grouchy

Hi,

Can you tell us how long it took, from sending in your AOS package to interview? I have friends in Vegas who just filed their AOS last week and are wondering how long they may have to wait.

Thanks.

Something similar happened to us, we filed a motion to reopen and got the case reopened. You could either get a lawyer to do it or do it yourself (see my posts on the Britexpats site). BUT remember you have 30 days from the date of the letter advising you of denial to file MTR---STRICT. We also got our Congressman involved.

Don't flip out too much--this happens more than you might imagine. Just get moving on the MTR.

Don't do it. Whenever people try to reschedule, the rescheduling never makes it to their file, causing them to miss the interview and be denied.

We waited 3 years.

Hi all. Hope all is well in visajourney land.

I just called the everso frustrating national call center. I submitted an AOS in September 2005 (it was received in Spetember 2005) and I got the receipt letter etc. But since then I have not heard a peep. It is well past the 120-180 days they indicated it would take.

The person I spoke to said they were 7 months - SEVEN MONTHS - behind. Are they for real? I mean, what!?

Has anyone else been waiting ages for AOS? Has anyone else been told about this delay?

Thanks.

NOT true. My husband was denied for failure to show up for a fingerprint appointment (which we never received, but instead got a different one for a different day entirely and we had actually gone to the appointment) and we had to do a motion to reopen and go through hell to get our case reopened. So if you know there is a notice out there, get your congressman involved to get it to you!!!!!

I am also going through AOS in New York, and I am about 1 month behind you (NOA1 Feb 18). If you get the latter for biometrics that will be nice, if not it is not a big deal. Even if you don't have it done by the time your interview comes around, officer doing your interview will set up an appointment for you that same day. So not having your AOS biometrics should not delay the process.

Good luck.

Alex

Filed August 2003 (no, that is not a typo) and have our interview in 3 weeks..

Well... 7 months now an not a peep about my AOS application... yet I still come here and read about all sorts of people who've gotten their green cards already but filed after me - it's torture, but I can't stop myself

Anyways, I know I have a whole boat-load of waiting still ahead of me...

anyone else in the same situation - I know there's got to be tons of us!

not true about US not recognizing dual citizenship. I am a Can/US dual.

A miracle has happened today, ladies and gentleman. The most screwed up case ((okay, maybe not the most)) has been APPROVED!!!

Des Moines USCIS: Do not waste your time worrying or being nervous if your interview is at this place. Seriously. Do not. The appointment was today at 11:00 a.m. We got to the federal building at around 10:30 and went up to the suite. Jay((husband)) put the interview letter on the box and we were called in after about 10 minutes!

The man interviewing us was very polite and layed-back. Everyone in the office was VERY nice and it was a very relaxed atmosphere. We sat down and he said, "do you have your passport?"

No. We submitted the passport as identification with the AOS package. The officer told us he had no way to know that he entered the country legally. He said he believes us, but how can he prove it besides our word. THEY DO NOT HAVE POE INFO AT THE INTERVIEW. NONE WHATSOEVER! <--useful fact.

I asked him if he had that info from the POE, he said no, we don't have that. See above.

He said, we can look through all this stuff, but we're going to run into a problem approving this, I think. I was worried, but we just sat there. Then he asked us to stand and give the oath to tell the truth. We did and sat back down.

We told him at the POE we were not asked for a passport. I told the officer I had looked at www.travel.gov and it says right there that Canadians do not need passports to enter the U.S. He said that's not true "and you guys should know better than that with all this traveling."

I said, "no, I have never traveled outside the US except to Canada and I never needed a passport and my husband has never been asked for one, either." He said he would talk to his supervisor.

So he stepped out and talked to him and I could hear him say that my husband is from Canada and that he believes us that he came in legally. So he came back and said, okay, so what do you have for me?

And I offered to show him photos and personal cards, stuff like that. He wasn't interested.

IMPORTANT TIP: He wanted to see things like joint bank acct info, car insurance where both are covered, car registered in both our names, etc. We had VERY little of that. And LUCKY for us we had a notarized letter from my mum saying we live in her house, rent-free, otherwise we may have been screwed!

Then he said, well based on your testimony today and the documents I have here, I'm going to approve your application. YAY!!! I was soooo happy, I could not stop smiling.

