strider4

19 minutes ago, Timona said:

 

I would suggest allowing everyone to automatically edit the file rather than having to ask your permission first in order to do so. This allows for faster data input. I believe you understand what I mean.

 

 

My bad. I thought I had changed the permissions prior to sharing the link; thanks for catching this! 

I have created a spreadsheet for Dec 2020 fillers; you can access it here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1krjUsYJAXqbDIuNL0y9UY2uOcBt5dr1Ji1jdbO63Dj0/edit?usp=sharing

Let me know if you've problems accessing it. Thank you, @Timona for the suggestion!

Good luck everyone! ☺️

Filed application today. ☺️ 

Hey everyone!

I just thought to drop an update that we had our interview today and got approved shortly after the interview. Although the officer told us that we'd hear from them in the next few weeks, I received the status update sms in about 30 minutes after the interview. I'd post a detailed account of the interview soon. For those of you still waiting, hang in there!

Cheers!

Hey everyone!

I just thought to drop an update that we had our interview today and got approved shortly after the interview. Although the officer told us that we'd hear from them in the next few weeks, I received the status update sms in about 30 minutes after the interview. I'd post a detailed account of the interview soon. For those of you still waiting, hang in there!

Cheers!

Posted in another thread, so thought I should post it here as well  

I have not received any updates and didn't receive a response to my SR raised in Oct, so I raised another one today.

However I thought I should stop by and let those of you know, who are still waiting like me and need to use their AP.

I was able to re-enter US smoothly using my AP last week. The officer was friendly, didn't ask a single question from us and politely told us that my husband should wait in baggage claim and that I'd have to go to secondary since they cannot clear APs at their stations. I just had to wait a little and then was handed over my passport and combo card without any questions asked. 

In other news, my mother-in-law, who's also an April filer, received her green card today.  Her online case status is still at "fingerprint fee was received" for some reason

Hello everyone,

Congratulations to all April filers who have received updates regarding interview dates or the green card itself.  

I have not received any updates and didn't receive a response to my SR raised in Oct, so I raised another one today.

However I thought I should stop by and let those of you know, who are still waiting like me and need to use their AP.

I was able to re-enter US smoothly using my AP last week. The officer was friendly, didn't ask a single question from us and politely told us that my husband should wait in baggage claim and that I'd have to go to secondary since they cannot clear APs at their stations. I just had to wait a little and then was handed over my passport and combo card without any questions asked. 

In other news, my mother-in-law, who's also an April filer, received her green card today.  Her online case status is still at "fingerprint fee was received" for some reason.  

On 11/5/2017 at 3:20 PM, Beefheart said:

So, how long does a case have to have been active before you can file the online case enquiry? In other words, what constitutes the normal processing time (it seems to differ vastly by location and is always conflicting from one source to the next)?

 

I've been on the 'case is ready to be scheduled for interview' since July 31st (filed during the last week of April). I live in California (LA County) but have no idea if that means I should be looking at the California service centre as a guide ( processing cases from April 2015?!?!?) or Chicago (where I filed) which states they're processing cases from November 2016. 

 

My receipt number starts with MSC, so does this mean it's at neither of the aforementioned locations and is just collecting dust somewhere?

 

I'm so confused.

I think you need to be looking at the LA field office times. Since your status changed to 'Case ready to be scheduled for interview', I'm assuming your case has already been transferred from NBC to your local field office. 

I think you can submit your SR online 180 days after your last status change (or maybe after you filed; can someone correct me on this?) for I-485. My status is stuck at 'Fingerprints fee received' and my PD is that of early April, so I was able to file the SR early October. Although it's a different story that it hasn't been assigned to an officer for review, yet. 

10 hours ago, Apfel said:

We had our infopass appointment today and it was really good news! The officer told me I worry too much (very true) and that Iranians are not taking longer than anyone else. He said our case is just waiting to be scheduled for an interview and there is a large backlog due to many applications recently. Our status has been on RFIE received since April and we have called and put a service request online, but neither time did they tell us any of this information.

 

We also asked about traveling internationally and what would happen if our interview is scheduled for a time we are gone. He said we can request a new interview if that happens. We have an international trip scheduled for January, I know others wouldn't risk it, but he has AP and the travel ban says people who already have re-entry visas are OK. We are willing to take the risk, I haven't heard of any Iranian spouse with advance parole being denied entry, but we will have attorney contact information in case there is an issue.

