Ben10

My AOS appointment was for 4th March, 10.30am at the Memphis TN office. Me and my husband arrived around 9.50am but actually had to queue outside for around 20 minutes as the office was closed the day before due to poor weather and appointments were turning up from the previous day and being turned away!

Once in we went through the security check point and sat in the appointment room waiting for my Immigration Attorney to arrive, which he did at 10.20am. I then placed my appointment letter in the slot and was called at exactly 10.30am.

My Immigration Officer was Officer Drake. She was not over friendly but was not rude or intimidating. Once we had sworn on oath we sat down and Officer Drake opened my file and asked for my EAD and Passport, and also my birth certificate, our marriage certificate, My new SS Card and my husbands proof of citizenship. She asked me and my husband to confirm the following:

• Our Names
• Our address
• Our dates of Birth
• What country I was from
• If we had children / step-children
• If we had ever been previously married before
• The date we got married to each other
• Where we got married to each other

Officer Drake then asked how we met and got together. After a brief description she asked what dates I had travelled to America to visit my husband and for how long each visit was for.

Officer Drake then asked me a few standard yes/no questions like if I had ever broken the law, smuggled drugs, been a terrorist etc.

Officer Drake then asked if I had additional paperwork I would like her to see, I said yes. I handed her our jointly filed taxes, our joint bank account, Joint lease, Joint utility bills, Joint credit card, a letter showing I was my husbands beneficiary and a letter from my step children's school confirming I am registered as their step-mother and emergency contact. Officer Drake wrote all these documents down, handed back my passport and EAD card and turned to her computer screen. She printed off a sheet of paper and said "I have approved your green card application, it will be with you in no more than two weeks". The sheet of paper she handed me was confirmation of my green card approval.

The whole interview took no more than 5 minutes!!!!

That was really interesting. Nice story...Thx

Congrats...

I got my Green Card I wrote a review on VJ yesterday...... It still hasn't sunk in yet ...Check out my little profile pic of me yesterday LOL!!!

Congrats.....

How was your interview btw? We need the story....please. thx

Thanks all for the answers .

I went over the link provided by Shub too.

Wow June 1st 2015 is not as close as I was thinking...

if you two are still married, she can apply now!.. she's been eligible since 2013

3 year rule = Married to the same US Citizen

5 year rule = divorced or married to a different US citizen.

Thanks GJen for the quick answer.

But I am on H1B and she is the LPR.

And I am waiting for her to be USC before applying for AOS. That's why I need to know the exact date based on the 5 year rule, so we can prepare ourselves in advance.

Hello guys;

I am posting here to get answers for my wife.

I myself am now confused by reading some posts about eligibility dates (either for 3 year rule, or 5 year rule).

Based on 5 years rule, when exactly is she eligible to send her package to USCIS ?

We are getting ready now, so on the exact day we will be at the post office for sending out the package

Provided that since she has been legal resident (08/31/2010 date on the card) she is always living in the same states.

Never travelled out of the USA.

Thank you for your advice.

The interview went very smoothly. I brought all the required documents and evidences, and the officer was very professional and informative. He gave us excellent advice! It included a 3-hour drive (well worth it), and the wait time was only about 15 minutes. The interview itself lasted about 10-15 mins, and we left comforted and smiling. I gathered this as very important: Look them in the eye, and answer everything honestly, even if it seems incriminating. Trust me! My AOS was lacking a bit, since I had only ever owned the short-form of my Birth Certificate. He just gave me an "Additional Documentation Required Form" with easy instructions, ordered my long-form, sent it in with the letter, and I was told the Green Card (if all is accepted) should arrive within 30 days. If it does, the entire process from filing the I-130, I-864, I-765 and I-485 to Green Card would only be 5 months. I should also mention that I received the EAD (Work Document) less than 2 months ago!

Thumbs up to Uncle Sam, and all Glory to God!

Nice and smooth interview. :-)

Another update We have already done our initial interview, and the Interviewing Officer indicated that we should have my Green Card within 30 days!

Congrats. Please share your interview story with us.

Thank you.

Hi All,

Because we, too, were recently stressed out and wanting to guarantee our AOS from VWP, I want to share our story and timeline with all of you.

I hope it helps!!

