slavaskii

Good afternoon! My fiancee will be filling soon for AoS after our marriage and I was just curious about how long it's taking to get NOA1. I recall from the I-129F process, we received a text a week or two after our packet was received, but couldn't actually 'see' the NOA1 until it was physically sent to us in the mail (there was no online account). My understanding from reading these progress threads is that you all are receiving texts that are letting you into an online account, which I presume to contain NOA1.
 
I ask because our wedding is on the 51st day of entry and we'll be filing for AoS within the following week (we have been busy planning the wedding as we've been together for almost 7 years and wanted to do as much as we could). We've been fortunate that our K1 interview was literally just last month so our financial materials and medical DS-3025 are still up-to-date. I just want to ensure that we'd have proof of our filing through the NOA1 before the 90 days are up (we’ll be filing around day 59, likely earlier). 
 
Separately (perhaps better for another thread, but I'll try here anyway): is it advisable to change last name immediately after marriage, or does that complicate things later on? We already have a SSN with her current, maidan name. The AoS guide here (this is still the updated one, correct?) doesn't mention anything about using a new last name, but I've seen it mentioned elsewhere.
 
TIA!

Happy news for us!  Finally got notice of interview!!!  No date that I can see so I guess we wait for letter!  Yahoo!  I think we are the last ones in the group.  

Approved! 🥳 Interview ended up being waived and we quickly got / returned an RFE for another copy of the marriage certificate. 
 
My best wishes go out to all my fellow August friends here. Good luck to you all, Godspeed!
 
Back to finals, these outlines don't write themselves 

Approved! 🥳 Interview ended up being waived and we quickly got / returned an RFE for another copy of the marriage certificate. 
 
My best wishes go out to all my fellow August friends here. Good luck to you all, Godspeed!
 
Back to finals, these outlines don't write themselves 

You're right in thinking that. RFEs for I-864 are always like that - autogenerated and not specific.
 
I have no evidence, but I've been thinking for a while, some sort of AI / automation may be used by USCIS to generate RFEs.

I am certainly familiar with Crypto. I assume others here are.
 
Time to pursue the Joint Sponsor.
 
 

The processing times at USCIS for the I129F can vary widely (8-16 months) depending on which service center gets your petition.  Once that is complete and approved, then the petition is sent to the National Visa Center which is part of the Department of State, and they will route it to the appropriate consulate (anywhere from 1  to 4 months).  Then you are at the mercy of the consulate and their workload which can also be several months before the actual visa interview.  Yes, even a K1 can take 12-24 months from petition to visa issuance and US entry.
 
Good Luck!

At last! We have finally been approved, just short of 2 years since filing. I logged into my USCIS account yesterday to read that our case was approved (no interview). Also, it now mentions that new cards have been ordered. We are over the moon!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks! I'm sure you'll hear good news soon; as someone else said here, things definitely pick up as the clock ticks closer to 24 months. The interview notice still hasn't posted as far as I'm aware, but I'll update when we learn how far out it is. From the timelines, though, it seems roughly 4-6 weeks out.

As an update, I just got a notification that our interview was scheduled. Anyone know if we should get a notice of when the interview is on the USCIS account, or usually how far out they are? Of course, after two years of submitting, it will be scheduled during my final law exams / bar prep 😂

March check-up! How's everyone doing here?
 
To follow-up on this, the myProgress tab has been similarly misleading. It's continued to fluctuate anywhere from 5 weeks (most common) to six months (once) to two months (second most common). AskEmma informed the case was at the local office several months ago, and I'm inclined to believe it is based on the second 'active review' we got. For us, DC's estimated processing increased to 24 months, and the congressional inquiry still hasn't returned.
 
Here's hoping March is the month!

Hope everyone is well! Need to bump this thread now that it's February and we've been booted off the front page  Any updates on your end, @SandyR? My wife's account suddenly displayed a new "Case is Being Actively Reviewed" a few weeks ago, which made me hopeful for a quick approval, but so far silence. We've gone the congressional inquiry route for now, hopefully the update - the first in nearly 1.5 years - means something good. The "MyProgress" tab also fluctuated between 2 and 6 months, but since that 'update' it's been firmly at 2.
 
@Comlor I apologize for only getting to this now, but if the tab doesn't appear there, then likely your FO doesn't have that feature enabled (?). My understanding is that not all accounts have that tab, but because the meter is apparently tied to "similar cases to yours," I'm guessing whether the tab appears or not is dependent on the FO. I also think you're EB-2 (?), and because this is an AOS from K-1 subforum, your category may not be eligible for the feature altogether.
 
But you're not missing a whole lot, as it doesn't seem terribly accurate.

Hooray! Best of luck to you all.