Then he told us that it's a good thing Jay is Canadian, because if we were Mexican he would have had to deny the case because we could not prove we had come in legally because there IS NO POE INFO AT THE INTERVIEW. NONE. They can ask you where you crossed, but they don't have the info btwn the Canadian and US border. I said, "wow, I had better get myself a passport, too!" He said yes.

He was smiling and joked around with us a bit and was really nice. There were some rough spots there at the beginning when we thought we would not be approved, but we were and that's all that matters.

And since someone at USCIS lost Jay's passport, we got no stamp. The officer said the Green Card should be here in 7-10 days! He took Jay's EAD and asked if we had any questions.

Jay asked if the U.S. recognized dual citizenship and the officer said NO.

And we left! It was 15 minutes total.

On the way out there was this pretty Asian girl, I could tell she was there for the same reason as me. I was smiling so big and I saw here and gave her a thumbs up sign and she nodded and smiled in approval. It was a moment. hehehe. If that was anyone on here, let me know.

Then we went outside and I took of my high heels and walked back to the car barefoot!

So....10 year greencard is being made right now! I'll let everyone know when it gets here.

And thank you to everyone on this site. I can honestly say that if I had not found this website, I would have been screwed. That letter from my mom sealed the deal, I think and I never would have known to do that if not for this site! So thanks. Especially Kezzie, you always made me feel better. And Attumnal with your wordy posts And sooooo many others. Thanks so much. I hope that didn't sound like an award exceptance speech! LOL

Since from our experience, MTR granted in 7 weeks, don't refile. I think people were re-filing back when MTR's were taking a year to adjudicate and they didn't want to accumulate unlawful presence days. But if it's a matter of weeks it shouldnt be an issue.

When denials are issued, the case file is sent to a place where closed files are stored and when a motion to reopen is made, they have to call up the file from the storage place and work on it

This is what happened to us. Unfortunatly the USCIS is full of red tape like this, and it can take forever to get the simplest thing done. I filed a motion to reopen in early December, we received an interview notice mid-February, and the case was 'officially' reopened and approved on the day of our interview, March 23rd. Unfortunatly, because the biometrics haven't been done yet, this probably won't happen with your case.

-ditto, there's one case here like yours and she was able to get a letter from the post office/postman that she didn't received the mail that's a proof it's not your fault. I'm sorry this is so sad.

We did this too, and it worked like a charm. I would strongly recommend getting your local representative involved. Our congressman's office was very helpful when we had problems.

This happened to us and we successfully reopened. When denials are issued, the case file is sent to a place where closed files are stored and when a motion to reopen is made, they have to call up the file from the storage place and work on it. Our MTR took 7 weeks to be granted. Get your congressperson on it as we did and it might help speed things up.

My Husband has been here for over a year now and we have been going to the immigration office every month. In the month of October we were told that due to returned mail, we missed our fingerprinting appointment and our case was denied. Our address was correct so we were confused about that. The officer told us to open a PO Box to guarantee that we would get our mail. We opened up a POBOX, filed a motion to re-open and went to do the fingerprinting all in the same day. We were then told to wait for a receipt for the fingerprinting and the motion to re-open by mail.

It is now January and we went to consult with another officer who told us that our file is with a immigration officer and it is pending for review. We have never received a receipt for the fingerprinting or the motion to re-open.

Yesterday we, again consulted with a officer and was told that our file has been sent to the national center and they can not say why because the file is no longer at their office. The national center DOES NOT HAVE ANY POINT OF CONTACT is what they told use. Remember we have not received anything in the mail. So the officer states that she has to request for our file to be resent back to their office and only then can she tell us why our file was sent to the National Center and what status our file is in.

My husbands work permit expires in MAY a I am deeply concerned. Our case is currently in denial status so we cant request a renewal for his work permit ( ?)

This is really unfair. All because we didn't get our mail for fingerprinting, our case was denied and now it has been sent to the National Center and I am told that only Denied cases go to the national center. Is this true? What do we do now? Why are we not getting any receipts?

SOMEONE PLEASE SHINE SOME LIGHT ON THIS

Thanks

MTR's HAVE to go to the Chicago Lockbox, because a fee is involved. When we tried to submit ours to Lee's Summit, Missouri, who made the denial decision, it was returned with a note to send it to Chicago. They then forward it to the office that made the decision. The attorney should have sent it with check to Chicago and copied the District Director. p.s. our MTR was granted after 58 days.

