Matrix13

53 minutes ago, ra0010 said:

I have and am now happily approved!

That's great! Congratulations. 

Your case is a little different than what we usually see on this K-1 AOS thread. Did you receive the letter (RFE) before or during the field office closure period?

23 hours ago, Letspaintcookies said:

Maybe it's one of those letters that a few others have received. Asking for more evidence of being happily married so that they can approve you without interview.

Can you please share a link or a post from anyone who has received a letter like that from the USCIS? I'm aware that there are a very small number of people that have been approved without an AOS interview, but I haven't come across any cases that received a letter beforehand. Thanks.

Listen to Hank...he's one of the best resources you will ever have available. Forget about the "witness statement", it is not part of the K-1 process. 

When COVID-19 travel restrictions allow it, you should meet your fiancé in a 3rd country (like SG). And then, file your I-129F petition with no delay.

Since your fiancé probably left behind some friends and family in the Philippines, there's at least a small chance that she would want to travel back there in the future. Obviously you will want to return to the Philippines, as well. So no reason not to pursue the dual citizenship.

Good luck to you guys. 

16 hours ago, lucero_enriquez said:

Hello just wanted to put my timeline and it can maybe help someone out of when maybe they will receive an update. Our situation might be just a slight different since my husband is already here in the us but under temporary protected status, country of Honduras. He has been here since he was 6 he is now 28, and we live in Arizona which is the Ninth Circuit, when you have temporary protected status there is no path to adjustment of status, but there are exceptions with some circuit courts when you are married to a us citizen. We applied back in October and we sent in I-765 and I-485, here is our timeline. 
 

packet sent 09/27/19

They Received packet 10/02/19

Fingerprint Appointment 10/29/19

Received a Request of Initial Evidence 11/18/19 took us a while to respond since we had to have a family member in Honduras go to the consulate there and mail us what we needed and get it translated 

They received our RIE on 02/03/2020

Received approval update for I-765 on 04/16/2020 same day update of card being produced 

04/23/2020 today we received his EAD 

 

so now we will just be waiting for I-485 AOS, our lawyer says with an approval for the I-765 EAD is a very good sign new because he says it’s pretty much approval of the case they just need an interview and then assign him a green card, with all this pandemic going on though I just pray they open soon and we can all get our interviews. I was reading that cases that already had an interview are getting waived and they are receiving their gc, hopefully they start doing that for the cases that were up next that still didn’t have an appointment. 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations on getting your EAD.

You're right, a small number of AOS applicants have been given their Green Cards this month without an interview. There is still no sign that waived interviews are the "new way" of doing things during this epidemic. It looks like interviews will start up again on June 4 according to the USCIS alert below. If and when they do, the backlog is going to be massive. 

On a positive note, we can all be thankful that the President's Executive Order pausing green cards for 60 days does not apply to spouses of US citizens.

https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-offices-preparing-reopen-june-4

You will just put your new address on the AOS forms. No need to take any other steps to notify them about your address change. 

Good luck on your journey

For those that have not seen the USCIS news:

USCIS is Suspending In-Person Services at all local offices effective March 18 to (at least) April 1st Due to Covid-19.  This includes all scheduled interviews.  Processing at USCIS offices not requiring face time will continue as normal.

Full details from USCIS are here: https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/uscis-response-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19

I'm sure this will effect the majority of people on this thread. We have our interview scheduled for March 25, so it effects us. If by some miracle they are able to re-open the USCIS offices after April 1st, there's still bound to be a substantial backlog of interviews that didn't happen during the period of closure. This obviously sucks for those of us who now have to wait even longer to get to the next step of our immigration journey. In perspective, though, the public health crisis that is unfolding around the globe is certainly more of a priority than adding a few more months to our already long wait times.

In the meantime, please stay safe and make good decisions about your interactions with others. We'll all get through this dark period. And we'll all get through it faster and safer if we follow the Covid-19 guidelines.

Update please?

1 hour ago, Ray.Bonaquist said:

You didn’t get an electronic copy of the interview notice at your USCIS online account?

There is no "electronic copy" of that notice.

