nitedreamer

I guess I got a little rusty in the two years since we had to deal with all the immigration stuff...

We are getting ready to file to remove conditions- Matt was given conditional residency Nov. 13, 2006. I was looking for info on the filing fee, and I saw it is "$465 (plus $80 biometric service fee)."

So I really need to make a check for $545??

I am a bit confused, because I'm thinking biometrics was something we had to do when Matt first came, and obviously his fingerprints haven't changed in the last two years...is he really going to have biometrics done again? The check really is for $545? That really hurts the checkbook....

Just for future reference, if anyone is ever in need of ultra expedited passports...

I used A Briggs 7+ day service. They have services as quick as a couple of days, but of course that costs a lot more. I just sent my application away today, because I had a little confusion over their directions. If you ever use one of these services (or at least this specific one)- your application is sealed in an envelope, and then you place that along with other requested documents into another envelope. I didn't realize I was going to have an envelope within an envelope, so I sealed some extra paperwork into my application envelope. They ask for a second copy of your DS-11 (passport application) outside your envelope- this is for the bar code, so presumably you could cut that part off and attach it to another sheet of paper, and then you don't need to give them all your details. I think those were the two biggies that held me up. But I am going to be careful from now on to never again need a rushed passport!

My husband has been here for about a year now, so we are planning on visiting New Zealand in a month's time...but my passport has gone missing! I need to get a new one, and I need it fast, but because of the new passport restrictions with Mexico and Canada, there's that big backlog...so I think I'll be using a company that hand delivers your passport for you, so that I'll get it in less than two weeks.

My question- has anyone used any of these companies before? I saw three in the yellowpages, arushpassport.com, abriggs.com, or passportexperts.com. The prices vary a little, but if anyone has used one company or the other, I'd appreciate hearing about your experience.

Yup, it came Saturday. No welcome letter, but being that Matt arrived in May, it's a little late to welcome him to the US anyway.

i recived the same email and then my greencard arrived in the mail one week later .

congratulations your greencard is on its way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR SUPPORT!

For those who might not remember- we were approved for AOS back in November, and still waiting for the green card to show. Even though it's been like a month since we last called USCIS, this email comes today- what would they be sending??

*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The last processing action taken on your case

Receipt Number: ***

Application Type: I485 , APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR

TO ADJUST STATUS

Current Status: Document OTHER THAN CARD manufactured and mailed.

On February 14, 2007, we mailed the document we manufactured based on

our earlier approval of this case, and mailed it to the address on we

have on file. You should receive the new document within 30 days. If you

do not, or if you move before you get it, call customer service.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case

status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from

USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS

Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

*Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at

www.uscis.gov under Case Status & Processing Dates.

*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.

Sincerely,

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

So, we had AOS approved 11/13.

"On November 14, 2006, a welcome notice was mailed for this case"- which we never received.

"On November 16, 2006, after approving your application, we ordered you a new card"- which we never received.

"On November 30, 2006, the post office returned our last notice as undeliverable"- we called, they said they would resend.

"On December 5, 2006, the post office returned your document as undeliverable"- we called, and were told they could not resend for some long period of time (probably 45 days, but I can't remember).

On 1/3, we had an infopass appointment. They said they reordered it, and we should receive Matt's greencard in the next 1-2 weeks. We made a point of putting our names inside the mailbox that same day, even though we've always received every other piece of immigration mail without problems, and Matt received his draft card after the greencard had been returned even though our names weren't in the mailbox.

Today is 1/23, and STILL NO GREENCARD! And no more emails saying it had been returned. So where on earth is the greencard right now? It's not here, it's not been returned...So Matt calls the office today, and is told they'll request it to be re-sent, and we just need to wait 45 days to see if it turns up. That's March 9th. Almost 4 months from the day we were approved. And Matt is supposed to go home at the end of April! We never got AP because we didn't buy his ticket until after we'd been approved, so we didn't think this was going to be an issue.

Why hasn't our greencard showed up? Anyone else had this kind of problem? Do we need to look at applying for AP because we might not have the greencard before Matt is supposed to leave?

We took the advice to make an Infopass appointment to find out what's the deal with Matt's GC. Right before we needed to leave the house, we realized we couldn't find his passport! We were at my parents' house, and we thought it was there, but we couldn't find it. Then Matt thought it was for sure where we were house sitting, which is kind of on the edge of town and out in the woods, so we jumped in the car and hurried off. We got there, and first thing Matt sees is a bald eagle up in a tree! It seemed like a very good sign to spot an eagle before an immigration appointment!

No passport where we are house sitting. We rush back to my parents', and I found the passport right away. We were ten minutes late to the Infopass appointment, but there was absolutely no other customers, so we were seen right away. The officer said it would be re-sent, and should arrive in a week.

My fingers are crossed that it actually arrives, but so far 2007 seems to be off to a great start!!

Matt today received his selective service card in the mail. Still no green card. I thought we were MIA in the eyes of USPS? Apparently, that's the case only for things we actually want...

In our approval letter, it says we should receive our card within 12 months. *sigh* figures.

We don't even have the approval letter. We haven't received any actual mail since the interview, although he said Matt was approved and took the I-9(?) out of his passport.

I posted a while back about how our green card has been returned to the post office as undeliverable. We haven't heard anything since Dec 5, when I posted last. We have added our name to the mailbox, and called USCIS to ask them to resend the green card. Apparently, they cannot make another request to resend the green card until 60 days have passed! The guy on the phone even said it is probably sitting somewhere in the USCIS office, but until 60 days pass, they can't do anything to send it out again.

I can't believe this. At least Matt has his EAD, but we didn't apply for AP and he was hoping to go home for a couple of weeks in April...

