TwoSwifts

I've already earned a legitimate case of carpal tunnel in my mouse clicking finger!! 😉🤣

I've seen the exact same in addition to posted comments that a few days passed before anything updated. Given we interviewed on the day before the Federal holiday, I knew the weekend would truly be a long one...LOL!! We're 2.5 days in and nothing feels out of sorts for me at this stage as waiting is part of the gig!! This one just happens to be the most intense of them all. 😊🙏

For anyone following this thread, and were curious about any updates. So far, we're into Tuesday 7/8 and both the I-130 and I-485 sit at "Interview Was Scheduled".....Haven't even seen them advance to "Under Review". Of course this wait is extremely frustrating, but the wheels of government can turn slow, and just like an elevator, pushing the button 100 times doesn't make it come any faster. Patience is truly a virtue here, but I can honestly say that my wife's nerves are through the roof, and the anxiety of having to wait is palpable. Hopefully some great news will follow soon, but I wanted to keep everyone updated as best I can. Stay Positive and Believe!!

You are welcome to comment on cases where this might happen to someone with complex and questionable immigration circumstances that could warrant a detention. I'm not going to get into nuance with you. I am specifically speaking to our case and others who have matching scenarios where no laws have been broken, no outstanding or extenuating legal issues exist, and the current process is being followed legally and ethically. I'm also speaking to my personal observations of our location visit. There were no officers in sight other than the ones I mentioned. We can't continue to fear monger the community of potential immigrants and their partners who have adhered to the process as the law provides. The media and its current polarization is spreading unwarranted fear into the hearts of those who have nothing to be worried about, and our case proves that. My intention is to pass on that confidence to others who are in the process on equal footing. In addition, our attorney consoled any concerns we had by stating that in 20 years, not one of their bona fide cases ever had an issue at a FO, and we're a prime example of that. I'll leave the floor open to anyone who wants to comment on this thread where they were detained at an AOS Interview and had not one blemish against their bona fide case..

Awesome to hear you got your interview too!! I wish you and Jaycel all the blessings, well wishes and strength as you get to this next step!! Hopefully we'll get some really positive news here very soon!! It really will mean the world to us!!😊🙏

Agree....I don't advise everyone use a tactic like that and risk getting off on the wrong foot when it can be avoided to start. I would say I get a pretty good read on people very quickly by how they immediately introduce/present themselves from their expressive engagement. She was all smiles from the start, and definitely welcoming. My comment to her about her desk was complimentary, and not condescending, but if I had detected that she was just straight up business and nothing less, I wouldn't have even remotely attempted to make the comment. I would have just matched the person's energy. Serious and straight to the point. I feel fortunate that we were able to joke around with her, and her with us...Afterall, she is a normal person and human being despite having the power to decide our future...so full respect to her was shown at all times.

