HopefulForGC

Turns out the card was delivered to a neighbors mailbox by accident. They were nice enough to come by and give it to us. We are so happy! 10 year Green Card finally in hand! Thank you all for the moral support and with the advice. It has been very useful and reassuring.

Hi, providing an update:

March 25th : Attended interview, which was very simple and straight forward. No questions asked about bonafide marriage as the I-130 was already approved. Only eligibility questions were asked. Received verbal approval during the interview

March 27th: Status changed to "Case Approved"

April 1: Status changed to "Card produced"

I haven't received the card in the mail yet though, seems to be stuck at the distribution center in COPPEL, TX for 5 days now. That distribution center is only 20 minutes away from where I live. I fear it has been lost by USPS since it was scheduled to be delivered last week Friday. USPS Informed Delivery with a picture of the mail piece was sent to me on April 3rd. Since then, there has been no update. It is stuck in "Moving through network" which I heard is a default message.

An update:

Reply to followup from congressional office came back a week ago with "The case has been upgraded to Immediate Relative and case was transferred back to field office from NBC and assigned to an officer". Today, status changed to "Interview was scheduled". I found an interview notice in documents tab and the interview is 1 month out.

I am very happy to see progress, but I am nervous and surprised that the interview was not waived. We had submitted all the documents for an RFE for a bonafide marriage (tons of proof) and updated medicals in April last year before the case was put on hold because the priority date for F2A wasn't current. Hopefully it's a smooth interview. Would appreciate some advice and tips for the I485 interview.

On 1/31/2025 at 8:38 PM, Family said:

Forget about the “updates” to tell who is doing what . Good job on constant follow up with Congressional Liason. …keep up the pressure.

Also try again: 

1. Write up a Letter call it Supplemental Filing  And Request For Expedited Processing to I-485 /I-130 /I-765  and I-290 B 

Name, A#

List all case numbers as Follows ( I-485 #xyz, I-130 #..)

 

Dear Officer, 

‘Say something on imminent loss ( insert ..) of job ? USC spouse’s sanity / 😂 

 

The upload is more to get “ eyes “ on the case . ..AGAIN.

Because a request to expedite has to be looked at, approved or denied ( in about 30 days) and then you keep poking them by appealing the denial of Expedite Request.  You can request a new expedite when /if you have a new basis. I think I told of felllow who failed 7 times but nailed on the 8th.
 

 

You can also report issue to Ombudsman . 

 

https://www.dhs.gov/topics/cis-ombudsman

Already submitted to Ombudsman 1 month ago. 🙊

Will wait a week or so before I go expedite route.

On 2/1/2025 at 9:21 PM, Family said:

I am here to say , Congratulations In Advance ! I do believe they have just processed and approved your case! 
Just looked at “ case closed” glitch you mentioned…and everything points to good news. 
 

Keeping the hopes up. Still stuck in "Case closed". Hope its not some crazy glitch that will put my case in limbo. Noticed a couple others on reddit/lawfully reporting the same thing. The wait continues!

The congressional office sent a reply  on Jan 27th saying

Quote

We sent an additional inquiry and will be back in touch soon.

And today on myUSCIS account, I see that the I-485 says "case closed" but the application status still says "Actively being reviewed". When I inquired to Emma, they said no updates yet and to keep waiting and ended the chat. There are no new documents in the Document Tab, no new updates in Case History tab, and nothing in my USCIS inbox. I just happened to notice that when I checked my account today, and didn't receive any emails either.

Some examples of this same situation on google/reddit showed that the I-485 is usually followed up with a denial. Now I am worried ...

2 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

How frustrating.  Steel your nerves and keep the faith.

2 hours ago, Family said:

Sounds like the staffer at congress only sent a generic Status Update request. 
Shoot back an email to the congressional Liason along with a copy of attorney letter and natz certificate. Say the USCIS reply was non-responsive as case is not preference category, plus add statement on nature of urgency:job jeopardy /hardship .

Thank you. Just sent a response to congressional office asking for them to follow-up citing non-responsive reply from USCIS. I reiterated that I should not be subject to preference category visa limits and attached the complete package to upgrade the application. Keeping high hopes.

