ThailandR

I-797 approval notice was uploaded today on the USCIS website,  we also received an Email notifying us of a status change.  Now to await the arrival of the GC in the mail.  7 months and 6 days from the day the AOS was received. Not to bad when it also included having to interview.wiahing everyone else still in tge process the best of luck.

On 6/1/2024 at 12:13 PM, SaraClaire11 said:

Wishing you the best of luck! Let us know how it goes!

 

The app updated again today and now our status says our case was approved as of yesterday. Already been looking into the I-751 and what's needed to remove conditions in 2 years. 

Today was the day for the wife's GC interview at the USCIS field office. Arrived at 6:30 am, 15 minutes before the time on the Appointment letter. Walked in through security after being screened and then upstairs we went. Checked in with the Check-in desk, wife then had her photo taken and index finger prints done. I was told the Agent would be out and would take me back first. Waited about 30 minutes and then the Agent came out and called my name.. into the Agents office I went, was sworn in, and then spent the next 45 minutes  yes 45 minutes being asked questions regarding this sponsorship and then about my prior one done over 10 years ago.  They were concerned about the age gap, but in the end after giving all my evidence the agent was pleased and took me back out to the waiting area. The agent then had my wife follow back and 10 minutes later they both walked out together with my wife smiling.  The agent told us we were approved and the card should be in the mail in about 2 weeks.  My w8fe sa8d she was asked just 6 questions, the first regarding how my children felt about me marrying a younger woman. My wife answered the same way I did, that age was irrelevant to them as long as we were happy and they can see we are. The other question was about why her daughter did not come with us and it was explained that the father wanted the daughter to make her own decision when she turned 14. The remaining questions were about how we met, how long we have been together, and if I had told her about my ex-wife and why we divorced.

At the end of the day, we'll 8:30 am, we left with my wife being very happy and smiling.   

Still no change in the App.

9 hours ago, SaraClaire11 said:

APPROVED!!! 🥳

 

Good news! We were approved yesterday at our AOS interview! Here's how it went:

 

Showed up 15 minutes early, walked in through security (we left our cell phones in the car) put our belongings in a bin and walked through a metal detector - instructed to head upstairs. There was only one other couple in the waiting room. We placed out appointment letter in a bin at the desk and sat down. About 10 minutes later a man came out with our appointment letter and asked me to follow him. My husband stayed in the waiting room. The man advised he would be back for him in 20 minutes. 

 

I followed the man to his office and there was another man sitting in there (maybe he was training) and was placed under oath immediately. Then he asked for my ID I gave him my passport with my state issued driver license inside. He wished me a happy belated birthday (May 26th) and asked if we did anything special. I told him what we did but explained that last year I went to Ecuador to visit my then fiance for my 40th.

 

We made small talk and he asked if I had brought any additional documents I handed him my entire binder and explained that much of what was requested was sent in with the application, he looked at the copies of our photos, from our wedding day and other events over the last 9 months since he arrived. He kept the photos, the copy of of lease agreement, all the documents pertaining to him being my beneficiary and on my medical insurance, all the paystubs and employment verification. He was very nice and handed everything else in the binder back to me. He asked if I had any questions. I asked him about the EAD and why we we never approved. He explained that once we are approved today we will have our GC in 10 days and not need the EAD anymore.

 

I was escorted out and my husband was invited back alone, he was in there for about 15-20 minutes. The man interviewing him started in English and switched to Spanish which my husband is fluent in. He was asked a little about our marriage but a ton of questions about if he was ever involved in gang activity, trafficking, prostitution and all kinds of crazy things. He told my husband congrats you have been approved and he walked out. We didn't get a piece of paper or a notice but my app did update a couple hours later to "New Card Being Produced" so I am very relieved and happy and can't wait for it to arrive in the mail! 

Congratulations.  Let's hope when we go next Friday for my wife's interview we have similar luck

4 hours ago, scholes18 said:

Interview scheduled for June 20. Was hoping it would've been waived since we got a medical RFE last month, but alas... 

Wife's interview is June 7th. Had a Medical RFE as well in February 

On 5/17/2024 at 1:32 PM, SaraClaire11 said:

I feel the same about my husband! I really hope there isn't something crazy missing from our application to cause further delays - I have anxiety about it! Just hoping everything goes smooth, I have all the documents, evidence and photos ready to go in an organized folder, just trying to figure out what we should wear! 13 days to go!

Let us know how the interview went if possible.  My wife is in a panic wondering what more they need and want after she had interviewed in Bangkok for the K1 visa, and we submitted all of the same documents for the AOS, except we now had a marriage certificate.  I wonder if it's the age difference between us that's the issue or that I was previously married to an Immigrant I sponsored over 10 years ago and that marriage ended in divorce after 6 years.....my wife and I have been together for almost 5 years now.

