hanamericana

Hi everyone, sorry for not updating right away, but I received the GC on February 16th.

And then I got the acceptance letter yesterday (22nd). It's weird that the order is backwards but I am glad it wasn't any bad information (I got scared a bit that they might be saying my GC was invalid or something).

I hope this helps a bit to calculate the days for everyone. Hang in there!

I got three of the same texts and an email today and the email says that my card is being produced!

I don't remember if I shared it, but my Infopass appointment was on September 5th, 2017 and my I-551 stamp was good until March 4th, 2018.

I was getting a bit worried that I might have to go there to get the stamp again, so I am relieved! 

Hoping for everyone from this thread to get approved very soon! It's coming! :-)

20 hours ago, AK_2014 said:

Thanks for posting about your experience.

 

Unfortunately, I've read a few other cases of Chicago only giving out 6-month stamps, and no cases of Chicago granting a stamp valid for a full year. Which is annoying because the Illinois driver's license expiration date is tied to the GC / extension / stamp expiration date, and you have to pay the full license fee ($30 or whatever) to get a license that is only valid for a short period of time. Aargh...

Oh I didn't know it was the case. Yup, Chicago is more strict than other places then apparently.

When I went to get the driver's license here, they didn't allow me to apply since my GC only had 6 months left. So that means I still can't apply for it :-/

So I am still using Tennessee license, since it's still valid (I know I am supposed to change it to the residential state license, but in this case, what can you do really?).

Hi everyone! It's great to see VSC peeps getting their cards. Congrats to all! :-)

I just went to get I-551 stamp yesterday at Chicago office. I had to wait for over an hour even though I had an "appointment." So if you are going to Chicago office, beware!

When I actually got to meet the officer, she asked me to take a picture and fingerprints.

I never saw anybody talking about that here so I got a little surprised, but it went quickly. 

But, when I actually finally got a stamp, she reduced it to 6 months, crossing "one year" part of the stamp :-/

When I asked why to her, she said "your case is already pending a year, so we don't want the stamp to be that long."

Okay...... I guess it really depends on the officer who takes it, and apparently I got an uptight officer.

When I asked her if she knew how long more it will take for the process, she said "I don't know." She didn't even want to try to look into details. Oh well!

Anyways, I did get a stamp so it's a good thing. 

I really hope it won't take another half year until we get the card. I am praying for the fellow CSC peeps! 

2 hours ago, theanswerisdance said:

Question for those who have already travelled on the extension letter: do you show the letter right away with the green card when you approach the customs officer, or do you just give them the green card and only provide the letter if they ask for it or if they mention something about the expiry date of the card? I've read anecdotal experiences where people say they had no problems because when the IO swiped their GC it automatically came up as extended for another year, and then I've read stories where people say that IOs are not always familiar with the letter and it causes a hold-up or else they get sent to secondary. I'm traveling at the end of the month on the expired GC + letter and just wondered what shows up on their computer and if it's better to just hand over my GC first and see if they say anything before producing the letter, rather than potentially creating unnecessary confusion.

I just travelled overseas twice in July and August (my GC is expiring in September). I just showed the letter with the card. 

July

The agency at the airport check-in counter knew what it was and had no problem to check in, but when I got to the Houston airport custom, I was sent to the secondary.

I was confused but it turns out that the officer who questioned me didn't know about the letter very well.

The secondary room officer told me the letter is fine and I could travel without problems (I was asking since I was going to go overseas very soon).

August

The second time was much smoother and quick (it was in Hawaii). The officer knew what the letter was and he even fixed the problem I had on my information!

I guess my information on the system still had my student visa information, which confused the first officer more apparently.

So it was a bit scary for the first time, but you don't need to worry as long as you have GC and the letter together.

My one year period is going to expire soon, so I am going to get the stamp with Infopass.

Thank you so much!!

Updated to include Hanamericana and Jimleen bio appointments! Congrats!

