brtlmj

A couple of guesses:

1) Because they can

2) They want a new photograph

3) They only keep fingerprints for a limited time, so they need new ones for a criminal check (this would actually be cool, I do not want them to keep my prints forever!)

4) They want to be sure that you are who you say you are

Once again: thank you!

The weird thing is, I received the approval letter already on Feb. 14, Aren't they supposed to email me that they ordered the card?

Unfortunately, there is nothing weird about it. Their online system is not exactly reliable and it is not uncommon for email notifications to be delayed for several weeks.

Here is a little story from my AOS days. I received an interview appointment. A few weeks afterwards I received another notice, canceling the appointment. Then, another interview appointment. Approximately a week before the second appointment, I received an email, canceling the interview. It took me a couple of days to realize that the email was about my first interview, and was simply delayed by a month or so! Had I believed the email, my application would have been considered abandoned and I would have been in deep trouble.

VSC, eleven months

Yeah, the difference in processing times makes no freaking sense. What the USCIS needs is a good engineer to think of some sort of load balancing.

Anyway, thanks everyone and good luck to those who are still waiting!

YAY! It is not as nice as having a fiancee petition or AOS approved, but I am sure glad to have it behind me.

CSC, just a bit over two months, no RFEs, no interview.

Is it just me, or are they getting faster?

Not too much is known about credit scores other than the "generic" one. Here is an article you might want to read.

Don't take it personally. It is underwriting. For my first year back, insurance companies kept saying my credit was a negative factor. I have no idea what that meant because my score from all three bureaus was in the mid 700s when I came back.

They look at a different score. It is based on the same data as the "usual" credit score (i.e. your credit history), but is calculated differently.

Foreign drivers are not higher risk, because anyone who really understands driving knows that driving is the same wherever you drive. It isn't about what side of the road you drive on or what the road signs mean.

Having driven in a couple of countries, both on the right and the wrong side of the road, I respectfully disagree. It takes a couple of weeks just to get your most basic reflexes right - and that is just the beginning.

And I stand by everything I wrote before - even though I dislike paying the high premiums. Driver's insurance is a big, well understood market, with a lot of competition. The insurance companies know exactly what their risks are and how to price them. If it was possible to charge less, some company would do so and others would have to follow.

However, if you are REALLY sure that you are being charged too much, have you considered self-insuring (if your state allows it)? For example, in California you can deposit a bond with the DMV and then legally drive without insurance.

Congratulations!

bhav141,

Make a list of all DMVs in your area, take a day off work and visit them all. Chances are, you will get your license extended.

Good luck!

OK... let me try again. What I was trying to convey was: "I had no idea you guys had it that bad. I feel sorry for you." No rubbing it in - just sympathy. I apologize if I offended anyone.

Now, regarding the idea of 3-year conditional residency - I actually think is IS a decent idea. At the very least, many of us would save the I-751 fee by submitting N-400 right away.

Well Geee Man, thanks allot!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just to clarify - nothing in my post was intended to be ironic.

Dang. I was hoping it was a good sign! Thanks

My case was "touched" a day after biometerics. Does it happen to everyone? Or might it mean that something is actually happening with my case?

Thanks!

Oh... and obey speed limits. They will not fail you for driving 20 in a 25 zone, and it gives you more time to think!

What web browser do you use?

Hi everybody,

Just had a look at you status list. I can say that:

• I feel really bad for you
• I am sure glad that my case is handled by CSC!

They really should make the conditional period three years long so that anyone who wants to go for citizenship could skip the I-751 nonsense.

I looked at the timelines, and there were cases of I-751 being approved in two months or less. Considering that one can submit I-751 90 days before the conditional status expires, it is perfectly possible to get a 10-year GC while the old one is still valid.

My new wife and I live in Tennessee. She has had her Tennesse driver's license for almost 7 months now. I haven't added her to my auto policy yet. But she is still covered under the "uninsured motorists" clause of my policy.

I am pretty sure she is not. She might conceivably be insured as an "occasional driver", but most insurers I checked explicitly state that a "member of the household" cannot be an "occasional driver."

I strongly recommend that you add her to your policy. Yes, your premiums will probably go up. It might help if you "assign" her to the oldest, cheapest car you have (if you have more than one).

The only "maneuver" I was asked to demonstrate was reversing in a straight line. Overall, the test was much easier than the one in Poland, years ago.

I freaking hate it. Especially the pay-hundreds-of-dollars-get-herded-like-cattle bit.

It sure beats "pay-hundreds-of-dollars-get-herded-like-cattle-then-land-in-a-river" ;-)

Aidan, Slightly Bonkers: I stand corrected.

I think you can just rent a PO box. In the form I-751, there are separate fields for a "mailing address", if it is different from where you actually live.

After you submit all the paperwork, you will get (within a week or so) a letter stating:

"Your conditional resident status is extended for a period of one year. During the one-year extension you are authorized employment and travel."

All you need to travel is your expired GC and the letter.

Megz & Candace: LUCKY YOU! Congratulations! I hope that I get approved withing a week or two of biometrics (meaning: really soon) as well

But, honestly, at this stage I am not particularly concerned about the processing time. I can wait a few months... IF it means that the poor I-129Fs won't have to wait as long as they do!

They do some pre-clearance for flights to the US from Dublin. Not all routes however. For example - AA to O'hare, they don't.

I flew with AA from Dublin to O'Hare and cleared immigration in Dublin.

I think the general rule is that if you fly out of Dublin and your next stop is in the US, you will go through immigration in Dublin.