3 weeks until my wife's interview. Have a stack of photos, all documents, plane tickets, Disney tickets, joint bank account documents and hopefully I will have her on the house title by then.  Happy to see folks get the GC without an interview. Wish my wife was as lucky but it is what it is 

17 hours ago, S I A N said:

Is it close to your house though?

Nope a 2 hour drive to a different county unfortunately

On 5/1/2024 at 11:19 AM, SaraClaire11 said:

Thank you so much! Please keep me posted on your interview as well! 

I-797 came on the mail today. Appointment is the first week of June, but at an ungodly hour of 6:45 am.  Lol

On 4/22/2024 at 2:08 PM, SaraClaire11 said:

 

We received our I-797C NOA in the mail today!

 

Our AOS interview is scheduled in Rhode Island on May 30th so that gives us plenty of time to prepare and get all the necessary documents together. Hopefully we won't even need half of what they are asking we bring but I am brining as much evidence as possible so there are no hang ups and everything goes as smooth as possible.

 

WISH US LUCK!

@SaraClaire11  wishing you the best. Still waiting on the I-797C ourselves. Nothing has been uploaded under the Documents tab with USCIS.  I am gathering as much info as I can fir my wife's interview.

Just checked the USCIS website. My wife has been scheduled for an interview. However, no document was showing, so we will wait until its entered into the system so we can see when it will be.

What do folks suggest taking to the interview? I wonder what triggers an interview....

58 minutes ago, mw & rg k1 said:

Yes ... IRS and while technically "unrelated" to immigration ... we have had to re-prove her identity over and over for each state and government agency ....

Had to grant permission for CA DMV to "check her documents" with DHS/USCIS.
State CA RFE was identity documents and re-verification of mailed in documents.

New IRS document arriving today.

My caution / tale might be to encourage getting a tax pro (with audit package) to do the work .... especially for late in year AOS people like this group.

 

So strange, we filed taxes jointly using the SS number we obtained and no issues.  DMV here in CA only issue was getting approval for her CA ID card from Sacramento with her EAD card and it was done and dusted in about 1 hour. No extra requests or verifications. Tax returns accepted and refunds direct deposited into the bank account we use that her name us now also on.

Sorry you have been hoop jumping.  Still awaiting movement for my wife's GC.

1 hour ago, mw & rg k1 said:

While we consider ourselves very lucky with the December GC arrival ... so have an update for this group. 

 

Be very careful with first years taxes when claiming Married.

 

Just today,  we received our second taxes RFE ... first from IRS and second from State 

We filed ours as Married Filing Jointly. My wife is now on all of the checking and savings accounts as well as having her own joint Credit Cards with me. She will be listed on the house title soon as well.

18 hours ago, OldUser said:

Congratulations! Hopefully you won't have to do I-751. Right now it's even a longer journey of close to 2 years.

Wife received her EAD card and then AP paper, both separately in January, no combo card.  Status on the APP shows 4 months with 2 months until next step which would be step 4.  However, there has been no movement since the RFE for her medical was received on Feb 11th.  With her EAD good for 5 years, but her AP only valid until January of next year it makes me wonder if she will have her GC by then or if we will need to re-apply for the AP again.  It is hard to understand how some folks received a combo card and others just after receiving them obtained the GC while others are still in limbo.  Called the field office and was told we can not request an update until after June.  Was told we are within processing times which could take up to 20 months.

1 hour ago, S I A N said:

Okay so she has the ability to make money and the ability to leave the country…. My case was different; had EAD but didn’t apply for AP so wasn’t able to travel outside the U.S. until green card received.

Correct, but she is now going to school full time to open up job possibilities.  The EAD card is valid for 5 years and was issued in January, which really makes us wonder, as the AP is only good for one year and expires next January 1year from the date of issue.  So if she has not received her GC by then I wonder how we re-apply for AP in order to travel back to visit family.

2 hours ago, S I A N said:

-i485 UPDATE:

3/23 - Card Produced

3/27 - Card Received (without tracking number of course 😂)

 

after Biometrics, the timeline said about 4 months for a decision. November to March is just that. 😁

My wifes AOS is still showing 4 months, with 2 months until step 3 completed.  There has been no movement since we returned her Medical RFE on February 11th, which was documented in the case updates.  No movement what so-ever. Our filing date was October 31st so she is in the October AOS group.  She has her EAD and AP and we had hoped the GC would be just around the corner, but nothing at all.  Called the field office and was told had to wait Until June 1st before we could request information and was told the average time for Processing was between 14 and 20 months........ugh.

Just now, SaraClaire11 said:

I put in a case inquiry and checked processing times for our I-765 and I-485 to be told that our case is still within normal processing times.