Hello everyone! So last week we received letters from USCIS in the mail, asking for RFE of  medicals. Big hooray! First news from USCIS since Nov 22. We (family of 5) all scrambled and got everything done in 1 week (Flu shots, extra vaccines and lab results) and just sent everything back to the filed office on Saturday. Fingers crossed that it won't be long now.
#hopeful

The I-485 has a section for "Other Names You Have Used Since Birth".  Your wife listed her maiden name in that section, right?
 

You're overthinking this.
I-94 will match name on passport, that's correct.
If AOS forms have married name, that's also OK, as you would have included marriage certificate proving how the maiden and married names are related.
They can mismatch, that's OK. In ideal world, I always advice to only change the name during N-400 to avoid mismatch on different IDs and simplify immigration. But in real world people want to use their married names as soon as they get married and that's their right.

Hi all - I hope this isn't considered necro'ing my own thread, but I wanted to come back and report that everything went well. It was, as anticipated, impossible to check-in online (both for the outbound and inbound trip); however, no questions were asked as to what AP meant. There were several immigration checks on the overall journey and each was pleasant. Immigration at IAD is always a good experience.
 
I verified that my wife's class of admission was properly entered as "DA." Nonetheless, I noticed that the Form I-94 (logically) lists her information as "[FIRST NAME] [MAIDAN NAME]" as this is what's reflected on her passport. Will USCIS still be advised she re-entered because all her USCIS documents for AOS are instead her married name? I'm unsure if we have to send some notice to USCIS or if that's all taken care of because it will be matched up with the passport information.
 
Thanks all in advance.

For us (K-1 interview June 2022), it took about 3 business days for it be delivered to the MBE office in Warsaw for pick-up. I agree, however, that you cannot bank on an immediate approval as there are unfortunate examples of long Administrative Processing. 

Hi all - I hope this isn't considered necro'ing my own thread, but I wanted to come back and report that everything went well. It was, as anticipated, impossible to check-in online (both for the outbound and inbound trip); however, no questions were asked as to what AP meant. There were several immigration checks on the overall journey and each was pleasant. Immigration at IAD is always a good experience.
 
I verified that my wife's class of admission was properly entered as "DA." Nonetheless, I noticed that the Form I-94 (logically) lists her information as "[FIRST NAME] [MAIDAN NAME]" as this is what's reflected on her passport. Will USCIS still be advised she re-entered because all her USCIS documents for AOS are instead her married name? I'm unsure if we have to send some notice to USCIS or if that's all taken care of because it will be matched up with the passport information.
 
Thanks all in advance.

For us (K-1 interview June 2022), it took about 3 business days for it be delivered to the MBE office in Warsaw for pick-up. I agree, however, that you cannot bank on an immediate approval as there are unfortunate examples of long Administrative Processing. 

Well mine went from 2 weeks to one week to now nothing.  Says it is taking longer than expected.  So we just keep waiting.  🤷‍♀️

I know this must be frustrating and there is not much anyone can tell you. 
 
Your best case scenario is actually getting approved after your 2-year AOS filing date, in which case, USCIS has to issue the 10-year green card since you have been married for at least two years.
 
Your worst case scenario is getting approved right before your 2-year AOS filing date, in which case, you still have to file for the ROC two years later. I personally think USCIS will avoid handing out the 10-year GCs to I-485 filers just because they lose the I-751 fee.
 
It may be moot to hope for delayed processing at this point. But keep your spirit up because approval will happen sooner or later.

Wow - thanks for this.  I just looked and it says ours should have a decision in 1 week!  We are in WI so I guess it is national.
Hopefully you have good news coming soon.  
Did you ever get the EAD?  We did get a combo card in July I think.
Looking forward to some holiday cheer soon!  Hopefully for all of us.

Have her look at Forum Vinskogo (Винского). There are many "we told you so" comments directed at people who used agencies and later regretted it. If you make your own travel arrangements (airline tickets and hotel bookings) it's going to look a lot more authentic (to the consulate) than if you do it through an agency. The travel planning is the most time-consuming part, but it's not that hard if you have an idea of how to plan a trip for yourself. Besides the bookings, you need to print out proof of your finances, passport copies, marriage license, take photos and buy travel medical insurance. Would she really want to trust all of that to an agency? I did all the paperwork for my wife and she printed everything and went to the appointment. The visa center should also be able to help fill out the visa application itself for a small fee, but it's not hard to do yourself online (to be filled out in English - at least in our case). I'll admit, it was a lot of paperwork, but there's nothing really difficult about it.

In this case, the fiance came to the US for a visit.  Most people who visit are in no position to suddenly abandon their jobs, lease, and everything for 8 months before being able to return to home country & return.  Having a travel visa does not confer any immigration benefits.  Even if the fiance was outside the US, he/she could not enter the US as a visitor with the intent to stay and adjust status.