fer

My soon-to-be-ex-husband's 10-yr green card was approved on 09/02 (email alert: card/document production ordered), without an interview. Relief all around, especially with the complication of the divorce, etc.

Looks like May floodgate may finally be open. Good luck everyone!

California Service Center (19 applicants, 2 approved = 10.5%)

VJName..............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....

FERAINA.............04/30/10..........05/05/10.......07/21/10........09/02/10....

MILES08.............05/01/10..........05/03/10.......06/11/10........08/13/10.... Early Bio 5/25,GC r'cved 8/27

YOUTOO..............05/06/10..........05/10/10.......08/02/10........--/--/10.... Early Bio 7/12

MARI&RYAN...........05/09/10..........05/12/10.......08/10/10........--/--/10....

MOIMOI..............05/09/10..........05/13/10.......08/20/10........--/--/10....

JYNXNDRAGNFLY.......05/10/10..........05/11/10.......06/18/10........07/16/10....

JUZERO2.............05/10/10..........05/12/10.......08/04/10........--/--/10....

PAD270408...........05/12/10..........05/14/10.......08/12/10........--/--/10....

MSU17...............05/14/10..........05/17/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

JM&MCS..............05/15/10..........05/17/10.......08/26/10........--/--/10....

MRSSKULL............05/15/10..........05/18/10.......08/31/10........--/--/10.... Bio Rescheduled

JUSTMENOW...........05/18/10..........05/20/10.......09/07/10........--/--/10....

REIJO N' EDLET......05/19/10..........05/27/10.......08/11/10........--/--/10....

TUCSON_CHICK........05/20/10..........05/26/10.......08/24/10........--/--/10....

JOURNEYMAN..........05/21/10..........05/24/10.......08/13/10........--/--/10....

MIMHNHUT............05/23/10..........05/28/10.......09/08/10........--/--/10....

BRADCHERRIES........05/25/10..........06/01/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

TIJUANAHILTON.......05/26/10..........06/26/10.......08/18/10........--/--/10....

TYLERRR.............05/26/10..........05/28/10.......08/19/10........--/--/10....

ROZA................05/22/10..........05/30/10.......08/20/10........--/--/10....

Vermont Service Center (33 applicants, 21 approved = 64%)

VJName..............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....

AMBER824............05/03/10..........05/05/10.......06/08/10........07/26/10.... GC received 8/05

*JULEZ*.............05/03/10..........05/06/10.......06/07/10........08/26/10....

K&W.................05/03/10..........05/06/10.......05/28/10........08/31/10.... RFE received 7/22

SAZU................05/03/10..........05/10/10.......06/03/10........07/22/10....

MALABOROCKS.........05/04/10..........05/06/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

RAMOS96.............05/04/10..........--/--/10.......07/28/10........07/26/10.... Bio done after approval date

MGSGIRL.............05/05/10..........05/10/10.......06/18/10........07/28/10.... GC received 8/06

VIVIANDJIMJIM.......05/06/10..........05/10/10.......06/07/10........07/26/10.... GC received 8/06

CHRIS&ED............05/06/10..........05/11/10.......07/02/10........07/30/10.... GC received 8/12

CHIPSAHOY...........05/07/10..........05/10/10.......06/17/10........--/--/10....

ABDUR AND AZMINA....05/08/10..........05/11/10.......06/17/10........07/20/10.... GC received 8/02

FLORIDAGIRL.........05/08/10..........05/11/10.......06/16/10........08/02/10.... GC received 8/16

DANIELPARUL.........05/10/10..........05/14/10.......07/01/10........--/--/10....

UDLIKE2NO2..........05/10/10..........05/13/10.......06/18/10........08/12/10.... GC received 8/23

WONDERFUL07/2010....05/11/10..........05/14/10.......06/11/10........--/--/10....

ANDIER..............05/11/10..........05/14/10.......08/11/10........08/13/10.... GC received 8/23

BECKYBADGER.........05/12/10..........05/14/10.......06/11/10........07/20/10.... GC received 7/31

JEFFMAYETH..........05/14/10..........05/17/10.......06/29/10........07/29/10.... GC received 8/09

PKASH2010 ..........05/14/10..........05/18/10.......09/16/10........--/--/10....

LOVELYLILI..........05/17/10..........05/21/10.......08/10/10........08/27/10....

SIENNA..............05/17/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

SHWETAMITTEN........05/17/10..........05/21/10.......08/10/10........08/25/10....

