newyorkaos

On 7/27/2017 at 8:58 PM, Linyahui said:

YOU GUYS!!!!

 

OK, mailed the RFE package on Saturday and this afternoon received a text message alerting me that our case status was updated on the USCIS website. I signed in, clicked on the i-485, and it said YOUR CASE HAS BEEN APPROVED!!!

 

That means the green card will soon be in the mail without interview, right? RIGHT?!?!??!

 

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Just saw this, happy for you and congratulations.

On 6/9/2017 at 10:54 AM, EandM said:

Received the card in the mail last night. Whooo. Officially done for the next 1 yr and 9 months. Congrats to everyone who got their approvals and good luck to everyone waiting!

Excellent news! Best of luck going forward!

Congratulations everyone who got through their interviews and recieved their approvals! 

On 5/22/2017 at 10:30 AM, EandM said:

Hi guys, long time no post because frankly I had no updates and it was driving me crazy to read the forum. I had to take a little break lol, Anyway we received FINALLY our interview notice for May 31!!!!! So excited, but I have a question: Did anyone else receive a big manila folder when they got their interview date? USCIS sent me a copy of the Affidavit of Support and a copy of the Medical form, as well as instructions of items to bring along to my interview.

 

did anyone else get this? I'm asking because when I had interview notice mailed out to me in September it was just in a small envelope. 

Finally!!! Congrats and wishing you the best. We didnt get a folder, the notice was just in an regular envelope. Just follow the instructions you should be fine.:)

4 hours ago, Linyahui said:

Hey, March family! I'm writing with a great update. My husband and I called USCIS this morning to ask about his pending EAD/AP renewal. We learned that his EAD renewal has been approved (set to expire on Saturday, whew!) and the AP should be renewed shortly.

 

Since the officer was on the line, we asked whether he could tell us if my husband's background check has been completed. He said that the case file was transferred to the St. Paul office 13 days ago and we should now be in line for an interview!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

Although we were told at our InfoPass appointment in February that we were on the interview waiver list, I don't really care. At least there is movement on the case!!

 

Case status online still says "fingerprint fee was received," so for anyone still waiting, don't use that online status as an accurate metric. Speaking with a Tier 2 or scheduling an InfoPass is really the only way to get concrete information. 

 

Fingers crossed we won't be delayed much longer....

Def great news! looking forward with your updates! 

4 hours ago, Vedz said:

Any on here still waiting on their EAD? I applied Nov 22 2016 haven't heard a thing since Feb 17 that they are ready to schedule for an interview. 

I suggest you raise an inquiry. It typically arrives in 90 days (got ours in 93rd i think) although you can stretch it a bit more but I personally would raise a SR online or call and speak to an officer.

On 4/3/2017 at 4:07 PM, EandM said:

Guys I have an update (PS this is a long post):

 

I had an infopass appointment last week which I had to cancel (I got appendicitis last Tuesday and had to get emergency surgery - THE WORST!!!!!). Anyway, I managed to get an appointment today at 2:15 by some miracle. I went to the InfoPass appointment, gave them all my receipts/notices and turns out we did get an interview date for MARCH 10!!!!!!! I could not believe it. Obviously we never received anything in the mail. He went upstairs to take a look at our file. Turns out that when they sent the notice they forgot to include our apartment number so it was sent back as undeliverable (#######). They gave me a letter saying they will give me a new interview date--they will add me manually to the system. He said if I'm nervous about the notice getting lost in the mail again to make another appointment in a month (I'm gonna do it in two weeks) to see if any notice has been mailed out and they'll make me a copy of the notice right in the office.

 

Moral of the story please stay on top of your application. There are so many things that could happen. The guy who helped me (who was extremely helpful and nice) said I was lucky to have gone in when I did or I would've gotten my application denied.

Keeep us posted EandM...hope they send out that interview letter sooner.

On 4/4/2017 at 2:11 PM, NYC waiting game said:

Finally settled a bit with work and now writing this long post for you all that's waiting.

 

Being a worrier like me, my stacks of documents has came to about 15lbs. Carrying that is no kidding!!

Anyway...here it comes.

 

Our interview appointment was at 11:30am yesterday. We got there early at 10:30am.
With security and check in, we were seated by 10:45am. There were about 8-9 group of people in the room waiting. About 50% of them has lawyers tag along.

