CMFries

2 hours ago, -Shana- said:

Had my interview today, I passed! My oath ceremony is going to be scheduled for a later date. So close to this journey being done!

Congratulations! If you have the time, it would be great if you could post about your interview experience in the US Citizenship General Discussion forum. I have an upcoming N400 interview in Atlanta and would definitely appreciate it.

1 hour ago, Alonso Ramirez said:

Now a lot of USCIS offices are doing on the spot swearing in ceremonies instead of larger events due to covid. 

Good to know. Were you informed about this in advance? I have an interview appointment letter but it doesn't mention the oath ceremony.

I am not sure about "regular" times, but currently you are not permitted to bring anyone with you to the interview, with the exception of an attorney or other authorized representative. Make sure to read your appointment letter thoroughly. It will be pretty clear.

9 hours ago, cyberfx1024 said:

You have your green card now so you just need your passport and your green card that is it. You do not need anything signed off by anyone at all to make the trip out of the country. So good luck and have fun. 

Thank you for clearing this up!

I recently adjusted status from F-1 student visa to permanent residency. I have my green card. I am planning to travel out of the U.S. soon. Will I need to have any documents other than my passport and green card to re-enter the U.S.? When I was an F-1 student, I would need to get my I-20 signed by a university official before any travel and then present it to an immigration officer upon re-entry. I'm guessing that I don't need to do that anymore - is that right? Thanks!

I recently had my interview to adjust status from a student visa to permanent residency (via marriage to a U.S. citizen). A couple of days later, I was notified online of a case update that the I-130 has been approved; soon after, we received the approval letter in the mail. This is pretty normal. The odd thing is that yesterday we received the I-485 approval letter in the mail, but there was no corresponding online activity. When I log into the myUSCIS system, the latest update on my I-485 is that the interview has been scheduled. This is the first time I have received anything in the mail from USCIS without any online update that it was being mailed to me and without it being reflected in the online system. Is this something to be worried about?

5 hours ago, Lenchick said:

It seems they write not to send anything right now but wait for another instruction. Who knows maybe they lost your form or didn't find it valid. Did you check all the info on the form that was submitted? Maybe there was a mistake? 

Yes, I did check the entire form. There is no missing signature or incomplete portion. I really don't know what USCIS means by "a completed and signed I-693 was not submitted" because it was.

What do you think I should do? Get another I-693 done and pay $200 again?

My details:

I am a PhD student on an F-1 visa. I filed I-485 and I-130 concurrently based on marriage to a U.S. citizen. I also filed I-765 and I-131.

Filing date: February 16, 2017

NoA date (for all 4) confirming receipt: February 22, 2017

Biometrics appointment: March 24, 2017

The notice that confuses me:

Today I received another notice dated March 29, 2017. This is the main text:

"Notice to Applicant

An initial review of evidence submitted with your Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status determined that Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, has not been submitted or has been submitted and is not sufficient for the following reason(s):

A completed and signed I-693 was not submitted.

You will be required to submit a valid, completed, and signed Form I-693 at a later date. Please follow these instructions:

• If you receive an itnerview notice in the mail, you must bring your updated Form I-593 to your interview appointment.
• If your case does not require an interview, you will receive a Request for Evidence for Form I-693 with instructions on where to send Form I-693.

DO NOT MAIL DOCUMENTS AT THIS TIME. Mailing documents before receiving one of the notices referenced above may result in a delay to your case."

I have been very confused, because I did submit a signed and sealed I-693 with my initial packet. I paid $200 to the Civil Surgeon's office that prepared this form for me, and I know that this office has successfully prepared I-693s many times before. They gave a patient's copy of the packet in the sealed envelope, and everything looks complete to me. The edition and expiration dates are valid for when the form was signed and filed. 

Response from Customer Service:

I called the Customer Service Center and spoke to an agent. She did not seem very confident about this issue. She said that "they don't like it" if the I-693 is submitted with the I-485 packet, so "to be on the safe side", I should get another I-693 and take it with me whenever I am called in for my interview. This does not seem like good advice to me; applicants can't be expected to get the I-693 exam done twice. Also, her advice seems to contradict the letter, which indicates that they did want to see the I-693 in my initial packet. I don't know how they could have missed a thick, sealed envelope from a Civil Surgeon at the top of my packet!

What should I do now? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

If you are in the Atlanta area and you are looking for a Civil Surgeon office that is cheap and experienced, make an appointment at Dr. Alawode Oladele's office at 445 Winn Way # 150, Decatur, GA 30030.

1 hour ago, lmenko said:

Unfortunately, I don't qualify for a 1098-T from my University because my "qualified tuition and related expenses are entirely waived or paid entirely with scholarships". The financial aid and bursar's office were both pretty much like, "good luck, you should definitely hire an accountant" because I have partial income from two sources for the first half of the tax year and fellowship for the second half, and no one seemed to know how to claim the fellowship on my taxes.. With grants, I usually pay something like 10% on them, but not sure what to do about this. Not even sure if they have already been taxed or not. Plus, filing jointly through marriage now, going to be quite the tax season. 

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Imenko, I can see from your situation why your fellowship would be difficult to show on your taxes. In my case, I get regular W-2s like an employee of the university, so it is easy to show. I am just going to show a continuation letter from the university and my recent W-2s, as Ash.1101 suggested. I will be filing next week.

I am a PhD student on an F-1 visa with a visa expiration date of December 2019. My program started in 2014. I am getting married to my U.S. citizen fiance in 4 months, and we will be submitting the Adjustment of Status package soon after. We would appreciate some help regarding Form I-864 Affidavit of Support. 

My fiance, as the sponsor, needs to show on the I-864 that his yearly salary is at or above $20,025 (125% of the poverty level for a household of 2). Unfortunately, his salary is below this amount. However, as a PhD student, I have a fellowship, which gives me a salary of $27,000 per year. Is there any way to show my own salary as evidence that I will have financial support as a potential permanent resident?

We have had a joint bank account since August 2015, if that matters.

Thanks!