2 minutes ago, Rhema1 said:

You can only sponsor someone if you clock the 5 years of being a green card holder or when you become a US citizen. 

In another word, the day you HOLD your naturalization certificate in hand. 

Ok perfect phew lol. Thank you. I know I cannot sponsor parents with a GC anyway, so that shouldn't change anything for me since I'm not sponsoring a spouse.

2 hours ago, sandranj said:

You can use the green card that you have until your GC expires.To change your name with USCIS during the naturalization will take a little bit more  time ,2/3 months. Do you know about the five- year rule to sponsor someone right?

Hi thanks for your response. No I didn't know about the rule. My fiance is a citizen, but I was hoping to sponsor my mom once I get my naturalization done. Would I have to wait another year (3 with GC + 1 year wait after applying for citizenship) to sponsor her?

Hi friends, long time no see! It's been over a year since I've had my GC and I still can't get over how good it feels after all the waiting.

I'm getting married soon, seeking some advice about name change. Should I do it now? Is it mandatory to apply for a new GC or can I keep using the one with maiden name?

Another option I'm considering is waiting 1.5y and changing name while applying for naturalization, but haven't seen details specific to Houston (I'd have to go to court instead of local office?) and idk if this would extend naturalization process by a few months?

Thanks in advance.

7 hours ago, cathie2021 said:

Hello folks,

My VAWA case is pending since April 17th 2019. A few weeks ago, my congressman contact with USCIS about the status of the my case, and here's the response from USCIS;

'' Your constituent's case is pending security checks. We are unable to determine at this time when the review process for your constituent's Form I-360 VAWA will be completed .We are striving to resolve these issues as soon as possible. ''

Folks, what does 'security check' mean and how long does it take? Do you think I should contact the senators ( not congressman) and is there anything I can do in this situation? It's been 26 months and still waiting.

* I have regularly received a Prima Facie certificate almost every 6 months and have never asked for an RFE.

It happened to a few people on this forum. It doesn't mean anything bad in terms of your chances for approval, but unfortunately it does mean that your case will most likely be delayed significantly past estimated processing times. Just hang in there.

3 hours ago, Victorycoming said:

Hi everyone, pls does anyone know how I can contact my local congressman? Dallas TX.

Filed I485 since 12/2019 no update whatsoever.

Just google "find your representative" and go through the first link. Call the local Dallas office of your district's rep.

1 hour ago, Happyhappy2020 said:

Hi all,

I sent my completed I360 to my lawyer yesterday for them to check over and send in for me. I will have my I485 interview (originally scheduled for the i130) in a few days and I will ask them to put my I485 in abeyance. Will they ask me for proof of when my lawyer mailed in the I360? I was going to tell them I am requesting for it to be held in abeyance Bec my lawyer will be filing the I360 for me, will the immigration officer ask me for anything else before they will approve the request for abeyance?

Since you have a lawyer this sounds like a question (s)he should answer. I do think they may ask you for proof that you are planning to file, bring copies of the documents you will be sensing with your I360 application like personal statement, any police records, witness affidavits, therapist conclusion etc.

1 hour ago, marcoisland777 said:

Hello dear community please help me with advice, vawa case approved on march 2020, filed i485 in Dec 2018, on the uscis processing time website the i485 in vt service is already in April 2019 meaning my i485 is out of processing time for 4 months, I already sent e request and received a letter saying I should write to the VT service, which I did in April but haven't got any response, what can I do to speed up my i485? what ideas can you share with me, when would it be feasible to file a mandamus

Do you live in Vermont? If not why are you checking processing times for I485 in Vermont? Your local field office is in charge of that. Ask your local congressman to check on the status of your I485.

10 hours ago, Bessly said:

Please what does this mean "Correspondence Was Received And USCIS Is Reviewing It" I checked my profile and saw this on my I-360 I have not requested or responded to anything.  Can someone help me on this

USCIS commonly has this glitch update. I had it too. Means nothing. Sometimes can mean they got your change of address stuff you sent months ago, but not necessarily.