You will most likely be fine after you talk to the Tier 2 agent. Call The USCIS Contact Center as soon as they open, they will put you in the queue for a Tier 2 call-back after a few hours. If you're lucky, you might even be able to reschedule your new interview date over the phone with them (I'm saying this because that's what we did). Good luck!

1 hour ago, smbathan said:

Hey guys!

Just a little question. What can we put in the address where the beneficiary will stay in the US? My fiancé is in the military and he’s currently stationed in Fort Irwin. Is it okay if we put his address right now even if he’s staying in the barracks? Any suggestions?? Thank you in advance!

We were in a similar situation last year. We didn't have a US address because we were both living in the beneficiary's country when we sent in the petition. We just filled out the I-129F like you see below. It was approved with no problems. Be prepared to explain the situation during your embassy interview. Good luck!

31 minutes ago, LaLaRI said:

He did his medical around feb of last year since it’s been about a year does he need to do a new one?

No need for a new medical exam. 

They do ask you to bring originals and copies of everything you submitted with your AOS application package. Doing that is probably overkill, but is better than the alternative of not having a specific document they ask you for at the interview.

2 hours ago, Russel1995 said:

So i know we will get a letter in thr mail.  As of right now...

 

this is what i have..

Joint checking account (has her maiden name)

Wife listed as emergency contact for work

Health, dental insurance together

Listed in my car insurance

Photos of us together with my kids

 

hoping to have these in coming weeks..

Affidavit from my father and grandmother

Comcast bill with both of our names.

Joint credit card

Paper work showing her as the beneficiary of my employee stock purchase plan.

Joint gas/electric bills.

 

and hoping we will have joint tax returns by may..  But need to wait for the K2s social security number. 

 

Also Im suppose to have birth certificates of all  my children (2) and the child custody papers. correct?

 

 

MN AOS processing is 10+ months.. so im not expecting an interview for at least 6 months lol. But rather be ready than scrambling last minute.

 

Sounds like you have a good plan. It might be helpful to include a housing document (rent, mortgage, etc.) that has both of your names on it. You also have plenty of time to get her name changed on the checking account. Overall, it looks like you're doing everything great. 

As others have stated, you can go with whichever option is less expensive. What you heard about the Philippines requiring a round trip ticket for a K-1 is just an urban legend that refuses to go away. 

HOWEVER...do NOT buy a round-trip ticket if you only intend to use the return leg. The vast majority of airlines have a policy which will cancel the entire ticket if you don't check in for the first leg. Unfortunately, that's usually the least expensive of the 3 possible ticketing options (but it's obviously not a good option).

My K-1 filipina fiancee flew one-way on Korean Air in August 2019 and had no problems. 

It's great that some couples in this thread are getting their interviews already. Can someone who has received an interview appointment letter please post it here (after obscuring any personal information)? Sharing the USCIS instructions on what evidence to bring will certainly help your fellow VJ members prepare for their interviews which are still several months away. 

Happy to say my wife received her combo card in the mail today! Definitely faster than we expected (our I-485 NOA date is Oct 8, 2019). 

It's been a crazy journey for us. I believe we were the last October filers to get our biometrics done. She actually did her I-485 biometrics this week. 

Now, back to waiting for the interview. Good luck to everyone. Go Niners!

Also worth mentioning that your laptop could be searched by CBP upon entry to the US. So, obviously, any illegal downloads of music, movies, games, etc, on your laptop would cause some problems for you. I'm not saying you would ever do that, but I wanted to put that out there for others. 

From the USCIS I-485 instructions:

You are NOT required to submit Form I-693 at the time you file your adjustment application, but may do so if you wish. Because of the time-limited validity of Form I-693, you may choose to submit your Form I-693 after you file your Form I-485. You may also submit Form I-693 in person at an interview in a USCIS field office, if an interview is required. By waiting to submit Form I-693, you may avoid having to repeat the immigration medical examination.

So, if I were you I would get that AOS package in the mail as soon as you think it's ready to go (with no I-693).  Good luck!

Yes, you can apply for it without a current emergency. It's common practice for people to file the I-131 with the I-485 to cover the waiting period leading up to the green card. You never know what urgent travel needs you will have during the long wait for AOS approval, so you would file the I-131 without actually having any of the existing reasons you listed. When approved, it will be issued as a "combo card" which will include your AP and your EAD. 