We instructed an attorney to deal with our son's case, a few months ago now. The case is rather unusual in that the District Director has agreed to look at our attorney's Argument and then send the file to the Administrative Appeals Office for a "certified" decision. This means that all other cases like ours will have to adjudicate in the same manner that the AAO decides.

Well, the attorney was told that the Argument had to go to the District Director, marked for her personal attention. I made it clear in an e-mail and my husband re-iterated this, several times, in a phone conversation with the attorney.

Well, for the past month we have been trying to get a copy of the Argument that he says he prepared and sent. He has promised, several times, that it will be in the mail - it hasn't arrived. He says that there is some problem sending it in an e-mail as it is a large document in pdf format - I receive pdf's that are hundreds of pages long every day without any problems.

We got hold of the District Director, who has been extremely helpful in this case - I think that they are as sick of it as we are and just want to end this 3 years of indecision. She tells us that the document has not been received, and it should have been almost a month ago!

My husband speaks with the attorney and he says that he sent it to Chicago - as this is the "standard" procedure for MTR's! We told him that this was not being dealt with in a "standard" fashion and that the District Director was courteous enough to meet with us over this and has offered an alternative way of dealing with it.

I sent an e-mail yesterday, again requesting a copy of this document he has supposedly produced, but I have not received a response. We paid this attorney up-gront, a considerable amount of money, and have seen absolutely nothing for it.

What would you do?

Lots of people have done this successfully. A small percentage are given a hard time about it, but there is no use worrying about it on the off chance you will be one of the very few. Just answer questions honestly.

After reading someone's post about coming here as a visitor who was already married to a USC, I started to worry. The 2nd time my husband came to the US from Canada we were already married ((see my signature, if you would)) and the thing that's different is that he did NOT have any type of visa. He was allowed in because the officers at the POE listened to our sob story about how I needed my husband to accompany me on the 2 day drive home, so I wouldn't be by myself ((which was absolutely true!!!)). My husband had just been accepted and paid for university in Sask. and he also had a return bus ticket. We also had proof of filing the I-130 FROM Canada. The officers were very nice and they said, "you two are fine to go," and we went.

Then when we got back home, we were told by the dean of students at my university ((who was Canadian himself)) that my husband should be able to stay here and adjust his status. We were surprised. So we went to the USCIS local office in DSM and asked an officer if that would really be okay and she said yes! So that's what we did. He withdrew from university in Sask. and never ((obviously)) used his bus ticket back home...and it was non-refundable.

Now I'm worried that this will look bad. Like, we had absolutely no intention of him staying to adjust status when we were at the POE and I'm guessing the officers knew that...otherwise would they have let us in?? Maybe, I don't know. Anyway, we heard it straight from an officer that he could stay and file AOS. Am I nuts to be worrying about this???

Thanks, this is really helpful as we have our interview in Garden City in 6 weeks. Do let us know what happens with the security checks. Congrats!

Hi there. Ning and I just got back from our interview in Garden City. I think we were successful, but there is a sort of lack of closure feeling about it.

One note before I start it, I thought it was a little odd with the security we went through on the way in and inside (the guards were radioing to each other as to my progress as I walked down the hall to the bathroom), no one ever checked either my or Nings ID. The guy downstairs said "have seat" and the interviewer never asked.

We arrived at 6:45 for our 7:30 appt. By 7:05 we made it inside to the downstairs waiting room. At almost 7:45 we were called and brought upstairs to the next waiting room. We were already wondering how they ordered things because people who came after us we called before. But upstairs, there was more waiting. At least three new groups came up before we were finally called in a few minutes before 9.

The interviewer was a nice though serious woman. We were sworn in and then she began looking through the file. Everything from the 485 application was in there. The first thing she said was that the medical was missing. I told her it was in the sealed envelop we gave in at the airport and she said that she understood and she sees it quite often that for some reason it doesn't make it from the airport. Luckily the last time Ning went to the doctor, we had him fill in the form for us. Even better was that she accepted it! She then told us we should get Hepetitus vaccinations even though they are not required and gave us a little talk about that.