Hello Everyone, I wanted to share our USCIS interview experience at the Atlanta FO yesterday (7/3). We are a B2 Tourist marriage-based AOS. I'm the husband (USC), and my wife is Brazilian. We were married in September of 2024 (Arrived in Orlando in March of 2024), and filed our I-130, I-485, I-765, and I-131 collectively in mid-January (1/14/25) through a local attorney. My wife was technically on an overstay at that point, but our attorney advised that this would be forgiven since she is the spouse of a US Citizen, and her overstay was very minor given the date we filed. I imagine we could have DIY'd, but I'm a firm believer in making sure everything is correct, and done right, so I'm not opposed to the extra cost of having representation. My wife's nerves have been running rampant throughout this process due to the media and multitudes of news sources sensationalizing the sensitivity around immigration and the stories being reported on. While our journey is entirely legal and the "right way", she has been in a near panic thinking ICE would be lurking in every corner of the AOS building just itching to haul her away. This is certainly not the case, nor would it happen, and I can personally attest to the fact that the only uniformed people at the building were the general security staff that screen you before entering the building. Our appointment was scheduled for today @ 9:55am. We arrived around 9:10am. Our attorney arrived around 9:20am, and we explicitly followed their instruction not to enter until we were all collectively together. After entering, we proceeded through security with no issues. Everyone was relatively pleasant at this point. Immediately went to check-in and my wife had her picture taken and biometrics scanned. We were issued a call-number and were checked-in @ 9:41 am. Proceeded to the 3rd floor waiting room, and hunkered down for the wait. After several others passed us by, we were called in by our IO around 10:10am. First impressions are always on deck, and she presented herself as a very pleasant person at the jump. Did not have any kind of demeanor that indicated she was terse, stern or unnecessarily serious. She greeted us very kindly and led us back to her office. She had a huge L-Shaped desk, so I took the opportunity to say..."Fancy Desk!!". She looked at me with a semi-sarcastic and smiling facial expression and said..."You sure...Really?". More or less breaking the ice between us and made me confident that being in her presence would not be daunting or overbearing. Prior to taking our seats, she swore us in, and the interview began. **We were never separated** (This may not be the case for everyone, but this factor alone was a calming element to the experience as well) Additional Context: In between some of the questioning, she took time to make entries on the computer, take notes and engage with us in a pleasant, sometimes comical back and forth conversation keeping the air in the room light. Clearly their systems were acting a bit slow, so to break up the monotony we had several moments of light and fun banter. We joked about coffee and the effects of caffeine as I have a very social personality, so she picked on me and asked if I had had coffee that morning because I can be talkative and friendly. This resulted in her openly admitting that she can't start the day without it, lifted her coffee thermos up like a trophy, and showed that she had caffeine pills in her desk. She also picked on me about stapling things in our supporting documentation as it made scanning more cumbersome. She said jokingly..."Next time...don't staple everything"...to which I said..."There shouldn't need to be a next time...this is forever right?"...to which she responded.."Yes, we don't want to see you back here unless it's to apply for her citizenship". All in all, very light-hearted and normal conversational banter. Questions Asked: (To Both) What is your spouses full name? What is their DOB? Is this both our first time filing a petition for marriage-based AOS? (To My Wife) Did she come here for the purposes of Immigration benefits? When she applied for her visa, what did she say was the purpose of her visit? What made her say "Yes" to my proposal? Did she work before receiving her EAD? Did she drive? Did she overstay her visa? Did she have a State-issued ID? Is she currently working? And of course...General I-485 Q&A (Yes/No) stuff (To Me) How did we meet? (This was asked to both, so for clarity we asked her who should answer). What led to the proposal, and when did I propose? What were the reasons for proposing to her? After all of the questions, she did ask for any other supporting evidence we wanted to submit with regard to show anything we had jointly. We submitted Life Insurance and Medical Beneficiary documents, 2024 Tax Filings, Joint Bank Account Statement, Affidavits from friends, additional pictures (we have tons, so she only asked for 4 pages worth), Sam's Club, Costco, and finally a cruise booking confirmation for both of us next year. All the while she was very pleasant to speak to, and was not brooding or overbearing. The interview lasted about 45 minutes in total. **Side Note ~ She did have my wife sign an admission statement on a tablet to the aspect of answering "yes" to overstaying her visa. (While generally concerning, we have to remember that her overstay is forgiven based on legal marriage to a USC) Upon conclusion of the questioning, scanning documents, and entries on the PC she handed us back the remainder of our supporting evidence documents (she made copies) and ID's indicating the interview was complete. We waited to ultimately hear that we had been approved on the spot, but instead, she made the comment: "This part is done, and you should receive a notification in the mail, I can't give you the time frame on that, but your case remains under review and if we need anything else, we'll contact you.". At that point she handed me a document stating the same. "Case is under review". Our attorney's opinion along with ours is that the interview went extremely well, and there's shouldn't be any reason to think we won't receive an approval soon. The agents have absolutely no obligation to offer any information regarding approval or denial after the interview is complete. We are subject to their process and responses whether we like it or not. I will close with this: Not the outcome we were really wanting today, but she did make a couple comments during the interview that indicated it went very well...One being..."Yes, we don't want to see you back here again unless its for her application for citizenship." I don't think she would have said that if there wasn't a possibility of us receiving her GC. The collective opinion was that the IO did not have the authority to approve the GC on the spot, and needed a supervisor's sign off first. (I could see her filling out a form that said "Supervisor Review: AOS". So now we wait!! We feel confident, but until the cases move to "Approved", we aren't fully satisfied. We are a simple case, no historical legal issues, and just two people eager to move forward in our marriage and in life. To those who have pending interviews, our advice is to be prepared, organize and have ready to present additional evidence, and just be calm, relaxed, and answer the questions honestly and genuinely. Remember you are a valid, true and bonafide relationship, so there shouldn't be any reason to be nervous about the process. You only have the truth to tell. The continued wait will be a frustrating period of time for us, but good luck to everyone out there!! Your dreams will be realized!!

Thank you for this post. Our interview is scheduled for July 3rd, and we have wondered how people's experience has gone. The media, news and people in our orbit don't always make you feel very comfortable about this process or our interview day. I've been steadfast with my wife that we will be fine and everything will go smoothly. You've confirmed that, and I've shown her your post to help calm some of the nerves LOL!! Very happy for both you!! Congratulations!!

Thank you...we're very excited!! It's a process, but well worth it!! We'll keep the forum updated once we've had the interview!

