shayden10

2 hours ago, Soflatlndr said:

Hey guys!

 

I am wondering: does any of you who had their EAD approved and had submitted form G1145 got an approval letter but no text/email update, and no change in status on the app?

 

Sending good vibes to everybody that is still waiting. 

 

 

2 hours ago, mmullins1421 said:

This is my exact situation. 

34 minutes ago, amyNJ said:

I subbmitted form G1145 and I didn't get a text or email for my EAD. 

I had to check the case status. 
 

The G-1145 is only for notification of the initial acceptance of your applications when you first file them. "G-1145 eNotification of Application/Petition ACCEPTANCE." If you read the purpose of the form, it tells you that it's only to inform you when they accept your form. Not update/approve it. In order to receive text/email notifications you must create an account on the MyUSCIS website, input all your case numbers, and where it says "My Cases" select the boxes next to them for text/email notifications in order to receive them. This doesn't mean USCIS will notify you whenever they touch your case, but if any updates are made to the online tracking system it will automatically send you a notification. I don't always receive text notifications of case updates despite saying "yes" on the website, however I do receive the emails. If USCIS approves your case but doesn't update the website, you won't receive a text/email. 

Remember that USCIS often doesn't update the online system. My AP still says "case was received" yet I have had the AP/EAD combo card for weeks. In October of last year I received my I-129F approval letter in the mail two days before they updated the online system. Many of us weren't able to track our cases online until 3-6 weeks after submitting our AOS applications. Sometimes they update it after taking action, sometimes they don't update it at all. They are not required to update the online system. Just like the G-1145, this system is a courtesy to their customers. 

9 hours ago, Absolutely said:

Can you expedite the EAD at an infopass meeting? I am currently on day 84 so still within the normal processing time and have a job offer with the start date of June 20th, which would be day 124 of filing so got a way to go yet. I am hoping it will be here next week at some point but don't want to get short on time if it doesn't appear. The USCIS office is only a couple of miles from me so could just walk there, but does anyone know if you can expedite that way instead of calling the hotline number?

I do believe a fellow February filer posted about this topic. They attempted to expedite at an info pass appointment and had with them their job offer letter. The officer instructed them to call USCIS to submit the expedite request. It isn't that difficult to do! I don't remember the member's username but I remember the discussion! 

16 hours ago, chummers36 said:

Thanks all.  Will probably end up sending the wet ones to be safe, and I assume I just use one of these two addresses below on the letter?

 

USCIS
P.O. Box 660151
Dallas, TX 75266

For FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries:
USCIS
Attn: I-129F
2501 South State Highway 121 Business
Suite 400
Lewisville, TX 75067

While the website states the first address is for USPS deliveries and the second address is for FedEx/UPS/DHL, USCIS will accept USPS deliveries to the business address and not just at the lockbox. I sent both my I-129F petition and my AOS application via USPS to the office address and it was signed for with no issues both times.

I definitely recommend getting at least 2 day shipping and *make sure* you get tracking. Many people don't, you may not receive electronic notification (if you submit the erequest form) and your payment may not be processed for up to 30 days after they received the package. 30+ days is a long time to wait without hearing whether it's even been delivered, and should your package not make it and you don't have tracking there is nothing you can do about it!

If you send it later in the week and it arrives on a Friday night or Saturday it will be delivered the next Monday (tracking online will usually say "business closed" and may prompt you to schedule Redelivery, however you don't have to, they will attempt delivery 3 times).

 

For evidence of your relationship, they want proof that you all have been in the same location, at the same time, together.  Make sure you have passport stamps, plane tickets, hotel receipts, pictures with timestamps, etc. 

 

Good luck to you, and remember...the hardest part is the waiting game that we all must go through.

Do not worry too much if you don't have/include passport stamps - I never submitted copies of stamps for my passport and they were never looked at in the interview. I only sent receipts from when I initially bought the plane tickets. 

Also if your photos aren't time stamped it isn't a big deal. I hand wrote on the back of my photos who was in the photo, the date it was taken, and the circumstances (I.e following our engagement, at a hockey fundraising gala, etc). 

Make sure that you aren't just throwing together a lot of evidence, you want the evidence you are submitting to be good strong evidence!

This user is right - get used to waiting. The K1 is the quick part, after your SO is in the US and you marry, the AOS process can be an even longer one (not to mention after the AOS you have ROC and then Naturalization if that's the route you want to go). 

Best of luck on your journey!

Previously USCIS have required "wet" (or original) signatures on forms. When my fiancé and I did the K1 process last summer, I mailed him originals, however I have heard from other posters on the VisaJourney forum that USCIS no longer requires wet signatures from the foreign beneficiary and scanned copies will work fine.