I am a USC, born in the US. I moved abroad to live in New Zealand in 2006. Shortly after arriving, I met my (now) husband and in 2009 we had a baby. We continued to live in New Zealand until September of 2013, when I was promoted to a job in the US, from a foreign ( NZ ) branch of my US- headquartered company.

My husband had been working in New Zealand, in a position which required frequent international travel, on behalf of a NZ-based company which also has a foreign branch in the US.

I had 3 weeks from the signed offer of the new position to move everything and start to investigate the process to bring my family here.

Incidentally and quite serendipitously, my husband also had a work trip planned back in June 2013 for September 2013, for which he would travel overseas, and tack on a work/pleasure trip to the US. This was also when my offer came through and when my daughter and I had planned to arrive in the US.

This was a critical factor in being able to adjust status from VWP.

in September, I was actually advised by the American consulate in New Zealand that my husband was required to file direct with them in NZ. This essentially meant that he would file in September, be required to return to NZ after his work trip and wait 3-12 months for formal processing of the Immigrant petition, AOS, and visa to come to the US before approval.

I completely freaked out at this advice, knowing my daughter and I couldn't survive without him for up to 1 year.

The time to leave came very quickly, and we did not have the time to start the process before leaving NZ - this was very lucky!!!!

My daughter and I landed in the US in September, followed a few weeks after by my husband who came in on the VWP due to his previously planned work trip. It was no issue for him to enter as he showed his work documents and return ticket to the immigration officer, with no issue.

We ( joyfully! ) connected here in the US and after settling in, I completed more research on what options were available to us, so he would not have to leave us in 3 months and return to NZ.

After consulting with an attorney, we learned that he could actually apply to adjust status from the VWP WITHOUT returning back to NZ, and filing through the consulate! This was obviously much preferred to him having to leave in December, as previously planned. Although I consulted with a lawyer, I read through the law and the required documents thoroughly, and completed the entire application myself....with no problems, whatsoever!

We prepared HEAVILY for the interview - mulling over hundreds of questions and scenarios. Perhaps it is because we have a child, and have been married for four years, but the officer did NOT ask us a single question related to our relationship!

The interview was at 7:45am. It took us longer to check in ( security check, waiting room ) than the actual interview itself.

I dutifully brought originals and 2 x copies of all the documents submitted for the AOS and petition, best practice from what I read online.

After swearing us in ( which takes about 5 second )she spent the first 10 minutes of the interview collecting:

1. All 3 passports from myself, my daughter and my husband

2. All 3 birth certificates

3. All 3 social security cards

She then went into a separate room making additional photocopies of this information. ( this was included in our original application )

She asked me for documents showing joint financial accounts & life insurance, which I provided. ( this was included in our original application )

She asked me for a copy of my husband's previous divorce decree ( this was included in our original application )

Then she asked my husband what the purpose of his trip in September was - we furnished documents and explained

She asked him to confirm that the purpose was for business, which he did.

She asked when he decided to immigrate - we explained our story. She wrote down a note in the file and then left the room for 5 minutes.

Then she said ok - we need to further review your file. If we need additional documents, I will send you a notice in the mail.

I said I have all documents with me, both originals and copies, to which she said, don't worry about that. ( which I thought was weird considering the effort I took in compiling everything for the interview )

She shakes our hand and gives us a notice of continuance. We freak out and think there is something wrong, as we read they typically stamp your passport and give you a decision right there.

Fifteen minutes after leaving, I get a call from her asking if I can fax information related to the I-864, including tax returns, W-2, and a copy of my offer letter at work. Luckily we were not far, and I did this immediately. No further response that day.

31/10/2013 - Filed I-130, I-131, I-765, I-485 with National Benefits Center

04/11/2013 - Notice of Action receipt

07/11/2013 - Notice of Biometrics appointment for 22/11/2013

22/11/2013 - Fingerprints taken

29/11/2013 - call to the USCIS National Customer Service to check on the I-131 status for husband to return to New Zealand for work ( not abandon the whole process. They gave minimal information and we were very nervous as the status NEVER appeared on the online portal. I assumed they had lost the application

23/12/2013 - we received the Combo card advance parole & EAD

02/01/2014 - Notice for AOS interview for 05/02/2014

05/02/2014 - Interview date - given a "reason for continuance" document at the interview. Worried thinking this would delay approval

9/02/2014 - Welcome letter

10/02/2014 - Received Green card in the mail!!