MIKE&BING...........05/17/10..........05/24/10.......09/01/10........--/--/10....

UHAM10..............05/18/10..........05/21/10.......08/20/10........08/23/10.... Early Bio 8/03

MSAM................05/19/10..........05/24/10.......08/17/10........08/27/10....

BSZOOM42............05/21/10..........05/24/10.......08/20/10........--/--/10....

RAJEE...............05/24/10..........05/27/10.......08/11/10........--/--/10....

BYTHESEA............05/24/10..........05/26/10.......08/13/10........08/27/10....

DAVIDANDJENNY.......05/24/10..........05/26/10.......08/13/10........08/27/10.... GC received 9/04

JJ_154..............05/25/10..........06/01/10.......08/09/10........08/17/10.... GC received 8/25

T AND M.............05/26/10..........05/27/10.......08/16/10........--/--/10....

ALICEMEICHI.........05/27/10..........06/01/10.......08/23/10........--/--/10....

HELWARDMAN..........05/29/10..........06/02/10.......09/14/10........--/--/10....

IMPORTANT!

* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.

* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.

* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.

* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is prperly formatted.

* Please check that you have not deleted anyones NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application

NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter

Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment

Approved = The Date your case was approved

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list

* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly

* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so.

CSC Missing Biometrics Letters (2 still missing, 1 SR placed, 0 responses)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

VJName..............NOA1 Date.....SR Placed.....SR Response...CR I-89 #....

MSU17...............05/17/10......07/23/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

BRADCHERRIES........06/01/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

VSC Missing Biometrics Letters (1 still missing)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

VJName..............NOA1 Date.....SR Placed.....SR Response...CR I-89 #....

MALABOROCKS.........05/06/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

Instructions: If more than 30 days have elapsed since your NOA1 date and you have not received your biometrics appointment letter, you can call the NCSC (their number is on your NOA1) and put in service request to the service center which you filed (CSC or VSC) to find out the status of the biometrics appointment letter. Make sure to verify the home address and mailing address (if any) with them on the phone. You can also request to speak to an immigration officer (you may have to ask at least twice to be transferred) to get your CR I-89 receipt number, (it is the receipt number of the biometrics letter) so that you can track your case online.

Thanks very much feraina, I was able to locate Donald Neufield's April 3/09 memorandum on the subject. It seems quite straight forward but I may take you up on your offer in future, if that's ok with you.

Thanks once again.

Sure, no problem.

Oh, you did by yourself. Nevermind!

Thanks for offering anyway.

Things are not moving for April & May filers in CSC. Hmm...

Hello all, here is a very late addition to the May filers' database. We are probably a rather special case, as we filed for divorce after joint filing of my husband's I-751.

California Service Center (16 applicants, 1 approved = 7%)

VJName..............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....

FERAINA.............04/30/10..........05/05/10.......07/21/10........--/--/10....

MILES08.............05/01/10..........05/03/10.......06/11/10........--/--/10.... EB 05/25/10

YOUTOO..............05/06/10..........05/10/10.......08/02/10........--/--/10.... EB 07/12/10

MARI&RYAN...........05/09/10..........05/12/10.......08/10/10........--/--/10....

MOIMOI..............05/09/10..........05/13/10.......--/--/--........--/--/10....

JYNXNDRAGNFLY.......05/10/10..........05/11/10.......06/18/10........07/16/10....

JUZERO2.............05/10/10..........05/12/10.......08/04/10........--/--/10....

MSU17...............05/14/10..........05/17/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MRSSKULL............05/15/10..........05/18/10.......08/19/10........--/--/10.... Rescheduling Biometrics

JUSTMENOW...........05/18/10..........05/20/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

REIJO N' EDLET......05/19/10..........05/27/10.......08/11/10........--/--/10....

TUCSON_CHICK........05/20/10..........05/26/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

JOURNEYMAN..........05/21/10..........05/24/10.......--/--/--........--/--/--....

MIMHNHUT............05/23/10..........05/28/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

BRADCHERRIES........05/25/10..........06/01/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

TIJUANAHILTON.......05/26/10..........06/26/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

Vermont Service Center (32 applicants, 5 approved = 15.6%)

VJName..............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics......Approved....

AMBER824............05/03/10..........05/05/10.......06/08/10........07/26/10....

*JULEZ*.............05/03/10..........05/06/10.......06/07/10........--/--/10....

