cellarlily

Just a quick update - my husband received his card yesterday (9/14/2010). No more USCIS for 10 whole years! YAAAAY!!!

Good luck to those still waiting. They seem to be picking up the pace, so hopefully you don't have much longer to go. <3

Just got the card production e-mail! Yaaaay!! I'll update once we have the card in hand.

[sorry, I think I broke the list!]

I got a soft LUD the day after biometric appointment--July 27th, then nothing until last night. Hopefully this means good news for all CSC (and VSC) applicants!

That's good to know. Thank you, and congratulations on your approval!

OMG Just got a status update text & email:

Application Type: CRI89 , PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS OF PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS RECEIVED

Your Case Status: Card/ Document Production

YAY!!!! Just as I was about to lose all hopes for any decision before our planned October vacation... CSC is rolling again!!!! Wooo hooo!!!

Yay!! You give me hope that we might see some action soon. Just a question - were there any updates to your case (was it "touched") after your biometrics appointment? We've not had any movement since July 23rd.

I did something similar to Heliospan - two color photos per page with captions, including date, location, and identifying people in the photos. I did about one per quarter of the last two years, which included two Christmases, some birthdays, us at a wedding, and one of us with our dog - 11 in total.

Got our biometric appointment letter today.

California Service Center (22 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....

EXTRACARE..........05/29/10..........06/07/10.......07/20/10........--/--/10....

TRI_GEAR...........06/01/10..........06/03/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

SKYKATE............06/01/10..........06/03/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

GCHAN100...........06/01/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

KAFFY..............06/02/10..........06/07/10.......07/27/10........--/--/10....

AANDLKC............06/04/10..........06/07/10.......07/16/10........--/--/10....

CELLARLILY.........06/04/10..........06/07/10.......07/22/10........--/--/10....

C AND J............06/04/10..........06/14/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

TRUFFLES...........06/04/10..........06/14/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

WEATHERMAN.........06/08/10..........06/10/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

BLUEGREEN..........06/09/10..........06/16/10.......07/27/10........--/--/10....

ALWAYSWAITING......06/12/10..........06/14/10.......07/23/10........--/--/10....

CHINTAN............06/15/10..........06/21/10.......07/26/10........--/--/10....

YGANDMAT...........06/15/10..........06/21/10.......07/15/10........--/--/10....

MCFEI..............06/18/10..........06/21/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

SHEL444............06/18/10..........06/21/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

THANH..............06/18/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MEOWGIRL...........06/22/10..........06/28/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

WELLYWENCH.........06/22/10..........06/23/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

FOULTE.............06/22/10..........06/24/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

KELZM..............06/24/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

SHE_HIM............06/25/10..........06/28/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

EM79SUGAR..........06/28/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

Vermont Service Center (24 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....

MRS W..............05/28/10..........06/02/10.......07/26/10........--/--/10....

OLD DOMINION.......06/01/10..........06/03/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

CIVIRAM_HCL........06/01/10..........06/08/10.......07/20/10........--/--/10....

HONDO1Z............06/01/10..........06/04/10.......07/20/10........--/--/10....

DHSPLEASE..........06/01/10..........06/11/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

LIZARED78..........06/03/10..........06/08/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

ELMIRA.............06/04/10..........06/07/10.......07/20/10........--/--/10....

SSAH...............06/04/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

L640...............06/06/10..........06/09/10.......07/21/10........--/--/10....

EARMUFFS.......... 06/06/10..........06/12/10.......07/27/10........--/--/10....

LINDSEY Y KOKI.....06/07/10..........06/10/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

LADYAMALTHEA.......06/10/10..........06/14/10.......07/22/10........--/--/10....

ALETHEIA...........06/10/10..........06/14/10.......07/22/10........--/--/10....

DOMINICANGIRL3.....06/10/10..........06/16/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

JMK................06/11/10..........06/16/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MDTOVA.............06/15/10..........06/17/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

TRAZOM.............06/15/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

LA VIDA ES BELLA...06/16/10..........06/19/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MALLA..............06/17/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

KJW................06/21/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

RANDOM NONSENSE....06/22/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MARCUS AND LAURA...06/22/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

ALL4KWEKU..........06/22/10..........06/25/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

KITEEGIRL..........06/29/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

IMPORTANT!

* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.

* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.

* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.

* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.

* Please check that you have not deleted anyones NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application

NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter

Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment

Approved = The Date your case was approved

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list

* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly*

* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so

Just adding our NOA1 date. No Biometrics date yet.

California Service Center (16 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....

SKYKATE............06/01/10..........06/03/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

GCHAN100...........06/01/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

KAFFY..............06/02/10..........06/07/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

AANDLKC............06/04/10..........06/07/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

CELLARLILY.........06/04/10..........06/07/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

C AND J............06/04/10..........06/14/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

TRUFFLES...........06/04/10..........06/14/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

WEATHERMAN.........06/08/10..........06/10/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

BLUEGREEN..........06/09/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

ALWAYSWAITING......06/12/10..........06/14/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

CHINTAN............06/15/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

YGANDMAT...........06/15/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MCFEI..............06/18/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

THANH..............06/18/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MEOWGIRL...........06/22/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

WELLYWENCH.........06/22/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

Vermont Service Center (20 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....

