asdfg

Hypnos, as I mentioned earlier it is my understanding that the "out of pattern" processing does affect the case status reporting, particularly on latest stages where the file is at local office as opposed to centralized intake offices.

It is possible that you will get your approval without any changes to your online status.

Good luck!

Online status may or may not change.

Considering that your case went the unusual route, it may well be outside of the main conveyer where cases still get an online updates as they progress from one to another step. It is a mere speculation at this point.

Good luck !

Congratulations, Hypnos!

It's been almost a year....

Hello:

I am now on F-1 visa and studying in America, and just married to my hunsband last November. I joined commnist party in senior year when I was in China, because of my excellence and it is commnon sence that " being communist party member is additional value point on my resume if I want to work in bank of China (my major is finance)" soI became a regular party memeber in senior year (2010) and graduated that year, and worked in Bank of China for half year as a regular teller until end of 2010 and came to America for master degree until now, during this time, no activities I took part in,no connection with any organization but my mom still pay local area party the party fee for me so my membership is still on there. Now in term of immigrantion, it asks the communist issue, is it matter that I said "Yes", and if so, how can I deal with it? I am just a regular memeber, no any titles, position and ranking. Is anyone here having this issue before? hope you can help me.

Thank you very much

Don't even think to deny your membership in a party. USCIS can and will find out anyway and you will ruin your chances to AOS for life.

There is nothing wrong with being a member of communist party , as long as you accepted membership as a routine formality within the context of existing social rules in your country. This question is a bit outdated (it was very relevant when Mao was in power in China and Stalin in Soviet Union). USCIS takes a position that if you have not meaningfully/actively participated as a member then answering YES does not automatically preclude your AOS. Your past will be investigated anyway (whether you disclose it or not) and if you have not been an actively participating member of the party answering YES will be no obstacle to AOS. But falsely denying your membership (however minor) can be grounds for denial and permanent bar for AOS.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ABOVE IS NOT A LEGAL ADVISE. The above is my individual opinion only. I am not a lawyer and I do not practice a law. For legal advise you must consult a practicing immigration attorney.

There is really nothing to think, all you need is know.

And you say that you do have an attorney, so your best bet is to consult him.

Good luck.

Now I read somewhere here that a red light is sometime a misdemeanor and if that comes up at the interview you will get an RFE and your case will be delayed for months.

No, I did not say that.

I said IF it is a misdemeanor then you must answer YES on I-485 where it asks if you have ever been arrested, detained, imprisoned etc for any crime. Because misdemeanor is a crime, not a mere traffic violation (even if violation occurred while you operated a motor vehicle).

IF you have a criminal record you must disclose it and bring as much evidence to an interview as you can (record of violation, amount of fine paid, discharge papers and so on, all originals with official seals and so on). This will actually help to avoid delays in processing of your case.

IF it is NOT a misdemeanor in the State/locality where you were cited and did not involve drugs/alchohol/arrest or fine above $500 then you answer NO on the form I-485 (assuming you don't have any criminal violations in your past) and you are not required to submit any evidence or disclose anything (ex.if you had a parking ticket 20 years ago you don't have to disclose it and answer YES to "have you ever been arrested..etc.". Actually your case may be delayed if you do disclose irrelevant to I-485 citations, because then you will be forced to get a record of infraction that may not even exist in the system anymore).

And please NOTE: This is NOT a Legal Advise. I am not a Lawyer. This is just my subjective opinion based on my limited knowledge and experience as a layman. For legal advise consult an immigration attorney (which you claim to have already).

Good luck.

More nervous than excited. I was hoping I would just get an approval in the mail since I've already had one interview, but it would seem not.

I am considering hiring a second lawyer specifically to attend the interview with me. My current attorney does all her work by distance and so is not able to attend.

Hypnosis , you are articulate and intelligent individual. Seems like you have level head and fairly good command of English.

Why don't you start blogging about it?

Create a newspress link, like "My journey to AOS interview at www.myjourneytoaosinterview.com" or something similar.