California Service Center (23 applicants, 0 approved - 0%)

VJName..............Date of I-751...NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved
FROMPHWITHLOVE......08/30/16........09/01/16......10/13/16......--/--/--

THAIRI..............09/01/16........09/06/16......10/11/16......--/--/--
MECHANICALSHASTA....09/01/16........09/16/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
TEXANS_99...........09/01/16........09/06/16......10/14/16......--/--/--
COLGIL..............09/06/16........09/08/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

PUNTER13............09/06/16........09/09/16......10/14/16......--/--/--
NADESHDA............09/09/16........09/13/16......10/12/16......--/--/--
DGREENING...........09/12/16........09/15/16......10/14/16......--/--/--
TDCK83..............09/12/16........09/17/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
FRALIFAY............09/13/16........09/19/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
CDNRN...............09/13/16........09/16/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
OZGIRL1981..........09/13/16........09/16/16......10/13/16......--/--/--
HARAMI..............09/14/16........09/20/16......10/11/16......--/--/--
MAYDE...............09/14/16........09/16/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
ZULUWETA............09/14/16........09/15/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
HANAMERICANA........09/14/16........09/15/16......10/12/16......--/--/--
KCMO................09/16/16........09/19/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
JIMLEEN.............09/16/16........09/16/16......10/13/16......--/--/--
FRIENDLYUSA.........09/17/16........09/23/16......10/12/16......--/--/--
INGRID28............09/17/16........09/20/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
LALA1...............09/23/16........--/--/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

NOWAY123456.........09/23/16........09/26/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

KETSUBAN............09/26/16........--/--/16......--/--/16......--/--/--


Vermont Service Center (12 applicants, 0 approved - 0%)

VJName..............Date of I-751...NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved
BABY-PIE............09/01/16........09/12/16......10/04/16......--/--/--
USMAN104............09/06/16........--/--/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
B&G.................09/09/16........09/17/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
MASSBOY617..........09/09/16........09/12/16......10/11/16......--/--/--
STACKERIA...........09/14/16........09/16/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
JOHNDOE82...........09/14/16........09/16/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
DUDEINTRIBECA.......09/15/16........09/19/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
JPTL85..............09/16/16........09/19/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
DINOSAUR2013........09/19/16........--/--/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

STEVE&ANNA..........09/19/16........09/22/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
MAGGIE&JAYSON.......09/20/16........--/--/16......--/--/16......--/--/--
SCHULLEY............09/26/16........--/--/16......--/--/16......--/--/--

I got the biometrics notice today! (actually it might have been yesterday, I couldn't go check the mail yesterday...)

It will be on October 12th!

If it's OK with you, I will add you to the list.

Thank you so much! I appreciate it!! :-)

Hi everyone! I am September filer as well.

I don't know how to add myself to the list, so if somebody could do it, that would be great!

It's just going to be a waiting game, but hopefully everyone gets the biometrics appointment soon :-)

Congrats!!

Thanks! I got the welcome letter today and my husband got the letter for I-130 approval as well.

Best of luck to you! Almost there! :-)

Congratulations!

Thanks!! :-)

Hopefully the card itself will come soon. We are planning on going to Japan in later October, but the officer didn't give me the stamp on my passport saying that he thinks it's not necessary... (he said it has to be emergency situation)

I had an interview today and got approved!!

It was very simple and quick. We got there about 15 minutes earlier than the appointment, and the interview itself probably didn't take even 10 minutes... so we were only there for about half an hour.

The officer was very nice and had brief questions to me mostly about our relationship and how we ended up being in Memphis etc. (we met in Boise, Idaho), but that was pretty much it. My husband didn't really have to answer much at all. It seems like he knew everything already.

I gave him some supporting documents (new house lease, most recent joint bank account statement, utility bills, and picture), but I didn't really have to show him anything else.

I am very relieved now and hope that everyone's rest of the process will go smoothly!

This website helped me a lot.

Thank you all for being nice and supportive! I will be back in a little less than two years :-)

How long did it take for your interview to be scheduled after that?

We changed our address in early August and our case immediately went back to "Initial Review" and today we jumped back forward to "Testing and Interview," a month and a half later.

The funny thing is before our address change we had been in Testing and Interview since February. So I'm not sure if we just got sent to the back of the line and added to the very end of the scheduling queue, or if the system is quirky and we're about to be scheduled for our interview.

It was a little less than a month to get the notification for the interview.

I hope yours will go smoothly!

For your information, anyone, including a tourist, can come to the US, start a corporation and open a business. There is nothing illegal about it. Each corporation has it's own Federal Tax ID and it is perfectly legal for the corporation to make money in this country. The corporation is TAXABLE.

Not everyone is lucky enough to fall in love and get married so easily, or to have the perfect job that gets them a Green Card or a work permit straight away.

I have the same right as you to live in this country.