You might want to seriously consider adding the I-131 Advanced Parole application to your package. There is no additional fee to do that if it is part of your AOS package.

On 1/14/2020 at 1:34 AM, RachelBounty said:

I’m very confused. I received a RFE two months ago and replied and RFE was received. Then my case have changed to “ready to be scheduled for an interview”....and now I received another RFE. Both were for 485. Is that common? What could it be?

Doesn't seem common, but every case is different, of course. Have you received the second RFE in the mail yet?

16 hours ago, markandoliv said:

My question is, am i legally able to be added to a lease with my american wife?  We want to move into a new place but im not sure i can be on the lease as i dont have resident status yet?

We ran into this situation ourselves, as our apartment complex requires the people on the lease to have legal status in the US. I agree with the other responses that you will find different rules from different leasing companies. You will find it very difficult to prove your legal status to a private company while you're at this stage in your AOS. I would strongly encourage you to explore your options and find a place that will allow both of you to be on the lease contract. Call or visit different places to find out what their policy is. That lease contract is going to be a strong piece of evidence at your interview (and for ROC)...but only of you're both on it.

1 hour ago, GP1977 said:

I basically did a pre writ of mandamus letter.  Outlined my concerns and said I was reaching out prior to filing a writ of mandamus and that I wanted the case to be adjudicated as its been over 120 days since the interview. 

Congratulations on your latest success. Were you actually prepared to file a writ of mandamus, or was that just an empty threat?

21 hours ago, cemmm said:

We asked him if I was legally allowed to work after getting conditional green card. He said it is totally up to my employer and to make sure I should wait for the EAD card and I should be getting the EAD card any day now since I applied at the same time for the both of them. That sort of confused me, so I'd appreciate if any of you guys can enlighten me about weather I can legally work or not. 

In a situation where the green card is approved before the EAD/AP, the EAD/AP (combo card) will not be produced. Your green card will definitely allow you to work...the green card entitles you to EAD, AP and more. Congratulations on your speedy journey.  

1 hour ago, gramercygreen said:

Was there a particular reason why your mailing and physical addresses are in 2 very different states?

Mailing address in Michigan is a third part box that I have had for years as I moved to different places around the world. 

Probably rare to have mailing and physical addresses in far-apart places, but it is what it is. 

I'm still trying to figure out why the USCIS asks for your physical address, yet they don't assign your appointments for the part of the country you live in. 

Our AOS frustration level is 10 out of 10 right now, so I will share our story (for therapeutic reasons).

Background:

Filed AOS applications early October. Listed our 2 different addresses on both the I-485 and I-765 applications. Mailing address in Michigan, physical address in Florida. Waited, waited, and waited some more (almost 3 months), just to get a biometrics appointment letter.

Currently:

Just received our biometrics appointment letter (for I-765 only) a couple days ago. Not entertained to discover that our appointment is at the Grand Rapids, Michigan ASC. We live in Florida. 

Been calling the USCIS Contact Center for the past 2 days just to get to a tier 2 agent. Not sure that a tier 2 agent can even help us at this point, but we were advised to talk to them by a tier 1 agent. Finally got a call back from a tier 2 agent today, and the call got disconnected about 30 seconds into it. Not entertained to discover that the tier 2 agent did not re-initate the call. So we have to start at the beginning of the call tree again tomorrow. 

I'm sure I deserve some blame in this address mixup situation. I incorrectly assumed that the USCIS would schedule appointments which were in the region of an applicant's physical address. Isn't that kind of common sense? Apparently not.

So, depending what the tier 2 agent says tomorrow, I imagine we will change our address online to make our mailing address match our physical address. Then there's the matter of what to do with our pending appointment in Michigan. I suppose we will snail mail the appointment letter back to the USCIS with an explanation, requesting a new, local appointment.

If anyone has any wisdom to share about how we can get ourselves un-screwed, please share it. Otherwise, enjoy my misery

5 hours ago, Martha R said:

Great question. Ours could be the BC as well as it does not have a name on it. It is just the way it has been since he was born.

Wow, you made it through the K-1 process without his name on the BC? What is your plan if they need a BC with a name on it now?