judester

Judester here!

My husband and his kids just had their interview on Monday! Green card approved! Interview lasted only 15 minutes and 5 of that was for idle chit chat! Name check came through the Friday prior to the interview. No more USCIS for 21 months. We even received the emails by the time we got home from the interview! Now I'll go in and update our timeline.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!!!

Judester and family!

Check this out...

My sister and her husband told everyone not to bother taking pictures as they would take care of it with their "$900" digital camera (she had to let us know how much they paid). We told her we needed them for immigration. So a week after the wedding we give her our email address to send the photos. No problem, she would "get right on it". A month or two pass and I ask again. Yeah, we were kind of busy... "I'll get right on it"! Fast forward to a week prior to the initial (cancelled) interview. "Uh sorry, we must have deleted them"! #######! We couldn't believe it! She had photos from HER trip to Mexico, HER trip to Colorado, HER trip to Canada! "Oh well, it was just an accident!" This woman would never talk to us again if we did that to her! Even if it was an accident! Not one single wedding photo! Now I may have to explain all of this to an immigration officer! UGH!!!

...Deep breath...

Ok... I'm done now...

I feel much better...

See ya!

Judester

ps. my husband was even more ticked off than me!

Congratulations Sandra...I hope this gets processed quickly for you and your husband. May I extend my thoughts to you both as he prepares to be deployed.

Thank you and yes, it got processed right away! I just received my letter in the mail saying Ive been granted the GC.

Congrats!

Be strong and tell your husband to stay safe. Let him know that there are so many of us that respect his courage. We will always support our troops! They need us behind them now more than ever. (contrary to what is reported in the "media"!).

God Bless...

JUDESTER

Well, I don't think you can/should really make a stink about the videotaping thing.. They might be like, "do you have soemthing to hide?"

good luck!

I know, I know. My husband will probably ask about it but wont get bent out of shape. If I know him, he'll probably ask if we need makeup to hide the glare or something goofy like that!

Maybe it's just standard that they include that line in all of the letters.

J

If I remember rightly they make mention of the videotaping as standard in every interview letter so I don't think yours is anything out of the ordinary.

I know that the original interview letter says "We may record or videotape your interview."

Our letter says "THIS INTERVIEW WILL BE VIDEOTAPED".

We have nothing to hide but I still hope that "will" means "may" in our case! Who needs any more stress during an interview!

J

Okay,

Here's a re-cap...

My husband and stepsons received an interview letter shortly after filing. Shortly after receiving the initial interview letter, they received cancellation letters. We all showed up for the originally scheduled interview (based on feedback from VJers). It really was cancelled! The officer asked my husband when is best for us to come back. He explained that the kids would be at their mother's house in Canada until the 3rd week of August. She told us she would ensure our interview would be scheduled for the last week of August. Perfect! NOT!

Fast forward to today. Letter received for my husband and ONE son scheduling the interview for AUGUST 9th, 2007 9:30am and the interview is to be videotaped!!!

Our problem...

- The boys wont be home until August 18th.

- I have to go to court on AUGUST 9th, 2007 for child support issues (My ex owes over $10,000 in past due support) and I'm required to be in court at 9:00am!!!

- We only have an interview letter for ONE of our sons!

- THE LETTER SAID THE INTERVIEW WILL BE VIDEOTAPED!!!

My husband has made an INFOPASS appointment (earliest was July 25th) to get this date changed. He plans on bringing my court papers and court papers from Canada showing pick up and drop off dates of the children. I hope this will be acceptable.

ALSO, has anyone out their received an interview letter from their local office that states the interview will be videotaped?

Any feedback is appreciated!

Thanks,

J

I was told that I should not trust interviews being cancelled by phone. So, is snail mail really all that different?

I don't particularly buy that you should not trust interviews cancelled by phone or mail. It all seems to stem from people getting emails saying their interview was cancelled and it turned out to be bullcrap. I haven't yet seen any evidence that this rule extends beyond email.

Dr_LHA

I dont know if I mentioned earlier, but no email was sent. Our cancellation letters were sent by "snail mail" ONLY. My husband's and 2 stepson's letters were sent from the local office in the same envelope.

