right away then you will be placed into removal proceedings.

There, before the judge, you can explain your case.

Note: the above is NOT a legal advise. For legal consultation consult the practicing immigration

attorney.

Dear Muslim applicant, we both have a big problem (or so we feel).

I am a Muslim myself (born and raised in Islamabad, Pakistan) , I go mosque every Friday and to be an excellent Muslim

I earnestly pray 8 times a day (double of what is required under our holy book commandment).

All this makes me very nervous and worried.

My EAD was approved but yet no sign of Immigration Interview notice.

I heard that there is concern about massive pro-Muslim bias in FBI and USCIS ( allegedly, both agencies provide clearances to Muslim applicants without causing prolonged delays in app processing) and this is a big concern as far as well being of public is concerned.

Under the new proposal the "no record found" or "no adverse record found" will result in an automatic resubmission of

b/g checks (FBI, IBIS etc) and there will be no restriction as to how many times the request can be resubmitted (IO will be strongly encouraged to continue b/g check resubmissions as many times as it takes to get an adverse record).

Be patient , as our great Prophet Mohammad commanded us. Good Muslim should wait 40 years to receive a benefit and best benefit, as you know, is Visa to Paradise.

Hope this helps and best of luck to you.

I genuinely wonder: what if my I-130/I-485 is absolutely , totally and indisputably approvable and I answer all the questions straight to the point staring blank into the eyes of IO, would they deny me for wearing funny clothes?

What if I grow mustache that is 40 inches long, put some gel on it and point it upwards but maintain absolutely serious facial expression, again, would this be grounds to deny the AOS?

What do you guys think?

Unfortunately, I'm in the Baltimore boat.. I filed in Feb and got a RFE..let's see how long it's going to take until my interview letter...

Baltimore boat is not the slowest

You will get EAD approved soon.

I wonder how many members here have received IL (Lately I looked up the trackit website for 130/485 concurrent

and saw couple of Jan filers scheduled for interview, and here we have at least two posters who filed at the end of Dec and Jan and already have IL. So, things are moving at Baltimore too.

Anyone who filed AOS in Jan (Baltimore, MD local office) feel free to contribute and share your timelines!

The information submitted was NOT wrong, but the form was filled with TYPO.

But I would agree that if there is non-sense typo it surely adds to processing time.

I am mostly worried because I am Muslim and my wife is not.

Would our relationship be questioned on account of my being a Muslim?

This is very important, I hope someone gives valuable advise.

My interview will be 3 weeks from now. i have some of the evidence to support our relationship. i have joint accounts, life insurance and auto insurance. My problem is my name is not in the lease as a renters he put me just an accupant. do you think that the immigration will accept that document? i need some advice about this matter.

SimpleLady

I don not think it is anything to worry about. As long as you are not a Muslim you should be good to go

i applied last week of January...

That's great! Consider yourself lucky, because according to what I gather from various sources Baltimore, MD is processing October, 2011 AOS applications.

Also, this is my individual opinion, the way you fill out your app makes difference.

Some apps get processed faster even if the local office is the same.

I hired attorney who filled the I-864 incorrectly , got RFE and re-submitted copy of an incorrect original page of the same form. I had to re-submit my own response. Now I wonder what other parts he filled out sloppily

Finally, place of birth may make the difference. I was born in, lived for 20 years and am Citizen of Pakistan.

And I am Muslim - I go to local mosque every Friday and pray 8 times a day.

I am sure that doesn't speed things up a lot.

But all being equal, you are very lucky to be interviewed that fast. Baltimore does not process cases in 3 months like other local offices do, they have higher than average load (though not as slow as NY and some other offices I heard of).

I submitted AOS in Dec 2011 it was received on the 29th....our appointment is in Baltimore on April 12.

We had a RFE between the process and we took almost a month to submit the evidence. But the process has been moving fast so far. Getting super nervous as it gets closer.

Once you reply to RFE your case goes back to where it was in queue.

Somebody will ask you about you, all you need to do is say what it is.

This is not a job interview so relax.

Like all large companies, the USCIS has various departments handling various stages/parts of application.

800 number is staffed by tier 1 and tier 2 reps, first has nothing to do with service centers you file app with and second could be an officer from any service center other than one your app is processed at.

You could have written a letter directly to center processing your app (the address on I-797 NOA) , but chances are

they too would be unable to make changes and correct errors because some other entity inputs data and sends it to yet other entity in charge of printing documents. So, once error took place there was little you could do to correct it.

Now, you have to apply for replacement and get a new card. The good thing is if error was not of your doing then

it will cost you nothing.

As cumbersome process is, I think it still saves time and resources (instead of direct intervention USCIS allows for mechanical flow of the process.

It could be due to fact that percentage of errors (and thus need to correct) is negligibly small while the cost of direct intervening is higher(having tier two establish direct communication with data entering or printing office, having someone at those two offices stop the routine work and focus on individual spelling error etc etc etc).

By all means I have no idea how it works, but usually there is a rational explanation and reasons why it works the way it does. Yours seems to be one of those instances.

WEll, i filed my AOS in January, i had biometrics March 13, and my interview will be on April 24. I recieved my EAD today.

Great! So January filers already get Interview Letters for Baltimore, MD.

Did you apply early Jan, mid or end of month?

Thanks for contributing

I am aware that some local offices schedule interviews in less than 2 months. That's probably due to the lighter load of work.

Our office here in Baltimore, MD has more applications to process and as of December , 31st 2011 reported over 5 moths of processing time for AOS.

Oddly enough, despite being a busy office we do not have as many applicants posting their timeliness on forums.

I created this thread to encourage any Baltimore, MD filers to share their timelines.

This is the only way we can have any idea what the current processing time at Baltimore, MD is.

Baltimore, MD January, 2012 AOS filers, if you read this thread please share your timelines!

Those who applied for AOS in January (via Chicago, IL lockbox) and expect to be interviewed at

Baltimore, MD local office, let's post and share here :

1. When received email from USCIS "interview scheduled".

2. When received IL in mail.

3. What is interview date.

We can post , support each other and get a general idea what Priority Dates are being scheduled for interview at Baltimore, MD office and what is current processing time for AOS apps filed from this district.

Good luck to all!