permathought

We had our interview on the 13th of this month.  Thankfully our officer was very nice and we were to do the entire interview in Spanish.  We basically just talked about how we met and told our story and that was it. She asked for bank statements but didn't even really look at them.  At the end she told us that we were approved!   God is good.  We got the greencard in the mail on the 20th, just one week and a day after the interview.   I don't know if it's the new or old type, but it has a very thick magnetic strip on the back with a hologram of face and all other vital details.  

I wish the best to everyone or anyone who is still waiting for news.  Thanks to everyone's gracious help on this forum, this was possible!   

Good to know.  Thanks for the info.  I think we'll be leaving them at home. 

We have our interview scheduled for November yay!

We have two small children which have the same destructive energy as three mile island;, one in the height of the terrible twos and our 4 year old.  I can leave them with my parents for the interview, but I don't know if I should bring them since they are part of our evidence as well.  What would you recommend?

The interview is in San Antonio, TX and their site says nothing specific about children.  

We received our interview notice in the mail!!!!  (since it's AOS, we have to have an interview). 

November 13th in San Antonio. 

God is good! 

We'll let you know what happens.....

(and no update on the website yet).

7 hours ago, muffin17 said:

Had our interview today and got approved! Never got approval for the EAD and honestly I think because they had our interview scheduled already they just decided to let the EAD go.

How did the interview go? What did they ask?  Did they tell you that you were approved right there?  Major congrats!!!

2 hours ago, Kratos12 said:

Wow. That's a long time.  Looks like we are in the same shoes

 

I hope it comes out before that.

I too had an RFE and after calling USCIS, they told me everything got reset to the date when they receive the requested evidence (Which was May 1st). Still, and I don't know how, my wife's EAD/AP card showed up in the mail this last Saturday.  So don't lose hope.

Combo card arrived today.  Prayin' everybody will get their card soon.

Received two notices in the mail today. One for EAD and one for AP.  Assuming we'll get the combo card?  The I-131 online status is still at case received.  

Best of luck to everyone still waiting for updates on their EAD/AP.  Glad to hear about the interview experience as well!

USCIS case status updated today to NEW CARD IS BEING PRODUCED for EAD.  Yay!!

No updates on the EAD nor AP but.........

I just checked our case status and for the I-485 it says: Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview!!!

However, it only says case received for the I-130 .  Has anyone else had that happen?

Anyways, I'm glad that things are progressing even with the RFIE.

8 minutes ago, laci1806 said:

Was the RFIE for your AOS or EAD? And is May 1 the day they received your response? 

My NOA 1 is Feb 2, but I got an RFIE for my AOS and they got the response April 18. 

Im really hoping to get my EAD this week

And yes, May 1 was the day they have posted as receiving the response.

No the RFIE was for my I-485, specifically for my 2016 tax return and for a joint sponsor.  It took a while to get that all together hence the long response time.  Still, someone else here, sorry I can't remember who, mentioned that others have gotten their EAD within the original 90 days even even after the RFIE.  I think it's just luck of the draw. I'd like to think that even in the worse case with the clock being reset that everything will take less than a new 90 day limit since they already have the biometrics and everything else in front of them. But I'm just trying to stay positive.

I called USCIS today and asked about if getting and RFIE resets the clock.  The woman said that yes, and that everything is now being processed from the date of May 1st.  Then she asked when our interview was scheduled for. I told her that I didn't even know if I had an interview.  She said she would check and put me on hold for awhile.  I got excited and hoped that maybe the interview was already scheduled, but after about three minutes she told that she couldn't give me any information until 60 days after May 1st.  So I guess it's back to waiting.  Hopefully we'll hear something by July. 

Also, yesterday we received a letter saying that our application did not include the medical exam and that we will need to bring it to the interview which we already knew. I guess that means they've gone through the whole application at this point.

 

Some ppl say it does affect the EAD some say it doesn't. On the RFE paper it clearly states that they wont process the i-765 application until the answer for RFE is submitted.. so you should always hurry submitting the requested documents.

In fact if it's a RFIE and not a normal RFE it states even on the USCIS website that the  waiting time gets turned back to zero. This actually happened to people before who ended up having to wait for over 150 days on their EAD (I think I've read about those cases in either the October or November 2016 AOS thread). I honestly think it's pure luck whether it's gonna affect the EAD or not....

The letter says it's a RFIE for the I-485. It was for the tax documentation of this year.  I couldn't get that out as I needed income documents from where we were living in Colombia and they don't get that out till the beginning of April. I also had to find a joint sponsor as I was just below the income threshold due to a few days off in December and not having been working for more than six months.  So, we got it out as soon as we could but it did hold us up a bit.  Where did you see it on the website that getting an RFIE sets the clock back to zero?

 

Some ppl say it does affect the EAD some say it doesn't. On the RFE paper it clearly states that they wont process the i-765 application until the answer for RFE is submitted.. so you should always hurry submitting the requested documents.

In fact if it's a RFIE and not a normal RFE it states even on the USCIS website that the  waiting time gets turned back to zero. This actually happened to people before who ended up having to wait for over 150 days on their EAD (I think I've read about those cases in either the October or November 2016 AOS thread). I honestly think it's pure luck whether it's gonna affect the EAD or not....