You need to pay the embassy cost at NZ Post before you go! And don't forget a self-addressed stamped envelope to take to the interview, they will send your passport back to you after a couple of days.

I don't mind that it was sent back the first time, when our mail was being held for two days. I worry because it was sent back a second time, after the mail was no longer being held...

I guess the worst part is that we've received a ton of USCIS mail at this address, we've never been told something was undeliverable. It's the same address as everything else arrived at, and it's the same address all our other mail arrives at (credit card bills, doctor bills, etc).

I will call the post office in the morning, but I don't understand why there is a problem!

We had our AOS interview 11/13, and were approved. However, no welcome letter has arrived, and neither has Matt's green card. We did get the following email Nov. 30-

"Application Type: I485 , APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR

TO ADJUST STATUS

Current Status: Document returned by the post office as undeliverable.

On November 30, 2006, the post office returned our last notice as

undeliverable. Please call 1-800-375-5283 to update the mailing address.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case

status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from

USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS

Customer Service at (800) 375-5283."

We haven't moved!! Our mail was held for a couple of days after Thanksgiving, so Matt called USCIS and told them we got this email, our address is the same, and supposedly it was recent.

We got the SAME EMAIL on Tuesday. Matt called again, offered that they could send it to the Bloomington USCIS office and we would pick it up, but apparently they can't do that, and will just keep sending it regardless of how often the post office returns it.

We've gotten plenty of USCIS mail here before though, so why is it being held up now??!

When I tell them I am Australia I usually get " oh isnt that part of New Zealand

That just made my day. Usually it's the other way around!

People generally assume that I'm either English, South African, or just have a funny Minnesotan accent.

We are currently waiting for our EAD/AOS to come through. When we click on the USCIS website to look at processing dates, it asks if it is at a service center (one of four) or a district office.

We applied through the Chicago lockbox and all the mail keeps coming from MO.

So which one do we choose?

Thanks!

So what are these infopass appointments? You get that as part of your EAD? How does it work?

Matt just mentioned that he thought he read somewhere about making an appointment to bring information/evidence in? Or is it pretty unlikely this RFE is going to hold things up anyway?

Thanks for the help and assurances!

We just received an RFE today that they need proof that my dad, our joint sponsor, is a citizen. It says that Matt is ineligible for interim employment authorization until 90 days after the missing initial evidence is received.

So does this really mean that we have to start all over in the 90 day waiting game??? I can't believe the government doesn't have an easliy accessable database of all its citizens.

This couldn't come at a worse time, we just found out that Matt needs $$$$s in dental work (recently had braces off, which apparently wrecks havoc on teeth)- a root canal, crown, wisdom teeth extraction, plus 8 fillings. I am just starting a job, we have no dental insurance, we thought Matt was just another month away from being able to work....you'd think they would have spotted this missing bit of info back when we received NOA and biometrics appointment. And I can't believe we didn't notice this was required!

And here I thought the letter from USCIS was going to be an early birthday present.

I have called a number of different places about transferring the info onto the vaccine supplement. They all want to make it an office visit/physical, and charge $100+. I thought we should just be able to drop it off for them to copy, and that it would maybe cost $20. How much have you guys paid to have your shot record transferred? Were you able to do it outside of an office visit?

Where can I find a I-693A? I found I-693, but can't find anywhere to download just the vaccine supplement.

Also, with the I-864 tax records- is just the W2s enough, or do they need a copy of the entire return?

Thanks!

Now that the wedding is over, and we have a couple hours of downtime, we are finally trying to go through all this AOS stuff. It almost makes the original I-129 seem easy! We've tried going through the guides and FAQs, but there are a couple things we could really use some clarification with....

We are trying to fill out the I-485, and on page 2, it asks for the non-immigrant visa number. Where do we find this? And the I-94 number, this is what's written at the top left corner of the I-94 card? Where it says departure number? (We looked at the sample form, and the numbers are both 11 digits, but recorded with different spacing...)

Can we do AP at any time, or only when we send in for AOS and EAD? We plan on applying for it, but don't know dates yet.

When we did the I-129 financial support forms, my dad was Matt's sole sponser because I'd been in NZ for most of the last year, so I don't have regular employment here yet and prior to that was a student, so the last few years I have earned very little here. However, with the I-864, do I absolutely have to sponser him and use my dad as the joint sponser?

And how does the 213 bit work? The sponser fills it out? The joint sponser (if my dad can't be the sole sponser) as well? Is it even needed? I downloaded it before Matt got here when I first tried to get forms ready, but now that we were filling the forms out online to send in, I don't even see it...

You are all so fantastic, I don't think this process would be possible without all your help!!

The marriage certificate your witnesses and officiant sign after the ceremony- the copy that needs to go to the county records place...

UH OH! I was just looking through the FAQs, and came across something that said you need to drop off the marriage license within 4 days of getting married...

Matt and I were married last Saturday, and still have to drop it off! We kept it because we meant to do it last Monday, but because we have all this family from out of the country here, we just haven't been getting things done.

What's going to happen because it will have been just over a week instead of within 4 days???

Matt would like to start looking for work, although our wedding is still two weeks away, so I am sure EAD is still a couple months away. There is job just a couple miles from my house that would be perfect, with my city council, and I think he was hoping to offer to volunteer in the position until he had permission to work. We aren't sure though if it's actually legal for him to even look for work until he gets EAD, let alone volunteer- does anyone know if he'd get in trouble for this?

I'm sure you did great! Interviews are always nerve wracking, but I guess the important thing is to act confident and believe in yourself... Hope you get good news soon!