irishoxford

Just updating this with my information:

AOS Package Received at Chicago Lockbox: 24th March (original package rejected on 11th March).

Still no NOAs/text messages/check cashing.

Let’s see if they’ve rejected it!  (I didn’t put N/A or None - left blanks instead.  Saw some worries about that being a cause of rejection here, so it’s on my mind now!  Lol/urgh).

Mine was delivered 24th March to the Chicago lockbox.  No NOAs, no checks cashed.

3 minutes ago, Rambava said:

So for you did you take the 'Course Analysis' package or the general one? Also the first pre-verification documents came in exact 10 days or the final verified ones came in 10 days from putting the order?

I used the general analysis package.  It gave an analysis of equivalency.  Best to discuss this with SpanTran with the I-944 instructions right in front of you.  I think the general analysis fully answered that requirement (as you could see above in my direct quoting from the document).

That said, talk to them to put your mind at rest.
 

I paid to rush the original equivalency document.  I got that back in 2 days (with “verification pending”; the “verification complete” document came back 10 days thereafter.)

1 minute ago, Rambava said:

Thanks for the explanation. I emailed them and I got an auto response which had a phone number on it. I gave it a shot and somebody picked up. Guess my lucky day. lol. 

Anyways the person was able to answer all my questions. They advised me to ask for the 'Course Analysis' for $170(10 business days). They also confirmed that all the certificates for one price. Also $120 extra for verification(DVS).

I am going to submit with them as of now and just hope they do the right thing. For $290 and 10 business days, seems like a decent deal if they really do a course by course evaluation.

Hope it works for you!  I was never, ever able to speak to them by phone!  Lol.

Bear in mind that the first document that comes out from them may have "Verification in Progress" for the verification portion (it'll still give the equivalency).  They say that pre-final verification document is fine to forward to USCIS at that point (because verification can take months).

Despite them saying it can take months, about 10 days after that I received the final version, but I'd already sent off the I-944.  As I said before, USCIS seems more concerned about the equivalency right now rather than the verification.  They can always RFE my original documents later.  

J  

1 minute ago, Rambava said:

 

I have send inquiry for both the companies. My main question will be if there are three certificate/trasncript(secondary, higher secondary and Bachelors) would they charge individually or together. And how much for the course by course evaluation for all. This is just such an added expense. 

Also the reason I am getting the Secondary(10th Grade) done as that has mu language proofs as well. So I can use that to back up my language certification in all three languages. 

Spantran mentioned my highest level of high school education (GCE Advanced Level), but also mentioned the number of years in elementary/secondary education as well as part of that.  Much like you, I'd done several steps in my high school journey (GCSE/AS-Level/A-Level).  This was part of the portion for the high school bit:
 

Foreign Credential: General Certificate of Education Advanced Level, 2002
Length of Program: 13 years of elementary, secondary, and pre-university education
Recommended U.S. Equivalency: Senior high school diploma and completion of 18 semester credit hours of undergraduate

study at a regionally-accredited institution of higher education.

Given that they were on the USCIS list of providers for equivalency, I'm going to trust that they did it properly.  It seems that USCIS only wants proof that our high school education is equivalent to "a senior high school diploma". 

J  

30 minutes ago, Rambava said:

I am in the same exact situation as yours. What did you end up doing? Did you evaluate both high school and Bachelors. Have you already submitted the docs and is it accepted. Which service did you use and how much did it cost?

I used Spantran.  I evaluated both the high school and college-level stages separately (which cost close to $500 in total when done over a couple of days).  I do think that if you just do your college one that they include your high school one as part of that, so I might have ended up paying twice.  Best to ask them!

Problem is is that they weren't particularly contactable!  I was happy with the result, and their speed, but you may want to find somebody else.  There were several other companies (like Spantran) that allow you to send in copies electronically (which definitely helped me in being able to get that i-944 off as quickly as I could).

Just now, US&TN said:

I files under financial loss and job offer ! Good luck 

Really appreciate the response!  Will lose my job later in the year if I don't get the EAD (the job is renewed yearly).  Anyway, super pleased for you (and I hope it's diminished all your anxiety).  

5 minutes ago, US&TN said:

Thank you! As long as u have a job letter you can uscis tell them that you wanna expedite your EAD and they will send an email asking u to send ur evidence for the expedite.  And later all u have to do is wait for a respond!! 

