HandmadeTurnip

I just got my card yesterday, it took 8 days to arrive after my case status updated to "New Card Is Being Produced".

1 minute ago, T_P said:

Cant see the time line @HandmadeTurnip

Sorry, my computer went a bit weird and it submitted it before I was finished typing. I've edited it now.

5 minutes ago, T_P said:

Awesome, congrats...how long did it take from the time you summited the request to receive the card? How was the entire process? You called USCIS? submitted your job offer???

I called the USCIS helpline and requested an expedite based on "severe financial loss to a company or person", then I received a letter a few days later telling me to fax proof of my job offer to them. Here's a quick timeline to show things more clearly:

07/11/17 - Filed I-765 (along with rest of AOS forms)

07/14/17 - Received NOA1

07/31/17 - Called USCIS to request expedite

08/14/17 - Biometrics appointment

09/05/17 - Case status updated to "New Card Is Being Produced"

09/08/17 - Case status updated to "Card Was Mailed To Me"

09/13/17 - Received card in the mail

So the whole expedite process was frustratingly long in the end.

On 9/11/2017 at 4:10 PM, T_P said:

I really wanned to hear some people from July saying that they received their EAD / AP.  

My EAD card arrived in the mail today, I requested an expedite though. 

22 minutes ago, Niia said:

After contacting the congresswomans office and asking them to follow up with their contact at USCIS, received approval an hour later. 

Yay, finally!

My case status finally updated to "New Card Is Being Produced" today. 

I never received any other updates, my case status had only ever said "Case Was Received" before now. It seems that the expedite process is pretty inconsistent in terms of what each person experiences.

1 hour ago, EditaH said:

Congratulations!

What was your office?

I wish all,of us would get so lucky..

Thanks, my local office is Fort Smith, AR.

I seem to have also gotten really lucky with an early interview date, here's my timeline:

07/11/17 - Package Sent

07/14/17 - NOA1 Received

07/31/17 - Biometrics Appointment

08/25/17 - Case Status updated to "Interview Is Scheduled"

10/02/17 - Interview Date

20 minutes ago, Niia said:

 

Yeah i actually ended up faxing it multiple times because I got the busy beep signal and fail messages the first few times and then the last time I didn't but I also didn't receive a confirmation. Went to FedEx and had them fax it, got confirmation that it went through but I'm still unsure. I've heard people complain that the fax number they provide doesn't work. 

I've called a few times and asked if my documents were received but didn't get an answer. Contemplating calling again today but feel like they are tired of me by now probably 

I was planning to fax them again today, the fact that people have complained about the fax number not working is worrying.

I was also considering mailing the documents to them as that seems like it might be a sightly more reliable (albeit slower) method. I don't know if that would work though considering the letter only says to use fax.

I faxed my supporting documents 14 days ago and haven't heard anything either. My case status still just says "Case Was Received" and I'm starting to worry that the fax never actually reached them or something.

This is the correct form:

https://www.uscis.gov/i-134

3 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

 

You could go in acting really confused saying "I already did biometrics and now I got another letter. Is this a mistake?" Then they explain it and you sheepishly ask if they could take care of it today since you're already there

lol that's not a bad idea.

28 minutes ago, Scandi said:

You just need to look at your biometrics letter to know if it's for just one of your applications or both, if it's just for one you can wait for the second letter if you want to.

 

You can try to do an early walk-in again, worst thing that can happen is that they don't let you do it. There's no punishment involved.

Unfortunately, I wasn't aware that I would need to do multiple sets of biometrics so I didn't really think anything of it when my first letter just said "I-485" on it. I may just attempt a second early walk-in like you suggested, it's not like I have anything to lose, like you said.

7 minutes ago, venom123 said:

Yes you'll have to go for the appointment again. I'd just try and go for an early walk in, there's no harm in trying.

 

Im trying to expedite my I-765, how exactly did you manage to do it?

I just phoned the USCIS helpline and asked for it to be expedited. They gave me a list of reasons to choose from and I picked "severe financial loss to a company or individual", now I'm waiting for them to send me a request for evidence so I can send them a copy of my offer of employment.

I received a biometrics appointment letter for my I-485 last week and tried going to my local USCIS office early, as I've frequently seen suggested on VisaJourney. They let me do my biometrics but the lady told me that she was making an exception and not to expect to be able to just walk in again in future. That same day, I requested an expedite for my EAD application, based on a job offer.

Today, I received a second biometrics appointment letter for my I-765 (with a different appointment date to the first one). I wasn't aware that biometrics had to be captured separately for each individual application. If I'd known, I would have waited for the second letter before attempting to walk in, especially as my I-765 application is much more important than my I-485 one at the moment.

Does this mean I have to wait the whole two weeks until my second biometrics appointment before I can continue with the expedite process? Normally, I would just attempt a second early walk-in but the warning I got from the officer was pretty blunt.

He can find his I-94 here: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/

The joint sponsor I'm using for my AOS application has continued to use her married name after getting divorced. Her passport and birth certificate (which I need to prove her citizenship) are both in her maiden name, however. Can anyone tell me what I should do in this situation? 

11 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

The income from the tax return needs to come from Line 22 of the Form 1040. Is that where you got

Primary Sponsor (self-employed, no dependents)

2016 Income - $20,567

It's over the required poverty level. Do either of you have any assets/savings to sweeten the pot with?

 

 

2 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

 

Is that the total on Line 22 of their joint tax return?

Also over the poverty level for a household of 3.

Husband and wife can pool their income for an I -864

Wife does I-864 and adds husband's income to her form as household member contributing. Total household income is $30,259 on the I-864.