She asked Ning about how we met and then asked her how her family felt about her coming here. Ning didn't understand the question totally, but eventually got around to it and answered to the interviewers satisfaction. I mentioned that I lived in Thailand for 4.5 years and we talked about that. And she asked me how our two cultures were different, but honestly I didn't give a good answer (its a complicated question!). We talked a little about Buddhism and then she told me about her son in Okinawa.

She didn't ask for much in the way of documents. She had the affidavit of support we submitted with the 485 and didn't ask for the new one, with all my proof of employment etc. She had 2002-2004 tax returns and didn't ask for 2005 (the first one we filed joint for). She looked through the 50 or so photos we had and asked us to pick out two for the file. I asked if she wanted any of the docs we brought and she said some sort of proof of marriage. I gave her the first ones off the top of the pile , insurance papers from work for us with Ning as my beneficiary, and she said that was enough, she didn't want the file to get too big.

That was it I think because she was writing and circling and checking things in the file the whole time. She said she was going to ask ning the litany of questions and gave a long speech to tell the truth and there won't be a problem but don't and the answers don't check out, that its perjury and she will be made to leave. She said she hadn't checked the computer yet, but could find out. She then asked ning the checklist of 'are you a terorist?' etc. Then she said the case was approved and its been taking 3-4 weeks for the card to come. She wrote in Nings passport "CFI interview complete case pending (her name)"

Then this is where it got a little confusing. We were supposed to book our trip to Tanzania today (one year anniversary!) , we've been waiting for the interview. So I asked her if ning can now travel and she said that we should wait for the greencard before we book anything. I said we wanted to travel in May and she said it should be no problem, but we should wait for the card (she assumed we were going to Thailand). She started talking about checking the file to a security check. At one point she said she could do it in 10 minutes, but they send it to NYC where there are people from CA who have come to help with the backlog of cases. They'd rather have her spend more time interviewing. So I am wondering if this is the FBI check that is keeping so many people waiting, or if she just meant that she was going to check the file to the aleady complete check.

Anyway I really wanted to book that trip because its already almost too late to get it done (booked up. etc.) and delaying the trip means almost doubling the already outlandish prices (June is the first month of high season after rainy season ends).

Oh well, The most important part is that we got approved (I think!) and the card should come soon!

Thanks again for everyone's help along the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Married filing jointly according to what my tax lawyer told me. Gets preferable tax treatment (plus is better for CIS purposes)

Hi this is a question to all those tax experts or accountants here at visajourney.

Here is my situtation my husband came to the US last year on a K1 visa and he has received his EAD and AP and are interview for the AOS is the end of this month. He hasn't started working yet and we are only living of my income.

So concerning filing my taxes for this april....how should I file them....like i normally did while I was single, only know I am married filing jointly or do I count him as my dependent? Is there anything different I should do this time. Sorry if this question seems silly or stupid....but when it comes to taxes I am a complete dummy. ..... Thanks for your help guys.

33 months to interview.

For those of you living in NYC, how long did it take you to get an AOS interview?

It should be titled Motion to Reopen. Motion to reconsider is for when they made a mistake in the law they applied.

We had to do an MTR for a different reason and were successful. See my recent threads on britexpats for info on what you must submit in MTR as there are certain statutory requirements. I was eight months pregnant at the time. We also got our congressman involved.

Thanks, guys, for all the advice. I've finally calmed down a bit and we had already decided on the plan of action for today. Unfortunately, I HAVE to go to work today (can't afford to lose my job with hubby not able to work anymore), but Johnny is going to march down to the doctor's office and demand they make it right. He is also going to try to get them to write something that admits that they screwed up. (good luck, right?) And then he is going down to USCIS with a letter I typed up titled "Motion to reconsider" that states exactly what happened, and give them the new correct documents. He is going to TRY to talk to someone (you know how they are down there) and ask them what we need to do to make it right. We figured if all else fails then, I am calling a friend of mine who works for an immigration attorney and asking advice... I'm calling my congressman, and if nothing else works we are going to contact the media. The local stations here have great sections on the news called things like "you paid for" and stuff like that. I'm willing to go as far as I have to go to get someone to notice this case and get it fixed. Especially since we've done EVERYTHING right and legal and here a USCIS approved doctor screws it up for us. BTW, we got the doctor's name directly from our interviewing officer, she gave us a list of the "approved" ones.

