LTrucker

On 5/24/2023 at 3:24 AM, Earnest1 said:

Different people processed the intake.

 

One didn't catch the address error (or caught it but decided to accept it for an adjudicator to decide down the road), one caught it and rejected it.

Thank you for your insight! We have reapplied. Fingers crossed.

Hello,

I recently submitted AoS packages for my parents, separate filings for Mom and Dad. Today, I received an I-797C NoA for Parent B that says the I-485 and any supporting documents were returned to me because one or more of the following field(s) were not completed: Address.

The weird thing is, I already have case numbers and did not get a rejection notice for Parent A. The forms filled are identical in terms of shared information such as addresses, etc. for my parents since they've lived in the same places at the same time so I am a little lost and confused as to what my next step should be to get Parent B's case filed.

After scouring the forum a little bit more, I checked all the editions of the forms and what their expiry dates are, and they're all current and what is found on the USCIS website. For I-485, the form edition is 12/23/22 and expires on 10/31/2025.

USCIS did not cash the cheques and returned all the copies of the documents I had provided. There is an email address listed for the lockbox in the rejection notice that was sent. I'm wondering if I should send an email asking for more information on what needs to be rectified for the not completed "address" issue or print out a new I-485, sign it, and resend everything. USCIS has printed on the bottom of the forms and the supporting documents. Do I just send the same supporting documents or should I print fresh copies so it doesn't have the markings?

One thing I am thinking of changing is on Part 3, Address history, 5a onwards. includes my parents home address outside the US where they've for 40+ years but I am thinking if I should change this to my address in the US where they're currently living and move their home address to 6a. onwards. But then again, Parent A's application is filed and processing with their home address outside the US listed in part 5a so I don't know if this would help or fix anything.

Thank you for your suggestions!

7 minutes ago, jan22 said:

Back to the OP's question -- the consular officer requesting your parents to have an interview will have entered a 221(g) refusal (temporary refusal pending further processing or information) into the system.   While the current visa might still be valid and will get them on board the plane, CBP at the Port of Entry will be able to see that temporary refusal and may take it into account when they decide to admit them or deny entry.  They should be thoroughly prepared to explain the situation and their future plans to return home and, when it is possible, complete the renewal process.  

 

Have you tried requesting an emergency appointment for the visa interview?  Depending on the circumstances, a death in the family is usually considered a valid emergency for visa processing.

 

This is an interesting perspective. The couple of people I spoke to (immigration lawyer and a person who worked with USCIS/CBP system previously) made it sound like there isn't much direct communication between the embassy/CBP/USCIS (CBP sees the issued visa on their side and embassy is the one that's processing the visa) and that my parents should be granted entry given they convince the CBP officer that they will return after a 2 month stay. So as long as they have a valid visa, the status of the visa renewal should not affect their current visa status but it's always tricky with CBP.

Thanks for pointing this out so I can prepare my parents to tackle this question. They are ESL speakers and I want to prepare them ahead of time as much as I can.

Unfortunately, the death occurred in the home country and not the US, so I'm not sure if the embassy will consider this an emergency appointment given the reason they want to visit the US is so that they can be with their child in a time of loneliness.

SusieQQQ is correct. I had just started the process of adjusting my status to LPR when my parents got their visa renewed last. Since then, I've gotten LPR and citizenship.

I wasn't sure why they were called for an interview this time given they were advised to use dropbox for future renewals (I assumed maybe it was COVID related or because my younger sibling also interviewed with my parents in the past to travel as a family unit) but the status change makes sense to me. Thanks for pointing that out as I will also need to prep my family on this coming up as a potential question during CBP questioning.

Thank you!

25 minutes ago, arken said:

Only the embassy can tell that if they have cancelled the existing visa in the system.

The embassy did not stamp a cancellation stamp on their passports that's why I'm hopeful that they will be able to travel and enter based on their current visa but I will wait to hear back from the embassy before purchasing their tickets.

Thank you for your response.

58 minutes ago, canadian_wife said:

 

CBP will not confirm that they will admit your parents prior to them applying for admission at the port of entry.  Only US citizens are guaranteed entry into the United States.  

 

Good luck

Confirmation was a poor word choice. What I meant is that the fact that they have applied for visa renewal while having a valid visa could be a potential problem for entry if the CBP system shows that their application is pending but I don't know if the embassy and CBP communicate directly or regularly.

Hello,

Does anyone know if a person can visit the US with a valid B1/B2 visitor visa if the have applied for a visa renewal and their application is pending/admin processing?

Completed my naturalization process with the oath ceremony on Jan 26th. Journey started in July 2020. They did the bare minimum required in order to naturalize because of COVID so we took the oath and pledged allegiance to the flag and were handed our certificates and headed home. Very quick process, a little bit sad as it was no family allowed or gathering of lots of people (USCIS rep said they usually have about 500 people in a group at a national historical landmark for the ceremony and we had maybe 15 or 20 in the room that day). They usually make a big celebration out of the final step but it was not possible because of COVID. All the best to everyone else still waiting and hope things move quicker!