We got called in at around 12:20 and were done by 12:30. It was nice and quick, nothing stressful.
The officer had us sworn and then seated. She asked for current address, passports, driving licenses, marriage certificates.
Also she needed the rental lease from us to show the address.
She then asked if we have any joint documents to show. 
We gave her credit card statements, joint banking statement, AT&T bills, Verizon bills. She took about 1 or 2 from each stacks.
I have another stack of documents in front of me and she asked is that medical insurance. I said yes and she took it.
Then she said: you can keep the rest. I didn't even get a chance to show our life insurance, auto lease, auto insurance etc.
She then asked me a bunch of "you-are-suppose-to-say-no" questions - such as have you had criminal background, terrorist, drug addict bla bla bla etc.

 

After about 30 seconds, she quickly said: "you are granted only with the conditional green card, don't forget to apply for the permanent 90days before your current card expires. I don't need to see you photos since you have a lot of documents. You can grab your bags and come with me when you are ready."

I was shocked and said: Oh, no photos? I brought a lot with me. She smiled and said: You guys are very well prepared, I don't need to see that. 

We left the building at 12:38pm. I got a text at about 1:30pm saying "your card is being produced" OMG after this entire year!!

Thank God this is over!! I still feel unreal!!

 

 

Congratulations!!!! Good luck on your journeys!!!! Happy to hear fellow new yorkers getting approved!!!!

On 4/4/2017 at 10:26 AM, thepostagestamp said:

 

Another update....

 

So after our case was denied for failing to attend an interview and then being reopened on 3/23...then receiving an interview notice on April 1st for an appointment on March 31st...we decided to go to our local office yesterday to see if we could speak to an Officer.

 

On arriving at the office we explained to the receptionist that we had received an interview notice the day after our interview time and that the envelope was postmarked on 3/29 for an interview on 3/31 so no way we could receive it on time....the receptionist's response was that we could have "easily forged the envelope" - I told him that it was a ridiculous accusation to make and that I wanted to speak to an immigration officer. He went away and came back 5 minutes later and said that we would be interviewed that day.

 

Waited 30 minutes and we were called in for interview. We were sworn in, provided the officer with all of our supporting documentation. First thing the officer asked for was if I had a new medical. (My case took 14 months and I'm glad I went for the new medical 2 weeks ago) Then asked some very basic questions about our relationship etc. We were approved on the spot. Interview took about 2 minutes. Officer put a stamp in my passport, told us that we would receive GC in about 2 weeks and to remember to file for new GC 90 days before 2 year card expires.

 

This has been extremely stressful and I'm glad it's over, for now. Thank you to everyone here who wrote to me, sent PMs offering support. This process is long, frustrating and filled with road blocks. Just know that if you are organized, stay on top of your case and continue to press when things go beyond processing times, it will eventually get straightened out. 

 

For what it's worth, I know a lot of people here on VJ are against using lawyers, I would say I'm on the fence. I had a lawyer who was extremely unhelpful and didn't respond when I had issues with my case. When I received the denial notice 2 weeks ago I got in touch with a different and very reputable lawyer. Within 3 days he had my case reopened and within 2 weeks my case went from being denied to approved. I 100% believe that if you have the right lawyer with the right connections, they can speak to officers they know at USCIS directly and get things moving...so yes, having the right lawyer is a massive help.

 

I think that USCIS need to address their practices and make changes. There are simply too many mistakes made for something that affects people as greatly as immigration does, and I think USCIS needs to take accountability and responsibility for this. The simple fact that important mail such as interview notices are not sent certified mail is completely unacceptable and must be changed.

 

Anyway, I've written enough here! Best of luck to everyone! 

 

This is such great news! Congratulations! And good job for being proactive and getting an interview on the spot!!!!!! Good that you brought your stuff along with you too!!!!! All the best!!!!!!!!! 

4 hours ago, sparkles_ said:

Today we got our approval emails saying new card being produced. 818 days total. We have finally ###### done it, at long last. It's surreal. 

Omg congratulations!!! Im so happy for you!!!!!! Wishing you all the best moving forward!!

Although she put you through a lot of questioning, I am glad that you were able to explain and make sense of things to her. I would have offered her a wifi hotspot if that would made her approve you right there. LOL kidding aside, It sounds very positive...:) I hope she gets internet back by tomorrow and get back to work on your case. Please keep us posted looking forward to good news.

