babsloblaw

2 hours ago, hellostranger57 said:

Yes that is correct. That's why at first he/she couldn't believe it at first when he received his/her approval letter in the mail until he received his/her actual green card. 

 

Babslobaw sure is lucky

Definitely lucky. Would have been nice to have been celebrating with everyone though.  

Hopefully you get good news soon!

2 hours ago, Eks1022 said:

That's mean babslobaw approved in 3 months . Filed in June and approved in august and received card on September. 

Yes. I was very surprised to have gotten it so quickly. My university did an e-verify on me shortly before it was approved, so I was guessing that was the reason my file got touched and moved fast. 

1 minute ago, hellostranger57 said:

How long did it take for you to receive the green card in the mail after the approval letter came? 

here were the dates: My GC expires on 9/1.

- Received Decision letter 8/31 (approved 8/27) 
- Ordered GC Production 9/1
- Mailed GC 9/9
- Received GC 9/13 (no tracking info)

o yeah, sorry for not updating... 

California Service Center (24 applicants, 3 approved - 12.5%)

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

MZA001................06/01/16......06/03/16......06/30/16......--/--/--

LEENNAKONDOR..........06/03/16......06/06/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

LONGTRIP..............06/03/16......06/06/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

CORONITA98............06/06/16......06/08/16......07/07/16......--/--/--

OBSERVATORKA..........06/07/16......06/08/16......07/07/16......--/--/--

MADDY007..............06/08/16......--/--/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

DOMWARDBOUND..........06/09/16......06/13/16......07/05/16......--/--/--

MALEALPHA.............06/09/16......06/10/16......07/06/16......--/--/--

XAKASEANX.............06/11/16......06/13/16......07/15/16......12/26/16

CRESH_20..............06/13/16......06/13/16......07/15/16......--/--/--

RSHREE................06/14/16......06/17/16......07/12/16......--/--/--

AMORVERDADERO.........06/16/16......--/--/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

DONNA1986.............06/00/16......06/20/16......07/11/16......--/--/--

DJ&L..................06/17/16......06/20/16......07/14/16......--/--/--

COREY&GUYVENS.........06/20/16......06/22/16......07/22/16......--/--/--

BABSLOBLAW............06/20/16......06/21/16......07/13/16......08/27/16

HELLOSTRANGER57.......06/20/16......06/21/16......07/18/16......02/28/17

MINEIRA...............06/20/16......06/24/16......07/13/16......--/--/--

RPATERSON.............06/22/16......06/30/16......07/22/16.......--/--/--

ANUBABES268...........06/23/16......06/27/16......07/20/16......--/--/--

SPARKYSIMES...........06/21/16......--/--/16......07/19/16......--/--/--

ASHIRAZ...............06/22/16......06/28/16......07/25/16......--/--/--

ROSE&JORGE............06/24/16......06/27/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

Vermont Service Center (19 applicants, 0 approved - 0%)

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

JULIANAV..............06/07/16......07/02/16......07/20/16......--/--/--

TOGOVI................06/01/16......06/20/16......07/18/16......--/--/--

UHOH..................06/02/16......06/08/16......07/05/16......--/--/--

KEV&MANDA.............06/03/16......06/06/16......07/13/16......--/--/--

OLGA T................06/04/16......06/07/16......07/15/16......--/--/--

LITTLE FOX............06/04/16......--/--/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

DAY144................06/07/16......06/09/16......--/--/16......--/--/-- (divorce waiver)

SHERRY AND DANIEL.....06/08/16......06/10/16......07/14/16......--/--/--

SARAH86...............06/09/16......06/10/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

YELSIOY...............06/10/16......06/14/16......07/12/16......--/--/--

SASHY.................06/10/16......--/--/16......07/11/16......--/--/--

SUBWAYGUY.............06/13/16......06/16/16......07/14/16......--/--/--

PRETTYJACKIE..........06/13/16......06/16/16......07/12/16......--/--/--

SUNSHINESAM...........06/13/16......06/17/16......07/21/16......--/--/--

ANDROMEDA1............06/14/16......06/16/16......07/20/16......--/--/--

ERICA&LILY............06/17/16......06/20/16......07/21/16......--/--/--

ALLANAH&CHRISTOPHER...06/17/16......06/24/16......07/25/16......--/--/--

BRUINS................06/20/16......06/25/16......07/19/16......--/--/--

RHEAD.................06/24/16......06/27/16......07/29/16......--/--/--

MARHABA…..............06/25/16......06/27/16......--/--/16......--/-

Did you receive your green card yet?

To everyone else, do you have any updates?