You don't need proof of wedding arrangements. My fiancé and I sent proof of visiting each other (receipts from hotels/dinner reservations/plane tickets/tickets from amusement parks and attractions) and photos (only 5) that corresponded with the evidence I sent and the statement of meeting. My statement was two pages long as I chronicled all of our trips back and forth. He did officially propose to me with a ring the New Years Eve prior to us applying for the K1, but I didn't include photos of the ring or the receipt. 

We had a courthouse wedding at the end of January and are planning to have a wedding at a later date. I shared that with the officer during my interview. I was never requested other proof of intent to marry other than the letters. 

24 minutes ago, mhbrz said:

Oh right. Well if thats the case you'll be perfectly fine. The only difference the green card may make is it'll make sure you come back to the US easily after international travel. Since the AP

1) still doesnt guarantee entry and a person having AP would still be "an applicant for parole" at the port of entry

2) there would be secondary inspection and

3) one may be found inadmissible even after having an approved AP document in hand.

Its just a bit risky. As long as you have no plans for international travel for now you may do great even with an AOS interview waiver and long wait times.

For the past year of my long distance relationship I travelled to the US at least once, sometimes twice a month, and I had the honor of going through secondary inspection every time (yay me!) so I am well rehearsed with going through secondary. I am from Canada, I am not religious, I don't care about the government or share opinions on social media, I've never committed a crime, I have all my vaccines, I have never committed an immigration violation or been unlawfully present. I have no reason to be found inadmissible. I feel more than comfortable using my advance parole for its purpose. I intend to travel using it in October should I not get my green card. 

As other users have said, there is no proof that either way is faster. I have seen people from March and April of last year who are just getting their interviews scheduled now. Some people get waivers and get their GC sooner. Just like people from mid-late February have gotten their EADs but some people from January are still waiting. You can't tell someone applying for an EAD now that it's going to be 90 days or 120 days because processing is different for everyone.

While some people may get denied on AP, and some people's AOS takes longer, that's not the case for everyone. EVERY case is different. Please keep that in mind. 

11 minutes ago, mhbrz said:

Do you know anyone who gets an interview waiver has to wait atleast 6 more months to get the green card ? If I were you I would pray that my AOS interview gets scheduled because then the processing time is 'normal' but with the waiver the processing is wayyyy too slow.

Best of luck !

I know that it takes a while but what's the difference? I can work and travel and have what I need to renew that if processing takes that long. 

If I get a waiver I don't have to worry and stress about gathering evidence and going through another interview at this time. My husband and I won't have to take time off work, I know he doesn't have to but he would.

Even if I do have to wait, I'd prefer a waiver. 

18 minutes ago, allyrose said:

Thanks! It says the card has been sent as of yesterday, so now we're just waiting! Wish we had an update on AOS though, no update on that since biometrics a month ago. Ugh! We all hate the waiting and there are no answers haha

That's good! If it was sent yesterday it should be there tomorrow or Monday! (I'd even check the mail box this evening too if I were you lol). 

I did my biometrics on March 23 and still haven't heard anything on AOS either, maybe we will get waivers and won't have interviews! Either way, I hope we hear something sometime soon!

18 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

When I had a lease with no clause for early termination, I thought it was understood that if I left before the 13mos were up that I would owe the amount remaining on the lease. Might want to look into that.

My lease does have a clause for early termination. That's why I don't think we should have to pay a penalty. Within the clause it just says we must provide a minimum of 60 days notice. It's a part of our state code that we must do so as well. If we gave 60 days notice and followed state code/the lease agreement, there should be no penalty. If we fail to provide 60 days and did not meet the criteria for terminating a lease with only 30-60 days notice then I would understand there being a penalty. 

11 minutes ago, Jojo92122 said:

Landlord can not make up a penalty.  If there is no penalty clause in the contract, then the landlord can not make one up. 

 

Even if there was an agreed upon penalty, the law may not allow for it to be enforced.

 

The landlord can charge you for costs and expenses to get new tenants.

 

Don't let the landlord bully you.  Read up on tenants' rights in your city.

Unfortunately, when I reviewed my tenants rights in my city, it only discusses the situations that allow us to leave with 30 days notice. 

It it is my understanding that they can't make up a clause after we have signed the agreement either, but I can't find any other information on it. I'll have to keep digging around online. 

Hey friends,

My husband and I have been talking about renting a house instead of an apartment for a couple months now. The apartment we are currently in is technically rented by my father-in-law (we are just occupants) though he doesn't live with us. We want something more spacious, closer to work, and without people living underneath or over top of us. And we made a deal when we get a bigger place I can have a puppy! My FIL recently resigned our lease for another year without discussing it with us, so we still have 10 months left of this lease. After reviewing the lease agreement multiple times, it states that should we leave the lease early we are required to give a minimum of 60 days notice. It also includes situations that would permit us to provide less than 60 days notice. When my father-in-law renewed the lease for another year he told the apartment we may leave early and they informed him that there is also a penalty equal to two months rent due upon notification of leaving.

