NancyLyz

1 minute ago, txkangaroo said:

Don't worry, did they give you a number to check the status of your verification? I think it starts with 2018 and end in two letters. You can use it to check online instead of calling.

No California doesn't do that. But the rep did say I should give them another call by 6-8 weeks if I have not received my DL yet. I already made an appointment for the end of September just in case.

2 minutes ago, txkangaroo said:

Well, Texas has always been using the DL under the real ID act. But I already have H1b visa which went through the second verification last year... Waited two weeks to get it done.

 

I plan to use my unexpired H1b visa stamp so that might be help in your case. But as what I read from other people, the AP worked fine cause she went back and forth for fourth times and didn't have any problem with the AP.

Ah that makes sense. Yeah I just hope I can get my DL soon. Using the temporary one can be troublesome.

Thanks a lot!

1 hour ago, txkangaroo said:

Good to know the updates! I've been checking to see if you got everything lol

 

For me, I got the SSN two days after receiving combo card. But my SSN omits the middle name (which is my maiden name), so I took the SSN and combo card to SSA to get it updated. The officer was giving me hard time for not checking the application, while it's not even my fault.  Anyways he kept saying I should have applied for correct name to decrease their workload blah blah blah, and I'm just pretending I'm listening. After the SSA I went to DPS for name change. This time it was a lot longer wait than the SSA, mostly because the DPS in Houston shut down several locations during the summer and people has to go to only two near the city. I spent an hour waiting (with my appointment), and was allowed in the building 45 minutes passed the appointment time. The process was quick enough since I'm only updating my name without changing the effective date (current visa status expire in 2020). Timeline for my update process:

 

7/3/18 received combo card

7/5/18 received SSN with update name (wrongly omitted my middle name)

7/6/18 updated SSN and DL

7/13/18 received SSN with corrected name

7/20/18 received updated DL

 

Planning to add note on my passport on 8/15. International trip booked for 8/28. Hopefully everything will be smooth!

 

 

Congrats on getting everything done! I'm guessing you didn't ask for the REAL ID version of Driver's license then.

Keep me updated about your trip. I'm going to travel later this year and I'm a bit scared. 

Update 7/26/2018

I received my new social security card on 7/10/2018 (Applied 7/2).  However, I still have a long wait for my driver's license (Applied 7/3). 3 weeks after my 4 hour visit in DMV, I waited for 2 hours on the phone to talk to a representative. 

The representative was very nice. She told me that since I'm not a citizen, my status needs to be verified with DHS (I applied for a CA REAL ID), which usually takes at least 4-6 weeks. She has witnessed people having to renew their temporary driver's license (3 months valid from the issue date) but she told me it's anyway free to renew the temporary one. 

Well I'm anyway back at work and I don't really care much about that.

2 hours ago, asaeljethro said:

Tried faxing 5 times since 12am last night and its 8am right now.

 

I contacted the customer service number on the form and the lady that answered was mean. I asked for an address since the fax is busy. and she said, "what does the instructions say on the form?" and I said, "to have them faxed" and she said "well thats what you need to do." she was being a B*TCH. and I told her that I'm part of a group online and there were others that were able to mail them, and she said the same thing to me. and I hung up angrily on her.

 

How do I get in contact with a Tier2 officer? and an actual person?

I called the customer service number, then selected 2 for USCIS status, then I selected 2 again that I did not know my receipt number. (since that was the only way for me to get connected to a human)

Unfortunately some customer service reps at USCIS do have a bad attitude. However I'd suggest you try fax the documents during their office hours (9-4). If fax machines are not working properly or if they're powered off, you can't deliver the fax (old-school stuff, doesn't work like emails at all). You can ask directly for a Tie-2 officer no matter what the reps tell you. The reps may simply be reading the standard answers provided in their manuals instead of actually helping. Insist that you need a Tier 2 officer. The reps will either put you on hold if there is no tie-2 officer available, or they'd transfer you to a tie-2 officer directly.