We weren't taking any chances, we went anyway!

J

A little background...

We received an Interview Cancelled letter shortly after we received the initial interview letter. Based on the feedback from VJers we went to the "cancelled" interview on the 27th.

We put our interview letters in the slot and waited. We waited from 9:40am to 11:00am before we asked an officer what was going on (interviews were scheduled for 10:00am). He told us that some interviewers were running late and for us to be patient.

We finally got to speak to another agent at 12:40pm. She was coming back from lunch. I showed her a photocopy of our interview letter and she said she would check into it. She told us our interview was DE-scheduled YESTERDAY and apologized for the mix up. She explained that not all of our files were here and one or more of our files my still be waiting on background checks. She told us that they prefer to interview all family members at the same time.

She asked us when is the best time for our interviews. My husband explained that he is taking his 2 sons to Canada on the 29th to visit their mother for 6 weeks. They would not be home until the end of the second week of August. She told us again that she was very sorry about the mix up and has flagged our file so that when it comes in she can schedule the interviews for the last week of August so they would not miss any school in September! She also told us that we would not be a penalized (?!?!) for coming into a cancelled interview?!?! (whatever that means)

This lady was very friendly and quite apologetic about the situation. I sure hope she is the person that gets the honor (lol!!!) of interviewing us!

All in all it wasn't really a waste of time!

We'll keep you posted!

J

HI EVERYBODY !!!!!!

I WILL HAVE MY AOS INTERVIEW THIS COMING WENDESDAY... WISH ME LUCK !!!

I WILL TELL YOU'LL LATER HOW EVERYTHING TURNS !!!

So do we!

My husband and his sons (Canadian) and me (USC) have ours on Wednesday at 10 am in Milwaukee. We received a cancellation notices for the interviews a while after we received the Interview notice. BUT, based on the the feedback of VJers, were going anyway! Just in case the right hand is not sure what the left hand is doing!

Good Luck and we'll also let everyone know how it goes for us!

J

Hi!

My husband and kids had their interview scheduled for 6/27/07 and then received a cancellation notice a few weeks later. Well, we are still going to the interview on the originally scheduled date and time based on feedback from other VJers (We dont want to be denied for not showing up!).

Anyway, I was just wondering if any others can give us feedback on their Milwaukee interview experiences. The Embassy/USCIS Reviews section is kind of thin when it comes to the Milwaukee office.

Thanks again everyone!

J

Anybody from Milwaukee out there?

J

Hi!

My husband and kids had their interview scheduled for 6/27/07 and then received a cancellation notice a few weeks later. Well, we are still going to the interview on the originally scheduled date and time based on feedback from other VJers (We dont want to be denied for not showing up!).

Anyway, I was just wondering if any others can give us feedback on their Milwaukee interview experiences. The Embassy/USCIS Reviews section is kind of thin when it comes to the Milwaukee office.

Thanks again everyone!

J

Hey gang!

My husband received the CARD PRODUCTION ORDERED email for his EAD on 6/11/07!

Perfect timing! He had a 2 1/2 interview for another job this past Friday! They offered him the job on the spot and will send a formal written offer with all details on Thursday (6/14/07)!

Congrats to all others who are having successes andgood luck to the others who are still waiting... It will happen!

J

HI!

My husband and sons just used their APs for the first time yesterday. They returned from Canada via the Sarnia-Port Huron bridge. It was 4pm... on Sunday... nice weather... and they had to wait 1.5 hours to get to the toll booth, 1 hour to cross the bridge AND a 2 hour wait to get the APs stamped! They knew that the first time would take awhile! Anyway, here is what the officer asked for:

- The AP documents for each traveler BOTH COPIES OF ORIGINALS (see below*)

- Proof of Citizenship (Birth Certificate or Passport) for each traveler.

- I-94s for each traveler

That is all the officer asked for. She did say that some officers will ask for more info such as copy of marriage certificate, copy of NOA for the AOS, copy of court order (for proof of custody of the children) and she appreciated that my husband had them ready.

