my&aaron

Case status just changed to "Interview scheduled"!!! 

Case status just changed to "Interview scheduled"!!! 

I'm not sure if this news has been shared but they just reduced the processing time for EAD (with a pending I-485) down to 2.5-5 months!!! 

We got our letter today! The interview date is on August 16th!

Somehow we got extremely lucky. The green card is being produced and should be in hand in the next week or two, should be just under 3 months between initial filing and GC in hand. 

He had our biometrics appointment 6/21/19. He didn't have his vaccination records from childhood, so his primary care/pcp doctor ran titer tests which we submitted at the civil surgeon. The civil surgeon was extremely nice and very helpful. She let us know it would take a few days to process lab results and they'd be in touch. We explained we had an upcoming interview and needed them ASAP. They were willing to work with us even on a super tight timeline. 

We couldn't sleep last night because we were so anxious the 693 wouldn't be done in time. We rang the civil surgeon at noon, 3 hours before our interview and the final test result had come in and she was finally able to sign off on the 693. We actually were given a full copy of the 693 not just the vaccine page which was awesome. 

Onto our interview. We were scheduled for 3:30 in the Lawrence MA office. We parked across the street for $10 and and arrived at 2:45. Waited in the car for 15 minutes then went in. We went through security who was very nice and didn't make us remove our shoes since it was pouring rain out. Gave our interview notice at reception and began to wait. 

We waited around 30 minutes with only a few people in the waiting room. He was called in at 3:35, he asked if his wife (me) should come and was told they would call me in separately. This wound up appearing to be the norm as there was another couple where they called in the beneficiary then the petitioner afterwards. I arrived in the room where my husband was sitting, put my purse down and swore in under oath. There was a webcam recording and a huge packet with all our info on the table. 
We had also brought a full copy of our AOS packet with us, and a couple additional documents which my husband gave the interviewer before I entered the room (i-693 sealed, copy of reciepts from my ring, employment verification letter from my employer). We updated a couple things in the AOS packet we brought with us like my paystubs so they'd be more recent and some extra bank statements. 

The interviewer asked me some basics like my name, birthday, address. These aren't in exact order, so take the order with a grain of salt. 
-If a signature on a form was mine, it was. 
-Asked my mother and fathers names and birthdays. Embarrassingly I got my dad's year of birth wrong (we aren't close and haven't spoken in 10 years)
-are my parents living
-his parents' names 
-are his parents living
-when did we first meet (we met online, then met in person a year or two later)
-when did we officially start dating
-how was our first meeting
-where did he live (clarified to where did he live when we first started dating)
-where was he working (super broad question, I had to clarify, question was changed to "where was he working when we first started dating")
-where was I working (clarified to be where was I working when we first started dating)
-who is my current employer
-confirmed how long I've been there. 
-who was the employer before my current one
-who attended your wedding and where was it 
-who cooks
-who does the dishes
-who does the laundry
-who grocery shops
-what did we have for dinner last night
-any health issues I have
-any health issues he has
-medications I'm on
-medications he's on
-do I have a criminal record
-does he have a criminal record
-do I have any tattoos
-does he have any tattoos
-have I been pregnant since getting married to him
-do we plan to have children someday
-have I been in any car accidents
-has he been in any car accidents
-have I been to the hospital since we started dating
-has he been to the hospital since we started dating
-does he have any health issues
-do I have any health issues
-have we travelled together anywhere 
-who lives with us (I included our dog and cat) 

Questions he was asked that he remembered:
-Went over the 485 application (as part of this, had he ever violated the terms of visa? He had, he overstayed and she made note of it on the 485) 
-his parents names and where they were born
-what color is the laundry machine
-where is the laundry
-Do we have a lease? 
-who does the housework
-names of our dog and cat 
-Who cooks (and what is a typical meal in your house)
-what your favorite restaurant, what do you order there and what does she order there. 
and a lot of the questions already listed above.
Overall I found the interview questions to be super broad so I had to ask for clarification several times. For example my husband has lived at a couple different addresses in our 7 years together, so I had to ask which timeframe the interviewer looking for. Some of the questions were vague which made me a bit nervous, but I had to ask for clarification to give the most accurate answer. My husband said he couldn't remember last night's dinner and forgot the car accident we were in together (super light rear end on a traffic jammed highway, we were 100% fine, it was years ago). I personally didn't have a great feeling at the end since I screwed up my own dad's birthday. The interviewer let us know that we would recieve either an RFE in the mail in 1-2 weeks or a GC. Interviewer also let us know that they were recommending the case be approved. 
 