In addition, I'm from LA area as well and I was able to fax my documents. My attorney, to be sure, faxed the documents as well on the same day. (A full week = 5 business days, weekends and holidays do not count) It took them a full week to respond "case is under review/assigned to an officer" and a full week to update to "approved".

3 minutes ago, Tomalley said:

Enrolled me as his dependent and he can add me in his insurance plan? 

1. Make sure the company he works provides coverage for spouses.

2. Every year, employees will have a certain period of time to review, to change, and to keep their insurance plans as they wish. I'm not sure which state you're in, but in California, it's usually around September and October.

3. Once your husband adds you as a dependent in his plan, you will be able to use the same insurance plan that he has. The company may not pay for your part of the insurance plans but a company plan in general it's a better deal. 

For example: the company I'm working for covers 90% of the insurance cost for me and 75% of the insurance cost for my dependent (my husband). 

The percentage a company covers can go from 0-100%. Check with his company's policies to see if other insurances are also included (life, AD&D, auto, home, etc).

12 hours ago, Tomalley said:

Hi, I just finished the website application after long questionnaires and the plan they have are mostly over 200 month and I can’t afford that  .. 

 

But thanks anyway!

You can always wait a little bit for the open enrollment (September/Oct) period. By that time your husband should be able to enroll you as his dependent anyway.

3 hours ago, AZSunshine78 said:

Thank you Nancy:)

 

Is the PD the date listed on the NOA?

 

 

 

 

yes, you should be able to find "priority date" on your NOA

56 minutes ago, AZSunshine78 said:

Does anyone know the actual date we can inquire about being outside normal processing times? 

 

I see on the USCIS website for AOS (C9 category) it lists January 2018.

but it also says between 4.5 to 6.5 months.

 

Our application was received April 12th. and I’ve no clue what date of amount if days need to have passed before we can inquire.

 

Biometrics is done (May 10th) but everything still says case received and fingerprint fee received.

 

Im very anxious.

You can inquire about your case 6.5 months from your PD if you don't have an RFE or RFIE.

Therefore since it's July now, people who have applied in January but haven't received their EAD card can start to inquire about their cases.

12 minutes ago, AmbMar18 said:

Hmm - I tried our congressman. Signed the form, asked him to inquire on our status and request a possible expedite. I don't think he even called USCIS to be honest. He called us yesterday and said "we cannot expedite - there are too many request and they are working first in and down" we said but what if he gets a job offer (currently looking) and he stated - "it won't change anything. Even people with job offers cannot expedite." 

 

We felt a little defeated, as we thought the rep would be more on our side and fighting for us. Doesn't mean we won't try again though. 4-6 months waiting to work is not an option. 

I think you can always submit expedition request on your own. You don't necessarily need a congressman to expedite for you.

On 7/21/2018 at 5:22 PM, DC909 said:

I received a letter today asking me to send evidence to expedite my 485 case... sounds odd. I didn’t request to expedite my 485, but my 765 instead. Anyone who expedited ever have this? 

They could have just made a mistake. Call them again to clarify.

26 minutes ago, Tomalley said:

What evidence did you send ? Did you have a job offer ? 

 

I just expedited a week ago and they are supposed to call me but nobody called. Did USCIS call you ? Thanks 

I was working with my OPT EAD card before so I got terminated due the new EAD hasn't arrived yet. So my evidence was the termination letter and the explanation of possible reemployment once I've received new EAD.

No they never told me they'd call me and they never called me.

1. It's a good sign meaning that your package is good and they don't need more evidence. Since you've received your combo card, the rest is just all waiting.

2. There is no guarantee. Some take only weeks, some take months. It all depends on your local office processing time.

Currently it takes Albany office 10.5 to 23.5 months to process family-based applications.

So since your PD is in May 2018, let's you should probably get an interview date early next year.