The officer issued new I-94s, stamped the AP and I-94s and asked for the duplicate of the AP. *MY HUSBAND LEFT THE DUPLICATES AT HOME! He told her that in case he lost the envelope with the APs, he would still have the duplicates at home for safe keeping! Apparently, they send the duplicate to be put in the AOS file. She said that he was not the first person to do that and took photocopies of the APs. She was very friendly and understanding.

Next time all they have to do is present the APs to the CBP and not have to "go inside" unless there are "other reasons" to be inspected!

I hope this info may help some of you!

J!

judester: I'm glad you got the AP's!

You know, talking of AP's I had a BAD dream last night,I dreamed I went back to England but had no AP - but its like I had just forgot bout it, and then we panicked and there was talk of the repciept being enough, etc etc.

Oh, it was funny.

How sad to be draeming about immigration

Ohhh, you got it baaaad.

You have to sleep to dream! My husband has only had about 2 1/2 to 3 hours per night since the ex's lawyers started threats of contempt of court for not bringing the kids to visit! Last night he slept over 10 hours! He is soooo relieved!

He already put a copy of the APs in his car so he wont forget them next week!

Thanks again!

J

We got em'!!!!!!

Well... we finally received the APs for my husband and my stepsons! They arrived late Saturday afternoon! Too late for the long weekend travel but still in our hands! They were delivered to the wrong house on the wrong street! That's kind of scary! The person who they were delivered to brought them over in person. That was nice...better than "return to sender"!

Anyway, in my husbands online portfolio with USCIS, stepson one was approved on May 18th, stepson two was approved on May 21st, and my husband's AP case status STILL says "received and pending" as of this morning. They were all mailed on the 23rd and received on the 26th. Just goes to show that you cant always go by the case status updates as "up to date"!

This is sure a load off of our shoulders! After all the toll free calls, expedite requests and infopass appts, we'll be taking the kids to Canada next weekend! WOOHOO!

Total time for APs from NOA to delivery... 55 days!

Now for the interview which was "cancelled", but based on VJ advice we will still attend June 27th.

Thanks for the support!

J

Uh... OK, we were wrong . My stepsons APs have been approved and sent, but not my husbands. His has been touched every day for the past 4 days. He called the toll free line and was transfered to an officer who confirmed that his AP was approved but had not been sent as of 4pm yesterday. This kind of puts a wrench in things!

I guess if the kids APs arrive today or tomorrow, I'll drive the 600 miles each way so they can visit their mother. She refuses to do ANY of the driving to see the kids "cuz the court order says HE HAS TO DRIVE"! Please, it drives me crazy to see someone who wants all the rights with no responsibilities. So much for putting the kids first! But, I dont want the kids to suffer and I dont want my husband landing in jail for contempt of court so I guess I'll start packing.

We'll keep you posted!

Wish us luck!

J

Woohoo!

My husband and stepsons APs were approved yesterday! The emails came in at 10:45pm. Now we can get the kids to see their mother and no more faxes on a daily basis from his ex's lawyer!

OK, since we only received the emails, how long does it take to get hard copies?

Anyone?

Thanks,

J

The only problem I see with this plan is that the security officers check for appointment letters. At least they did that to me at the two different offices I've been to. I'd book an INFOPASS appointment so that you have a reason to be there.

They have an appointment letter.

And it is on the official fancy shmancy paper, not plain white stuff the cancellation notice is printed on!

Thanks,

J

OK,

It seems like the concensus is for us to go to the originally scheduled interview. Do you all think we should just play dumb and go? My husband agrees with going to the originally scheduled interview, but he was also thinking of making another infopass to find out why it was changed.

What do the wise and informative VJ gang think?

Thanks again!

J

ps. I was not being sarcastic with the "wise and informative" crack, we couldn't have gotten this far without you guys!

are you close to your local office? that would make the difference to me not to mention those who were denied due to failing to apppear only received email notifications vs. letters via snail mail.

Yeah, we received the letters in the snail mail, but it wasn't on the "nice" greenish NOA type letter paper. Just plain white...

