moosy

On 1/15/2019 at 7:36 PM, 003 said:

Finally had our interview after waiting a year. Priority date Dec 11.2017 

 

the interview was last week, they did not give us any decision and our online status didn’t update.    Now what? 

Just wait; they cannot always give you a decision if the person interviewing you was not the main officer. They need to bring their decision to the decision maker, and then it can take a while until it gets updated.

In my case, I got approved on the spot, but it still took over a week to get anything on my online status, so I wouldn't worry too much about this. Give it another week at least before you even start worrying. (easier said than done, I know)

On 1/17/2019 at 6:31 PM, kpraveenvan said:

Help please: Can I change employers when my GC-EAD is pending?

why not? Just bring the info with you if you are not certain. I have no idea why this would not be possible. At the moment of filling out the application, the info was correct, so it is not like you lied. Just let them know at the interview. I doubt they will even update the info.

On 1/4/2019 at 3:41 AM, Medi_07 said:

Mine is expiring in April, if you submit the renewal on time you automatically get 180 days ead extension. So you should be fine! My FO is SF too and ppl from July got their interview notice, so we probably will hear from them in 2-3 months. 

Good luck 

I know this isn't known for certain or it might just be a feeling a lot of people get, but a few days after the EAD extension was received, it seems my field office (ATL) scheduled my interview (which took over a year). I have zero clue if this is even possible, but it does raise some questions about their procedure: is it an accident that within a week or two of asking an EAD extension, the field office suddenly springs into action? I wonder if they (who provide the EAD) need to call up your field office to ask when the interview is, to make sure it is not useless to provide an extension. For example, in my case, I only received my AP extension, but I NEVER received my EAD extension, despite asking for this 2 months before my interview was. You would think that if they did not have the interview info, they would send me the EAD extension, as my interview was mid to end October, and my EAD expired mid November. The AP extension came start of September in my mailbox. AP and EAD were received simultaneously on their part, so they made the active decision to never give me an EAD extension when they received it on their desk as a combo.

This sounds a little bit complicated, but IF there is ANY chance your extension application might trigger your interview date to be scheduled, I would DEFINITELY ask for the extension as soon as you are allowed. You never know!

2 hours ago, Marzena & Stephen said:

register to get a number ours was k77 they call the numbers our randomly ..we sat in a waiting room. And were called within 15 min so i think we got into the room closer to 11ish than 1115 which was our appointment time.  

 

In the office I was in (Atlanta), I was able to see that they work with an appointment system per officer and per time.

So for example,

officer Abrams has couple X at 9, couple Y at 9:30, couple X at 10:00,

officer Burton might have couple D at 9, couple E at 9:30, couple F at 10:00.

That is how their planning looks like it seems (although the times might be different of course; this is just an example).

As a consequence, it seems random:

for example, if you are assigned to officer Abrams, and the couple in front of you aren't there yet, you can come in earlier as Abrams has nothing else to do at that point.

But if you are assigned to officer Burton, and the couple in front of you are a difficult case, you might be stuck waiting for an hour extra. And during your waiting time, you might see couples who came in later than you going into other officer's rooms.

I am not 100% sure this is what it looks like for all the other offices, but it's definitely what it was like in my case. 

I knew up front who would be our officer because I read his name on their schedule. I think before us, there was a difficult case, because many people went in front of us with other people (some of which came in only five minutes before the time), and we were kept waiting for over an hour despite being early. Then again, our officer said that it was a senior officer, and he was able to make the decision on the spot, so for that reason alone, I was quite happy and did not mind waiting an extra hour.

On 1/1/2019 at 2:50 PM, FOSSLGRL said:

Still no update.

Made it through customs and on boat headed home.

Very relieved at having no issues. I will remain in the US until a decision is made.

I would have regretted it if I didn't make this trip.

 

I am wondering if the government shut down may be interfering with processing times.

I think AOS etc is self-funded, so they use all of our fees to continue paying their people, and that means they do not shut down. Not 100% certain.

18 hours ago, Madmax said:

Hi everyone as I have update my status of my journey . I have received my green card last month and I got 10 yrs green card is this correct? 

 

I git married october 15,2017 and filled my application October 31,2017 it took more than a year the process . But I would like to know if this process is right if my green card is correct instead of 2 yrs conditional . My aos is based on marriage f1 to marriage 

I don't think it is correct, to be honest. But maybe they have some type of ability to ignore the usual thing and provide you with a 10 years card instead? I would check, but not sure where you would need to go for this.

2 hours ago, CE and JR said:

 

probably is not relevant for you anymore, but check out this link about the emdical... it might be beneficial for others in this forum

 

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume8-PartB-Chapter3.html

 

Congrats!

 

 

Look at the tab "updates" and you will notice they actually refer back to what I posted with an update in October.