K&W.................05/03/10..........05/06/10.......05/28/10........--/--/10.... (RFE received 7/22)

SAZU................05/03/10..........05/10/10.......06/03/10........07/22/10....

MALABOROCKS.........05/04/10..........05/06/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

RAMOS96.............05/04/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MGSGIRL.............05/05/10..........05/10/10.......06/18/10........07/28/10....

VIVIANDJIMJIM.......05/06/10..........05/10/10.......06/07/10........07/26/10....

CHIPSAHOY...........05/07/10..........05/10/10.......06/17/10........--/--/10....

ABDUR AND AZMINA....05/08/10..........05/11/10.......06/17/10........07/21/10....

FLORIDAGIRL.........05/08/10..........05/11/10.......06/16/10........--/--/10....

DANIELPARUL.........05/10/10..........05/14/10.......07/01/10........--/--/10....

UDLIKE2NO2..........05/10/10..........05/13/10.......06/18/10........--/--/10....

WONDERFUL07/2010....05/11/10..........05/14/10.......06/11/10........--/--/10....

ANDIER..............05/11/10..........05/14/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

HIMHER..............05/13/10..........05/21/10.......07/07/10........--/--/10....

JEFFMAYETH..........05/14/10..........05/17/10.......06/29/10........--/--/10....

PKASH2010 ..........05/14/10..........05/18/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

LOVELYLILI..........05/17/10..........05/21/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

SIENNA..............05/17/10..........--/--/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

SHWETAMITTEN........05/17/10..........05/21/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

MIKE&BING...........05/17/10..........05/24/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

UHAM10..............05/18/10..........05/21/10.......08/20/10........--/--/10.... Received bio date via SR response

MSAM................05/19/10..........05/24/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

BSZOOM42............05/21/10..........05/24/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

RAJEE...............05/24/10..........05/27/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

BYTHESEA............05/24/10..........05/26/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

DAVIDANDJENNY.......05/24/10..........05/26/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

JJ_154..............05/25/10..........06/01/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

T AND M.............05/26/10..........05/27/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

ALICEMEICHI.........05/27/10..........06/01/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

HELWARDMAN..........05/29/10..........06/02/10.......--/--/10........--/--/10....

IMPORTANT!

* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.

* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.

* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.

* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is prperly formatted.

* Please check that you have not deleted anyones NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application

NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter

Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment

Approved = The Date your case was approved

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list

* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly

* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so.

CSC Missing Biometrics Letters (13 missing, 4 responded to)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

VJName..............NOA1 Date.....SR Placed.....SR Response...CR I-89 #....

YOUTOO..............05/10/10......07/08/10......07/10/10......07/10/10..... (bio letter received 07/10)

MOIMOI..............05/09/10......07/19/10......--/--/--......07/19/10.....

MARY&RYAN...........05/12/10......07/26/10......07/27/10......06/19/10..... (SR through email. Got email with Bio letter attached)

JUZERO2.............05/12/10......07/06/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

MSU17...............05/17/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

MRSSKULL............05/18/10......07/09/10......07/22/10......07/27/10..... (email received - Duplicate Receipt Notice to be sent and given date for Bio, received Bio notice with tracking number)

JUSTMENOW...........05/20/10......07/02/10......07/14/10......07/06/10..... (letter received - "We will schedule bio and send appt letter")

JOURNEYMAN..........05/24/10......07/23/10......--/--/--......--/--/--.....

TUCSON_CHICK........05/26/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

REIJO N' EDLET......05/27/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10..... (bio appt date received by phone)

MIMHNHUT............05/28/10......07/21/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

BRADCHERRIES........06/01/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

TIJUANAHILTON.......06/26/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

VSC Missing Biometrics Letters (15 missing, 8 responded to)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

VJName..............NOA1 Date.....SR Placed.....SR Response...CR I-89 #....

MALABOROCKS.........05/06/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

ANDIER..............05/14/10......06/25/10......--/--/10......06/28/10..... (called & sent a registered letter on 06/25)

PKASH2010 ..........05/18/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

LOVELYLILI..........05/21/10......07/02/10......07/12/10......--/--/10..... (letter received - "ASC backlog")

SHWETAMITTEN........05/21/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

UHAM10..............05/21/10......07/21/10......07/23/10......--/--/10..... (email received - bio date 08/20)

MSAM................05/24/10......07/14/10......07/14/10......07/14/10..... (email received - "ASC backlog")

BSZOOM42............05/24/10......06/28/10......07/01/10......07/02/10..... (email received - "ASC backlog")

MIKE&BING...........05/24/10......07/26/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

BYTHESEA............05/26/10......07/07/10......07/08/10......--/--/10.....

