ExtraTerrestrial

Hi all, received a notification this morning that my EAD card is being produced. I had filed a service request 8 days ago, but hard to know if it made much of a difference.

Now I have to buy a car for work, which I'm looking forward to even less than this whole process! Never know what you're getting...

Best of luck to everyone still waiting. Enjoy the time off while you can!

What visa is he adjusting status from? Most people tend to find the VJ timelines more accurate than the USCIS website

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/aoslist.php?vtype=&op8=Philadelphia+PA&interview=&xfr=&op1=&op2=&op3=&op4=1&op5=5%2C6%2C8%2C9%2C10%2C11&cfl=0

Anyone else living with their in-laws since you got married? I feel like getting EAD approval will be my path out of here!

EAD card is being produced and will be mailed! Got emails and texts on Friday night. It's time to stalk the mailman!!

Great news! Your biometrics was one day before mine.

I have started to see to see some late March/early April filers approvals coming in. Hoping this week will bring good news for some of us.

My interview has been scheduled!! It will be on July 6th!!

Nice one, it's good to see some progress happening for people with similar biometrics dates to me. What visa are you adjusting from? Seems to be no particular reason why some K1s are waived and not others.

It's funny, because some of my best customer service experiences have been in this country, too. When I first came here a few years ago I was amazed to be called sir everywhere I went (big contrast to 'mate', 'buddy', 'man' etc), and have such friendly discussions with people on the other side of the counter. In fact outside of working situations, I have met so many kind strangers at cafes/Wawa, on public transport, out fishing etc. In general, Americans are great people.

I certainly don't like the stereotype that Americans are dumb - this is a great country that has achieved great things. I'm sure we wouldn't all be here if we didn't like it! Perhaps there is something about working for $8/hr that causes people to give up.

Anyway, a little off topic now but I will keep you updated on this supposed letter i am getting from USCIS to take back to the DMV. We can all keep dreaming of the day we will be USCIS free!

Another PA Aussie! Man, my experience at PennDOT has been a joke so far. Check out this link for the section 'Applicants for Adjustment of Status'. You and I should have no problem getting a state ID, permit etc.

https://www.dot.state.pa.us/public/dvspubsforms/bdl/bdl%20publications/pub%20195nc.pdf

Well, I went with everything on the list (using my biometrics notice, as listed) and the lady was so useless I couldn't believe it. She told me I "speak great English", "have no accent", and to "make sure you don't forget your first language". When she told me it wouldn't go through, for no reason, I asked for another employee to have a look. It was clear this lady was a first class idiot. Sadly everyone else was busy, and she's faxed a bunch of paperwork to USCIS, and now I'm waiting on some kind of approval I have to take back to get a permit, ID etc. It's ridiculous.

Good thing we can use an international license here for 12 months. I might just wait for my green card before going back there to avoid the long wait times again.

It's perfectly fine. My wife and I used one because she was in Australia with me at the time of filing, and it was easier to have her father fill one out too. We had no RFEs and my interview lasted all of 2 minutes. It doesn't hurt to assemble a detailed package, I recommend attaching a letter anywhere in the package that situations unique to you may need some clarification. Helping the person on the receiving end of your petition can go a long way.

On a side note, by the time it came to adjust my status in USA (which I'm in the middle of) she was able to sponsor me herself, and we don't seem to have encountered any problems at all.

Yep, no need for fingerprints, but it must be the full disclosure check. I believe there is a pinned thread in this forum discussing which one you will need.

3 tax returns and a letter from employer confirming salary and length of employment so far, no pay stubs and no bank statements. Looks like that was enough for us.

We were similar - last 3 tax returns, 3 pay stubs and a letter of employment. My wife had been a student (and overseas with me) for the past three years, so her tax returns were quite low. We added a letter from her with the evidence, explaining that she has been overseas etc, and that she is now in a stable full time job, even if her tax returns don't reflect that. The employment letter and pay stubs should prove that.

If there's anything I learned from the K1 process, it's that it doesn't hurt to include a letter any time that things are ambiguous or maybe not obvious to the person dealing with your case. It could be all it takes to deal with any confusion and avoid an RFE.

One week since biometrics and no RFE at this point. Hoping we're in the clear but can't be sure! I've noticed a lot of peopleS RFEs come immediately after biometrics. It's as if the case has been reviewed, the RFE is waiting in the system, but isn't sent until the biometrics triggers the process to move to the next stage. Who knows, just a thought.

Thanks for the info.

It would be helpful if, when you submit the DS-160 and pay the fee, there was something that says "You will be notified by the consulate with your date".

Some consulates let you choose dates so we were confused.

No problem! Good luck with the rest of your journey. If you've made it this far I'm sure you won't have any problems with the rest. Adjusting status is much of the same sort of paperwork.

For what it's worth, I would call and book your medical as soon as you receive the interview date. That way they can make sure to get you in early enough that the results arrive at the consulate pre-interview.

Good luck! Getting my K-1 was the most exciting thing!

Yes, the consulate will email you with an interview date and a checklist for everything you will need to bring.

It's been a while since I went through this, so I can't remember exactly how long it takes. I don't remember it being too long, though. Sorry I'm not much help on that part.

EDIT: just looked at my timeline and it looks like there was around 5 days between their initial email and receiving my date.

What date did you get your noa?

It's in my signature - 4/7. Seems like 3 weeks or so is pretty normal

Biometrics letter received today, scheduled for 5/11. Hopefully that means ready to work early-mid June.

Just got back from the ASC / USCIS. My Biometrics appointment went smoothly. My appointment was scheduled for 10 AM but I showed up at 9:15 AM and I was out again by 9:45 AM. I had to fill out a form and then I was shown to a waiting area where I had to wait for my number to be called. My fingerprints and photo took maybe 5 minutes in total. The staff was nice and I felt like it went pretty effective. Don't sweat it!

