denvercoder

Did my AOS interview today in Denver, CO. AOS package was received on September 20th 2017, so pretty much exactly 1 year after, even with an RFIE last October. The officer was recently transferred from the Florida office and he said the backlog there was way worse.

Interview went super smooth, officer was very nice, I had an updated I-864, new tax forms, medical form, so he said he needed to look at those but everything looked good and should get the card in ~1 month.

Best of luck!

On 2/3/2018 at 10:09 PM, Hamilton said:

Hi denvercoder! So I'm in exactly the same boat as you were, and they rejected my request to expedite my AP. How far in advance of your conference did you apply for the expedite? I also got the same RFIE as you did, so your posts on here have been super helpful!!

Hi Hamilton!

Sorry to hear they rejected your expedite AP request, did you ask for help from your representative or just called USCIS and asked to expedite?

The conference was on December 10th, and I called to request to expedite on November 6th. The reason for expediting was financial loss to employer/institution, as the university had already paid for my tickets/registration and would lose that if I did not go. 

So far no updates on the RFIE I got, and no EAD yet, hopefully I hear something this month.

Best of luck!

On 11/1/2017 at 12:04 PM, denvercoder said:

September filer here as well. AOS from F1 visa due to marriage to a USC. Self-filing (no lawyer)

 

Sept 17th - Package sent via FedEx

Sept 20th - Package received & text notification

Oct 6th - Biometrics appt.

Oct 10th - Biometrics done (walk-in)

Oct 21st - RFIE on I-485 received asking for proof that I was able to legally work (I used my income to supplement the household income in form I-864)

Oct 23rd - Response to RFIE sent

Oct 26th - Website updated with "Response to RFIE received"

 

Bummed that I got a RFIE given that I had sent in proof of being able to work originally (just not as a direct attachment to I-864). 

 

Hoping that it does not reset the time on my process but we'll see. Was hoping to get AP by December to be able to travel home but that's probably not happening. 

Just an update on my case, if anyone is in a similar boat:

I got my AP on Saturday. It was approved on the 17th of November and got it in the mail on the 25th. I both requested an expedite with USCIS (over the phone, faxed over documents) and also asked my congressman to inquire on my behalf. The reason for expediting may have helped: I have an academic conference I'm presenting a paper at in Chile, which was the basis for requesting the advanced parole. 

I'm not sure what pushed it through, but the fact of the matter is that the congressman sent the inquiry in on the 16th and on the 17th they approved it, could be coincidence but I think that had something to do with it.

Interestingly, I just got the AP, no EAD yet (I only requested to expedite the AP). All I can say is if you have some pressing reason to expedite your AP, use all the tools available to you and it may just happen. I also did an infopass appointment hoping they'd give me the AP on the spot but no chance of that.

22 hours ago, T_P said:

People take a moment and read this;

 

USCIS Is Receiving a Record Number of Citizenship Applications (Nov 10, 2017)

http://immigrationimpact.com/2017/11/13/uscis-record-citizenship-applications/

 

Immigrants waiting longer for US citizenship as backlog builds  (Nov 13, 2017)

http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/11/10/77606/immigrants-waiting-longer-for-us-citizenship-as-ba/ 

 

"A spike in U.S. citizenship applications before and after the November 2016 election has led to a backlog of more than 708,000 pending requests nationwide, with typical wait times for applicants doubling since last year."

Damn. I wonder if the number of AoS applications has also seen a similar increase.

September filer here as well. AOS from F1 visa due to marriage to a USC. Self-filing (no lawyer)

Sept 17th - Package sent via FedEx

Sept 20th - Package received & text notification

Oct 6th - Biometrics appt.

Oct 10th - Biometrics done (walk-in)

Oct 21st - RFIE on I-485 received asking for proof that I was able to legally work (I used my income to supplement the household income in form I-864)

Oct 23rd - Response to RFIE sent

Oct 26th - Website updated with "Response to RFIE received"

Bummed that I got a RFIE given that I had sent in proof of being able to work originally (just not as a direct attachment to I-864). 

Hoping that it does not reset the time on my process but we'll see. Was hoping to get AP by December to be able to travel home but that's probably not happening. 

Thanks! My response to the RFIE was delivered today, I'll update here on how it goes moving forward. Hope it only paused the process as well.

kababci, thank you for your reply! I'm very happy to know that someone in a pretty much identical situation was able to use the student salary for household income.

I did not submit as much evidence as you did, given that in my original I-864 I had already sent in the tax transcripts for the previous three years (all of which I have made above 125% of poverty level for my household size) I didn't re-submit those.

All I sent in was:

1) Explanation Sheet

2) Latest I-94

3) Passport F-1 visa and entry stamp

4) Letter from University stating I have maintained full time status as a Student ever since I got here

5) I-20 Form

6) Employment Offer letter from university stating 20h/week work offer

7) Statement from university that my funding will continue for another year

In the explanation sheet I pointed out that I am able to work because I have maintained valid F-1 status and am employed on-campus at 20h/week with a valid I-20. I hope that is enough for the immigration officer to realize that it's exactly the requirement for student employment. 

Do you know if your EAD was considerably delayed due to this RFIE?

Thank you!

Hello,

I am filing for AoS from F-1 based on marriage to a USC. My spouse is a student and has no income, so I used my income as a graduate student (I'm a PhD student employed as a research assistant by the university) to reach 125% of the poverty level for our household (size 2). 

I received an RFIE on I-485 shortly after completing the biometrics. Specifically the RFIE was on I-864, they only asked for one thing: to prove that the income I was using to complement the household income was from a lawful source and I was legally able to receive that income during this year.

So I sent in my I-20 (which I had already sent in the original packet, but not as specific evidence for I-864), and a letter from the university stating that I was a full time student all year (maintaining valid F-1 status) and that they will continue to pay me until the end of my PhD program (1 more year of funding guaranteed).

I am wondering if the fact that they only requested proof that I was lawfully able to work in the RFIE means that they accepted my income, specifically relating to the requirement of I-864 ("the income must continue from the same source after obtaining the green card"). I am fearful of obtaining another RFIE or RFE stating that my income is not eligible given that it does have an end date (even though it may be extended).

In hindsight I should really have found a joint sponsor for the I-864 and gone with that.

My timeline is:

Filed for marriage (to USC) based AoS from F-1: September 17th (filed I-485, I-130, I-131, I-765)

Received (MSC): September 20th

Biometrics done (walk-in): October 10th

RFIE on I-485 received: October 21st (saturday)

Response to RFIE sent: October 23rd (monday)