msmontader

On 11/2/2017 at 5:26 PM, sparkles_ said:

Supervisory review means for whatever reason, be it the officer is in training, that officer got selected to have all their cases reviewed for a while, or something about your case (certain country nationals get it more than others, people with criminal charges, people with unusual cases) requires it.....the interviewing officer can not give final approval, it has to be sent to their supervisor for this. It isn't a bad thing, just a pain in the ### type thing.

Thank you for your response !. I managed to get an info pass on this upcoming Monday. Hopefully, it will be good news!. 

On 11/1/2017 at 5:37 AM, sparkles_ said:

I saved some links about this that I will have to dig up for you, concerning approval if backgrounds are the only thing pending and nothing else is flagged. It was actually from the USCIS manual for high risk and fraud detection.....I was beyond paranoid of being a victim of the 3 year background. Later this evening, I will post or PM them to you

 

You should make the infopass ASAP if its open online. I know we had a horrible time finding an open date when we needed it. Ask if you are in supervisory review when you go. I bet you are, and this also takes an extra few weeks.

Thank you Sparkles. I just checked the availability and there is nothing yet. The website says to check tomorrow for available spots. Can you explain what is supervisory review means?

On 11/1/2017 at 6:55 AM, Linyahui said:

 

I agree with Sparkles that you should try to book an InfoPass starting now. If you don't need it, you can always cancel, but it can take time to find an available time so it's better to be prepared.

 

I have a feeling that your card will just show up or the online status will suddenly change in another week or so. I always assumed the worst with my husband's GC process but it all worked out in the end. I wouldn't worry too much until you reach that 45-day window. My husband's GC took a little while to arrive after we received notice of the approval. Still, I would try to book an InfoPass appointment, just in case, so you have options. 

Yea I think this is the best option for the time being, assuming I will be lucky and find an open spot. I hope I hear good news before I make it to the info pass. 

On 10/30/2017 at 4:50 AM, sparkles_ said:

I recall always hearing either 30 or 45 days is the real 'take action' date. I would give it another two weeks but go ahead and either look at infopass appts and book one if able, since they fill up fast or make an appt to see your congressional rep. Me personally I would go in this order: tier 2 inquiry if you can ever get one when calling and not hold for 3 hours, infopass, congressperson. If you are only holding on backgrounds (it's early here and I can't recall) then I would skip right to your congressperson.  

 

I hate to bear bad news but it seems all things USCIS slow down during Nov-new year due to the holidays. Keep your head up, I see no reason to worry over anything yet, but get things in place in case day 30 rolls around and nothing. 

Ugh, I knew it won't go as smooth as we want it to be. This background thing been holding for so long although I have been in the country for seven years. I have probably been in all types of vetting and background checks during this time. The congressperson doesn't really speed up the background checks ( at least that's what he told me). I'll just wait for two more weeks and then make an info pass ( or should I just do it now ?). The weird thing is that the officer was super nice and he literally said ( you will get your green card within three weeks or so). 

It has been two weeks since I had my interview with USCIS and nothing has been updated yet. Should I panic or everything is fine?

Interview update: the interview went really well (and fast)!. The officer started by asking me about the normal questions on the green card application (have been involved in XYZ) and after that, he asked about a missing page in my application ( luckily I have a copy so I handed it over). Also, he asked for the medical exam since my old one is expired so I handed over the new one that I did. After that, it was just very basic questions on where we live and what we do. The officer took most of the time just looking for the I-130 application in the files they have and when he found it he just made sure everything looks good. The interview took about 20-30 minutes total. He said that they are just waiting for the background check clearance and I should expect to get the green card within 3 weeks. Very excited to see that this process has finally come to an end. Thanks to everyone who posted and updated about their cases and helped us in this long process. I will post again when I get the physical card in the mail!. 

On 9/7/2017 at 12:25 PM, Linyahui said:

I second Sparkles's advice regarding the medical exam and short answers. We ended up getting an RFE for several items because our case took so long to get to the St. Paul local office, and one of those items was the medical exam and immunization worksheet. It didn't matter that when we submitted the AOS paperwork in March 2016 that the medical exam was still valid....at the point of review at our local office, it had expired and so they requested another one. 

 

I also sent IRS tax transcripts as part of our RFE. They had requested 2016 tax returns, but the tax transcript was more detailed and I didn't want to cause any further delays. As Sparkles said, I don't think the 1040 would have been enough (although it was accepted for the 2014 and 2015 tax year when I submitted with the original AOS packet). Better safe than sorry!