(Also, I thought they usually play the welcome to the US as a citizen video by the President but that didn't happen for us, maybe because of COVID as well).

As an FYI before anyone panics, the new civics test will be used for filers filing for their N-400 on or after December 1st, 2020. So most of us should still be using the 2008 (100 question, 6/10 right) version, not the 2020 version (128 questions, 12/20 right but will be asked all 20 questions).

See under important update for naturalization: https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/find-study-materials-and-resources/study-for-the-test

P.S. wanted to post this because majority of the news pieces I've read mention the December 1st date but have failed to mention that it is for cases filed starting December 1st, not interviews scheduled on or after December 1st. It can be confusing and a little shocking if you don't read the details on the USCIS website.

11 hours ago, NYBEtt said:

Hey everyone - also a July 2020 filer here. Can someone explain to me the whole commotion regarding not being called for biometrics? It's barely been 4 months.

 

I assume this is mostly people who are filing immigration forms for the first time under a Trump administration (and have no idea what the timelines have been like over the past 4 years) but I also want to make sure I am not missing anything!

You're not. The waiting game for USCIS and different pace of the field offices is already an unknown black box. For people who've gone through USCIS processing a few times before, I think they understand patience is key but for others, comparing their case timeline to someone else (even if they're in completely different parts of the US with difference processing centers) and if their case is only intermittently updated, I think it gives a sense that something is amiss. I posted a comment on here a while ago essentially saying that this is how USCIS has worked and COVID has made things much more difficult, so if anything, we should expect things to take much longer than usual. Of course we should ask for things to be more efficient and transparent moving forward, but it is what it is for now.

I was actually surprised by how quickly things progressed for me (after waiting for a long time for GC and RoC) and I live in a big city so the field office is very busy. My biometrics was reused from ~2 years ago from RoC and my interview is scheduled for the first week in December already, so only took about 4.5 months from submission to interview, which from N-400 standards might be slow especially compared to 4-8 years ago, but is still much faster than any other USCIS processing I've gone through.

Also, there are some posts suggesting that if you call USCIS, somehow your case will jump queue, and for anyone who has dealt with USCIS before, they know that this is not the case and you can't just jump your queue by calling. I think what's happening now is that interviews are starting to be scheduled slowly and people are correlating the phone calls with getting interview dates/movement in their case, but correlation does not mean causation. Might be true for some folks who might've gotten RFEs or lost notices in the mail or what not but I think it is just sheer coincidence.

All the best!

Received letter in the mail saying they will reuse my Biometrics so no need for ASC appointment and will use that for background check. Don't see this updated on myuscis. Not sure if it's because of site maintenance or something that'll never get updated. My last biometrics was about 2 years ago for RoC.

There are perhaps people on this sub who did not go through RoC or another longer waiting process but I am perplexed at folks still putting a lot of faith in the case completion times, especially during a pandemic induced field office/ASC location shutdown and budget concerns for the USCIS. If anything, why wouldn't we anticipate things to take longer than usual? And we know there isn't much we can do besides wait, and can't open cases until your're outside the case completion time which can be a few months to 20+ months. You'll keep getting generic messages until you're outside your estimated case completion time window. It's a wait game that we've played before for other USCIS change in status/applications, why get antsy now? I apologize for the directness of what I'm saying but the forum is supposed to be helpful to keep track of how others regions are doing to see how cases might be moving at different paces in different parts of the country but the constant "why is my date moving" questions and comments are truly tiresome.

Mine went up from either 6 or 9 months (can't remember) to 16 months. I think the latest processing time update must've taken into account the delays because of the pandemic closures and any furloughs that happened. As long as we get to vote in the 2024 election, I suppose.

On 7/12/2020 at 8:20 AM, delish said:

Hello everyone. My window will open on the 15th but plan to apply 1-2 days after, that’s what I heard from previous Posts. I will be applying under the 5yrS. I already drafted online my application. I do not see any request for tax transcript. I only see gc,birth certificate,marriage certificate,evidence  supporting dependents.

I see GC, birth certificate/passport for USC, and marriage certificate under required documents tabs. The tax transcript, for me, shows up in the additional documents tab but it does say on that page that you can either submit it now or bring it with you to the interview.

On 7/5/2020 at 9:51 PM, JER2020 said:

Hello everyone!

 

Did you guys have to provide a travel record issued by CBP or simply entered the dates? Also have you guys uploaded the PDF version of your tax returns. I will be filing this week and am trying to gather everything. Any advice as to the general documentation requirements will be much appreciated.

 

 

I'm cross-checking my travel dates on my calendar and i-94 but some of my travel history isn't reflected on the i-94 so I think you should go by what will be the most accurate. IRS doesn't mail tax transcripts anymore and you can download a PDF copy from the IRS website, then upload the PDF copies to the online N-400 if submitting online or print out in paper filing. All the best!

