bobcat190E

Just a quick update: my wife and I attended our interview at Tampa on 8 January. It all went very well and we were done within about 25 minutes of arrival. The officer was warm and friendly. He said that because the application file was comprehensive and complete, he had no concerns and was happy to approve on the spot.

He checked our identity documents (birth certificate, passport etc), had us both sign some forms, and gave me a letter confirming I was now a LPR. My status online was changed to card production that evening, and the green card itself should arrive in the mail within a couple of weeks.

My wife and I currently live in different US cities while we are doing the AOS. On question 22 for the I-130, I marked her city, hoping to get the interview where she lives (for various reasons that would have been more convenient for us)

But USCIS ignored it and our interview has been scheduled in the city I currently live in. I suspect you don't get a choice and the default location for the interview is simply the office closest to the address you, the person adjusting, provide on the I-485.

Been in "scheduling" for AOS since August 4. Finally got a date: notified through the website today that the interview will be on January 8.

I agree that generally speaking with all things related to immigration, one should err on the side of caution.

But while it is theoretically possible that you could get stopped during a domestic flight and asked about your immigration status, in reality the risk is absolutely minimal and almost zero.

I have been in the US for the last 10 years on one kind of visa or another. During that time I have travelled extensively within the US. In particular, for the last year and a half, I have lived in a different part of the US from my wife due to my job, and I take a domestic flight every few weeks to see her. In all that time, not once has any TSA agent asked me about my immigration status. Not once.

I think some of the confusion here about what happens to your underlying status arises from a confusion about the idea of immigrant intent.

It is true that when you apply for a non-immigrant visa, you are not allowed to have an intention to immigrate. That is, when you present yourself at the US embassy or consulate in your home country asking for a visa, you should not have in your mind the intention to immigrate. And if they ask you "do you intend to immigrate" and you say "yes," then that would be grounds for not giving you the visa. If you say "no" but do so intend, well there is no real way of them knowing since they cannot look inside your head and read your mind.

On the other hand, once you are in the US, you are allowed to change your mind about intention to immigrate. That logically follows from the very existence of the AOS process: it is a recognition that even though you had no intent to immigrate when you arrived, now you do, and you are allowed to request an adjustment in your status to reflect this.

The important issue, addressed in that link I posted above, is what happens to your non-immigrant visa (and any benefits attached to it, like OPT) when you file for AOS. Until a final decision is made on the matter of adjustment, the only thing that has changed is your intent (which you have signaled by filing for AOS). As long as you are otherwise correctly maintaining your status, the change of intention is not sufficient to invalidate your non-immigrant visa. This does appear to be a gray area, mostly because the actual law is silent on the matter, so here is the specific part of that linked website that deals with this:

Some attorneys may argue the laws require the F-1 student to have non-immigrant intent to maintain his/her status. However, some legal experts observe that such "non-immigrant intent" is inconsistent from a historic viewpoint and illogical from the spirit of law. If F students are allowed to have the intent to switch to H-status, and H-status allows for the intent to switch to LPR status, then isn't the desire to switch from F status to H status a strong indication that an alien intends to stay in the US and is therefore not eligible for the F status? Put differently, if F aliens can freely change to H status and H aliens can freely change to LPR status, then logically speaking F aliens should be allowed to freely change to LPR status.

Moreover, if assuming that the USCIS interprets the non-immigrant intent broadly to cover the maintenance of F-1 status, an F-1 status holder who has filed an immigration petition may argue that his filing of I-140 is a "law-afforded" action to test whether he can lawfully remain in the US permanently and his legitimate desire (not intent) as demonstrated by the I-140 filing therefore should not negatively impact his F-1 status quo. Since the first desire (filing the I-140) is authorized by law, a reiteration of the desire (filing the I-485) should invite nothing more than a second authorization.

Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that "non-immigrant intent" can be interpreted differently under different scenarios and is applied differently for applying for F-1 visa outside the US and for maintaining F-1 status while in the US.

If the filing of AOS does not affect the underlying F-1 status, why would you think it affects OPT? OPT is directly connected to the F-1. Since the F-1 does not change, the OPT does not change.

That link I just posted sets it out fairly clearly.

Merely applying for adjustment of status does nothing to your underlying status. It is a common misperception (which I have seen posted here frequently) that it somehow "cancels" your underlying status. That is not true.