Hi friends. My VAWA was approved Jan 2020. Got my interview and GC Jan 2021. Summer 2020 I applied for C31 EAD and received a denial last month due to being a permanent resident by then. Now I got a notification from USPS that there's a letter sent to me from VSC last week but somehow it didn't have an apartment number and I never received it. Does anyone know what can it be? Should I ignore or try to struggle to find out what it was through the senator?

23 minutes ago, Vale1 said:

Some people have told me about RFE and noid sent after that but frankly looks like illegal! What I think is that if they want to send me a noid they will send anyway regardless the fact that I email them or not! Right?

I got RFE after my 1st request, but it was a reasonable one - I did not submit clearance from my home country with the package. After RFE response I also reached out through congressman after 90 days and it got approved. So I think it just speeds up RFE/NOID, doesn't cause it.

9 minutes ago, Vale1 said:

Hello all, 

November 2018 filler. 

No answer yet. No RFE, just prima facie each 6 month and EAD card renewal. 

 

My last inquire with NYC senator produced a response from USCIS " your constituent's Petition is pending with an officer at VSC. Please allow some more time to finish reviewing the case and take an appropriate action" 

Senator said "if you don't hear from them in 60 days contact me again" 

75 days has passed and I want to write her so bad but my lawyer said "do not rush a decision on your case" 

Do not rush a decision? is almost 3 freaking years!!!!!  

So i want to learn if you feel that my case can have any downfall if I keep pushing them! I mean they can't deny a case just because I ask answers, no? 

 

Thank you for your opinion!

I say rush it. I have never heard of anyone getting in any trouble for sending inquiries, especially considering you're way overdue for a decision.

7 minutes ago, Aadi135 said:

Gosh i am in trouble. City where my both abroad witness living is under lockdown. Apart from essential services everything is closed. 

Yes i am really relaying on these affidavits but due to lockdown and covid infection none of my witness able to notarized letters. All are signing and emailing me from abroad and one who is here already mailed me original. 

The due date on RFE - you can add 60 days to that to submit your RFE (as far as I know, maybe someone will correct). So just wait for your friend to recover from Covid to get it notarized and hope that 2 people abroad will be able to notarize it by then. Because if you rely heavily on affidavits it wouldn't make sense to send 3 which are not notarized.

1 minute ago, Aadi135 said:

Thats is why asking because i read sandra’s response to mail them to US. It will delay my reply to uscis. Scanned affidavits with ID’s 

Yup they will likely not be accepted. If you have other solid proof then its fine, but if your heavily rely on these RFEs you have to ask them to notarize in their country and mail to you express or something.

6 hours ago, Tyo said:

I have a question... it’s been 3 months I received my C31 EAD but my case hasn’t been approved yet. Is there anything I need to do or just keep waiting? Thanks 

Your case has been approved the moment I360 status changed to card being produced. I don't think there's anything you need to do, but if you don't get the approval notice soon you may want to reach out to the congressman to get a copy. The date of approval will be from when the card was produced though.

19 minutes ago, Aadi135 said:

Hello, I received three 3rd party affidavits for my rfe. Two of them are abroad and due to covid they just able to sign and send me an email with their ID’s and not notarized or mail me original copy. 3rd affidavit is infected with covid so he also didn’t managed to notorize but he did sent his covid positive report along with his letter and ID. Will that work or i am missing anything here? 

So the ones from abroad will just email you scanned signed affidavits? I would be surprised if USCIS accepted that.

On 4/8/2021 at 1:58 PM, HopOnHope said:

Nope . I did not ask for fee waiver . 

So the check you sent with your I485 application hasn't been cashed?

2 hours ago, HopOnHope said:

If I do not receive the receipt  in 4 months for AOS , should I re-apply the AOS again ?

Did you have a fee waiver for application? Just curious in case you didn't if they cashed your check or not.

Just now, Demise said:

Just file an I-765 under category code (c)(9) and ignore C31. C9 renewal is free (as long as you paid for the I-485, otherwise you have to pay the filing fee or get another fee waiver) and comes with the automatic 180 day extension.

Thanks. I know that's what many people here ended up doing, but I also saw at least one person that got denied because technically once VAWA is approved you're supposed to use C31, no?