 

I can't direct you to specific AOS interview questions because we didn't actually get around to practicing those ourselves. However, I think Googling will give you plenty of resources. Again, I think just practicing answering questions (any of the questions you find) will be helpful, even if they don't end up being the specific questions asked during the interview. It's just helpful to get used to the process of being asked and answering. 

Yea I re-did the exam and they have changed the format and ( of course) add more questions regarding the medical exam. Can't wait for next week!

6 minutes ago, sparkles_ said:

Honestly, I would re do the medical exam if it's older than 365 days. It would suck to be told you would be approved on the spot but you need a new medical.

 

I always heard the transcripts are better because they show an easy break down and it's official. 1040 forms can only show you filed not that it was accepted and processed by the IRS. 

 

We googled stokes interview questions and a ton of sites came up with lists. Also you can search green card interview questions as well. We just prepped for a stokes just in case.

 

The best advice I can give you is keep any answer short and to the point. No extra details, just exactly what they ask for. Where did you meet your spouse? Example, at a college class. Done. Wait for another question. Not in a college class and we were lab partners, they grew on me and I asked them out but he or she turned me down the first time. Too many details can actually make problems as per our lawyers words and open an avenue for more questions.

Yup i figured that would be the case. I will do the medical exam first thing on Monday and i will order the IRS transcripts now. I do have a copy of the AOS packet and i made copies of all other immigrations documents along with originals. Thank you for clearing up all these issues!!. I really appreciate it !. 
I remember when i was on the asylum case, the lawyer said the same things " your answer should be short and clear nothing more and nothing less". so i think i will take your advice and his when i go to the interview. 
I will post here the things i have prepared before i go just to make sure that i am not missing something. I am also preparing papers as per your advice and other advices here on VJ. 
Thank You !

On 9/1/2017 at 10:40 AM, sparkles_ said:

Yes, at last!!!! 

 

The interview notice will have any specifics listed. Go ahead and get your tax transcripts ordered for any years you and your spouse filed jointly. Leases, utility bills, phone bills, car insurance, bank stuff in both names. Any invitations you've gotten listed to both of you maybe, I included an invite to a family member's wedding address to Mr and Mrs XYZ. Any joint memberships like gym, zoo, museum, AAA, etc. 

 

Time to start making your USCIS photo album, lol. I got a hard covered album that held 3 photos a sheet, front and back and filled it up. It held a total of 120 something and I labelled the back of each photo with the date, place/event and anyone else's first name that was in the photo. I also got an accordion folder and put all our paper documents in it and labelled the tabs for things like USCIS notices, lease/utility, bank stuff, extras, etc. If your spouse is listed as an emergency contact on anything, include this as well.

 

If you have a lot of things, bank and phone statements for example, I printed one for every 3mo versus all of them and told them this. We had over 2yr worth of those and I wasn't about to print every single one. You should have a full copy of your entire AOS packet with you as well to reference if they need it. And make sure your medical is up to date!! Glad to see you are finally at the end of this

Thank you Sparkles for your amazing response. I am in the process of getting everything and putting all those papers together. I have lots of papers ready ( insurances, phone bills, apartment leases ..etc). I do have all the taxes for the past years so should i just copy those or i have to order them from the IRS?. Also for the medical exam, i did submit my medical exam when i filed last year but i am not sure if i need a new one or how this process even goes?. On the interview notice they said a to bring a medical exam unless you have submitted one but i am not sure if it's still up to date. 

On 9/1/2017 at 11:42 AM, britontherun said:

We are still here.. waiting on the 28th...

 

Awesome... March filers are moving right along

Thank you !!

On 9/4/2017 at 10:43 AM, Linyahui said:

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! How exciting!!

 

Sparkles has provided excellent advice about what to bring and prepare. Although we didn't end up having an interview, I had prepared a binder very similar to what she has described, just in case. Actually, we are still waiting on the physical green card, so I'm keeping everything up-to-date. One never knows with USCIS....

 

Soon this will all be behind you! It might not hurt to practice answering some questions so you don't feel as nervous on the day of the interview. You could ask a friend or family member to go through the i-485 form and just ask you some of those questions. Even if those aren't the questions that are asked on interview day, you will have practiced answering questions in a somewhat uncomfortable setting, and that could help. 

Thank you so much !!. You guys will get it soon in the mail and all this will be behind and we will never look back haha. 
In  terms of the questions.. where can i find like typical interview questions just to practice them before going to the interview. 

Good News !!!
I just got an update status from USCIS and they have scheduled an interview on October 4 2017. I am so excited finally this thing is going to an end. 
Any suggestions on how to prepare and what to do ? i am excited but also a bit nervous !!