Good luck, and sending you well wishes.

1 hour ago, dunebuggy said:

Interview went well yesterday at 26 Federal Plaza.... got the verbal "OK" from the officer!  

 

Make sure you are on time to your appointment time and allow yourself 15-20 mins to go through security. We were slightly late and that added on a 3 hour wait because there was a complicated case in front of us!

 

Let's see if / when we get the GC in hand....

Congratulations in advance-- keep us posted!

@sparkles_ when is your interview this week? Will say a little prayer for you and sending you all the good vibes. 

19 hours ago, thepostagestamp said:

Our immigration nightmare continues.

 

I've just received a letter saying that our I-485 petition has been denied for failure to attend an interview. We didn't receive any letter requesting us to attend an interview so this comes as a shock. 13 months, 2 interviews canceled by USCIS and now this. Truly unbelievable. I have received every piece of mail that USCIS have ever sent to me so I'm not so sure that any interview notice letter was ever sent to us.

 

I called the utterly hopeless USCIS customer service line and their information still shows that I am awaiting an interview!!!! How can the information shared within one organization be so inaccurate?! I have taken screen shots of all of the information that is on the "case status" page that shows there have been no updates to our case, as well as all of my documentation of my contacts with the state senator and the ombudsman. 

 

Looks like I'll have to start this process, with its expense, time and stress all over again. 

I am sorry this is happening to you, utterly ridiculous!! I dont know the process to fix it but def work with your lawyer, ombudsman, etc to sort this out. This is just not acceptable. Will pray you find a way to get back on track.

5 hours ago, Linyahui said:

Did anyone else receive a survey invitation from USCIS? 

 

On behalf of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Barbaricum is recruiting individuals to participate in a virtual focus group to be held on Tuesday March 21, 2017. The focus groups will be conducted over the internet via webcam allowing applicants from all over the U.S. to take part from the comfort of their own homes. Those who complete the survey and are invited to participate in the virtual focus group will receive $100 via PayPal for participating in one 2-hour session. The focus group will be about current USCIS case processing times and available resources.

 

I've already indicated interest in participating in this survey because ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS and, more importantly, an opportunity to tell USCIS EXACTLY how I feel about case processing times.

 

This will be therapeutic. 

Yes i dis get this if only this were in the weekend im totally gonna sit there and complain my a** off with unsolicited info lol

3 hours ago, katieb318 said:

My EAD will be up

for renewable June, do they usually send you a notice? I've heard nothing on my I-485 since filing it last march either. The only notice I received is that they had received my finger prints.

Which local office are you from? They didnt send us any notice but we sent in renewal docs in January. We recieved a a receipt notice for that. Now that we have Gc, im not actually sure what happens to it..

8 hours ago, Linyahui said:

 

Trying to live life, not think about the fact that our one-year PD anniversary is tomorrow...

 

I've weaned myself off of my standard 25 x per day trolling of this website, uscis.gov, and stalking the mailman....now it's about 3 x per day for each. 

 

I'm a little concerned about daveyjoe. No one has heard from him since their interview and it sounded like it wasn't going super smoothly. @Daveyjoe, if you check this forum anytime in the next week, please let us know how you are doing!! 

Congrats on the weaning! ? @daveyjoe! hope is well, if not we're still here to hear you out

16 hours ago, EandM said:

Awesome! Seeing you get through this gives me some hope that we'll be done with this process soon lol congrats again

Yes i assure you, you will

be fine  just keep tabs of tour evidences but dont overwhelm the IO with  stuff that werent asked for.:) keep me posted

5 hours ago, EandM said:

Wowww thanks for writing this for us Just a question what sort of evidence did they ask you for? Forms, pictures, etc?

She did not ask specifically for anything, she just said something along the lines of 'what do you have for me', that's when i opened and handed in the joint copies. My husband handed in the photos that we have, but she didnt really specifically asked for anything in the joint evidences. Only the originals of the birth certificate and the passport that she specifically asked for.:)

I am on another thread and reposting this:

Hi everyone, I just got the time to update after the interview. I had to catch up with realities of work and make up for the focus that I so lost. 

