DWolf

All seems well.  It's been only a couple business days. Sometimes, the officers are a little slow in updating.

Sept 2022 filer as well out of Florida.

I actually used to live in Virginia, so I know where the PSC is in an area of Alexandria called "Crystal City".  I guess they call it the PSC since it's close to the Potomac River and DC.

Not a large building by US Government standards.  It's medium sized, large enough to be noticeable though...but likely not enough to house the numbers needed to process all the filers.  I've been to three USCIS buildings in the Virginia area.

Hope they transfer some applications as it seems the Potomac officer is getting overwhelmed.

Also keep in mind the Federal workforce is *unfortunately* facing a mass exodus of employees.  They're hitting a huge wave of retirees and there are record resignations. I don't know how it's affecting DHS and USCIS but I'm sure they're hit with it.  The USG and parts of it were largely not ready for remote work.  Lots of Govn't agencies are behind on the technical curve.

Also ended up at the Potomac Service Center. We're in Florida.

Mailed: Aug 31
Received (Chicago Lockbox): Sept 1
Text Message Received: Sept 6
Check Cashed: Sept 7
Priority Date: Sept 1
NOA: Still waiting...

*sigh*

So we had our make-up interview on Sept 27th (first one cancelled due to COVID).  I was a little concerned about my wife's Medical Exam because we did it in August 2019 and there is conflicting data on whether it is valid for 1-year or 2-years.  We didn't have time to submit it with the initial paperwork in May 2019.

So the first thing our officer points out was the medical exam is no longer valid because it has to be within a year.  I tell him that I talked to customer service and they said it was still valid and their online info says it's valid for two years.  He insists it's a "flat policy" and was pretty apologetic about it.  Nice guy.  I asked if we could talk to a supervisor about an exemption or something (I'm a fellow Fed too so I know there are always alternatives) but he said no.  Anyways, we did complete the Interview and he said he'd approve the I-130, which he did later that afternoon and we got the slip already.  He gave us a RFE on the spot to deliver the new exam straight to the Washington DC office.

We re-did the exam with the same doctor and everything and mailed it in Express about two weeks ago.  They received it on 10/1.  From what I recall, the officer said that he should wrap everything up ASAP and that if we didn't see a change within 30 days, to call customer service and try to talk to Tier 2 officer.

Anyone has experience with sending stuff direct to the office?  How quick was their turn-around?

This stupid Medical Exam nonsense....USCIS needs to be more clear and actually train their customer service reps.

Looks like DC is finally moving with rescheduling!

-Original Interview Date: April 3, 2020
-E-mail Reschedule Notice Received: August 24, 2020
-Rescheduled Interview: ????? (Guessing late September)

We also sent in the EAD/AP Renewals for my wife in July as her docs expired in October.  We wanted to get them in and get the notice on account of the USCIS furlough coming and we had no idea when they would reschedule her.

I guess the looming USCIS furloughs are not affecting interviews?  Anyone got more background info on this?

Looks like DC is finally moving with rescheduling!

-Original Interview Date: April 3, 2020
-E-mail Reschedule Notice Received: August 24, 2020
-Rescheduled Interview: ????? (Guessing late September)

We also sent in the EAD/AP Renewals for my wife in July as her docs expired in October.  We wanted to get them in and get the notice on account of the USCIS furlough coming and we had no idea when they would reschedule her.

I guess the looming USCIS furloughs are not affecting interviews?  Anyone got more background info on this?

Our interview date was April 3rd, we're still waiting for our rescheduled interview date.  I assume we might be until October-ish if other folks are getting September.  What happened to all of summer? USCIS not doing anything? 😂 I noticed they have now pushed back their open date to JUNE 4th according to their website.

We might have the renew my wife's EAD/AP too...geez, I'm a fed too and I'm frustrated with how USCIS is such a mess with some of this stuff. I know USCIS has been trying to push more forms online but they need to do it better.  I think you're going to see a HUGE push for massive teleworking where possible...it was rolling out slowly before but now I think it will really get pushed.

Anyways, just some additional interesting info, my federal agency has instructed us that we are to "wait" for Virginia to declare its COVID peak, wait two weeks (probably to see if there's a drop in cases) and then we will start a "phased" return with reduced staff.  I don't know if USCIS will be doing something similar, but we'll see.  I actually don't anticipate returning to the office until June...similar to USCIS.

If you are currently in the US you should be fine:
 
Here's the official details:
 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-suspending-entry-immigrants-present-risk-u-s-labor-market-economic-recovery-following-covid-19-outbreak/

Wow...September 27th is far away.  We were scheduled for April 3rd and are still waiting for our Interview to be Rescheduled.

The White House gave guidance that Federal Agencies should follow the guidance of the states they reside in...so if USCIS chooses to follow Virginia, that means there won't be any openings until June 10th.

