craigybear

I received notice to attend biometrics appointment (sent to mother in law’s home - our registered address) for Feb 12th in Elizabeth, NJ. Booked round trip flights from Sydney to Honolulu, arriving Feb 5th. Went straight from airport to USCIS ASC. Told security why I was there and I was let through to the registration desk. No other person in the ASC at 9.30am on a Wednesday. They were kind and helpful and allowed me to do a walk-in appointment after I told them I was unable to make my original appointment. Did fingerprints and photo. Was there for 10 minutes. All done.

Update: received notice to attend biometrics appointment (sent to mother in law’s home - our registered address) for Feb 12th in Elizabeth, NJ. Booked round trip flights from Sydney to Honolulu, arriving Feb 5th. Went straight from airport to USCIS ASC. Told security why I was there and I was let through to the registration desk. No other person in the Honolulu ASC at 9.30am on a Wednesday. They were kind and helpful and allowed me to do a walk-in appointment after I told them I was unable to make my original appointment. Did fingerprints and photo. Was there for 10 minutes. All done.

40 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

That’s along way to go hoping to get a walk-in. 

Truly profound insight.

You're right, though. My intent in posting this question was to seek any tangible feedback from others having done this before. I'm wanting to turn the 'hope' to something more certain. I am aware I might not get the comfort I seek, however.

I am expecting to receive a notification to attend a biometrics appointment in Elizabeth, NJ. This is the ASC associated with our postal code.

Currently I am in Sydney, Australia for a work assignment. I am hoping to fly to Honolulu for a walk-in appointment once I have my notification - this would obviously be preferable to flying an additional 12 hours to NJ.

I am aware of many, many people doing walk-in appointments before their scheduled appointment. However, any experience of doing this at a different ASC?

2 hours ago, geowrian said:

You must be in the US to file the I-131.

 

any specific timeframes associated with this? In my mind, the USCIS person receives the 131 packet then checks my movements in/out of the USA to confirm I was indeed in the US. What happens if they don't get around to processing my packet for a week, by which time I've left the US again to return to work in Sydney? This is my biggest concern/unknown.

13 minutes ago, Donald120383 said:

you will need to be in US until i-131 is approved. 

Then why do USCIS allow your reentry permit to be delivered to a consulate in another country? Many other sources contradict what you’re saying; can you help me with a source?

Hi all,

GC holder through marriage. Currently in Australia for work and I have been asked to stay for a longer period due to project needs. To be safe, I'm planning to file for a re-entry permit.

It states I must be physically present in the USA to file the 131 form. 

Given Hawaii is significantly closer to Sydney than New Jersey (where we have family), I'm planning on travelling to Hawaii so to be physically present in the USA when filing. How long do I need to be in the USA for? I will need to return to Sydney for work commitments. 

Once I have the biometrics notification the plan would be to return to Hawaii to attempt a walk-in.

Any issues or obvious errors in this plan? Thanks in advance.

Hi all,

GC holder through marriage. Currently in Australia for work and I have been asked to stay for a longer period due to project needs. To be safe, I'm planning to file for a re-entry permit.

It states I must be physically present in the USA to file the 131 form. 

Given Hawaii is significantly closer to Sydney than New Jersey (where we have family), I'm planning on travelling to Hawaii so to be physically present in the USA when filing. How long do I need to be in the USA for? I will need to return to Sydney for work commitments. 

Once I have the biometrics notification the plan would be to return to Hawaii to attempt a walk-in.

Any issues or obvious errors in this plan? Thanks in advance.

20 minutes ago, clare240 said:

Congrats! So happy this worked out well for you! I have a quick question: the paperwork you brought with you for the interview, had you also already provided it when you submitted the I-130? I don’t think we’ll have anything in addition to what we submitted, probably just updated versions of the same things, more recent bank statements, lease agreements, photos, etc.

At the time of submission of the I-130 we only provided my wife's latest tax submission including W2, her most recent paystub and then copies of birth and marriage certificates.

So for the interview we took along with us the most recent versions of those documents (2018 tax return, last two months of paystubs) plus all the additional items I listed out.

We brought several versions of each item i.e. our 2017/18 lease as well as the most recent lease, i.e. every 6 month renewal of our car insurance dating back to 2017. We took the approach of trying to impress them with volume of evidence, even if some items were effectively the same thing.

The photos; we printed out 50 of them and annotated on the back the date and scenario of each photo.  Starting from when we met until most recently. We were advised that photos of us with our respective families and/or friends would be better than just photos of the two of us, so we definitely focused on that. 

Successful interview at the Washington DC field office last week!

Our officer was stern but friendly. At the beginning we were asked for ID, birth certs and marriage cert.

We then spent a lot of time going through the respective I-130 and I-485 forms my wife and I - section by section. She was effectively asking us the question again and checking off our responses vs the form content. Be sure to know your I485 and I30 contents very well. These questions prompted numerous follow on questions and clarifications.

