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11 minutes ago, FGr said:

Congrats! What civic questions were you asked?

1. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

2. How long do we elect a Senator for?

3. Who was one of the authors of the Federalist Papers? 

4. How long do we elect a U.S. Representative for?

5.What is the capital of Massachusetts?

6. Who was the father of our country?

I got the first six questions right so we stopped there. (Although he did ask me who the mayor of my city was and said I'm the first person who got that right. : ) He also said afterward it wasn't one of the official questions and wouldn't have counted against me.)

The reading test was "Who can vote?" and the writing test was "Citizens can vote."

Just finished my interview and was recommended for approval! I brought a whole folder of documents including my income tax forms and proof of relationship but all they asked to see was my green card.  My interviewer said they would try to schedule me for a December 6th oath ceremony that's taking place in my city!

On 10/16/2019 at 10:00 PM, Mamamia00 said:

Congrats !!! when did you apply?  Boston or Lawrence field?

Just checked and I am actually in the Lawrence field.

My interview is scheduled for November 20th. As an added bonus, after years of having to travel to different cities/states/halfway across China for appointments, it turns out that my interview is being held two blocks away from where I currently live. 😀

19 hours ago, Mamamia00 said:

Congrats !!! when did you apply?  Boston or Lawrence field?

I applied electronically on July 25th. I'm actually in Western Mass, so everything gets processed at the Hartford office.

Status just updated online that they've scheduled my interview! Waiting for the letter to upload to find out the actual date!

This is probably not the answer you're looking for but:

I was in a similar situation. (We actually met in Korea as well and couldn't get married overseas for the same reason.) My partner returned to America and found employment in order to satisfy the income requirements while I stayed overseas and applied for my visa. It was tough because our service center had a backlog and took 10 months to process my visa but it meant that we satisfied the sponsorship requirements and we always had one of us earning an income.

Completed Biometrics today at the scheduled time. (My office doesn't allow walk-ins.) Case updated online and the estimated completion dropped from January 2020 to December 2019. Time to sit back and wait again!

Hi everyone!

Filed today - July 25th! Hope the wait time is shorter on this one!

Just received my approval letter today.

Vermont filer, case was never transferred.

Approval came exactly a year to the day of the case being received. (That seems to be a trend right now!)

4 hours ago, dwheels76 said:

Yes you can file for citizenship 90 days from the 3 year anniversary of being a LPR.  I know many going through that now.

I've read in other discussions that they will not grant your citizenship until your green card has been approved. Does anyone know if that's true?

Biometrics appointment letter received today!

Notice date - 06/22/2018

Appointment date - 07/12/2018

Hi everyone!

Vermont Service Center

Received: 05/29/2018

NOA1 Date - 06/07/2018 

NOA1 received - 06/11/2018

Just received notification on Saturday that my case has been approved! I'm hoping this means that anyone else who is still waiting should be hearing something soon.

Congratulations! That's great news!

Has anyone who received the NPIW letter done a service request? Wondering whether it's worth it, or if I'd just get the "experiencing some delays" form letter.

Thanks!

Good new people - got this update today! Did an online inquiry on July 22nd - 1 month after the interview and it seemed to work!

New Card Is Being Produced

On August 8, 2016, we ordered your new card for Receipt Number MSC1690153002, and will mail it to the address you gave us. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

I'm still waiting. Response to RFE received in November, and no status updates since then. I also received the NPIW. It seems like I just keep getting stuck in immigration limbo.

Hi there,

I wonder if there are any October 2015 filers for AOS still waiting for a decision on their green cards? I had my fingerprints taken back in November 2015 and got my EAD/AP card in February this year, but the only thing I heard from USCIS regarding my I-485 application was a letter they sent me saying that I may skip the interview and that they were experiencing a delay of around six months, which is going to be up in a couple weeks.

However I know about other applicants who filed way later than I did and already got their green cards, so I was wondering if there are any more people waiting like me or whether my case is exceptionally delayed.

Thanks!

Fellow Winnipegger! I am surprised you found a curling league in the states! Where I am (New England) they don't know what curling is! I know what you mean about the boredom. I'm going through the same thing. When I was bored or lonely in Winnipeg, I went for a massage at the Clarion (Blue Cross paid 80%) and I could use the mineral pool, hot tub and sauna for free (and eat all the cookies and veggies I wanted)! It was nice to relax and pamper myself on the cheap! Here... there's NO such thing. If you want a spa experience like that, you're gonna drive an hour away and pay big.

