George & John

25 minutes ago, AZSunshine78 said:

A Bit Anxious

 

Our 485 was received the first week in April.

 

Processing is complete and status changed to: Interview was Scheduled.

 

We are in AZ so I’m assuming Phoenix is our interview center.

 

I just checked the processing times and it says 14 to 26 months for 485.

 

I’m certainly not complaining but how is it possible that we are at “interview scheduled” at 6 months?

 

Am I correct to assume a letter with the interview date and time should be arriving shortly?

 

 Thank you.

This reflects our experience in NY - you should indeed be receiving a letter soon with your interview date.

It varies considerably but, generally, green card interviews are coming along a little faster than they used to in many locations. This is because the NBC is prioritizing them over EADs (last I heard). You can disregard the timelines provided by USCIS.

Hello folks! To add to the record, we had our green card interview yesterday in Albany, NY. It lasted all of about 10 minutes and involved no questions except confirmation of the details on the application (including my husband's date of birth, which was really the only test-like question). The officer didn't read through any of our evidence or check our photographs, and approved us on the spot.

It is worth mentioning that he highlighted our case as giving him "no concerns" from the outset, so it would have been different had there been some red flags. 

We waited 183 days from submission to interview, and four months for our interview to be scheduled after the status changed to "Ready". Our EAD was also produced about a month ago. We got very lucky and I'm really sorry to those of you who are still waiting.

Good luck everybody!

After finally getting my hands on my EAD yesterday, I've just had an interview scheduled for my AOS! Office is Albany, NY, and I'm adjusting from K1. NOA1 is April 20th.

Can anybody with experience tell me how long it usually takes to receive an interview notice?

10 hours ago, Klitt3rJ said:

Yes but we also applied for AP too so I’m seeing it’s supposed to be a combo card, but I don’t see anything about advanced parole on it...no stamps or anything just the SS card with the authorized to work with DHS 

Right now, you do not have the EAD. You have the social security card. They are different. The SS card comes separately from the Social Security Administration when your EAD is approved. The EAD card is mailed to you by USCIS.

Basically, all you have is a social security number. That card will tell employers that they also need to see your EAD by virtue of the "Only valid for work with DHS authorization" warning printed across it.

When the EAD comes, it will also act as your AP. It should come soon; you'll just have to wait for it before scheduling any interviews.

36 minutes ago, Gbenga said:

April 20th received date by the National Benefits Center with no news. Meanwhile, there are people who filed after that date who have gotten their EAD. What the hell is going on. 

If you imagine there are a hundred caseworkers who each receive a batch of files (say, dating March through April), each caseworker operates at a different speed, so some will be much further in their workloads than others. The files are being completed chronologically as far as USCIS is concerned, but to us outsiders it appears random and unfair. It's sad and frustrating, but every job I've done of a similar type tends to organize their workload in this way.

Visajourney's stats on the processing date for employment authorization seems to take a midpoint across all users, so it's a good measure of where the average USCIS caseworker is at. It's currently showing April 15th.

8 hours ago, Diorella said:

thanks for the reply.. my friend got a 10yr. GC. she was married 1 yr. 1 month when they had their interview. but they have a baby already when they had their interview. so maybe it depends on cases also.

7 hours ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

A baby has nothing to do with it. If she was only married for one year and received a 10 year green card, then that is a huge problem. She received the wrong one and should have contacted the USCIS to get the right one. You need to be married for two years or more to get the ten year green card.

Agreed. There are some exceptions (domestic abuse etc), but assuming they don't apply, she seems to have been issued the wrong GC and needs to correct this with USCIS. Their own records will probably reflect a 2-year conditional immigration status, so enforcement action could be taken against her if she doesn't apply to remove conditions within the window. The card may say 10 years, but there's no guarantee that her immigration file says the same thing. She probably received a bunch of documentation alongside the GC instructing her to renew after two years of marriage, too, so I don't even know how much of a defense the incorrect expiry date would provide her.

Please tell her to read this article on this very subject: https://www.njimmigrationattorney.com/blog/2018/05/immigration-issues-10-year-green-card-by-mistake-error-on-green-card.shtml

2 hours ago, George & Roth said:

In NJ they used the NOA1 that was issued for the I-485 to issue the license for 6 months. I was told it would be a 1 year license but was tired from 8 hours at MVC and didn't pursue it any further. 

 

So in NJ (at the one particular office I found) they did not mind the K-1 date, just that we had proof we filed the AOS. 

 

 

That's interesting. The DMV in NY explicitly told me that they wouldn't take "open-ended" immigration proofs, like my NOA1. Everybody is so fantastically incompetent on this particular issue that I can't work out whether the rules are different or incorrectly applied.

1 hour ago, George & Roth said:

I saw a post about driving license needing EAD, I found this to be false in NJ. The official told me we needed EAD at the motor vehicle office, so we just went to a different location until we received the correct answer. 

