Starflyer 59

This happened to us as well.  My wife applied back in November, after the rule change.  She had her interview in late February and they told us to go get two passport photos and bring them back to the reception desk.  We went ahead and did it even though it ticked me off immensely because it wasted the rest of our day for something that wasn't even our fault - we had followed the instructions.  A month later, her status changed to "Oath Ceremony Scheduled", and she took oath in April.

My advice to those with upcoming interviews - go ahead and bring photos with you.  If the officer doesn't ask for them, use them in your passport application.

22 hours ago, candybabe said:

I did not submit the passport photos with the N-400, however I plan to bring them to the interview.

I was not planning to do that in the beginning as I thought the Biometrics photos would be used, but then I read a post about a recent interview where the guy had to leave USCIS,  go and get his done at the Walgreens down the street and then go back into USCIS, so now I am def bringing them with me.

22 hours ago, MyJourney said:

you are not required to submit photos with your application if you live in the us.
but it may be good idea to bring them for the interview. a December filer was asked for photos at the interview. I did not submit my photo with the application, it is accepted and being processed. so, no, you don't have to send your photos with your application.

This might be a good idea because it happened to us as well.  My wife filed in November so we did not send in the passport photos.  At interview, they told her to go get them and bring them back, so we did.  Their reasoning was because the system they use to retrieve them was giving them problems and they couldn't access the photos - at least that was our best understanding of it.

I am a 5'6" male - US citizen. I used to be teased when I was much younger, but that stopped after I graduated from high school. In my adult life no one has ever really cared (except for one woman that I dated years before my wife who was 1" taller than me and it bothered her to no end. Needless to say, we didn't date for long). In my professional life (an office engineering job) no one cares in the least, and I've never been teased in that environment. Now, if you were to work in a factory or construction job, or somewhere where you're surrounded by much taller/bulkier men, you may be the brunt of a few light-hearted jokes, but you'd be very unlikely to experience outright bullying. I've been in that type of work situation too, and the men were all very friendly and respectful toward me even though there was an occasional "fun-loving" comment made.

I too was able to wear children's clothing sizes (10-12) even as an adult in my late thirties. Now, they'd be a little tight around the mid-section for me though so I am more comfortable in adult smalls and mediums, but I totally get where you're coming from with that. But nothing to be concerned about - no one ever thought anything of it when I shopped in those departments.

Like you, I also do not drink any alcohol, and this has never been a problem with any of my friends or co-workers. They are all very understanding (and even supportive) of that fact.

All in all, don't spend too much time being concerned about these things. You'll find that most people will be friendly and accepting of you as you are.

And good luck with your studies!

[Funny side story about being small in America: When I turned 16 and started driving I was only 4'10" and I had an extreme baby-face. You should have seen the looks I would get in parking lots when I would pull up in my car and people saw what they thought was a 9-10 year old getting out of the driver's seat - hahaha].

Thank you, KASH2011. I appreciate that.

Congrats!

Correcting the approved number for VSC. Apparently it was wrong on the one I copied the first time. I just now noticed it.

California Service Center (27 applicants,25 approved - 92.6%)

VJName..............Date of I-751...NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved
KVT8831...............05/29/15......06/01/15......07/15/15......12/02/15

PHOTOMILE.............05/30/15......06/01/15......06/30/15......01/07/16

MLADEN I BORYANA......06/01/15......06/03/15......06/29/15......12/23/15

MABOUBY...............06/01/15......06/03/15......06/29/15......11/05/15

CHOMPIRAS.............06/01/15......06/03/15......07/01/15......11/17/15

R7HOLYBO..............06/01/15......06/04/15......07/01/15......12/02/15

GRACE413..............06/01/15......06/11/15......06/29/15......11/24/15

JOEMAMA5295...........06/03/15......06/05/15......07/09/15......11/09/15

CARLA V...............06/04/15......06/08/15......07/20/15......12/03/15

ISABEL&JULIO..........06/05/15......06/08/15......07/06/15......12/09/15

EIRENEFAITH...........06/06/15......06/08/15......07/21/15......12/09/15

BUCKEYECANUCK.........06/06/15......06/08/15......07/23/15......12/03/15

SHEZI.................06/09/15......06/20/15......07/24/15......12/14/15

SHIREZU...............06/10/15......06/18/15......07/14/15......11/10/15

JYC0218...............06/10/15......06/22/15......07/27/15......11/17/15

FANTA.................06/10/15......06/12/15......07/23/15......12/14/15

BUERM.................06/15/15......06/16/15......07/13/15......12/09/15

NADDY&MIKEY...........06/15/15......06/16/15......07/14/15......--/--/--

ACTOB99...............06/15/15......06/17/15......07/31/15......01/29/16 (Missed Bio appt due to USPS late delivery, had bio on 09/07/15)