While there are few people who adjust status in your category, you can broaden the topic by using mostly "AOS" keywords and not too heavily concentrating on your particular category of adjustment (widower).

This will allow the greater number of people doing search on google find out about your page and share similar stories.

If you do everything right you may achieve two objectives in the next couple of years.

One: you may eventually sell ads on your page if you get heavy traffic on your site.This means you will get rich. Two: by creating awareness, you may bring attention to the matter (who knows, blog may get noticed by NY Times or similar nationwide news syndicate) and the next thing you know headlines will speak of enormous delays you and others were subject to. You may even be called to testify in Senate hearings.

Remember: The only thing in life that can't be undone is loss of life.

Everything else is just an opportunity to prove your worth. In the end you can write a letter thanking the person or persons who delayed your case (preferably with your picture, posing in front of a Ferrari and a vacation home in Hawaii) , tell them how grateful you are and that there is no chance you would make such a turn around in your life without this bitter experience.

Good luck with interview and God speed.

unfortunatelly I don't have a copy of it. I remember talking to my American friend who looked at it and we were discussing it's good that it is just a traffic violation.

Do you know the authority I should go to? DMV would know about where I can find it ?

Marianna, this is self explanatory... I am sure you do know geographic location where you had a ticket issued to you. Contact that local jurisdiction (municipal, state police etc., depending who issued the citation).Good luck.

Marianna, look at the ticket you have got . I assume you still have a copy of it. It should have the contact information if you have any questions about your ticket. Contact them.

Mariana, you must contact the jurisdiction where you were cited for infraction. Find out if its minor violation or misdemeanor. In CA red light violation is misdemeanor. Misdemeanor is a crime and doesn't fall under minor traffic violations. If you had what is considered a mere traffic violation then answer is No and you don't have to submit any extra evidence. If your red light violation is misdemeanor and thus a crime then you must bring all relevant documents and answer YES on i485. This my subjective opinion. I am not a lawyer and this is not a legal advise. Contact a lawyer for expert advise. Good luck.

My case was very easy (AOS based on marriage, with 2 children, no criminal record, no question about bona fides of relationship).

I needed an attorney to be present during an interview.

Reason: the interviewer was not experienced (a new hire) and made an error.

There is question on I-485 which specifically asks to exclude the minor traffic violations (where it asks about criminal incidents,imprisonment, arrest and detention in past).

Obviously my I-485 had NO as an answer.

During the interview I answered NO as well. But officer insisted (literally asked "didn't you have any traffic ticket at all?")

To which I honestly answered "Yes I had" and recalled that I was cited for not wearing a seat belt, in a state that doesn;t even consider it a moving violation , it is literally an equivalent of a parking ticket.

The officer then changed my answer from NO to YES and had me put my initial next to it.

I was dumbfounded but didn't argue. Who would?

A month later I got I-72 asking me to show proof of arrest or my I-485 would be denied.

Now, how do you show proof of arrest if you have never been arrested?

I had to hire a new counsel. I had to contact the motor vehicle administration where the record of infraction was kept (so minor the infraction is that it doesn't even get reported to a court). All documents would immediately submitted to USCIS.

With case still not being adjudicated and USCIS telling me it may take then another 120 days to look at it I had to contact my Senators.

My lawyer was in process of preparing WOM.

Then, suddenly, the decision was made and I got the approval notices in mail.

I would have avoided all this stress had I had a good attorney from the beginning who would go with me to the interview.

Without the lawyer at the interview there is NO WAY I could avoid RFE.

I believe that if I started to argue with officer and told him that he was incorrect in changing my answer I would irritate him and nobody can tell what would follow next.

While not everyone always needs a lawyer, certainly having a good one by your side may decrease the chances of unnecessary delays and errors in case adjudication.

I was wondering, what does a lawyer do exactly to help you during your AOS interview?

Lawyer is not there to really help you. He is there to look out and make sure you don't get rolled over.

