Leenie

Guess what? We got our interview notice for AOS dated on January 19,2011... so happy that we finally received it!!:=)))

FYI.. I checked online almost everyday and kinda worried since no touches at all after our biometric schedule( AOS, EAD & AP.)And now..I got the precious mail..( Thanks God)!!

Oh! we never recieve any EAD and AP approval though;-)) Does anyone have the same case with us?

Got the Interview letter in the mail today January 10, 2011 in Seattle.

No update on USCIS website or email or text

Congrats to you both!!

Great! I hope I have mine soon too since your AOS timeline is very similar.

I bet it will be turning up anyyyyy day now!!

Hi everybody! Yesterday we got the appointment notice. It shall be on January 11th in the morning at the Chicago field office. The processing guidelines for Chicago show 4 months for AOS; I guess that means they are a little ahead of their guidelines (since we'll be at the 3 month mark by interview time) and so they are taking interviews rather than transferring to CSC.

I suddenly feel a little nervous, but we've got some solid evidence for the interview, and one of our friends recently had an easy interview in Chicago for AOS from K-1 So, no worries!

PS - We didn't have any touches or updates to our online case status, we just got the appointment letter in the mail.

Good for you got touches after your biometric..What does it says in your touches? I just curious to know what update does it says after the biometric..

Sadly, no update online or no touches in our case online..It still stated the same that on Oct 25 they sent Hard copies of BOA and they will sent us the biometric schedule ( which is done dated 19. Nov.2010)...thats all we got...and AOS still in acceptance stage and both our EAD and AP still in initial stage...

Do I start calling USCIS on this matter???

Goodluck!

We just got a change the "last updated" date for AOS and EAD. AOS, EAD, and AP were all in initial review before the touches and all three of them still show initial review, so no change there.

Personally, I don't think touches are a big deal. Sometimes they don't happen, but it doesn't mean the usual processing isn't going on with your case. If it makes you feel better, though, you don't have anything to lose by calling USCIS, so you might as well do so. The question is whether they can provide you with any useful information ... maybe not

I think I'm going to have a heart attack... I need that GC so bad before Jan 15th. NSF is giving me a full grant for Grad studies, tuition and stipend, all included, if i'm resident of course... I wish I had my interview on Dec 27th too...

Oh my gosh, I hope you get it really soon!! You obviously need it!! That's really great news! I don't know what NSF stands for, but you must be quite talented to get a full grant!!

Hi Lennie,

I have a question for you... What office is processing your AoS and EAD? MSC(National Benefit Center) I think Chicago Lockbox is only a distribution point. It should be specified in the first three letters of your application form numbers in NOA..

I think everyone has an MSC number, ourselves included. I assume our case is still at the National Benefit Center since we haven't been updated otherwise!

Well, for anyone still interested in the question of touches ... we had AOS and EAD both touched today - two days after biometrics.

GC interview for Dec. 27th. Still no AP or EAD though. Strange, but at least we're getting results.

Hey, that's great news! I bet AP and/or EAD will come through right before the interview or something

I'm not particularly interested in having an interview, but if we got one, at least we'd be able to be reasonably sure an approval is imminent. Going to CSC sounds great to avoid the interview, but it makes me a little anxious not knowing what they are doing over there.

Seriously? I was hoping CSC would mean that they'd crank through them.. It even says "so that they can process them faster"..

Today was the latest that my case has been "touched" since being transferred to CSC.. Transferred on the 17th, touched on the 24th, touched again today. Maybe I'll get lucky with an approval this week?

Fingers crossed for your approval, but I don't know if it would happen quite that fast.

It wasn't everyone from May/June who got held up, and remarkably, a lot of people who filed LATER ended up being approved quicker. I don't think we have anything too much to fear.

We just had biometrics the other day and haven't had a touch, either. Maybe it's too early to receive a touch or maybe our case won't be touched at all. I'm actually not that worried about it.

The only thing I'm worried about is IF the case gets transferred to CSC (so far it hasn't been) that it will get stuck there like happened to a number of filers in May/June. Gosh, that would be the worst

Aw, such a cute story. Ours is very similar, and the hardest part was DEFINITELY telling my parents about him. But they were great about it, and eeeeeeeeeeeeverything has been worth it so far. Good luck to you guys

OK so this is my first b!tch

So apparently falling over in a major fast food chain on a wet floor (that has no wet floor signs out) and getting covered in ketchup in the process requires you to have to tell management and ask them if you can fill in an accident form when 3 members of staff saw it happen

HOW RUDE!!!!

Are you OK??

Congratulations!! I read your review - good job sticking up for yourselves when the skin test thing came up. I'm kind of surprised they even asked about that.

Just received a notice that we have an interview date for the AOS on December 20th.

Wow, that's super quick!! I guess that means they are actually working. Woo hoo!

We're adding our names to the list!

We filed our AOS (I-485/I-764/I-131, K-1 Visa) on 10/29/2010, along with a G-1145 form so we would be notified via text and email. On 11/04/2010 we received email and text messages that all three forms have been received and to expect a NOA letter.

As of today (11/13) we haven't received the letter. The text/email contained a case number and the USCIS web page says it is in "Initial Review".

Patiently waiting...

Welcome aboard! It looks like we got married on the same day ^,^

Hey Leenie .... at least you gave it a try !

How easy is the office itself to find ? I've heard that it is difficult.

Olga has her appointment on the 26th of November.

