a.post

Hi everyone,

How many of you are still waiting and what office is processing your case? Although I got the interview waiver letter and can expect to wait until the end of December I put in a case inquiry just to see where my case is at the moment and make sure it isn't lost or anything. I got the response from my local office ( San Antonio, TX ) :

Our records show that your I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status is currently pending extended review with the National Benefits Center (NBC). We regret that we are unable to provide you with a completion date for your I-485 application. We apologize for the delay.

We hope this information is helpful and appreciate your continued patience.

So, I do know my case is at the NBC and they are 'working on it'. Frustrating to have to wait this long but at least I am here in the US, happily married and with a job. Think I posted when I got the interview waiver letter that they are probably going to wait till Christmas to approve my greencard. It'll be my Christmas present, so thoughtful of USCIS!

Good luck to everyone else who's still waiting and congrats to all the ones fortunate enough to have received theirs!

Still waiting! Trying not to worry too much about the GC but it's still constantly in the back of my mind. I'm starting to suspect USCIS wants to give it to me as a Christmas present, they are so thoughtful! *sigh*

I am wondering, does a change of address have a negative influence on processing time?

Congratulations to the ones that have received the GC and best of luck for the ones still waiting.

First of all, thanks for all the responses.

I did do research, did ask the hiring manager about my status ( he was enthusiastic and welcomed more diversity into his company ), nowhere did I read or hear about this residency issue. They wasted five days of my time. Also, the HR person was extremely rude on the phone. I DO NOT want to work for this company EVER! All I wanted was to find out why exactly this happened, what the reason behind the 5 year residency policy is. Since I am job hunting I want to learn from things like this, so I can be ahead of the game for the next job I apply for.

If there's something wrong with my SSN, I need to know. So I'll keep trying to contact this HR dept about it. We'll see.

Hello everyone.

Almost two months ago a received my EAD in the mail. Since, I have been looking for jobs. Finally got hired at a place that I am well qualified for. The manager really liked me and was enthusiastic about the fact that I just moved to the US and all that. I start the background check with the companies HR dept and wait for a response. When two days later it finally comes it was not what I expected. It was an automated email:

Thank you for your interest in employment with ****.

As all requirements of the **** hiring process have not been satisfied in connection with your conditional offer of employment, we must inform you that this offer has been rescinded.

Best regards,

**** Incorporated

I was shocked because I know it can't be anything in my background check! I tried calling my HR contact for two days but no luck. Finally through their main HR dept I get a hold of her. She tells me I was denied employment because I have not been in the US for at least 5 years! I could not believe what I was hearing. I called the manager that I did the interview with and he told me he was just notified and it made him feel sick. But there was nothing he could do for me since it was company policy.

I am outraged that this is even possible and frankly feel discriminated against. I know I am more than qualified for the position and they have no other reason than those 5 years of residency. Are there more people with the same sort of experience? Or does anyone know if this is legal for them to do?

Thank you!

So, my fiancée got a hold of USCIS customer service, it has been five months since our NOA1. The girl on the phone put in a request for a status update. They will contact us or we'll get something in the mail within 15 days ( how in the world does somebody come up with 15 days ... I'd say 14 days or maybe 10. Maybe that's just me though ). If not, we should contact them again.

Does anybody have a similar experience or know more about this? What can we expect? I'm pretty skeptical when it comes to dealing with USCIS form what I read about them on this forum on a daily basis ... not a lot of reasons to have trust in them at all

Apr 4 2013 - I129-F Received by USCIS (VSC)
Apr 10 2013 - NOA1
Jul 10 2013 - Case transferred to 'local office'
Jul 13 2013 - Petition being processed at TSC

Jul 29 2013 - Address changed
Sep 10 2013 - Contacted USCIS customer service

It is BS! Is it getting transferred to Texas? Hopefully it won't be a longer wait then it already has been When mine got transferred, it took about 3 weeks to get the approval. I'm still waiting for my "local" embassy to receive my file. (that has been a month and I'm still waiting on that)

Mine got transferred to TSC almost 8 weeks ago. So there's absolutely no way of knowing

Still nothing. September 10th marks 5 months of waiting so I will be calling customer service. Does anyone know if changing the adress put us at the end of the line again? ( that would explain a lot since it seems everyone around our NOA1 date is talking about NVC, DOS and Embassy already.