I had a mediocre lawyer (who didn't even go to interview with me). He made mistakes in the paperwork (errors not relevant to me or the case outcome but enough to cause RFE and delays) and during the interview I had a newly hired officer who wrongly changed my answer on I-485 ( he asked if i ever was cited, I said no, except non-criminal traffic violation. He then changed my answer to YES and I was required to submit printout of a satisfied traffic ticket from motor vehicle agency).

As a result my case was decided at least 2.5-3.5 months later than the actual average [at the time] for the jurisdiction I reside and it took Congressional intervention as well as hiring a new council (Top AV rated immigration attorney in my area) with the intent of filing WOM.

Had a hired a competent attorney from the beginning , I am sure my case would be decided in half the time with no nonsense RFE's.

So, my answer is: good lawyer may be a great asset (even if he sits there mum, he can still intervene and correct if an inexperienced officer makes an obvious error during the interview) , but beware of mediocre lawyers. You are better off alone than with incompetent or careless council.

Good luck.

Thanks; it's good to know people are still around.

I feel like I'm the last of the dinosaurs and I can see the meteorite approaching.

Hypnos, it's systemic problem.

Anywhere you go you see something similar going on.

It used to be this way all over the Third World but in America there used to be a standard of quality everyone was held to.

In early 1990's , everyone I spoke to who was around confirmed this, things were working smooth. Even INS was so fast processing the cases , there were virtually no backlogs until mid-1990's

Not so anymore. It's more like in India, anywhere you go. You are nobody, you are non-entity. Who gives a c.rap if it's fundamentally wrong, just live with it and say thank you that you are not being thrown under the bus.

It could have been worse if you dealt with private company contractor, at least USCIS must adhere to some legal guidelines and regulations and eventually will get to process your case.

If you contact your US Senator and if it's office is sympathetic they may also help to cut red tape.

If not, you are on your own or must pay out 5 grands to hire a top tier attorney to file WM for you (Good luck doing it Pro Se !)

The point is: we have this systemic problem and it's cultural. Something has happened to people and everyone thinks this is how things should work. It's done collectively, without anyone personally doing something wrong out of spite, it's just accepted mode of running any kind of entity and affairs.

I know how it feels to be in your shoes, and I know how upset you must be, but once you cool off and think of it rationally you will see this is not personal (and that makes it even much worse, if it was personal, about you Hypnose , at least others wouldn't be affected the way you are affected and you could raise the issue and majority would see you were wronged and stand by you).

As it stands, unfortunately, there is not much you or anyone can do about it , since it is a collective attitude you are dealing with. It is just we are unfortunate to be mere "nobodies" at this historical time (200 years ago in America we would be regarded as Human beings, entitled to certain standard of deference).

We are still better off than what is going on in Third World countries(them looking up at US, they just keep getting worse seeing the trends set by the standard setter and following the lead). But, obviously, the standards are declining at alarming speed.

You get almost shocked, thank wholeheartedly and want to shake hands of anyone who does their task with care and due diligence....

Alas!

I did investigate filing a writ of mandamus back in December, but then things started moving and I began to receive transfer notices. Then VSC screwed up and sent my applications to Houston instead of Dallas, where they sat for six weeks gathering (more) dust.

Only in the past couple of weeks have the Ombudsman managed to get my applications transferred again from Houston to Dallas.

When this is all done and dusted I may try to pursue an official complaint, because the number of mistakes they have made are just mounting up, and nobody else should have to go through all of this.

I monitor your case.

Hopefully they get your case processed sooner than later.

BTW, there are some significant delays in current case processing due to influx of Deferred Action applications(i think it's not directly related to your case's outcome since [assuming] you are already past almost all of the processing stages and it's just n administrative error that causes delay in your situation).

I wonder how will USCIS handle all of the case load if legalization bill passes and they get swamped with 11 million applications....

With all due respect, both of you ,Ebunoluwa and moomin, are incorrect.

You are confused about range of variables within however wide circle vs out of range.

What I noted in OP was something just out of range and inconsistent with what is known to be as variables.

For example: Police, in the course of investigation, may come up with any new tactics and strategy or employ some yet unknown tools to more efficiently prosecute a crime.