We headed home and relaxed for a while. I took a nap since I barely slept last night. Woke up at 9pm, checked case status and it shows "my new card is being produced". 77 days from initial mailing to GC is being produced. I'm shocked. 
 

NEW CARD IS BEING PRODUCED!!!!!!
 
67 days after I initiated my expedite request and after I resubmitted a 50-page packet of evidence, a huge weight has finally been lifted off my shoulders. Thank you to everyone on this thread for all your guidance and support. Hope everyone waiting gets good news soon  

My I-765 case status just changed to "New Card Is Being Produced", yall!!! Expediting really works when you have a pending job offer - I am so so so happy. You can check my timeline to see the progress updates. Took eight business days after I faxed my documents to USCIS!!!

You only have a few reasons to expedite, and "severe financial loss to yourself" is one of them. Use that reason then you can explain that you have a pending job offer. You can always add more than that, such as this offer is due to expired on this specific date at this specific time (which is something you can work with your future employer on"  and mention examples of the financial losses such as outstanding loans, monthly expenses and others. Just know that the agent will write down whatever you share with them, and a case worker will use that to decide on your case. 

I think another important thing to mention is the urgency of your case, in addition to proving the losses. I worked with my future employer on setting an expiration date on my offer letter, down to the specific date and time. So maybe I would work at the employer's letter from that angle - whether it is the risk of being let go because they cannot wait too long? Or even set up a date that says by this date your employment will be reconsidered, etc. I don't think having them stating their willingness to hold your job for you however it takes will help since you can then wait the normal wait time and still be okay - no urgency there. 
 
When you talk about expenses, I would break it down to how much your salary is contributing to those costs so you can show the financial losses. Any loans?
 
 

Got my combo EAD and AP card today!!! I can never wait that long to be able to work again so I applied for jobs right after we submitted our AOS application in April. Signed my offer in May and requested to expedite in June. They approved my request on Monday, just 10 days after they received my fax proof of evidence and it's delivered today. Such a relief. Now onto changing my name on SSN, then driver's license then car registration - fun stuff haha! 

Got my combo EAD and AP card today!!! I can never wait that long to be able to work again so I applied for jobs right after we submitted our AOS application in April. Signed my offer in May and requested to expedite in June. They approved my request on Monday, just 10 days after they received my fax proof of evidence and it's delivered today. Such a relief. Now onto changing my name on SSN, then driver's license then car registration - fun stuff haha! 

Got my combo EAD and AP card today!!! I can never wait that long to be able to work again so I applied for jobs right after we submitted our AOS application in April. Signed my offer in May and requested to expedite in June. They approved my request on Monday, just 10 days after they received my fax proof of evidence and it's delivered today. Such a relief. Now onto changing my name on SSN, then driver's license then car registration - fun stuff haha! 

Got my combo EAD and AP card today!!! I can never wait that long to be able to work again so I applied for jobs right after we submitted our AOS application in April. Signed my offer in May and requested to expedite in June. They approved my request on Monday, just 10 days after they received my fax proof of evidence and it's delivered today. Such a relief. Now onto changing my name on SSN, then driver's license then car registration - fun stuff haha! 

My I-765 case status just changed to "New Card Is Being Produced", yall!!! Expediting really works when you have a pending job offer - I am so so so happy. You can check my timeline to see the progress updates. Took eight business days after I faxed my documents to USCIS!!!

My I-765 case status just changed to "New Card Is Being Produced", yall!!! Expediting really works when you have a pending job offer - I am so so so happy. You can check my timeline to see the progress updates. Took eight business days after I faxed my documents to USCIS!!!