I finally got an email from Texas Senator office for congressional inquiries (inquiry submitted on Nov 26th, 2024) stating that they received a response from USCIS:

Quote

Thank you for your inquiry, dated January 14, 2025 on behalf of your constituent, <NAME REDACTED> regarding their I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. We hope this response will provide information on the specific case you reference, and also serve to provide information on the factors that may affect the adjudication of preference-based applications for adjustment of status. USCIS received <NAME REDACTED>'s application for adjustment of status on March 31, 2022. At the time the application was filed, an immigrant visa number was immediately available. Since the application was filed, however, the final action date listed in the Visa bulletin has retrogressed or become unavailable. At this time, a visa is not available to the applicant which would allow them to adjust status. As a result, the application will be held in abeyance pending visa availability. Following is information that you may find helpful in understanding and explaining the visa allocation process and how it affects applications for adjustment of status.

This is disheartening to see that they completely ignored the request to upgrade the application to Immediate Relative since my spouse became a US Citizen. We sent the request to upgrade the application to the field office on November 5th, so they should have updated that in their system. It has been 2.5 months since my attorney sent the request to upgrade. Part of the cover letter attorney sent:

Quote

Please find enclosed evidence that the above-referenced petitioner has naturalized. Accordingly, we request that you upgrade Form I-130, receipt number <REDACTED>, from category spouse of LPR to spouse of USC.
Please see enclosed copies of the petitioner's naturalization certificate, Form 1-130 approval notice, and the receipt notice for Form I-485 which remains pending with your office.

After all this, they should't even be looking at the F2A final action dates anymore, which has only moved up 2 weeks in the last 6 months Not sure how to proceed from here. I can try contacting the senator office again asking them to inquire with USCIS why they have not processed the request to upgrade to IR category.

UPDATE: Not sure if it was the complaint I submitted to Texas DPS office of Inspector General two weeks back, but received a call today from the local DPS office in Denton confirming they were able to verify my documents through SAFE and will issue me a drivers license renewal for 12 months. I also have a voicemail from the office of the inspector general acknowledging my complaint (I wasn't able to pick up the call due to being in an out of coverage area). Will call them tomorrow to followup on the complaint and ask if they had a hand in helping with the verification. Been a stressful 3 months, but happy to receive the renewal.

44 minutes ago, discoverusa said:

If you are confident that documents provided were sufficient, try to contact the office if DMV commissioner in your state. Your case would be reviewed on a higher level by policy specialists. 

I will wait for the next SAVE verification and look at my options. The commission website is here but I wouldn't even know how to begin bringing this up to them.

3 minutes ago, NorthByNorthwest said:

 

Different states have different procedures - your case is a bit special since you had an EAD that subsequently expired, I would not be surprised if that trips things up. I don't see a first-level SAVE response corresponding to that case in here:

 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/SAVE-Guide to Understanding SAVE Verification Responses.pdf

 

You're basically an APPLICATION PENDING - NOT TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED if they even get to that level of response...

This is a helpful resource, thanks.

Quote

APPLICATION PENDING - NOT TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED: The non-national has filed an
application with USCIS for an extension, change or adjustment of status, but a USCIS decision on the
application has not yet been made. The applicant is not employment authorized. Usually documented with
a Form I-797 Notice of Action.

This is exactly it. I wonder what the latest SAFE verification check will return, there is no way to check the response CODE returned by SAFE, is there?

4 hours ago, NorthByNorthwest said:

 

While in AOS with expired I-94 you are actually NOT lawfully present but rather "in period of authorized stay" which is not the same thing. That does not change the fact that your I-797 should be sufficient according to the link you provided.

Ah, thanks for that clarification.

4 hours ago, mam521 said:

^^^This.  It's also why people can't get a SSN when they are adjusting until they actually have work authorization or their greencard.  

 

The SAVE verification won't indicate you're lawfully present and DPS are a stickler for it.  They will not give you a DL until your EAD or GC are approved, whichever comes first.  

 

Has your category changed from F2A to CR1 in your online profile?  