But it is highly unlikely for a Police to do something outside of its' range.

For example, it's unlikely for a State Trooper or Local Police Officer to pilot an F-15 to chase a suspect. It just doesn't happen, no matter how unorthodox method of pursuit any Police department out there would possibly choose.

Also , we all at some point heard or saw on TV-news channels one or another report of the excessive use of force by Police but none ever involved Police randomly kicking 90 years old retiree in the butt , whose sole offence was merely strolling the public sidewalk during the normal business hours.

Not to compare the OP story to these examples , but the point is that some things are just out of the range of possible and far outside of any imaginable variables.

I am not saying what OP wrote is just as impossible, but at least very odd, highly unlikely and unusual enough to keep me skeptical.

Stick around a few more years and get a dose of reality in the real world. The odd and unusual happens. Frequently.

People hired to do a job and failing or doing it not like we think they are "supposed to do it"....happens. CO's that bribe for sex and monetary gain happens. Biased denials happen. Reasons beyond your reasoning and comprehension exist.

"The man" put in service by us does "his own thing" at times believe it or not. Such is life and it has nothing to do with the constitution. No system is perfect when it is run by humans.

Things take place that USCIS, ICE, and CO's do that are unusual, odd, out of pattern, but they still happen.

Glad you got through it OP. They called you in and they had their reasons best known to themselves. It does not surprise me just because we have not seen it before. There is a first time for everything and to bring the constitution into this is quite a quantum leap.

To be precise there are two distinctly different subjects:

#1 - Matter of jurisdiction and out of pattern, unheard of event (like one described by OP).

# 2- Matter of abuse of power.

I have not raised the latter because it was absent from OP and in any event irrelevant to inconsistency I was pointing out in OP.

It was you and some other posters who kept bringing this "abuse of power" subject. In response I replied with my opinion that this is The United States of America , we have supremacy of Law (Constitution being the Highest Law of the Land) here over arbitrary wishes of men and no man can overrule it.

And I stand by my opinion. I challenge anyone of you to prove me wrong, that US is a lawless land where anyone wearing a uniform or vested of public trust and office can act like Caligula with impunity.

But the question I raised all along was whether it was likely for ICE to act in such an out of pattern way (not abusive but just totally out of its' way) and do things outside of its' jurisdiction and , on top of it, on such an odd fashion and so unlike what it is always doing.

First there is an issue of Jurisdiction. ICE either has jurisdiction or it doesn't. If removal proceedings are initiated the case is no longer is with USCIS. All USCIS can do is advise client that he or she is outside of its' jurisdiction. USCIS may still assume the control over the case IF ICE terminates its' proceedings in court and returns the subject under USCIS. In any event two never have a jurisdiction over the same case simultaneously.

What OP describes makes it look as if ICE did the job of USCIS (it's the USCIS Immigration Officer's job to review files and documents, before , during and after interview, as long as the case is under its' jurisdiction). How could this be that ICE interfered in the middle of the process without assuming the jurisdiction?

Second, it is very unlike for ICE to call people and ask them to visit their office for a chat. If ICE really wants to get you it just locates the house where they know you live (or have last known you have lived) and just come and get you from there in handcuffs.

In some instances (if there is a conflict of jurisdiction and USCIS doesn't want to alert subject so that he or she wouldn't flee or abscond) , the ICE will quietly wait in the building where subject goes for AOS interview and either question or arrest and assume full custody of the subject right then and there.

In yet other cases (and this is how removal proceedings are initiated) the ICE will send a letter to the subject advising them that they have x number of days to leave US, list the sections of INA under which the alien is removable and challenge the alien to show before Judge why they should still be authorized to be present in US. Neither of those well known patterns involve ICE calling someone at home and asking to come and visit for a private talk or for review of documents.

Third, although something obscure not turning up in Google search isn't an indication of it not existing, yet , as far as immigration matters are concerned, the circumstances the OP describe are fairly common (how many thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people apply for AOS after expiration or non-immigrant status? Surely many do so adjusting from F-1!). With so many thousands of similar cases surely someone would have already posted about ICE calling them to show up for a chat, how come no thread turns up when you search for relevant keyword?

