silvertruck

Finally got my interview date on Sep. 11th! I'm glad it's also a combo interview for I-751!

I applie ROC on March 2023 and N400 on April 2024, no movements to date. Do you think the naturalization process is slower if your ROC is still pending?

On 5/20/2024 at 4:52 PM, Letspaintcookies said:

Congratulations to the scheduled interview! 

 

I wish there was a rhyme or reason to it, but so much depends on the field office with this application that it's hard to make sense 😅

Still waiting here...submitted on April 7th.

My receipt also has IOE prefix. Do you know which service center is this?

Congratulation! I am happy for both of you! I also had my interview at Mt Laurel NJ. We were lucky that the officer who interviewed us is very kind. And I think he's very practical as he didn't ask me those 30+ questions because he said he doesn't want me to be troubled by those. He just asked us basic personal information and that's it! He didn't even ask us any documents or pictures. I think the interview lasted about 15 minutes or so.

Is an official job offer enough evidence for an expedite request due to financial loss? 

Been following this thread for a while now.

Like some of you I'm still waiting for my biometrics appointment for more than 5 months now! (NOA1: June 4th)

My ASC is in Newark, NJ

I also just spoke to "Emma" about my request for non-delivery of appointment and they just said they don't have any update yet and all they can advise is to wait. I tried requesting for a Tier 2 agent, so I'm waiting for a callback after 7 business days.

@waiver is coming @bpg123 I called USCIS today and looks like I would need to undergo biometrics first before I can request to expedite my EAD. Here's an excerpt on what they said in their email response:

Our records indicate that we are awaiting your appearance for biometric processing. Your case is currently in suspense or on hold until we receive your biometrics.  Your application information has been entered into the system which schedules applicants for biometrics at their local ASC. Once you have been scheduled, you will receive an ASC Appointment Notice containing the date, time and location of your appointment. You must take the ASC Appointment Notice and photo ID to your appointment. You may request expeditious processing again once we have received your biometrics.

Also, the agent listed a handful of valid reasons when you can request to expedite - 1) significant financial loss, 2) there is some business need to keep you in employment, 3) there is an interest from the government, 4) and if. there has been a mistake on the USCIS side

My ASC is in Newark, NJ and USCIS said that this office has an average waiting time of 90 days from the date they reopened - July 13th.

@waiver is coming @bpg123 when you sent your expedite request for EAD, have you already had biometrics? I'm still waiting for my biometrics appointment for 5 months now, so thinking if I can do the same request.

My NOA1 notice date is 06/04/2020 and my ASC (Elizabeth, NJ) reopened on that same date. I haven't received any biometrics notice yet, and seeing from other VJers they've been waiting longer than me.

Yes, I have an SSN and you'll need that to check your credit score. I agree with @kec523, we still need to provide evidence that we don't have a credit report and I think a mail from any of those three bureaus certifying as such is the best way, regardless of whether we have a newly-issued SSN or not.

I am on this situation as well. I am still outside the US but will be using my K-1 visa next month, and I am also already preparing for my AOS as soon as I am ready.

Here are my initial thoughts on some of the questions in I-944:

a. Health insurance - it is better if you will be added in your spouse's insurance if that's possible. Otherwise, you may opt to buy one out of pocket

b. US Federal Tax returns - I think it would be understandable if we indicate we haven't filed any tax returns for the obvious reason that we just recently arrived in the US and most of us would not have any work (or even SSN). There is a section where you can explain why you haven't filed your taxes from the previous year

c. Credit score - same as above it is understandable that we will not have US credit scores if we just recently arrived in the US. But in the questionnaire it specifically mentioned that if we don't have a credit score we should provide  evidence that indeed we have none. I think this evidence can be obtained from any of the three credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, TransUnion. (https://www.usa.gov/credit-reports) I tried online and all are getting error which I suppose that means I don't have credit score, and the results can be requested via mail. Another option, if already possible, is to provide evidence of continued payment of bills if there is no credit report or credit score - perhaps your mobile phone utility bills etc.

d. Financial assets - on top of the financial assets of my USC spouse/sponsor, I am also planning to include mine as well, like my foreign savings accounts, foreign investments, etc. It would be in foreign currency, yes, but you can easily convert them to USD and besides, the more assets you can present, the better chance that the adjudicating officer will see your application positively.

e. English proficiency/education/skills - I am coming from a non-English country but the language of instruction in our school/college is in English so I don't have English language course certificates. What I think can prove my English proficiency is by providing my transcript of records when I was in college and highlight the English courses I took. And again, I would still be jobless the first few months after I arrive in the US as I will still be waiting for my EAD (note: I really do hope that DHS would see this ambiguity!) and therefore cannot answer that I have a job, but luckily I have some professional certifications which I am planning to submit as well just to prove that I am a skilled professional and would have better chances to land a job when I am already legally able.

These are just my twopence. I am not saying these are correct and will work out as we are the lucky guinea pigs that will undergo the public charge rule - and we might not see any results from other AOS applicants until after 5-8 months when they've received their decision/results!

So as I was saying, we were just on the NVC hotline, literally just minutes ago..they said they have received our case yesterday (Oct. 16), but no case number yet.

Our NOA2 date is Sep. 19th.

48 minutes ago, Charlee.Alex said:

My fiancé has tried calling the last 3 days and still not got through to anyone yet..

We were just on the call..and waited for about an hour before we were entertained. 