We were asked if we wished to provide any additional information relative to the I-130 and I-145 applications and we provided the officer with a printed contents list which we ran through and she requested pretty much all of it; 

Joint 2018 Tax Return 

Join Mortgage Deed 

Joint Bank Statements 

Joint Health Insurance 

Joint Vehicle Lease 

Joint Vehicle Insurance 

Joint Home Insurance 

Joint Rental Agreement 

401k Beneficiary statements

Paychecks 

Collection of photographs

We used the photographs to help with her request that we describe our relationship from beginning until now; she would jump in and asked pointed questions (I guess to catch us out) such as how many attended our wedding dinner, the cost of the engagement ring, full name of the person who introduced us, when our parents met for the first time - she seemed to scribble this all down in no particular order.

At the end of the process we got the spiel about the  next steps - including that it could take up to 120 days for a response. I got the feeling we weren't going to get on the spot approval so I did ask how she felt about our application. She stated she felt good about but had to do some additional checks. She said we were well prepared and liked our binder of evidence. All in all we were with her for about 40 minutes.

That evening we got an update to the I485 and I130s on the USCIS website stating 'interview was completed and case must be reviewed' which certainly caused us some concern and heartache as we went to bed. Happily by the time we woke up the next morning we had a notification that card was in production! Expecting card to be delivered today which is 7 days after the interview.

On 9/7/2019 at 5:33 AM, jakejon said:

I used my AP on Wednesday. Can't believe how nervous I was using it but Seattle was wonderful. So we went to the US line and my husband said to the officer jokingly, "oh I'm bringing you trouble Sir" (I eye rolled and said oh I have AP) - he was thee nicest officer I've ever encountered in immigration and was nice that he was cracking little jokes. He laughed and said my pic has seen better days (so I'm going to beg for a new photo next week) haha  

 

Was wonderful to be on familiar grounds in the UK and the Netherlands. Looking forward to my interview on Thursday. 

 

 

Sounds like a great encounter! Both times I've used my AP,  I've been taken into secondary. Did this happen for you? Or was it all taken care of at the booth in the main area?

I am flying back through Houston again this coming Friday and wondering if there is a way I can avoid secondary! Both previous times I've lined up to use my Global Entry then been sent to secondary.

3 hours ago, gpmr said:

Hi All,

I have been a silent reader for quite some time, but the WAIT is killing me.  My husband and I live in NoVa and we filed for AOS on March 13, 2019 and our case is ready to be scheduled for an interview since May 5, 2019 ....  Does anyone have any news on what month is currently being scheduled for interviews or what month is getting ead cards?  TY!

With regards to EAD - they extended the normal processing time recently. I would certainly recommend that you search the forums for a thread for March 2019 filers - those are your fellow filers and you’ll start to get a feel for when the EADs begin to come through. 

As as for the NoVa office... it’s slow. We have been waiting on ready to schedule since Dec 26th and still don’t have our apportionment notice. We filed 16th November.

7 minutes ago, Joe_UK said:

Hi,

For anyone who has been using the USCIS Case Tracker App; did you receive a notification for EAD/AP approval? Or did you have to go onto the app and refresh 'My Cases'?

 

Just wondering if i'll receive a little notification once i gain approval. If not, i'll carry on checking the app daily hoping for good news. Day 186; still "case was received" 😴😴

Did you sign up for email and/or SMS notifications on the USCIS website? It’s easy to do. That’s how I knew my EAD was approved and the following notifications for card being produced, sent, delivered etc. Recommend the SMS notifications!

On the flip side, any time I hear an SMS notification now, I quickly check to see if it’s USCIS advising me our interview is scheduled! I’m like Pavlov’s dog.

3 minutes ago, ITMFA said:

Hoping it'll go through in time for a big job opportunity starting at the beginning of July...

Best of luck. I follow the Nov 2018 filers thread pretty closely and by the looks of it the combo cards are starting to come through for them. You shouldn't be too far behind.

On 6/11/2019 at 11:36 AM, ITMFA said:

Anyone here got an interview scheduled recently? Case received Dec. 10th, AOS ready to schedule since March 20th, and no EAD/AP. 

PD 21st Nov.

Ready to schedule since Dec 26th.

Still waiting for interview to be scheduled.

However, we were lucky enough to receive EAD/AP in March.

14 minutes ago, emekus94 said:

If the automated process doesn't find your case, it means it has been moved to D.C.

I entered the receipt number associated with the AOS and it stated that it could not access this case number using the automated service. I presume this means it is with the DC office.

Thanks for the tip!

6 hours ago, emekus94 said:

The easiest thing will be to CHANGE your address with USCIS to the Denver office where you actually CAN get mail.
You do not get put in the back of the line to a new office when you move. You get put with your file date (so long as NBC- the center processing the documents has not already sent your case files to DC)

It's been mixed reviews regarding forwarding mail from USPS. Some are more successful than others but from what I have seen, that tends to create a bunch of hassle.

 

If you're not living in DC, i don't really know how you can keep that address. that's going to cause you more headaches during the interview process- unless perhaps as someone already mentioned, you used a lawyer based in DC that can get mail for you. 

Our file was, I presume, sent to the DC office when we got the notification that our case was ready for interview to be scheduled in December. In following similar timelines at the DC office on this site, we do expect to receive our interview notification in the coming weeks.