On 7/27/2017 at 5:58 PM, Linyahui said:

YOU GUYS!!!!

 

OK, mailed the RFE package on Saturday and this afternoon received a text message alerting me that our case status was updated on the USCIS website. I signed in, clicked on the i-485, and it said YOUR CASE HAS BEEN APPROVED!!!

 

That means the green card will soon be in the mail without interview, right? RIGHT?!?!??!

 

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Congratulations !!. you are officially done ! i am happy for you guys. 

As an update for my case. I had sent my RFE today and it included a lot of evidence including a new passport, letter of mistake acknowledgment from the government, the birth certificate, declaration, and also the new layer sign up agreement. Hopefully will hear something good soon. 

8 hours ago, sparkles_ said:

I agree, I don't think the falsification stuff will be an issue because it is a gov't mistake, not something you falsified yourself. Are your birthdates correct on other things, like your actual school registration documents and such? 

Yes. My national ID card is in July along with my birth certificate and my new Passport.

On 5/31/2017 at 10:49 AM, PaddyGirl13 said:

 

I'd certainly talk to the lawyer, I'm sure a clerical error on your passport can be rectified and a letter will help, but be prepared to answer why you also put the incorrect date on your application and didn't alert them to the issue then.

The instructions from the i-485 form state: "If you willfully or knowingly falsify or conceal a material fact or submit a false document with this request , we will deny the benefit you are filing for, and may deny any other immigration benefit."

Were your previous visas applied for and issued on the wrong date of birth?

I hope I'm not coming across as negative but there is a real possibility this is going to turn out to be a bigger issue than you'd want it to be.

 

Thank you for your response ! 
When I got my passport it had the wrong month on it and when I tried to fix it back then when I was in my home country, they gave me too much trouble just to fix it. Down there no one really cared for birthdate so i just left it as it was. My U.S Visa was issued on the passport and following that, everything else followed as the passport. I retained a lawyer finally and she advised me to write a declaration stating all what I just said here. I got a letter from the Iraqi embassy stating my correct birthdate and they even agreed on issuing a new passport that correspond to the birthdate on my birth certificate. The lawyer said that there is no material inconsistency in my case and it should be fine but I would ask her about the statement of Falsify material fact. The thing is my passport is issued by the government so I don't think it is a false document.
Thank you very much for your response and please give me any other issue that can come up so I can ask my lawyer about it.  

10 hours ago, sparkles_ said:

How many days do you have to respond? It is either 30 or 90.....if 90, get up with a lawyer when you can within the next 6wk.....if 30, make some phonecalls now and get someone who works on an hourly payscale versus fully retaining them.

Thank you for answering Sparkles. 
They gave me 90 days to respond to the RFE. I contacted my previous lawyer and he advice me to just submit the birth certificate and get an explanation letter from the Iraqi Embassy in the U.S. I contacted another lawyer here in the bay area and she told me to get back with me tomorrow. The good news is i have a friend that works at the Iraqi embassy and i explained my issue with him and he said he can get me an explanation letter regarding my birthdate. The bad news is i am really scared from this whole situation. 

Ok so i got the RFE and they require my birth certificate from my home country. However, My passport birthdate has January and my birth certificate has July. The passport is wrong and the agency that issued my passport made the mistake but they never fixed it although i bugged them many times. All my IDs here and application is in January because of my passport and my AOS application is in January. So what should i do now in this case ? just send my birth certificate and hope for the best or should i contact an attorney and arrange an explanation ?

6 hours ago, Linyahui said:

It's been a few weeks since my last update and I'm slowly inching back towards being in a blind rage. We have not received anything from USCIS in the past month, despite being told by a Tier 2 officer that our case was transferred to the local office in mid-April. I know that it may take some time to receive an interview letter, but I am now concerned that the Tier 2 just wanted to get us off the phone. He was clearly irritated that I continued asking questions and even asked to speak with my husband directly when I tried to get through my list of queries, even though my hubby had already given him permission to speak with me. 

 

When I check our online account, I can see that the employment and travel permit renewals were "touched." The dates were updated in accordance with the email updates I received. For example, the EAD renewal lists May 1, 2017 as the date of last update. However, the i-485 STILL lists March 21, 2016 as the last updated date, which leads me to believe that the case has not been touched since then, it is NOT in our local office, and USCIS is just bull-sh*ting us yet again. Is it possible that my husband is really STILL under security checks???????

 

We've tried to get through to a Tier 2 twice in the last week, but they weren't taking transfers when we were able to call. I'm trying to keep the faith, but today is not a day of patience. 

 

 

I never got a hold of Tier 2 officers for a while now. I think the best option is to make an info pass appointment and talk to an immigration officer in person. That's what i did !

