Skeeter211

Thanks for the information, Skeeter - and congratulations!

Congrats, Skeeter! I'm sure you're glad that it is done and over with.

Thank you both! It's actually official now that Mir is approved for her ROC. We got the approval notice in the mail today from the local office. What I found odd is that my daughter's AOS had been held up for the decision on my wife's ROC. Even before we got the approval letter for Mir's ROC, we received a USCIS email that stated our daughter's card production was ordered on Oct. 23rd and now today we got a second email that stated card production for our daughter was on Oct. 28th. We have yet to get an email saying that Mir's new 10 year card production has been ordered. Her last touch in the USCIS status website was on 9/17/09, the day after her biometrics. As usual, nothing wiith USCIS makes any sense.

Once again, just happy its over for a while. Thank again for the congrats!

Scott

PS....Not to be a stickler, but can someone change our approval date to 10/20/09. Whoever posted it earlier, was off by a day. :-) Thanks!

Just wanted to update that we received an email from USCIS today that my daughter's AOS from her K-2 visa has been approved and card production has been ordered. Since my wife is already getting her 10 year card and we're married over 2 years now, my daughter will also get her 10 year card. Woohooo!!!! That saved us a few hundred dollars on filing an I-751 for her.

Anyways....good luck to those that may still be waiting for approval!

Scott

Well it's finally done. We had our interview today at the local office. The interviewer was a nice Filipino man. He started by swearing us in and taking our identifications. He then went over the application and asked questions about our true name, address and phone number.

He began asking about name, address and phone number. We told them we had just moved and later provided a copy of the new joint lease agreement. He then asked her questions from the forms about whether she had resided with me at our old address the entire time since we were married (yes), had we ever separated (no), had she paid someone or been paid to arrange this immigration other than attorney fees or document preparation fees (no), and criminal history (none). She answered all correctly. He then asked me questions about my name, address and phone numbers.

I provided him wirh some additional documents that I did not have together at the time of our application. He reviewed them. He told us that once he reviewed the electronic file, he would prepare the documents for "final approval". If our case received final approval, he said my wfe would get an approval letter in the mail.

He asked about our daughter's status and we told him she was pending AOS. We also told him what the other immgration officer stated about her also getting her 10 year card nowif my wife's I-751 was approved. Initially, he stated that he wasn't sure about that, but then said because we were married over two years now, he agreed she should get her 10 year card too at AOS. Yippee!!! However, then he said that he didn't have her file so he couldn't do anything about it and we would need to send in a copy of the approval notice of my wife when she got it as a reminder to the other officer to approve the 10 year card. He then said he would try and locate the other immigration officer himself and let her know what was going on.

Anyways....while he never firmly committed to the words, "You're approved.", during the interview, I felt there was enough in what he said to read between the lines and say we're gonna be approved. I hope he doesn't drag his feet on the paperwork and we will get the new 10 year card soon.

So I still don't know really why we had an interview. I can only think that maybe we were light on documents when we sent in the application.....either that or its was just a random draw. The immigration officer today never gave me any hint in anything he said that there was really any problem we needed to overcome. Seemed pretty routine in my view.

Ok...good luck to those still waiting. I guess I will wait till I get the approval email before we officially change our status on the boards, but its looking good at this point. Thanks for all the support. I'm certainly glad its over and done. At least until she applies for citizenship.

Scott

Interviews used to be the norm so it's not a huge deal if someone is interviewed.

ETA the local offices schedule the interviews so the appointment letter SHOULD come from the local office. The service center has no dog in that hunt - all they do is transfer the file there.

Hmmm...well I must say it's worrying me a bit. I thought it was like AOS where most everyone had an interview. I'm also starting to worry a bit because my k-2 daughter had her AOS interview and they said they would wait on her green card approval until after my wife's approval. The CO said it was so they could give them both a 10 year card if my wife was approved and my daughter would not need to file to remove conditions. Now I'm starting to wonder if maybe they didn't want to give my daughter a card because there were questions about whether they would approve my wife's I-751.