Now it's back to being a waiting game

Man, I think you really lucked out in getting that biometrics appointment nice and quick. I'm fairly patient, but I won't deny the disappointment I feel each day when there's no letter in the mailbox.

Nice to see a familiar face pop up, I remember seeing you on here when we went through the K1 process around the same time.

Not sure about anyone else, but I've been thinking I'll start applying for a few jobs, often the hiring process takes so long that it could work out around the time of EAD arriving. I figure I'd like to try and avoid the rush of job applicants when college seniors begin graduating!

Check cashed and notifications received yesterday 4/7. A bit over a week seems to be fairly standard. Trying to get back into the K1 mentality - patience, patience, patience.

Can I ask you, guys, what are you going to do once you get your EAD? I was wondering if it's gonna be harder for us, as immigrants to find a job? Let me know, please.. I'm interested to hear it!

I have a Bachelor of Science, but I spent my last 18 months in Australia managing an IT support and repairs store - I didn't see much point tracking down a science job when I was planning to move here. Now that I'm here I'll probably try find some lab work or something along those lines. I have some friends here from my year living here in 2013, hoping one of them can help me out in finding a job! Definitely want to move away from customer service.

Sent everything off March 30th and arrived April 2nd. Taking a look at the previous months, looks like some are even getting green cards before EAD and AP are even processed. Of course, they're the lucky few, but who knows!

I really just want to be able to work more than anything. I don't know about you guys, but I've been here 2.5 months and can't wait to earn some money and have something to do!

I was approved in Sydney late last year. Wasn't given anything. Didn't pay a lot of attention to tracking the status of mine post-interview, because i'd read so many stories about how slow it was to update - some people receive their passport before anything changes. That said, I think it might change to 'issued' or something along those lines. I lived a few hours out of Sydney and my passport showed up 6 days after my interview.

My fiancé and I are trying to figure out this I-693 form. We read that he IS NOT required to get another medical exam, since his was just last December, but he still has to visit another Dr to have him fill out this I-693 is that correct? My fiancé has a few vaccinations he needs, can he get those upon his arrival here in the states and have the approved Dr fill out the I-693 or should this be done in his home country? Thanks!

The I-693 has to be filled out in the USA by a civil surgeon. I am in the process of having mine done right now. I would recommend having the vaccinations before he leaves if it is cheaper. I had my vaccinations, but no proof - it was free to have blood tests done in Australia to show that I have the vaccinations. I imagine it would have cost me more than $100 here in the US.

This way, he can just show up to a civil surgeon here in the USA with all the necessary documents and it should only take 10 minutes to have things filled out and signed. It took me a while to find a CS who would do it, though, because a lot of them insist on performing another medical. Have the I-693 instructions from USCIS handy so that you can explain why another medical is not necessary.

Hi all,

I am leaving Australia in 2.5 weeks and am beginning to realise that I will require an i693 be filled out after I arrive. While the doctor has ticked 'US vaccination requirements complete - Requesting a blanket waiver' on my DS-3025, MMR and Varicella are blank. I have had these vaccines, but the records are not available to me.

My question is this - Has anyone had success/troubles having a CS fill out i693 (part 7) with blood test results showing immunity, rather than a vaccination record? I know that there is an option on the form for lab results, but with results from a different country etc I want to avoid troubles. I am going to my GP tomorrow while free healthcare is still available, and trying to decide if I am best to get a blood test or to get the vaccines again.

My main concern with getting the vaccines again is that I will have to get MMR Part 2 after arrival in USA, as it will most likely be more than 30 days since Part 1, and I am trying to minimise costs.

Thanks!

Congratulations!!

Can I please ask what supporting evidence you provided for the sponsor and co-sponsor with the i-134???

Hey, sorry for the late reply, I've been so caught up in getting organised to leave!

My fiancée provided a letter of employment and a W-2, her dad provided a letter and his last tax return. I was so surprised that my interview was so short with so few questions.

Looks like you got your interview date, you must both be pretty excited.

Approved in Sydney this morning! My interview was the shortest of all the ones I saw/heard. Basically 'where did you meet', 'has she been to Australia' and 'any trouble with the police'. It was remarkably simple and felt more like a discussion than an interview. Took about 3-4 minutes, I was in and out in around an hour.

As far as the I-134 goes, he didn't even ask about it. Barely seemed to look at it.

Darn it!!!

Hopefully your original I134 papers will arrive in time mate.

I feel your stress, just picked up my medical records today, so now my package is ready, my fiancé is stressing over the I134 as she is self employed and the income situation could go for or against us depending on which Cso reads our files. Hoping we don't have to go down the co sponsor path.

After my package sitting in Sydney for several days, I called FedEx this morning and hassled them about it - they managed to get it on a late courier and I got it literally an hour before I left work. Unbelievable! The package was branded by them with 'extremely urgent' on it, yet the travel time from Sydney to me was longer than Philly to Sydney via Memphis and Honolulu!

Feels good to have the originals. Good luck for tomorrow mate!

Seems as if there are next to no people with this scenario to help you out mate...

I have my interview at 9:15 on same day.. Hope to catch up with you there

It's okay - she actually got a pay rise recently which puts her over the necessary income amount. We're still using the co-sponsor because she's only been back in the states a few weeks and doesn't have much in the way of pay records etc.

Unfortunately it looks like the package with all the I-134 related material has been sent via the wrong shipping method and might not get here in time. I'm freaking out about it, actually. I've got copies, but I know I'll need all of the originals to be approved on the day. The last thing I want is them getting angry at me because I showed up without the required documents. Guess I'll just have to see how it goes... Stressful week ahead.