5 hours ago, sparkles_ said:

We got an RFE not even a month after sending in the AOS packet, so it took a long while, almost 10mo. Ours was not touched after the RFE was sent til I inquired. I guess it isn't uncommon for USCIS to just set your stuff aside and forget it for months on end. 

Wow !!. I hope they don't take this long with me because it already been more than a year :(. Thank you Sparkles for the information. 

Just now, sparkles_ said:

Yes, I believe tier 1 can tell you the address on file, which would be the one they sent it to.....in theory. If you're worried though, I would get a tier 2 just to double confirm.

Ok i will do that then. Thank you !!
By the way, how long after did they take to give you an interview after you have sent them the RFE

8 minutes ago, sparkles_ said:

You should call and ask again what exact address it was sent to, just to make sure.

Call the customer service number and ask the Tier 1 ?

8 minutes ago, sparkles_ said:

Ours took maybe 7 days to arrive, seems about average for everyone. Honestly, the leaving off of the apartment number was my worst fear. So glad you caught that now

I never left it to be honest and i tried to tell the officer but she did not listen to me. She kept saying that i need to change it so i will just do it. Idk how then i got the conformation to my apartment that my address was changed. The NBC have my apartment number tho so does that mean they will send the RFE to my address ? 

52 minutes ago, sparkles_ said:

Things get lost, even if you sent them all. We used a lawyer and still got an RFE for a birth cert/translation. Our lawyer said that yes, things can get misplaced but USCIS will never own up to it and just send an RFE. Also, she said unclear copies also can get an RFE. 

 

I bet they want your birth cert too if it is an initial RFE.

Well at least they started working on it because the officer said my case was never touched !!.
She also told me something weird. She said that my address with the NBC is correct but with the uscis as a whole they are missing the apartment number ( although i received a recipe saying that my address was changed !!). So i will do the change of address form and i hope the RFE will get here soon 

Ok so i got some updates on the case. After i was done with my finals and finished the semester, I had an info pass at the SF field office. I talked to an immigration officer and she was surprised that i have been waiting all this time and she said that i was a " priority". Anyways, she called the NBC and asked about my case. She said that no one was working on my case but she spoke with an officer at the NBC that will be working on the case. This morning i received a text message saying that there is an update on my case. I checked the status and it says that " request of initial evidence was mailed." I am kinda happy to see something other than my fees were received. But what could be those initial evidence i mean i submitted everything they needed for the application. Any thoughts ??

6 hours ago, Linyahui said:

I completely understand. We definitely need to take care of our mental health during this frustrating process!! 

 

What was the last step you took in terms of service requests, InfoPass, etc.? 

Last info pass was in Feb i think, i could not go again because i don't have time at the moment. I keep checking with congressman office every two weeks( the representative is really nice i even have him on linkdin, we created some good relationship) but he has no power other than just emailing uscis and bugging them every two weeks. And now i tried the Omb office to see what will happen.

16 hours ago, Linyahui said:

Hey, Msmontader, it's great to hear from you. Hope you're doing OK.

 

I'm thinking about contacting the Ombudsman's office, too. However, I spoke with a colleague who used to be a USCIS supervisor, and he said that the Ombudsman can't really expedite the FBI background check, either. BUT, COME ON!!! We're just at the mercy of a process that relies on paper files (for anything prior to 1995) that are shuffled between 265 offices nationwide?! That. Is. Ridiculous. 

 

I'm tired of waiting. I bet you are, too. 

Thank you ! i am hanging in.
Yea they do not speed up but at this point i am doing everything i can to just feel that i am not waiting on just uscis. it is good for my mental health to wait for the response of other agencies that might give different answer than USCIS. It's so sad but this is the reality haha

18 hours ago, Mavato said:

Our lawyer was the one who contacted the Ombudsman regarding our case last January. I think you can register your case online too And ask Ombudsman to help you in your case.  Google USCIS Ombudsman case assistance.

Congrats !!. 

It looks like those of us who are waiting should take the step of contacting the Ombudsman office. 
I am tired of asking the congressman office because all they say is the case is bending background check. 

On 2/27/2017 at 5:26 PM, sparkles_ said:

This time try and do a congressional inquiry. Don't put one in on your own before then, because you can only do one every 30 days. Provide that proof that they never got back to you in 90 days when you go for the congressional. 

 

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

 

 

Well i have been emailing them back and fourth about my case and they only thing they do is send an email to uscis and uscis responds by " yea we know the applicant is frustrated but we are doing our best. "
Should i like go to the office and talk to them or how this should work ?