Regarding the medical, I saw a post on the previous page that it is counted from the day the application was filed- not on the day the medical was signed or done—that is correct. However, if you feel safer and if the dates of your interview and the medical expiration is too close or overlapping, I suggest to waste money on being sure, because IOs may treat things differently. On another forum, there was person who was denied because the RFE for the medical was not sealed properly and lab report was sent with it. So make sure that it is included in there when you need to bring one. 

 Our interview went well, more of a conversation and counseling session, there was no structure or outline when I try to remember, there was no what-is-your-favorite food tricky or trivial questions. We were asked how do we resolve our arguments- I was taken aback because I didn’t expect that type of questioning, the only ‘basics’ that were asked were when was the last time you entered US, where do you work, -they were not ‘cross-directed’ at us, the IO asked information about me and directed to me. The IO was nice. I suggest that people dress nicely and professionally, I think it has an impact on how your interviews are handled too. We were not approved on the spot verbatim-ly but it was implied. She said you will recieve great news in 3-5 days. I guess they cant upfront make that decision. We got text notifications in the evening and the next day. 

Just FYI- we did not adjust from K1- so prepare accordingly, meaning the questions might be different and the structure of the interview might be different. Bring along all the correspondences of you have history of arrest, history of divorce, or other complexities because they will be asked- just an observation from recent interviews I read. File tax joint returns if you can now, it will help with the evidence too. 

 If you have specific questions- please ask me I would love to answer them. 

Hi everyone, I just got the time to update after the interview. I had to catch up with realities of work and make up for the focus that I so lost.

@paddygirl13 congratulations and I am glad that things sped up after interview, it probably felt that you deserve an expedite of decision to make up for all the waiting haha!

@sparkles_ I know your interview is coming up. Since our cases are different in complexities, just make sure you organize your papers so that it is easy to pull out once it was asked. Do not forgot your originals and I suggest separate them so it doesn’t mix up with whatever you will hand to the officer. I saw that you mentioned that you were once married, be open about the discussion if it comes up so the IO wont feel you are hiding anything and bring your divorce documents, an RFE after all the wait is not worth it.

Regarding the medical, I saw a post on the previous page that it is counted from the day the application was filed- not on the day the medical was signed or done—that is correct. However, if you feel safer and if the dates of your interview and the medical expiration is too close or overlapping, I suggest to waste money on being sure, because IOs may treat things differently. On another forum, there was person who was denied because the RFE for the medical was not sealed properly and lab report was sent with it. So make sure that it is included in there when you need to bring one.

Our interview went well, more of a conversation and counseling session, there was no structure or outline when I try to remember, there was no what-is-your-favorite food tricky or trivial questions. We were asked how do we resolve our arguments- I was taken aback because I didn’t expect that type of questioning, the only ‘basics’ that were asked were when was the last time you entered US, where do you work, -they were not ‘cross-directed’ at us, the IO asked information about me and directed to me. The IO was nice. I suggest that people dress nicely and professionally, I think it has an impact on how your interviews are handled too. We were not approved on the spot verbatim-ly but it was implied. I guess they cant upfront make that decision. We got text notifications the next day.

Just FYI- we did not adjust from K1- so prepare accordingly, meaning the questions might be different and the structure of the interview might be different. Bring along all the correspondences of you have history of arrest, history of divorce, or other complexities because they will be asked- just an observation from recent interviews I read. File tax joint returns if you can now, it will help with the evidence too.

If you have specific questions- please ask me I would love to answer them.

@Linyahui I’m keeping you guys in my thoughts, nothing to worry, but it’s okay to be impatient too. I truly believe that you are going to get that waiver for the interview. I can see from your timeline that your case is pretty straightforward- after my experience with the interview and the process, I think you will be totally fine, better than the rest of us.:)

5 hours ago, NYC waiting game said:

Wow congrats!!! Hardly ever heard NYC office get approved on the spot. 

 

 

Thanks!

5 hours ago, ElliePro said:

Congrats!

 

It was 8 days for me. Approved on Wed night and got the card on Thursday the following week.

Thanks, did your I-130 ever change? My case status online became card produced- then case approved around 7pm. I know it may be an unnecessary worry but the I-130 remains at case received. is that normal?

Hi Elliepro -- how long from

'card produced' did you get your card? I am from NYC interviewed today and got approved on spot with updates hours after. I-130 no update.

will share experience soon i will sit down to write a detailed one for everyone.