Oh yeah! I didn't get any tracking number which made it absolutely annoying, but GC on hand by 9/13 - issued 9/1. (I'll update once other people's good news start rolling in )

Hi Guys,

My GC expired in August, i-751 underway since may (fingers crossed)

I just wanted to know if I could apply for jobs in the period? go for interviews? how do I prove I can legally work?

I'm worried the extension letter will be a red flag to them as they might think I won't be employable for too long (potentially).

Any way to deal with this? Or way around it?

any help if very much appreciated,

Thanks

I'd just say apply for a job. There's nothing stopping you from doing that. Job hunting is a pain, and some companies take months trying to make sure you're a good fit for them. AND that's when they actually even like you enough to put you through their process. It's fairly conceivable that you'll get your ROC approved before anyone asks for it at all (and this is not a dig on your ability to get a job -- it's a dig on the sluggish job market and the convoluted hiring process.)

I wouldn't go around proactively explaining the intricacies of the US immigration system during the interview, because I have an hour to tell a hiring manager what a good hire I'd be, and this unnecessary detail would just eat up my precious interview time. It might even cost me the job because if I didn't do a good job explaining everything, the hiring manager (who I presume doesn't know a lot about the i-751 process) might just be a little freaked about about an expired Green Card. If it does come up in an interview (and it usually doesn't!), a concise, 'I'm a permanent resident' should suffice. Your status is extended for a year with the NOA1, and it's a fully truthful statement.

Those details would be asked more towards the end, when you've all but locked in a job and waiting for the background checks to go through.

That's when HR would be asking for your documents and checking it against USCIS, and that's when you have the chance to explain your situation better. Chances are you wouldn't even need to explain anything because they already know what an NOA1 is, and they're very much aware of the hoops that USCIS makes us go through. Bottom line is, you have status, you're making sure you keep that status, and you're not asking for their help to secure your status.

I actually just sent in my docs to my university for a part-time TA gig a month ago, including my soon-to-be expired GC and NOA1 as proof of residency. Everything processed smoothly, and I got zero questions about my residency.

so good luck! start now! and there are far more things about the job application process that you should worry about than this one!

That's all helpful. I was also wondering, is it OK if I blocked out the account numbers (or part of them) on the bank statements?

That should be fine. I sent copies of my credit cards along with my husband's, and blocked out all but the last 4 digits of the accounts, and it was accepted. Leave the last 4 digits as well to be on the safe side.

The important thing is that both your names are in that account, and the mailing address is your place. (I brought a bank statement to my AOS interview, and the officer didn't take it as evidence because we used my mother-in-law's home address.) I'd strongly recommend sending in ALL the statements because there's been some RFE from people who only sent a few statements.

I have a question, can i include the certificate from the vet of joint ownership of our dog in the roc ?

Doesn't hurt your application to send it. I sent pet ownership papers in our packet, I figured since we haven't tried to have kids, we can send them the next best semblance of shared responsibility.

Worst case is that they don't consider it as evidence of your relationship, and you'd rely on your other evidence to prove your bonafide marriage. (So don't forget to send the joint bank accounts and taxes!)

Ah I gotcha! Didn't realize you were CSC. Congrats though!!

Thanks!!! I hope it's a trend and that everyone will get good news fast.

There's some Feb and March 2016 applications that have been approved already, CSC is moving much quicker than VSC applications.

I think it'll still take a while. I had an RFE for my AOS, and I didn't hear from them until 1-2 months before the average wait period.

Actually, I take that back, I just looked at my timeline and realized that I got the RFE quick, but I wasn't able to respond until much later (because LA takes a while to print out marriage certificates.)

Nevertheless, I'd echo people's advice that RFE really can come during any point of the application.

That's great so we still have time. Thank you for your prompt response NikLR. I still have one more question:

Do we start counting from the time we receive the green card or from the date on the visa stamped on her passport?

You'll see a 'Resident Since: ' date on your green card, and that's going to be your anniversary date.

Wow that was quick! I thought that they were still processing cases from 2015?

Just checked my status online, and still just says case received.

If anyone was to get an RFE, would they have heard from the USCIS already?

There's some Feb and March 2016 applications that have been approved already, CSC is moving much quicker than VSC applications.

I think it'll still take a while. I had an RFE for my AOS, and I didn't hear from them until 1-2 months before the average wait period.

Ahhhh congrats!! Exciting! This gives us all June filers some kind of hope!! Hehe!

Thanks! Hope it's the start of a good trend for i-751 filers. Still kind of suspending my final celebrations until I receive the card in the mail. Might still be a long way from that.