I can't see why there would be a problem. We have been married, living in the same household, sharing the same bed, and doing the like married couples do since she got here. I can only guess at the reasons they want to interview us. I think we will bring our daughter so they can interview her too about us beng a happy family. If they can't believe a 9 year old, who can they believe?

Okay....will post more later!

Scott

Just checked the mail box today and my wife's interview appointment letter was there. Must have arrived in yesterday's mail. Our interview date is October 20, 2009. Phew! Nervous already!!! I just pray for approval so we can be done for at least awhile....until the wife decides if she wants citizenship. Then we get to start the game all over again. I so love dealing with the USCIS...NOT!

Scott

PS....Anyone else get an appointment letter from their local office and not the CSC? I thought it was strange and hope that doesn't signal problems. Just wondered if that is common practice. Thanks!

The women of Mindanao are Hubba Hubba

Amen, Brutha Jazz.

Still waiting here too. My wife had her biometrics 9/16 and nothing since. Hope we will hear something soon.

Congrats to all the approvals!!! Good luck to all those still waiting!!!

Scott

Okay, so I am a candidate for biggest meathead in all the world. I was sitting there wondering why I had not heard anything about our I-751. After days of racking my brain, I started to recall that maybe I had added my postal box in the mailing address instead of using my home address like I had in the past. I looked at the I-751 last night and sure enough, that's what I had done. Since I don't check my PO box every day, I hadn't seen it yet.

I went to the Post Office today and found the NOA1 dated 08/24/09. Not sure when it was truly recevied. I also found my wife's Biometrics appointment letter in there too....with the appointment being set for 2:00pm this afternoon....and it was 12:15pm at the time.

I feel like such a dumb a$$ but nothing I can do now. At least we got it. Thank God I checked the box today and the Biometrics appointment had not already passed us by.

Best of luck to all. Please update us on the list.

NOA1 = 8/24/09

Biometrics: 9/16/09

Scott

We had our daughter's K-2 AOS appointment today. It went fairly smoothly. We got there at the scheduled time of 9:45 and seemed to be out of there in maybe 15 minutes. The immigration officer went over all of the pertinent data verification. She then told us she would not approve my daughter's AOS as of now , but it was for good reason. My wife just filed her I-751 to remove conditions and it's still pending. The lady told us she would just hold the AOS for my daughter until the I-751 for my wife was complete. Then, assuming my wife was given a 10 year green card, USCIS would give my daughter a 10 year card also. This would save us having to remove conditions for my daughter in two years, to include the application process and the fee. I thought that was pretty cool seeing how I just paid $545.00 for my wife's removal of conditions application. For once I think I actually like the USCIS.....okay, I'm over that feeling now.

So we will just wait for the 10 year card in the mail I guess. My wife just did her biometrics today for her removal of conditions, so it shouldn't be long.

Take care everyone!

Scott

For the record....I don't know the laws of Columbia, but in the USA (California) receiving a citation means you have been arrested, whether physicallly restrained or not. The citation is your promise to appear in court, if required, to answer to the charges against you. Some crimes do allow payment of a fine without actual court appearance, but nonetheless, the person was still "arrested" and then released with a citation and a date to appear in court (or pay the fine).

I think it was a mistake on your part to not disclose a theft charge. Whether it was intentional or a misinterpretation of the instructions is not for us to decide. The one adjudicating your case at the Embassy is the only person that matters on that question. I am not so sure a new DS0230 is a great idea, but a complete and honest explanation is the only thing that can be done now. Remember that most consular officers have heard it all before, so honesty is the best policy. Whatever the consequences are or are not, will be decided by them and we can only speculate. Good luck!

You might also consider the advice of an attorney, preferrably not the one that told you to omit the facts in the first place.

