EAC March 2021 Filer.
New Card received. Yay!
My status never updated from case received, had fingerprints taken again in August 2021, got my card 9/3/22 in the mail. No status updates via text or email, no RFE no interview.
Just checked my case status yesterday seeing card was delivered right before Labor Day weekend.
Happy this is over. Maybe I’ll become a USC one day but happy to not have to deal with USCIS anymore if I don’t want to.
My traveling experience was pretty much the same. The officer sends you into second inspection to parole you. 10 min later Passport & parole Stamp back without a word. I brought my NOA's, marriage cert & EAD/AP card. They just wanted the Combo Card and Passport.
This was JFK Airport/NYC, I traveled by myself because it was a work trip.
AOS approved - May 28
Card Sent - May 30
Card picked up by the USPS - May 31
Card in the received - June 1 (seeing it in the informed delivery 🤩)
So in our case it took 5 days from Card being produced to Card received in the mail.
Wishing you all good luck! ✌️✌️✌️
And to those in despair - my previous weekend was the darkest in my life - right before the good news arrived. It’s always the darkest before the dawn 🤗🤗🤗
I'm planning on making the SS office my first stop once I have my card in hand so that I can change it to my married name, and also remove the "valid only with DHS authorization" limitation. I don't know that you HAVE to do it right away, but I want to change the name so that I can file my taxes using my married name next year (we did file jointly this year, but had to file in my maiden name because that's the one SS and the IRS have on record).
Just got the update that a new card is being produced!! 🎉🎉🎉
Queens filer, PD is 12/03/2018, interview was 5/21/2019.
I’ve made a separate post (linked below, detailing everything about my interview in excruciating detail) so as to not clog up this space, and will continue to update my signature and timeline as more news arrives! Hang in there, everyone!
Amazing! Mine is in the mail as of 5/31, so I imagine it will arrive sometime this week (no tracking number to stalk it, sadly!). I also got my hard copy approval notices for the I-485 and the I-130 in the mail on 6/1.
Congrats to you as well! Waiting for that update! When I saw you got your initial approval, I was hopeful that mine was coming, and it did update the next day!
Apologies in advance for this truly absurd wall of text, but I wanted to write up my whole interview process in excruciating detail for those doing AOS in NYC at Federal Plaza. I’m a Canadian citizen living in Queens, and did AOS from TN-1 work status. You can find a detailed timeline in my signature.
Before the Interview
My interview was scheduled for 9:15am on 5/21/2019 at Federal Plaza in Manhattan. We arrived around 8:30am, but did a lap around the block and went in at 8:45, as the notice says not to arrive more than 30 minutes early. People weren’t kidding when they said it was airport style security -- complete with bins and taking shoes off! -- but the lines moved quickly. Once through security, a large sign in front of the main elevator bank clearly noted which offices were on which floors. My notice said to go to the Queens Office on the 9th floor. Once we were in the room, we walked up to the window to get further instructions, and were told that we had to go down to the Queens Office on the 4th floor *groan*. For those curious, there are public washrooms immediately outside the waiting area on the 4th floor.
I gave my interview notice to another person behind a window, who called my name and gave me a deli-style ticket number about five minutes later. Every time she called a name, people would jump up with all their stuff in hand, but this is only you getting into the interview queue. The waiting room can get a bit noisy (there’s a TV and phones are allowed) so make sure to listen carefully. The actual officer conducting the interview comes out from the back office with your interview notice and will call your name (and possibly ticket number) when it’s your turn.
It was already 9:15 by this point, but the room was packed so we figured we’d be in for a wait. We ended up waiting over two hours, and watched numerous couples/families that came in after us get called into their interviews first. About 30 minutes in, I asked about the delay (having noticed numbers after mine being called) and the woman said that the order of the numbers doesn’t really matter. After another hour passed, my husband went up to ask and the woman said she’d “speak to somebody.” Almost another hour passed before we checked again, and they reassured us that we were coming up. Finally, around 11:30am, we got called into the back offices by Officer Hernandez (OH). I guess the squeaky wheel does get the grease! Still don’t know if our notice got shuffled to the bottom of a pile or what, but it didn’t hurt to ask to ensure we didn’t get forgotten.