For the record, this is what the USCIS case status update shows:

On July 29, 2013, your address was changed relating to the I129F, PETITION FOR FIANCE(E) that you filed. Please check our website at www.uscis.gov for further updates on your case. Please wait until the end of normal processing time before calling customer service at 1-800-375-5283 for live assistance.

Apr 4 2013 - I129-F Received by USCIS (VSC)
Apr 10 2013 - NOA1
Jul 10 2013 - Case transferred to 'local office'
Jul 13 2013 - Petition being processed at TSC

Jul 29 2013 - Address changed

Since there is a demand for personal experiences and I just got back from visiting my fiancée in the states, I'd like to share mine.

We filed our petition early april, right after I got back from visiting her for two weeks. I still had a month to go working in the Royal Dutch Army. We decided that after I got out of the army I would come visit her for 90 days ( as you may or may not know, the maximum amount on a tourist visa ). After I had bought my ticket I started to wonder if I would be allowed into the states since I had my case pending! I read about other people’s experiences and all the tips that are on this forum. Now, my situation was to say the least ... worrisome.

As I said before, I just got out released from the army may 3rd and my flight left the very next day. So I was unemployed. Secondly I had sold most of my belongings and moved the rest of my stuff to my dad's since I didn't feel like paying rent for three months while visiting my fiancée. So, no job no rent/mortgage. Did I mention I also sold my car?

Anyway, I wasn't going to give up before I'd even tried and just got on that plane to Detroit. The worst that could happen was being sent back, but not without a fight that's for sure.

After landing at DTW I made my way to customs and of course as always I got picked out of the crowd for 'prescreening'. Must be something about my looks but that always happens. This time however the officer was even more rude than all the other times. He asked me where I was going ( Austin TX ), when I would be going back and how much money I had on me. I don't like to travel with a lot of cash on me so I had about 2 dollar in my wallet from the last time I visited the states. Also I had a substantial amount in savings and of course my credit card but he didn't want to hear about that and wrote in red a huge '2$' on my ticket. Didn’t say anything after that or even bothered to look at me and I was on my way again towards customs.

From that moment I had a bad feeling about this whole situation and the waiting in line for almost an hour gives a person the opportunity to think about every possible doom scenario, question they might ask you and get real insecure about passing customs. Just great!

Finally I was called up to the booth and the lady that already had a look in her eyes as if I had murdered her only child and both her cats started her 'interrogation'. Needless to say, that didn't take long. Reason of visit? Visiting my girlfriend. For how long? Three months. How much money do you have on you? 2$ cash and my debit and credit card. Occupation? Army, but I just got out. So are you still employed by the army yes or no? No ma’am. And a few more but I think after the first two she already knew she was going to send me through to the separate interrogation room.

I got called up to the desk and was relieved to see a fairly young guy that was very polite and straight to the point. He asked me more about my situation, how had I met my fiancée, where does she live, her address/phone number, full name, occupation. Then about my situation, the army, how I would pay for a three month visit, what we would be doing those three months.

Now here's the thing that I think convinced him I was good to go. I had visited her 4 times over the last year and she me 1 time. I knew everything about her off of the top of my head. Without hesitation could tell them her phone number, full address, full name, place and date of birth. I had the NOA1 on my phone and showed them that ... made sure that they would also notice I had a photo of her on my lock screen ( and he did notice and asked if that was her ).

We then went to pick up my luggage and he searched my suitcase. Nothing special but the engagement ring (since I still formally had to ask her). He complimented me on the ring and we went back to the counter. Apparently his colleague had tried to call my fiancée but couldn't reach her and left a message. They for a moment were debating on keeping me there until they had spoken with her but decided to let me go.

So, 90 minutes later I finally was on my way to catch my connecting flight. A very unpleasant experience but more than worth it since I got to spend 3 months with my fiancée. After all I think it's maybe 10% luck ( and probably luck is dealing with an officer that doesn't act like you're a criminal from the start ) and 90% all you. Be confident, be honest and don't try to hide anything how bad it may sound ( like quitting your job the day before in my case ). Of course take all the tips from all the other posts on this forum to heart, there are a lot of good ones on there. Never a guarantee when it comes to travelling to the us while you have a visa case pending but I'd say, don't let them stop you before you've even tried!

I spent 3 months out of the 5 month average waiting period from noa1 to noa2 together with my fiancée and that makes the wait a lot less hard! I hope this story is helpful and most of all convincing enough to encourage people to go for it and spend time with the love of their life. I wish everyone the best of luck and an as short as possible wait.