lmenko

Filing for AOS should not affect your student status. But, I do recommend having your EAD in case your F1 status ends before your AOS is processed. The EAD could take up to six months, so you should file for it now. It is free if you file with i485 and i131. But I wouldn't worry about your F1 student visa, it shouldn't be a problem.

Does anyone know if pending AOS cases are on hold indefinitely for marriage-based green card applications for people from the affected countries?? And will my husband be able to travel to iran and back with the AP?? 

I’m in the same boat. Check out my post history if you want more details - no interview yet, but will be traveling soon on AP. Not too worried because the order has waivers specifically stated for AP, those who have been working and living in the IS, etc

Does anyone else in here have citizenship from a country impacted by the travel ban?
 
I suspect that the reason our case has not been transferred from the NBC to our local office yet is most likely due to that. At the past couple of infopass appointments, we were told it looks okay, but I'm not sure why it wouldn't have at least made its way to the local office yet, since our field office is processing i-485 cases as of January 10, 2017.
 
I also haven't received responses on the past two SRs (one filed in August, and one in November). They both recently got assigned to an officer for processing, but I have a feeling our case may be on hold indefinitely? Does anyone have any info or insight on this? 
 
We have another infopass appt coming up, so we're hoping to get some clarification. But my husband is planning on traveling back to Iran over the holidays with the AP document, but now we don't know what's going to happen.

I just read through the doc on the whitehouse website and it looks like the AP is covered under exemptions in section 3(b)iii (iii)  "any foreign national who has a document other than a visa -- such as a transportation letter, an appropriate boarding foil, or an advance parole document -- valid on the applicable effective date under section 7 of this proclamation or issued on any date thereafter, that permits him or her to travel to the United States and seek entry or admission", so that is at least some okay news. 
 
But the AOS processing will probably drag on. I imagine that's why it's been held up so far but who knows? 

sooo...  
 
impacts of the ban on current AOS pending applications, anyone have any info/insight on this?
 
I'm not here to argue about it, the fact of the matter is that it really sucks for everyone affected by it, we don't have the privilege to sit here and argue about it, it gets us nowhere. We're still affected whether we believe it's a "good" or "bad" decision.
 
We just need to know if we're on hold indefinitely and whether or not the AP is still good for traveling while the case is pending. I can't seem to find a clear, concise answer anywhere. Any help is appreciated!

sooo...  
 
impacts of the ban on current AOS pending applications, anyone have any info/insight on this?
 
I'm not here to argue about it, the fact of the matter is that it really sucks for everyone affected by it, we don't have the privilege to sit here and argue about it, it gets us nowhere. We're still affected whether we believe it's a "good" or "bad" decision.
 
We just need to know if we're on hold indefinitely and whether or not the AP is still good for traveling while the case is pending. I can't seem to find a clear, concise answer anywhere. Any help is appreciated!

Our local field office is Hartford, CT and they are currently processing cases as of November 13th (we submitted October 27, they received October 31, and our NOA was Nov. 14/15). Something seems a bit off, still being stuck where we are. I mean I guess we have no option really but to just wait it out and hope for the best. But, it's very frustrating. On the plus/minus, our 1st anniversary is coming up this weekend, so maybe that will bring some good luck with getting an interview scheduled haha.

The processing times can differ a lot from case to case, but also depending on what visa you adjust from. This thread is for those who adjust from family based visas. Find the thread for those adjusting from student/tourist/work visas, maybe they can give you some answers or info we don't know about in here. 
 
You can call USCIS if you want but you're still within processing time so they might not let you talk to a Tier 2 or put in a service request. The average AOS (especially those adjusting from non-family based visas) takes a year or more, some cases will obviously get faster than that, and some  (much) slower. So you're fine for now, you just need to wait.
 

Not sure if that is 107 days from filing, or from NOA, but we just got notification for EAD a few days ago (118 days from NOA, 138 days from filing). You should hear something within the next week or two I would imagine.

Not sure if you have filed yet, but speaking from personal experience USCIS does not seem to accept fellowships as income. Maybe your case is different, but with my fellowship, there are no paystubs since it is distributed through financial aid from the federal government and it doesn't show up on my W2's. I am not even sure yet exactly how to claim it on my taxes this upcoming year. I recommend getting a joint sponsor. Your fiance has to be the main petitioner and should include her income, whatever can be proven by income tax returns, on an i 864. Your joint sponsor should make above the poverty level for their household size and needs to fill out an additional i 864. If your fellowship is a yearly contract, which I assume is likely, then it will be difficult to show that it will continue. Being a student is a tough position. Your safe bet would be to get one of your parents to sign up as a joint sponsor. Otherwise you are probably going to get an RFIE like we did and it will set you back, as an RFIE resets the clock and could add an additional 90 days to the processing time for your AP/EAD card.
 
Best of luck!

1) your household size should be 2
2) yes, she needs to submit W2's for most recent tax year and any other supporting financial information (i.e. pay stubs from last 6 months)
 
It's really annoying, we got the same RFIE but just submit literally everything you possibly have to be safe. I submitted 3 years worth of tax returns and W2's from 2014 and 2015 the first time and they still wanted more evidence of having enough income so I waited for 2016 W2 and obtained a joint sponsor just to prove steady, consistent income. It is an easy fix though so I recommend fixing it up and submitting everything asap 

Day 111: feeling a bit nervous, just hoping to get an EAD or something before he graduates in a few months and can't apply for a new visa..  
 
Anyone know about what to do in case that does happen?
 
I think the worst part about the AOS waiting game is just twiddling your thumbs having absolutely no clue about what and when anything will happen haha

I totally agree with this. As frustrating as it may be, we are all playing the waiting game, regardless of visa

Hi all:
 
I'd like to confirm that the USCIS will be continuing to process applications from individuals from the countries affected. What I mean by that is, the earlier directive from Renaud has been walked back as of today. https://theintercept.com/2017/02/03/dhs-walks-back-immigration-directives-as-muslim-ban-chaos-continues/ Keep an ear out and watch carefully, but I think for now - those who may have been affected by the previous decision will be okay. It will still not help those who are outside of the US applying for visas at the moment, but it will certainly give those currently inside the US and adjusting status some peace of mind.

Yeah, unfortunately these two announcements from the D.O.S. really pushed us over the edge.
 
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/news/important-announcement.html
https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/Immigrate-Announcement.html
 
It looks like they are not confident with things changing, even within 6 months. In the second announcement, it says "..the Department of State has temporarily stopped scheduling appointments and halted processing of immigrant visa applications for individuals who are nationals or dual nationals of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen." which means our applications are on hold for I would say 60 day minimum. Plus, they cancelled all February interviews for people from those 7 countries and said "If you received an interview appointment in February and have not yet attended the required medical exam, please cancel your medical examination appointment. Medical exam results are only valid for six (6) months and we cannot predict when your visa interview will be rescheduled." meaning they are not even sure this will be fixed in 6 months. So if we haven't even had an interview scheduled yet, it could easily be a year before anything changes.
 
Plus, now his family cannot visit us in the U.S. and if Iran does not comply with Trump's demands for information within 60 days (which realistically, is most likely not going to happen), the visa ban will be extended further. So for the sake of what things are looking like for the next 4 years, I would say Canada is a safe bet, especially if you want to be able to travel freely to and from Iran, and if your wife's family wants to come visit you. 
 
It is a really tricky time for sure, but we are here with you, and we wish you the best. I hope things change but I am not feeling good about it, especially seeing all of the support from the conservative side, and the fact that the Republicans have control of both the House and Senate (soon to have the tie breaking vote in the Judicial branch) and Trump's cabinet leading the various federal agencies..