Henry&Rebecca

What would you do if you went to a car dealer and told them you were in the market for a compact car and he told you "can't have that. DMV requires that your new car be a V6 turbo charged engine, minimum 350HP"?

This pretty much blows down to the same thing. The entire physical costs more, and is more money and profit for the surgeon. Therefore he'll tell you that so you'll get scared and pay up. You can either shell out the money for it, or... since you know better... you find someone else who'll sell you what you wanna buy.

Here's what you NEED for your AoS. You NEED the I-693, simply because the DS-3025 signed by the doctor in London said it was missing one. You can't just tell USCIS "Oh look: DS-3025 said only THIS was missing. Here's proof of THIS. Therefore DS-3025 is now good". Sadly it's not as simple as that with USCIS. What USCIS needs is either a DS-3025 stating all vaccinations are done, or an I-693 stating all vaccinations are done. So, you NEED to do the I-693, however you ONLY need the vaccination part of the I-693 completed. So maybe what you could try to do is tell the civil surgeon: "Look. DS-3025 says only this missing. Here's proof of this. Please complete I-693 without any tests" and if you're lucky they'll agree. You'll have to see. Worst case scenario though, he'll run new tests for vaccinations in order to fill out the I-693 vaccines part only. No need for full physical though. So, call around and find a civil surgeon who will agree to either of that and you're good to go.

BTW, If you search the history of posts on this very forum, you'll notice very many people asking very similar questions to this, and even threads listing specific civil surgeons who don't rip you off. Happy hunting! And good luck!

What I find concerning is the fact that OP thinks that receiving an AP, or even a GC at that, is synonymous with "able to stay outside the US however long she wants with no issues". First thing you have to understand is that this is not the case. An AP, as well as a GC are both granted to those who wish to maintain a primary residence inside the US and are only looking to travel for just about any reason other than to live abroad. The fact is that even a GC holder can NOT be outside of the US for a period of time that is longer than 1 year without obtaining a travel document (not the same as an AP, even though it uses the same form I-131) BEFORE she leaves the country.

You need to approach this topic very carefully when talking to the consulate or applying for anything with USCIS. Because right now, the way all evidence points, your wife was in the US just barely enough to receive an AP... and then she left and didn't return for 11 months already and likely won't before the 1 year max limit passes (which, in itself, one could argue is reason enough to prove that she abandoned her "primary residence" in the US, and therefore her GC application).

I don't know HOW you're going to handle this issue. I have no advice on that and will differ to the better judgment of more informed folk on here. I just found it very concerning that you were stating all these "She will apply for this/that when AP ends" "She will travel to US if/when GC interview is scheduled, and every once in a while to visit family" intentions without realizing that the very moment USCIS gets a whiff of your wife not intending to maintain a PRIMARY RESIDENCE inside the US, even if she had a GC at the time (which she doesn't even have yet) they will consider her GC abandoned, unless she had applied for a travel document (NOT the same as AP) BEFORE leaving.

Well... the above is at least my understanding of the system. Please feel free to correct me if I said something wrong.

They have no appointments till the 16th (you mentioned you were to leave on 17th)? If you have a lawyer, kindly consult him/her. I am sure there have been many people in your predicament.

I kept trying yesterday and today and managed to schedule an appointment for the 22nd. Sadly there isn't anything available earlier than that for my area (Los Angeles). I even tried 2 separate zip codes which correspond to 2 separate USCIS offices near me, and the earliest is still the 22nd. I wish I could get an appointment on the 16th. At least we'd know before the flight if we had the stamp.

Anyways, given the predicament we're in, I'm gonna try and do a walk in today for an infopass. I realize there's a very high chance that I won't even be let into the building, but I'm all out of options here and it wouldn't hurt to try.

Anybody else have any ideas on what to do? Do you guys think her AP would still be valid if she left without the GC at this point?

