purple-rose

20 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

Absolutely. If I were you, I would try and go to the nearest ASC. Just check and make sure you bring all of your identifying info, and the biometrics letter (so basically bring what the letter is asking you).

I wouldn't pay much attention to the reviews. While some people can be very rude, we don't know the full context... Just be nice, try your luck and if the employer says they can't do it for you, politely request to talk to a supervisor. People change their ASC for biometrics all the time. Good luck and please report back!

Hi! Sooo.. Strangest thing happened yesterday. I was on the phone with USCIS and they told me they cannot pull up the Change of Address that was done by our lawyer using the AR-11 confirmation number I provided over the phone. They said they need “the other one that starts with a CA.” The lady, bless her heart, was very helpful, but she mentioned that we should have the “CA” version and not the one that starts with “COA.” Then she proceeded to tell me I need to file my address change AGAIN, and that I need to fill out AR-11 and include the WAC number when choosing form type I-751. I couldn’t complete it yesterday because I also wanted to relay the info to our lawyer. They assisted me with rescheduling but they said it’s not final and I have to wait for a Tier 2 agent to call me within 30 days to finalize the rescheduled appointment.

I still went to the nearest ASC today, and two personnel were by the door. One was visibly hesitant, but the other one kept saying “it’s fine, it’s fine.” To be honest, I was ready to be turned down — but after I was let through, it went sooo smoothly. One of my fingerprints couldn’t get captured properly though - they’ve tried so many times and it kept returning an Orange color (no error message/no exclamation point). They said it should be fine — has anyone dealt with that?

The personnel who let me through also said if I still the letter for rescheduling, to just ignore it but I can stop by to ensure all is well(??).

Now I’m not sure what I need to do when that Tier 2 agent calls lol. 😅 Do I just tell them I’ve completed my biometrics already?

More importantly, do I need to ask the lawyer to file my change of address again? It all sounds so confusing.. But I’m relieved the ASC near our place was so amazing and friendly.

On 7/23/2022 at 5:24 PM, Sarge2155 said:

I concur try to do a walk in at your new location. Make sure you explain fully your situation. I'm sure you should be able to do your biometrics at your new location. If the first ASC employee does not do you justice seek out the center manager and explain. Remaining polite is the key!

Thank you! I will try. I just looked up the nearest appointment center and it has some mixed reviews with some people saying some people can be very rude. Will hope for the best and will try other appointment centers too if the one near us is terrible. 😅😭

On 7/23/2022 at 5:07 PM, Rocio0010 said:

Go to your nearest ASC with the notice, your green card and whatever ID they ask for you in the letter. You should be able to have your biometrics done earlier. Go first thing in the morning

Thank you very much for this! I will try this week. Weather did not permit due to thunderstorms so will try tomorrow. I hope they allow me otherwise I am afraid I will have to fly out to the other side of the country just for biometrics 😭

Hi! I’m worried and I feel my blood pressure rising. My husband & I moved to the other side of the country. We have asked our lawyer to report our change of address, but now my biometrics appointment is scheduled and it’s still for my old address.  Not only that, it’s in a little over a week. Flights are incredibly unpredictable now with so many cancellations, not to mention, not very cheap.

Has anyone dealt with something like this? Our lawyer said the address definitely got changed but it looks like they (USCIS) didn’t update our address thoroughly in their system. This is stressing me out. 

1 minute ago, Rocio0010 said:

Just curious as to why you didn't send these! 

You can provide health insurance, car insurance, leases, joint utilities, Federal/ State taxes, DL with the same address.. Plenty of documents you can send!

Oh! We did! Sorry for any confusion. We sent everything we can - our packet had so much in it that we don’t really know what else we can provide other than the affidavits it was over 350 pages of paperwork 😖 So when our lawyer said prepare for the worst, not entirely sure what else we can provide besides a measly 4-5 affidavits of people saying they know us and can confirm we are married.

