DeKi

The Green Card replaces the EAD and/or AP for both work and travel purposes. No need to worry about renewing the work authorization card (in fact, they often get collected at the GC interview if the officer approves the applicant on the spot), but make sure he keeps the GC current. He should apply for renewal when there are six months to the expiration date. For more details: http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/renew-green-card.

Hmm, still unclear -- so you entered as a visitor (B-1, B-2 or combined?) and overstayed for 20 years?

Sorry, I meant your wife (the AOS applicant) entered...

Visitor,20 years ago

Hmm, still unclear -- so you entered as a visitor (B-1, B-2 or combined?) and overstayed for 20 years?

TheAndies --

You can try to submit a service request, but my guess is that the system won't accept it since your case is by no means "outside of normal processing times" according to the NYC current status. There always are lucky applicants whose cases get adjudicated earlier than the listed timeline, but you are better off going about your life (which, thankfully, the AP and EAD allow us all to do) rather than obsessing about dates you have no control over.

brucewayne,

I am not sure the answer you got is fully accurate. (I am not saying it is necessarily wrong in the final recommendation, but I think the responder interpreted your situation not quite right. You wrote that you DID enter on F-1 in 2012.)

Since you are at an F-1 granting institution, you must have access to an immigration/foreign students advisor there. If I were you, I would consult with them directly. In my experience, these are very knowledgeable people (often with legal education) and have seen a variety of less than straight-forward cases. See also here -- I think this describes the same situation (except, after the fact, and not in preparation of departure from the US as you): http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/marriage-based-adjustment-status-denied-after-f-1-reentry-may-i-reapply.html.

Good luck!

Has anyone from Buffalo NY heard anything about an interview yet? I'm on day 112 and nothing yet.

Neuroticbell, hi --

My local office is Buffalo too, but I thought you were adjusting from non-immigrant visa? (As am I.) I have concluded that the process takes place on a sufficiently different timeline from those adjusting from K-1. (As one example, NPIWs are common for K-1 adjusters and virtually unheard of for those from non-immigrant visas.) I still look at progress updates here, but I wish our other thread was more active since it would be more informative for our type of cases.

But anyway -- to your question: no, I have also not heard anything, but am not even waiting with bated breath. Buffalo is behind (my estimate is that they are currently processing applications from mid-February) and has traditionally been at 6+ months of processing time. On top of it they are moving to a new locations part of this and next week! See here: http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/field-offices/new-york-buffalo-field-office. I am sure this has impacted things additionally, even if not too much. For me it's been 106 days since receipt of application and 74 since receipt of RFE response and I will feel lucky if we get notice for an interview before the end of the year.

I hope I am wrong and we both get a pleasant surprise soon, of course.

Hello,

First, your situation sounds completely standard. I am in the same boat, though with slightly earlier filing and RFE dates. You are indeed in for a wait, so just go on about your lives. If there are no problems with your documents, the AOS applicant should get the EAD/AP combo card within the next 1-2 months and that would make doing so easier.

Not sure what "60-day rule"* you are referencing exactly, but basically at this point with the I-485, you are waiting for the interview appointment and there is little rhyme or reason when exactly to expect that. The USCIS processing times are what you are advised to go by to see whether you are within "normal processing time" for your local office. This provides some idea, but I have seen numerous cases listed here in which people get interview appointments sooner than what the processing times for their offices show, as well as a handful of cases where the delays are even greater than those times suggest.

So just hang on and don't obsess!

Good luck.

===========

* There is a statement on the USCIS site mentioning 60 days (see below) if you want to submit an inquiry for a case that you think is outside of normal processing time. However, this is not a "rule" and the very next statement is that you cannot submit a case inquiry if it's been less than six months of filing (RFE resets that, so six months from your RFE receipt). So I'd call that the "six-month rule" more accurately.

NOTE: We are actively processing your case if, in the past 60 days, you:

• Received a notice from us about your case,
• Responded to a request for evidence, OR
• Received an online update to your case status.

@ Pitaya....why don't you delete yourself and stop harassing people and forums???

My AOS is based on my wife's petition.

@Robinhood21

The moderators actually perform a valuable service, including filing threads in the correct forums, so no need to get upset. Your message is still available on the site and the idea is to post it to the peers who are in a similar situation to yours so that they can give advice/opinions.

Now, I wanted to reply to your questions, but it is a little difficult to know your exact situation since you have not filled out a timeline and some other critical details. I understand that your adjustment of status (AOS) petition is based on being married to a US citizen (USC), but it is not clear whether you came in on a fiance visa or were already in the US (and, if so, in what status you were at time of marriage).

Many people (myself included) fill out I-485, I-130, I-131, I-765 together (concurrent filing), and attach multiple passport photos for this reason. The I-485 on its own requires only two photos (See p. 3, item 4 of the instructions ).

Regarding your other question, yes, the I-485 based on an already filed I-130 does not require additional evidence for the bona fide nature of the marriage. Presumably you already submitted all those with the original I-130. (The required and suggested items of evidence are listed on pp. 2-3 of that form's instructions, under the heading "What Documents Do You Need to Prove Family Relationship?".)

Just checking whether anyone here has any updates to report. I have been seeing some bursts of interview appointments announced on other threads and was wondering if any July work/student/tourist folks have gotten theirs too.