I wish I could do the Infopass but it seem to be out of question as I've been trying to schedule one all day long and all I get is "Information appointments are not available at this time. Try again later"

Hi all,

My wife has her AP already. She was going to use that to travel. But then her AoS went and got approved without interview. There's a high likelihood that she won't have her green card with her when she leaves. Can she still use her AP to enter? Or has it been rendered invalid because her AoS was approved?

I have read elsewhere that you can take an infopass appointment and get the passport stamped. That stamp is valid for reentry for a year. Good luck.

I'm trying to schedule an infopass appointment but keep getting told there isn't one available at this time. How much worse can this get?!!

Thank you for the info though. I appreciate it.

Hi guys,

I'm a bit confused right now as to what to do. This whole thing was looking so great on paper just a week ago and yet now we have an issue on our hands:

So my wife received her EAD/AP combo card 2 months ago. Our AoS had only been pending for 2 months at the time. We gave it about another month and a half to see if an interview would be scheduled or not, and we did not hear a peep from USCIS about AoS. So we just assumed it was an interview waiver case. That's when we booked her flight to visit her family while waiting. That was 2 weeks ago.

And then suddenly out of the blue last week our AoS was approved with no interview. Amazing huh? Had NO idea. We thought we were in for a 6+ month wait. Anyways, we got the notifications for card production. A few days later got a confirmation that the card had been mailed and a tracking number for it too. That was the 1st of the month.

Fast forward a week and USPS seems to have lost our mail. It was reported as having arrived at our local office 3 days ago and "out for delivery" and yet still no delivery. I've been on the phone with them for the past 2 days, and today they came to the realization that it may have been lost in the mail because nobody can find it.

The problem is that my wife is scheduled to leave on the 17th of the month. That's only 9 days from now. What the heck do we do? I'm assuming that her EAD/AP card is no longer valid since her AoS was approved, but then if that's invalid what the heck is she going to use to re-enter? The "welcome to the USA" document that we received (yes, we received this one in the mail) says that it does not serve as a visa or anything.

So what do?

I have some pretty unexpected and amazing news to all those who believe themselves to be interview waiver cases and will take months on end to receive their GC. Hopefully this will bring you all some much needed comfort:

My wife was an interview waiver case. Our receipt date was 07/03/2013. This Saturday, October 26, I got a text notification that my online status had changed. I thought "surely it would turn out that we were not, after all, an interview waiver case". And yet lo and behold, our status was in "Document/Card Production". WOOHOOOO!!!!!

That's an interview waiver approval in less than 4 months guys!!!

So don't lose hope y'all. I know that we hear a lot of horror stories on here about people waiting a year or something to get their GC, but maybe that phase has passed and USCIS is now starting to pick up their slack.

Good luck to all of you!

Thanks for the responses everyone. I can rest a bit easier now knowing I haven't missed anything.

Regarding timing, the good news is that my wife doesn't have any connections that go through the USA. She's going straight from her connection in Europe to LAX which is her final destination.

Hello all,

I was wondering if I could get some info about traveling with AP for a very standard and easy K1 AoS case. My wife came on K1 in May. Got married in June. AoS NoA1 received in July. I-94 expiration was August. She received EAD and AP combo card in September. AoS still in acceptance.

My questions were:

Is there a maximum amount of time that she can be outside the US without raising an eyebrow when she returns on AP? She's looking to visit for about 6 weeks during Christmas time, is this too long of a stay?

What precautions can she take before leaving (and before coming back) to ensure that she won't have any issues upon reentry on her AP? For example, at a bare minimum she'll be taking her AP card, a certified copy of our marriage certificate, and a copy of her NoA1... These should prove that she has been here legally at all times and was never out of status. Is there anything else she should take with her?

What about the I-94? When she came in, she got the physical I-94 stapled in her passport and iirc they take that from her passport when she's leaving the country. She does not show up in the system for electronic I-94 retrieval, so she only has the physical available. I mean, everything is pointing to the possibility that she'll be an interview waiver case (though we haven't received a letter stating so), so she might not need her I-94 after all, but if she does end up getting an interview she will need to have the original I-94 in her possession right? So what to do if they request her I-94 upon leaving?

