t1m1t

Should we expect an interview if we are sent a biometrics letter (without it being waived). My wife received her biometrics letter about 2 weeks ago and her appointment is set for the 9th of September.

26 minutes ago, Marion said:

I just got approved finally!!!! 

May I ask how long it took from the approval notification online to getting the GC in hand? 

Congratulations!!!  It took about a week for it to get to us.  What really sucked was they sent it the day my wife left the country... It arrived when I got back from the airport

On 4/12/2019 at 9:35 AM, Marion said:

Nothing for now. It’s been 5 freaking weeks since the interview. It’s just starting to piss me off. But there’s nothing to be done about it. Just wait.. We filed the I-129F in Feb 2017! 

Oh wow... yeah it's a pain to have to wait for so long.  I'm sorry there's a longer delay for you.  I'm sure it'll be here soon though.  I've heard Santa Ana is known to be REALLY SLOW...  Will be praying for you!!

12 minutes ago, Marion said:

Still nothing for now... We’re past the 4th week mark. I am hoping to still get notification this week. I can’t believe this is taking so long... 

I'm sure it's almost there.  But yeah, it took a long time, waaaaay too long.  But I'm sure it's just a delay on their side.  I remember you saying that your interview went fine and that it was just the 129f.  Maybe our i129f forms were filed at different time so they're going through the in the order they received them.  I honestly don't remember when we sent our packet, but I do know it was quite a while ago.

17 hours ago, Marion said:

Hey thanks for checking in. Nothing for now. This Friday will be our 4th week waiting... Hopefully we will hear by then too! I will keep you posted 🙂 

No problem!  We got our notification a little after the 4th week mark.  Hopefully you guys do too! 

On 3/28/2019 at 1:16 PM, Marion said:

Ours was March 8th. So we might need to wait one more week before we hear anything. Thank you for letting us know. Same “issue” with our fiancé petition apparently 

Any updates?  We just got our confirmation notice in the mail and an update saying our card was mailed out.  I hope yours also comes soon!

19 hours ago, Marion said:

Ours was March 8th. So we might need to wait one more week before we hear anything. Thank you for letting us know. Same “issue” with our fiancé petition apparently 

I'm sure you'll be getting yours really soon!  Good luck!!

2 hours ago, Marion said:

Congrats! You must be so relieved. What was your interview date again? So that I have an idea! We should be next hopefully. 

I am thinking you will get it in time. If not you can always ship her the green card for her return  

Call uscis to make sure because things you hear are not always correct and as they want it. I am sure it is fine  

Thank you!! Yeah we really are... it was a 15-16 month process that’s finally over... I’m sure yours will be coming soon! The issue with the i129f was solved (I’m assuming).  We had our interview exactly a month ago (02/27). They said it would take 2-3 weeks but it went to 4 weeks for us.

On 3/19/2019 at 9:03 AM, Marion said:

For a visit they just need to do an ESTA online. It’s $15 and they print it out before their trip. 

Any update? @t1m1t

Hi @Marion!

I literally just got a text message that said, "New Card Is Being Produced"!  We're sooooooo happy.  But we have a slight issue (maybe not an issue).  She leaves to her home country next week for about three months.  We don't know if she'll legally be allowed to leave and re-enter the US...  She has her Advance Parole card, but after approval I've heard it's no longer valid...

5 hours ago, S Mehdi said:

She then told us that she has to wait for my I-129F file to come through before making a decision - she said that she knows exactly what's in there and doesn't really need the file, but it's a process requirement so we might have to wait a couple weeks before seeing a decision.

Same thing happened to us.  The interviewer told us that my wife's i-129f was causing a delay which meant we would have to wait for that to be in her hands before approving her status.  She told us it would take 2-3 weeks.  It's been 2 weeks now and we haven't seen or heard of any updates.  Hopefully we do soon.  I hope you do as well

1 hour ago, sam2141 said:

No. We weren't missing anything since our case is AOS based on marriage.

The i129f packet allows fiancé to arrive in the US via K1 visa. This was previously done before the AOS packet was sent out. I believe you should have also done this since your AOS is based on marriage.  @Marion and I both couldn’t move on to the approval stage due to uscis having some kind of issue with our previous i129f packets (for me it was a copy issue that they hadn’t yet received). Were you told why they couldn’t approve your AOS during the interview? 

4 minutes ago, Marion said:

Wow same for me. That’s crazy. How annoying huh? 

Have you heard since? When was your interview? 

It was Officer Rose! What about you? 

We might have had the same interviewer.  Was her office at the end of the office with a lot of foreign decorations inside?  She was nice, but asked a lot of questions (strict and stuck to policy).  She made my wife nervous which caused her to hesitate on a few questions, but the officer told her to breathe and not to be nervous.  She had an accent too.  We haven't heard anything yet... This Weds will be the 2 week mark.

8 hours ago, Marion said:

I had my interview last Friday. It went super well although the officer didn’t approve us on the spot because he was missing my approved I-129F in his files. I offered to give a copy of mine but he said he needed the one from uscis. Soooo while they’re figuring it out, we’re just waiting. How frustrating. He said it should take 2 weeks maximum to hear from them and that “nothing is guaranteed until he has the full file to review”... As if we didn’t wait long enough. Whatever. 