And, once again, I am NOT trying to do anything illegal. I just wanted to see if I could get some advice on any other visa we hadn't yet considered. I wanted to CHANGE MY STATUS, not BREAK THE LAW.

By the way, our intention with the business was not to make money in the US (for now, at least), but to obtain the Investor Visa. We have been doing it all WITH A LAWYER.

Anyway, thanks again. Obviously I came to the wrong place because there are far too many angry folks here. I'll go elsewhere with my questions.

If your husband is qualified to be specially skilled in Spanish cuisine, he may be able to apply for O-1 (visa for extraordinary talent).

I have known some Japanese sushi chefs come to the states with it.

But I know it requires lawyer and money, and proof of him being special (I looked into it since I am a musician).

If not then, you probably would want to work harder to convince good tapas restaurant owners to hire him and sponsor him for H-1 or E-2.

Meanwhile, he should work legally ON CAMPUS (up to 20 hours) or apply for OPT for economic hardship. That will allow him to work outside of campus.

One of my friends was working with it since she could not get the support she was getting from her family due to her father's health problem.

I am pretty sure everyone here wants to help, not to attack you! You sound like you are taking everyone's comments wrongly and harshly.

Good luck!

Approved! Will post review later!

Congratulations!!! :-)

Yeah their system is down.

Even though I changed my address, it seems like my EAD got mailed to the old address :-(

I was supposed to get it yesterday and now it says "undeliverable."

USPS couldn't help me with it so I called USCIS, but the lady said the system is down so they can't check anything.

Does anybody know if USPS hold your undeliverable mail for any longer than a day? or do they just mail it back right away?

Well, I went to USPS and they said they already sent it back...

I have to wait for them to send it to me again to the new address :-/

Congrats to all those who have gotten EAD/AP approval already. I hope we get ours soon.

BTW Is the USCIS case status page down for anyone else or is it just me?

Yeah their system is down.

Even though I changed my address, it seems like my EAD got mailed to the old address :-(

I was supposed to get it yesterday and now it says "undeliverable."

USPS couldn't help me with it so I called USCIS, but the lady said the system is down so they can't check anything.

Does anybody know if USPS hold your undeliverable mail for any longer than a day? or do they just mail it back right away?

EAD/AP in production!! Yeahhhhhhh

Congrats!! :-)

You do not need to attach your tax forms, it's your spouse or sponsor who need it.

Yaay! That's great news. Do you have an account with USCIS? They only send texts/emails the first time with your case number then you have to sign up with them in order to be notified. The website is a bit old school. I just find odd that you are not being notified via text/email

Oh I didn't know that I had to sign up for it again! I totally thought that G-1145 was for getting updates throughly, not only the beginning.

Weirdly though, my husband got the paper notification for changing the address, but I didn't... they are not consistent for sure!

Thanks for letting me know :-)

What visa are you adjusting from?

You may not have the interview at all I guess it means you just gonna get the green card

Congrats

I am adjusting from F-1, so I don't think I can skip the interview but we will see!

From what I saw, those who are skipping interviews are the ones who are adjusting from K-1.

(The card production is only for EAD, not green card, in case you misunderstood)

Congratulations! !

We had our biometeics at same date and the changing to "testing and interview" almost jn the same day, I hope my ead go to "production" this week

Thanks!

Yeah we have very similar timeline, so you should be getting yours soon I believe :-)

Did you apply for EAD? If you did you should be getting one pretty soon according to other timelines :-)

Yes I did! And today it changed to "Card Production" all of a sudden!

I am glad I can really apply to any job now... hopefully I will get the interview appointment soon too :-)

No email or text notification this time either! haha

The exact same thing happened to me last week and I was scared, but it went back to "Testing and Interview" again like 5 days later.

I think that's what happens when you change the address, or the system is a little messed up.

I checked my status again today and now it's back to "Testing and Interview." I am a bit relieved now!

I hope I will get the interview date soon!

Hey guys,

I just moved to my new place this week and changed the address online. It says that I changed it successfully and I checked the status online today... it was supposed to be "Testing and Interview," but it was changed to "Initial Review" and there was no "Testing and Interview"!!

Is it because I changed the address or the online thing is messed up?? Is it only me that I don't see "Testing and Interview" on I-485?

I am getting nervous now :-(

When the stage moved up to "Testing," I never got a notification on text or email... so maybe that was a mistake?