We did not include the affidavits because our lawyer was telling us we can just provide it in case of RFE and that time is of the essence since my GC expired already.

16 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

I know it's easier said than done, but use that anxiety as your fuel to start building material for that possible RFE. You mention your landlord. Do you have a joint lease? Or maybe he can write a letter stating that you live together in his property?

What about bills, insurances, credit card statements, etc?

Hello! Thank you for the response. I forgot to mention I had actually misplaced my GC as well, so all that time I wasn’t seeing it (thinking it was in one of my wallets, and then when we were scrambling for the filing, I had found it). Goodness. Honestly, it was so absurd just looking back.

Yes, we have a joint lease, phone bill, credit cards and bank statements all under both our names. We are each other’s life insurance beneficiaries as well (100% and no other person listed as beneficiary). Not sure what other information we can provide in case of RFE since we provided all we can including tax filings! 😭 We used to have joint insurance but we now get our own insurance coverage through our employers.

Next thing we are preparing for are affidavits to help our case in the event RFE happens and it would at the very least be from my mother-in-law, brother-in-law.. and hopefully one of the landlords. Hope no one goes through the same thing that happened to us! My husband believed me when I said “Oh we’re just waiting for the paperwork to come in for our interview or follow-up” — so we pretty much shot ourselves in the foot. 😖 Thankfully, the I-751 was accepted… I suppose we really need to prepare for the worst. 😭

Not exactly a standard ROC filing as the pandemic really hit us hard that it really messed with our timeline and knowledge. My card expired in November of 2020. Somehow, between then and now, I had thought we were just waiting for a notice for an interview of sorts - never received one so this pushed us to thinking the same thing.

Come end of January 2022, we email the lawyer who helped us with AOS process, saying how long it’s been since we heard from USCIS. Can of worms, I tell you. That’s when we realized we never submitted I-751. I suppose the lawyer just assumed we processed it ourselves without hiring him. All good. Looking back, we realized that it was CLEAR to us we had to send paperwork. Somehow, pandemic hit and our brains just forgot them.

Sent our packet with the help of our lawyer on February 1st, not too long after that, check was cashed! Yesterday, our lawyer received notice that they accepted the paperwork and the 24-month extension yadda yadda. USPS notice shows we will receive  our copy today.

Our lawyer told us to best prepare for RFE considering our situation. We don’t really have much else to show other than additional bank statements. It seems affidavits would help but during the pandemic, we actually did not have much interaction with everyone besides our landlords (who are our neighbors). My anxiety is through the roof!

Hey guys! Great news! My GC came in the mail today! They corrected my sex and now reflects "F" instead of "M". Surname is not hyphenated

Not so great news: they put the wrong "resident since" and expiration dates... Resident date since 11/19/2017 when it should have been 11/19/2018. My expiration date is for next year. Oh man. USCIS is driving me nuts! 

Has anyone else received their GC with incorrect information??  

8 minutes ago, Naes said:

So the problem can occur but also can be avoided.

 

usually passport and gc doesn’t match.

uscis I think is used to hyphenated surnames because there are a lot of people like that. But it may not cause a problem at all.

 

wait till you get the green card and your new passport if you’ll change. Then if it looks weird to you, you can make an infopass to ask.

Thank you @Naes!

I was not particularly concerned with my passport because I know someone who hasn't renewed her passport with her new name and she has traveled a few times just fine (but then again her marriage certificate & GC match). I was just wondering if I would get flagged for my Marriage Cert showing "Andrea Jane Doe-Smith" *IF* my Green Card shows "Andrea Jane Doe Smith" (without the hyphen). I just hope they actually got my hyphenated surname right on the green card

IF it turns out my GC gets printed without a hyphen (like my EAD), I'll be so sad because on my application it's hyphenated.
It's just strange because my Driver's License, Marriage Certificate, Medical Exam, and other documents sent over to them show my hyphenated surname. But all my NOAs and my EAD (which is expired already) was printed without the hyphen. :/ 
 

7 minutes ago, Naes said:

What does your passport say? 