That is odd. Before I moved to Texas, I was in Virginia. When I got my Virginia DL, it was done using the I-797. At that point, I did not even have an EAD, only a pending I-765 and I-485 application. They gave me a license for 12 months. A SAVE check was done back in Virginia also, and at that point SAVE gave a date 12 months out based on the I-797. I thought for a pending I-797, it should default to 12 months out from the date you apply. The fact that they won't give me a DL until I renew my EAD or until GC is approved seems absurd and contradicts their own policy. Ahhh.

As far as category change, we have sent the letter, but I have no way of checking in the online profile if it has changed from F2A to CR1. How do I check that?

50 minutes ago, wildbug100420 said:

It seems like your priority date is not current. Until your spouse is naturalized you remain in a preference category and not immediate relative. 

Spouse already naturalized on Oct 25, 2024. We sent a letter with the certificate of naturalization attached to the Dallas field office which was delivered via Fedex mail on Nov 7th 2024. I also uploaded the same package to my USCIS account under the I-485 supporting documents tab.

51 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

As you say , their own documentation list the I797 for and I485 as an acceptable document of legal status 

 

Which DMV are you dealing with? 

@CrazyCat  Can you provide some first hand suggestions on this ? 

I have been going to the DPS office in Denton, TX (4020 E McKinney St, Denton, TX 76208)

27 minutes ago, wildbug100420 said:

Please complete your timelines. What are you adjusting status from? 

I concurrently applied for I-130, I-131, I-765 and I-485 in March 2022 under F2A category. My spouse and petitioner at the time was LPR.

I-131 and I-176 were approved in 2023 and have since expired already. I did not renew EAD or advanced parole document.

The I-130 was approved in April 2024. I-485 is still pending. Hubby just naturalized in Oct 2024 and we already notified the field office to upgrade the petition to IR from F2A by sending a letter.

I-765 was a class C09 approval. I opted not to renew because it can take months for a renewal and am hoping my I-485 will be approved very soon, especially with spouse naturalizing.

I am having trouble renewing my DL license which expired recently. I am lawfully present in the USA with a pending I-485 application. I previously had a valid EAD that expired on Dec 18th, 2024 that I have not renewed. I have been visiting the DPS office in Denton County. I initially got my TX DL in July 2023 and at the time I used my EAD as supporting documentation. Since my EAD expired on Dev 18th, 2024, the DL also had an expiry date of Dec 18th, 2024. Fast forward to a few months ago. I have been trying to renew since September 2024 and after 6 visits and 4 verification checks, Here is my experience so far:

Sep-24- Initial visit to DPS office, where they conducted the first SAFE verification using my pending I797-C Notice of Action form for my pending I-485 applciation to adjust status. The first stage of the SAFE verification came back with the same date (12/18/2024). I was told I need a secondary verifiaciton, and to come back later when that goes through.

Oct-24 - I went back to DPS after results for first verification came back. I was told that the SAFE system returned the same date (Dec 18, 2024) and that a license couldn't be issued at this time. I was told to come closer to the expiration date. At this point, they submitted another SAFE verification.

Oct-24 - The SAFE verification result came back so I visited the DPS again later in October 2024. The 2nd SAFE verification also returned 12-18-2024 as the date. By mistake, the agent issued a new drivers license with the same expiry date. Spoke to supervisor at this time and was told to come back even closer to expiry date to do another SAFE check. They told me next time I don't have to pay for anotehr DL because this one was issued in error. Appointment was booked for 11/26/2024.

Nov-24 - Visited again. They kicked off the 3rd SAFE verification and told me to come back.

Dec-24 - This time SAFE returned a date of January 4th, 2025. I am guessing this is because now it was past the EAD expiry date (12-18-2024), and my last issued I-94 expires on January 4th, 2024 (according to the last time I was lawfully paroled into the USA).  I was issued yet another DL with this new expiry date of Jan 4th 2025. I was told to come back on Jan 3rd, 2025 to speak to the supervisor and was assure that this time I will get the correct date.

