ashoos

2 hours ago, vistawateraz said:

Hey everybody!

 

Just checking in to see if anyone has had their I751 approved. We submitted ours in Nov/21 and received an NOA of fingerprints applied to case back in Jan/22, but since then it's been crickets...  We received a 48 month extension for the temp green card, but were curious if we were the only ones waiting... I check the uscis case status page daily, no change..

 

Hope all is well

 

Dan 

Oh wow that's crazy! 

I had a similar timeline in terms of application time. Applied for I751 in 9/21, didn't get any updates besides to say that Fingerprints were used a couple months after that. Didn't hear anything or see any changes until March 2023, got the notification that the case had been approved and I received my green card a week after that in the mail. 

Hoping you won't be waiting too much longer! 

Hello Everyone, long time etc etc etc 

Wondering if anyone has recently filed to retain SA citizenship with the BI-529 and DHA BI-1664?

4 minutes ago, LilyKins said:

Hi all!!

 

I am currently adjusting my status from F1 through marriage to a USC. I was born in South Africa and immigrated to Canada as an infant. I'm a Canadian citizen. Through VJ, I've come to realize that USCIS will likely want me to have the "new" unabridged birth certificate. I've already submitted my AOS application and am now fully anticipating the dreaded RFE.

 

I'm going to secure this document in the meantime. Current processing times are approximately 6mo for a birth cert if you apply for it through either a Canadian or American consulate, but I've heard of "agents" who can assist in getting these documents sooner. Has anyone here used one successfully or could recommend one?

 

I've found some threads on this but they're older, and one requires having family in SA to start the process for you (my uncle and aunt and grandparents are there, but I'm not sure how much work is involved and so don't want to burden them with this).

 

Thanks!!

I needed a birth certificate ASAP for our K1 interview. I found a company (Passports4u) that would expedite the process. I went the route of going to start the process myself at Home Affairs and then giving them the information, but they also provided an option where someone would do waiting at Home Affairs for you and they'd deliver it. 

Not sure if they still do this as it was a year ago, but you could look into it and have the certificate sent to your family members and then couriered to the US? 

2 minutes ago, maleecka said:

thank you very much, we did it on the 15 of november I dont know if it is ready but we are going to try our luck. He lives in Cape Town so we book an hotel next to the embassy.  How long i took for before you received your Police Clearance ?

It took almost 10 weeks in total, but the man showed me the date it had been collected and that was 4 weeks from when I first applied. The majority of my time was just spent being turned away 

1 minute ago, maleecka said:

is Pretoria far from Joberg? Because he is leaving tomorrow for joberg and I was suggesting to go to one of pretoria police station to see if he can collect from them.

It depends where in Joburg he's staying. I lived in the northern suburbs so it was only a 30 minute drive. 

I would recommend going early if he does, as it tends to be quite busy. 

The address is: 

CRC Client Service Centre
1^st Floor, Room 14
271 Francis Baard Street
PRETORIA

52 minutes ago, maleecka said:

Hello Everyone!!!

I hope that all his well with you guys.  I have a question, I don't know if any of you encountered the same problem. We applied for our police report from Cape Town on the 15th of november and up to now we didn't received it yet and my fiancee interview is on this 19th of this month meaning in about 3days. What should we do? proceed with the interview or what should we do?

I also had issues with my police clearance. I continuously went to the police station to be turned away and told I will just have to wait another week. I eventually landed up going to Pretoria a few days before to collect it directly from them, luckily I did as on their system my PC had been collected weeks before by the very man at the station who kept turning me away. They were super nice about it and the guys there just printed me a new one. 
 

I really hope this hasn’t happened with your case as getting to Pretoria from CT isn’t exactly a reality!

On 11/22/2019 at 8:18 AM, KyleB22 said:

Hey everyone, hope you’re doing well! Just curious for those of you who have been through the AOS process, but how long after your status was updated to “ready to schedule interview” did you get your date? Seems like most timelines are around a month five or take? 
 

Any advice on what would be good for the interview, thanks! Appreciate it... 

Our case changed to ready to be scheduled on October 10th and then again to say it had been scheduled on the 15th of October, so five days. 

22 hours ago, Hunter & Robyn said:

Congrats!! So motivating to see, as I’m not TOO far behind. Still waiting for case to become “Ready to Schedule.” Did they require the i-693 or was your DS-3025 fine?? 