 

I recommend trying other offices. Think about it, you’ve entered in a K-1 visa and don’t even need to apply for EAD. It’s optional in case you WANT to work. The DMV is telling you that you are required to apply for approval to work in order to drive, common sense dictates that is wrong. The official driving laws do as well but the training is severely lacking at these DMV

 

here is my experience 

 

 

I had an awful time getting the DMV (NY) to acknowledge that I was entitled to a driving permit as a K1 entrant. Luckily, one of the managers I eventually appealed to was an immigrant and was able to get it issued (after waiting several weeks for USCIS to confirm my immigration status).

Frustratingly, federal law requires there to be a "Temp Visitor" expiry date on the card. The expiry date doesn't change driving privileges but it will prevent you from taking the road test in some states (NY is one of them).

The problem for K1 holders is that the DMV will take the expiry date of your only documented visa - in our case, the 90-day K1 expiry - and put that date in bold letters across your permit/licence. You need to wait for your EAD to extend it. In my case, by the time I had actually gotten my permit, I only had a week to take the road test! Now I need to wait for the EAD and submit a change request to extend the temp visitor date.

Luckily, you can take both the pre-licencing 5 hour course (in NY) and the theory test with that date having passed, and you can drive with an international licence unsupervised (again, in NY), but no proper licence until the EAD

16 minutes ago, Lana&Tyler said:

Sigh starting to get impatient. 

 

USCIS got our packet on April 30th. Including

I-765,  I-131 and I-485 

got my noa1 2 weeks later and already had my biometrics appointment. 

Yet it still says “case recieved” on uscis case status. 

 

Its been over 90 days and I’d really like to start working and have a drivers license (Im not allowed to have one until I get my work permit) How long are wait times? 

 

Sigh!

Wait times are averaging around 150 days at the moment. Take a look at your VJ timeline - it estimates approval dates on the basis of other applicants. My NOA1 is April 23rd and my AP/EAD is due to be approved at the end of September, so I would imagine yours would be around the same time. People are getting lucky, though!

Hang in there!

On 7/16/2018 at 12:34 AM, Klitt3rJ said:

We did biometrics in May but here it is July and it still says we received your biometrics fee 😒😒😒 am I missing something? 

Sadly, you can totally and completely ignore whether the online case status has been updated. My K1 is still showing as Case Received, despite having been approved in January. For many, the online status has absolutely no bearing on the reality. It just boils down to whether the case handler could be bothered to update it.

Just keep an eye on the mail - annoyingly, that's all you can do!

20 hours ago, NancyLyz said:

You will most definitely need to receive your EAD card first before you can apply for a state ID. 

@Diorella I think it depends on which state you're in. I went to the Social Security Administration and found that I qualified for a social security card (non-work) in NY while my AOS, EAD are pending. I used this to get a NYS photo driving license (learner permit) in my married name. I don't have an EAD yet.

In NY, even without a social security number, you can get a letter from the SSA saying you're ineligible for a social security number, and the DMV will still issue you a driving license / learner permit. You'll just need to do a bit of research into what your state will allow.

2 minutes ago, JAtlanta said:

Aaah. I am already using that but status is same and no change in i-131 and 765. Its still says received the case.

 

Thanks though

Yeah, it won't show a different status to USCIS's own tool - but it's good for searching for all the cases which were submitted around the same time as yours for what their status is showing. That's basically all I use it for - comparison!

25 minutes ago, JAtlanta said:

Hey. Can you please let me know the name of the application? I am from Atlanta and there is no update after interview is ready to be scheduled

The app I use is called "USCIS Case Status". It isn't an official app, but it has some good features and is widely trusted and used by people on here. It's in the Google Play store and has an American flag as its logo.

As an aside, I couldn't see it before I changed my Google account location to the US - if you're the beneficiary and still have a different country's settings, that could play a role.

4 minutes ago, SonaMartirosyan said:

Thank you so much for the reply! I couldn't find the app though. Is it an iOS app?

Ah, perhaps it's only on Android! If you give me a reference number which is relatively similar to yours (change the last two digits or something), I will look for you

14 hours ago, SonaMartirosyan said:

Hello everyone! I am a May filer, and have a question. My biometric appointment was on June 13, 2018, and since then no updates (no RFE, no update on interview scheduling). Has anyone experienced similar situation? 

If you download the USCIS third party app and use the "Next 50" search function, you'll see what the statuses are of cases which were submitted around the same time as yours (the reference numbers are chronological).

Some of the AOS cases submitted in April around mine are still showing as biometrics or case received. It's a mixture. My K1 is still showing as "Case Received" despite being approved in January (and I was married in April!), so I wouldn't worry too much about what it says online. It seems as though some are rarely, if ever, updated.

