WonTanNara

... it said that the medical forms from my husband's exam overseas were not in his file.

THEY LOST IT, you'll have to do another exam. The same thing happened to my stepdaughters. I wish they would at least take some responsibility for their f-ups.

I know. It's no skin off their back and the extra cost to me infuriates me!

edp333 is right, it is the receipt date of you AOS not when they review your case. At least that is the way it is supposed to be. We had our medical in late March 2008, and applied for AOS in May 2008, days before they changed the rules to not allow I693A as the vaccine supplement. The rules in effect at the time of our filing were used. We were not interviewed until May 13, 2009... and we had no issues with the medical.

WonTanNara, did your RFE specifically say that your medical was outdated?

We finally got the RFE 12 days after it was mailed and it said that the medical forms from my husband's exam overseas were not in his file. The RFE letter also said "per our records you entered pursuant to a K-2 visa." Well, he entered on a K-1 so I wonder if the dipsticks are looking in the wrong place. Either that or they lost it. Either way it's just ridiculous and makes me so mad!

We only have until June 14th to respond so I think we need to just do it again, but I've contacted my senator's office as well.

If your medical was less than 1 year before the receipt date of your AOS then another medical is not neccessary. The directions call for the I-693 vaccination supplement. A copy of your CS-3025 can be transcribed to the I-693 by a Civil Surgeon.

I too thought it was the receipt date but we got a receipt notice dated March 26, 2009 and my husband's medical exam was completed April 11, 2008. We got an RFE for I-693 dated May 15th. We had a civil surgeon here fill out the vaccination portion of the I-693 and she noted on the other sections "exam completed overseas 11-Apr-2008 and I sent that in with the I-485.

I think they should say that your medical exam should be valid by the time they finally get around to reviewing your case, not at the time you filed.

Aww Sibel, I am so sorry you are still waiting. I think about you every once in a while and will definitely pray for you. During my 8 months of hell the only thing that kep me going was visualizing in my head what it would be like when my fiance (now my husband) finally got here. You know what? That awful wait made our relationship a lot stronger. Tammy is right, after you've been through something like that you seem to appreciate each other a lot more. My husband and I rarely fight and when we do it's over stupid stuff like him terrorizing my poor psycho cat who is terrified of him (not really terrorizing, but he won't leave her alone because he wants her to like him).

You will get your big surprise soon. You'll be in a flurry of change making preparations for him to arrive and then it will all seem like a really distant bad dream. I promise! My husband and I actually laugh now over everything we went through to get him here...

Hang tough.

The medical exam from the visa is only valid for 1 year so you should consider that, too. I filed my husband's AOS packet in March and figured we'd be ok because his medical from the K1 was valid until April 11th. They say in the instructions that "if you're filing within one year of the medical exam then you need only submit the vaccination supplement." They don't say anything about how long it will take them to get to your case and if the medical exam expires in the meantime, will you have to do it again?

On Friday I got an RFE notice in my email and although I haven't gotten the detailed letter in the mail yet, I'm 99% sure it's because #1 the medical expired by the time they got to our case and #2 I was absolutely ####### about sending them everything else they needed. Patiently awaiting the RFE letter.

Been there, done that.

Be thankful that you are in India together with your husband! Most of us do or did not have that luxury while stuck in AP. Glass half full?

One day you'll get a nice surprise and then it will all seem like a distant really bad dream. I promise!

Well talking about AP i want someone to tell me one reason why they put people under AP .

its really unfair system and i'm so confused .

talking about he is Muslim :- there are so many Muslims and they got their visa without AP.

the same for being an Iraqi,..........

I was reading the other day that they put you under AP if your name got a hit when they were checking on your name . so they want to recheck your name and the background .

Well from what i understanding that when the USCIS sent the petition to NCV they check on your name i think the FBI doing that . and then they send the petition to the Embassy .

so i guess if the FBI found something wrong about the name they wouldn't send it to the embassy . does that make sense ?!!!!!!!

my petition left the NVC after 5 days . which mean everything was ok including my name check .

so why the heck they put people under AP?!!!!!!

anyone can explain that to me ? or give me one reason why ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Been a while since I posted but here goes...

In the cases where everything is good to go at the consular level, AP is for additional background checks because somebody with the same or a similar name has a record in one of our many agency databases. They do in fact do a preliminary name check at the NVC, but they don't want to bog the system down with extensive background checks on people who might not even get approved at the consular level.

Take a look at my timeline and reviews to see what my husband and I endured, and our time was relatively short compared to some... Sibel I'm so sorry to hear you're still stuck in it! It really does suck, but it will end. You just have to find things to keep yourself busy and have faith that it will end. One day you'll get the best surprise ever, ours came on Christmas Eve! Once your SO is here it will all seem like a really distant bad dream, I promise!

1. The Current USCIS Status is what the immigrant entered with ...just beside that you have to give the date when it expires.

2. You are correct its the red number.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

My husband entered on a K1 fiance visa and I'm putting together his AOS status. I have a couple questions.

1. Part 1 of I-485 asks for current USCIS status. Is that simply "K-1 fiance"? And does anybody know how to get that e with the ' on top of it into the form?!

2. Is the non-immigrant visa number the one in red in the lower right section of the visa? Or is it in the long string of numbers printed at the bottom?

Thanks!

Congrats Julia! WHOO HOO!

One very important takeaway from all this:

If you are in AP, you need to sit back and calm down. Inquiries by your House/Senate liaisons need to be made to the Dept of State and/or the Consulate.

I did the same freakin' thing while my fiance was stuck in AP for EIGHT MONTHS.... I tried to call every number that might possibly give me any sort of information. The reality is that six months of AP is really not a long time these days, and AP is black hole. The Dept of State doesn't need to tell us diddly squat. After 9/11 it's now 'a matter of national security.' Maddening but true, and it's out of our control.