3 minutes ago, Demise said:

Renew which work permit, the C9 from AOS?

Yes, the pre-VAWA approval one under C09

Hey guys, do you know if someone doesn't automatically get C31 with VAWA approval (the box wasn't checked) and they need to renew work permit - do they apply for renewal and change category (making them ineligible for 180 day extension of course) or do they submit a brand new application for C31 EAD?

17 hours ago, VuckFiky said:

Hello, new here, I have been dating my husband for 6 months before we got married. He turned my life into hell after that. It’s been 6 months since we are married. One of guy on other forum suggested me to wait for a while to file Vawa. As 6 months will be very short time and I will receive RFE. 
 

I already received RFE for co-sponsor and that jerk is not helping. I lost my independent student status because of him. I am almost ready with my packet but not sure if I shall wait little longer 

 

does COVID gives another additional 60 days to respond to RFE? TIA

There are people here that applied for VAWA after a month of being married, so 6 doesn't sound too bad. The main idea is for you to have lots of proof of shared residence - bills, cards that have transactions showing common expenses like groceries, bills, furniture etc, insurance papers, lease etc.

22 hours ago, ISA_willdoit said:

 

Greetings everyone 

 

I don’t know if this is the right forum or please guide me..

 

i am in this forum since 2016

I am a VAWA GC holder 

- GC holder since october 2018

will complete my 18 months being inside US on July 2021 (had many trips outside due to my aviation job)

 

can you please guide me 

- when can I apply for my citizenship ( which month )

- should my frequent trips affect my application

- VAWA / GC can file online or should i mail again to VAWA center

 

thank you

Hello. I believe 2y and 9 months from the date stated on your GC is when you can submit your citizenship application (if spouse was a citizen). USCIS wants you to be in the US at least 6 months in a year, so if you didn't break that rule you're okay. If you did prep evidence of why you had to travel so much.

2 hours ago, DmytriiD said:

Now I actually have a question to those who was always helpful with their advise and know the answer:

Currently my I485 case (which is in "ready to be scheduled for an interview" status since July 2019) is at NBC and the address on this application is not my current address. I moved 5 times in 2 years between different states. I recently sent an address update form to NBC as well as tried updating address online, but status didn't change to "Correspondance was received" so I am not sure if address update took place on my I485.
Just FYI - I updated my address with VSC for I360 each time I moved. I thought it automatically updates my address with USCIS based on alien #, but seems that it was not updating it with NBC.

So, question is - how can I verify what address NBC has on file for me ? Tried doing this via congressmen and no luck.
What are the next steps after approval of I360 ? As I understand VSC send my case to NBC, NBC does their check and requests me for new medical and then mail case for an interview in a local office, right ? Local office is based on the address NBC has for me or VSC has for me ? This is very important because I feel like they have 2 different addresses...Also how long does this all take now until my case reaches a local office ?
Thank you in advance!

If congressman didn't work I'd try senator, and then InfoPass. Online scheduling is terminated yes, but they still do those over the phone - they just need to escalate to a higher tier representative and you'll get a call back if your local office is accepting appointments. I had one in October 2020.

Yes to the timeline questions, and I'd say it always takes around 4-6 months from approval for the case to make it to local office.

1 hour ago, Engineering-rocks said:

I had my EAD lost too, I personally think someone steals them in the post office because there are entire forum threads with people saying status shows delivered, but no card. I had my mailbox in a secure locked location. 

Anyways what I did was contact my congressman, she asked for proof it was lost. I showed her that I opened a claim with USPS and they sent me an email after a few weeks that they couldn't find it. Idk if it's necessary to wait for that, but I did. I also tried calling USPS office many times, but it was useless.

After my congressman contacted USCIS saying the card was lost it only took a couple of weeks to get new one.

@Salyeen Actually you know what I think I'm remembering it wrong. I actually had to apply for the EAD renewal AGAIN (I probably attached some proofs of USPS lost mail claims) and the congressman contacted USCIS explaining that I'm applying because previous one was lost, so they expedited this new one and I got it after a couple of weeks.