Thanks for the help everybody. Indeed, being unemployed has prompted some longer-than-usual grilling at the border, but I've gotten through without too much hassle, even with the K-1 pending. Reassuring to know it shouldn't impact anything else.

1 minute ago, purplepink said:

From what I know, the only time a beneficiary has to show financial support or have a job is if the fiance cannot financially support the beneficiary.

I don't think you having a job impacts your immigration to the US. Just make sure the person (Fiance usually) is able to meet the minimum requirements.

This is reassuring; thank you. He is substantially above the minimum requirements. It does seem odd to me that it would be a factor to consider if the beneficiary could be financially supported - unless you've amassed savings, your earnings would cease upon immigration to the US anyway.

Hello everyone - congrats on all the approvals! Nice to see things moving along for people.

I just need some advice on an issue my fiance and I should have researched before. Saw a post above about beneficiary unemployment and its effect on the visa, and it has panicked me somewhat.

We applied back in June when I was working full time in the UK (I am the beneficiary). Shortly after applying, I left my job and came to the US for the summer on a tourist visa (thinking, at that time, it would be approved by September, I would come home for a few weeks and be back again by Thanksgiving, minimizing time spent apart).

Obviously, that never happened, so my fiance has had to support me financially since I returned to the UK. It's no problem for us - I supported him whilst he was a student over here - and I realise that means we were very lucky in spending so much time together, when so many of you haven't been able to see your loved ones.

However, I read above that leaving my job months ago may have seriously impacted on our visa situation. I never even considered it. My fiance now works full-time in finance and was always going to provide an affidavit of support for me, and we considered getting one from his Mom too.

Does anybody know what steps I need to take to mitigate the impact my decision to quit might have on my visa? How should my fiance be informing USCIS, and is there anything else I can do in the meantime, aside from getting a short term job (which I will obviously now consider!)?

Thanks for the anticipated help. Feel a bit of an idiot that neither of us considered the consequences - just assumed it didn't really matter what I earned because of the affidavit and the fact I'd need to quit my job to come to the US anyway! We treat our money/income as one and the same. You live and learn.

Wishing you all the best of luck!

3 minutes ago, vocaledge said:

Believe me I know the feeling.  Nice to also see another same sex couple from UK :-)

Right back at you! It's heartwarming to see that, despite the many trials and tribulations associated with this visa process, sexuality doesn't appear to be a complicating factor anymore.

Thank you for the list - much appreciated. And good luck to everybody!

Just now, vocaledge said:

Got you now @KandW - also checking @George & John aswell.


On another note, it sucks that the USCIS site is down today.... its like they KNEW we were awaiting an exciting day and wanted to pee in our cornflakes....

Thanks @vocaledge! The nerves are beginning to take hold now...

43 minutes ago, DandY said:

All we have are descriptions of the process from former adjudicators, but it is describes as you surmise. I work in a field where we automated paper driven processes like this one primarily for financial institutions and government agencies, and your description accurately describes the common pattern heavily manual paper-driven processes. This would also explain much of the date variation in processing, since there really is no FIFO queue.

 

While this pattern of processing within a single processing center (WAC) describes why we see out of sequence processing within a 2 or 3 week window, it does not explain why we see out of sequence in a much larger window (like 6-8 weeks that see see sometimes). This remains a complete mystery to me and I have no hypothesis as to why this occurs.

Makes sense. Erroneous processing of more recent applications would account for the odd anomaly, but certainly not a consistent pattern. There is the possibility of manager or specialist referral for cases of unusual complexity and/or concern. Another consideration is some applicants having contacts within USCIS who facilitate advantageous treatment. However depressing that may sound, it pales in comparison to the UK visa system, in which you can buy your way to a spousal visa within days!

I briefly worked in mass case-handling (different field, but similar idea). Each employee would be randomly allocated cases on a weekly basis from the batch received that week - this resulted in every handler having a caseload which was representative of the whole (i.e. with the full range of dates).

We would process our individual batch chronologically, but given that some employees were faster than others - depending on experience or working hours - the overall "order" that the cases were being processed in would appear jumbled to anybody on the outside. I don't know how USCIS processes their cases, and I imagine someone has already addressed this issue in more detail and with more accuracy, but that's what I've assumed (thus far) is responsible for the ostensibly haphazard approval order. Is anybody in possession of more info?

Also, it was pretty easy on our system to accidentally review a case received much more recently - for example, if the received date had been inputted or formatted incorrectly, or just by handler or system error. Whilst some/most of these approved June cases were probably expedited, if we're talking about >4000 numbers, it would be quite possible that a tiny minority of recent applications were reviewed by mistake (or began to be reviewed before the staff member realised their error - but at that point, continued anyway for expediency).

Anyway, drawing from my limited experience, that's how I've been making sense of it so far. This theory works even if there is a high element of automation in their processing (which, looking at their numbers, there surely must be!). Any other explanations been floating about?