I was also able to get in under the prior rule. 

That is super frustrating! But it will be fine!

22 hours ago, FOSSLGRL said:

Thanks.

My husband and I have discussed this at great lengths and there are a couple of reasons why I suspect we are getting extra scrutiny. One major reason is that we lived in the very same house that him and his ex wife lived in back when they were together. Also we have no children of our own yet.

 

If they deny us based on "fraud" it would be a cruel joke. Also I have a lot more evidence to prove we live together and was surprised she didn't ask to see it. She only wanted "4 things".

 

I would at least hope for an RFE at this point.

 

 

 

My husband and I are currently living in a rental house that he also lived in with his wife about 8 years ago now. They did not ask anything about this (but it is not like she was still there while I lived here or dated him, as that would be a no no for me personally, although in reality, I am sure that happens plenty with separated couples where the ex-partner does not have an immediate other place to live).

We also do not have children of our own, nor will we ever. We did not have a big wedding party nor will we ever have one. That last part was mentioned when they asked how the wedding was (it was just us two in a court where there were maybe 50 other couples at the same time).

None of those things even made the officer look at us like "huh?"

We are very untraditional when it comes to US traditions, and I explained that I had not yet switched all the bank accounts to joint, as in the culture I am from, it is encouraged to have both a joint account and separate accounts as well. The officer just said "that's just good sense", so he was fine with that as well.

When we explained our marriage proposal was actually a mutual decision he did not bat an eye.

When I simply explained that the first time we met it was because I was "quite nearby anyway" as a visiting scholar about a two hour flight away and I felt like I owed it to myself to check it out to make sure we actually had chemistry in person, the officer did not look weirdly at all, either. Our coming together was all quite rational and slow.

None of what you said sounds like a red flag.

(We got approved on the spot; it still took over two weeks for our greencard to arrive)

I am actually assuming that they were doing a bigger interview because they just sometimes do this at random. Quality control like any other business. Perhaps they were wondering why you did not go through your parents' route instead as you mentioned they are both US citizens. I don't know.

But I would not worry too much about this. You will know more in a week or so, as either the old or new website will change. In my case, the old one changed first, then the new website changed on a Saturday night (it sent an email) a week later.

It does suck that you will likely not have your christmas together thing (no way are they working next monday) if it does not come through today and you are still able to get your stamp in person. But on the other hand, you knew this would be a possibility with the interview so close.

I also did not make plans to see my parents or family or friends. It has been over two years now that I have seen them, and the first trip will be end of April.

You can do this.

Agree with the others: come up with a plan B. 

Plus, you might have a lot of friends there who might choose plan B as well, as it is very expensive to come over for a wedding party.

In our case, even though there are ESTAs possible, we still did not throw a wedding party when we got married over a year ago. We were going to do something the moment I had my greencard and I could go visit, but since the reason for the visit coincides with my brother's wedding, we will just not be throwing a party, period.

My friends, although they were willing to come to the wedding, have related to me that they are kinda glad we didn't do this after all, as it is incredibly expensive. My parents and close family were also happy we were planning on doing something there. 

Now that plan B is not going to work out (I feel personally I should not have wedding party in the same week as my brother is actually getting married), no one seems disappointed anyway.

Getting married was not a huge deal for my husband and I (if there was a choice, living together legally would have been my preferred way), and I never dreamed of a huge party or anything. 

And as my husband had a huge wedding party with his former wife, both him and his parents were happy we were not going to have a big party (so so expensive!). 

The only thing I had, was some pangs of regret that my parents did not see me get married. We did not ask my husband's parents because it would upset me to have them there and not mine.

I know it is super disappointing, especially if you've been dreaming about a huge party, but this way you can have two parties! And you have a lot of saved costs for family and friends, and you will have more friends celebrating with you!

You might have to reduce the largeness of the parties a bit, but it is about the celebration, not the actual party I hope!

10 hours ago, PR&PR said:

Haha who knows!

I received the amazing : Your card is mailed to you update this pm 😁. So quick!

I know somebody needs to sign, can it be my husband? 

Will we get a USPS notification in the informed delivery? 

I called and was told no tracking # being issued, so I really don't want us to miss it.

Is it too late to change my mailing address? Is it even something that can be done?

No one needed to sign it in my case. It just came in the mailbox like a regular envelope. I was at home, and no one knocked on the door or anything, nor did it have a special sticker that demands someone to sign for it.

It came in informed delivery yes, in a regular envelope from DHS (looks like an envelope from when you received the notices). No tracking number as it is not a package.

I would think your mailing address change will not be done before they actually send it to you. It will never catch up. So you will have to make sure you can pick up the envelope one of those days.

On 12/15/2018 at 2:40 PM, PR&PR said:

Hey guys! 

Look what I woke up to!