They were dated May 17, and were sent from the local office in Milwaukee. It just so happened that my husband was at another infopass for an Expedited AP on the 17th and he mentioned to the officer that he MIGHT have to change the appointment date for the kids. His court order says that the children are to start their summer break on June 18th and the interview was scheduled for June 27th. That night, he asked his ex-wife if he could bring them up after the appointment because he didn't want them denied for a no show and she has agreed!

Would the local office change the date based on the fact that he told the officer that he MIGHT have to change the date for the interview?

Oh, by the way, we live only 15 minutes from the local USCIS office and e have never received any emails for any of of the updates.

Any ideas?

Thanks yet AGAIN!

J

Okay, my husband and stepsons interview scheduled for June 27th has been cancelled. We just received the letters today. We thought they were the APs we have been deperately waiting for! Anyway, we have never received any emails and no touches since April 24th. We're kind of worried now. I know some people showed up for the interview even though they were cancelled and the interview proceeded as planned. Others went and were turned away.

WHAT DO WE DO?

Should we play dumb and show up anyway? Who knows, we may get a reschedule notice in a week (some others have had this happen)...

Or, do we go to an Infopass appointment to find out whats going on?

...OR, does this mean we may get transferred and not need an appointment?

Or... ok, I'm out of ORs.

Any feedback will help!

Thanks AGAIN!

J

What constitutes an emergency ?? My wife's best friend is getting married on July 21 ... which is only about 2 months away ... I think it is too late to file the form the regular way ... we are thinking of requesting an InfoPass appointment, but will this excuse be acceptable ? What type of evidence should we bring in ? What a mess !! We should have filed one with the I-485 application ......... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I understand... My husband has a court order requiring him to bring his two sons to Canada once a month for visitation with their mother, but they would not issue an emergency AP for that reason. "Dead or Dying" he was told. That was our office though, it does not mean your local office follows the same guidelines.

...But, last Thursday at an infopass appt he was told that his AP "expedite" request was approved and an email was sent from the local Milwaukee office to the National Benefits Center approving "expedited service". We will just have to wait see... we've done EVERYTHING they told us!

Good Luck!

J

Hi everyone,

I've been on here a few times regarding my husband and his kids getting an Expedited or Emergency Advance Parole. He has a court order requiring him to bring the kids to Canada once a month to visit their mother.

Well, to make a long story longer, he has been to the local Milwaukee office twice regarding this. First time was the day he received his NOA and they said the case was too new. Second time was on the day of their Biometrics appointment. This time they said no unless someone is "dead or dying". He then opened an SRMT (dont know what it means). This was done through the toll free number after being transfered up one level to an officer. He then was told by another officer on the toll free line to resend everything to the NBC and request expedited service. "Send new photos and highlite the parts of the court order you want them to see". He did. He then sent it overnite courier. That was on May 2nd. IT CAME BACK YESTERDAY! It had a leeter that thanked him for the expedited request but this must be done through the LOCAL OFFICE!!!!!!

Now he has received threatening letters (contempt of court, change in custody, etc.) from his ex's lawyer insisting that the kids fly up for their visitation this Friday! They cant fly because their passports havent arrived and they dont have APs! She had no problem with the 60-90 day wait when this all started!

Anyway, I want to get my Congressman involved and would like to know the best way to go about it.

Please help!

Thanks again everyone,

J

Go back to the court of jurisdiction and file for a modification to the original court order based upon a change in circumstances.

Uh, the court is in Canada. If he could go back to court, they could just visit their mother. They cannot even travel for the purpose of going to court without an Advance Parole.

J

HI!

OK, They did NOT approve my husband and his sons AP when he went to the local office (Milwaukee). They do not give emergency APs unless someone is "dead or dying"... A court order requiring him to bring the kids to Canada once a month is not serious enough (contempt of court, jail time, etc...)

We are curious if the APs are updated on the USCIS site when there is a change in status and/or by email or will they just show up in the mail?

Any input would be appreciated! It would save us from checking for updates on a daily basis!

(Ok, we'll still keep checking anyway!)

Thanks,

J

Anyone?

J