EmilyandEric

Eric got his LPR card in the mail today!!! See you all in late 2010

Our interview is this Monday in Chicago. Wish us luck!

BTW, does anybody know if one can bring cell phones/laptops/etc.. to USCIS buildings, or do they make you leave behind any other stuff that is not paperwork during the security check

i dont know about laptops, but i know (at least at the san antonio uscis office), you can only bring cell phones in if they dont have cameras on them. good luck!

Eric was approved this morning at the San Antonio office! The interview was pretty quick and easy. It lasted about 20 minutes. It was scheduled for 10, but we got there at 9:15, and right after we passed through the metal detector, a man walked out of the elevator. The man who was standing at the metal detector told the elevator man, "Well, your 9 never showed up, but here is your 10!" The elevator man, who turned out to be our interviewing officer, asked us if we wanted to go then, or if we wanted to wait until 10. I told him we'd love to go right then, so we got in the elevator with him and went to his office.

First, he made us both hold up our right hands and swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He then wanted to see our birth certificates and get a copy of mine (I'd never turned it in, just a passport). He then asked me how many brothers and sisters I had, and I told him (one brother, one sister, one step sister, two step brothers). It sounded like he was going to ask Eric their names- to try to see if Eric actually knew my family, but then he never mentioned siblings again. He then asked me if I'd ever been on a private plane. I thought that was a weird question, but I told him that yes, my dad owns a tiny old cessna from the 1940s with two other guys, and I'd been up in it a few times. The officer then said, "oh, like you fly to mexico in it too, right?" and i was like "uhhh no! we just fly out to the hill country to eat barbeque- we don't fly to mexico in it!" Then he asked Eric if he had ever been in my dad's plane, and eric told him he had. it was kinda weird, and i didn't (and still don't) really understand where he was trying to go with it. He then heard me say something in Spanish to eric and he said "Oh, you speak Spanish?" and i told him that i did. He asked if both of my parents were alive and if they were at the wedding. He asked us if we had any kids or previous marriages (no) and then told us that our I-130 had been approved. (yay!) Then he said he needed to just make sure that Eric's background check had gone through and that all the correct medical papers were there. Once he saw that was all there, he said he was telling the computer to send Eric his LPR card, and that if we didn't get it in 4 months to make an infopass appointment. He said "I'm telling the computer to give you an LPR card, do if you don't get it in the mail, it's the computer's fault, not mine." hmmm kinda weird. Then he took up eric's EAD and said he'd no longer need it now that he was an LPR. After I asked him to, he stamped Eric's passport so that Eric can go to Mexico before gets his LPR card in the mail. Then he started telling us jokes. He said "What did the doorbell sound like before the Bush administration?" "CLin-Ton" (said like "ding dong"). Eric and i both laughed. Then he said, "let me walk you out, because another couple tried to walk themselves out and they accidentally went to the wrong room, and they both got deported to mexico ha ha ha! i'm just joking" Eric and i laughed nervously and went down the elevator and shook his hand and said goodbye. All in all it was pretty easy- i had a HUGE box of pictures, bank statements, etc., but he didn't look at a single one.

we are so grateful to be over with the interview!

ahhhhhhhhhh our interview is tomorrow and I am so ready for it all to be over!!! i have a huge pile of papers and pictures (dating back from 2002!) evidencing our relationship, so our officer had better not question the legitimacy of our relationship! I will report back tomorrow to let you all know how it went.

congratulations to so many people who have been approved already! i can't wait until we have a light blue "A" under the GC column on envy_me's chart.

good luck to angelike31 and justagirl24 in your interviews tomorrow! you are both adjusting from f-1s, like eric.

lynn and ahmed, I would love to hear the details if you feel up to writing them all out! or if you could at least just list the questions they asked you, that would be awesome. thank you!

and congrats to everyone who has had their i485 card ordered! that is awesome!

We just got our interview notice in the mail today. Our interview is in San Antonio at 10AM on Thursday, February 26!

I'm so sorry, time. that is such a bummer! what kind of evidence are they requesting?

I really want our interview letter!!! Eric and I live with 4 other people, and I am always scared that one of them accidentally brought in the mail and put the letter in the trash. They are all on the lookout for it, though, but it still scares me. It's really annoying that there is no online way to check for your interview date. If you miss your interview, it's such a huge deal; it seems like they would let you know about your date by more than just one letter.

sorry for the complaining.....