Interview
Once we got to his office and before we even sat down, OH had us raise our right hands and take the oath, then asked us to provide government-issued IDs. I provided my EAD/AP combo card and Canadian passport, while my husband provided his driver’s license (OH ended up wanting a photocopy of the DL and my combo card -- at the end of the interview, I gave him a photocopy of my card that I had brought, but we didn’t have one for the DL, so he needed to make one himself). Next, he took a new photo and my left and right index fingerprints on a digital pad. He also apologized for the long wait!
OH explained that he would go through my forms and confirm some information, then ask us some questions about our lives. He would specifically direct questions to either one of us, and asked that we not try to jump in and answer each others’ questions. He went straight into the first section of the I-485, confirming my name, maiden name, DOB, address, previous address, job, my husband’s job, where my parents live, last entry, etc. and checked things off as he went. He asked about when I went to school in the US (which was actually just a 1-credit college course I took as part of a J1 internship program with no home residency requirement) and I explained this to him.
Once that was done, OH sat back a bit and starting directing personal questions to us. He didn’t mind if one of us added information to the story after the person he asked was finished talking. I think they want to avoid one spouse jumping in to answer a question clearly addressed to the other. This is generally what I remember us being asked:
-How did we meet?
-Where did we first meet in person? What did we do on that first date?
-How long was it between us first connecting online and meeting in person?
-When did that meeting happen?
-How did he feel upon first meeting me?
-When did we see each other again?
-When did we move in together? Why?
-What were my feelings about his place when I moved in?
-What sorts of changes did we make to the apartment after I moved in?
-What is life like together at home?
-Who proposed to whom?
-When/where/how did he propose?
-Why did he feel this was the time to propose? What made him sure he wanted to get married?
-Why did I say yes?
-When/where was the wedding?
-How many people attended the wedding? Were they family, friends or both?
-Who was the best man? Maid of honor?
-Did we go on a honeymoon? Where? What did we do?
He clearly wanted to get us talking about our relationship. He didn’t probe much for extra details, though we did add them when relevant (and tried our best not to babble!). A couple times, he would reiterate things we said or confirm timelines. I don’t know if he was trying to trip us up because a few times he would say, “So, you knew each other approximately X years before the wedding” when it was actually less time. In these instances, we confirmed the correct timelines, even if it was approximate. This was all fairly conversational...we joked around a few times, and OH did smile and laugh a bit.
After that conversation wrapped up, OH asked what I had brought to the interview. First, I gave him my sealed medical exam, which hadn’t been submitted with my original petition. At no point did he explicitly ask for it, so if you’re bringing it to the interview, don’t forget to hand it over! I had also completed a new affidavit of support with evidence since we had filed a joint tax return since AOS. He did not take the actual completed forms, but kept all the evidence (copies of husband’s W2s + 1099s, 2 months worth of pay stubs, tax transcript, letter from employer, etc.) He asked for originals of the W2s, which was pretty much the only thing I DIDN’T bring, but he said it wasn’t a big deal. I saw so many questions on here as to whether you need to bring an updated affidavit to the interview -- I imagine if it had been a more significant change like a job move, it would have been necessary, but clearly, as long as you can prove the income you have and it’s not changing anytime soon or dipping below the required threshold, you should be fine.
Below is the new bona fide marriage evidence we provided. I had all of this listed in order on a “table of contents” on top of the package, and plopped the whole thing down on the desk when OH asked for it. I also had a separate section of my folder with all the originals of everything listed. OH flipped through all of it and asked questions as necessary, then added it to my file.
-Copies of our last wills and testaments (OH asked to see originals)
-Copies of Power of Attorney forms (OH asked to see originals)
-Copies of Health Care Proxy forms (OH asked to see originals)
-Updated statements from husband’s bank account (from AOS filing until most recent available) highlighting monthly transactions from me to husband’s checking for rent/expenses and both names on joint savings account
-Copy of 2018 IRS tax transcript for joint return and photocopy of the return check with both our names
-Copy of page from husband’s retirement account correspondence listing me as his trusted contact
-Copy of my proof of coverage statements from husband’s health and dental insurance
-Copy of letter from benefits department at husband’s job, confirming my insurance coverage
-Copy of our medical and dental insurance cards listing both our names (OH asked us to show our physical cards, which we had in our wallets)
-Copy of my insurance claim summary showing husband as plan enrollee and me as patient
-10 new photos (from AOS filing until today) of us with friends/family, with captions (OH asked me to identify each individual in a group photo of our families together, commented on a few photos and confirmed where they were taken/what the event was)
-Copy of Airbnb reservation/trip itinerary made by me for a recent trip with his family
-Copy of Airbnb reservation/trip itinerary made by my mom listing us as guests for Memorial Day trip
I also took out originals of birth certificates, marriage certificate, etc. from the original petition in case he needed them, but he said he didn’t. These were listed on the interview notice, so definitely still bring them just in case! Better to be over-prepared, in my opinion.