DAVIDANDJENNY.......05/26/10......--/--/10......07/20/10......--/--/10..... (email received - "We will schedule bio and send appt letter")

RAJEE...............05/27/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

T AND M.............05/27/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

JJ_154..............06/01/10......07/06/10......07/15/10......--/--/10.....

ALICEMEICHI.........06/01/10......07/13/10......07/14/10......--/--/10.....

HELWARDMAN..........06/02/10......--/--/10......--/--/10......--/--/10.....

Instructions: If more than 30 days have elapsed since your NOA1 date and you have not received your biometrics appointment letter, you can call the NCSC (their number is on your NOA1) and put in service request to the service center which you filed (CSC or VSC) to find out the status of the biometrics appointment letter. Make sure to verify the home address and mailing address (if any) with them on the phone. You can also request to speak to an immigration officer (you may have to ask at least twice to be transferred) to get your CR I-89 receipt number, (it is the receipt number of the biometrics letter) so that you can track your case online.

I just went back and looked at the various documents again. I think we belong to the May filers, not June. Sorry for the confusion!

Seems you are God sent, I have been struggling to find information on situations where things have taken turn for worse in marital relationship, post filing I-751 jointly. Can you please point me to some link(s). Thank you so much.

The most relevant piece of document is the Neufeld Memo, which you can search for in Google. Or PM me your email and I can send you a PDF copy.

I might also be able to answer any specific questions you might have.

I'm checking the case status online at:

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard/CaseStatus.do

The GUI looks quite different than back in 2008. In particular, how do I know when the case was last "touched"?

Thanks!

A late addition to the June filer database:

We filed jointly for my husband's I-751 in May, receipt date was May 22. NOA1 date was June 23. Biometrics date was July 21.

We also filed for divorce on July 23, due to irreconcilable differences, though we are still on good terms. We have both an immigration lawyer and a divorce lawyer who are taking care of the thorny legal issues.

I will let you know how things progress. Those who are also in the tricky position of filing for divorce may find our case interesting -- I know we had a hard time finding out information, and even our lawyers were confused.

Good luck, everyone!

What was this "special document"? When my wife came to the US as an F-1 student she used a birthcertificate that was translated and signed by a translator. This was enough to get her I-90 and Visa. We have our interview date and never received an RFE. Do you think they'd ask for a different birth certificate by now if ours was not good enough?

It's a special document for Turkish citizens, a special trip-up. So you Turkish applicants out there, beware! Go to Turkish Embassy's website and it'll tell you exactly what you need. It's got some Turkish name that I can neither say nor spell.

Congrats feraina that is wonderful. Sounds like a very pleasant experience.

Thanks! Hope everyone else has an easy ride too.

Some of you may remember that I was at one point wondering whether it's possible/worthwhile to maintain my husband's GC status, since I was contemplating a move to Australia for a new job. As it turned out, I got a second job offer from UCSD (and I accepted it two days ago), so we'll be moving to San Diego this summer instead! This green card came at a really good time!

Now we just need my husband to find a job in SD too, and then we'd be all set to start our new life. Well, there's still the wedding to plan, but that's a pleasure to be savored, I'm not in a huge hurry. We want to invite all of our tango friends to the wedding (and the non-tango folks too), invite a live tango orchestra, set up a tango dance floor, and dance the whole night away!

Hi, guys. Just wanted to let you all know the great news: my husband got his GC approved on the spot at the interview on May 20! :dance: The interview officer was this short, friendly, funny guy (from Ukraine) who told us "good job!" that we got the proper document for birth certificate from Turkey -- apparently the majority of applicants show up with the wrong document and then get delayed. (We did get delayed sending our application to begin with, this special document took two extra months!)

We arrived on the dot for our 11:30 AM appointment in Newark, and waited around 30 minutes before being called in by the officer. He asked some simple questions, like when we got married, why it was in NYC instead of New Jersey, whether we brought some joint documents. Then he said you have to apply for the removal of conditions within 90 days of 3 years from TODAY, because I'm going to approve you right now! With a grin.