Scott

Okay...so I am starting to wonder. My wife's I-751 was mailed on 8-14-09 and through the post office, it wasn't received until 8-24-09. I saw that the check was cashed that same day. Since that time, I have not heard anything from the USCIS. I never received an NOA1 and I tried to look-up the case in the USCIS website, based on what I could decipher from the face of the check and it said "case not found". Any suggestions??? Starting to worry a bit.

Scott

You sound like me! I was freaking out and TracyTN helped me realize nothing was wrong. My check was cashed on the 24th too, and I didn't receive my NOA1 till today... It was sent September 4th... It may just be behind like mine was. Don't worry - it will show up. The number on the check is not the same as the case number. The real case number is on the Bio letter.

Thanks, Tonyeck....your response makes me feel a little better. We'll keep holding our breath and waiting. (like there is anything else we can do. Hopefully, the wait will be over soon. I checked the mail today and nothing, so here's to hoping tomorrow will be the lucky day.

Thanks again for the reply.

Scott

Okay...so I am starting to wonder. My wife's I-751 was mailed on 8-14-09 and through the post office, it wasn't received until 8-24-09. I saw that the check was cashed that same day. Since that time, I have not heard anything from the USCIS. I never received an NOA1 and I tried to look-up the case in the USCIS website, based on what I could decipher from the face of the check and it said "case not found". Any suggestions??? Starting to worry a bit.

Scott

I'm starting to worry a bit too. We sent our forms in and they were received on 8/24/09 (by the return receipt from USPS) and the check was cashed the same day. I haven't gotten an NOA1 yet. I looked at my check and tried to enter the case number I saw in the USCIS site for a status and it's not coming up. I don't know what's up. I was worried my evidences of bonafide marriage were a little light and I might get an RFE, but we'll see. Hope it arrives soon cause I am wearing out the mailbox checking it every day.

Scott

I have had several poor customer service experiences with PAL and refuse to use that airline again unless I just can't avoid it. I have made several trips to the PI and have only used them for one. They made a mistake in ticketing one time and then told me I had to wait a month to get a refund even though it was there mistake. I can't stand poor customer service. I don't care if I have to make multiple stops to avoid PAL, I will do it.

Scott

We are doing good here also. Almost two and a half years now since Mirasol arrived to California. She was been working in retail and just started taking her CNA certification course. She got her driver's license and has only had a few minor problems. The latest was a flat tire last night when she hit a curb.

Mirasol's daughter arrived in the USA last July and has been studying hard. She is learning a lot of English and speaks it well for the time she has been learning it. Now if only we could get her to apply it in school. She is a good kid though. She just likes to speak her new language a lot...especially when the teacher is talking.

Other than that, we are getting ready to move to a new place this month. Hoping all goes smoothly.

We have filed to remove conditions for Mirasol and AOS for her daughter. We have an interview for the AOS on the 16th pf this month and still waiting to hear on the removal of conditions.

Take Care Everyone!

Scott

Good point Scott. Some Filipinos think that because it is a regional forum, they can post topic in our own language.. It does not mean to offend anyone, but basically sometimes it is just a non sense topic, and some filipino does not want anybody from other country to participate on the particular topic or they maybe shy on their grammar, whatsoever. I can totally understand your point, as sometimes there are some member of VJ posted topic in Spanish in Philippine forum, it does not make any sense at all.. But all you have to do is just ignore that topic.

¿Y qué? No hay ninguna razón aquí que no podemos usar la lengua de Ibarra y Maria Clara. Por lo tanto, favor de callar.

¡Arriba, Linda! Y a la payasa se llama Completely – vete al infierno.

see this is what I am talking about!... I am not going down to your level people.. I am sorry but you guys does(sic) not make any sense.. what a coward of you both, to put your comments in spanish..

You should post responses in different region not here in Philippine forum..

I don't think you'll ever go up to our level! You can't even write properly in English.

Okay.....so that was totally uncalled for and was exactly what I hoped did not happen to this thread. We can have a civil discussion of our differences of opinion and not resort to negative, demeaning, and/or insulting comments.