I miss my friends, I miss the nightlife, I miss my family. I miss my job. I miss knowing where everything is! I drive around here aimlessly and get lost. I've met some people here but they all seem kind of fake and already caught up in their own lives. The pay here is a lot lower than any job I've had in Canada. Even working as a waitress in Winnipeg, you get minimum wage plus tip! Here, they only get paid tips. I was a teacher, but the pay here is low, they're educated differently, and I need a state license. So... with wedding planning and the visa process... I probably won't get a job until next year unless I do something ! :-)

One option to consider until you get your state teaching license is the charter school system. Not sure about Hartford, but they are desperate for teachers in my district, and are willing to help you get your licensure while you work.

Also, for those of us up in this corner of the country, there's an actual Tim Horton's location in New York, which I stumbled upon accidentally on a day trip. I might have cried a little when I found it.

Are there many October filers waiting for their green card interview date?

I just received a notice of potential interview waiver, with the caveat that my processing area is backed up and it could take six months for approval. So, back to waiting...

Ours went from approved straight to being mailed.

Thanks! That makes me feel a lot better!

I called to uscis to open a service request on Wednesday 01/06 afternoon and this morning Friday 01/08 at 6am I got 2 texts that my EAD and travel cases were updated. I checked online and for my ead case says my new card is being produced and they ordered yesterday on 01/07 and for travel document case says case was approved on 01/07!! One day after I called!! I'm so happy I finally got some news.. Thank God and also Thanks to Soylent and Longrangeshootr for encouraging me to make the call and for helping me with information.

Yay! Congratulations! That's great news!

Okay...my question to the experts. Is there a difference between the "My case is approved" status and the "My card is being produced" status? My case jumped immediately (as far as I could tell) to the "My case is approved" status and hasn't changed. Should I be worried that my card is not being produced? This process has made me paranoid about all the things that could go wrong...ha ha..

So we sent our papers in on October 27th and now it's been 70 days, am I right to assume that thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years most likely will drag my process out longer than normally cause of the holidays?

Frustrated as it is...... Buhu

You can also put in a service request once you reach the 75 day mark. You can find more information on the official policy here. They will tell you on the phone that you will have a response within 15 days, but it seems like they actually give you a response/approval within two or three days.

Good luck! I hope this helps!

Hello to another Massachusetts VJer...We also were stuck in TSC 221 days.........We feel that pain !!!

Congrats on getting your GC! Whew...now you have two years before you have to fight the USCIS battle again.

Congrats Soylent, can you put your timeline for us pls?

also 75 dys to open service request is starting from the date of receiept notices?

I don't have my timeline as part of my message settings, but you'll find my complete timeline as part of my profile!

From what I understand, the 75 days do start from the date of the receipt notice. The official policy on the 75 day service request is here.

Also, the official policy states that the 90 days starts again from zero if you receive an RFE, but they still went ahead and put in a request for me. So, even if you had an RFE, it's worth calling at the 75 day mark and seeing if they'll still do it.

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much Soylent! I will try to call today.. I'm suspecting the same about my case too.. what does exactly the service request do? Is it a request for them to check our file?

Yes, a service request ensures that someone looks at your file.

And it does seem to work because I just got notification that my EAD is approved! No interview skip for me, but so grateful to be able to work again!

I would definitely recommend calling in a service request right away!

I know we filed at the end of october but I am getting SOOOO anxious for any sort of movement. It's driving me crazy every day. I know it's getting close but I hate being at the mercy of uscis again.

Especially after being stuck in the TSC backlog for long...I'm back to my daily routine of waking up and immediately checking my case status to see if anything has changed, and then being disappointed to see the same old status update.

BUT...I'm grateful that I at least get to be with my spouse during this waiting period, and happy that some other TSC survivors have gotten their approvals.

Thank you so much for your advice Longrangeshootr! I'm sorry to keep bothering you but could you please tell me about your experience when you called? Like how long did the call last? Did you talk to a real person? What did you say you needed? I just don't know what to say when I call :/.. also, do you know from what time to what time I can call?

I called two days ago, and am still waiting to hear back. (I am beginning to suspect that my file is sitting on the desk of someone who has gone on vacation.) Representatives are available beginning at 8am, but I'm not sure if the line closes at 4pm or 5 pm. I managed to get through to a representative really quickly.

The representative will ask you for your case number, so they'll know it's an EAD application. Just say that you have a current application that's past the 75 day mark, and you'd like to see if you can open a service request on it. They will ask some follow up questions, like your A number, when the case was filed etc. They will also ask for your current phone number, email and address. The entire phone call only took about five minutes for me.

Good luck! Hope we all hear something soon!