I got a text message from USCIS and when I checked it was that my card is being produced!

 

 

 

The new website still does not reflect that though.

Congrats!

And I got my update on a Saturday night, so I do wonder if they either have people working on Saturdays, or if they batch-process all these things (maybe every hour, a new batch goes through, to save the servers from possible overloads?)

In my case, the new website was first, and it took two weeks for the older website to catch up. It might never catch up, or it might. What is most important, is that you are getting it!

On 12/13/2018 at 1:21 AM, PR&PR said:

From what I read now, they got rid of the rule and the medical expires within a year...Do you have your sources? Wish I had known before hand.

The thing is my interview was after a year, is it what you mean? It was almost 1year and 3months...

This is what the officer was talking about. These are indeed the new rules all of a sudden. What an annoyance!!

I would have been in the first category, and my interview was at 1 year and one month, so it would not have been valid either!

It was apparently updated right after I had my interview, as it was updated on: October 16, 2018.

source:

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume8-PartB-Chapter4.html#S-C-4

13 hours ago, PR&PR said:

Hey guys,

 

so  I had my interview on the 28th. The interview was super smooth and the officer very nice. Basic questions, name, date of birth, how we met, the wedding.

He mentioned I would have been approved on the spot if I had an updated medical.

I did not redo it since it was not clear whether or not I was going to need it. I went same day, got the results and they received them last Friday. Hopefully I get a response soon.

 

I was explained by the officer how it works. So it is technically one year, but if you submitted your AOS within 60 days of your medical, you are eligible for an additional one year. I was 3 days too late .

3 days cost me $230 and no current legal status. No EAD/AP or green card. GRRRRR

I did not submit my AOS within 60 days of my medical. My medical for K1 was May, and I submitted 11 September. That is far from 60 days.

I had an officer who asked for an updated medical, but when I mentioned I filed within a year, he double checked those dates and said ok. I was approved on the spot.

I don't know what that officer thinks, but that is not how it works for AOS from K1. He is now spreading wrong info around to others.

But it WAS mentioned that not all officers know the actual rules, so I guess you ran into them. There is no use going against them, of course.

Did someone message them yet? I am assuming if they went through the trouble of actually filling things in, they won't mind to change their typo

14 hours ago, PirateLiker said:

It's a good point and it's been mentioned to me by others. I don't see that happening, but I'm not clairvoyant, or even very smart. When I started this thread, I was ready to end it right then and had already told her. As suggested, if there was any hope of getting her job back, I wanted to make it so that she could keep that option open. She said there was no hope, a statement with which I disagreed. Nevertheless, I wasn't going to belabor the point. She was devastated by the news of my feelings. 

 

The next day I told her that if she wanted to stay and try, that we could do that. I said I didn't think there was a very good chance. She thought about it for a day and decided to give it a shot. So we are kind of playing house. I decided that if we split up after a couple of months, it will be harder than right now. But then I reasoned that when she looks back on this 5 years from now, it will be better if she has some memories of doing some fun things in the US.

 

She hooked up with some ex-pats today that showed her around a little, so that was cool. Things have been pleasant the last couple of days. 

I hope your notion of "hooking up" is not what the rest of the world knows as hooking up lol. 

Just end it right now. You know full well this isn't happening. She still has hope if she decided to stick around, so you have not explained it clearly enough.

I am sarcastically certain that she will have so many happy memories of the time she left everything and everyone behind and moved for a man who never wanted her in the first place but didn't bother making it clear enough.

On 12/2/2018 at 7:13 PM, JoJoJoJo said:

The reasons are sometime like: 1 They need more time, 2 The case need to be transferred to another office or service center. Pretty generic.

 

Mine is 1.

It might be something really easy, like doublechecking if they have your medical from the K1, or doing a name check, or something like that.

I was approved on the spot, but still had to wait for 2 whole weeks to get mention of a greencard. So I would not be too anxious about the time you have to wait for a reply; I'm sure this could easily take them a month or two.

I'm sorry this happened to you, though. Sucks to have to wait even more.

In addition, you can filter the processing times on Field Office: Atlanta, and add K1 as reason, to see a better result for processing times.

I have done this for you, and using this link should work to see a list of users who have filed for AOS from K1 in Atlanta field office: https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/aoslist.php?vtype=1&op8=Atlanta+GA&interview=&xfr=&op1=d&op2=&op3=&op4=1&op5=5%2C6%2C8%2C9%2C10%2C11&cfl=

You can order the people on decision, filed time, NOA time, interview date, etc.

You can also click on "Atlanta GA" to the left (below the forum pictures of a member) to see everyone who filed at Atlanta for some reason. This might be useful if you have trouble filtering the processing times on field office and reason for AOS

Edit: They set it to ready to be scheduled from a little after the biometrics, but it meant nothing in reality. You can find exact dates and experiences when you click on my name and look at my replies to posts, or look in the September 2017 filers (I think I also accidentally answered in the September 2018 topic). My experience was good, but it all took a long time to get the interview.