MRS W..............05/28/10..........06/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

OLD DOMINION.......06/01/10..........06/03/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

CIVIRAM_HCL........06/01/10..........06/08/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

HONDO1Z............06/01/10..........06/04/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

DHSPLEASE..........06/01/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

LIZARED78..........06/03/10..........06/08/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

ELMIRA.............06/04/10..........06/07/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

SSAH...............06/04/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

L640...............06/06/10..........06/09/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

LINDSEY Y KOKI.....06/07/10..........06/10/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

LADYAMALTHEA.......06/10/10..........06/14/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

ALETHEIA...........06/10/10..........06/14/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MDTOVA.............06/15/10..........06/17/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

TRAZOM.............06/15/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

LA VIDA ES BELLA...06/16/10..........06/19/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MALLA..............06/17/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

KJW................06/21/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

RANDOM NONSENSE....06/22/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MARCUS AND LAURA...06/22/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

ALL4KWEKU..........06/22/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

IMPORTANT!

* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.

* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.

* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.

* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.

* Please check that you have not deleted anyones NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application

NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter

Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment

Approved = The Date your case was approved

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list

* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly*

* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so

Sent the package on June 4th to CSC, it arrived on June 7th, check cashed on June 9th...let the waiting begin again!

Bottom Line: the Social Security office does not govern who is and who is not eligible to work. You can go round and round with this (and many have), but it doesn't matter what the SS website says about work authorization. Those rules are simply to say who is eligible to receive a social security card.

Easiest way to start working is to get married immediately after entering the US, file for AOS and EAD, wait the 90 days for the card and work legally. The whole reason the US citizen has to prove they make enough money to support two (or more) people is for this very reason. Yeah, it stinks not being able to work or earn money, and yes people have a hard time getting by for those 3-ish months with only one income. That's the name of the game.

We got our card production e-mail today!! Hopefully the card will soon follow. We're dying to book our Christmas trip tickets!

Duh, sorry. That's also an option if you still have your UK bank account open. My husband closed his before moving here, so that's why he needed to transfer funds to his brother.

VJ timelines represent what members here have experienced. It by no means captures everyone's timeline, and since it is an average, some people take less time, and some take more.

USCIS is quite conservative with their estimates. When they say that they are processing cases received in April, that generally means that they have some cases from April that are still being worked on. It does not mean that they are that far behind.

Expect it to take about 3 months, but don't be surprised if it takes less or more time than that.

I don't know how useful this will be for you, but my husband sends money to his brother back in the UK via PayPal at least once a month, and then his brother pays his credit card for him. There are conversion fees and such, but it was the only way to get a payment to his UK credit card.

If you have a reliable relative back home that would be willing to do this for you, look into it. There are limits to how much you can transfer per month, but I think it's $500 or more.

Infopass indeed, especially if you didn't go to your cancelled interview just to make sure it was actually cancelled.

1. There's nothing you can do until it has been 90 days from your receipt date. Even then, USCIS will not do much since there is no guarantee as to when you should receive your EAD.

2. It is impossible to help you when you have no timeline and give no information other than when you need your EAD by.

3. You cannot start work without it, so you'll either have to hope they want you badly enough to hold the job until you have your EAD in hand OR you'll have to look for another job once you have your card.

This is priceless.

Sorry! I got so excited that I made a new thread and didn't update in this one. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=138077

Long story short - he was approved! They just need new fingerprints since his expired last month and they didn't take a full set at his biometrics appointment last month for his renewal EAD. Hopefully we'll get the appointment soon...

Thank you all! Jillian - You'll do great. Just make sure you have your evidence in order and count down the days!

.............

She said it should take no longer than 90 days total for Biometrics and card production, asked if we had any questions and showed us the door.

...............

Up to another 90 days?

Yep. 90 days to get a Biometrics appointment scheduled, receive notice, get fingerprints, have fingerprints added to case and produce Green Card. I don't think it will be that long (please, please, please).

I don't know if the rules have changed, but I believe the one-year expiration is in regards to getting it to USCIS within the year. My husband had his medical in the UK December 2006 and just had his interview today. The interviewer asked if he had it done overseas, saw the vaccination supplement in our packet and had no further questions. Unless someone has anything else to say, I wouldn't get it done prior to the interview and see what they have to say.

As far as that I-864 goes, I would complete a new copy with new information and include your 2007 tax return and W-2 and an updated employer letter. It shouldn't take you long to complete since not much has changed, but they will ask for this year's tax return and W-2 and may ask for a new I-864.

They asked for it on our interview notice, so I updated the form, got an updated employer letter and had 2005-2007 tax returns with me. She didn't ask for it and when she was looking at the old form verifying my employment, I asked if she wanted my updated I-864. She didn't.