Nothing about your current status changes until a determination is actually made on your application for adjustment. if it is granted, then your F-1 is canceled and replaced with a green card. If it is denied, you revert to the F-1 status. The limbo would arise if you were denied adjustment, your F-1 (or OPT) expired and then you reapplied for F-1 (or OPT): USCIS would have good grounds for denying it because the previous attempt at adjustment of status clearly showed intent to immigrate.

Also, see this:

http://www.hooyou.com/f-1/140filing.html

Basically, the website states that filing for AOS has no real effect on any underlying F-1 visa.

That can't be correct.

I just filed for AOS from a J-1. My J-1 is connected to my job as a researcher at a university. By this account, as soon as I filed AOS, I was working illegally at my university until my EAD card came 2 months later. That makes no sense.

If it's a domestic flight then why would you have to show any immigration paperwork to anyone?

Am I missing something? As far as I know, all you need is a valid government-issue ID to board a plane. This can be a foreign passport if you don't have a US driver's license.

Edit: Oh I see now you are worried that if you use a passport, they might say something about the expired visa. I don't know how that works.

I meant odd that you didn't apply for it in the first place. Perhaps "imprudent" would have been a more apt term.

I mean, why wouldn't you apply for AP? Adjustment of status can take any length of time up to a year (or longer!), depending on the case load of your local office, even for a straightforward and complete application. Since it is free to apply for advanced parole and relatively hassle free (one extra form), why would you not apply for AP with your initial submission? You never know when you might have to leave the US to attend to urgent business at home (sick relatives, court appearance in your case etc.) and if you left the US without AP you'd be screwed.

You should absolutely apply for AP, immediately. There is just enough time that you can be pretty sure you will receive it before the court date.

You cannot rely on getting the green card in time, since processing times are subject to all kinds of unpredictable delays, including a backlog at your local office. It is odd to me that you would even risk it, particularly since the AP is free.

It appears the Tampa office is really backed up. They have just updated their processing times on the USCIS website, and it looks like as of 31 August they had only just processed AOS for those who had filed in January.

My AOS case reached them in July. I have been in "scheduling status" for a while now. I guess this means that if they continue at that rate, mine won't processed until January/February.

Also, here is some relevant information which I have copied and paste from http://www.hooyou.com/f-1/140filing.html

I am not a lawyer, I am not purporting to offer legal advice, and I am not affiliated in any way with the author of the material below, I am just providing it for informational purposes:

Maintain, Terminate, and Lose F-1 Status

An F-1 student is admitted for duration of status. The student is considered to be maintaining his/her status if s/he is making normal progress toward completing a course of study. According to this provision, "making normal progress toward completing a course of studies" is the only thing required to maintain F-1 status as stipulated by immigration law. Based on this understanding, F-1 students who file the I-140 do not fail to maintain their F-1 status simply because of this filing.

Federal regulations provide the circumstances that non-immigrant status be terminated: "[w]ithin the period of initial admission or extension of stay, the non-immigrant status of an alien shall be terminated by the revocation of a waiver authorized on his or her behalf under section 21 (d) (3) or (4) of the Act, by the introduction of a private bill to confer permanent resident on such alien; or, pursuant to notification in the Federal Register, on the basis of national security, diplomatic, or public safety reasons." Note that filing an LPR petition is not listed as a circumstance that can lead to the termination of non-immigrant status.

If a student is employed without authorization, is not pursuing a full course of study, transfers schools without permission, or fails to complete a full course of study in time and is ineligible for a program extension, s/he is out of status and subject to deportation. Under this provision, filing an I-140 or I-485 is not listed as a cause for being "out of status."

Some attorneys may argue the laws require the F-1 student to have non-immigrant intent to maintain his/her status. However, some legal experts observe that such "non-immigrant intent" is inconsistent from a historic viewpoint and illogical from the spirit of law. If F students are allowed to have the intent to switch to H-status, and H-status allows for the intent to switch to LPR status, then isn't the desire to switch from F status to H status a strong indication that an alien intends to stay in the US and is therefore not eligible for the F status? Put differently, if F aliens can freely change to H status and H aliens can freely change to LPR status, then logically speaking F aliens should be allowed to freely change to LPR status.

Moreover, if assuming that the USCIS interprets the non-immigrant intent broadly to cover the maintenance of F-1 status, an F-1 status holder who has filed an immigration petition may argue that his filing of I-140 is a "law-afforded" action to test whether he can lawfully remain in the US permanently and his legitimate desire (not intent) as demonstrated by the I-140 filing therefore should not negatively impact his F-1 status quo. Since the first desire (filing the I-140) is authorized by law, a reiteration of the desire (filing the I-485) should invite nothing more than a second authorization.
Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that "non-immigrant intent" can be interpreted differently under different scenarios and is applied differently for applying for F-1 visa outside the US and for maintaining F-1 status while in the US. - See more at: http://www.hooyou.com/f-1/140filing.html#sthash.VK30JXzs.dpuf

She is no longer on F-1 status. Once the AOS was filed, she is under a new period of authorized stay while the paperwork is processed, but she is no longer an F-1 visa holder.