I had been freaking out a little because I didn't have my original naturalization certificate with me (just a copy), nor my last three pay stubs, but he didn't ask for any of those things. We showed him statements from our joint bank account, our lease (only my mine b/c the landlord wouldn't let my husband be on the lease with his short credit history, stupid), a printout of my life insurance with him as my primary beneficiary, and a stack of emails since we first met 18 months ago, one example from each month -- but the officer looked at these very briefly and promptly returned them. We also showed him some photos, and he said "nice."

Before we left, he told us to hold on to additional documents that we will need to apply for the removal of conditions. And that was it!

It was a totally painless experience. There was a young couple ahead of us who came with a lawyer (most couples had lawyers with them), and she was the meanest person I've ever seen, she was just bossing them around and yelling at them for no reason in front of the entire room full of applicants and lawyers, like they were naughty little kids in need of a good spanking. I can't believe people pay such evil people thousands of dollars to undergo such humiliation. Maybe we were just really lucky, but we just followed the instructions and prepared the whole application ourselves, and got there in the end.

We got CRIS emails on May 20 saying card production ordered (fast!), and on May 21 with the approval notice and welcoming the new permanent resident letter.

Good luck to everyone!

Doing great here. Actually i didn't receive the hardcopy of NOA1 in the mail but I called USCIS and they said its ok as long as I can view my case status online. For your case, I say wait a bit before you call them. I'm sure they will just tell you to hang in there and wait. Some people waited more than 30 days here. Wish you'll get it soon.

Just curious -- how did you find out about your case number if you didn't get NOA1?

Since I did not work, do I just put a zero and attach a letter explaining that I did not file because I only worked under the table?

I only sent in two years of tax returns (2005, 2006), plus last year's W2 (when I filed in January, I didn't yet have all the documents I needed to file 2007 taxes). I just noted in the financial sponsor's form that I was a student in 2004 and didn't file taxes.

I haven't gotten any RFE's yet. We'll see if they give me any trouble at the interview next month...

Congrats OskaryAndrea on your EAD; phila on your case transferred; ahebl & Immigration Blues on your EAD and AP; feraina on your interview schedule [btw, I'm wondering if you've gotten any e-mail notice regarding your interview?]; and meowgirl on your EAD and AP..

No, we didn't get any email notice, and no touch at the USCIS website either. We were totally surprised by the notice today. We were going to just book our flights to Europe, and rely on the email notice to tell us if/when we need to come back early. Now it looks like we might have missed the interview altogether if we weren't here physically to collect the mail.

Maybe we'll still get an email notice in a few days, I'll let you know...

By the way, I figured out that our "received" date is 01/29. Please modify it in the timeline that you so kindly and diligently keep for us all!

yes we have more than enought assest,more than 5 times

Then you should be fine without a co-sponsor. When you fill out the financial sponsor's form, you will see that there is a whole stack of extra pages to fill out if you are using assets instead of income.

I only had two years' of tax returns (studying abroad beforehand), and neither was above the 125% poverty line. However, I also submitted a letter from my employer, dated last summer, which states my new income (which is sufficient to be a sponsor). Apparently, this was enough, because we're having our AOS interview in May!

As for him, he should file his taxes, even if late.

Yeah, I agree, he should file his taxes.

Have you filed your own taxes yet? You're supposed to file as a married couple for 2007 since you got married last year, I don't know how complicated it gets if you already filed yours and he didn't bother.

If I were you, I'd get the taxes straight and make sure the GC interview goes well.

Afterwards, you can worry about Medicaid.

Good luck!

We filed Feb. 11th but they did not send NOA1 til March 13.... Our NOA1 notice states a date of received Feb. 14. Which date counts? The Feb Date or the date they sent the NOA1 which is March???

I used to think it's the NOA date (which for us was 02/04; our received date was 01/29). But on our interview notice, it says: "Received date: 01/29, Priority date: 01/29" So I think in terms of processing priority, perhaps it's the received date that matters?

Yay, our first interview notice! Congratulations Feraina, that's great news. Also congrats to all others who received good news on AP and EAD.

Actually, this is the third interview notice for February filers. pannyzero & bambam both have interviews earlier than us. Bambam's seems to be in two days! Good luck!

Username--------------FILED----RCVD-----NOA1-----BIO------TRNFR----INTRW----APRVL----EAD------AP

17.pannyzero--------- 02-04 __ 02-05 __ 02-15 __ 03-01 __ xx-xx __ 05-02 __ xx-xx __ 04-03 __ 04-03

51.BamBam------------ 02-23 __ xx-xx __ xx-xx __ 03-19 __ xx-xx __ 04-17 __ xx-xx __ xx-xx __ xx-xx

Ohh, Portugal. Jealous. We spend a couple of weeks in Portugal last September and it was Heaven.

