Crabbypatty

On 11/8/2023 at 10:19 PM, Shay2022 said:

Hi. I am a U.S. citizen. I petitioned for my wife and my stepchild (13) years old. I mailed both concurrent applications at the same time. 3 months after filing my wife combo card approve nothing for my daughter. 3weeks ago ago my wife and I went to our AOS interview she was approved on spot but yet nothing for my daughter. Has this happened to anyone? How long before they approve her application? 

Same for us. My Greencard arrived in mail today. My

sons didnt. He came to the interview with us, we filed for him same as for me. His 130 was approved after the interview but no update on his 485. anyone has any experience with stepchildren ?

On 11/6/2023 at 12:20 PM, OldUser said:

I was asked I-130 related questions during AOS interview, followed by I-485 questions.

 

The I-130 questions were around the spouse and our relationship - how we met etc. I thought everybody gets them as part of AOS, no? The caveat though, I had both I-130 and I-485 filed together on paper and they're both pending at the time of interview.

And btw. This is exactly what was explained to us at the beginning of our interview. That it was going to be 130 related questions at first, followed by 485 questions. So I’m guessing this is a very normal procedure. 

1 minute ago, Crazy Cat said:

Thanks for the update.  Congratulations!!!

Thank you! And thanks for all your input and replies to questions throughout the process

On 11/6/2023 at 12:16 PM, Crazy Cat said:

@Crabbypatty, please keep us updated.  Please note any questions you are asked pertaining to the I-130.

 Interview done. 
 

Some of the questions that was asked: 

- tell us about your relationship. How did you meet and where 

-when did your relationship start to become serious? (He wanted to know it as precise as possible) 

-when and where was the first meeting 

-where did my husband propose 

- did the ring fit?

-did I know he was going to propose? 

we Brought tons of evidence to the interview (picture albums, text messages, call logs) on top of life insurance, lease contract, utility bills etc.

he didn’t even want to see the picture albums, text messages and call logs) he took the rest and said this is more than enough. He said he would have approved the case without an interview already just by the pictures submitted with the initial forms „she sold it right there“ 
 

Our case was approved a day later. 
 

I have two very close relatives who did adjustment of status around the same time as me and they both got their case approved within 7 and 3 months without interviews. My case from submitting to approval took 8 months. 
 

11 hours ago, Flamingjune said:

Hey any news on your end?

Yes. Just had our interview on Tuesday. The case was approved the next day. Waiting for the greencard to come in the mail. What’s the status on yours? 

2 hours ago, OldUser said:

You need to know at least:

- full name of your spouse

- spouse's DOB

- how old is your spouse

- spouse's employer

- spouse's occupation

- date of marriage

- when and where you met

- names of spouse's close relatives: siblings, parents etc

- address where you live

- whether spouse was married before

- spouse's level of education

- where the spouse was born

 

In addition, many personal questions. The list will be too long to include, but some examples:

- on which side of the bed does your spouse usually sleep

- what time does your spouse typically leave to work

- what is spouse's favorite color

- what all languages your spouse can speak

- what car does your spouse drive

- what hobbies does your spouse have

- what did your spouse eat this morning for breakfast?

 

I'm surprised people don't talk about it. One of the things my lawyer did was running a couple of quick mock interviews with me and my US citizen spouse to ensure we answer questions correctly, consisely and with confidence.

 

Thank you, this was very helpful 

1 minute ago, OldUser said:

I was asked I-130 related questions during AOS interview, followed by I-485 questions.

 

The I-130 questions were around the spouse and our relationship - how we met etc. I thought everybody gets them as part of AOS, no?

This is interesting. Thank you for this input. Maybe this is what it is going to be for us too. Maybe others can share their experience on this as well? 
 

In addition: has anyone had a I-130 interview and can give advice on how to prepare for this or share some questions that were asked ? I’m just paranoid and worried that they might have doubts. I was expecting maybe for them to send us an rfe for the I-130, which would have been understandable, since we weren’t able to provide a huge lot of evidence given the short time and no social security at hand at the time of filing. We did gather a lot more evidence for the relationship since then ( shared bank account, joint lease, shared cellphone contracts etc etc) that we will bring to the interview of course. 