This is a common misperception, and it is not true.

While the AOS is pending, one is authorized to stay in the US until the matter of the adjustment settled, even past the expiry date of the F-1. But that has nothing to do with the F-1. Until a final decision is made on the AOS (i.e. the green card is either granted or denied), the F-1 is still valid and continuing.

If your OPT lapses, until you get the EAD card connected to your AOS application, strictly speaking you are not authorized to work (the 2 month period does not count). The question is would anyone find out and does it really matter, especially if the gap in work authorization turns out to be short, like a couple of weeks. I am not qualified to answer that question. Your employer should have taken a copy of your OPT card. The date it expires is on there. So technically your employer should know when your work authorization expires, if they bother to check.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if someone is currently on OPT/CPT, they should have working authorization no? Meaning they would have an SSN for work purposes only. So if the OP decided to get married to a USC and apply for AOS, he would be in pending status (AOS from F1 to PR), meaning technically he is not bound to the conditions of an F1 Student Visa holder any longer, meaning he could theoretically continue working....again, corrent me if I'm wrong.

Also, if the OP is in pending status, he wouldn't have to worry about going out of status. And you don't need the green card to continue working, as that is what the EAD for prior to receiving the green card.

No this is false. Immigration status and work authorization are two separate things.

The OPT card authorizes you to work in an occupation related to your course of study for the duration of the period indicated on the card. When it lapses, your work authorization lapses. If you file for AOS, you are in a period of authorized stay as far as immigration is concerned, but until you have received an EAD/AP card, you are not authorized to work.

RFE was for employment verification, even though I brought tax returns and every pay stub available. The IO did state that everything was good and there was more than enough evidence that supports my marriage as genuine, but that they really needed that verification.

Oof that's pretty rough given that you had tax returns and paystubs with you. Owing to your experience, I'll be sure to take a letter with me from my employer or something (I assume that's what you had to submit).

I believe that my field office will be Tampa. I am adjusting from a J-1 visa to permanent resident on the basis of marriage to a US citizen. I have been in "scheduling" since the beginning of August. I am also curious to know how quickly they are moving. I have no idea myself. I received my AP/EAD card a couple of weeks ago though I understand that is processed separately anyway.

Fullglass: do you mind if I ask what you received the RFE for?

What did you already pay $280 for? You may have been scammed. There are sketchy immigration websites out there that are made to look official but are scams that charge you for things that are free.

The forms that you need are freely available on the USCIS website which you can download in PDF format. When you submit the completed forms by mail you include checks made payable to the US government, $1070 for the I-485 ($985 plus $85 biometric fee) and $420 for the I-130.

Oh, and coincidently, looking at the timeline in your signature it appears that we filed at exactly the same time, and that our experiences have so far been the same. I was also placed in the scheduling category at the same time as you and I also received my EAD/AP card last week.

This is basically the same topic here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/513998-how-long-between-interview-notice-letter-and-interview-date/

Re-read my second post - I think you are going to have to apply for the OPT extension anyway, because the timing is so tight that you could not be certain that the EAD would arrive before your current OPT expires. It might, it might not.

Again, it's up to you to decide whether or not it is worth taking the risk.

On second thoughts, looking at the dates, I realize now that you would be cutting it really close - to be certain you got the EAD in time, you'd pretty much have to file this week, which I am going to assume you are not in a position to do since you aren't even married yet (it takes a while to assemble the document packet, trust me).

In which case, yes, it looks like it would be wise for you to apply for the OPT extension and then, when you are ready to file in the next couple of months, still also apply for the EAD.

If you apply to adjust status, you can simultaneously apply for an EAD card (similar to the one you have now for OPT). The EAD card is processed separately from the green card, and is usually approved within 60-90 days. Once you receive it, it will supersede your OPT and allow you to work in the US without restriction while your green card application is pending.

If you could get the application in promptly, it would most likely arrive before your current OPT authorization expires. That would be ideal.

Of course, you are taking a risk as to whether or not it does, in fact, arrive before that date. Up to you.

For reference, I just received my EAD card, about 65 days after the initial application. This is pretty standard.