Any other tips anyone can share to make this as easy and smooth of a re-entry for her as possible?

Thanks all in advance.

Count me in as well amongst the ones who is still in acceptance, and if I'm not mistaken I'm the earliest July filer in here because I actually mailed my package June 28. Receipt date July 3.

I guess it's safe to assume I'm a no interview case. At least I got EAD and AP in 64 days though.

Just for reference, when my fiancee had her overseas medical examination prior to K-1 issuance (she didn't do one for AoS), the doctor took a quick peak down below by stretching open her pants at her waist (she was wearing tights). So it's not like he asked her to take off everything and spread her legs. He did, however, check her breasts for what I assume was breast cancer? Not sure if that was necessary or not, but we didn't fret over it. At the end of the day, he's a doctor.

For a marriage based permanent residence, the removal of conditions happens after 2 years. Now... I am unsure as to whether an already married couple removes conditions after 2 years of being married, or after 2 years of receiving a conditional green card. This might depend on the type of petition you apply for, whether you're already in the US and whatnot.

In any case, conditional or not, a green card is a Legal Permanent Resident card intended for people intending to reside in the USA. If you're looking to go back to the Philippines in the near future, might I recommend staying an extra year (3 years total) so as to gain citizenship, after which you can return to the Philippines as an American Citizen, and can come back to the USA anytime you wish... Because I believe leaving the USA for a period of longer than 6 months in any given 1 year period, without obtaining some documentation first, would constitute an abandonment of the LPR status / GC, and they will take it from you if you try to return afterward.

So yeah... Best advice if you plan on returning to the Philippines indefinitely, is to stick it out till citizenship (3 years) before returning. If you plan otherwise, then please go ahead and research more on the matter as there are more rules than what I wrote above.

Anyone here have their I485 status still on Acceptance?

I got my EAD/AP combo card last Friday. Just wondering what's happening with my I485.

Mine's still in Acceptance and I'm practically a June filer. Mailed application on 06/28/13 but NOA date is 07/03/2013 which technically makes me a July Filer.

In any case, point being: I'm a very early July filer and I'm still in acceptance. I'm beginning to think that I'm in for an interview waiver long haul case, since many July filers who filed weeks after I did have already gotten their interview notices (some even having done their interviews as well).

Worth noting as well, that I did not receive one of those letters people have reported getting, that is a notice of potential interview waiver case or whatever.

Early walk in for biometrics done today !

Hoping to hear about my EAD/AP within a couple weeks and maybe an interview for AOS....

Congrats! Glad it worked out for you in the end. All's well that ends well, right?

In other news, since many July filers not only have received their interview letters but are nearing their interview dates as well, I wonder if the rest of us July filer who have not yet received such a letter are in for an interview waiver case.

I guess we'll have to do what we always do when it comes to this process: Wait and see

Given that you had missed something so trivial and so obviously stated like the amount of the check, might I recommend rereading the entire guide on the VJ website and insuring, once again, that you have everything in order.

Also make sure that you double check each and every form with their current version online, and confirm that you are using the latest forms. Many were changed merely months ago.

Good luck.

Yup! As suspected. AP approved as well now. woot woot!

My online status for EAD just got updated to card production .

My AP, however, is still in initial review . Maybe it's just a timing thing and if I give it a few hours my AP will update as well? Maybe. We shall see!

I-485 still in "acceptance" with no news about interview yet.

Check this out:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/family-status-immigration-c

OP, you should be aware that you will be stuck with the I-864 should your soon to be ex-husband get his GC.

I suggest divorcing, withdrawl the AOS, and move on with your life. It may be hard to do, but you have to do what is in your best interest.

ooooooo this is news to me. I stand corrected. Please ignore my first post in this thread (can't figure out how to delete it and can no longer edit either).