Hello All, I'm sure all of us who are "in-waiting" pay attention to the estimated times for acceptances, biometrics, interviews and the like. I know those are based on the most extreme case averages mostly. I'm not certain this would be any metric for anything, but my wife and I filed in early January of 2025, and we just got an update to both our I-485 and I-130 cases. Both elements have now had an interview scheduled for early July. We're excited that it seems the progress is much quicker than expected given we were originally told 15-18 months to even get an interview or potentially receive the GC. We understand that it could be some time after the interview before the GC is mailed, but we're thrilled this seems to be moving along rather reasonably. Is this time frame aligning with others in our same situation? My wife already has her EAD, so that was adjudicated prior. The disappointment was that we filed an I-131 for Advanced Parole, and now it appears we may get the GC before the Advanced Parole is even approved. Only reason we did that was because we were told the Advanced Parole would most likely come before the GC. The downside there is the money spent for the form, to not even get the cost out of expenditure. All that matters to us is that we get some of this process behind us and can happily continue forward!! 😊🙏😎🎶

Fair point...LOL!! We've even got mixed answers from the attorney's office, and the two individuals sit an office door away from each other. 🤣

Hello All, Another question of inquiry. When my wife and I worked with our Attorney and we went through the process of filling out the forms, one element we selected was to have her Social Security Number issued in line with the application process. This is in lieu of making it another separate step in the process. Her EAD card was received at the attorney's office, so that's a great thing!! We were told that the SSN Card would follow in a couple weeks. It's closing out on a couple weeks, and they still haven't received it. While this is not a major pressing issue as she'll only need to have it, along with the EAD card once she she secures a job, I am just trying to avoid multiple trips to the attorney's office since it seems both items are destined to land there. My question is...Does anyone have a time frame for when most SSN Cards get mailed out, and is there any benefit for signing up for the SSA government site to confirm it was issued or if she's even in their system yet? We'll make the trip to the field office if necessary, but if we don't have to, that's acceptable as well. Thanks for any information you may have on my inquiry.

Hello Everyone, I know not everyone's case or circumstances are the same. As well, processing centers I'm certain run on different intervals as well. I simply wanted to provide some information that might be helpful/reassuring for you. As of yesterday 4/10, my wife and I received notification that her I-765 (EAD) application was "Approved". We submitted on January 14th of 2025 (Along with the I-485, I-130, and I-131). Her first biometrics was on 2/28, however we got recalled due to her fingerprints and had a second biometrics on 3/20. Based on those calculations, her I-765 was approved in 86 days. I full believe it would have been less (65 days or so) had we not had to go back for the 2nd biometrics. That alone delayed things 3 weeks. At any rate, I know my commentary may not speak to every situation, but if you're looking for some generalities for time frames, I thought you might like to hear about our outcome. We're excited that she will soon be able to work, drive and feel more included here in the US. Onward and forward!!

Domestic flight only....Atlanta to Baltimore for a music festival. That's it....Nothing extravagant...

Our only consideration for flying would have been strictly domestic flights. We have submitted the I-131 for Advanced Parole so that we might be able to travel to visit her family and other destinations while we are going through the process. But again...any flight plans prior to receiving approval of the I-131 would have been strictly domestic for vacation purposes.

We would have flown from Atlanta to Baltimore....It's a 9+ hour drive. Not a dagger by any stretch...But if we could have flown, we would have certainly taken that route.

Yes...you are correct. It was an inquiry with regard to a domestic flight... And we are in recognition of the concerns shared here on the forum, and value the opinions of everyone sharing matching responses. It was simply an inquiry to the recommendation. To clarify the final point, my wife has now been here a year and a little bit...

I don't feel as though our consideration of flying domestically to another state is any attempt to run under the radar. We have open active cases with USCIS and are following the standard legal procedural path to adjustment of status. I was just curious about the general thoughts on flying through domestic terminals during the adjustment process.

Thank you both for your honest opinions, and perspective! We both understand that the current climate is a factor that might lead to exercising even more precautions now than maybe years past. That said, the other points made are valid as well and could apply at any time, so we'll always seek primary guidance from our attorney as we navigate the process. That will be first and foremost!! I just thought it additionally beneficial to hear from others as well as everyone has different experiences and consult. Much appreciated!!

All your points are valid, and of course we're taking their advice and going to drive to our location in May. We're not going to take any risks whatsoever...I was just more curious about the advisement since I thought flying domestically was relatively safe/allowable being we have a case# and upon getting her EAD Card, she would be able to obtain a valid driver's license therefore not requiring her to fly under her passport as a means of identification. Again, we're not going to take any risks..it was more of a question of inquiry.

Hello All, My wonderful wife and I are adjusting off a tourist based visa. We've filed all relative forms I-130, I-131, I-485, and I-765. We submitted in Mid January and have received our NOA1 on all forms and have attended the biometrics appointment. We're waiting on EAD to approved first, with hopes of the Advance Parole to follow shortly thereafter. Given the general path of our journey, we are attending a music festival in early May and wanted to fly domestically vs. having to drive. Our attorney advised us not to fly. Why would there be any hesitation on their part? Nothing in our pasts that is questionable...Just curious on opinions. Thanks!!