Awesome. Would be really cool if they confirm this is indeed correct!

Please keep us updated.

so i got a callback, and looks like it was indeed approved.

The Tier 2 rep said it should be forwarded to a supervisor to make sure everything is ok, and then they'll put the order (probably when my online status changes) and I should receive my PR card in the next 30-45 days. Home stretch!

Sounds like you were approved! Congratulations!

I hope so!! Thanks !

Wow, congratulations. We sent ours in and received it on 3/8/2016, biometrics completed in March, one year extension letter received in March, then of course nothing since then. I was under the assumption according to USCIS, that they take them in the order they received them. Sounds like they skipped over 3 months and went to June/2016. I wonder what happened to March of 2016, or the many long before then? Mine also was at CSC

Very confusing. I can understand the package being very organized, as mine was also, and mine weighed about 8 pounds of documents, but I would think that would not matter if they are suppose to deal with them in the order they are received them?

Oh well, congrat to you!!!

Thanks! I'm only half-joking about the organization of my application, by the way. I've seen people with more thorough documentation separated into a lot of subfolders, and I whipped mine up in one day.

For what it's worth, I don't think any kind of skipping of applications going on. I wasn't anticipating to get my decision until January next year, and I haven't heard from other June filers. I'm still in the process of verifying if I received this letter correctly, too.

We can keep speculating about the process, but ultimately we don't know how or why these things happen, and the best thing we can do is stay patient and positive. Good luck!

wow thats crazy! its been 9 months for me and still waiting.did you submit a lot of documentation ?

Nothing especially comprehensive: work benefits, joint tax transcripts, apartment leases, utility bills (just enough to show that our names followed the apartment lease), car ownership, joint account statements (all of them) , joint cc's, ownership papers for our corgi, proof of vacation in Hawaii, four photos and a copy of a card from my in-laws.

I've been up last night wondering why my application got processed so quickly.

It could be because of my thoroughly indexed application (see photo of the pinnacle of my organizational skills!), or it could be because I started to TA at my university last month. The university had to verify my employment status with USCIS and probably nudged a case worker to look over my application?

Other than that, it would just have been a mistake or pure luck. Best case scenario is that it's an indication that CSC is trying to speed up processing for everyone.

Thanks, @Cheezees and @stephadams.

my AOS took a little less than 4 months, so I'd say about average luck.

I'm still being cautiously optimistic about the approval, called USCIS and I'm waiting for a tier 2 callback any moment now. At the very least, if it was a mistake, it might urge them to take a second look at the application.

Oh my apologies for the mix-up. Too many forms to deal with in Immigration that I lost track lol.

Since you've already done your biometrics, this may be correct! If it is, that was super fast and a big congratulations to you!!!

Haha all good. I think you're right though, biometrics might be NOA2.

Just an update, I called the USCIS line and they didn't show anything in their system about this too (not surprised, they probably use the same tracker). The agent kindly forwarded me to Tier 2 and I'm expecting the callback in 3 hours or so.

Really?? Wow that's in 2 months?!?! That's unheard of! If it is true, congratulations!!! This gives us so much hope! Since we filed on the same day. Please keep us posted!

Yeah, I'll definitely keep you posted. I'm holding off on updating timelines until I'm absolutely sure it wasn't some mistake.

That is quite interesting. It could be correct and not a mistake but not receiving the NOA2 is a concern as you need to do your biometrics prior to receiving the card. Have you called USCIS about your NOA2? I will advise giving them a call ASAP.

oh, I thought NOA2 was the approval. I got my biometrics letter and went in for my appointment last July.

noa2?? when did u file??

That's the thing -- it's not NOA2, it's a plain white paper with NOTICE OF DECISION, and the message saying 'Congratulations! Your Form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence has been approved.' It has the proper letterhead and signature.

I still haven't gotten NOA2 or any emails alerts from the case status tracker.

I filed 6/21

I got a decision letter today, approved 8/27. (I'm still not believing it until I see the card tho. )

Thanks! Yes, CSC.

Thanks! That's great to know. Still keeping my fingers crossed.

Hi,

if you have a joint bank account (one you frequently use), I would most definitely add all the bank statements you have in that packet too -- each month since you got married, or from when you opened the account.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'tax filing documents', but most VJers have strongly recommended getting tax transcripts from the IRS.

If you have joint credit cards, send those in too. I sent photocopies of both our cards with all but the last 4 digits blacked out. I didn't send any cc statements because those don't have both our names on it, and probably won't be that helpful.

And yes, you have to get your biometrics again (+$85 ). Interviews may also happen, but sounds like it's usually waived.