I'm also a Federal employee and I can tell you there is A LOT of confusions among the federal agencies here in DC...many of which have elderly workers AND offices with hundreds/thousands of people.  Opening prematurely puts your co-workers at risk.  In my opinion, they should implement testing for everyone walking in the buildings and they should do a "phased" opening.

Oh, FYI, the White House Executive Order DOES NOT impact US Citizen Foreign Spouses.
 
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-suspending-entry-immigrants-present-risk-u-s-labor-market-economic-recovery-following-covid-19-outbreak/
 

Guys, just received my card in mail today! 

My brother has had his "pending" in his bank account since Saturday with a 'release date' of April 15th.  Obviously what you see depends on your bank.  A lot (approx. 8 million and those that did direct deposit) are supposed to be deposited tomorrow the 15th.

Our status has changed back to "Ready to be scheduled for Interview" after the Cancellation.

If I was USCIS, I would keep most people in this status until they actually determine when they're going to start re-opening.  A lot of re-opening declarations are pretty pre-mature right now.

If anyone engages them about a medical exam, please report that here for the rest of us.  They're obviously going to have to make some exceptions for that.

We're in Northern Virginia.  Heart of the USG...

We filed for my Wife's AOS (I-485, I-130, I-131, I-765) in late May.  Had a Biometrics Interview in June, just returned a RFE Response (regarding her Exchange Status and 212(e) which she is not subject to, the USCIS officer also completed overlooked her two visa copies in our original submission in there that state she's not subject to it) and now it's being "Reviewed".  They should have access to SEVIS so they should easily be able to see who is subject to those rules.

It doesn’t reset the clock but does stop it temporarily.  So the quicker you get your RFE Response back, the quicker USCIS can get back to working your case.
 
We had a RFE for the 485 too.  It MAY have been relevant to the EAD too but nothing on our EAD online status changed during the RFE.  When we responded and tracking acknowledged that USCIS received the Response, they changed the online status the next day to “RFE Response Received”.  Approximate 24 days later, my wife’s EAD/AP combo card was approved and we received it in early November.  Also in early November, the 485 online case updated to “interview ready to be scheduled”, BUT they backdated the status to October 29th.
 
Total time time for my wife to receive her EAD/AP was a little over 5 months.

Just got the update for the “Ready for interview” online.
 
of course, it’s back-dated to October 28th.  10 days ago!

They don’t really care if you’re owning or renting but it never hurts to provide more info.  They just need to know where all your addresses were.
 
If you want to provide something - I would suggest a signed letter from your Fiancé’s mother noting that you are her son-in-law and are residing there for the foreseeable future and a copy of a mortgage bill or deed that identifies she owns the property and/or is paying the mortgage.

Yes. Live person.
 
Go in the EMMA chat during USCIS business hours and type something like “Talk to a representative”, it will ask to switch to Live Chat.  There was no wait and I did see the rep’s name and ID number.  Yes, ID number was there too, don’t know why it’s blurred out for some.  I screenshot the whole chat.

Aren’t EAD and APs handled at the National Benefits Center in Missouri and are separate from a AOS I-485 which are sent to the field office?  It’s so weird to me that there are EADs and APs approved quicker than some of us and we filed before other folks?

Yes. Live person.
 
Go in the EMMA chat during USCIS business hours and type something like “Talk to a representative”, it will ask to switch to Live Chat.  There was no wait and I did see the rep’s name and ID number.  Yes, ID number was there too, don’t know why it’s blurred out for some.  I screenshot the whole chat.

How long had you been waiting when you placed an inquiry?  Was it during the normal processing time or after?
 
My wife has been waiting 150 days + and the end of a November would’ve been our “out of process” inquiry time at 6.5 months.  They just extended everything to 7.5 months but I’m think I’m going to file an inquiry anyway.

Please keep us updated if you receive the card.  My wife might go this route if they don’t send they don’t send the EAD/AP combo card by November.

RFE came quick thankfully.

Turned out they wanted evidence that she is not subject to 212(e): Two year residency requirement.

Yeah, the officer completely overlooked her two visa copies I submitted that each said "BEARER IS  NOT SUBJECT TO SECTION 212(E)".  As well as her DS-2019.  🙄

Guess I'll just resend those copies with the cover letter and highlighter marking the areas.

Yup, while you're in the AOS limbo period of changing Status (i.e. getting your Green Card), my understanding is you can still fulfill the obligations of your current status whether it be Student, Work, etc.

How the companies themselves handle the marriage to a USCIT is then contingent on the company.  A lot of Au Pairs (both some of my wife's friends and some stories on Facebook/Forums/Etc.) either end up leaving the program early or wrap up their contract.  Either way, they're in the "Pending Status" AOS limbo.

Thanks everyone for the replies and comments!!! 😊