Hi @Naes! Thanks for responding! My passport still has my maiden name as I refused to change it until I have the green card. I'm just a little confused with USCIS' take on hyphenated surnames. I've seen other people here in VJ say that their GCs also don't reflect the hyphenation, but some said theirs do. So now, I'm confused and super bothered by it...

Hi guys! Re-opening this topic since I have the same concern.

Had my AOS interview yesterday and it turned out great! GC has been approved and just waiting for it in the mail. I'll put some info in bullets so it's easier.

• August 2017 - got married and marriage certificate has my full name as "Andrea Jane Doe-Smith"
• August 16, 2017 - submitted paperwork for AOS with "Andrea Jane Doe-Smith" on the application 
• July & September 207 - received NOAs but they reflected "Andrea Jane Doe Smith" 
• Spoke to our lawyer and was informed USCIS generally overlooks hyphens; was told it wasn't a big issue but to bring it up when we have our interview
• November 2017 - received EAD with *incorrect sex* + "Andrea Jane Doe Smith" (no hyphen, still!)
• December 2017 - acquired SSN with "Andrea Jane Doe-Smith". The lady at SSA asked whether they should follow what's on my EAD or my Marriage Certificate; decided to follow what's on my Marriage Cert.
• August 2018 - Got CA driver's license with hyphenated surname (Doe-Smith); at this point, I also have credit cards and bank accounts with hyphenated surname
• November 19, 2018 - finally had the AOS interview! IO was super friendly. Asked me to state my name and I did... But forgot to specify that it has a HYPHEN (because honestly, I had forgotten it was even an issue)... We did bring up that they mistakenly put MALE as my sex on the EAD.

I have yet to receive my Green Card in the mail, but now I'm getting so worried that they might not put the HYPHENATED surname on my green card. If I travel out of the country and my Green Card and Marriage Cert don't match due to a missing hyphen, would that possibly be an issue?
 

What should I do? I talked to our lawyer and he doesn't really think it's an issue... Should I get my GC changed in case they print it out without a hyphen?

Hi everyone! Hope you’re all having a good week so far! Our interview was yesterday and it couldn’t have been more relaxed! I thought the interview would be so scary but the IO was so nice and funny. ☺️ We were in there for a while as the IO kept talking about his experiences as an IO. Our lawyer was also very talkative & they were exchanging stories!

Feels good that it’s over.. BUT now I’m so concerned because I had forgotten to bring up my hyphenated surname. 😩😟 Back in Aug 2017, when my husband & I got married I decided to hyphenate my maiden surname & his surname. I didn’t think it was going to be an issue until all my NOAs came in without hyphenation. I brought it up to my lawyer who said that USCIS generally overlooks or ignores hyphenation in surnames and told us to ask about it during the IO to get a straight answer... and it slipped my mind!

Our IO asked me to state my name and when I did, I didn’t specifically say my surname is hyphenated. If my green card comes out with a surname that’s not hyphenated - example, “Jane Mary Doe Smith” - will that be an issue? My license & marriage certificate (even my SSN) shows “Jane Mary Doe-Smith” 😢 I’m mostly concerned that when I travel out of the country, I’ll get flagged at the airport for my GC not matching my marriage certificate. Any thoughts?

or am I just overthinking it?

Hi, guys! Kinda off topic but... I’m so anxious right now! More than a year ago, we filed for my AOS. My application had a hyphenated last name as that’s how my new surname is on the Marriage Certificate. Since then, USCIS has been sending letters/mail (NOA) to me showing a surname that is NOT hyphenated. More than a year ago, when I first brought it up to our lawyer, we were told it’s not an issue as hyphens are, for some reason, typically overlooked/maybe even ignored by USCIS.