8XENON8...............06/18/15......06/26/15......07/15/15......08/14/15

MARGO1032.............06/19/15......06/22/15......07/22/15......12/02/15

BBADGER2012...........06/19/15......06/22/15......07/24/15......12/09/15(Divorce Waiver)

ISMAEL&BLAIR..........06/23/15......06/25/15......08/20/15......--/--/--(Missed earlier Bio appt. set for 07/21/15 due to USPS error in delivery!)

SAM AND ANI...........06/24/15......06/29/15......07/27/15......12/14/15

PIEDPIPER.............06/27/15......06/29/15......07/30/15......12/10/15

BERNY.................06/29/15......06/30/15......07/30/15......12/01/15(Early bio:07/17/15)

Vermont Service Center (26 applicants, 5 approved - 19.2%)

VJName..............Date of I-751...NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved

RTOBINGS..............05/23/15......06/13/15......06/30/15......--/--/--

DRHD..................05/24/15......06/01/15......07/23/15......03/16/16(Bio originally scheduled from 6/29)

Y&T...................05/29/15......06/01/15......06/30/15......--/--/--

TURION2...............06/01/15......--/--/15......--/--/15......--/--/--(RFE March 2016)

GRAPPLEAPPLE..........06/04/15......06/08/15......08/24/15......--/--/--

SARAH&MICHEL..........06/08/15......06/10/15......07/10/15......--/--/--

NEETZ.................06/09/15......06/18/15......--/--/15......--/--/--

AT LONG LAST..........06/09/15......06/12/15......07/17/15......--/--/--

GL-2013...............06/10/15......06/12/15......07/17/15......03/18/16

MILATX................06/--/15......06/15/15......07/17/15......--/--/--

JOSE GARCIA...........06/12/15......06/16/15......07/15/15......--/--/--(Early bio:07/14/15)

STARFLYER 59..........06/13/15......06/16/15......07/15/15......03/30/16

H13RMA................06/13/15......06/16/15......08/25/15......--/--/--(RFE March 2016)

WORMIEVADER...........06/13/15......06/23/15......07/15/15......--/--/--

EMAIL2FAISALPLZ.......06/15/15......06/22/15......07/23/15......--/--/--

NARIKTA...............06/16/15......06/19/15......07/21/15......--/--/--

MAYA&MATT.............06/16/15......06/19/15......07/23/15......--/--/--

MUZAMMIL..............06/--/15......06/22/15......07/20/15......--/--/--

KATCHOO12.............06/17/15......06/23/15......07/21/15......--/--/--

BOB.SANSMAL...........06/18/15......06/22/15......07/20/15......03/15/16

CTRACKER22............06/19/15......06/22/15......07/23/15......--/--/--

DEYSIC................06/22/15......06/25/15......07/20/15......--/--/--

KELS_ET_SAM...........06/22/15......06/25/15......07/21/15......--/--/--

JOANNE23..............06/23/15......06/25/15......07/22/15......12/23/15

FOREIGNRELATIONS......06/25/15......06/30/15......07/27/15......--/--/--

ECORDO................06/25/15......06/29/15......07/31/15......--/--/--

IMPORTANT!

* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.
* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.
* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.
* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.
* Please check that you have not deleted anyone's NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application.
NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter.
Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment.
Approved = The Date your case was approved.

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list.
* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly.

* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so.

Alright! Great news!

That makes sense because for ROC phase you did not send the package to the lock-box. Only applications sent to lock-box (i.e. N-400, I-129F, I-485, I-130, etc...) can use the form G-1145. ROC I-751 is to send to Service Center so G-1145 does not apply.

That one I can understand then, but I never received electronic notifications for my I-129F or I-485 either - even though I submitted the form with both.

Okay that sucks. I read they send a notification in the mail is that the first NOA1?

Yes. You should definitely get the paper notification. If not, there is a problem. It may take a couple weeks - some quicker, some longer.

...Just a heads up though, there have been times where people who have filled out the g-1145 did not receive texts or emails. It's rare but possible...