But I will leave that third concern aside (perhaps of those thousands who went through similar process none has posted anything searchable by Google) , it still doesn't eliminate the two above.

How does OP explain it? He doesn't, he simply says this is what it is and ICE is a mystery that can do whatever.

None of which by the way holds the water.

In my turn, I have refrained from accusing the OP of being a troll. We still don't know whether what he says is an accurate description of events or not. All I said was that in light of the questions raised above, am remaining skeptical about the whole story and find it very odd that what OP described could indeed take place in a real life.

And I wished OP plenty of good luck.

I wish you the same.

`

I didn't say that.

Here's exactly what I said in an unmodified post above:

It's nice that you have this ideology but unfortunately you're looking at what happens daily in the US via tainted glasses.

Gross abuse of power by civil servants as well as over reaching in judicial system happens every single day.

It's not "my ideology". what you refer to are Principles that Founding Fathers built United States of America upon and I hold those principle dear and am attached to them , just as I am attached to US Constitution.

What is it then, I ask you, that you are trying to imply by denying the validity of those principles ?

It's nice that you have this ideology but unfortunately you're looking at what happens daily in the US via tainted glasses.

Gross abuse of power by civil servants as well as over reaching in judicial system happens every single day.

Are you saying hereby that the United States of America is a tyranny ruled by despotic civil servants and overreaching Judicial System where gross abuse is a norm of the day?

Is that what you are saying?

I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every from of tyranny over the mind of man." ~ Thomas Jefferson

asdfg, I think if there's a lesson here, it's that one can't always find the answers to an immigration problem on Google.

And that when you are up against The Man, it's a good idea to get professional help.

I understand that some posters on public forums (I am not naming names or making a personal statement,this is not about anyone in particular, it's just a general note of impression left after reading some posts on public forums) , so I understand some posters come from despotic third world countries , where there is indeed "The Man" who can do as he pleases with little to no regard to existing laws, abuse and demean and humiliate the citizens for pleasure as infamous Emperor of Rome Caligula would do.

Thus, even after coming to USA, these individuals project their own tyrannical government system upon the US , hence they are trembling, with fear and apprehension that "The Man" can just do to them as he pleases.

These individuals would do favor to themselves, as well as to United States, by according to our system of government greater Honor and understanding that we have no Chavez, Assad or Ghaddafi style "The Man" ruled form of government here where anyone vested of public trust can do to us as he/she pleases. Instead, WE THE PEOPLE electorally decide WHO our man will be and we put men there (Be it in ICE, USCIS, or any other Government Agency) to be IN OUR SERVICE, NOT to fear and tremble that some dumbduck will arbitrarily and without any legitimate grounds abuse his powers and do us harm for no existing reason.

This is a s far as "The Man" part of the reply concerned.

As to my reply to the OP, notice that I have made no mention of need or absence of a need for the professional help, I didn't even delve into the OP other than questioning how could what OP describes really take place? I am still very skeptical of OP account , though I refrained from calling him a troll or deliberately making the story up.

I wish OP lots of luck and best of what life has in store for him.

To the rest: HONOR your newly adopted Country, The United States of America!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every from of tyranny over the mind of man." ~ Thomas Jefferson

It all depends on the speed of processing.

In some jurisdictions interview's are scheduled faster than it takes to process EAD application. In such instances you may never get EAD but get a GC (or get EAD after receipt of GC).

In nay event this is nothing to worry about, just be happy that your case moves faster than it takes to issue EAD.

Good luck!

I got this phone call on Friday. I googled every possible phrases to find something similar to my situation. Everyday at least 12 hours. I got nothing. I started this topic here to see if someone had the same problem. Thousands of people read it but no one replied back with a similar story. I went to an immigration lawyer who is one of the bests in his field to get an idea. Even he had never heard something like this for 20 years in his professional life.

I know it's odd or weird or whatever you call but it's not something I just made up to kill some time online. It's as real as the money I paid for lawyer which is more than our rent.