Even better, Portugal on someone else's expenses. I have to work a little too though, but it's totally worth it. I've always wanted to go to Portugal!

Congrats on your interview! It is just a month away!

Thanks! Good luck on your app too. I see that your timeline is only a few days behind ours.

Time for us to start putting together some "evidence" -- we had a pathetic little "ceremony" in the city clerk's office, didn't bother wearing anything fancy or inviting any friends besides the witness. And I haven't met his parents yet, who live in Turkey. We have lots of photos, but they're all digital. Are we allowed to bring either a camera or a laptop to the interview?!

By the way, we haven't had a touch on our AOS/I-130 since Feb. 27/15. I don't think these "touches" reflect every time they actually work on our applications.

Is the AP approval notice actually the advance parole document, or is it just a notice telling us that they are going to send us the advance parole document?

Congratulations! I know you guys had been really worried about this. Where in Portugal is your wedding? It's so great that you can just enjoy it without worries now. I am actually flying out to Portugal in late May. Will be thinking of you guys.

IB, congrats on your EAD as well! I don't think your EAD impacts your H1B. EAD allows you to work elsewhere if you decide to quit your job. But to come back into this country, without the H1B, you would need an AP or the GC.

I also have some good news to report. We got our interview notice today (dated April 7), for an interview on May 20. Yay!

Unfortunately it coincides with our planned trips to Europe. Thank goodness I didn't book any flights yet (I was going to fly out to Europe on May 18), and my husband's company will pay for his flight change. We're just soooooo relieved to have this interview date fixed.

All of our well-wishing, hopeful thinking over the weekend apparently worked. So let me wish all of you good luck in getting your cases moved right along!

Yeah, hope things start moving again this week!

January filers are starting to get their GC, so maybe it'll be our turn soon! Technically we filed on Jan. 29 (NOA1: Feb. 4). I have lots of trips planned for this summer, and it sucks not being able to book early, get cheap tickets, and eliminate the uncertainty for my friends and colleagues who are waiting to hear what's going on with me this summer. *sigh*

So, I got curious today and started playing with case numbers on the uscis website. Since our three applications (I-130, AOS, EAD) got case numbers all bunched together, I thought maybe the case numbers are chronologically assigned, and if I descend down numbers smaller than mine, I'd get some idea of what case numbers USCIS is working on, and how long it'd take to get a touch on our apps again. It's probably not entirely kosher to look at other people's applications, but the USCIS website doesn't seem to care. And also, there is absolutely no information in any of the status statements that can identify anyone. It's like a cheeky way of getting anonymous samples of case histories (except you don't get the history, just on what happened last and when). Probably that's why the website doesn't have safeguard against peeking at other cases' status.

So anyway, as far as I can tell, the case numbers are pretty much chronologically assigned. The cases with numbers within 100 in front of ours were all received around the same time, and their EAD's were all approved around the same time as ours, and none of their AOS applications have made any progress or received any recent touches (depressing! presumably we have no hope of making progress until these before us get touches).

As I looked further back, I realized two things. One is that NBC has a huge caseload. They're processing lots of (relatively) new EAD cases a day. And the other thing is that it's actually quite hard to tell which case numbers (for AOS) they're currently working on, because every case is a little different. Some have RFE's of various sorts. Some have been transferred. The last touches on the AOS applications weren't chronological (unlike the EAD apps). It's basically impossible to figure out what AOS cases they're currently working on. I had a lot of trouble coming up with case numbers that even had a touch within the last two weeks -- only one that said RFE received and case processing resumed.

Anyway, so much for my latest attempt to figure out what's happening with our application. I'm probably wasting my time, I should do some real work instead! It's just that I'm so anxious about this whole thing!

This is a question for those of you who have experience with AOS interviews.

Do we need to have wedding rings for the interview? We married in the city clerk's office last October, and we're planning on a big ceremony next year -- so we don't have the rings yet. It just occurred to me that they might care at the interview. Our current financial circumstances don't really allow us to splurge on fancy rings, but we really want nice wedding rings, and also a nice wedding (hence we're putting it off until next year). I do have an engagement ring.

Do you have any advice?

Got the EAD Card production ordered email today!

Congrats!