Exactly. We are in the ROC phase now awaiting adjudication, and we included G-1145 forms with everything we've ever submitted (I-129F, AOS/EAD/AP, and ROC) and have never received a text or email from USCIS - not even once. So don't panic too much if you don't receive electronic notification. Just keep an eye out for the other things as mentioned (check clearance, paper notification, etc...).

I have.

The change of address was never a problem.

As with everything USCIS related, keep a receipt/screenshot of your change of address confirmation.

Thank you, JayJayH, for confirming this. I appreciate it.

Thank you, NLR. I appreciate the affirmation.

I realize this thread is from July (my apologies, mods), but I just wanted to bump it to see if there is any additional insight because I have exactly the same concern as Fraciscus. I also changed our address online for our pending I-751 case number, but was unable to for the CRI-89 case number since it's not an option in the system.

When searching through old threads on this subject some people insist that you should also call USCIS to update the address for the CRI-89 number. Is this really necessary?

Bottom line: has anyone out there successfully received their 10 year green card at their new address having only updated the address for their I-751 case number?

Thanks.

Updated to reflect our biometrics appointment date.

Updating to reflect our NOA1 receipt date...

Adding our info to the VSC list...

_{My wife's case status for I-485 was "case not found" on the site until it was approved 8 months later - then it finally showed it as "decision". I wouldn't sweat it too much, even if the site doesn't update again.}

The one that I found to be a pain in the butt was Shanghai, China. They required us to claim our bags, clear customs, get stamps, clear customs again, and re-check bags - all for a "simple" flight transition. We did switch airlines, but it still seemed excessive to me since we never left the building. It used up every bit of our almost 3 hour layover. I've not had to do that for a layover anywhere else (unless it was U.S. POE).

done all that many times

Oh, I thought you were asking how to change the "pending" status in the sidebar of your posts under your avatar (yours did say "pending" yesterday). So if that's not what you were taking about, then what "pending" status are you wanting to update?

Also, if you have trouble using the USCIS list to find a civil surgeon that will do what you want (like I did), you may find one in this thread - just search for your city:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/231026-civil-surgeons-who-dont-rip-you-off/

I called several CSs listed on the USCIS list for my city and they all told me, "We don't do that" when I told them what I needed. So I used the above VJ thread to find a "real" civil surgeon in my area that would complete the forms. I don't know why the others were listed on USCIS's list - they had no idea what to do with immigration paperwork.

anyone else has problem with vj site updating time line status? sveta got gc about 3-4 weeks ago and some reason even an site mod not know why site still shows as pending

on a more joy full note sveta is having a baby girl

I had to search for this a bit, too, because it's not done in the timeline area:

- Go up to the top right of the page and click the drop down arrow next to your username.

- Choose "My Settings".

- Scroll down until you get to the "Immigration Info" section.

- Next to "Immigration Status" choose "Adjustment of Status (approved)" from the drop-down list.

- Save your changes.

Well, our online case status finally went from "This case cannot be found" to "Decision", saying that my wife's permanent residency is registered and her GC will be mailed soon. Whew! Glad to be done with this for a while. :-)

I've always had good luck using Orbitz. When I do round trip flights, I just book online. I had to call and speak to a representative the time that I went to pick up my (then) fiancee because I needed a round-trip for me and a one-way matching my return flight for her. They hooked me up.

Side note: On the way there, one of my flights was late to the point that I missed a layover to LAX. I called Orbitz after my late flight landed in Chicago and the representative got on the phone with the airline and knocked it out of the park by securing for me the only available stand-by ticket for the next flight to LAX (the people at the airline desk would not do this for me). I still had time to make my connection in LAX and all was saved.

I used flora2000 several times before my wife came here. Their prices were decent (compared to sending flowers in the US) and they were always very reliable and good quality.

Hi, Starflyer 59. Just got the text; our card is in production. Strange, as when I called yesterday, the recording said it was still in Missouri. This comes as a relief, of course, but I feel bad for those who have been waiting even longer. I don't have a clue what the order is... maybe it was our local office? In any case, I really hope yours comes quickly!!! Our timelines are very similar, so it should be any day for you.

Awesome! Congratulations! I'm glad you all have been approved, and I hope we hear something soon as well. My case status still cannot be found on the site, and my local office time frame says November 20, 2012 right now (but I know those are not always reliable).

Great news - enjoy your 2 year vacation from USCIS! :-)