As it is, our lawyer does receive copies of all our correspondence.

16 minutes ago, K1visaHopeful said:

Employment based AOS applicants too.

Do I count as a employment based in this instance? I’m in the US on a work visa but AOS based on USC spouse. Hmmm...

In any event, we are expecting to be interviewed. 

7 minutes ago, calliope8 said:

I'm with you there - trying to make logical what isn't. Sigh. Our receipt date was Nov 5, bios on Dec 28, rfe received in Jan but not returned until Feb 22 as we had to wait on info to submit 2018 taxes (it was a mess as mom is co-sponsoring but her taxes were joint but my father passed away last year). March 13 it changed to 'ready for interview' which I was glad the new info was satisfactory. Then May 23 we got notice that an interview had been scheduled (tho was hoping to skip it altogether.) Maybe they'll skip it for you. We can always hope! 

   Hope we're approved on the spot at the interview in July as I am still job hunting after being a student & we are living on remnants of husand's inheritance. We did not expect to wait this long for EAD. 

Sorry to hear the EAD is taking so long for you and others. It's baffling how much longer they're taking than they used to.

What is really depressing is looking at the AOS timelines for all local offices and seeing PD dates of March and interview dates of early June in some locations... mind blown. I wish we lived in Ohio! If we had the flexibility and the foresight (you know what they say about hindsight), we'd have set ourselves up in Maine or Ohio and worked remotely... 

I wonder if anyone has experience of, or knows of, these mythical no-interview GC approvals? I'd dare say I'm a good candidate for it given I've been in the USA working for two years on an L1 and we had a ton of strong marriage bona fides, including a property deed, rental leases and insurances in both our names. 

1 minute ago, arken said:

USPS generally doesn’t forward USCIS mails. They usually mail it back to USCIS upon address conflict.

Do you know what USCIS does if this happens? Does it affect the case timeframes or the interview actually happening, for example?

11 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Ask USPS to forward your mail without changing address with the USCIS.

Anyone have experience of doing this, though? I was told by our immigration lawyer that USPS will not forward mail from USCIS. That would of course be the best option but one we had not considered due to this advice.

Our lawyer also gets all our correspondence in copy - so part of me thinks what if we just don't change the address? We will still get her to provide copies of what she receives. However, I wonder what happens if USCIS receives returned mail from our address...?

Hmmm I wasn't very clear!

TLDR; we need to move out of our current apartment in Alrlington, VA due to an upcoming short-term work assignment and end of our lease.

We really don't want to jeopardize our place in the line for getting an interview at the Washington DC local office. 

So were hoping there's a way to keep the address associated with our filing yet receive the notifications/correspondence at another address; likely the home we own in Denver, CO.

The last thing we want is to be transferred to the Denver office which is, per the stats, even slower than Washington DC and we'd likely go to the back of the line for interview scheduling.

TLDR 2 - can you change the correspondence address but keep the address on the filing the same?
 

Thanks!

4 hours ago, NikkiFromCanada said:

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!!! 😭♥️😭♥️

Congratulations! I took a peek at your timeline and which local office for your AOS. It just reinforces that there's literally no rhyme nor reason to any of the processing times. While it took me 124 days for EAD/AP approval - which seems to be much quicker than other Nov filers here - we have been sat waiting on 'ready for interview to be scheduled' since December last year, whereas your interview got scheduled after a week. And to think, it's a postcode lottery - you're not far up the road at the Baltimore office and we're at the DC/NoVA office.

My data-driven and rational brain cannot deal with such variances! Oh well... the wait continues! Congratulations again - here's hoping for a swift and happy response regarding the GC.

Hi all,

Currently our address we included when filing for AOS means we are associated with the Washington DC/NoVA office and we expect we are not far away from getting our interview scheduled in the next few weeks - based on stalking other timelines at the same local office.

I've been offered a short term assignment with work in Australia - even though it's 7 months only, it would be beneficial to give up our apartment, and put things in storage to make the most of the company provided apartment in Sydney. My USC wife would come with me. (My work are happy to fly us back to the US for the AOS interview for a few days). Our lease notice clause means we will have our current apartment (albeit empty) for two months after we give notice. This assignment is due to begin in a few weeks and we anticipate not having the interview notice or interview itself by then. 

Is it possible to change your mailing address to another address in Colorado, for example? And keep the address on our filing papers the same? We own a house in Denver that is rented to friends. This is where we'd hope the notices and GC would eventually be sent. Our immigration lawyers always gets copies of all our USCIS mail also. I really don't want to see us transferred to the Denver office, with us going to the back of the queue for interviews when we're so close in Washington DC.

Related - what evidence may be requested at the interview of current residential address in USA? 

I know this is a little confusing - trying to navigate our way through this for the best outcome.

Still waiting for interview. Now at 5 months since notification of 'Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for An Interview'...

I also follow the conversation over at the November 2018 AOS Filers thread and seeing folks with GCs in hand from other field offices across the country makes me wonder how we lost out on the lottery by getting such a slow office. Also read a worrying suggestion that USCIS are now targeting newer files so to bring down the average wait times...