I found the link to my experience: 

Atlanta filer here; I have a full timeline so you can see it there. 

Applied for AOS September 2017, and received greencard October 2018 (so over a year).

There are at least three others at the Atlanta office who received their greencard in the past year, as I have messaged them and received a reply.

One person somehow accidentally got their greencard after a few months, but all the others are around a year.

This makes the visajourney timeline a little bit unreliable (it stated 220-250 days of waiting time for Atlanta field office between filing and interview date but it is actually around a year); this person who had a very early date, has inadvertently pulled down the average processing time a lot (which is how averages work, of course, and is not their fault).

Edit: received AOS and EAD combo card at around 3 months in, and received an updated AOS, but NOT an updated EAD for some reason. I believe that asking for a second EAD seems to trigger the interview thing, but there is no way to know for sure. I would definitely apply for your renewal as fast as you are allowed.

I received my greencard in the mail two days ago (6 November). I was approved on the spot by the officer on October 23rd, and received an update to my statuses (both websites) on the 30th and 31st that I was approved, that they were producing my card, and that the card was mailed to me; the older site was faster than the new site it seems. 

So if anyone is wondering if two weeks is normal to receive a greencard, clearly it is, even if you are approved on the spot by the decision-making officer.

The greencard was in a special envelope that did not show up on my USPS summary as a letter: it was actually listed as a package (of which they do not show pictures in that app).

And by the way, my AP was lengthened, but they never gave me a combo card, despite putting both of them in the same envelope and clearly marking it on the outside as "combo AP and EAD renewal". I only received the AP (which now was a weird document with the picture I sent), and I never received word of the EAD; on the websites, the AP was processed, but the EAD was just dangling as accepted.

And then about a week or two later, I suddenly received my interview date from the local office.

I wonder if they have to check with your local office if you received a greencard yet, and that this inquiry somehow pushes your local office into action? Or if someone calls them up to check, and then they go "oh okay, I won't give them an EAD then, as they will receive their greencard soon" ? I dunno, but it seems awfully coincidental, and I know I am not the only one who is wondering.

I just went for my driver's license yesterday, and they did indeed just lengthen it until my greencard expired. I had to come back when I received my other greencard.

Sounds kinda like your spouse already got a greencard in the meantime as most of those documents are easily gathered, no? I cannot imagine, as a new greencard holder, being asked to send in the documents so I can get my greencard, and then not doing this. I would have done that immediately.

Therefor I wonder if they already got their greencard. How certain are you that they did not get it and just never mentioned it? Especially if you do not know where they live, they could have changed the mailing address. 

If your marriage was going so poorly that you not only have no clue where they live, but that you also actively want to prevent them from acquiring a greencard to stay in the country, then I can imagine them not mentioning it to you.

34 minutes ago, ShanGaut said:

Could someone please let me know what you had to submit with the AOS medical exam wise if you entered on a k1? My now husband just had his medical exam in Belgium a week ago to get his K1. We got married two days ago and are now doing the AOS does he need another medical exam here now? immigration took the packet with all of the medical info so now we are confused. 

 

Thank you

Hi

It is normal that immigration takes the entire envelope and leaves you with nothing.

They assume you asked for a copy of the vaccination records. (When I asked for that in Belgium , they actually copied the entire medical dossier for me).

Immigration takes the entire envelope and sends it to your local office. 

I just recently did my AOS interview in Atlanta. My medical was from May 2017 in Belgium, and I applied for AOS on September 2017. When I had my interview just recently (October 2018), I was interviewed by a more senior officer. He asked if I had an updated medical. I said no, because my medical was valid when I applied. He said ok. He went to the documents and checked that my medical was indeed less than a year old when I applied for AOS. He just looked at both dates, and put a checkmark next to "medical".

He apparently had a copy of my medical that they took from me when I entered the country.

However, I took a chance. Not all officers know that this is fine. When I asked a befriended immigrant attorney from CA, she let me know that I would be taking a chance with the officer, and I might have to be asked to do one again after all. When I informed about a new medical beforehand, it was around 750 dollars. I thought that was too much for "just in case", so I decided not to do it.

Now I am glad I didn't do it, but I WAS ready to be disappointed at the interview.

With my AOS application, I did not send them a copy of my medical. I did not send ANY proof apart from the exact things they asked when you send your AOS. I know some others have sent their proof at AOS and bring more, but I just sent in what they requested. 

As it says here: https://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos you don't need another one if you're a K1, who applied within a year. Those are the exact rules and they are also to be found in the medical papers. However, as said, not all officers know about this.