I personally am still waiting. It's been exactly 100 days since the receipt of my initial application and 65+ days since the receipt of my RFE response. My local office (Buffalo) doesn't have a ton of applicants who have signed up here, so it's hard to get a read on what timeline we should expect and the processing times on the USCIS site are ridiculously unreliable.

Not to pile on the discouragement (I have, after all, chosen to live in the US myself for many reasons, including marrying a USC), but to add an additional factor for you to consider: many places of employment are limited in/or themselves limit their ability to hire foreigners for positions in US locations. You would literally see the notification "applicant must have U.S. work authorization" still in the job posting. There is no point in applying for such openings. What is worse is that some companies which do not include such an explicit statement might still internally have decided that they are not interested in dealing with sponsoring work-based visas and you won't even know it.

Bottom line: immigration regulations ARE daunting, as you correctly recognize. And I am not at all sure the labor conditions are ultimately better for your qualifications here, considering these limitations on a foreigner's candidacy. Unless you specifically see an opening that seems like a great fit and that employer is willing to sponsor your work authorization, this experience will not be like a regular job search where you send resumes blindly to many places and hope for several responses.

As someone who is also adjusting from J-1, my impression is that the home residency requirement aspect is taken very seriously (I personally don't have it, but have been reading around). I'd guess that since you applied for a waiver, additional checks on that are being made -- that's probably what your "J-1 file" is about. Of course I agree with you that they should have completed all this BEFORE they called you in for the interview, but life (and the AOS/PR process in particular) is rarely so perfect. As with any bureaucracy, once you present a slightly different challenge to their routine, you know it's going to take longer and you'll have to be your own advocate to explain how it's still within "the rules". But as people who're used to being in that situation, we'll persevere, right? I'm sure you provided all he necessary information in the applications and your interview, so now just take a deep breath and arm yourself with patience. You should be getting the EAD any day now and this will allow you to go about your life while waiting.

(Slightly , but to tell you where I'm coming from on this: you should have seen the confusion at my J-1 institution when they had to switch my payments from a salaried position to a contractually paid one -- which had nothing to do with my status, but everything with how my project is funded. The international scholars' office got it and were very helpful, but human resources and payroll just lost it since -- as you say about your local office -- they simply did not have sufficient experience with such cases. I had to visit in person and send numerous emails explaining what is going on and what they need to do -- mostly not freak out.)

Fingers crossed for smooth (and reasonably fast) resolution for all of us!

The current I-864 guidelines (125% poverty threshold) are available here: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864p.pdf. Assuming there are only the two of you in your household, last year's income you list from your sponsor passes the threshold. However, as other posters mentioned above, this by itself might not be sufficient if the person is currently unemployed. It is probably best to secure a joint sponsor who can show continuing (not just present, but future) income in order to make the strongest case for your application.

Am I only one "Lucky" enough to receive RFE ?

Got that yellow letter regarding my spouse's income and non-eligibility to be my sponsor.

46K at Last Year tax transcript was not enough for two of us so...

They asked us to mail the proof of income,tax copies, bank statements, employment verification letters, and assets evaluation...

4 Lbs package was mailed back, had to use a box, since all papers did not fit inside the envelope.

Now waiting for RFE status to change.

Did anyone know how long it might take to see an on-line status change after sending RFE paperwork ?

I think lots of people got RFEs from reading around the forums; it's not at all uncommon.

We had an RFE for the I-485 earlier on (7/27, about three weeks after NoA1). It was for a complete oversight on our part -- we had included a W-2 copy, but not a copy of the actual filed tax form from last year for the sponsor (my USC husband). I can't remember the exact date I mailed that back, but I can't say we really rushed to send it, so it was at some point within the following week, maybe 8/3. Got notification that our RFE response was received on 8/7 and then no further updates since then on that front. (Got my EAD/AP combo card in early September, but they were not implicated in that RFE.)

About the details you listed: unless your sponsor is self-employed (in which case you need a bunch of extra documentation as evidence that he can indeed maintain the level of income he earned the previous year), there must have been some mistake either in how you filled out the I-864 or in its processing. You can consult the current poverty guidelines here http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864p.pdf and for a household of two it is less than half of the income you list. You said you already sent a huge package of information back, so it doesn't matter at this point (or maybe your husband is self-employed in which case these additional pieces should have been part of the initial filing), but I thought I'd point this out for the benefit of future filers who might be reading this post.

In any case, good luck. As I said, our RFE receipt date was only a few days after I mailed the response and then there have been no further updates, so I'd assume you can expect the same. I think this is all there is going to be until further movement (review and interview appointment).

Speaking from experience, if you have your documents in order from the SEVP-certified school where you plan to enroll (I-20, SEVIS fee, enrollment letter, etc., on the basis of which the F-1 is issued), you shouldn't have a problem. There is no numerical limit on how many visas for the U.S. an individual can be issued, as long as s/he can show that there is a legitimate reason for going to the U.S. in each instance AND that they have family, assets and more generally ties in their native country and a big part of their life is there.

I cannot comment on your plans for a possible future E3 application since this is specific to Australian citizens and I am not familiar with the specific requirements.