I spoke with our immigration attorney and told him the situation. I also told him and my husband, if I agree to go, I will NOT go and pretend we are happily married. I will fully disclose my intentions of following through with the divorce. My attorney stated "As long as you prove that you entered into the marriage in good faith (which we absolutely did), then he should still be able to adjust his status".

I think your lawyer is wrong on this one. Regardless of whether you entered the marriage in good faith or not, the simple fact of the matter is that even if your GC was approved, your husband would receive a CONDITIONAL 2-year GC, and the CONDITION of that GC is that you 2 remain a married couple for the duration of it.

So tell me: Why would an immigration officer approve his conditional GC, when you're already going to be telling him that you intend to break the condition?

This is stupid thinking. Your only options here are to withdraw your application and have your soon-to-be EX husband deported from the US, or commit fraud and pretend to be happily married and then stay married for 2 years and commit fraud again after 2 years for his removal of conditions (needless to say, I'd highly advise against the second option as it's a crime).

Okay, if you use a copy of the tax return instead of a free IRS tax return transcript, then it must be complete. You must send all forms, schedules, attachments, W-2s and/or 1099s. You do not have to worry about sending a complete copy if you use the IRS transcripts. They are preferred > http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Order-a-Transcript

If you used a joint sponsor that does not reside with you, then they needed to fill out their own separate I-864, not the I-864A. An I-864A is for a qualifying household member that resides with the USC primary sponsor. You had your joint sponsor fill out the wrong form. Have the sister fill out an I-864 and include a statement that you mistakenly used the wrong form and are now providing the correct one for your joint sponsor. Make sure the joint sponsor included all their supporting documentation too, like their 2012 tax return transcript and proof of income such as a letter from employer and/or recent pay stubs.

This is good info. Also do not forget to send them proof that the co-sponsor (your sister in this case) is a US citizen.

I was so worried that I'd end up interview-waived, but today the case status updated to testing and interview! Now I no longer have to worry about my file sitting in a box somewhere for a year. Good news!

NOA1 date of July 18, btw.

my I485 just moved to Testing and interview. I had the online update!!

NOA for mine was JULY 17

Am a July filler also. Sent my sis package 6-28-13 it was delivered 7/1/13 did biometric 8/5/13. Got interview for 9/24/13. No need on EAD YET. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Am a July filler also. Sent my sis package 6-28-13 it was delivered 7/1/13 did biometric 8/5/13. Got interview for 9/24/13. No need on EAD YET. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Such excellent news to see fellow July filers moving along in the process. Congrats to all of you!!!

Here's to hoping for a smooth and fast process for all of us July filers!

Received my AP today yeah

Congrats!!!

Yes very quick I'm very happy now need the EAD

I thought EAD and AP came together in a combo card. Did you perchance send the EAD separately from your AoS and AP package?

In either case, congrats. Great to hear that a July filer's case is making progress. Gives the rest of us some much needed hope

I'd say don't shoot yourself in the foot unless you have to. Put down "K1 Visa Entry" and put all expiration dates as requested. They'll figure it out themselves that your wife/child were in authorized stay all along.

Even if it makes no difference in the end, when you write such an alerting word like "Overstay", you're basically telling the adjudicator "Open your eyes!!! Review every single detail in this package meticulously!!!!"

Hi!

I just got my 2 yr conditional GC. What do I do with the EAD/AP combo card now? I was keeping it with my passport for travelling, but I assume now I'll need my Canadian passport and my GC to travel in and out of the US?

Thanks!

Well... I suppose you COULD donate it to someone who has the exact same name as you, and also looks a lot like you (A twin brother perhaps? Now THAT would be a nice coincidence if you had one). Then again that would be illegal

Alternatively, you could frame it and hang it up on a wall at home as a reminder of the "joyful" ride you had waiting for a GC.