I'm also traveling at the end of December and trying not to worry too much. I had the same concern of having our interview scheduled while we will be away but I don't think it's likely in my case since we are April filers (sent our package end of March and it was received in April, which is why I followed both threads  ) . I was hoping to ask is there some kind of form where you provide attorney contact information or is just in case they ask for it and you provide it? Thanks in advance and good luck  Hopefully all of us waiting will receive positive news by end of January.   Also, I see you reside in California, is your local office in the bay area? SF is moving pretty slow.

22 hours ago, Abhi138 said:

 

hello,

 

Have you heard back about your case  from any of the officers.

I was able to put in a Service Request online after the 180 day mark, but the SR still hasn't been assigned to any officer yet. And my status is still the same: "Fingerprint fee received". Calling them is of no use at all, they parrot back the same information that we already know.

How about you? 

2 hours ago, narakthisud said:

My wife's status has been stuck at "fingerprint fee received" for nearly 6 months now. My representative's office says USCIS is still trying to schedule her for an interview but I have a feeling that it might be waived at this point.

I'm still stuck at the same status. I filed a service request a few days back. It still hasn't been assigned to an officer. Can't believe it's been more than 6 months with no progress at all.  

4 hours ago, AAA0914 said:

Hey! Thanks for your response. If I may ask, is your spouse an american citizen? 

 

And I see that your J-1 is for exchange student. My J-1 is for teacher-exchange. 

 

 

Precisely! I still have time in graduation which is why my lawyer and school emphasized that I keep my J-1 intact so that my degree remains unaffected.

Yes, to your question: he's a USC. 

13 hours ago, AAA0914 said:

Hello! Came across your post and it says:

”Secondly, I cannot use my EAD and AP as that would violate my J-1 status and bar me from registering at my university as well as working on campus...” 

 

May I know why you can’t use your ead and ap if you have J-1? Thanks

I got to know this a few weeks back that actually I can use it. My lawyer had told me at first that I cannot, if I want to keep my student status intact. I misunderstood it as I cannot use it  under any circumstances. I can use my travel permit but that would end my J-1 status and the university would consider me "PR-pending".

I was being asked to keep my J-1 intact incase the interview outcome not in our favor (but we have been married for 3+ so hopefully that would not be an issue) I'd have my J-1 status to fall back on. But if the interview outcome is negative while being "PR-pending" I'd be asked to leave the country immediately, regardless of my degree enrollment. But I can use my EAD as long as it's for my university employment. I cannot use it for an internship off-campus or they'll not let me enroll.

1 hour ago, TL2016 said:

Yeah that's the status I'm at. When you call in 180 days after they received your papers, ask for a Tier 2 officer as those are the people with actual information regarding your case... Or not, as I've been able to experience first hand lol. 

I called right after I made the post and they told me to call on October 16. My PD is of April 03 and the last status change is as of April 07. My 180 days would be on Sept 30 or if they go by the status change date, then that would be Oct 04.

I vaguely recalled reading something on VJ about inquiring after 180 days as 'Oct 16' sounded random but I didn't bring this up with the customer service rep. Now that you posted this I feel that my hunch was right all along.

Ahhh well I'll put my worrying on hold for a month and call on Sept 30. Thanks for bringing this up or I'd have had to wait until Oct 16.

1 hour ago, Californiansunset said:

Oh no no, I just added my office to my profile right after you had asked whether my office is SF. I thought I had it there but because you mentioned it, I realized I didn't and afterwards added it

 

You are very correct about the assumption that they are just reading their answers off of the screen. When I called to reschedule my interview the guy literally said things like 'let me see what it says when I click this' and then would read what USCIS had to say to my question and would then be like 'let me choose this option and see what the instructions are' etc. It made me realize again, that they don't have much knowledge and are just reading the standardized answers to you. 

Lol no worries. I thought I was too stressed to read things right off the screen   As for the customer service reps, they are more clueless than we are. 

On 8/28/2017 at 7:40 AM, TL2016 said:

Just called USCIS to speak to a Tier 2 officer because my case has been pending for longer than 180 days. Unfortunately that wasn't of much help. All she was able to tell me is that my case is still at the MSC, not even that it's in line for an interview waiver or anything. She said besides the day they received my biometrics they don't have any other updates for me. 

 

She did submit a service request on my behalf as well as a second service request to see if my case can be sent to Albany instead of NYC in case I need an interview. She said it's unlikely but she at least tried to get some info for me which is something I guess. I have to say I'm a little disappointed, I was hoping for some more information but unfortunately my call didn't do much besides submit the service requests. 