Same thing happened to me and my wife...  Maybe there's an issue going on with the SoCal office and Santa Ana.  We were told there's a hold with her i-129f and that we would have to wait on that before we could move on.  If you don't mind me asking, who was your interviewer?

In my wife's case, we filed end of January 18, 2018 (i485, i131, i765) and didn't get her EAD/AP card until mid July.  Interview noticed was then sent in January 2019 (a year later) to us and was scheduled for 2/27/19.  We had her interview, but were told they haven't processed her old i129f yet (something about making copies and shredding the originals).  We have to wait for them to clear that before they can approve her i485.  I'm not too sure on the processing time in Texas, but sometimes these things can take a VERY long time...  Hoping for the best for you two!

1 minute ago, Skyfaring said:

Hey! I had the same issue during my interview. It was explained to me that they didn’t have the correct “copy” of the K1 petition and they had to request it from the service center. It did take us a while to get approved after our interview, but that may be because Baltimore is notorious for taking a few months, rather than because of this issue.

 

Your wife can definitely travel on her EAD/AP card after your interview. I did and I was completely fine! It doesn’t lose its validity.

 

Hope this helps, and please hang in there! I got my approval notice today and had the best moment with my wife - we are finally done (for now!). 

Thank you!!  So glad to hear from someone who experienced the same thing!  I kept looking and looking about the i129f causing a hold... Do you know how long it took?  Santa Ana in SoCal took about a year (a little over) for us to get our interview after submitting our AOS packet.  I really hope it takes the 2-3 weeks the interviewer said.  My wife needs to be in her home country for 3 months to finish up her schooling.  If they request another interview during that time, it would cause such a big headache...

17 hours ago, geowrian said:

Technically both EAD and AP remain valid until they expire OR the pending AOS application is denied.

When my wife had her AOS interview last year, we explicitly asked the IO about my wife using her existing AP to travel abroad and return if the green card wasn't in her hands yet. She said it was perfectly fine.

If the green card is actually issued before returning, you can use AP to board the plane, but tell the CBP officer that you are now a green card holder. It shouldn't matter, but you want to be admitted as an LPR, not paroled into the country, so it can't hurt to let them know.

That's good to hear!  Thank you for the update!! 

Just realized we have another issue... The interviewer did mention that there may be a possibility of another interview (but she did say it probably won't happen).  If she were to leave the country, and another interview was issued, she'd have to come back (she has to be gone for about 3 months).  Are second interviews, if given, usually scheduled a distance from when the notifications are sent out?  Our initial interview notification and the actual interview date were spaced out about a month (notification 1/23, interview 2/27)

Just now, clare240 said:

Why do you still have an i-129f if you're already married? They're supposed to shred it after you're married, or? 

That’s why I’m confused. She said that it wasn’t shredded yet or a copy for their keeping wasn’t made. She said she wanted to approve us but because of the issue with the i129f, they can’t move forward with the approval...

19 minutes ago, ThomasNC1988 said:

I'm fairly sure EAD is valid until a decision is made on your I-485. Someone will tell us if I am wrong most likely. That is kind of a strange issue.

I hope so... I’ve seen other sites that say it’s invalid while green card is pending...

My wife and I just had our AOS Marriage Interview.  The interview went pretty smooth, but at the end of it, the interviewer told us that there is currently an issue with our i-129f not being cleared for her to continue with the process.  She said that those in charge of the i-129f are supposed to have it copied, then shred the originals, but for some reason it's stuck in that position.  Because of that there is a delay.  The Reason for Continuance states:  "Your is being held for review."  She also mentioned that they may ask for more documents, and they might ask us for another interview (she did say that she doesn't think that will happen).

Has anyone experienced this?  It wasn't exactly clear what she meant, but I got from it that it isn't an issue with us and that we just need them to clear it.  One big issue is my wife needs to go to back to her home country in about a month.  She does have her EAD/AP card, but from what I've read it is no longer valid since we had our interview.  

My wife and I just had our AOS Marriage Interview.  The interview went pretty smooth, but at the end of it, the interviewer told us that there is currently an issue with our i129f not being cleared for her to continue with the process.  She said that those in charge of the i129f are supposed to have it copied, then shred the originals, but for some reason it's stuck in that position.  Because of that there is a delay.  The Reason for Continuance states:  "Your is being held for review."  She also mentioned that they may ask for more documents, and they might ask us for another interview (she did say that she doesn't think that will happen).

Has anyone experienced this?  It wasn't exactly clear what she meant, but I got from it that it isn't an issue with us and that we just need them to clear it.  One big issue is my wife needs to go to back to her home country in about a month.  She does have her EAD/AP card, but from what I've read it is no longer valid since we had our interview.  