I think the point I was trying to get across in this thread has been stated and both sides of the issue have adequately given their point of view. As the person that started this topic, I would ask that a moderator close it off to further posting. I think it will only serve a negative purpose at this point. Thanks to all those that responded with respectful and meaningful posts. It really helped me to understand both sides of the issue.

Have you tried speaking to the employer providing the insurance or the insurance company themselves. I had the same question when my wife's daughter came here. I went to my employer and was told that no SSN was required to start the health insurance. I just provided name and birthdate and they signed her up.

Scott

I just learned something today that I thought I would pass on. When using the USPS, don't assume because you live in California and are also mailing something (I-751) within Californa that standard mail will be as fast as priority mail. I mailed our packet First Class mail USPS figuring with such a short distance to go it wouldn't take long. WRONG! I just got my return receipt. I mailed it on the 14th of August and it wasn't received by CSC until August 24th. I could have walked it there faster than that! And they wonder why the postal service is going down the tubes. It ain't just because of email! That was reeeeee-diculous!

Scott

In the instructions it says that you should send it as certified mail. Thats what I did

I sent it certified mail too as instructed and with a return receipt. The problem was that I assumed with such a short distance to travel that first class mail wouldn't be any faster than priority mail (which is guaranteed in 2-3 days), yet first class is usually a little cheaper. There is nothing to my knowledge in the instructions about that issue and both types can be sent certified.

I just learned something today that I thought I would pass on. When using the USPS, don't assume because you live in California and are also mailing something (I-751) within Californa that standard mail will be as fast as priority mail. I mailed our packet First Class mail USPS figuring with such a short distance to go it wouldn't take long. WRONG! I just got my return receipt. I mailed it on the 14th of August and it wasn't received by CSC until August 24th. I could have walked it there faster than that! And they wonder why the postal service is going down the tubes. It ain't just because of email! That was reeeeee-diculous!

Scott

Please add us to the August list. We mailed our I-751 on 8/14/09. Our check was cashed already, but we have not yet received NOA1. I would expect it to arrive any day I suppose. Thanks.

Scott

To answer the questions above.....

Tahoma....I do ask my wife to translate sometimes, but she doesn't really like to do it. She is also busy with school so I hate to bother her just to read the internet for me. I know that is my problem and not yours. I am just saying that it's not always as easy as having someone else translate it for you or learning Tagalog myself. On the other hand, I would bet that most people that post in Tagalog here already know a bit of English and just prefer to use their native language. I don't believe either position is incorrect. I was just asking for a little help for those of us that don't, from those of you that do.

Chris@Beth....no, I am not referring to anyone, but just the situation itself. I guess it was prompted when I was reading the post from Xylide in the thread about the ticket scam and wanted to understand her response to the "alleged offense". No such luck and I still don't know how she explained it. Can you translate that for me? hehehe (Joke!) As I said though, this is not an issue referring to Xylide, but the situation of English vs. Tagalog itself. I understand your point of this being a regional forum for Filipinos to gather and talk and I am glad it's here for that. I think its important that Filipinos stay in touch with each other. Just understand that husbands (or wives in some cases) of Filipinos are interested in your lives, your culture, your jokes, your fears, your questions and your needs too but we get excluded by the language barrier sometimes. I don't expect my request to have a big impact on what people post here. I understand there are those that will say, "Why should I?", and I respect that opinion. I was merely asking for some consideration to those of us that follow these forums that are only English speaking. As you asked, I have not seen Tagalog posts in other forums, but another poster said its not allowed outside the regional forums.

