Shivacoco

FINALLY!!!! We were April 22 2014 filers for aos and I received a text today saying my new card is being produced. Almost 15 months later, and strangely enough the excitement isn't here yet haha. I am sure it will come, but even my husband who is Mr Positive replied with "about time". Needless to say, very grateful that we are now on to the next step and don't have to deal with immigration garbage for a little while. We had 2 rfes in the last 2 months, so anyone else who filed around the same time...your good news should be here any moment!!!

Will update timeline later.

I'm sure the interview process..especially if you are made to have a stokes one, is not stress free. But we would still rather that than still be waiting this long. The quicker this whole process goes the better.

Congratulations on receiving your green card

Did the medical examiner give you a sealed envelope containing your results as well? This must be sent along with AOS. If you are asking do you need to send the copy he gave you as well, then no...as that is your personal copy.

Update on our process:

Filed April 2014. Received interview waiver notice. Still waiting. Received rfe for a bunch of things: marriage certs (again??!! what do they do with them??) birth certs of kids (ummm...we dont have any which is clearly stated on our previous forms), further proof of genuine marriage (easy), tax form for last year (when we sent aos it wasnt available, but was easy) and new medical as they said it was out of date (despite K1 applicants not needing to renew...clearly stated on THEIR own forms haha, but whatever...they are god apparently) Sent off everything about 6 weeks ago for rfe, except medical (disputed it etc) Received another rfe about 2 weeks ago, for the medical...our lawyer friend said we could take it further, but it is pointless as it will just delay things, and after 15 months almost, we just want it done. Tracking states they received it last Friday the 10th July. Also sent off EAD renewal as it has expired. (first mistake we made in whole process, by not renewing it 3 months ago..so now I can't work until it arrives) So, hopefully we should receive notification sooooooon.

Good luck to everyone else, especially those who have been waiting this long...we are almost there!!!!!

NYC medicals:

I had to have another medical exam which we were very annoyed about, as being a K1 visa AOS applicant you are not required to!!!! It clearly states on the 'instructions' part of the 1-693 which is current only a few months ago. We actually told them that in our response to the rfe, and didn't get it done. Nothing came up on my medical, and vaccinations were completed etc. So, something is going very wrong with USCIS with this repeated medical request...but as I have learned, not much can be done about it without delaying further. I did some research and found an awesome civil surgeon:

NYC

July 2015

Dr anthony Blau

Greencard medical exams

Phone:(212) 766-4433

305 Broadway, Suite 444, New York, NY 10007

www.greencardmedicalexam.com

Cost: $200 for exam

Turnaround: walked in for appointment on the Tuesday, at 10 am (hour after they open) and was out of there in less than 2 hours. Lots of forms to fill out, saw one person who looked over vaccination and other forms, said all is good. Then wait again, before seeing Dr Blau, who was very nice. Very, very simple and not like the medical I had in Australia. I cannot emphasise how easy this was...I was a nervous wreck beforehand (despite knowing nothing is wrong). But they were all very nice, professional, Dr Blau and the other Dr were super friendly with a sense of humor. My husband was asked if he wanted to come in too. They took blood, and did the TB skin test, both painless (for needles!) and was outta there. Had to return in 48 hours to have TB test read, was in and out within about 70 minutes. Didn't have to see Dr Blau again, just the other Dr who got me to sign. Then waited for paperwork (picked up all at same time) and read through it. Waited again, then got called up to sign. They seal it for you etc, and that is it. Payment done on first day. cash or credit card. You are given a copy of everything for your own records, and he said they have it all on their database and said they can give copies if ppl lose them. (not sure of cost) No need to fast beforehand, no urine etc, just bloods. It is a walk in situation and they ONLY DEAL WITH GREEN CARD exams...bonus!!!! Only 3 other ppl waiting both times I went. Their website has all the info on there including cost. I am not sure what it costs for vaccinations if you need them, but it is extra.

Highly recommended. They have yelp reviews too. I will add one later..

Ok, so to update if anyone is interested: yes they were trying to call...and didn't call back the third time like they said (of course!) We had recently had an rfe and it must have been about that, to do with the medical. We received a letter a few days later for another rfe, for same medical. (I had disputed it, to no avail)

Thanks everyone!!

Gday,

I don't want to get your hopes up but I personally recieved a phone call from USCIS...well actually my new officer. I had been stuck for 2 years and she wanted to personally call me to tell me I had been approved. I was lucky enough that they called me back and I was able to take the call the 2nd time. It was the best birthday present I ever got. If you have any questions PM me...Btw where in Australia are you from...I am a Sydney girl.

TTFN

Kat

Hi Kat!