Is you status still at 'Fingerprints fee received' ? If yes, then I'm also at the same stage and beginning to get worried and was wondering if they do give out any useful info other than reading off from the website about local office processing times and how we should be patient about it. Hang in there; the uncertainty is annoying and worrisome but things will get sorted.

12 minutes ago, Californiansunset said:

No it's San Diego. It has the same processing time as San Francisco though, so yes that was fast (hence why I booked the flights expecting to have the interview in November or December and not so early!!). 

Thank you! Hoping it will work out rescheduling it... after reading the horror stories on VJ I'm a little terrified, but then again people post only when they have bad experiences and not good so I'm hoping for the best!

Ahhh, I just noticed the local office underneath your avatar. Sorry about that  For some reason I thought it wasn't there lol .

Indeed, one gets to see only few people reporting positive outcomes compared to negative ones. Good luck! 

1 hour ago, Californiansunset said:

Was scheduled for the AOS interview next month... as I had already feared it falls into the period that I am home in Germany. I contacted USCIS and asked to have it rescheduled and am waiting now for an answer. If anyone has experience with this please let me know! 

 

Also this shows that USCIS is randomly giving appointments for the interview. Another person with my field office who filed in December just got his interview for September, just two days before mine. Four others in the January forum with the same field office are still waiting on having theirs scheduled. I filed on Feb 27th with an RFIE response in April and already have my interview scheduled. There seems to be no way to anticipate when you get your interview. 

Is your local office in San Francisco? If yes, then wow that was quick! I hope things work out as you intend them to be.  

6 hours ago, tamaara said:

When does your J-1 status end? I feel like you should discuss this with your RO, they should be able to give you specific answers.

I filed for AOS towards the end of my J-1 so I didn't have problems with switching employment., I just couldn't work for a while.

 

Also, I can't see dates on your timeline, is it hidden for some reason?

My J-1 ends in summer next year but  my admission is until summer of 2019 and it's going to take me that much time to graduate. I work on campus in order to receive tuition waiver benefits. I discussed this with our lawyer and the school's int'l student office as well. They made me understand what it'd mean to use AP before the J-1 expires i.e. they'd continue to let me study and work; just that I'd have to use the EAD to continue working on campus, in addition to not having a status to fall back to in case the AOS is denied. I'd have to use my AP because my mother is going to go through a major medical procedure but she insists that I be there. She has complicated health issues due to old age, so she's worried and panicking and I haven't seen her in two years. If it weren't for this, I'd not have used my AP. But on the flip side, our lawyer estimates for the local office to make us wait until later next year for the interview i.e. after my J-1 expires. In that case I'll be also out of J-1 status but would be eligible to study and work on campus with a pending AOS. I don't want to regret not using the AP in efforts to preserve my J-1 status temporarily but then having to have the interview later on in 2018 at which point I'd be without the J-1 anyway. 

You're right; the school should be able to answer the SSN card question since they'd be the ones to whom I'd be submitting the documentation for work eligibility.

My signature is very long because of the timeline so I put it in one of those 'spoiler' boxes to ease strain on the readers of the threads I post in  . You may access it by clicking the little arrow on the left of 'reveal hidden contents'. 

5 hours ago, narakthisud said:

I would caution against trying to do a walk-in Infopass appointment. Biometrics? Sure. There are plenty of folks in this thread (and others) who've successfully done walk-in biometrics appointments without issue. Infopass is unfortunately a different beast altogether. The only suggestion I have is to check offices in the surrounding area. For example, I went to the Philadelphia office which had very few appointments. Yet, one across the bridge in New Jersey had tons of openings. Might be worth the trip if you've tried the SR and/or Tier 2 ISO routes already.

Thanks! I'll keep checking everyday to see if there's a slot available. I'm unable to raise an SR for I-485, I think it's not possible this soon (i.e. 5 months). I'm wondering if I should simply call them but I know they're going to tell me it's under processing time, even if the status hasn't changed in the past 5 months. I understand the wait is meant to be long; but the online status should have been updated by now to 'case ready to be scheduled for interview'.

I think I'll call tomorrow, even if it means knowing what they're going to say. 

52 minutes ago, tamaara said:

I honestly don't know but from what I've read you need the EAD. You could try calling and asking them. I didn't change my name so I won't be doing this. I do, however, would like to get an updated SSN card because mine says "with DHS work authorization" or something like that but I will wait until I have the EAD.