At the interview (I would say interrogation) he didn't explain why I was called. And it wasn't a conversation like I would feel comfortable to ask why I was brought there. I know it was my right to ask about it but I also knew their authority is strong enough to change someone's life in every direction. I'm sorry I don't have the answer of your questions. I wish I had.

Dude, only you know what happened to you the last few days. I did not say you made this up to kill time. Only said I was highly skeptical and found it very odd that your case was handled in such a way and that it appears very unusual to a layman as me.

It sounds as if someone claimed that ,let's say ,a Police officer stopped them out of the blue walking on the street and asked questions , such as where they are going, whether they have a passport on them and etc.

Neither of the described elements are impossibility per se (a law enforcement officer with probable cause has a power to detain or question anyone wherever they find them, Federal private contractors or field officers do casually approach and speak to subjects or witnesses in the course of doing their jobs, police officers routinely question people where are they going or where they come from when they pull them over for traffic violations and there are plenty of other circumstances where one is being asked to show a passport,like when boarding a plane or landing at airport/POE, but it is the sense of something completely out of pattern in the described event [when you put it in the context of what we know of when and under which circumstances certain things happen] that makes one skeptical and asking "how could this be?"

Now this does not give me enough grounds to state categorically that you are a mere troll, only that I found it to be very odd and unusual.

I wish you the best of luck in your journey.

Isn't it not only possible, but fairly likely, that ICE had been notified about him as an F-1 overstay, possibly by his school - and, given the timing of the ICE call (which seems to be just a coincidence), ICE did not have knowledge of his pending AOS application, and that the purpose of calling him in was merely to either verify that he is, in fact, out of status and essentially deport him OR verify that he is currently in some sort of legal status, and verify that his marriage is legitimate, and that's that?

Occam's Razor. Not everything is a conspiracy.

Unlikely. If ICE got the I-901/SEVIS subject reported it could do one of two things (provided it was unaware of OP's pending 130/485 petition):

1. Put the OP name on radar and ignore it (not actively pursue at the moment)

2. Send OP an NTA.

OP would then have to appear (per NTA requirement) and show reason why he still should be authorized to stay in US.

ICE calling someone and inviting for a quick chat in such circumstances is unheard of.

One thing that could be troublesome for OP is if , whether by coincidence or not, ICE initiated the removal proceedings before or at the time of OP filing 130/485.

This would automatically shift jurisdiction from USCIS to EOIR and OP would either be advised of the same during his scheduled interview or he would get a notice from USCIS that he was no longer under their jurisdiction. ICE would then try to prosecute the case and argue that OP is trying to circumvent the law and avoid being deported , the OP would have a burden to prove the contrary in court before the judge.

But OP claims something quite different (casual call from ICE to come to their main office look at his docs).

No matter how you look at it, it's very very odd and unusual for ICE to conduct their business in such fashion.

P.S. Also, try to google "ICE called to check the I-20" or for similar phrases. You will get plenty of links, titles varying from ice cream all the way to how to locate someone detained by ICE. I browsed many pages and not a single mention of someone being called by ICE. Usually, if you google for anything immigration related you get hundreds or thousands of links , including many forum posts where various individuals ask or describe similar cases. Try to find one like OP describes and share here the link if you don't mind.

Where's asdfg?

Hope the rest of your journey goes smoothly, uzzmet.

I am here. I posted (see below) yesterday after OP returned, but since no one directly addressed my questions I decided to move on.

Doesn't USCIS review the very same docs during the interview? And why would ICE do it while USCIS has jurisdiction over the case?

Very odd.

ummm no....my hubby was F1 and we filed everything together (I-130 and I-485) and our I-130 was not even approved till we had our interview....I-130 does not always have to be approved...some people it goes all the way to the interview.

OP i suggest you guys get married and file both at the same time!!!

This has already been clarified and I corrected myself (what I actually meant was that one has to show prima facie eligibility to be a beneficiary of I-130).

FYI I myself had I-130/I-485 filed concurrently and there is no dispute about it.