49 minutes ago, Valeriyanest said:

Same here. It had been 2 weeks since I put in a request to expedite, and they didn't request any evidence just yet. The case status hasn't changed as well.

Chances are they've sent you a mail requesting evidence. Give them a few more days. 

2 hours ago, themollusk79 said:

How long did it take to get your card once they contacted you to fax the job offer?  My wife has an offer and we made the expedite request, now just waiting for them to request our documents.  

I filed the expedited request May 25th, received the mail requesting evidence on June 8th, faxed evidence June 13th, approved June 25th, received card June 30th.

Filed 4/2/2018

RFE 4/23/2018

Ready to schedule interview 5/21/2018

Expedited EAD and approved 6/25/2018

Now comes the endless waiting since I'm probably in Los Angeles County office instead of LA office or San Bernardino office.

I'm already looking at how to renew combo card lol

3 hours ago, kirikiristar said:

Woohoo! I already received the "Ready to be scheduled for an interview notice".

Its great because I now I know my paperwork was OK, but everything will be waiting in another pile for scheduling.

 

Anyone know anything about Los Angeles interview wait times and how long it took those people to actually get scheduled?

Hey we have pretty similar PD. Except for : 1. I had an RFIE on 4/23 which I believed USCIS received on 4/30. 2. I filed EAD expedition, which was approved together with my AP on 6/25/2018. 3. I'm adjusting from F1.

I'm also in Los Angeles/Los Angeles County area.

PD 4/2/2018 

Biometrics 5/7/2018

Ready to schedule interview 5/21/2018

It has been almost two months since any updates from my I-485 and I don't actually look forward to any updates within this year lol.

If you're in Los Angeles, it takes 4.5 months to 23 months; Los Angeles county, takes 13.5 months to 30 months; San Bernardino, 9 months to 17 months.

Good luck and keep in contact!

3 hours ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

We have been sitting on "Ready To be Scheduled" since May 21st...  In looking at how quickly some of the February/March filers moved, I was hoping we would at least have an interview letter by now.

Sameeeeeee

1 hour ago, @VIN said:

Did any one experienced this ?? i Expedited my I-765 on 6/26 and they send response on 6/27. I faxed/mailed documents to USCIS by 7/2 after 14days my case history changed to as below but there is no update on my case status. Any one seen like this ????

 

• 07/18/2018
  

  On July 18, 2018, your request to have your case expedited, referral number XXXXXXX, was completed.

• 07/18/2018
  

  On July 18, 2018, we sent a response to your request to have your case expedited, referral number XXXXXXX.

• 07/16/2018
  

  On July 16, 2018, your request to have your case expedited, referral number XXXXXXXX, was assigned to an officer for response.

• 06/27/2018
  

  On June 27, 2018, we sent a response to your request to have your case expedited, referral number XXXXXXX.
• 02/27/2018
  

  We received your Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

Yeah that's normal. Chances are you'll receive the approval notice soon.

Good luck!

1 hour ago, deerefanatic said:

My Wife and I were married on 7/7/18. Now we are beginning to look into next steps to get her permanent residency.

 

She came here for college on an F1 visa from Uganda in August last year. We met for the first time a couple months later. She elected to change her surname to mine when we filled out the marriage license. We now have 2 certified copies of our marriage license in-hand. So I have a few questions:

 

1: Will she need to get her Uganda passport updated with her changed name before we file for Adjustment of status?

2: She doesn't have an SSN, so my credit union refuses to add her to my bank accounts. Should we plan to open accounts at another bank to prove co-habitation? We are going to be taking out a student loan for her 2018-19 college, so that should count too shouldn't it? (I have to cosign since she doesn't have an ssn)

 

Thanks for any guidance you can give us.

1. No the passport doesn't need to be updated before the filing. You can wait until you receive EAD/AP then she can update her passport for traveling.