On 7/1/2020 at 10:46 AM, DallasM214 said:

Thanks for creating the thread, my window opens July 15th. I do have a question regarding the application . Do you all think or are sending affidavits of bonafide marriage from friends and family with the N400 application ?

 

I had to send those affidavits for my initial application i-130, but didn’t submit affidavits for my i-751 (which hasn’t been approved)

 

Thank you, I will keep you posted when my application is sent. 

I'm only sending the documents that are listed on the instruction sheet, i.e. copy of green card, marriage certificate, USC's birth certificate or passport, and tax transcript for 3 years. I just got approved for RoC and as much as people want to send in every possible document for LPR paperwork, I think it's safe to keep to the guidance listed. Online it gives a chance to provide additional documents but I don't know how necessary this is. Might be different for a couple who has had AoS or RoC interviews vs ones who've skipped the interview process so far.

ROC submitted: July 26th, 2020, case received on July 31st, 2020

Biometrics on September  9th, 2020

New card is being produced on May 29th, 2020

Case was approved on June 1st, 2020

Card was mailed on June 2nd, 2020

Also received approval notice in the mail on June 3rd, 2020

EAC. Had interview for AoS but not for RoC.

On 3/17/2020 at 8:30 AM, arman597 said:

No, you're right. But we gotta be optimistic and send our applications on time. Last year I sent my I751 which they received on June 25 th so they sent it back because it was 89 days, gotta be careful this year

Why? If it's at most 90 days, why did they return a case filed at day -89?

On 3/2/2020 at 12:27 PM, Tunisian_tunisia said:

That's just ridiculous 😡 they should've just made us skip this process and apply for naturalization right away instead 🤦🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

Some people don't want to naturalize. The RoC package will get priority even if it's in a backlog if an individual applies to naturalize, so it's still good that an applicant doesn't have to wait for an RoC decision to apply for citizenship. 

On 1/28/2020 at 11:09 AM, aleac said:

Potomac Service Center here, I'm on the same boat as the previous comments: Stuck on Firgerprints taken.

In case anyone asks, I've used the Letter of Extension 4 times already when coming from overseas, without any problems.

 

I'm wondering if I'll be able to apply for the citizenship before I get the 10 year green card. This system makes absolutely no sense

Yes you can. Lots of resources available online including the USCIS website and Visajourney blogs.

On 9/15/2019 at 3:11 PM, camerica said:

I was told this recently. I had the world's worst officer for my interview on September 10 2017. I had already been told before this interview that my paperwork had been "mishandled" (short for lost) This woman was rude and accusatory. She said nothing to my husband. After 2 hours going through my paperwork, she told me my vaccinations had expired. ( after we got home I realized that she had not bothered to put back my birth certificate.-I was told when I called that they had no way of "finding it" and I would have to apply for a new one)  Not my vaccination papers but my 'shots'. She said I would have to have them again. Said I would be getting more paperwork in the mail. My vaccinations DID NOT expire.

Wow, sorry to hear. Glad you were able to move your request up the chain at the USCIS. Usually it is such a black box.

On 9/10/2019 at 12:37 PM, camerica said:

Just an FYI, being married for 2 years has nothing to do with the initial temp GC. I was married in October 2015. I applied for adjustment of status in December and had my biometrics done in January. 

The reason RoC comes into play is because the government will issue a conditional green card if you've been married for less than two years and apply for AoS. Had you been married for 5 (or even 2 years and 1 day), you would have obtained a 10 year GC and wouldn't need to go through RoC. It's a balance check to make sure the marriage is not fraudulent. While the processing times are getting extremely slow, everything is based on when you file your paperwork.

Status update including Biometrics date:

07/26/2019: Signed forms and mailed package to Dallas (USPS priority mail, no signature required)

07/28/2019: Package delivered

07/31/2019: Received text with case receipt number; cheques cashed

08/02/2019: Received official receipt notice (I-797) in mail. Receipt is dated 07/31/2019. Processing center is Vermont.

09/06/2019: Biometrics appointment (Boston, MA)

On 8/24/2019 at 9:24 PM, goobies said:

I've searched but can't find an answer....we still haven't gotten our I797 in the mail yet. Uscis told us to wait an additional 30 days before calling again. My husband's GC expires on the 17th of September. I'm worried we won't get the I797 before it expires! What happens if his employer finds out or he gets stopped by traffic police?!?!

Hopefully you get your case letter soon. Like someone else mentioned, since it's a permanent resident, albeit conditional, employers most likely won't ask for proof but you could provide the letter once you receive it (I'm not sure on this but it might not be required....based on states perhaps?). For the traffic police, he should just travel with the expired GC until the letter comes through if he's concerned. I think a lot of recent issues and checking status has come with he cracking down on illegal immigrants, but having a GC, even if it is expired, shows that your husband is here legally.

All the best!