Does anybody know if you call the USCIS number, can they tell you if you have an interview date set yet? Or if they can tell you if an interview apointment notice has been sent to you yet? Or maybe I could call the San Antonio office (our local office) in a few days and they would know if our interview was scheduled yet?

wow i am really surprised that i got my interview letter today, i didnt expect it bcoz my case wasnt touched since October 27th..well the bottomline is expect the unexpected..hehe..Goodluck to everyone..More luck to come!!!..wohoooooo...gudnyt! :)

thats exciting!what date is your interview?

Hi everybody,

I have a question, a stupid one.

Can you leave the US, and have no problem coming back on a conditional greencard?

Or do you have to have a AP?

Just wondering, since so many seem to apply for the AP.....

i believe u dnt need AP when u already have your GC..

people apply for AP just so they can go outside the US while waiting for their GC..

yeah, im 99% certain that you can leave and come back with your greencard. you just have to be sure you don't stay out of the country for too many days so that all of the time you've been an LPR counts toward the time you need to be in the US as an LPR before you can apply for citizenship. i probably said that in a really confusing way...but there are all these requirements about how long you can be out of the country when you are an LPR. I bet our September filers who have been approved for their GCs would know more details.....

I have a question for all of you who have interview dates: Was the first time you found out about your interview date when you got a letter in the mail? Did your online case status show anything different once your interview was scheduled? Once you got your interview date, did your online case status say that your case had been transferred to your local office?

I am just wondering because I want to know if we should expect an interview appointment in the mail, or if the USCIS case status might indicate when we will have our interview. Will our online case status say that our case has been transferred from NBC to San Antonio once we have the interview date?

Thank you! Congratulations on all who have been getting EADs and APs, and for those of you who are still waiting, I hope you get them very soon!

Yes, we received a letter in the mail with the date and information for our interview. There were no updates at all online when the appointment was scheduled or when the file was transferred to the local office. The only change to online Case Status at all, was the day after biometrics. Even now after our interview, there have been no online updates.

Not sure if everyone else's experience was the same....hope this helps!

thank you, Annie & Tim! It's exactly what I was wondering. I guess that means we should just wait for a letter!

I have a question for all of you who have interview dates: Was the first time you found out about your interview date when you got a letter in the mail? Did your online case status show anything different once your interview was scheduled? Once you got your interview date, did your online case status say that your case had been transferred to your local office?

I am just wondering because I want to know if we should expect an interview appointment in the mail, or if the USCIS case status might indicate when we will have our interview. Will our online case status say that our case has been transferred from NBC to San Antonio once we have the interview date?

Thank you! Congratulations on all who have been getting EADs and APs, and for those of you who are still waiting, I hope you get them very soon!

When you get a chance, envy_me, can you add to the chart that we received eric's EAD today? December 11th. Thank you for your dedication to our chart!

im sooooooooo sorry i forgot to add the date in your timeline..

cos i went down to check the mailbox after i read your post abt receiving your EAD today..

a very legitimate reason! plus you are juggling like 1000 numbers!

When you get a chance, envy_me, can you add to the chart that we received eric's EAD today? December 11th. Thank you for your dedication to our chart!

congrats to all!

i got questions abt the EAD..

so i got like 3 touches sayin same thing.. "card production ordered"

is this normal?? am i gonna receive another email like " approval notice sent"??

or am i gonna receive my EAD soonie??

im just confuse cos i know that some people dint even receive any email..

but then they receive their EAD in the mail..

We only got 2 touches /emails saying "card production ordered" and then a touch and an email saying that the approval notice was sent, and then another touch, and we just received the EAD today!!! yay!!!! i bet you will receive yours really soon. we got ours today, on the 11th, and our first "card production touch" was on the 2nd. the date on the ead is the 2nd, so my guess is that the date on your EAD will be the date you got the first email. Also, it's interesting that our "approval notice sent" email said that the EAD was send on the 9th, but on the envelope we got today from USCIS, the postmark date was the 8th.