Completely....thanks for the understanding. As you pointed out....I hope people can try and understand how it would feel to them if two people came in here and started speaking Spanish all the time. Wouldn't someone ask that they speak either Tagolog or English so that people knew what was being said? I actually think some might be offended and ask them not to post in those languages. True, this is a Filipino forum, but nothing would prevent someone from posting here in Spanish, French, Russian, or whatever language. You could just ignore the threads they were posting in, but what if they posted all over this regional forum. Or what if your spouse was from Japan and you wanted to visit a Japanese regional forums, but every third post was in Japanese. I guess what am trying to say is that since English is a common language that most of us can speak and understand to some degree, why not use it when possible? I know I will not change many minds here, but at least I feel better having said it.

bmtrrt.... I totally understand what you are saying. I did try and learn some Tagalog from my wife and online, but I am hopeless. It's hard teaching an old dog new tricks. hehehe But I say that with the understanding that I am asking people to speak a language they may also not be totally comfortable with. Having said that, I would guess a majority of people here visiting this website from the Philippines are immigrating to America, which is an English speaking country, so getting comfortable with English can only be helpful to them. I have also never read any post here that has made fun of or criticized anyone for their English skills and if it happened, that person wouldn't be around long. I'm sure if it.

To all replies.....I respect all of your feelings on the subject and I don't expect you to change your ways if its not something you feel comfortable with. I was just asking for some consideration to those of us that don't understand, Tagalog, or Bisaya, or Ilocano, or whatever Filipino dialect that is used. If you can help out this American a little, then great. If not, then so be it. I understand that I will probably just have to live with understanding only half of what I read here.

Thanks for taking the time to reply and letting me vent.

Scott

Just so I understand the meaning of 'touched'

When I log in to view my cases, I see the date showing of July 20th they rec'd my EAD/AP apps... so if that date changes to a more current date, but with the same status, it means i've been touched?

My I-485 doesn't show any date on their website, it just says, 'your app is pending'

Yes, that is what is meant by a "touch". The "Last Updated" date changes, but nothing new happens to the case that is visible to the user.

Scott

I got great news yesterday when I got home. I my "REQUEST FOR APPLICANT TO APPEAR FOR INITIAL INTERVIEW" letter was sitting in my mailbox (my status online still hasn't been touched since a day after they got my application). I guess they took my biometrics from my employment based I485 that was sitting in their Queue for the past 3 years (I thought they were only good for a year or something close to that). Anyways, great news for me! Here is hoping that others that haven't received biometrics appointments yet, get them very soon.

We got good news too! My husband's Biometrics appointment arrived today in the mail! It's on Sep 15th!

congrats to star dragon and Jason F...

it seems that me and cheryred 04 was left behind..still no "touch"and no biometrics....

I know it's hard, but try not to worry. Look on the bright side....when you called to check the status of your biometrics appointment, they did not say, "umaGURL who?" So you are in the system, its just some glitch that is holding things up for you and a few others it seems. It will come soon. I would bet that by the end of next week you will have the appointment letter, if not in a few days. I have heard other people that have had the same problem and once they called, they got their appointment letters soon after. It definitely was not another 45 day wait. I know that waiting and wondering is the hardest part of the process.

Good luck to you and wishing you a speedy appointment letter.

Scott

Thank you for all of the replies and understanding. As I said before, I really think it is a matter of comfort level and not an intention on anyone's part to exclude people from the conversation. I know my wife speaks very good English for someone that learned it as a third language. Even so, she is also shy to speak in English when she is with people she doesn't know, so I understand the feelings. However, I personally would never make fun of someone on these boards for their English, no matter how imperfect it might be. I have never seen anyone here do anything like that as well, but I admit I don't read every posting. I would encourage those that feel self-conscious about their English skill to use it more and read it here for as they say, practice makes perfect.

Thank you again for all of your understanding responses.

Scott

Thanks everyone for the quick responses,

yes Skeeter, we did add them to the original K-1 but were waiting to bring them until their mom

could get work and get established, my wife just arrived last february so we still have time, but

we will start filling out the K-2.

thanks again

Gary & Rose

Cool! We did the same exact thing. When we were ready, I just called the embassy in Manila and requested an appointment for the K-2 interview and medical. We filled out the DS-156 online and then downloaded the other forms from the website to complete and bring to the interview. I think we gave ourselves three months time before the end of that year to follow and had no problem with scheduling. Also, don't forget about paying the visa fee ahead of time.

Good luck!

Scott