ZeeZeeZee

Pretty much what it says in the title: I filed for ROC Oct 2021 and have been in the "Your case is ready to be scheduled for interview" stage since Oct 2022. Radio silence from then until today, when I suddenly got an email saying "Your new card is being produced".
 
Did I skip the interview somehow? Is there some reason to print a new card pre-interview? Has anyone else had this happen?

Update: got another email that explicitly confirmed that my application has been approved, so 🎉🎉🎉

Update: got another email that explicitly confirmed that my application has been approved, so 🎉🎉🎉

Update: got another email that explicitly confirmed that my application has been approved, so 🎉🎉🎉

Pretty much what it says in the title: I filed for ROC Oct 2021 and have been in the "Your case is ready to be scheduled for interview" stage since Oct 2022. Radio silence from then until today, when I suddenly got an email saying "Your new card is being produced".
 
Did I skip the interview somehow? Is there some reason to print a new card pre-interview? Has anyone else had this happen?

Pretty much what it says in the title: I filed for ROC Oct 2021 and have been in the "Your case is ready to be scheduled for interview" stage since Oct 2022. Radio silence from then until today, when I suddenly got an email saying "Your new card is being produced".
 
Did I skip the interview somehow? Is there some reason to print a new card pre-interview? Has anyone else had this happen?

As if posting about it made it happen... Finally got my confirmation text and case number today. Phew!
 
Now to wait 7-22 months for the next step...

As if posting about it made it happen... Finally got my confirmation text and case number today. Phew!
 
Now to wait 7-22 months for the next step...

Yessss! Congratulations! I wasn't sure how they'd handle the overstay thing, but apart from that I was certain you'd be fine. I'm so glad it went well for you!
 
If you're obsessively checking your case status online (I certainly was!), don't read too much into the changing statuses: we also got approved on the spot but my I-130 online status was stuck on "your case is being reviewed" for several days, while my I-485 went from "your card is being produced" to "your case is approved" to "your card has been posted". As far as I can tell, once they've sent the order to produce your card, you're home safe
 
 
It does feel like a lot of the advice I see online is still caught up in proving an idealised 1950s-style traditional heteronormative marriage: you must live together, you must have kids already or have a good reason why not, your finances must be 100% merged, etc. I don't think *anyone* could meet that standard today! Going through the interview last month, it really felt more like those were good things if you had them, but not disqualifying if not. "[Partner] had to move for work, and here's what we're doing in the meantime" was met with an understanding nod from our interviewer, so it's certainly not an uncommon thing.
 
 

It's probably worth phoning up USCIS and asking them directly; 10 months has got to be well outside normal processing times for this, so the call centre person will either submit a case status inquiry for you or transfer you to a Tier 2 person who can actually answer your questions. If they submit an inquiry, make sure you ask what date you can expect an answer by, because once you have an overdue pending inquiry on your case they get a lot better about letting you speak to the Tier 2 officers.
 
Before you phone, it's worth googling to look up the current route through their automated answering system, because it's suuuuper difficult to find the "talk to actual person" option otherwise. They also have a limit on how many people they can transfer to Tier 2 per day, so it helps to call early (~8-11 Eastern).
 
You can also get your Senator/Congresscritter involved, but if you're not in an immediate hurry then that might not be worth the effort just yet. If you can get a solid answer from USCIS first about what's causing the delay, that'll make it easier to figure out your next move. Or if USCIS keep brushing you off, that's useful info to take to your representative's office as well!
 
(I haven't been in this exact situation, but USCIS sat on my EAD application for 8 months so I have some recent experience with nagging them about delays. They eventually approved my EAD application and scheduled my GC interview within minutes of each other, less than two weeks after a Tier 2 officer submitted an inquiry on my behalf, so... who knows if that helped. Having a clear "you can expect an answer by this date; if not then call back" made the delays easier to cope with, at least.)
 

I got my interview email notification on October 10th, and the interview date is November 19th. The actual interview letter was postmarked October 15th, so "one month after you receive the interview notice" seems to be pretty accurate there.
 
The letter also says "If an emergency, such as your own illness or a close relative's hospitalization, prevents you from appearing, call the USCIS call center at 800-375-5283 as soon as possible.  Please be advised that rescheduling will delay processing of application/petition, and may require some steps to be repeated. It may also affect your eligibility for other immigration benefits while this application is pending."
 
So it's possible to reschedule at least; I'd *hope* they'd consider "we already booked nonrefundable plane tickets" as a valid reason but who knows. The guff about eligibility is just scaremongering: it's a one-size-fits-all letter and they're just covering all their bases.