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Very unusual for an I 130 to require an interview, the circumstances are usually very specific.

That’s exactly what I’m worried about. Our circumstances are nothing out of the norm. The only thing that might be a „specific circumstance“ I can think about is the fact that my spouse filed 8 years ago for his previous spouse, like I mentioned before in this thread. Just trying to figure out what to prepare for and if this is how they handle it nowadays. Was hoping for someone here who has recently gotten an interview notice too and it might have went in a similar matter to share their experience 

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

It would be extremely unusual to have separate interviews for an I-130 and an I-485.  Extremely unusual.

I get that. But is it common for it to be a 2 in 1 where they cover an interview for 485 and 130 together? Because I already do know that it’s the same time and day, so it’s technically just one interview and not separate ones. I thought the 130 usually gets approved first (without interview) and then the 485 interview follows as the „last step“ 

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

 

Update: 

received the interview invitation letter for form I-485 in the mail. Still no letter for the I-130. called uscis and talked to an agent. She looked Into it and told us the date for the i-130 interview. Same date and time as for the i485. She said to continue to wait for the letter for I-130. (it’s been 2 weeks since the status in the portal changed to „interview scheduled“) 

so apparently the interview is a 2 in 1 for both forms? Has anyone had a similar situation recently and received an invitation for both forms at the same time and day? 
 

i wonder if this is how they do it these days, that they cover both? Or if the status for the i130 was updated to interview scheduled to indicate for the petitioner that an interview was scheduled technically for i485, since the 2 applications are connected? Especially since we haven’t even received an actual letter for the i130, just for the i485
 

throws me off a little bit. 

4 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

How are you applying? Is your husband a USC? Not sure this is in the right section but hopefully a helpful mod will move it.

Yes he’s a citizen. Applying for aos from

esta 

Hey there, 

we filed aos from esta in April. The online portal shows „interview scheduled“ for the i-130 as well as for the i-485 as of yesterday. Is this normal? I haven’t received the actual invite in the mail yet and there’s no documents in the online portal. Does this mean we will have to attend 2 separate interviews? I thought it would only be 1. my spouse was married before (8 years ago) and went trough the process of filing for his spouse back then. Could this have anything to do with that? Confused. Anybody knows how the process with the I-130 and I-495 normally goes? We filed concurrently 

thanks! 

21 hours ago, Crabbypatty said:

My ead card is supposed to be arriving in the mail tomorrow. We have a service that shows what’s on the way to us. Will come back here to confirm once it’s in my hands 🙌 processing time for I-130 still says 4 months. Same for you? Tip: check the document section of your form I-765 . Mine still said „case is actively being reviewed“ but in the documents section it showed the approval letter for the ead. It didn’t update in the front page until way after the approval letter was in the mail. 

Received my ead card today. Now waiting on my ssn. Received ead card in the mail 7 weeks after biometrics appointment. 

1 hour ago, Flamingjune said:

Will definitely let you know as soon as I hear something. Did you receive your EAD card yet?

My ead card is supposed to be arriving in the mail tomorrow. We have a service that shows what’s on the way to us. Will come back here to confirm once it’s in my hands 🙌 processing time for I-130 still says 4 months. Same for you? Tip: check the document section of your form I-765 . Mine still said „case is actively being reviewed“ but in the documents section it showed the approval letter for the ead. It didn’t update in the front page until way after the approval letter was in the mail. 

On 6/29/2023 at 7:21 PM, EveBlad said:

I know! It's been a long wait already so 60 more days doesn't feel fair 😅 Yes, that's what I've been noticing as well. Good luck! I will update too

I understand that 100%! My EAD card was produced yesterday and is now on the way to me hopefully 🙏🏼 any news from your end? 

On 6/6/2023 at 2:04 PM, Flamingjune said:

Nothing new so far. Biometrics went well. Yes status changed to actively reviewed  on 485 and 765.immediately after appointment. Also processing time on my I130 changed from 13 months to 5 months. update on 130 is still case was received though. Will keep you posted of any changes or updates.