The letter says it's a RFIE for the I-485. It was for the tax documentation of this year.  I couldn't get that out as I needed income documents from where we were living in Colombia and they don't get that out till the beginning of April. I also had to find a joint sponsor as I was just below the income threshold due to a few days off in December and not having been working for more than six months.  So, we got it out as soon as we could but it did hold us up a bit.  Where did you see it on the website that getting an RFIE sets the clock back to zero?

Mine was also received on the 2nd of February and still no EAD nor update on the USC website.  We did get an RFIE which was responded to a month and a half later but supposedly that doesn't affect it....or does it?  

After far too long, I sent in my requested RFE (for I-485) info in the mail last Wednesday and saw the confirmation of it's receipt today on the USCIS page.  No update regarding EAD/AP.   Waiting...

10 hours ago, gallegamericana said:

Hi all! I've been reading these posts all month and they've been very helpful. Finally chiming in with a few questions. Any help is appreciated.

 

My husband came to the US with me in 2015 on an F1 visa. We got married on December 30, 2016.

 

Application sent (I-130, I-485, I-765): 02/20/2017

Application received: 02/21/2017

Checks cashed: 02/28/2017

Text NOA1: 03/01/2017

Paper NOA1: 03/06/2017

Sent I-131 (we forgot to!) -03/08/17

RFE message for I-485 posted on USCIS check my status: 03/10/2017 -Haven't received paper RFE

Biometrics letter received: 03/10/2017

Biometrics scheduled: 03/24/2017

 

So, it's my understanding that the whole AOS process is put on hold for now and restarts once we send in our RFE paperwork. I am assuming it is because I only sent my W2s for the 2016 year and not my tax returns. I'm currently working on my tax returns with my accountant, but I've hit a road block because my husband and I were married on December 30, 2016. Technically I have to file as married now, but I don't know how to file! Jointly or separately? He never worked, but would have to get an ITIN in order for us to file jointly and I'm unsure if he can still file as exempt on his F1 if we file separately, now that we are married. 

 

Does anyone have any insight on how they filed their 2016 returns having gotten married?

I'm also assuming they will be asking for my tax returns, but it could be something else!

 

I'm just a little worried because we have a family event in his home country in July.

My wife and I filled for her ITIN well before we began this process.  While here visiting in the states, we went into a local IRS office with that year's tax return ready to file. We also included her petition for her ITIN (I can't remember the form number now). You'll need to bring the foriegner or immigrant's passport and/or other forms of valid ID. They will ask you some questions, make a copy of the passport and that gets sent in for revision.  Maybe like six weeks later you'll get your ITIN number and return or deduction.  So, you can go ahead and file jointly and apply for the ITIN at the same time.

I thankfully found a married joint sponsor for my application. My question is, does his wife need to fill out the I-864A (she does work and I believe they file their taxes jointly).  What are the reasons pro and con for her to fill out the I-864A?  Also, would she need to send in proof of citizenship or does only the joint sponsor need to do that? 

I forgot to mention that my wife is also adjusting from a B1/B2 visa.

Thanks for the input.  I sat down yesterday and started going over everything.  I'm guessing is that since our work place was off for the week between Christmas and January I had a much lower check in the first week of January.  If you take the average weekly income with that very low week and project over 52 weeks it doesn't meet the criteria.  So, it will take a while before my other pay stubs can balance out that average. 

Given all that plus the six month employment guidance, I'm currently looking for a sponsor to be on the safe side of things. I'll post back here and let you know how that is received once it's all sent off with the 2016 tax returns.

On 3/7/2017 at 9:43 PM, ifdv said:

so you received the RFE a week after biometrics? Hmm. how about getting a co-sponsor?

Yep, that's what I'm doing now.  Hopefully I can somebody willing to help. 

After looking at some other posts, I want to add that I sent in Tax Transcripts for the past three years.  I haven't had a w2 for a while since I was working overseas.  Also I filled jointly with my wife.  Would she need to fill out an I-864A even if she's the beneficiary?

27 minutes ago, mmullins1421 said:

When did you recieve your NOA1?

On the 8th of Febuary in the mail.  My wife just got her biometrics done last week too.

Today I just received a RFE concerning my I-864.  First they said they needed my 2016 tax return (while not totally understandable, I know that has happened to people that file around this time of year) but the other request concerned me. It said that my income did not pass the 125% of poverty level.  However, my CURRENT income does, which was documented when I sent my application with all of my pay stubs since I started working here in the states in November, bank statements and a letter from my employer.  To get specific, my current annual income when I filled was $32.240 and currently is $33,280 a year after a small raise at the end of last month.  The poverty level for my family of four is $24,300 making the 125% threshold $30,375.  I don't have any assets to speak of. 

With that said, my previous three years income is substantially below the poverty limit since we were all living and working outside the states. My 2016 tax return will also be below the poverty level since we were overseas for 9 months out of the year, and I was unemployed from September until November.   However, from what I understand, they should only be interested in current income. Am I wrong on that account?

My question is if I should send them the 2016 tax return along with the most recent pay stubs, bank statements and another letter from my employer reflecting my current salary.  Do I need to look for a sponsor just to be safe?