Good luck 😊

US&TN,

Quick question for you.  I'll be in the same position in a few months, so I was wondering which category you filed under for the expedite?  E.g. severe financial loss, etc.?

Would help a great deal!  Thanks!  Congrats, by the way!

Dexter,

I used Spantran, but they weren't particularly good with the way in which they communicated.  Also unavailable by phone generally.  They were quick though.  Depends how insecure you want to feel!

Here's what I experienced (bear with me - it's a bit confusing):

1) I did a 2-day rush equivalency evaluation of my undergraduate degree (cost was somewhere in the $260 range).  You send a scan via their online portal of your transcript.

2) The same day I did a slightly slower equivalency evaluation of my high school "diploma" (my U.K. GCSE/A-Levels) (cost was somewhere in the $235 range).

• When I mentioned the confusion in my previous email, the staff member evaluating the undergraduate degree asked or my high school "diploma" anyway, so it ended up on the document produced for the undergraduate degree equivalency too. 
• They sent that equivalency document by email and by post. 
• The initial document they send gives the full equivalency and a brief "Verification in Progress" comment (for the verification of the transcript itself).  I was able to send that initial document on to USCIS.  (Later, within a couple of weeks in my case, they send you the same document with "Verification Complete"). 
• USCIS only asks for equivalency, not for a full verification of the transcript itself, so that first document was sent to USCIS as soon as I got it.  
• As I said, a second document came out a couple of weeks later - it's exactly the same as the first document, but with "Verification Complete".  
   
• The high school equivalency order arrived separately (a couple of days after the university one).  
• So, essentially, I might have paid twice given that Spantran seems to have rolled up the high school and university equivalencies into the 2-day rush document.
• As I said before, you may want to query with the provider before you send stuff in.  I am just in more of a rush because my EAD will run out in the early Autumn, and spending out $500 was better at that point than losing my job later in the year.
  
  
  Hope that helps!
  
  J

Dexter,

I have the same (Master's/PhD in the U.S., and an undergraduate and high school education in my home country). 

I did get the equivalency done for the high school and undergraduate education for the I-944.  I didn't feel that their language gave any wiggle-room for our particular circumstances.  They may, in the future, clarify the requirements, but better safe than sorry.  Some of the equivalency companies will allow you to send in transcripts electronically, and do provide rush services if you're in a rush.

One thing I'd clarify with any potential verification company would be if they do your high school and undergraduate verification as a package, or if you'll have to pay twice instead.  It seems that some of them seem to require high school information to do the verification for the undergraduate degree (and then provide equivalences for both educational levels on the same document).  

As I said, best to ask the particular company!

J

 

PPerry,

You'll also need to include the I-944 now, as well as the updated versions of several of those previous forms (at least the I-485 and I-765 were updated as part of the public charge ruling, but make sure that you look yourself!)

If you husband finished high school, he'll need evaluated transcripts, as well as a credit report, and several other items.  It's a little onerous, so best to acquaint yourself with it early (if you're in any sort of moderate rush).  

J

 

(As always, however, make sure you're getting a range of opinion on this; I'm just one person, and there's no guarantee my I-944 was even filled out correctly!  With things becoming so complex for AOS, I'm definitely going to get a lawyer to review my packet if it's returned.)

6 minutes ago, Rambava said:

Yeah it was from an American University. The problem is what you put in the certification/dates/issuer fields. Do you put your University diploma certificate dates?

If you mean Part 4, Q5, I just put in my university education again.  

I don't have occupational skills in the way they mean it (Part 4, Q4), so left that as a "No" (I think they meant trade there).

8 minutes ago, Rambava said:

Lol. Sounds good enough for sure. Haha. I was hoping that my Masters should suffice as well if I dont have my TOEFL scores found.

If it was from an English-speaking university then hopefully they'll be taking that as fine enough proof.  It's such a new form that it's hard to figure out exactly what they want right now.    

Rambava,

I have a PhD. in English, and I'm an English professor, so that was my proof (plus my university transcripts from English and American universities)...

J

I went through the same issue.  Had downloaded all the forms in mid-Feb, and then they brought the I-944 in without much notice (and changed some of the supporting forms to public charge editions).  We ended up having our whole package returned, including payment. 

Resubmitted March 24, but they seem to be pretty slow (understandably) at the Chicago lockbox right now (just as a heads-up), and I haven't had any NOAs yet (electronically or otherwise), and my checks/cheques haven't been cashed either.