My wife and I just had our AOS Marriage Interview.  The interview went pretty smooth, but at the end of it, the interviewer told us that there is currently an issue with our i129f not being cleared for her to continue with the process.  She said that those in charge of the i129f are supposed to have it copied, then shred the originals, but for some reason it's stuck in that position.  Because of that there is a delay.  The Reason for Continuance states:  "Your is being held for review."  She also mentioned that they may ask for more documents, and they might ask us for another interview (she did say that she doesn't think that will happen).

Has anyone experienced this?  It wasn't exactly clear what she meant, but I got from it that it isn't an issue with us and that we just need them to clear it.  One big issue is my wife needs to go to back to her home country in about a month.  She does have her EAD/AP card, but from what I've read it is no longer valid since we had our interview.  

19 hours ago, Tokenfreak said:

How do I go about getting my address changed for AOS?  My wife and I have moved to a new house and need to update our address.  Should I wait until after the AOS interview which is in a couple weeks?  I can still access the old address and the mail as it is my parents place and is only one mile away.  Thanks.

I went through USCIS to change my address and got the confirmation email.  However, 3 weeks later we received our interview letter at our old address (lucky we hadn't moved out yet).  

4 hours ago, Lucy&Jason said:

Yay!! Planning to send out our AOS packet this February 14. We are double checking everything just to make sure we included all necessary documents. 

You might want to also join (or make if there isn't one) a February 2019 thread.  This is the 2018 one

Don't leave this one though. Stay here for help and tips and see if people were in the same place you currently are!

On 2/1/2019 at 1:45 PM, K1visaHopeful said:

There are two types of AOS filers: K1s and everybody else.

K1s complete their medical and vaccinations overseas. Their medical packet is collected at POE and transferred to their A-file for safe keeping until their AOS interview. K1s then apply for AOS within one year of their medical date and submit a copy of their DS3025 Vaccination Record too. If they do all of that they have completed the medical requirements.

Everybody else has to comply with the medical requirement once they are in the US. They can complete an exam and submit the sealed I693 they receive from a US CS with their AOS application and hope to h_ll that they get interviewed within 2 years (used to be one prior to Nov 1st) 

OR

They can wait until they receive an interview, complete an exam then and submit the sealed I693 at their interview therefore there is no chance it is expired. 

 

The lines between the procedure for K1s and everybody else DO NOT CROSS provided the K1 completed the procedure I have mentioned above throughout my comments. 

Understand that as you read about others as you are including yourself in a group of filers that K1s are not included in.

I think my questions are answered in this thread: 

If all immunizations and the DS-3025 has been filed out and approved, including having all immunizations on the thread checked off, then we should be good to go to the interview without having to see a civil surgeon.  If one or more immunizations are missing, we'd have to get all the required immunizations, and then have a civil surgeon approve of them with the i693 filled out and sealed by the civil surgeon.  Is this correct?  Sorry for the thousands of questions!!

On 2/1/2019 at 1:45 PM, K1visaHopeful said:

There are two types of AOS filers: K1s and everybody else.

K1s complete their medical and vaccinations overseas. Their medical packet is collected at POE and transferred to their A-file for safe keeping until their AOS interview. K1s then apply for AOS within one year of their medical date and submit a copy of their DS3025 Vaccination Record too. If they do all of that they have completed the medical requirements.

Everybody else has to comply with the medical requirement once they are in the US. They can complete an exam and submit the sealed I693 they receive from a US CS with their AOS application and hope to h_ll that they get interviewed within 2 years (used to be one prior to Nov 1st) 

OR

They can wait until they receive an interview, complete an exam then and submit the sealed I693 at their interview therefore there is no chance it is expired. 

 

The lines between the procedure for K1s and everybody else DO NOT CROSS provided the K1 completed the procedure I have mentioned above throughout my comments. 

Understand that as you read about others as you are including yourself in a group of filers that K1s are not included in.

Ah sorry, I think I got mixed up with what I heard and what I experienced.  So then after turning in her medical packet on her POE, another medical check or an i693 is not required?  We turned in my wife's medical packet that was completed by a physician in Taiwan around 10/2017.  The interview confirmation letter states "A completed medical examination (form i693) and vaccination supplement in a sealed envelope (unless already submitted)."  If the i693 is not required since she came to the US with a k1, will an updated vaccination report be needed in a sealed envelope?

Thank you again for the updates and the much needed information!!

1 hour ago, sam2141 said:

I just got another one. I heard that they are only valid for 1 year. I know they are really expensive.

The second time is cheaper because I got all the necessary shots last time. So I only paid $150 this time.

Yeah, my wife has all her shots and her immunization record.  The doctor says she needs to get a blood test, urine test, and a TB test.  They'll take care of the paperwork and go over with us before sealing it.  I've heard that for K1 applicants, the medical check isn't necessary, and a filled out i693 is all that's needed.  Find a doctor that will look at the immunization record, seal the i693 form, and then good to go.  Some say they've paid about $30-80 for just that, but it's hard to find.  Still confused as to what I should do.  If my doctor charged $150, I'd be more than happy to just do that and move on.  But, the lowest I can find is $250 (my current physician).  Everyone else I called wants $300+...