Today, we had my interview and I was approved for the green card (yay!!!). The interview went great. Our IO was amazing... Asked me to state my name to him and just said it (without mentioning that there’s a hyphen because I had forgotten that it was even an issue to me). Our IO didn’t ask me how I want my name on my Green Card so I had completely forgotten to ask about the hyphenation! :( My green card might get printed without the hyphen :( Now I’m worried if Border Patrol at airports would flag me for my green card not matching my Marriage Certificate?

Is it possibly going to be an issue? In case my Green Card doesn’t show a hyphenated surname, what should I do? :( am I just overthinking it? :( my license and social security are all following my marriage certificate (which shows my hyphenated surname)

 

thank you for the help!

Hi, guys! I’m new here so I’m sorry if I’m not posting on the right board... I’m so anxious right now! More than a year ago, we filed for my AOS. My application had a hyphenated last name as that’s how my new surname is on the Marriage Certificate. Since then, USCIS has been sending letters/mail to me showing a surname that is NOT hyphenated. More than a year ago, when I first brought it up to our lawyer, we were told it’s not an issue as hyphens are, for some reason, typically overlooked/maybe even ignored by USCIS.

Today, we had my interview and I was approved for the green card (yay!!!). The interview went great. Our IO was amazing... Asked me to state my name to him and just said it (without mentioning that there’s a hyphen). Our IO didn’t ask me how I want my name on my Green Card so I had completely forgotten to ask about the hyphenation! :( My green card might get printed without the hyphen :( Now I’m worried if Border Patrol at airports would flag me for my green card not matching my Marriage Certificate?

Is it possibly going to be an issue? In case my Green Card doesn’t show a hyphenated surname, what should I do? :( am I just overthinking it? :( my license and social security are all following my marriage certificate (which shows my hyphenated surname)

thank you for the help!

7 hours ago, NilovesJa said:

@Zeal Congratulations!!:)) 

 

I had my interview appointment today and we got approved and status changed to New Card is being produced!! 🎉😍😍 I a so happy!! 

Almost everyone in this group had they’re interview yet but for they who are interested; our officer was super super nice, he was talking with us about my home country, he asked my husband about his name and then myself about my name, then he went trough some documents, he wanted to see our passports and birth certificates, asked how we met each other, asked me if I ever had a parking ticket or a arrest and after that he started talking about how I can go check the status online about the new information that I got approved!!:) Was super easy and he was very kind, the whole appointment toke about 10 minutes and our lawyer said that was the fastest interview he ever seen;) 

 

@purple-rose I toke 3 Albums with me and made copies where I put names and place, I spent so much time doing this and in the end he didn’t even looked at one picture;) 

 

@KathCali Do I understand this right that your Greencard was mailed after 3 days?

OMG CONGRATULATIONS, @NilovesJa!!! I'm so happy for you!  Gosh, I've been stressing out about my album, I'm barely achieving anything... I just printed out a bunch of our photos using an Instax... I still don't have any idea if I should make it like an art project. LOL.

So happy to hear you got a very nice IO! It seems like everyone here is getting very blessed/lucky with their IOs. I hope it would be the same for my husband and I (I'm the non-USC, by the way). My husband keeps telling me not to worry about it... But I overthink too much. My skin is suffering from the stress! 

Did anyone else get an interview scheduled recently? 

Hi guys! I was wondering if you can recommend ideas on what I should do for our photo album?

I've talked to a few online and they said they went all out artsy on the photo album, but some said they just put a bunch of photos together and that was it. I know @KathCali mentioned she had a photo book of a trip they had together, but do you know if the IO cares about the photo album being artsy? Lol we have a bunch of Instax photos and I was thinking of just putting together a photo album with printed out captions/handwritten dates & location... 

Ahhh Anna strikes again in overthinking things  

On 10/18/2018 at 10:03 AM, KathCali said:

@purple-rose

 

From the CA DMV site: Proof of Identity documents include: Valid/unexpired Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Card (I-766) or valid/expired EAD Card with Notice of Action (I-797 C).   

