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On 6/9/2020 at 1:24 PM, kanderson101 said:

Thank you! I hope you get your AOS approved soon as well. Such an insane process - had I know it would go this way I certainly would have done some things differently. But, here we are... At least we're with our spouses!

Thank you!  And the good news is, because our spouses will have physically  been in then USA for more than two years when their AOS’s finally get approved, we ahould get the automatic 10-year green card.  We won’t have to go through that “lifting conditions” process and pay that fee.

On 5/22/2020 at 10:50 PM, kanderson101 said:

Hi all,

 

Unfortunately, my husband's AOS interview (from k1) was canceled due to the pandemic and has yet to be rescheduled. His combo card will expire at the end of August. Our application for renewal was received this week. I've heard conflicting info regarding processing times - are they the same for renewals as for initial applications (5.5-7.5 months)? We're planning to visit his family for Christmas and after our previous horrible experience waiting for the first combo card I'm already nervous.

 

Was so hoping to avoid this.... We filed our AOS back in November 2018. Never thought we'd still be waiting

I just wanted to let you know we are in the same situation as you, albeit we are January 2018 AOS (K-1) filers.  My husband just applied for his third combo card.  The past two combo cards came down to the wire, but we were able to travel for the Christmas holidays.  Wishing you the BEST of luck that you are able to make it home this year given all the uncertainties of 2020, as well as a timely approval of the pending AOS.

37 minutes ago, Quarknase said:

"wealth test" is a little bit exaggerating and why I certainly disagree with most things the current administration does, I can sympathize with the fact that family based immigration can only be granted if the family is able to sustain itself.

I apologize for my poor word choice.

5 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Only approving wealthy individuals, they said this?

I’m referring to the recent announcements of the so-called “wealth-test.”  I apologize if my comment was worded poorly.  Here is one of many reports available on the topic:
 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-51618084

1 minute ago, payxibka said:

One case doesn't make a trend it's called an outlier.

You are absolutely right.  But let’s see how this plays out.

16 hours ago, Luckycuds said:

This makes ZERO sense. Maybe you should read up on the entire k1 process and take note that the entire world is going through a pandemic. So add a few more months on to whatever timeframe you read.

A few more months?  I would add a few more years.  As of today, we are 3 years, 2 months, and two weeks waiting for a “K-1 based” green card.   To give you some background, my Mexican spouse is a former US embassy employee in leadership who had been background checked yearly by the state department.  I say humbly we are wealthy individuals.  USCIS’ current “reasoning” for the delay in issuing the green card is that they are waiting for background checks and only approving wealthier individuals.  Check, check.   We’re good, right? Um.  No.  So let’s be realistic. Anyone awaiting any step in the K-1 process should lower their expectations regarding timelines.  Then lower them more.  A bit lower than that.  Now cut those lowered expectations in half.  Cut them in half again.  Ok.  Now you’re living in reality.

I have the exact situation, I also live in Georgia, and I have done research on this.  In the state of Georgia, unemployment claims of non-citizens must be properly vetted through a series of extra (time-consuming) verification(s) to confirm public funds are not paid to unintended recipients. You can find your answer here: (https://dol.georgia.gov/regular-unemployment-insurance-ui) and look at the section entitled, "Affidavit to Verify Lawful Presence in the U.S."  If the Georgia Department of Labor cannot verify lawful presence, they will contact you, as indicated on their website.

As a side note, the delay of unemployment benefits in Georgia is not limited to non-citizens.  I have many friends and co-workers who are U.S. citizens who have pending decisions as well as fully approved claims that have not yet been paid by the state of Georgia.  It's just a result of the backlog due to the overwhelmed system.  As a long-time resident of Georgia, I have full confidence that claims will be properly approved and employment claims will be paid retroactively once approval is given.

Hey everyone...just wanted to give an update since it’s the new year.  It’s now day 1026 since USCIS received our I-129, 741 days since I-485 was received and 355 days since interview.   Still no approval. Just waiting.  I’m finding it all quite comical now.  Day 2000...here we come.  

On 8/23/2019 at 4:36 PM, Catseal said:

Just swinging by to say we FINALLY had our interview this week and got approved the day after! What a long journey it has been, glad it is over (for two years, anyways). 