23 hours ago, Salyeen said:

Anyone has idea what happen if the EAD got lost ? And how long will take to get another one my lawyer lost mine he killed all my happiness. 

and can I take a letter from ice ? That my ex call them lie ! 

I had my EAD lost too, I personally think someone steals them in the post office because there are entire forum threads with people saying status shows delivered, but no card. I had my mailbox in a secure locked location. 

Anyways what I did was contact my congressman, she asked for proof it was lost. I showed her that I opened a claim with USPS and they sent me an email after a few weeks that they couldn't find it. Idk if it's necessary to wait for that, but I did. I also tried calling USPS office many times, but it was useless.

After my congressman contacted USCIS saying the card was lost it only took a couple of weeks to get new one.

12 minutes ago, Rosa Garcia said:

After few hours the case changed again... this is so stressful! First they stated that case was transferred to a local office, and after few hours they changed it that case was transferred to another office. I am confused. And few days ago they stated that correspondence has been received but I never sent any letter! Anybody can help what's going on? Do you usually get two different notifications from USCIS?

 

Case Was Transferred And A New Office Has Jurisdiction

It doesn't really sound like they scheduled the interview, just stating that you're on the list waiting to get scheduled.

3 hours ago, peacefulFor said:

Hi, I am new here. Anyone who had Sept 2019 filing that got their approval?

Also, I have a daughter that is a derivative of my application we both filed I485 but she received an interview appointment already but our I360 has no approval yet. Should we attend or reschedule? 

Thank you all!

The latest I saw was August, no September yet.

You should attend, bring your I360 receipt with you. The officer may choose to interview you then and when you VAWA gets approved you will just get GC in the mail - there was a case here like this (not with a kid, but just a person doing interview before approval). Or they may just put it on hold until approval. Either way I'd say attend.

58 minutes ago, Ana FL said:

Hey guys. 
received the notice today that my application is missing medical exam. 
how long usually after the notice we receive the interview appointment? Or RFE to send medicals? 
VAWA was approved 11/2020

Depends on your state and city. Usually 2-24 months, but a year from approval on average.

8 hours ago, Fishy89 said:

hello everyone ! 
i know you are sick of me and my case but i need help !!!
I submitted a request to my congressman asking for EAD expedition !! 
And this is what he replied to me !!! 
anyone has explanation for this !! 
360 pending since February 2018 please anyone get a response like this before regarding EAD renewal ! 

thanks 

Hi there. What a weird response, are you sure you didn't accidentally submit it under C31 category? Because that would be the only reason for them not to process EAD until after I360 approval.

2 hours ago, aquila said:

I received this email, text about an hour ago and I'm panicking and crying. I can't tell what they've again or what I've done wrong this time. Please I need help.

Are you thinking it could be NOID? My officer told me that NOID and RFE are almost the same thing, hopefully in the worst case you'll just have to submit extra documents.

Reach out to your congressman/senator, they might be able to get you copy of this notice sooner.

2 hours ago, Braveheart123 said:

I have a question that now my mother and younger sister is alone in my home country can I sponsee then or at least apply a visit visa for them.

need some suggestions

Congrats! You can petition for them after you get your citizenship (in 3.5 years or so). For your mom the process should take about a year, but for your sister it can be like 10 years till she gets her papers through you.

Yes they can just apply for tourist visa to visit you.

31 minutes ago, MAYgirl said:

I just received this email for the congresswoman office finally seeing some kind of movement on my case the only document I can think of that's missing is my updated medical so praying and hoping the send reference for me to update it 

I think this is a generic answer "we're working on it", doesn't necessarily mean they're missing something.

24 minutes ago, luminarc said:

Thanks, do I reach out to a house of rep or senator? does it make much of a difference?

Senator's local office. Senator and congressman should be the same really, it's just a recommendation in case your congress person never responds or something like that.

1 hour ago, Pinkrlion said:

Since they are seperate applications from the GC, they are still processed.  I got Renewal EAD after my GC was approved

Got it, thanks! Well then for those waiting on renewal - AP applied August, approved March (7 months). C31 EAD renewal still pending since August.