Yes, it is a little difficult to find because the ASC doesn't face the street (Route 59). If you're familiar the area, you'll know it's not too far from the Fox Valley Mall. There is a Wal-Mart/Sam's Club across the street from the mall, and the ASC is in a strip mall that is facing the Sam's Club but facing AWAY from Route 59. It says Application Support Center on it in red letters.

Edit: Mapquest returns decent enough directions to at least get you to the general area if you aren't familiar with it.

My husband went through Dublin on to Chicago with a K-1, and he says it took about 30 minutes to go through the customs/immigration bit, including standing in line. They don't mess around in Dublin, he said. Dead simple! He went into the little secondary room, but only briefly.

Seeing that everyone needs tires, I thought I'd share that I got my new tires today at National Tire and Battery (also known as Merchants, Big O Tires, and Tire Kingdom in other states), and they are having a buy two, get two free sale this weekend from 7 AM to noon. Really good day but tomorrow's the last day, I guess!

I'm just in a b1tchy mood today because I haven't managed to go out on my own yet even though I've had my license for a week because of a trail of inconveniences, and I'm starting to get anxious about driving around Providence in the new job with so little experience.

I hope you can get out there soon! I have to say, nothing made me a more confident driver than tons and tons of practice AFTER getting my license. Go figure!

My guess is that your FIL gets more money than you because he's much older and made more at his last job. Once you get into your new job and get the experience, I'm sure more opportunities and better money will come your way.

For sure.

That sucks, Leenie. "Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers", I hate that phrase!

I know this is probably inappropriate, but it's something that's going on in my head since earlier. The hospital called me and said that my pay rate will be $12 per hour, which is a little over 24K a year. She told me that she increased it because I have a degree and some experience (rather than a high school graduate which they were asking for) so that means they were going to pay lower for their wanted candidate. Which made me think... is it right that someone in medical research earns less than a Walmart employee? My FIL just got hired at an archery retail store for $14 per hour. It's not a huge deal because their benefits package is very good, and I'm lucky to have a job in my field, but it was just something that made me question the logic of it all.

I don't know if that's right, but do want to add in my two cents:

a) You're right about the benefits - you may be surprised much it costs an employer just to provide basic health insurance to employees. Many thousands of dollars!

b) You will definitely have the option to negotiate your salary sooner or later. I'd say at your first performance review, if they don't offer an increase, then it is perfectly normal for you to ask about the possibility of a raise. Especially if you've done very well. (You might even be able to find a good book on negotiating your salary at the local library. I know they are out there.)

I can't believe it, but I have another b!tch! I took our car in for an oil change yesterday and found out we need new tires! All four of them have significant dry rot! I guess I'm lucky that I haven't had a problem with the tires since the car haven't had new ones since it was manufactured, but still ... wahhhh

There is short term parking outside of international terminal 5. I have hardly ever seen it full! I think it is about $3 an hour.

The arrivals waiting area has two doors (called A and B), from either of which anyone can come out of. So, even if you check your SO's arrival on the computer screen and it says they will be coming out of A, it doesn't necessarily mean they will come out of A. There can be a lot of confusion there.

If you need a specific landmark to meet at, there is one McDonald's in the arrivals waiting area. You could always pick that. It's easy to recognize. Good luck!

F*&^$%*&^(*^%*&$%$#@Q!#!#@$$&^%%(*&_)(*_)(*&*(&^%%^#$#%@!%$#%#^&%^)(*&)(*) it.

Seriously un-cheerful tonight.

That is all.

You're free to vent to us! Just let it all out.

I didn't think I'd need to use this thread, but here I am! Two things:

1) Tried to do walk-in biometrics today for my husband's AOS and got told NO! It wasn't even busy in there at all.

2) Went for lunch with my husband and afterwards found out I lost $60 in cash! My husband and I retraced all our steps but to no avail. Some lucky jerk probably picked it up and walked off. It's extra annoying because we're starting to feel the pain of not having an EAD, if you catch my drift.

Edit: grammar.

Tried a walk-in biometrics today at the Naperville, IL ASC. Not successful Poo!

When I signed up for VJ, I never considered that just England might be an option. I just went straight to UK. It's seems the processes are all inherently the same, so I am strongly in favor of having simply a UK category.

Can't say I've used the country portal very much, but I think I'll be trying it out.

Hi !!

Do we get an email notification when we have our biometric appointment scheduled? (Or just a letter in the mail).

I remember a phone number to keep in touch with the Dept. of State during our K1 visa, is there also a number to keep handy should we would like to know what is going on with AOS?

Thanks!

You only get a letter in the mail. I've never heard of anyone getting an email notification - not even a change to your online case status.

I'd guess your letter should be coming through pretty soon, I'd say. It took about a month from our filing date for us to get ours. If you want to call USCIS, there should be a customer service line number on your NOA. I would list it out for you here, but I don't have it on me.

I'd call the USCIS customer service line if I were you. Even if a biometrics letter hasn't been sent yet, they might be able to get the ball rolling.

I wouldn't try just walking into your nearest ASC with only your NOA1. Seems that people are generally reporting they can't do a walk-in biometrics until they at least have their biometrics letter.

Good luck!

Since my husband didn't POE at JFK, I don't know what kind of verification they put you through, but I agree. It's very misleading.

I'm pretty sure I read on VJ that you are forgiven if you actually work during the AOS process and don't have an EAD yet. Of course, I can't cite my source at the moment.