Husband does an I-864A which his agreement for his income to be used in support of the immigrant on wife's I-864.

 

 

 

All the total income amounts are from line 22, yes. I know they both meet the requirements in their most recent tax returns but I'm worried that the much lower incomes on their 2015 and 2014 tax returns might be a problem, especially as both of them only just met the requirement last year. We don't have any assets or savings, unfortunately. 

I'm currently preparing my AOS package and I'm unsure if the financial situations of my possible sponsors will be good enough. It's somewhat convoluted but I'll try to lay out all the information as best as possible. Here's all the info I've collected from their past three tax returns:

Primary Sponsor (self-employed, no dependents)

2016 Income - $20,567

2015 Income - $11,956

2014 Income - $13,029

Joint Sponsor(s) (married joint-filers, no other dependents)

Total Income

2016 Income - $30,259

2015 Income - $22,531

2014 Income - $23,680

Husband (self-employed)

2016 Income - $5,799

2015 Income - $2,818

2014 Income - $5,390 (minus $5,390 NOL on the "Other Income" line, I'm not entirely sure what that means)

Wife (salary)

2016 Income - $24,149

2015 Income - $19,661

2014 Income - $23,588

So while both sets of sponsors earned over the required poverty guideline for their household size in 2016, I'm worried that the erratic nature of their income might mean they get rejected.

To add to the confusion, the wife's salary is actually higher than gets reported on her W-2, hence her differing incomes. Apparently they've had a long running problem at her office with whoever prepares their W-2s entering in the information incorrectly. So I think her pay stubs actually show a yearly salary that's just over the $25,525 poverty guideline.

Can anyone give me some guidance on what I should do in this situation? Would sending an employer letter and pay stubs for the joint sponsor help to make up for their erratic income history or should I look for a completely different joint sponsor altogether?

13 minutes ago, Ivan Bliminse said:

I have just received an email asking me to come back again for an interview. The email reads as follows. 

 

 

I am now thoroughly confused.

 

1. Are there two interviews?
2. I thought the lady who was in counter 10 was the CO and what we spoke was the actual interview. Is that not the case?

I feel like complete and total idiot. :-(

I'm not sure if it's the same for B-2 visas but I had to hand over my documents at one of the windows next to the waiting area and then sit down again. Then I was called to one of the higher number windows around the back for my actual interview.

17 minutes ago, mimolicious said:

Why did you apply for a visitor visa when you could have use the VWP?

He's not a British citizen and so isn't eligible for the VWP. 

1 minute ago, millefleur said:

If the parent's house is literally next door and she gets her mail there anyway, why not just continue to use that address? I don't see any need to use the other house number. If you're worried about confusion, just use the one address for all things.

That's what I was hoping to do, thanks for your help!

4 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

I agree, I don't see this being an issue.  You should show the different mailing and physical addresses on the form.

 

Good Luck!

On previous forms I've just used her parents' address as her physical address though, as she literally never uses her actual house number for anything. Wouldn't it look odd if a brand new house number suddenly appears out of nowhere? 

I'm currently preparing my documents for adjusting status from a K-1 visa but I've run into a bit of a problem with the I-864.

My fiancee lives right next to her parents' house, in a property that they own. For the entire time she's lived there, she's used her parents' address as her address and gets all of her mail passed on to her from her mother. While she technically has a mailbox in front of her house, it's all kind of one big piece of land.

Seeing as she has always used that address as her official address, we filled in all of the K-1 and AOS paperwork using that address. However, we were planning to use her mother as a joint sponsor for the I-864 due to my fiancee being self-employed and only just meeting the poverty guidelines in her most recent tax return. The problem is that when filling in their respective copies of the I-864, they both have the same address despite technically living in different houses. Do you think this will be a problem? Would it be better to find a completely different joint sponsor (we have options) just to avoid any confusion? 

9 minutes ago, Dodgexander said:

I've read conflicting advice on here in other threads regarding previous drugs use, is there really any reason to mention it? I don't want to be banned for another year when it's something that happened years ago

The doctor who conducts your medical asks you a fixed set of questions from a questionnaire to get an idea of your medical history, one of those questions is "have you ever used drugs?". In other words, the only way to not mention it is to lie in response to a direct question, something no one on here is ever going to advise you to do.

10 minutes ago, Dodgexander said:

Thanks everyone, my Fiancee has been at her new job for almost a year and earns above 125% required even for the adjustment of status later. Is it best practice for her to obtain an employers letter since she hasn't been employed there for an entire year? Does she need to address this letter to anyone more than to whom it may concern?

 

About the medical also, I have two concerns related to drugs:

 

I have used Marijuana in the past, especially in my early 20s, not regularly but for example visiting Amsterdam.

A while ago I was admitted to hospital after taking a substance that was not illegal, it was a legal high hallucinogenic. How do I know if this is going to work against me? Will they be able to obtain any medical records that state this?

I am guessing such a thing would only be a problem if it was listed on my police report, but I need to know if the above files under the be honest category or the don't give out more info than required one. Thanks! 

An employer's letter is fine for London, yes. She could also give you pay stubs dating back several months to back it up. Addressing it with "to whom it may concern" is fine as well.

If they directly ask you if you have ever taken drugs (which they most likely will), you should as always answer truthfully. The worst consequence of admitting past marijuana use is that you'll have to wait out a one year ban before being able to enter the US, the worst consequence of lying is to be banned from entering indefinitely. I don't see why there would be any problem with the other drug if it was completely legal, but I don't know for sure. They won't be able to obtain any of your medical records unless you provide them though.