Lyondellic

Just curious how long it takes for an oath ceremony to be scheduled after the N-400 has been approved? It has been about 3 weeks since the N-400 interview/approval and the case status still says my wife has been placed into the queue. Thanks!

Yes, will do! Thanks!

The USCIS journey is almost over for my wife and I. After our case was transferred from YSC, we received an appointment for the N-400 interview in late November. The interview was a combo (I-751 and N-400), so we met with the IO in a joint interview first for the I-751 portion. The IO was polite and in a good mood. She asked if we had any additional documents to submit, so I gave her a copy of our new apartment lease, renters insurance and bank statements. She thanked us for being well organized and thorough. The IO mentioned that many people come to their interview and have to search for documents, so being well organized helped the interview go very fast. The IO then told me that my wife would have to be alone for the N-400 portion of the interview. I left the room and went back out to the waiting area. My wife completed her N-400 interview in about 20-30 minutes and passed. We are now waiting for an oath ceremony to be scheduled. Because we are changing her last name, the oath ceremony could not take place the same day as I understand it. Anyway, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and wish everyone here success in there journey. It took almost 5 years to get to this point. It will be nice to not have to worry about keeping evidence and other documents anymore. 

Strange situation with my wife's I-751 case. Her case was initially assigned to YSC. We received a I-797 notification that her fingerprints would be reused a few weeks later. We then moved to another state about a year later and received a I-797 notification that her case had been reassigned to another service center to speed up processing time. About a month after that, we received another I-797 notification stating that her fingerprints would be reused. I'm guessing that this is standard practice when a case is transferred to another service center? I hope that they are not treating her case as if we just filed again. Her 24 month extension letter will expire next Summer, so we are concerned about that, especially if they are treating her I-751 as if it is a new case. Has anyone else had a similar experience with receiving two I-797 notifications about fingerprints being reused?                                                                           

5 minutes ago, MiamiMark said:

Congrats you're very lucky!  YSC is the WORST!!!  

That was my thought as well. YSC must be severely understaffed I guess. Fingers crossed that we are fast tracked for approval or that we get a combo interview for the N400 we filed for my wife. Wait and see is our only option at this point.

I just received a notification from YSC that my wife's case has been transferred to another USCIS office. I am guessing that this is because we moved to another state last December. Maybe this will be a good thing, as YSC is so painfully slow when it comes to processing I-751 cases. On the other hand, I hope that transferring our case does not cause things to slow down even more. I wonder if our case will be placed at the bottom of the stack, or if some consideration will be given to the fact that we filed over 1.5 years ago. 

Has anyone who submitted their I-751 in March 2021 heard of an approval from YSC yet? It's been 16 months and I cannot find any indication that YSC has approved anyone from March 2021. We did end up submitting the N-400 a few months ago, so I assume that this will be processed before the I-751 at this rate.   

Anyone having any updates from YSC? Does not look like any movement on YSC based on the tracking sheet on page #25 of this thread, but I am not too sure it is being updated either. We did move to another state in December 2021, but it does not look like our service center has been changed so far. Getting ready to submit N-400 online and hope that it will get processed in a more timely manner than our I-751 has been. Good luck everyone!

3 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

not necessarily

cases are moved for reasons like high case loads

 

u need to notify by changing address so your interview is scheduled at the closest district office 

Thanks, we submitted a change of address 2 days after our relocation. 

Just curious if moving to another state will cause the service center assignment to change as well? If so, would USCIS notify us that the service center assignment had changed? My wife's case was assigned to YSC, which appears to be one of the slowest when it comes to processing cases. We do intend to file her N-400 petition online next month (have to be in current state 3 months in order to file), but it would be nice to see some movement on her I-751 petition soon. 

We were about to file my wife's N400 application online, but it appears that we must reside in our current residence 90 days before she may apply. Not a huge problem, but we just relocated back in December 2021 due to my job and must wait a month to file the N400. Has anyone else run into this?

I'm curious why some are being approved for ROC so quickly. The case processing times for some seem to be 3-4 months. On the USCIS site, for example, average processing time for ROC at YSC is listed as being 20-22 months. I hope the fast processing times will continue and am wondering why some cases seem to be flying through the system? Any ideas as to why this is happening?

My wifes biometrics were waived on a CR-1 at YSC on June 9th. As others have stated, looks like a lot of folks are seeing the same from YSC. This was good news, as we did not care to drive 2.5 hours for biometrics if we didn't have too. 

I-751 package was received on 3/17, NOA1 was dated 4/8, still no biometric appointment or waiver. YSC service center with CR-1 status. Strange that they would potentially require another set of biometrics when the last set is only less than three years old. I'm hearing that CR-1 biometrics are seldom waived, but don't understand the rationale behind that practice. 

On 3/29/2019 at 4:31 PM, RHINO26 said:

How long did the renewal process take?  From sending the documents to receiving the new EAD.

We just started the renewal process, so it will likely be 4-6 months until we receive her new EAD/AP Combo Card. It took 5 months to receive her original card, but I am hearing that it takes a little longer these days. Hope this helps!