BUT I would still bring an updated version along with 2007 tax returns + W2's (which she did ask to see) because I've read a lot of instances where interviewers ask for it.

APPROVED!!!

After much waiting, much uncertainty and many trips to the Infopass office, we finally had our interview in Chicago this morning and it was approved! The only problem was his fingerprints expired, and despite being told that they would schedule our interview before that happened, my husband has to go in for his third Biometrics appointment in 15 months. Apparently the fingerprints he just got for his renewal EAD weren't good enough. Anyway, it's a small price to pay for a definitive answer!

Here's how it went:

We got down to the Chicago office around 7:30 despite a broken 22 bus, and we decided to go up to check in. There were about 8-10 couples/families already there, but we were the first to be called at 8 am. Our interviewer was very nice...I had nightmares of getting some crazy person who wanted us to get confused, but it was just nerves. She swore us in, asked for our ID (passports, state ID, my husband's EAD) and started with basic questions for him - what is your phone number, what is your address, when did you get married, when was your last entry, etc. She flipped through our huge file (I saw things in there that I haven't seen since early March 2007!) and asked to see originals of our birth certificates. She said that he may need to officially change his name in the US because she's not sure the UK deed poll change of name he did in 2004 is official enough. She asked my husband where I was born and what my mother and father's names are. Then she noted that my father's name isn't on my birth certificate and I had to explain why, though we're on good terms now.

She asked him the yes/no questions and explained that he couldn't vote until he was a Citizen. I wanted to kick my husband when he asked if he could vote in local small elections. Such a Brit. While she looked up his biometrics information, he explained how we met and how/when we started dating, how he proposed and she explained the fingerprint situation. I'm not too worried about it since we have always received biometrics appointments very quickly. She asked to see evidence that it's a certified marriage and I showed her:

- our lease

- certified copy of our marriage certificate

- joint bank statements

- itinerary for our honeymoon

- wedding invitation

- cards from family

- health insurance cards in both names

- my benefit elections for both of us

- photos

I gave her all original copies, but she asked to keep a copy of the above to look over later. She flipped through our little photo album and said basically she has no doubt that it's a legitimate marriage, but they just need recent fingerprints before they can produce the card. She said it should take no longer than 90 days total for Biometrics and card production, asked if we had any questions and showed us the door.

So...yaaaaaaaaaaay!! The only advice I can give if you think your case is lost in a black hole for many months is to go in for an Infopass appointment and find out what's happening. We were hesitant to do this, but so glad we did because we found out his case was put away in storage for no apparent reason. It took a LOT of e-mails and calls to our state representatives and several trips back to Infopass before it got on its merry way to Chicago, but now it's (nearly) over.

HURRAH! Thanks to all of you for your support and help, especially Krikit and mozplay. <3

Good luck with your interview! Of course the men sleep sound while us women are crazy nervous ha ha. Well, our interview is in 13 days from now in Atlanta, GA!! I've gotta get things together for that This Week!!!

Question: So if I sent in the Affidavit of Support and the medical WITH the AOS in March, do I bring a new one to the interview, or not?

And also what the best way to organize the marriage proof? Is it ok to have a file folder + a binder/scrapbook + 2 picture albums? Or is that TOO much??? (=

Thanks and please keep my husband and I in your prayers now and especially the morning of July 22!!!

Thank you!

You should prepare a new I-864 with updated information, especially if you didn't include your 2007 tax return or if you have any change in income. That's the #2 item on our interview notice list, so I made sure to get that done. Included with it I have an updated employer letter, last 3 years of tax returns, W2s and last 4 pay stubs.

The medical...I don't know. They asked for his full medical on the interview notice, but he submitted that upon entry, and we sent his vaccination supplement with AOS. Since there are other items that aren't applicable (divorce papers, arrest records, english translations), we think it might be a form letter. So...here's hoping. I'll let you know what we find out tomorrow.

As far as organization...I organized and re-organized so many times. I have the I-864 separate, then all the originals of documents paper clipped together, then copies. I'd organize it the way they ask on the interview notice and just make sure you know where things are so you can produce them quickly upon request. We have an accordion file, a small (24 photos) album with various photos, and our wedding guestbook/polaroid album. We'll see if that's enough!

I just now got an e-mail that my husband's renewal EAD has been produced.

The day before our interview.

#######...

Similar thing happened to my husband. We had received every piece of USCIS mail, junk mail, even mail from our neighbors, but suddenly when they sent his EAD it was returned as "undeliverable". We went through so many hoops to have it resent, but because USCIS had our correct address and they didn't want it to be returned again, they held onto it until we made an Infopass appointment and had an IO personally request it to be resent.

If an Infopass appointment is possible, you might want to try going in. Our interview notice wasn't on special paper, so they may be able to produce it there. It's worth a shot...you don't want to wait too long on this because you need to gather the proper evidence.

Good luck.