2. Opening a checking or a saving account doesn't need SSN. There are a lot more other documents you can submit as proof, such as utility bills, rental agreements, insurance policy statements, etc.

12 minutes ago, deerefanatic said:

Last question, in order to claim her on my taxes, we need to have either an SSN or ITIN. If we process a request with the IRS for an ITIN, will it mess things up later?

By next year April, she should receive her SSN and combo card via AOS (if you file soon) so I'd say wait until she gets her SSN then claim her on your taxes.

Typically 4-6 months. If you receive an RFE or RFIE, then it's hard to tell.

With expedition, the timeline is different but in general within a month or two you should get your EAD once an expedition request is filed and approved.

8 hours ago, kvito28 said:

I honestly never knew this. Is anyone here familiar with this situation? Is answer Yes false? If so, then there isn't really much to argue. I still do not understand why I should answer Yes while I am waiting for GC to be approved. Any experts in this?

As an HR myself and going through the whole Adjustment of status process, I'd say you should definitely answer yes to the question: "are you authorized to work in the US". As long as your EAD is valid or has been extended, you're authorized to work in the US as long as your application is still pending. 

The question: "will you need visa sponsorship to work in the US" is trickier to answer.  A failed adjustment of status application can result in a lot of things: 1. If you have other status to fall back on (let's say H1B or L visa), you can always reapply for adjustment of status in the US; 2. You have to leave the States and reapply for a visa then go through all the adjustment of status all over again; 3. You anyway stay and reapply; 4. You stay and you don't reapply immediately; 5. You just decide not to come back any more. 6. You have other status to fall back on and decide to apply for a different kind of status. 

It's a poorly designed question but remember, the only reason a company is asking this is to make sure that they won't need to sponsor you. 

Going back to getting your new job, if you have an attorney, you can probably ask your attorney to issue a letter explaining two things: 1. It's illegal to discriminate you based on your status unless the job does require the employee to be US citizen or Green card holder; 2. You have proper paperwork for I-9 verification and you're adjusting via family-based applications, which should provide you with a green card within a certain amount of time. (Include the USCIS page geo mentioned)

Worst case scenario, that they won't give you the job no matter what, you can probably just burn the bridge and sue them. I don't know the labor codes in your state but in Cali, employers will hate to be sued no matter what. 

Just my two cents, feel free to correct me if anything is not accurate.

On 7/7/2018 at 11:36 PM, Victorolas said:

After I submitted EAD expedite request, my EAD online status changed to ‘fingerprint review was completed’, does that mean they will issue EAD soon or I should keep contact with congressman? Thanks!

No that simply tells you that your fingerprint review is completed. If USCIS sends you a response regarding your Expedite request, you will see a different update.

Just now, kirikiristar said:

Is it possible to do so? Im at the 95 day mark, so Im still within "normal processing times". I dont have a job offer to prove "financial" loss (nor am I in the red)... do they normally ask for proof?

What other reason for expediting can I give?

Well see if you can get a job offer issued by a potential employer (even if you may not work for them in the future). Use that job offer and whatever bills/mortgages/debts you are paying as evidence to try and expedite your Combo card. Otherwise...You won't be able to submit a service request until you get to the 6.5 months mark (or however the processing timeline goes).

6 minutes ago, kirikiristar said:

Sigh. Hearing about so many people "Ready to schedule interview" makes me depressed.

My screen is still stuck on the "biometrics complete".

I have also gotten to 2 job interviews at the last stage, where they decided to tell me that they need someone to "Start right away" and they cannot wait. 

 

Literally reading forums is all that keeps me sane...

Why don't you try expediting your combo card? As long as you have your biometrics done, you should be able to submit a request via calls to the USCIS customer service.

12 minutes ago, Tomalley said:

DMV here told me DL with a green card can be valid for 8 years.. I don’t know if they know about conditional GC.

Eh whatever the case is, I think it's always good to have a driver's license. It really depends.