5 hours ago, Hil0107 said:

Llyindellic, 

 

Did they just send back money order or the whole package was rejected? 

 

I sent in the fee for renewal and it’s not necessary because I’m covered under I-485. I’m uneasy, my card expires within next month and I need to show proof of receipt to my employer. 

I sent it in Wednesday and waiting till tomorrow to call to get update. Can you please let me me know if they rejected her application because overpayment? 

 

Thank you so much for your time in advance. 

Hi, my wife's case was not rejected, USCIS sent her a NOA and returned the original money order. Hope this helps!

This is just some info for those with EAD/AP Combo cards that may expire before their AoS interview. If are looking to file a I-765 & I-131 package to renew your EAD/AP status, and receive a new Combo Card, it is not necessary to pay a new biometric fee of $85. I enclosed a money order for $85 with my wife's EAD/AP renewal package and USCIS returned the money order, stating that the fee was not needed. I subsequently received an I-797C that stated USCIS would reuse my wife's existing biometric data. When you read through the I-765 & I-131 instructions, it clearly states that new filing fees are not needed with a pending I-485 AoS, but it is not really clear about the need to pay for new biometrics. I opted to enclose the $85 on the off chance that the I-765 and I-131 package may get rejected without it, thereby slowing the process down. Anyway, I hope this helps someone in my same situation.  

But her AP/EAD combo card will expire in August 2019. How can calling Infopass result in getting a new combo card? The EAD I-765 form states that it must be filed to renew the EAD, so I am not sure you understand my question.

I have been searching on this site and the internet, but have found conflicting answers. We are in the process of filing another I-131 and I-765 package to renew her AP/EAD combo card, which will expire in August 2019. We have been waiting for our AOS interview to be scheduled since May 2018, but the Houston Field Office has a severe backlog and we do not want her current AP/EAD combo card to expire. I only have two questions, please help if you have gone through this process before!

1. Should I enclose $85 for new biometrics? (we know that the main filing fee is covered under my wife's pending AOS case, but the instructions for I-131 and I-765 make no mention of the whether or not to pay for new biometrics)

2. Should we still enclose the passport photos (2 for I-131 and 2 for I-765), or is this not necessary?

Thanks so much for your assistance!  

I noticed that the direct mailing address for an I-765 renewal with category (c)(9), AOS pending, is listed as being Chicago. The issue is that I mailed my original AOS package to the MSC and not Chicago as outlined in the instructions below. There is not an alternate address given and the instructions are very confusing. Do I mail the I-765 to Chicago anyway even though the package was originally sent to MSC?

34 minutes ago, Lyondellic said:

Section #2, questions 24 & 25, on the new I-765 form asks for current status of my wife. She last entered the USA using her AP/EAD combo card. The instructions that accompany the I-765 form are not very clear on what status to use for this scenario. We are currently awaiting our interview due to an I-485 AoS. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance for your replies!

ok, It looks like question #24 will be "WT VISITOR" due to the ESTA agreement with Sweden. Question #25 appears to be "PAROLEE" since my wife used her AP/EAD combo card to reenter the USA. Any thoughts on this?

Section #2, questions 24 & 25, on the new I-765 form asks for current status of my wife. She last entered the USA using her AP/EAD combo card. The instructions that accompany the I-765 form are not very clear on what status to use for this scenario. We are currently awaiting our interview due to an I-485 AoS. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

We have been ready to schedule an interview since May 2018. Due to the Houston field office backlog for AoS interviews, I believe that we may need to renew my wife's combo card before it expires in August 2019. Do we simply submit the same I-731 and I-864 forms, and pay the same fee again? 

Thanks in advance for your replies!

My wife and I just returned from international travel using her AP/EAD combo card and I thought it may help others if we share our experience. We traveled from Colombia to Miami and, as expected, my wife was pulled aside for secondary inspection. I was allowed to accompany her to the waiting room. The agents already had my wife's passport but returned her AP/EAD combo card. She was told to present the AP/EAD combo card to the agent in the secondary inspection waiting area when called.  We waited for about 10 minutes before my wife's name was called. The agent asked to see her combo card and then returned her passport. We were then told that we were free to go. After leaving the secondary inspection area, we saw that the agent had stapled an AP document to my wife's passport, and that there was an AP stamp on one page of her passport as well. The whole experience was stressful, but uneventful. 

Question: why did they staple an AP document to my wife's passport and also place an AP stamp on one page? Will these stamps make future travel even easier?

Thanks!

31 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Until a recent policy change this year, many people submitted AOS without the I-693 just fine. AOS was taking over a year in many cases, and submitting the I-693 at the same time meant it would expire, so people filed without it and just provided it at the interview.

 

With a recent policy change, the I-693 is valid for 2 years so long as it is provided with the AOS application within 60 days.

Send the medical exam with I-485 to minimize the chance of having it denied.

Just curious where to see that I-693 is now valid for 2 years if submitted with AoS package? I can only find reference to 1 year on USCIS site. Thanks!