And yes, they started late today - the line opened around 07:30 ET

1 hour ago, Nicolerae said:

Ugh that’s awful! I swear I got it off the USCIS website too. I just re-did the I-129F and put it back in its place and resent everything. My mom said she could see that they'd all been given a barcode and scanned in. It came with a green sheet and said to basically send it back as it was with the green sheet on top. It’s still been less than a month since we dated everything so I left all the original dates and all the other pages as they were. I did sign the new I-129F as 10/01/19 since that’s when I redid that. 

This is exactly what happened to us as well! And we thought that we had the latest as we just downloaded the form from the USCIS website. But damage been done, so good thing this is just a minor mistake and you shouldn't be too worried. We just re-submitted the docs with the correct form then received our noa-1 5 days after they received it.

25 minutes ago, howthelightgetsin said:

Hi, sorry, I'm just finding this a bit confusing. The form guidance states (my emphasis):

 

Item Numbers 37. - 38.h. Form I-94 Arrival-Departure Record. Select the box to indicate whether your beneficiary has ever been in the United States. Provide the date of your beneficiary’s most recent entry in the United States, his or her I-94 Arrival-Departure Record Number, if available, and his or her immigration status at the time of arrival (for example, student, tourist, temporary worker, without inspection). Provide the expiration date and identification numbers on the I-94 or I-95 Arrival-Departure Records, travel documents, and or passports. See the What Evidence Should You Submit section of these Instructions for additional information.

Obviously the answer to whether I have ever been in the United States, and whether I am currently in the United States have different answers! And I wouldn't want to deprive USCIS of any information they might need (eg passport details) and create delays. Any help gratefully received. 

Thanks, 
Sean 

I had the same confusion when I was filling out my I-129F form. I've been to the US before but at the time I'm applying for K-1 I am already living outside the US.

What I did is what @Letspaintcookies suggested - I left it blank as I am not in the US anymore.

But I also added a printed copy of my recent I-94 and US visa stamps in my passport in the list of documents I submitted just to let them know I have previous US travel history - though I don't think this is really needed (just for my peace of mind).

Then my petition got approved, we just received our NOA2.

Our packet has been returned for the reason of using the old version of I-129F.

We actually downloaded the form from the USCIS official website on February 2019. We noticed that at that time, the version available (04/10/17) in their site is way past the expiration date (08/31/2018) but they also noted that they would soon post a new version but in the meantime we can use the 04/10/17 version.

We submitted the form mid-May but didn't check if they have a newer version! It was our mistake to have overlooked that simple check! So they have returned all the documents plus the check.

Anyway, the bright side is we can still re-submit the packet using the new and correc version of I-129F form.

So question now:

1. The returned documents have now scanned "serial number-like" at the bottom of each page. So we're wondering if we would just re-submit everything, or do we have to re-print all the documents?

2. Would there be additional fees on re-submission, or it is the same $535?

3. Do we need to label our packet and cover letters as "RE-SUBMISSION" or this is still considered as "ORIGINAL SUBMISSION"?

Thanks for all the replies. Yes, it seems L-1 is more cost-saving and convenient, but I think we would still push through the K-1 submission as a failover plan. In case the L-1 application got denied or my work assignment would be cut short. At least we still have the K-1 ongoing without wasting processing time (our planned wedding date is Q1 2020). Agree the $535 fee may just go down the drain, but that's the uncertainty of the future, and a risk we're willing to take.

11 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

1. It doesn't matter. L-1 is a dual-intent visa. You are allowed to have immigration intent on L-1

2. No affect. The L-1 will be based on the merit of your work case, nothing else. 

3. Yes, that would be the way to do it. The advantage of doing that is you are authorized to work for your L-1 employer while you're waiting for AOS to approve. The #1 disadvantage of K-1 that people complain the most about is the inability to work while they wait for EAD/AP. For some, it takes 6-8 months, even longer for others. So the ability to work immediately after you land on L-1 is a big plus (note: you still only are able to work for your L-1 employer, not anyone else). Another side benefit is your L-1 status and visa will allow you to travel and return to the US without abandoning your AOS, before your AP is approved.  Again, if you come on K-1, it will take 6-8 months or even longer to be able to do that. 

Oh that's nice! Was actually getting paranoid as I might be flagged with misrepresentation with having K-1 and L-1 simultaneously. But then again, it isn't my fault - it just so happens my employer would need me in the US to work, at almost the same time with my "personal" plan to immigrate via the fiance visa.

And I think, come interview at AOS it would be less difficult to prove our good intention with this scenario. Yeah, the IO might scrutinize it more but as long as we can explain all that has happened was done in good faith, then we'll be fine...hopefully.

My fiance (US petitioner) and I (alien beneficiary) are almost complete with our K-1 requirements and is ready to submit the K-1 packet by next week.

However, my employer recently notified me to apply for an L-1 visa as I might be needed by our client in the US.

We're thinking to go ahead with our K-1 submission as previously planned, but with the L-1 might complicate some things:

1. Is it advisable to submit the K-1 first, then apply for L-1? Or the other way around?

2. If we decide to submit K-1 first, then at the time of my L-1 application, there would reflect a pending K-1 petition for me. Would it affect my L-1 application?

3. Say I got the L-1 approved then entered the US using L-1, with the K-1 still pending...can we get married in the US (as my work assignment might be long-term), then abandon our K-1 application, then just have an AOS from L-1 to Green Card? Would it raise any red flags?