Edward and Jaycel

For your category these are the correct forms with I-765 & I-131 being optional

What is the category of the AOS? Marriage to a US Citizen? If so, was it from a K-1 Visa or no?

The immigration process is definitely not for the faint-hearted 😆 If you ticked the "Yes" box to issue you a new card AND you ticked the "Yes" box for the consent for USCIS to disclose the info to the SSA then you should get a new one. Jaycel received her new card in the mail from the SSA exactly one week after her status changed to "Approved".

Our "My Progress" tab changed after the biometrics to show this step completed also. Don't count on that being accurate. You'll only know for sure that the interview was waived if you get an approval decision without having been scheduled for one. Be mentally prepared to have to attend an interview and then if it truly is waived, it will be a nice relief

Don't sweat it too much... Jaycel had her biometrics on Dec. 26th and the approval didn't come until Jan. 8th. Every adjudicating officer works cases a little differently

You should do your medical 2 weeks before the interview if possible. I would say no shorter than one week if 2 is not possible. They instituted the separate biometrics appointment after Jaycel did her interview so I can’t tell you first hand but everything I’ve seen is that you can do it up to the day before the interview.

Ours took 1 week to change status from “Approval” to “Card Produced”. The card arrived 3 days after that. It comes Priority Mail so if you have informed delivery with USPS, keep an eye on that once the status changes to produced. They come from Lee’s Summit, MO. To Hawaii? 3-4 days maybe? Let us all know

Congrats!! 🎉🎉

Woo Hoo! Congrats! 🎉 🎉

It took Jaycel almost 5 months to receive her EAD from the day she entered the country.

Just be advised that video is old enough that it is using the old version of the I-485.... Most of it is translatable but there are some differences

This is absolutely NOT necessary for the I-129F - You would be much better served spending that time figuring out the Declaration of Support(I-134) issues for the visa issuance and the Affidavit of Support (I-864) issues for the Adjustment of Status if you are fortunate enough to get the visa issued. DoS and USCIS have a documented history here of completely disregarding assets (they HATE approving based on assets). Please also keep in mind that once the foreign fiancée enters the country, they will be completely dependant on the US Citizen financially as they will not be able to work for at least 4-5 months depending on how fast you get married, file the forms, etc.. Figuring out your income or any possibility of a joint sponsor should be the number one priority. Do you really want to get to the point of going through all of this, getting the fiancée here, getting married, spending the large fees for the AOS application just to see it get denied? Believe me I get the pain of being separated from the one you love - I don't want to even imagine what the pain of getting them here and seeing it all fall apart a few months later. Just my 2 cents Jaycel and I wish you both the best!

Yes this 👆👆

* Disclaimer - Jaycel went through this process 6 months ago, so things may have changed * That being said, nowhere at any point in the interview process did the embassy ask for a welcome letter from Jaycel. They only asked her Appointment Confirmation print-out, DS-160 confirmation page, passport, NBI Clearance, Birth Certificate, CENOMAR, the sealed medical exam report from SLEC and the passport sized photos. The Manila Embassy has a reputation for being hit or miss in sending out the welcome letter - That's why K-1 Visa applicants don't wait for it.

Understood.... I just want the others be prepared for a rejection because the lockbox has to reject it. Sorry everyone. If you checked the "Spouse of a US Citizen" box and you came on a K-1 visa it's gonna get rejected. Unlike the actual USCIS Adjudicating Officers who have some discretion for interpretation, the lockbox employees are contractors who have no latitude.

It is not a "person Adjudicating" thing. If you check "Spouse of US Citizen" they then are required to have an approved or concurrently filed underlying petition for immediate relative of USC (Like an I-130) in order to process you under that category. When you check "Person Admitted as a fiancé(e) of a US Citizen...." they know that you already have an approved underlying petition for your non-immigrant entry (The I-129F)

The PDFs of the tax transcripts you download from the irs.gov website are the “Originals”. The embassies love to use blanket language for requirements so they can just use this same language for multiple documents

I hope so too 🤞

Yes…. You will correct the mistake and refile the whole package. Make sure you reprint the signature page as well and sign it anew. There should be a bright, neon colored piece of paper included in the rejection package that you will put on top of your new submission.

if they reject your submission, they will em return your checks or money orders with your packet and if you paid with the credit card form they will shred it

This is the reason for the rejection

Did you check “Spouse of a US Citizen” in Question 3a under “Family Based” for your adjustment category?

Yes... You should receive a receipt notice for the I-765. If it has been more than 30 days since it was received, you can make an inquiry with the lockbox. https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2022-06/Tip Sheet - When to Contact a USCIS Lockbox_0.pdf

Let us know!!

No way to tell how long they will take to adjudicate.... When USCIS / DoS asks about charges, they don't care if summons were never issued, if the case was closed, record expunged, case sealed, etc. If you had charges, they should have been disclosed and the disposition of the charges disclosed as well. I am shocked that your attorney would recommend not being 100% truthful for the reason "to not confuse them". That is some horrible advice. When it comes to immigration, you should always be 100% truthful in your answers, especially to a question regarding material circumstances about your history of charges.