Jan-03-2025- After waiting 2 hours to speak to the supervisor, they basically told me that the I-797 Notice of Action for a pending I-485 is not a valid document. This is false information. I tried my best to explain this to them that I am lawfully present and that the I797C for a pending I-485 is valid documentation according to the DPS website (clearly stated here ). They refused to listen to me and now were telling me that my I797 is not a valid document for extension. I respectfully disagreed. The staff was ill-informed, unwilling to help, and basically told me they will issue a final 30 day extension to my DL and can not help me further. I respectfully said that issuing a state DL is their responsibility for a lawful resident of Texas. They told me to contact USCIS instead.

At this point, I am not sure what to do. My DL expired on January 4th, 2025. I have a hand-written extension for another 30 days. I am not sure how to bring it up to SAFE/USCIS about this issue. I have heard that SAFE system is notoriously bad for I-485 verifications according to other nightmare experiences on forums/reddit. I have filed a complaint with the Inspector General of DPS office as of yesterday but I do not expect that to go anywhere.

Submitted a service request on Nov 11th for "Case Outside Normal Processing" times, as that was the first day I was eligible to. Since then, no update on the case, no acknowledgement of the upgrade to IR. I am considering reaching out to Ombudsman office

The request to upgrade the application to that of Immediate Relative of USC was delivered to USCIS field office as on November 5th, 2024. Any recommendations as to how long I should wait before submitting a service request for "Case outside normal processing time", or before contacting my local representative? According to my priority date of 3/31/2022, as of today Nov 11, I am eligible to submit a request for case outside normal processing time.

Is there any way to tell if USCIS has processed the request to upgrade? There hasn't been any update on my case status since we sent the request to upgrade.

Almost 6 months later, the I-485 is still pending, and the priority date only moved from Nov 15 2021 to Jan 1st 2022 in those 6 months.  My priority date is March 30, 2022. I am 3 months away from being current, but that could take months to reach. My husband has his naturalization oath ceremony on the 25th of October. I spoke to my lawyer and he mentioned that it's best to send a cover letter and a copy of the certificate of naturalization to the USCIS field office to let them know that the petitioner is now a USC. I really hope this speeds things up.

Still waiting for I-485 to be approved. It seems the priority date is not current, the June 2024 visa bulletin shows November 2021 for F2A category, and my priority date is March 2022. I hope I do not have to wait much longer. When I filed back in March 2022, the final action date was current. They did ask for an RFE for an updated medical a few weeks ago, so it seems like they are working on it. My I-131 advance parole document expired in April 2024 and my hubby filed for naturalization (N-400) today. I would like to travel to my home country as my 5 year old nephew is unwell after undergoing surgery for a brain tumor and I would love to be able to visit him and my family, but I am not sure If I should apply for another I-131 advance parole document, or wait it out for I-485

On 2/24/2024 at 10:32 PM, OldUser said:

At least they're fixing their mess. There's no reason not to submit evidence from the start. Waiting for RFE or interview just adds unnecessary delay or results in denial, like in your case.

 

Many AOS approved without interview or RFE if everything is submitted from the start.

 

Good luck and tell us how it goes.

Hi ,

providing an update. My lawyer submitted the I-290B motion to reopen/reconsider for both my I-130 and I-485 on March 7th, 2024. In the filing, he also included the evidence for the original RFE. Lawyer did not charge for this service but I paid a filing fee $1350 unfortunately. 
 

Today, both my I-130 and I-485 cases were reopened and status changed to “Case is actively being reviewed”. In addition, for the I-485 , my field office sent me another RFE notice which is asking me to resubmit my medical because the last one I submitted with the original application is no longer valid as it’s been 2 years. I think this is good news as it may mean the original RFE for a bonafide marriage has been cleared and now I just need to clear the medical RFE again. 
 

I will be submitting the RFE for medical in the coming days and will report back, but I have a feeling GC is coming soon.  
 

Thanks all for advice. 

4 hours ago, OldUser said:

At least they're fixing their mess. There's no reason not to submit evidence from the start. Waiting for RFE or interview just adds unnecessary delay or results in denial, like in your case.

 

Many AOS approved without interview or RFE if everything is submitted from the start.

 

Good luck and tell us how it goes.