I am a sydney girl too It turns out they were trying to call (not a scam haha) but never called back the 3rd time Of course I was glued to my phone for 3 entire days, didn't even go out for fear of being in the subway etc.

Apply for another ead asap. We are still waiting for greencard, almost 15 months later, My ead ran out and we had to reapply. (our first mistake, in not realising this) The ead form is relatively painless to fill out...worth it

Thank your lucky stars you have an actual interview. I would have given anything for one, as we are still waiting 15 months later for my greencard, because we were waived for an interview. So, in my opinion, get there no matter what. Don't tempt fate...you are one of the most envied of aos people

Hi, you need to include the vaccination part of it. That was all that was in my aos package.

Thank you both Paul&Jessica and Darnell... I have contacted Uscis and they transferred me to tier 2 which of course means I have to wait for them to call back. The first officer couldnt give any info other than saying there are scams. So, hopefully the tier 2 will call back before the other guy haha.

Thanks again, will update when I find out more

Hi,

Just curious as to whether anyone has ever received an actual phone call from USCIS? I had a missed call from someone on Saturday, no message left. This morning I had another missed call from the same number with a voicemail: This is Officer such and such...he is working on my case..and will try to call again. He spoke with a very thick foreign accent (not american) and said something like he wanted to ask me if we had an RFE with them. Weird. The call was from CA where we sent our rfe a month ago. I haven't left my phone alone haha. I tried calling the number back obviously, but each time it didn't dial, just had silence, then after a minute or so it disconnected...so I am assuming they don't allow calls to them. Of course. I have never heard of them calling us??!! One part of me is excited, because after 14 months of waiting it feels good to know something is being done, but my logical side is scared of what the hell they want now?? Our rfe was full of ridiculous requests, and repetitive things that we had already sent, plus them saying my medical was out of date etc...and I did not get another medical due to K1 not needing to according to their policy, despite it now being out of date due to their slowness. So, that is the only thing I can think of. But why not just send a letter like they usually do... Can you tell I am going slightly crazy here haha.

Thanks for the link, it is very much appreciated. For the record I did read the messages and search, but am on my phone which is having issues. I've been waiting for my gc for 14 months now so yes, you are correct, I have learned plenty from people on here, and given plenty of advice. And am aware that people sometimes for whatever reason cannot find the info they need, therefore am more than happy to point them in the right direction without coming across condescending.

Just to add to the sentiment of the rule change in June 2014 about the medical exam. Who decided that medical should be "expired" in one year? Is there any medical basis for that? The problem is that whatever USCIS does to immigrants seems to go unchecked. I haven't travelled outside the US so if I contracted any deadly disease since my medical overseas, I would be thanking the US for this. Luckily, we aren't having any epidemic outbreak. But this rule is negatively impacting many of our finance due to their slow processing time. How is this any difference than before they broke up the old INS into three parts? I am not a doctor... but this one year rule seems a bit draconian. It's written as if all cases must redo medical (but apparently, the officer can waive it, not sure what circumstances they would require in order to do that), when it should be the other way around... that on a case by case basis, if the officer sees evidence or needs for a redo, they can request for one.

Hi,

Can you please tell me more about the change to medical exams in 2014? I cant find anything

I am so glad you posted this! I was reading through and was thinkibg the same thing. Why are all these ppl doing new medicals?! I received an rfe for medical because it was expired. So i did my research and found exactly what you wrote. Sent back rfe (with other ridiculous things they had obviously lost and also purely didnt do their job properly) and stated this with example form where it says that etc etc. i have my fingers crossed as it was sent over 3 weeks ago, no news, except tier 2 told me 'someone' had gotten my file about a week ago. I am not sure which way this will go, but waiting 15 months now. If we have to pay for a new medical: furious. Well, im furious now..but im sure they can make me more so!

Why is everyone getting a request for a new medical? Doesn't the instructions on the form (I-693) specifically say that if you came on a K visa and had the medical completed within one year of the time you filed form I-485, you are not required to have a new medical so long as you have your vaccination record (DS 3025)? It does not say that your application has to be approved within 1 year of the medical. It says that it needs to be submitted within 1 year after the medical.

Or am I missing something?

OHHH GOLLY!

No kids, yet they want BC's?! this is utter rubbish! USCIS is dumb. I'm sorry you've been waiting for 14 months! That's outrageous. Did you contact the ombudsman yet?

Hi! Yeah, it is insane...I don't understand how they could make this mistake? We haven't contacted the ombudsman, but I have seen a few people mention this. It may be on the cards for our next step. Do you know how one does this?

Thanks!!

So you don't have kids and they want their birth certificates? Wow.