Get your Senator and/or your Congressman on the case and ask them to do monthly status updates. I really think that's your best bet. I had both my Senators and my Congressman doing inquiries and I also did a monthly status inquiry with the Consulate. Above all, have patience. It'll come.

We would have been approved without hassle if Washington had not mandated security checks on my fiance. We also have a friend who was in and out of Dakar in 3 weeks for her fiance's visa. This was back in October. I think of all the proof and paperwork is in order then you should be ok. No harm in asking for an earlier date if you can get it.

It seems very uncommon these days for security clearance to come in less than six months. Ours took eight. I called DOS the day before we were notified by the embassy our AP finished, and DOS told me we were still AP. Hmph. I found calling them to be unhelpful.

Thank you everyone! It is so true - one day it is finally over and you have no idea when that day will be. Just yesterday I was having a serious meltdown - I was a wreck!

For those still waiting - stay positive, it will happen. And like others have said - continue to check with the embassy and DOS on a regular basis. The embassy hasn't even updated their clearance site yet, but they responded to my email from Friday and that's how we found out.

Cloud 9!

Can I say I told you so? Hee hee... Yes, one day you're a wreck and the next day you're on cloud nine!

Now when he gets here, remember all this hassle and heartache and have patience while you teach him the ways here in the US. Good luck!

He's here! He's freezin' his poor tushy off (and I even have the heat cranked) but he's here! Finally the hard part is over.

For all of you still stuck on AP, hang in there. It will end.

I am sooo happy for you two, Jen! I can only imagine how happy the two of you must be right now. Which POE did he come through? How'd it go?

ENJOY!!!

Thanks Julia! He's adjusting to the cold and we are just so happy to be together. I fumed for a day over POE, check out my timeline and you'll see my comments.

Hugs.

He's here! He's freezin' his poor tushy off (and I even have the heat cranked) but he's here! Finally the hard part is over.

For all of you still stuck on AP, hang in there. It will end.

If he really wanted to change all his paperwork, I really don't think it would be all that difficult in Senegal. In other countries yes, but my experience in W. Africa has shown me that you pretty much go to the ministry for a birtch certificate and tell them what you want them to put on it. When my fiance got his passport, he didn't specify the birthdate so they just picked one out of the sky then he had to have it made again with the right date. All of his documents were brand spankin' new because he'd never had a need for them prior to this visa process and that was not an issue in Dakar.

Everybody has their own opinion, but me personally, I would have trouble lying if I knew for sure the date was wrong. Any sort of lie on a visa application, if discovered, is considered visa fraud. On the other hand, somebody already mentioned that if there's no other proof out there of the date being wrong, it may never be an issue. You will have to make the decision that is best for you and your fiance.

What is the most important thing, as it's been already said, is that the dates on all his papers match. What's even more important is that they all match what you put on the I129F.

Dakar can be tough, that's for sure, so make sure you dot every I and cross every T. They will want to see real proof of your relationship and lots of it. I've been through all the ####### at that embassy so PM me if you have questions about the processes there. I'm so happy to be done with them!

It took us a year for my fiance to get his K1 visa. We went through 8 months of AP for security clearance never knowing when it was going to end. I had the same "OMG am I going to have to move to Africa?" thoughts you are having now throughout the whole process. Now he's here! You'll need to have a lot of patience and faith on the journey ahead, but it will all unfold as it is meant to be.

Bonne chance!

Thanks again for the well wishes everybody.

My fiance arrived in NYC yesterday and is all layered up and under 2 blankets! Hee hee...

It took him 3 hours to get through immigration and one lady was so rude to him, I lodged a complaint with US Customs and Border Protection. Hmph.

The hard part is over, now it's time to start preparing that I495 form.

Thanks everybody!

Thanks everybody!

Finally! After 239 days of AP and waiting almost an entire year for this K1 process, my fiance has his visa in his hand.

Zee Bee, you can update your tracker, he picked it up today 20-Jan. AP ended 24-Dec.

Whoo hoo!

You can update our entry on the spreadsheet tracker and highlight us in teal!

Our AP finished 12/24 and visa was issued 1/20.

It started on December 22nd when I emailed the embassy in Dakar to let them know I was in Senegal and also to inform them of my fiance's phone number change.

The next day, December 23rd, I received a request from them. They asked me to send a list of all the trips my fiance had made throughout his life outside of Guinea. Hmmm, I thought, how odd. My fiance said to me, "They are ready." I said maybe.... not wanting to get my hopes up. I sent them the information they requested.

The next day, Christmas Eve, I got a message from the embassy informing me that they were ready to proceed with my fiance's application and to schedule an appointment to drop off his passport! They even said Merry Christmas!

He dropped off his passport last Thursday and just now picked up his visa! He's flying out tomorrow and will be arriving in the US on Thursday. FINALLY!

So, for all of you still stuck in AP, hang in there and one day you'll get a nice surprise!

Yeah welcome back!

So you were there when the change of president occured! This is a promising and exciting time for Guinea!

I checked with 6 different attorneys about filing a writ of mandamus and all of them said it would not do any good and it would be a waste of money unless you've been waiting at least 12 months.

Security checks are taking longer to complete because there are so many visa applicants, but it will happen! You guys are both at or past the six month mark and it shouldn't be too much longer now! They don't need to tell us squat about the checks because it's a "matter of national security." They have a loophole and can do whatever they want with that.

I know how you feel, and will also tell you that you have to try and stop focusing every minute of every day on it. It'll happen when the time is right and one day soon you'll have a big fat surprise!