Thanks, will keep updated 

1 hour ago, Family said:

She won’t get anywhere with a bar complaint BUT threatening the attorney with one…should get attorney to work on I-290 B for free. 
 

I realized now how important it was to send the evidence with the original application. When I brought it up with my lawyer yesterday he said that he has been doing it for 25 years, and that’s how his firm does it. No evidence until interview or until asked. I told him to file the 290b for me without fees and he agreed to do it without a fee. 

2 hours ago, Family said:

F-2A was current from 2019 to 2023 …so when OP filed she was okay . The I-290 B will preserve her adjustment , work permit and advance parole…as she will await in authorized stay for F-2A to become current again. ..no matter how long. 
 

If marriage is real and they live together as a couple …all is good. 
‘PLUS, there will NOT be a need to refile ANYTHING when spouse naturalizes. The I-130 will automatically UPGRADE to IR and end her wait in que for F-2A

Yes, F2A was current, when I filed. I am concerned with Timona's reply and don't really understand what they mean by "maintaining status". I thought my pending I-485 was to maintain status or remain lawfully present in the USA. The I-485 was only denied because the I-130 was denied, so not sure if me being out of status was a concern before the denials came. Would love more clarifications here, and not sure why Timona thinks I took some kind of shortcut, because I only went by the situation at hand and what my lawyer recommended.

That being said, thank you all so much for responding with your thoughts and helping out. I see some people raised a concern about me adjusting status from B1/B2, so I want to provide some context. I want to start by saying that I have known my husband since 2016. I met my husband while I was on a J1 training exchange program to the USA between 2016 - 2018. When my J1 expired, I rightfully went back to my country to avoid being out of status. We were doing a long-distance relationship. Between Feb 2018 and all way until March 2020 (when Covid started), my boyfriend at the time visited my country a couple times, and I visited him in the USA a couple times, legally ofcourse. None of my visits during this time were longer than a few weeks, and I was never out of status. Apart from my handful of visits to the USA during this time, we also went on trips to Canada and other countries. When Covid started, I was unable to visit my husband for 2 years, until the Europe travel ban was lifted (I am a European resident). As soon as the Europe travel ban lifted, I was finally able to travel to the USA to meet my husband again. During this visit (on B1/B2), to my surprise he proposed to me and I said yes. We got married about a month after he proposed. After we got married, I filed for AOS and my husband petitioned for me (I-130, I-485, I-131, I765) because I wanted to be by his side, especially with all the uncertainty covid was bringing at the time. We paid legal fees of over $6000 to do this. During the filing, I asked the lawyer, should we submit evidence that we had all the way from 2016, from when we met, and the lawyer said that I do not need to, and that I would instead take all the evidence with me to the interview (whenever that happens). This is why my original application never had any evidence attached.

Now, since March 2022 (when we filed) and fast forward to today, I have stayed in the USA while my I-130 and I-485 were pending. My I-765 and I-131 were approved in December 2022 and April 2023 respectively. During this time, I left the USA to visit my home country, and entered back legally using my I-131. I also left to visit my husbands home country (Canada) several times, and paroled successfully back into the USA on my I-131 advanced parole document.

Since we got married, we have bought a house together as well and are planning a family too. We have countless evidence of bonafide marraige dating all the way from Fall 2016, since I met my husband. My RFE package that I had prepared, and was about to send out before all the denials happened was a very solid RFE package according to my lawyer. It included lots of trips, flight tickets, honeymoon, wedding photos, family visits, joint bank statements, joint insurance, joint bills, joint tax returns. Literally everything. I was so excited to finally submit the evidence and be approved, until ofcourse the USCIS error happened.

I had a few more questions. My attorney wants to file a Motion to Reopen for the I-130. When asked if we should file a motion to reopen for both I-130 and I-485, they said that only the I-130 is necessary and what he is recommending. He said that filing the I-485 motion to reopen will not be necessary, but if I want to, I should also send the filing fee for that as well.

Also, some people wanted me to confirm whether March 18th deadline was explicitly mentioend in the RFE notice I recieved on Dev 22nd. Yes, it was explicitly mentioned and I am attaching a snippet of the RFE notice. They clearly stated in bold deadline of March 18th.