My I-765 case status just changed to "New Card Is Being Produced", yall!!! Expediting really works when you have a pending job offer - I am so so so happy. You can check my timeline to see the progress updates. Took eight business days after I faxed my documents to USCIS!!!

No problem - I don't mind sharing! So I worked with my employer to set my start date as TODAY - which shows the urgency of my case. I also highlighted the part that says "the offer of employment is set to expires today at 5pm." as well. Even though my employer can definitely wait - we want to make sure we show a specific deadline. 
- I didn't just send my offer letter. I prepared a whole 34-page document that includes: a cover letter explaining my situation, job offer, outstanding loans, outstanding monthly expenses, outstanding medical expenses and health insurance - pretty much everything that I stand to lose. I also mention that I have already accumulated six months of unemployment gap so losing this opportunity would negatively impact me professionally. 
- I contacted both NC senators and my district congresswoman immediately after USCIS confirming they received my fax. Now, they all submitted inquiries about my case not requesting to expedite so I am not sure which one really helped my case or all of them, lol.
- What I also did was to fax USCIS again last week, using the number and info originally gave me, with another letter talking about the urgency and asking for immediate consideration. 

Great thank you so much for your help! 

MY STATUS JUST CHANGED TO "New Card Is Being Produced" TODAY!!!! OMG yall, expediting really works!!!!! 
Words cannot describe how much relieved I feel right now. Special thanks to @eckoin, @Bebe10 @Scng7 @debbiedoo @Northerndynasty responding. I really appreciate you all!

Congrats!
 
It is a feeling of incredible RELIEF, but I still feel a profound sense of despair for all of us who continue to be overwhelmed by the extreme sense of frustration, anxiety, stress and fear.
 
I continue to pray for all of us!

MY STATUS JUST CHANGED TO "New Card Is Being Produced" TODAY!!!! OMG yall, expediting really works!!!!! 
Words cannot describe how much relieved I feel right now. Special thanks to @eckoin, @Bebe10 @Scng7 @debbiedoo @Northerndynasty responding. I really appreciate you all!

Thank you!!! Here's my timeline. I pretty much did everything that people on this thread has done in this order:
- Called USCIS to request expedite due to a pending offer 
- USCIS emailed asking to fax proof the offer. Now, about my offer letter, I worked with my employer to set my start date as TODAY - which shows the urgency of my case. 
- I didn't just send my offer letter. I prepared a whole 34-page document that includes: cover letter explaining my situation, job offer, outstanding loans, outstanding monthly expenses, outstanding medical expenses and health insurance - pretty much everything that I stand to lose. I also mention that I have already accumulated six months of unemployment gap so losing this opportunity would negatively impact me professionally. 
- I contacted both NC senators and my district congresswoman immediately after USCIS confirming they received my fax. Now, they all submitted inquiries about my case not requesting to expedite so I am not sure which one really helped my case or all of them, lol.
- What I also did was to fax USCIS again, using the number and the specific team that handles my case, with another letter talking about the urgency and asking for immediate consideration. 
Hope that helps! Here's my timeline: 
 
Expedite EAD Timeline
(day49) Expedite EAD requested: 05/23/2019
(day55) USCIS emailed asking for additional info: 05/29/2019
(day62) Faxed USCIS additional info: 06/05/2019
(day64) USCIS emailed back confirming they have received docs: 06/07/2019
(day74) Status changed to "New Card Is Being Produced"!!!! 

My I-765 case status just changed to "New Card Is Being Produced", yall!!! Expediting really works when you have a pending job offer - I am so so so happy. You can check my timeline to see the progress updates. Took eight business days after I faxed my documents to USCIS!!!

Thanks all. I finally spoke with a Tier 2 and our date is rescheduled for the 3rd of July. If we get the opportunity to do a walk-in before that date we are definitely going to try! 

In case anyone wanted to know about timelines, my husband and I had our interview last Tuesday the 4th and changed to new card being produced the next day. Today the status changed to “card was picked up by USPS” and gave a tracking number. According to the number it should be here by Wednesday!