Below is what we originally submitted as bona fide marriage evidence for the I-130 back in December. I had just about all the originals of these in my folder, but he didn’t refer to any of it except the driver’s license.
-Copy of reciprocal will/health care proxy/power of attorney application through husband’s job (showing husband naming me as intended beneficiary/executor and vice versa)
-Copy of paperwork to add husband to my 401(k) account
-Copy of letter confirming my married name change on 401(k) account
-Statements from joint savings account (six months worth, highlighting both names on account)
-Screenshots of payments made from me to my husband via our banking app over the last 2 years
-Copy of change of address forms from USCIS/DMV/IRS from when I moved in with my husband
-Copies of our NYS driver’s licenses with the same address
-21 photos of us together and with friends/family (covered early relationship, wedding, right up until we filed)
Given that I’ve been living and working in the States for a few years, we certainly had the advantage of lots of evidence/financial commingling on our side that many couples who are newly arrived won’t have. But it was clear to me that it’s the quality of evidence, not quantity that counts. As long as the evidence really shows that your lives are intertwined (or working towards that), and your stories match the evidence, you should be fine.
After going through the new evidence, OH went through the I-485 inadmissibility questions one by one, checking them off as he went. He told us then that he had no further questions for us, and that our case would be put into review, and printed a letter/receipt for me stating this. OH explained that they have an obligation to provide a verdict within 120 days, and that we could inquire with USCIS after 90 days. He asked if we had any upcoming travel, and I mentioned that we were planning to travel to Canada over Memorial Day weekend (three days later). He asked if my EAD/AP was a combo card, and then confirmed that I was able to travel and return on AP while awaiting a decision. He had us follow him to the copy machine where he photocopied my husband’s driver’s license and asked us if we had plans for the rest of the day (mostly because we’d been waiting there so long!). Luckily, my husband took the whole day off and my boss let me take a half day. Once he finished making the copy, OH walked us out of the office area and out into the hallway.
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the whole interview experience. Officer Hernandez was very friendly, but was still professional and explained every step of the process as we went through it. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting so many casual questions about our relationship, but it’s clear that this is where real couples can shine...when they can recollect moments they've shared, can easily talk about life together/at home, etc.
After the Interview
After reading so many stories of instant/on-the-spot approvals, I was a bit dejected at not getting confirmation right away, so it was nice to see that other filers on here were put into review as well to know I wasn’t alone! Don’t know if the long weekend had anything to do with the slower approvals or if a week delay is pretty standard. Today, on 5/29/19, I got the “New card in production” update on my case tracker for the I-485, 8 days after our interview and 177 days from the date my AOS package was accepted. Card should be in the mail soon and I’ll update my timeline once it’s in hand!!
My TN work status only came up when he asked if I was still with the same employer at the beginning of the interview, which I am. At the end of the interview, OH didn’t take my paper TN I-94 out of my passport, despite it being essentially invalidated by my EAD. I did travel back to Canada over the Memorial Day weekend, but didn’t think to surrender my I-94 to the Canadian official when I crossed (as it tells you to on the back of the paper), which I worried was a big no-no. But it all turned out okay: when I crossed back into the US on AP, I got sent into secondary, waited about 20 minutes, then had a CBP officer return my passport with a new, single-entry I-94 stamped for Advance Parole (he also stamped my actual passport). I was fingerprinted, had my photo taken, and we were on our way.
Hope this is helpful to someone out there! VJ has been an amazing source for me throughout this process...not just for information/questions, but for solidarity with others also in the trenches and reassurance that we're all in it together.