 

I sincerely hope we were the very last people from January 2018 that were still waiting, if not, I feel for you.

You are not the last one waiting.  I think we are.  Jan. 10, 2018 date, still silence from USCIS.

After successfully having submitted an inquiry for AOS (I-485/K-1)  "outside of normal processing time," USCIS changed the "out of processing" date...backing it up exactly three months.  So, while we were once outside of normal processing time, we no longer are.   We're still waiting for the response to our inquiry, so it will be interesting to see what the response is. 

Moral of the story: normal processing times as listed online by USCIS mean nothing.  The dates can be changed at random with a wave of the USCIS wand.  

Update: we are now on day 843 since dropping the I-129F in the mail.  Day 1,000 here we come!

2 hours ago, KULtoATL said:

Hey there! I adjusted from K-1 and my local field office is Atlanta. Here's a quick summary of what happened:

 

• February 26th - AOS interview and it went well but not approved immediately. The officer said he likes to be thorough and double check everything.
• February 27th - Morning: Update saying card is being produced. Evening: Update saying case is reopened.
• March 4th - Received both approval notice AND case reopened notice via USPS mail.

 

Thereafter, it was 3 months of radio silence. Period.

 

• April 26th: It was the 3 months mark so I submitted a casework assistance request to Senator Isakson's office. I had to fill out a USCIS privacy release form found on the senator's webpage and also gave a background of my case. You can submit all these via e-mail OR USPS mail OR courier, whichever you prefer. I received an acknowledgment of receipt letter from the senator's office a couple of business days later.
• June 4th: 1+ month in after submitting the casework request and I didn't get an update from the senator's office so I sent a follow-up inquiry. Charles Spry (he is the senator's casework liaison) forwarded a copy of generic response that they had received from USCIS.
• June 27th (yesterday): I finally got my green card. This is after 3 months + 1 month. I believed contacting the senator did help eventhough it took USCIS that extra 1 month before they finally got their s--- together.

Excellent recap of your story - thank you so much for sharing.  As I mentioned earlier, hearing the stories of others is very comforting!

On 6/23/2019 at 4:11 PM, Nouchigang said:

You are still able to work.

Did you receive a receipt when you sent the renewal forthe EAD?

That receipts automatically extends your work permit for 6 months after the previous expiration date. Check on the receipt or online it says so.

But please note this is valid ONLY for EAD.

AP is a different story you need the new document to be able to travel.

 I am with you on this, it will be almost a year since our interview at the end of June. But thank God there was just some movement  they sent me a RFE for updated medical, it has expired in the mean time. 

 

Good luck, try to forget about it (easier said than done) or maybe contact your local Congressman and Senator 

Thank you for your reply.  A previous poster shared the same information and we have confirmed that the six-month work extension has been granted.    Now the challenge is getting to work.   In the state of Georgia, we cannot renew the driver's license without the green card, as we have exhausted all the driver license extension opportunities.  So while it's legal to work, it's cost-prohibitive to get to work.  

On 6/23/2019 at 7:57 AM, Nouchigang said:

Sorry for the wait its been almost a year post interview for me and they just sent me a RFE. 

Your options are in my opinion try all the below:

After 150 days call and schedule an Infopass to your local office to do an inquiry. Take the whole  day off if possible and when you get there insist on speaking to the IO who did the interview or a supervisor, try your best to get a specific answer for the status of your application. Tell them you will wait because you need to know. Go together if possible.  Because the IO at the front desk are like the Tier 2 Officers on the phone. They have a general idea of your file but cant access it to be specific.

 

Contact both your local Congressman and Senator, explain the situation and ask they make an inquiry to USCIS on your behalf. There will be forms/waivers to fill out.

 

Contact the Ombudsman. Google it to find the website and fill out the form online to explain your situation 

 

All this may or may not be successful. I have seen that it works for some and others nothing. So shoot your shot and hope for the best.

 

Good luck, I hope you get approval before trying to contact them 

I appreciate your feedback and suggestions.  It is comforting for me to know there are others who have had a similar waiting experience after the AOS interview.  

51 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Didn't the receipt notice for the renewal also include an extension of the existing card?

We didn't even notice that on the letter.  We just did a self-check through e-Verify, had to call a phone number, and just found out he is authorized to work for another 180 days.  Thank you for your response.  You've don'e your good deed for the day!