I get that. My ead card was produced yesterday and is now hopefully on the way to me. My fingers are crossed for you that you hear something soon. Keep me updated and I’ll do the same 

5 hours ago, EveBlad said:

I know, right! I had never heard that before either. Seems way to long. I'm in Virginia, filed in September 2022.

Wow that’s a long time from September till now. Seems like the people who filed later ( in 2023) get their ead super fast ) like only 1-3 months after filing. Let’s cross our fingers. I will update once I have my ead card 

3 minutes ago, EveBlad said:

Ugh I'm sorry you're going through the same thing. I received the approval notice in the mail a few days ago but still no updates online. I just chatted with USCIS online and the agent told me that my EAD card is waiting to be produced and it can take up to 60 days (!) to receive it. That's ridiculous.

What? Wow. Ok that’s crazy. I know someone personally who received their ead right after biometrics and held their card In hands 5 days later. Same state as me. I’m in Florida. What state are you in? This is good to know tho, so it’s probably going to be the same for me. I didn’t know it could take up to 60 days.  

13 minutes ago, EveBlad said:

It has been 7 days now and still no status update..

Same for me. There’s a document online saying ead approved and it’s been produced 7 days ago. Nothing in the mail yet though and also no status update. Weird 

On 6/20/2023 at 2:15 PM, Flamingjune said:

No news yet. No EAD, nothing. Processing time also changed to 4 months.

Update: EAD approved. Nothing in the mail yet, but the approval letter can be found on the online portal under the document section. Now waiting for the actual card in the mail. When I filed I requested for them to create a SSN for me. Will this be send out along with the EAD card? Or how long will it take to receive the ssn? Do I have to do anything else to get it? Like going to some place with my ead and apply for it? Anybody here who knows? Any updates here on other April filers? 
 

oh and for reference: approval of EAD exactly 4 weeks after biometrics appointment. 

28 minutes ago, Daphne . said:

If you have the physical receipt notice, the address of your service center can be found at the bottom

Found it! Thanks 😃 shows 50 (!) months for I-130, wow!! But for the I-130 at my local field office it shows 20 months. Since the I-130 has to be approved first, the 20 months is irrelevant, right? 🧐🧐 just trying to figure out what to expect here lol. Funny thing is, in my online account is shows an estimate of 4 months for my case for the I-130. all very confusing … 

I Want to check processing times on the uscis website for the different forms. For some, I can check my local field office ( which I know which one is ours). For others, like the I-130, I can only choose between the 5 service Centers (Texas, California etc.) how do I know where my case is being processed so I can check the timelines ?
 

also: is there anyone here whose 

 spouse filed for a previous ex spouse in the past and then filed with new marriage and got approved or, had Problems? 
 

my spouse filed for ex spouse years ago ( got approved, they are now divorced obviously) . After reading about a case with problems because of that, my anxiety is getting louder. 
 

On 6/6/2023 at 8:22 AM, Sylch said:

Petitioner has filed 1-130 in her previous failed  marriage but got a divorce decree

Please update us on the outcome or any new infos. We filed in April and My spouse was previously married and filed for ex spouse back in the days. Wondering if that always causes problems? Did they ask you at your aos interview about previous marriage ? Did the previous Spouse get approved back then? How long ago was the previous filing? Please share details so others in similar situation can have those info’s. Thank you and good luck! 

On 6/6/2023 at 2:43 PM, Flamingjune said:

NY here. I have no idea what happens ah ah. I'm a novice in this just as you are but dont worry, as I discover or learn new things I will share them here with you. From what I've read so far the 485 cannot be approved without 130. And even in the case when you see an approved notification foe 485 and not 130, it just means that the 130 hasn't updated yet.

Any news on your application? Still haven’t received EAD. Processing time for I-130 changed to 4 months. Altough that still doesn’t help in having an estimate for the approval time until greencard I guess. Did your processing time change, too? I know somebody personally who put in their application just a day before me and they received their EAD already! Lucky one  no luck for me it seems! Anybody here who filed in April and already got their ead??