PJAW

On 4/18/2024 at 3:24 PM, lennikov said:

And so my watch has ended. It was a pleasure to be a part of this community, and a lot of words of encouragement to me and others on this forum kept me sane over this long period of uncertainty. My case involved 2 J-1 visas that I took in 2014-2015 and second in 2017-2022. It took 560 days, from October 6, 2022, to April 17th, 2024, with ten months extra when the case was at USCIS, so overall, it took me about 28 months from the initial documents being submitted to receiving a Favorable Recommendation. I was able to obtain an O-1 visa and, this way, stay in the US; if I did not have O-1 support, there would only be 5 months left for me to complete the 2YHR if I returned to my home country upon expiration of my J-1 in October 2022. 

 

I used to live with this endlessly pending case, and now I don't know exactly how I feel about it. I suppose it is good that it is over, but honestly, I feel empty. Actually, what happens next? Will the case be returned to USCIS, and will they issue a waiver? Then, with a waiver attached, I can file for an adjustment of status. How long does it usually take? I would appreciate those who already received an FR to share their experience after FR and its timeline. 

Edit: Sorry, forgot to mention this is immediate family based adjustment of status, so based on how you are adjusting status, this timeline may be of little to no value to you.

Here is our timeline:

10-24-23 - DOS Favorable Recommendation

11-21-23 - USCIS Approval Notice

12-9-23 - Filed for AOS.  E-filed Form I-130

12-9-23 - Notice of receipt of Form I-130

12-20-23 - Concurrently filed (hard copy, only way) forms I-485, I-131, I-765 and also attached forms I-864W and I-693

12-27-23 - Notice of receipt of forms I-485, I-131, I-765.   Added cases to electronic USCIS account.

12-28-23 - Notice of Approval of I-130.

12-30-23 - Notice that Biometric Appointment Scheduled

1-17-24 - Biometrics Appointment Attended

1-17-24 - Case status changed to Under Review For I-131, I-765, and I-485.

1-18-24 - Notice of Approval of I-765

4-20-24 - Notice of Approval of I-485 (No interview, no advanced parole ever issued)

FYI: I'm an attorney so did this all myself.  I would recommend hiring an attorney if you can, there are definitely things that can trip people up.  But I know money is always an issue. 

Good luck everyone. 

On 2/26/2024 at 6:56 PM, nmanc33 said:

Have you received your recommendation yet?

Yes.  FR in 12/23.  Took 12 months.  No gov. funding.   Waiting on green card now.

13 minutes ago, nmanc33 said:

Thank you! I honestly had no idea you send the same exact things to both departments.

My statement of reason for DOS form DS3035 was four sentences or so.  Just a brief summary of why I was legally entitled to relief.  Short, but accurate summary one paragraph long.   DOS receives a copy of your form 612 and accompanying documents form USCIS when the Form 613 is issued upon USCIS finding of hardship.

On 1/19/2024 at 11:07 AM, Crazy Cat said:

No problem.  I moved it....

EAD approved next day after biometrics.

16 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

From what status are you adjusting?  You posted in the AOS from K-1 forum...

Non-immigrant work visa.  Made a mistake posting here, sorry.

I thought I'd share this interesting dynamic of our pending I130/I485 Concurrent Filing for marriage based green card.

US Citizen Spouse filed I130 electronically on December 9, 2023, and mailed in the I485 on December 19, 2023.  The I130 was APPROVED on December 29, 2023.  We received notice of receipt for the I485 dated December 27, 2023, so a couple days before the approval of the I130, and when we got the paper notices in the mail in early January, we entered the cases online on our USCIS account.  The online account DOES show "concurrent filing".  We did the fingerprinting for the 485 a couple days ago, on January 17, 2023.  Everything was sent in (medical, supporting proof, etc.), so we are hoping for a waiver of interview. 

The interesting thing is that the I130 was approved lightning fast, but with concurrent filing (which we did achieve, but just barely), they should by their own policy be reviewing the I485 at the same time.  

So, will see if the I485 is reviewed within the next week or so, or if something else happens. 

4 hours ago, nmanc33 said:

If they are married to a USC on a legitimate basis, the waiver will make all the difference - with or without status. If I understood it correctly, the bar is forgiven when it comes to adjustment of status when married to a USC - if they aren't, then the I-612 waiver becomes useless.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong!

I suspect (just a guess), that DOS as a matter of routine does not grant FR for hardship waivers for people who are not in status.  I'd be curious if anyone on this forum has been granted a j1 hardship waiver after having overstayed a visa, for example.  So I worry that some people think they can overstay while waiting for a waiver because they will eventually be forgiven in their adjustment of status, but they may never get the waiver.  Bottom line, as a general rule avoid getting out of status if at all possible.  

Hey everyone, so I'm an attorney.  I finished this J-1 waiver process for my family last month (see previous posts), and am now considering staying involved in this area and helping out after realizing how much of a nightmare this can be for people.  I'm not going to give legal advice in this forum, but go ahead and message me if you want my contact information.   

23 hours ago, Mickey344 said:

Did you get a copy of the approval from DoS too? Thanks 

Yes, by email.

On 11/7/2023 at 9:29 AM, Yaz-123 said:

How Long does it take after the DOS approval to get approved by USCIS? any Estimates?

It took us 4 weeks.

6 hours ago, Mickey344 said:

Congratulations. Did you file Writ of Mandamus Lawsuit or any help from your Senator or Congress Rep?

 I reached out to senators and reps offices, they requested to expedite, quickly rejected and then ignored after repeated requests.  I did not file a lawsuit.  

Just got FR.  52 weeks at DOS.  No government funding.

17 hours ago, Motheus said:

 

Where my lawsuit was filed is irrelevant to you. Since the mandamus lawsuit is a lawsuit against federal agencies, you need a lawyer with a license for filing suits in federal court. The lawsuit will be filed at whichever federal court has jurisdiction over where you live currently. 

It's relevant because I am interested in seeing a copy of the petition.  I want to pull a copy from the cm/ecf but I need to know what jurisdiction it was filed in.

21 hours ago, Motheus said:

No worries at all, I am happy to share my experience. I can't say for sure it was the Mandamus suit that did it as far as my case is concerned. Either way, I am happy DoS gave me my recommendation even if it took almost 16 months. For context, I know someone who got their DoS recommendation after only 9 months in June 2023 (without a mandamus suit). Their case involved a USC child, whereas mine is a spouse. My mandamus suit was filed against both DoS and USCIS at the same time. It took my lawyer about 2 weeks to prepare/file the case. The cost was $5,400. The case marked as received by the court on June the 16th, 2023 and I got my DoS decision on August the 10th. I am still now waiting for USCIS to send me the final notice of approval, so I am not out of the woods yet. Hope this helps! 

Could you please share what court you filed the mandamus suit in?