 

Hi @KathCali. Ah! Thank you so much!  I think I really overthink so much... I didn't even realize I could just look this up! LOL

By the way, I have great news! Our notice for interview just arrived and it's happening on November 19. Needless to say, now I'm just a little nervous! I haven't worked on our album together - we have tooons of photos, but I haven't organized them at all. Should I go all out on decorating the album? Lol.

OMG CONGRATULATIONS!!!!  Soooo happy for you! Agh, I wish we get our scheduled interview soon. Honestly, I don't mind waiting at this point, but I'm just worried that not getting a notice for an interview yet is a bad sign. Lol. Our lawyer said it's really just so unorganized now.

On another note, while waiting for the notice for an interview, does anyone know how long it takes for the renewal of the EAD? We received a receipt that they received our request to renew my EAD back in July, but up to now I haven't received my EAD. Was hoping to get the card before my license expires so I can renew it. I wouldn't want to have to take the written exam and behind-the-wheel test again just because my current license expires. :/ 

2 hours ago, KathCali said:

Hi @purple-rose! Welcome We are all Chatsworth filers in LA  Below are our timelines as of right now which as you can see are all over the place. A couple of us reached out to our congressman to assist with getting our interview scheduled after seeing people who'd filed after us had been scheduled before us. As you filed in August, I would for sure reach out to yours  Brad Sherman is the congressman for San Fernando Valley but if you reside in a different area (eg. Santa Barbara) your congressman would be a different person. 

 

 

@Mmagic 

Filed - May 2017

Interview - June 2018 ✔️

 

@izavox

Filed - July 11, 2017

Interview - September 25, 2018✔️

 

@NilovesJa

Filed - August 4, 2017

Interview - Scheduled (waiting on date, right?) 

 

@purple-rose

Filed - August 2017

Interview - Waiting as of October 2018

 

@KathCali

Filed - September 15, 2017

Interview - October 16, 2018

 

@Zeal

Filed - July 27, 2017

RFE Received - September 29, 2017

Interview - October 15, 2018

 

@Mica711

Filed - October 2017

Interview - August 27, 2018✔️

 

@makixxiii

Filed - December 2017

Interview - Waiting as of October 2018

 

@Naes

Filed - 2018 (not sure which month?)

Interview - Waiting as of October 2018

Hi, @KathCali . Gosh, thanks for the help! Really appreciate it. I felt so discouraged and started getting worried when I heard that a former colleague of ours got interviewed already despite only having filed less than a year ago! I really thought something was wrong. Haha. I wonder what's causing this.. Our lawyer keeps saying it's really a mess right now with all the filed paperwork and that USCIS is taking much much much(!!!) longer than usual. I'll go ahead and perhaps contact our lawyer to see if he can contact our Congressperson.  I'm normally a patient person but this is getting me all worked up sometimes! Lol 

Yaaaay! Thank you @KathCali for redirecting me to this forum!

* * * *

Hi, everyone! Very new to VJ but I was wondering if any of you here has filed in LA (specifically at the Chatsworth office)?

Filed August 2017
Received EAD & AP November 2017

And pretty much after that nothing has happened. We have requested for a renewal of my EAD as it's expiring soon and I needed to renew my driver's license... But pretty much nothing.  I was a little sad and upset earlier after hearing that a former colleague of my husband has gone through the whole process, filed on October 2017 and has already been through the interview. Anyone who still hasn't had their interview? We haven't received any RFE or whatever. 

Hi, everyone! Very new to VJ but I was wondering if any of you here has filed in LA (specifically at the Chatsworth office)?

Filed August 2017
Received EAD & AP November 2017

And pretty much after that nothing has happened. We have requested for a renewal of my EAD as it's expiring soon and I needed to renew my driver's license... But pretty much nothing. I was a little sad and upset earlier after hearing that a former colleague of my husband has gone through the whole process, filed on October 2017 and has already been through the interview. Anyone who still hasn't had their interview? We haven't received any RFE or whatever.