That didn't come up for us. He mainly just asked us questions about what we had already filled in on the forms and our evidence of marriage/still togetherness. 

As long as it was submitted before I wouldn't worry about it!!

Just had our interview at the Chicago office and we were approved on the spot! 

2 minutes ago, Tanya007 said:

Hi there, can anyone on this forum that already had their GC interview please advise on the medical part of filing AOS and requirements for the interview? I did not complete and submit form i-693 with my AOS application as they stipulated that this was not required if you already had a medical exam in your country of birth before the visa interview. I just read the same statement on USCIS website again. However I’m seeing some conflicting information online where some applicants claimed that you have to do another medical or have a physician complete the vaccination part of form i-693 for your GC interview. Does anyone have experience and advice on this?

This was posted on the August AOS thread: 

Just now, LuFlolady said:

What number did you call?

800-375-5283

I would call as close to 8am EST as possible. I called at about 11am EST and requested to speak to a tier 2 agent and they connect you through but its basically like a callback request and you leave your details etc. My estimated wait was at 6 and half hours and it was pretty accurate, but I'm sure it'd be sooner if you called closer to 8am! 

Called USCIS again and asked to speak to a Tier 2 agent, they were able to confirm that the appointment is set for November 20th! 

5 minutes ago, Drenimarcus said:

That was fast. Still waiting for a date since 10/17. 

Also still waiting for my interview letter (10/15). Called USCIS last week and they confirmed that the notice had been sent, called again this morning and asked to speak to a Tier 2 agent, waiting on the callback now, to see if they can confirm when the interview actually is!

Congrats everyone! 

Still haven't received our letter yet. Called USICS and they confirmed it was mailed but can't confirm what date the interview is... 

Still haven't received the letter for when interview is actually scheduled for. Status changed to scheduled on 16th of October, anyone else still waiting this long? 

Appointment scheduled as of October 15th, waiting on letter for actually appointment date  

Sent in AOS August 9th

NOA August 14th 

Biometrics appointment September 4th 

Case ready to be scheduled October 10th 

Interview scheduled October 15th. 

Just waiting on letter for when the interview actually is!!  

We had our interview this morning and were approved! Super quick for the handing over of documents and the interview, but spent about two hours just waiting around to be called to the window. Overall, super happy with everything and we can start planning the next steps!!

Just now, MozambiqueSoninha said:

Do you have to deposit the money into the doctor office account prior to the first day of medical check, or can you pay in cash on arrival?  

 

This is for Dr. Hoosen in Joburg

 

Thanks! 

I was under the impression that the medical needed to be paid via EFT before you arrived for it. However when I got there you were able to swipe. However they did not take cash at all

Hi Guys, 

My interview is on Thursday and I am just going through all documents one last time. Do we need to have NOA1 and 2 for the interview? 

Just now, Michael Lombardi said:

Thanks! We talked with DocAssist today and plan to use them but they said they needed to wait until it was in the system since she applied at home affairs today. One day is so much faster than everything I'm reading here!

Yep. It was super quick. I applied at home affairs, contacted passports4u and did the transfer, got an sms at 7am the next day to say that my birth certificate was ready for collection, definitely worth the money we paid to keep on schedule and eliminate any unnecessary stress! 

8 minutes ago, Michael Lombardi said:

Help! We just received the packet 3 email and it says you need a long form birth certificate, which I just discovered today can take months for South Africa. We only have two months before the four month deadline is over. What do we do? Do we schedule the interview without it? Can we get the deadline extended? I'm panicking today!

I also ran into this problem. The only real option we had was to hire a service to expedite the process. We used passports4u and it took one day after applying at home affairs to have it ready for collection. Definitely recommend if you’re in a time crunch. 

3 minutes ago, MozambiqueSoninha said:

WHY DOES NO ONE ANSWER THE PHONE AT THE CONSULATE - Its enough to drive you mad - I wonder how many mornings I will wake up at 3am to call until 6am only to have no one pick the phone up the entire time 

I would try try again today. Yesterday was a public holiday and no one would have been at the consulate. Whenever I’ve called it’s always been answered. I usually tried as soon as they opened in the morning to try get in first thing.