My issue it that we signed a lease that included a provision about what we should expect if we decide to terminate the lease prior to the end date. If the property management company wants to create a penalty it should be included in the lease agreement. I took contract law courses and in my mind, the penalty is not in the contract we signed, therefore it shouldn't be enforceable.

Has anyone had any experience with terminating a lease with an apartment prior to the end date of the lease? Does anyone know if the property management company has the right to create new fees without including it in our agreement? I'm not impressed that they are adding additional fees! Any advice would be great. 

1 hour ago, mjnadres said:

So my AOS interview is scheduled June 6th.. But still haven't heard from USCIS about my EAD.. I probably shouldn't expect it to come anymore huh? Anyone else in the same boat? 

USCIS can still give you an RFE at the interview, or take some time to review your paperwork and information after the interview. You will likely still receive the EAD card, and depending how long it takes for them to complete your AOS after the interview you may receive it some time before you receive your green card.

18 hours ago, allyrose said:

My husband got his EAD approved on the 28th of April, and the notice in the mail yesterday. We didn't do AP, but shouldn't the case status update to "new card is being produced"? I see klm9971 got there's approved yesterday, and already the case has updated to "new card is being produced." Thoughts? 

Sometimes they don't update the website. Similar to how the majority of us were unable to track our cases online when we first submitted our application, your case is processing/has been approved, they just didn't update the website. Don't fret, you have the hard copy of the approval notice and that's the important part. If it is really concerning you, give USCIS a call to confirm it has been approved, but I really don't think you should let it concern you!

Also I saw your previous post in reference to the verbiage on the approval notice for the EAD -  "'you may request to change employers if your form I-485 has been pending for at least 180 days. In order to do so you need to submit documentation about your new job offer.' So does this mean my husband can now get a job, but if he loses it, he a) cannot get another job because our I-485 has not been pending for that long and we're screwed and b) if it has been 180 days, can't simply change employers and start to work at the new job?" 

I didn't see this the first time I read my approval notice so I went back to read it again, especially because I just accepted a second job. It does say if you have a pending I-485 and I-140 The "and I-140" is the important part, that is the immigrant petition for an alien worker - so no need to worry, it doesn't apply to any of us! 

Hope you get your card in the mail soon! I know you guys were pretty desperate, if your husband doesn't have a job lined up yet he should definitely start applying to places now if he hasn't yet! Best of luck!

16 hours ago, theresaa said:

Anyone know the number to call to submit a service request?

9 hours ago, mhbrz said:

USCIS Customer Service Phone Number:

800-375-5283

 

Press 1, then 2, then 2, then 2

to reach a human and raise a service request

 

Monday to Friday 8 am to 6 pm EST

It's faster if you call, select your language, and then immediately after dial 22624. It will send you straight to a human! 

5 hours ago, Becci391 said:

I only sent the marriage certificate.

At that time we neither had no joint bank account nor were our names on bills or the leasing contract. And I think you are not required to send those documents when you file AOS. We got married a couple of weeks after I came to the US.

The only thing I could do was to get a SSN. 

It isn't necessary to send those documents, no. But I opted to send them anyway. I have spoken with a few personal friends you immigrated and heard it may be beneficial and may increase the chances you get approved without an interview. Plus it just helps show we are serious without them meeting us. I am from Canada and lived only 10 hours away from my husband, so it was easy for me to travel back and forth often, so when my husband did things like get an apartment and set up the cable we decided to put it in both our names initially. All I had to do was change my last name on them after we married.

2 hours ago, MyMistaLovaLova said:

Agreed! Lol. However, the only down side is that my office is now processing AOS from June 2016. Which just means that my husband won't have his green card until December or January smh 

My local office is Dover, Delaware and they don't even show processing times for them. Although I don't know if they do interviews, I might get sent to Philadelphia if I have an interview! I have no clue lol

1 hour ago, Becci391 said:

My status has been like this since I could check my status online(more than a month now). But I guess that doesn't mean anything and the status still can change...

I understand the status can still change, however not only am I adjusting from K1 but when I sent my AOS package I also sent wedding photos, proof of joint bank accounts, a lease, bills, and two car titles with both our names. So I feel the odds of getting a waiver are in my favor. 

33 minutes ago, MyMistaLovaLova said:

I think I am in the same boat. I will be getting an interview waiver 

I wouldn't be upset if I don't get an interview lol

Hey friends, just wanted to say congratulations to all those who are getting updates on their EAD cards! 

My AOS has been in "fingerprint fee received" since February 16; I am not expecting an update anytime soon. I have a feeling it will remain the same and I am going to get an interview waiver!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Hello VJers,

I recently got my EAD and have officially set a date to start work at my new job and my husband, who has previously been working a job that didn't pay nearly enough, has also found a new job and starts the same day as I do!