J

Bearsmith, 

Here's the way I read it:

1) It asks you to directly skip to Question D if you don't have health insurance, implying that that suite of questions is only for those without health insurance.  

2) Question D then talks about enrollment, which is different from actually having health insurance.  There can be a lag-time between health insurance enrollment and actual coverage.  Someone can correct me if I'm wrong on that.

3) The same goes for "I will soon enroll" (there you'd know the window during which you could enroll for health insurance, but you can't enroll yet - quite common if you have started a job).
4) The "No" answer to me implies, given the box below it, that you'd be answering the same question twice from the previous page, and it seems, given the language, that you'd be talking about why you *don't* have health insurance (for example, if you had $250,000 in savings).  

Do I think they'll send the form back if you put "no"?  I doubt it!  Same as I doubt that they'll send the form back with a blank answer for Question D.  

As I said, I think they'll revise the form in the future when they see all manner of answers for that question, but the overriding thing for now will be that you've provided proof of health insurance (because that's what they're really interested in in terms of public charge).  It would be helpful though if they could put a small note in saying that you should skip 15D if you answered "Yes" to 15A.    

J

Bearsmith,

I have health insurance and left 15D blank.  The way it's written, it seemed to me that it only applied if your health insurance was pending in some sort of way.  

I can imagine they'll revise this question in a later edition of the form.  

J

Stasypu,

I'm taking them at their word and getting my transcripts verified (+ made equivalent) for both high school and undergraduate education (from the U.K.), even though my Master's degree university, a U.S. university, evaluated and made equivalent my undergraduate degree (Oxford) in-house.  

I'm just not taking any chances that that won't be enough for USCIS, especially when this form is new. 

J  

      

I'm in a similar position.  I did my B.A. in England, but my Master's and Doctorate were done in the U.S.  Obviously the transcripts were checked at each level.  

J
 

Hey everyone,

After USCIS changed a load of forms around the 20th February that were crucial for AOS, we noticed after filing (29th Feb.) that we'd submitted out-of-date forms (even though we'd downloaded them in mid-Feb 2020).  Add in to that, we didn't submit the i-944.  Obviously we are expecting our forms to be sent back and be told to refile (along with the i-944 as well, which is a pain, but okay!)  

Would the sensible thing be to refile now in advance of those forms being sent back given how clear they've been on the website about rejection of old-edition forms like the i-485?  My OPT runs out in mid July, and my job resumes after the Spring semester (I'm a visiting instructor) at the beginning of August, so we're a bit squeezed and can't really delay much, with no guarantee that an expedite would work.

Would really appreciate a little bit of guidance, or anyone's experience with a similar situation.

Thanks so much for all of the help in here that I've seen; I've had so many questions answered without having to ask them, and it's very much appreciated.

J  

Milimelo,

Thanks so much for your response.  USCIS seemed unsure whenever I called them this morning as to what would happen.  They *thought* that the whole application would be sent back with instructions to attach the i-944, but they weren't sure.

In response to my question about sending in the i-944 on its own and appending a letter asking for the i-944 to be collated, they said that it was unlikely that they'd be able to do that, but that there was nothing ultimately stopping me from trying.  So that's what I'll do in the interim.

Posting this all for anyone who is in my rather niche position.  We'd downloaded all forms in mid-Feb, completed them, but in the meantime USCIS changed the note on the i-485 page, so we obviously didn't see it before filing on Feb 29.  A bit of leeway would have absolutely helped for the first month of this new rule, and an RFE would be the most humane route here, but we'll see!  Just kicking myself for the wasted time.

Again, thank you.  

J

Hey everybody,

I've been in the States for 10 years on F-1, then F-1OPT, F-1, and currently on my second round of OPT and am a visiting instructor at a university in Florida.  I married a U.S. citizen in February of this year and am going through AOS.  Downloaded all of the forms in February after our marriage, completed them, sent them off (on Friday 29th Feb.), and only found out tonight that I-944 is now required (seemingly they only gave a few days of advance notice on the i-485 page).  I'm sure I'm not the only one in this position.  

Any advice on what to do?  Should I complete it and send it in immediately with a letter explaining/asking for it to be added to our file?  Or should I wait?  

Thanks for the help!  I'd normally feel stupid if I'd made a mistake, but this one seems kind of understandable...

J