Now off to start assembling my massive ROC evidence list for my next go-around with USCIS in 2 years minus 90 days
Hi everyone i just recieved my card is in production notification for my green card.
My entire process:
Married December 27 2017
Filed December 12 2018 in queens
NOA December 19 2018
Biometrics appointment February 12th 2019
Interview scheduled notification on April 10th 2019
Interview Date May 21st 2019
Card in production May 28th 2019
My husband and i arrived for our interview on time. We had an older lady do our interview. She was a bit tough and asked tough questions to my husband. Atleast 95% of the questions were asked to my husband. Some of which he knew, some he didnt. For example she asked my husband what college i went to in my country( i only went to the college for 2 months, so i never even mentioned it to him) she asked him my middle name, if i had kids etc. Our interview lasted for 1 hour ( she was thorough. We got the paper that said our case is being reviewed and to wait up to 120 days.
Thank you lord i got the notification that my card is being produced today.
Secured cards take much longer to build your credit. But if one is unable to, or it’s too late to do what I did, it’s really the only way to go. I’ve worked in banking for the last 12 years. I wish I could share this information with everyone who is just starting the process! Building your credit all over again in a new country is so important, and very tricky!
Ok I hope I’m as lucky as you and mine arrives quickly! I already have my SSN number, just no card. They kept my card when I went back to try to update my married name, then didn’t send the new one because of the pending AOS process.
Yeah I know BOA will let me open one, but I don’t want to bank with them. I don’t need the secured credit card. Here’s why:
I thought ahead when I was still living in Canada, and I opened a Canadian American Express card, 6 months before moving here because I knew they’re one of the only global credit card companies that do their own lending. I used the Canadian Amex card for gas purchases only for 6 months before moving and I always paid it in full. A month before I moved here, I called Amex and told them I was moving to the USA, and I applied for an American Amex. They used my Canadian credit history, and my history with them and I was approved on the spot. By the time I moved here, the card was here waiting for me. We’ve been using the card for groceries and every day purchases for the past 10 months, and paying it in full. I now have 2 American credit cards in my name with $10K in credit lines and a 740 credit score. I’m so glad I did that. Now, I’ll be able to get approved for a brand new car loan as soon as I start working! 😉
I AM CRYING SOOOOOOO HARD RIGHT NOW!!! MY EAD HAS BEEN APPROVED!!! 222 DAYS OF WAITING!! 😭😭😭😭 THANK YOU UNIVERSE!!!!! I CAN FINALLY GET A JOB!!!! Thank you so much everyone for all your positive energy!!! It means the world to me!!! Let the job search begin!!!! Who knows when my Green Card will come, 22 days since my interview but I don’t even care right now. I am FREE!!! 😭♥️😭♥️
I woke up this morning to scan for approvals around my receipt date and I had the notification “New Card is Being Produced” for my husbands EAD as of 5/29! We are so ridiculously excited and will be celebrating tonight! We did not receive an email or text informing us of the update. I only found out by going in the USCIS case tracker app.
VJ timeline says we were approved in 219 days (from file date) and case tracker says it was approved in 203 days (from receipt date). We are hoping to receive the EAD/AP card in the mail within the next week so we can finally plan our honeymoon!
Luck to everyone still waiting - November approvals are on their way!
Just got notice for our interview - July 11. Nice to be moving forward but still no sign of EAD or AP. Husband will be missing his grandfather's funeral in England. Definitely expected those before now. Receipt date Nov 5 but unluckily sent to National for which lists the longest processing I-765 times & jumped backward from late Oct to mid Sept 😫
I AM CRYING SOOOOOOO HARD RIGHT NOW!!! MY EAD HAS BEEN APPROVED!!! 222 DAYS OF WAITING!! 😭😭😭😭 THANK YOU UNIVERSE!!!!! I CAN FINALLY GET A JOB!!!! Thank you so much everyone for all your positive energy!!! It means the world to me!!! Let the job search begin!!!! Who knows when my Green Card will come, 22 days since my interview but I don’t even care right now. I am FREE!!! 😭♥️😭♥️
lms got a reaction from OldUser in I-751 March 2021 Filers
lms got a reaction from Mococatx in Traveling with Advance Parole
lms got a reaction from D&D_NYC in Approved! AOS Interview Experience at Manhattan Federal Plaza (May 2019)