Also, this website can tell you how many days it takes for USPS to get a letter to you from the zip code of NBC or CSC. So when you get your approval notice sent email, you can use this page to guess more or less when you'll actually receive the mail! http://www.ups.com/maps?loc=en_US&WT.svl=SubNav

Also.....Congratulations, VSFansFans! and thank you so much for posting the questions they asked you.

Got this email today:

Application Type: I765 , APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Current Status: Approval notice sent.

On December 9, 2008, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I765 APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION. Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service.

Also- I am really excited to hear details from the 3 couples who interviewed today! I am sending them all positive vibes!

Just when I *thought* I knew what USCIS was doing...

On Dec 2 we get the great e-mail:

Application Type: I765 , APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Current Status: Card production ordered.

On December 2, 2008, we ordered production of your new card.

Then today, Dec 8 we get the following great e-mail:

Application Type: I765 , APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Current Status: Card production ordered.

On December 5, 2008, we ordered production of your new card.

So while I'm not one to complain, is my wife getting 2 cards or is there a hiccup in the system?

Somewhat amused...

Patrick

We have the exact same thing- same dates as you, too! (see our signature) I think a lot of people in this September group have gotten 2 of that same e-mail. Weird, but normal. Your wife should still get just one card. So now we are just waiting on an email that says "Approval Notice Sent" and then the actual card in the mail. I'm not sure if everyone gets an "approval notice sent" email, and I'm not sure if we'll get the approval notice in the mail the same day we get the card, or on a different day...

We just got the second "Card Production ordered" email (we got it today but it says it was ordered on the 5th) and touch like so many of the rest of you. Now we are waiting for the "Approval Notice Sent" email and the actual card in the mail!

yayyy! just got this email. eric's in class until 245 so I can't even share the good news with him yet, but i will share it with you all! he can't wait to start working.

Receipt Number: MSCxxxxxxxxxx

Application Type: I765 , APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Current Status: Card production ordered.

On December 2, 2008, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you. If you move before you receive the card, call customer service. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.

you are so nice! we didn't file for AP, so you don't have to add anything to our row. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Eric will get notice of his EAD approval by the end of this week. This chart you made is so awesome b/c I can predict when he will get his approval. Thank you!

im waiting for aomary to post how the infopass appointment went (we are sharing the same problem where we still dont have our biometrics letter).

Hi mellowgeorge, mamada,

I just came back from the local office. Unfortunately, I have to say it didn't work...

The officer wasn't nice at all. She took one look at the date on my NOA (it says October, you konw) and said "Why are you here? It's to early to come here. You must wait for 90 days. Come back on January." Then she wouldn't listen to me. I tried to ask her to at least tell me if they have sent a letter to me, but she didn't say anything but I was too early to come. I was so disappointed that she didn't give me the slightest infomation. That was a waste of time...

So I don't really recommend you the infopass appointment to ask about biometrics letter at this point, especially if you are far from your local office and it takes long time to drive there. I couldn't get anything more than the infomation that you got from Customer Service Center. I might have hit a particularly bad officer, I understand it totally depends on the person, but it is not worth the risk.

Now all I can do is to wait... I am so sorry to say this...

That is so frustrating, aomary. I hate it when people (especially immigration officers!) let the power of their positions get to their heads. She could have at least been nice to you and offered you an explanation for why you're still waiting on biometrics...

Hey! I have a question. It's a frequently asked question. But i'm still worried about what to do...

For Christmas I'll take a plane from Denver to Boston. I read that people put their maiden name on the plane ticket in order to match the passeport name... It makes sense...it's easier! but at the same time, it's lying! I don't want a lie about my name, it's a big thing!Shouldn't I just put my married name and bring my marriage certificate with me and NOAs ?

I think you should call the airline and see what they say. You could also try calling the airport phone number to ask them if security will let you through if your name on your passport is different from your name on your boarding pass, as long as you have the marriage license and NOAs with you. Good luck!

Application Type: I765 , APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Current Status: Card production ordered.

On November 19, 2008, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you.

yay!!!! I wonder if these cards will really take 30 days to arrive or if it will be a lot less. Hopefully it will be a week or so! Only time will tell....

if you go back a few pages on this discussion board, you'll see it actually is happening to a lot (all?) of us. If you right click your case number, you can open it in another window. I don't know why it's like that...something wrong with their computer system maybe?