 

I found some information here:

https://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber/ss5doc.htm

 

Can you create a timeline? This will be helpful to future J-1 applicants!

If I decide to continue working on campus but with an EAD (instead of J-1 work auth) would I have to get my SSN card updated?

I might have to use my AP in Dec (and thereby, losing J-1 status), so I'd have to switch to EAD for continuing to work on campus.

1 hour ago, tamaara said:

Hi everyone! I've just found this and I'm (hopefully) close to the end of the process!

 

I'm adjusting from J-1, I had 212 residency requirement but I didn't get the approved waiver before sending my package. I never got an RFE due to this so we will just bring it to our interview on Sept 25.

 

They've changed the forms for AOS several times this year so to everyone looking for advice on filing I say read USCIS's website and instructions carefully because we've all had different experiences (and sent different forms). They also raised the prices I think.

 

We consulted with a lawyer from my university and were told that filing did not affect my J-1 program, I could finish it without problems. However, I could not get an extension on my DS-2019 after it was over and here I do not remember if it was because I had asked for the 212 waiver or because of filing (but I'm inclined to say it was the first one)

 

Everything has been going smoothly for us, thank goodness!

Check my timeline and/or signature for more info on my process.

 

 

Awesome! I also filed for the 212(e) waiver last year. Yes, you're absolutely right about not being able to extend your DS-2019 once you apply for the waiver. Your timeline is very encouraging. I was wondering people adjusting from non-K-1 visas might be going through relatively slow processing. Good luck with the interview and please post the update when you're done!

13 hours ago, narakthisud said:

Congrats! My wife's I-485 status is also still at the "fingerprint" status although I found out at our Infopass appointment that they were trying to schedule us for an interview as of July 28 which gives me hope that her I-485's status will update soon.

That's great! Maybe I should do an infopass too and hope to have an officer with a nice officer who is willing to tell me useful info.  I have been trying since last week but there's no slot available. Can I do a walk-in perhaps? I saw a line at the SF office for walk-ins; I'm not sure if it were only for biomterics only.

1 hour ago, Coco8 said:

You need to contact your university and let them know, and ask for advice.

 

If you go out with F1 you need to have your i-20 signed. But if you use AP you would be coming in as AOS. You cannot come in as 2 different status. You have to choose one.

Yep I have discussed it at length with the school and my lawyer. They delete the SEVIS record once one enters on an AP, which is important to prevent one's AOS from being considered abandoned i.e. the back-up nonimmigrant status is no longer there to fall back on if the AOS interview has a negative outcome. The school lets such students continue studying as well as work on campus with an EAD, until they get a decision on the AOS.

I was hoping to hear about first-hand experience of people re-entering on AP, how long does secondary inspection takes, whether the trip was due to an emergency or not and finally, how did their AOS interview go.

Hello everyone,

I was curious to know if any F-1/J-1 student with a pending I-485 recently entered the US using your advance parole document/card. Could you please share your experience? Also, if you're enrolled, your nonimmigrant status changes to that of pending PR; how much time did you have left in your F-1/J-1 at the time you decided to use your AP or EAD if working on campus?

For those of you who are no longer enrolled in a university but have been through the process of adjusting from F-1/J-1 and travelled on AP in the past two years, would you recommend it? is it worth losing student status and simply assume PR-pending status with your university?

Thanks in advance!

15 hours ago, lovewins2016 said:

Hi @strider4! My Received Date is April 3, and I-485 is still at "Fingerprint Fee Was Received." As an AOS applicant who's adjusting from K-1, I do welcome this rather long wait as it somehow gives me hope that I might get an interview waiver. 🙂 After all, I already have my EAD/AP combo card and it makes waiting for the GC bearable.

 

If you are also adjusting from K-1, I suggest you just patiently wait. If you're adjusting from a non-K-1 visa, I've read that you are most definitely going be scheduled for an interview. When? The timetable for your local office would be a good gauge.

 

If you are really worried or obssessed about it, I don't see how an InfoPass could hurt. Good luck, and may you receive favorable news. 🙂

We have the same timeline.  I'm adjusting from a non-K-1 so we'd definitely be getting called for an interview. I guess I should do an infoPass to put my mind at ease.

6 hours ago, seal72 said:

I am late may filer and much of the people I have seen are moved to case ready to be scheduled for interview, not my case, I am in the same boat!

It's nerve-wracking. Lets hope we get favorable status updates soon.