My husband has not had health insurance since last November and we are both currently not insured. My job offers health insurance benefits after 1 year of employment and his currently has no health benefits, though they are exploring options to offer benefits to employees one day. 

My husband and I need health insurance, I was wondering if being in the AOS process will affect applying for insurance? In addition, do I not qualify for certain programs (like Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act) because of the I864? I am not sure what benefits I am disqualified from receiving as a result of that form. My husband and I need something more affordable right now, I've been in contact with multiple companies to buy insurance and we can't afford what they are quoting us. 

Any experience or advice for seeking health insurance for the both of us during the AOS process would be greatly appreciated! 

Thank you!

5 hours ago, saeshhh said:

No it's a new job offer from a different company. Yes both requests show up but I never got an email or mail in the mailbox meanwhile online it shows up as completed. Nothing changed after I sent my proof tho :/ Well yeah hopefully they get their work done soon...

 

I wonder what made them being so behind with the cases....

Ah okay, I see. Well keep trying. I have heard that they just experienced a larger number of applications from November to January. Plus with the new government taking over in January, it may have caused an additional slow down in case processing. 

Have you heard anything since you submitted your last expedite request? Have you sent them your offer letter? Give it a couple days between request completed and giving them a call, just in case they have sent it to the final stages of approval. Mine was completed three days before it got approved, I think it may have been to go over my application for AP. 

1 hour ago, LadieGrace said:

You will need to call. Its better that way and they will provide you a reference number for your records as well. I checked on uscis account yesterday it showed they sent the service request and today it was assigned to an officer and it was completed but the status is still the same. Im wondering if it change right away or it will change tomorrow. Im hoping for a positive result. 

When I sent my expedite request the next day it showed submitted request, assigned to officer, and completed on the USCIS website when I tracked my case. I didn't receive any information or changes for a week. I then received a letter to send proof in the mail, I sent proof and got two more updates that it was (again) assigned to an officer and completed. A week later I received my NOA2s and my EAD was approved. I never received an update on my AP but I received an NOA2 for it as well and the card I received is a combo card. 

I know you submitted an inquiry and not an expedite, but hang in there a few more days and maybe you'll hear something! The waiting game sucks, but it will come! Hopefully soon!!  

7 hours ago, saeshhh said:

Also they messed up the expedite twice where they sent me the email to the wrong address so I could never respond with my job offer wich made me lose the job 😒 Now they finally told me the fax number via phone and the Attention to add with the cover letter. Now it's day 8 after they received my fax and still nothing has changed. It is just frustrating....

Are you attempting to expedite still although you no longer have a job offer? (That's what it sounds like).

I know the wait is very frustrating (for all of us). You have to remember that a request to expedite your EAD is simply a request, they are not required to expedite. Even many people with job offers or other valid reasons that meet the criteria to expedite don't receive one. I was lucky that I successfully expedited mine. You can always call and inquire about the request, does the request show up when you search your EAD case number on the USCIS website? You should be able to see as they progress through service requests. 

According to vj processing times they are getting toward the end of January for EADs, so hopefully you hear something soon! Fingers crossed! 

Hey February filers! 

Another update - my EAD/AP Card arrived today! 

It was sent Monday evening and delivered this afternoon (less than 2 days)

Very excited to start work and be able to travel!

Hope everyone else starts getting theirs soon!

19 hours ago, T_McCann said:

Hi guys,

 

called USCIS this morning as I'm on day 76 and the lady was super sweet and sent of an enquiry  fingers crossed and good luck to y'all .

19 hours ago, Glenn&Molly said:

 Thanks for the tip! Just submitted an inquiry and got a referral number! hopefully his gets things going!

52 minutes ago, LadieGrace said:

Hello everyone,

 

Called USCIS not too long ago and spoke to a nice rep. I just asked for a more detailed update about my AED since its been 79 days. She checked and since more than 75 days she created a service request for the application. Hoping to hear from them soon. Crossed fingers here!

I am happy you guys were all able to successfully submit an inquiry regarding your EADs! Hopefully you all get a response soon and it won't be too much longer until you receive them! Best of luck!

11 minutes ago, Poubon said:

Thanks for this advice! We called today and they said they are a little backlogged. They told us they are still working on applications from Nov. Which is interesting because many people seemed to have received some sort of notice about their case. I guess we just have to wait. They told us to wait since it was the 74th day to investigate further. 

Yeah they typically ask that people call to inquire after day 75, if you're on day 74 I would give them a call back on Thursday or Friday!

They are backlogged, however a lot of people from December and mid to late January have been getting responses about their EAD. Try to submit an inquiry again after day 75 and again after day 90 if it doesn't go anywhere. I think one or two people from early February have heard about their EAD without expediting. Hopefully more people will hear soon!