 

I asked Emma to speak with a LIVE CHAT agent and even though it took some persistence I got through to an agent, who basically told me the same thing. The last time I spoke with the LIVE CHAT we saw some movement on our case, so I am hoping for the same result. I pleaded with the woman and told her that most October applicants have already received EAD. She told me she cannot compare one case to another. Hopefully something comes of this. I just want to move forward to the next step 🤞

I do understand your frustration. Luckily my wife recieved her EAD card and the AP.  I had hoped to have her GC, but as you have heard it's within normal processing times.

We did not want to travel using the AP, but wanted the green card to travel on for fear of her getting stuck in Myanmar with the current situation the country is having....

On 2/12/2024 at 1:48 PM, ThailandR said:

The completed I-693 Medical as requested by the RFE we were sent 2 weeks ago was received last Friday at USCIS. Yesterday the case status showed this update:

 

February 11, 2024

Response To USCIS' Request For Evidence Was Received

On February 11, 2024, we received your response to our Request for Evidence for your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Receipt Number IOE09229......

USCIS has begun working on your case again. We will send you a decision or notify you if we need something from you. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Response received on Sunday, February 11, 2024 at 8:12 a.m. PST. We will review the evidence.

 

I will keep you folks updated as things progress.  Hopefully no more RFE's as this was the second one we had received since filing gor the AOS on October 31st.

 

 

No movement on my wife's GC AOS. Last update was as above, nothing new in the system... still says 4 months to next step.

The completed I-693 Medical as requested by the RFE we were sent 2 weeks ago was received last Friday at USCIS. Yesterday the case status showed this update:

Response To USCIS' Request For Evidence Was Received

On February 11, 2024, we received your response to our Request for Evidence for your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Receipt Number IOE09229......

USCIS has begun working on your case again. We will send you a decision or notify you if we need something from you. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

AP arrived today, separate from EAD card, which was strange as most others have received it as a combo card.

RFE for I-693 Medical was picked up from the Civil surgeon this morning and was then mailed out today with an overnight delivery to the San Bernardino field office, we only livev60 miles from the office.  Should be there by early afternoon tomorrow, and yes its a 3 day weekend due to Mondays holiday, ergo why we expedited it by overnighting it.

Keeping my fingers crossed it gets reviewed next week and my wife's GC gets approved.

On another note, with her EAD in hand she was able to obtain her California ID card from DMV, that also arrived in the mail today.

3 minutes ago, S I A N said:

Criminals

The entire process is criminal in my view, but we must all play the game unfortunately. 

23 minutes ago, S I A N said:

Woah. I guess we had a real good civil surgeon. Only paid $80 for him to update the vaccine worksheet with the vaccines my husband got at Kaiser. And got the paperwork same day.

Wish the one we saw would have done that.  The RFE said to update vaccines, the Civil Surgeon said it was all or nothing.....

Civil surgeon appointment completed, they required all new lab work which meant going over to a lab as well. Was told by the Doctor that they would reach out in 2 weeks when the paperwork was completed after the lab results came back.  Looks like no quick turn around like we hoped 😕 

Why does it seem like the AOS is a money pit.....insurance wouldn't cover the medical, but it did cover the labs, luckily the Civil surgeons office reduced the cost for the process to $350.  Labs were only $10.

3 hours ago, AnnaDT said:

Okay, same here! Hopefully we’ll get a tracking number soon

Sign up for USPS informed delivery is my suggestion. That's how we tracked my wife's EAD card after the website said card was produced. 

Exam has been scheduled for tomorrow. $420 usd, ouch....hopefully our insurance covers some of it.

 Luckily here where we live it can be done without a long wait like it was in Thailand. There we had to schedule the appointment 2 months in advance to get it done just before the interview.

36 minutes ago, S I A N said:

It’s possible that they want updated vaccines. When she did medicals, a vaccine may have not been available in the country. My husband’s vaccine sheet said varicella (chickenpox) vaccine wasn’t available in the country. I sent a message to his physician and she ordered labs to do a tiger test to see if he has immunity (haven taken the vaccine long ago). He was immune and we provided that test result to a civil surgeon nearby including that he has taken the most recent flu vaccine. The surgeon signed the I-693 and provided us a sealed envelope for us to provide for the RFE response.

That is what the RFE states, Incomplete Vaccinations. She needed to have 3 vaccinations to complete the series for Varicella, Hepatitis B and one other. She completed them in Thailand before immigrating here to the US and I submitted the records from the Hospital where she received them from when I submitted the Copy of the medical record for her IME with the AOS package.  Sounds like they did not accept those documents as proof.

Scheduling a exam with a Civil Surgeon as soon as the office opens up.