From start to finish 3 months and 10 days

As an aside, in January my husband had to leave the US for a previously planned work trip back to New Zealand. After reading about some issues others have had with the advance parole/EAD combo card, we were quite nervous about his successful re-entry to the country.

After researching this, we found the best way to enter back into the US on this card was to arrive at a small/lesser populated POE, late at night, with all the relevant documents for the I-131 & I-485. I selected to route him through Honolulu late at night ( 10pm ), versus LAX, and his wait time was 15 minutes. no questions asked - he was the on his connecting flight immediately following, no issue.

I hope this gives some of you insight and hope about the process!

you don't have to be separated from your family - and the USCIS DOES/CAN quickly process applications. To be honest, it was 1/4 of the time NZ took to process my residency application - most unexpected

I wish you all the best of luck!!!

Congrat. Long story....but very helpful.

By the way, for how long is your approved Green Card? 2 years or 10 years?

We can definitely share-- I'm mostly copy/pasting this from my husband (WinstonsDad) who posted this in our November2013 group thread. He was the beneficiary and was adjusting from a student visa.

Hope this helps!

Very interesting story. Thanks

We had our I-485 approved today, and I cannot thank all of you on Visa Journey enough.

No one understood the "alphabet soup" of RFEs, NOAs, or Biometrics I'd answer when some innocent friend or family member asked how the visa process was going. But you guys did. You were here to remind me I was not insane. From the panicked EEK! Do I Have Everything? posts to the encouragement when we'd hadn't heard things in weeks... You all were the only ones who really understood what we were going through.

Thank you, good luck & see you in about a year and a half!

Just read the Guide. It has the answers to all your questions. Just follow it and you will be very soon resident :-)

Congratulations...Great and interesting story!

Ok, thanks then.

Good then;

I think I will add my income to my wife's and we will be fine!!! Thinks should be ok this way!

In such case, we need only 1 (one) form I-864 and our last 3 joint tax returns (hopefully we have filled tax return jointly for the past years).Am I right?

Hi guys I'm back again with a question related to having a sponsor.

As an H1B holder (temporary worker) I make more than the required income for sponsorship for my case.

Can I be MYSELF a joint sponsor (with my spouse), even if my spouse is not working?

Thanks a lot.

If your H1B visa stamp in your passport is valid then you can travel on that while your AOS is pending so you have no need for AP, you can also renew your H1B if need be.

Actually I have The Status of H1B only. Not the visa in my passport. I changed my status from F1 to H1B long time ago. I will need to apply for a h1b visa if I go out of the USA. That's why I need to have the GC asap.

Thank you guys for your kind and quick answers.

I see that most people file a I-131 for Advance Parole while they have their application pending (If I am wrong with the appellation of the I-131, please correct me)

It would be a good idea for us too. When my spouse becomes a USC, we file the I-130, the I-485, and the I-131 at the same time.

So we can go back home and return to the USA without any problem. I am right?

It seems like we will need to have a Valid reason to file the I-131.

As I can see on the I-131 instruction page, it says:

3. Advance Parole Document for Individuals in the United States

a. If you are in the United States and seek an Advance Parole Document, you may apply if:

(1) You have a pending application to adjust status, Form I-485, and you seek to travel abroad for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or in furtherance of a “significant public benefit,” which may include a personal or family emergency or bona fide business reasons.

I hope I'll have a good reason other than the need to visit family members back home.

Hi everybody;

It’s a great pleasure to have such a forum online to help people file their immigration applications.

I really need you guys to help me file my application myself because Attorney’s fees are extremely high here in NY.

I want to apologize in advance if my question has already been asked, or if I am redundant.

I want to know if I can file the I-130 first and wait for it to be approved, then file the other part of the documents later (when my spouse becomes a USC)? She will be a USC very soon and we are planning to go to back home once she is USC for a family visit. So our plan is to not waist time and start one part of the application (the I-130 first) and then conclude with the other after she passes the Citizenship test.

If so how long do you think it usually takes for the I-130 only to be approved for applicant living in NY?

Thanks for your help.

PS: I currently have an H1B status and my spouse is currently a GC holder.