It has been 142 day since our AOS interview in Atlanta, GA, and we continue to wait for a decision. My spouse is adjusting from a K-1 Visa. Here are some more details:

• Interview on January 30, 2019 went great.  Agent said we didn't need to provide any other information and we would likely be approved.
• As of May 30, 2019, 120 days after our interview, we had not received a decision.  So, we contacted USCIS as we were instructed to do in the post-interview letter we received.  The agent told us "everything is backed up right now" and we should wait another 30 days.  We will respect their request and wait before taking additional steps.
• Anticipating that we might not have the green card by the time the initial EAD/AP expired on May 29, 2019, we applied for EAD/AP renewal on February 22, 2019.  We have not received the renewal EAD/AP yet, so my foreign spouse cannot travel outside the USA or work, although gainfully employed prior to the EAD/AP expiration.

Please know that my post here is NOT a complaint.  I trust the process will eventually work itself out.  I'm simply posting my experience here as a potential comfort to others who may be in a similar situation.  You are not alone.

I will post an update here once we have additional information/status.

On 6/17/2019 at 5:25 PM, twoDs said:

Wow! I hope it goes through for you soon. Maybe we were the last to be interviewed. I can't imagine doing the interview and still not knowing 5 months later.

You're got to be nearing some kind of inquiry deadline, aren't you?

 

Yes, we are "outside normal processing time" as of June 10, 2019. So, we contacted USCIS and we were told:

• We should wait at least two more months.
• No infopass appointments will be given. 
• There are no other options other than to wait.

So, we wait.  It's now been 821 days since I dropped the K1 Visa petition in the mail.  1,000 days here we come!

On 6/10/2019 at 7:53 PM, twoDs said:

Back from the interview! Approved on the spot. The interviewer was very kind and kept things pretty easy and mostly just observed us interacting to his discussion and questions. No real issues but we had a small panic when he asked us for the medical, and then he realized we were K1 and didn't need it and apologized, apparently we were the 8th interview of the day (it was just after noon) for him and K1s of course are rare compared to others that do need medicals.

 

Given the low level of activity on this thread, I suspect we're probably the lone of the last January AOS filers, if not the last, (that's still active on VJ, anyway) to get approved. The has been a loooong journey, and thanks to everyone who's been supportive here!

Nope...you're not the last.  Still waiting.  January 10, 2018 AOS filer.  Congrats.  I'm happy for you.

Sharing my AOS (based on K1) history for those who may be interested:

• AOS 18 months ago.
• AOS Interview 5 months ago; no decision at time of interview and no new information since then.
• I-131/I-765 renewal filed four months ago (120 days before expiration, as requested).  Still no decision, so can't work anymore and can't travel outside USA anymore.

If this is you (or even longer), you're not alone.  Godspeed and best wishes.  I'll post any updates as I have them.

Just a quick poll...were you required to wait to get packet 3 from your local embassy before submitting DS-160?  Or were you able to successfully submit DS-160 after receiving NVC case number?

Thanks!

I received the letter from the NVC yesterday saying our case is being forwarded to the consulate in Mexico (Ciudad Juárez).  What exactly are we waiting for now?  Packet 3, packet 4, etc. Something via e-mail? Something via paper mail?  And who receives it.  I've understood aim other posters that waiting until you receive something at this point could be a never-ending waiting game and we have to take the steps ourself without waiting for something at this point.  Enlighten me, please!  Thank you in advance.  Happy Friday all!

Quick question for those that are in the know...!  On the CAEC case tracker, the status says "Ready" as of Friday.  What does this actually mean, and what date(s) should I update on my VJ timeline?  Thank you in advance.

20 minutes ago, Marzena & Stephen said:

Oh my god!!!!!!!📩🎈🎉🎈🎉

 

We just got out noa2 !!!!!!

 

Received date March 15

Noa1 date March 20

Noa2 date July 29 

 

Its day 142 !!! 

 

Good luck to everyone 😍

 

APP still says received 

No email

No text 

Just a hard copy

Congrats!!!!  

No e-mail, no-text?  I'm guessing if you called the USCIS 800-number to ask status of your case, they would tell you that your "case is received" and you need to wait another two months and that they are only processing January files. I doubt they even know you NOA2 was issued.  🤣