I believe that it takes the same about of time, but mine originally took 35 days so it really depends on the luck of the draw. I would contact someone for advice since you have been waiting since April 2014, frankly I would speak to a lawyer. Shocking. You may as well contact ombudsman or senator - nothing to lose. In the mean time, it's easy to renew EAD - just remember that you have to submit 2 photos with the form. You will also have to have another set of biometrics taken... you know... just in case you changed your iris or fingerprints. Logical really.

P.S. which office was this requested from?

I was thinking of changing my fingerprints, but I heard it was painful Very silly isn't it??!! Unfortunately I am a little worried it will take the full 90 days or close to it for my EAD, as my original EAD took 70 something, although I never did receive it due to it being lost in the mail...so had to reapply and they took another 70 or so days to send that one out! I spoke to tier 2 today and the guy told me that someone accessed my AOS today!! Lets hope that means something haha. I will still apply for a renewed EAD just in case. The RFE was from the Chatsworth Ca office...which is odd because I keep being told it is elsewhere (MO and Queens NY have been some examples).

Hi,

Having to renew my EAD and question 15: Current Immigration Status, on form 1-765 has me stumped. In brackets it has (student/visitor etc)

What am I haha?? I remember when originally filling out form I was a K1 fiancee...but now we are married, and obviously still waiting for green card.

Thanks!!

Hello all.

I need to vent. And it seems I am in the right place!! We applied for adjustment of status in April 2014. Received an interview waiver notice. We received an RFE a month ago which was RIDICULOUS! It was asking for birth certificates from children...we do not have any, never have, never will, none...zilch. Where the hell do they get this stuff from?? Then they asked for my medical to be fixed, in terms of vaccination...I am about to ask them for a job, because it seems I know more than they do. I had to send back info telling them they do not need me to have certain vaccinations etc. They also asked for our marriage certs again, despite them being sent previously (we are meticulous with our applications..and I know you all understand why haha) , and also for more evidence. Easy. Thanks for wasting our time. This was sent off over 2 weeks ago now, and we received notification from USPS that it was signed for. Now, I have realised we have made a big mistake (our first one but still kicking myself) ..we forgot that the EAD combo card expires in July. And I am assuming it will take up to 3 months again to be processed, despite it being a renewal, which means we should have renewed it 3 months ago. So ridiculous.

Has anyone else been in this situation where they had to renew an EAD card after waiting over a year for AOS?? Any advice? How long does one have to wait for this AOS process before it is outside of their 'timeframe'? And has anyone contacted congressman to take this further, or is that a waste of time and effort too?

Any advice or similar stories greatly appreciated!

That is awful. I'm waiting on mine in the post and this is my worst nightmare. How did you get the tracking number? Did you call the USCIS to get it?

It is a nightmare The frustrating thing is that our mailbox is only able to be accessed by us and the usps...soooo they have made a huge mistake and are not wanting to take responsibility for it. They keep telling me it was delivered haha. USCIS sent me an email with the tracking number.

Good luck

Have you gone up the chain at the Post office? Postmaster for your area? I realize that the USCIS is finally using trackable means to send out the EAD and GC, but it would sure be nice to have to go to the post office and sign for the package given the importance of it and that it can be used for ID theft. I would get the USPS to find the item go declare it lost so you can show that to the USCIS. If you do manage to get the USPS to declare it officially lost, make an INFOpass appointment to see about getting a new card re-issued with no fee.

Good luck,

Dave.

Thank you Dave. Seems the usps are really avoiding me...but I have plenty of time on my hands to chase them until I get some sort of help

Has anyone had their approved EAD card go missing in the mail?

The tracking number for my approved EAD shows that it was 'delivered' on 12th July 2014. It wasn't. (the mailing address is correct) I have spent weeks chasing up the post office/consumer affairs who have been extremely unhelpful and sometimes downright rude. (That is another story, but how uncanny that I walk out of our apartment today only to see someone elses mail on the ground, who happens to live half a dozen apartments away, across the street?! )

After speaking with USCIS on the 15th July, I was told they would send out a new EAD, which should arrive within 30 days. I called them again today to see the progress, and was told that they don't do that and I was told the wrong information. Basically, I have to re-apply for a new EAD, which as we all know, can take up to 90 days. Plus, either we pay the fee all over again, or we can apply for a fee waiver...which takes 30-60 days!!! (I was tempted to just wait until greencard comes through..but the USCIS guy said it could take 12-18 months, despite me seeing other similar timelines being approved in around 6-7 months. Too risky to do that)

I am just wondering if someone else has had this frustrating experience?

We took photos with our phones and emailed them, then put onto a word doc, printed. Just make sure date is included, and the phone number.

You need two photos for packet 3!

Thanks, I'll put them in