I hate to play that "i'm pregnant (whine) " card... but if I have to I will. It won't hurt that I'm very obviously pregnant when it comes to getting people to at least feel sorry for us.

I'm going to try to keep this on the first page so that if anyone else knows anything they can see it. Plus, hopefully people will read this and at least be wary of the "approved" doctors that USCIS sends them to. If I've learned anything at all in the last 24 hours, it's this: DEMAND to see the paperwork before they seal it up.

I've cut and pasted my discussion from a week or two ago here. By the way you can bet when we submitted my MTR that I mentioned SEVERAL TIMES about me being pregnant:

Since I got so much help in my own reopen [thanks esp Rete and Mr F], I decided to try to find the link for you to the CFR section (8 CFR 103.5), and I checked, the fee is now $385. Ignore what they say about the using the form, because it used to exist and does not anymore:

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/tex....6.0.1.5&idno=8

You will call it a motion to reopen, not a motion to reconsider. The motion can be in letter form. As you will see from the CFR section, the requirements for the reopen letter areA) In writing and signed by the affected party or the attorney or representative of record, if any; (B) accompanied by the fee, © Accompanied by a statement about whether or not the validity of the unfavorable decision has been or is the subject of any judicial proceeding and, if so, the court, nature, date, and status or result of the proceeding; [i.e., that is has not been the subject of any judicial proceeding in your case] (D) Addressed to the official having jurisdiction; [the one who signed the denial letter] and (E) Submitted to the office maintaining the record upon which the unfavorable decision was made for forwarding to the official having jurisdiction. [bUT I caution you again, mail to Chicago Lockbox and once they cash the check, they will forward it to the office. Address it to the office who issued the decision, c/o Chicago Lockbox. at the Chicago Lockbox address]

Along with your letter outlining why your case should be reopen, submit a notarized affidavit describing what happened. To be successful, you must prove that there are new facts to be provided in the reopened proceeding and that claim must be supported by affidavits or other documentary evidence. A motion to reopen an application or petition denied due to abandonment must be filed with evidence that the decision was in error because:

(i) The requested evidence was not material to the issue of eligibility;

(ii) The required initial evidence was submitted with the application or petition, or the request for initial evidence or additional information or appearance was complied with during the allotted period; or

(iii) The request for additional information or appearance was sent to an address other than that on the application, petition, or notice of representation, or that the applicant or petitioner advised the Service, in writing, of a change of address or change of representation subsequent to filing and before the Service's request was sent, and the request did not go to the new address.

Good luck.

Unfortunately, the practice on that seems to be different in the various district offices. We got a new medical just to be safe. not all of the CIS AO's know the regulations like they should. And it would suck to be delayed again just for this reason.

Hi,

Well, after a year and a half of waiting we FINALLY got a date for our AOS interview in Detroit. I won't bore you with the details, but there was a huge mix-up which resulted in our case being denied, but it has been straightened out and re-opened.

Anyway, on the interview notice I received it says I need to bring the I-693 medical forms with me (From what I know, these forms were in the brown envolope I handed in at the POE - right?). In the K-1 FAQ section it says that if you had your medical at the time of applying for your K-1 at the embassy, then you don't need another medical if you file for AOS within a year. Now, I filed for AOS in October 2004, 4 months after my embassy medical, so I shouldn't need another medical, even though at the time of the AOS interview it will be closer to 2 years since the medical, right? Does the FAQ literally mean that if you send in your AOS application within a year of the medical, then you're good to go, no matter how long the USCIS takes to process the case? I know that I need to get the vaccination suppliment, but I'm just hoping to avoid paying for the whole medical.

Thanks!

It takes alot longer in New York, until very recently 2 years was about average. We have Congressman looking into it, and all NBC/MSC will tell them is that it is in the pile waiting for New York to give interview slots. Congressman's aide keeps writing to both NYC and NBC trying to get them to move their butts. But I'm starting to get really upset/p'd off.

Hello how are you im from NYC my AOS papers was submitted last Sept.26 2005 and my interview will be April 05 this year.Maybe you need an infopass to talk to an immigration officer..

I was just wondering if anyone in NYC has gotten their interview notice recently. We have been waiting 2 and a half years for our interview and CIS told our Congressman that prelim processing was done and they are waiting for NY to indicate interview slots available. No idea how often that happens. But after 30 months, getting antsy.