SurfingPumpkin

We received our Interview Appointment letter Saturday. Our interview is in Yakima on August 24th and we're both really excited....Oh yea, we're also expecting in March

Congrats!! Looks like our interviews are on the same day.

SurfingPumpkin,

I just noticed today you received your date Congrats!...sorry for the belated congrats!

Thanks, Subguy! No worries - I know you've been occupied with all the good news on your end. Hopefully, we'll both have reason to celebrate on the 24th!

We received our Interview Appointment letter Saturday. Our interview is in Yakima on August 24th and we're both really excited....Oh yea, we're also expecting in March

Congrats!! Looks like our interviews are on the same day.

Thanks, guys! Hopefully everyone will have good news soon. May we all enjoy speedy processing!

Thank you all!

Shefell - God has indeed been kind to me, just when I was in despair!

Last night at 7pm Pacific Time I got the following 2 emails:

1. EAD card production ordered

2. AP approved

Then I checked the mailbox and found a letter for the interview appointment on August 24.

How's that for one day?

Surfin

God's timing is the perfect and always His will is done in our lives

I always say this short prayer when i get discouraged

Anytime i get discouraged, I feel weak , question myself why things are not moving fast, I ask Jesus to help me. I can't do it alone but its by the grace of God.

Look at our lives, things seem to move slow, because we are all waiting but its God's grace and Hope that keeps us going.

Remember what seem to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise

Thanks for the kind and encouraging words, shefellfromheaven! I went surfing after work last night and caught a couple of nice waves and felt so at peace - in total harmony with ocean and nature. Everything felt just right. Some little paperwork seemed like a relativel insignificant thing in the grand scheme of things.

I have a good feeling that everything for all of us here will work itself out just fine.

We are together in this Surfin , be strong

Thank you for the encouragement, shefellfromheaven! I will try to arm myself with patience.

Congrats to all on the good news!!

Nothing new on my front. I have had no touches since June 22/23 - almost a whole month! - nor any sign of EAD or AP approval or interview letter. The wait is painful - patience was never among my fortes...

AWWWW I'm a June filer i wanna get touched ... someone touch me ... hahaha ... actually my biometrics is tomorrow so should be touched soon .

Welcome! It's helpful if you fill out your timeline. Also, feel free to add your info to the Google spreadsheet (link in my signature) so you can see how you compare with the rest of us! Good luck!

I won't be doing either of those but thanks

Aww, bruddah, you gotta give, not just receive!

Congrats to all who got good news today, and welcome to the new folks!

Some do not need interviews.

Panna - I think it's the people who are adjusting from K visas who sometimes don't need to get interviewed again since they were already interviewed at the consulate. On the other hand, people like you (adjusting from F-1) and me (adjusting from H-1B) will have to do this interview though, since we have not been previously interviewed in connection with our bona fide relationship with our spouse.

I have spent hours looking at timelines trying to predict when the interview might be, and it has been futile. Some people do get interviewed 2 - 2 1/2 months after filing; some wait several months more - it varies case by case. I would wait until receipt of the interview letter (which would still be a good month or so before the interview), or book now if you can change the reservation later.

Botevinka - I agree with Winifredbee. My original bio appointment fell on a federal holiday and I wasn't sure whether they would be open that day. So I went in 2 weeks earlier and it turned out that they were going to be open on the holiday, but since I had already driven up there and there were only 2 other people at the time, they just took me in then.

By the way, the ASC I went to wasn't even any type of USCIS or FBI outpost, they are merely private company contractors who do work for the US govt. (They were located in a strip mall!) So I don't think they care as much about the dates.

Hello everybody,

This is my first post, but I've been reading here for a while now. We filed for AOS (from student J-1) in early June and had my Bio appointment yesterday in OKC.

To give you all some hope: I got my AP several days before my Bio appointment and also had a few touches on the EAD. So after my Bio yesterday, at night I already received an e-mail saying that my EAD card production was ordered.

Overall, I think things are moving really fast. Despite one RFE early on and a relatively long wait for my Bio appointment (though I did not get my appointment cancelled as many others here did).

5 weeks for AP and EAD. I hope they will keep up that speed. Now we're waiting for the Interview appointment.

THANKS everybody for your experiences and answers. This forum helped us a lot! Certainly one reason why the process has been so smooth and quick. Thanks!

Hardy82 - Congratulations on the speedy progress! That's terrrific! Would you mind filling in your timeline? Sounds like your situation is similar to mine - filing for AOS from H-1B in early June - so I would love to compare dates, etc. Thanks!

What's "igor's list"?

We did ours at FedEx Kinko's and paid $60, but heard Costco's a LOT cheaper, if you have membership.

You can tell them to do passport photos, then show them the specs. They are familiar with these and will know what to do.

You pretty much laid out the basics. Plus:

Medical insurance cards that show both names or that both are in the same plan.

Something from a 401k (if you have one) that says the surviving spouse will collect benefits.

Thanks, Leo. These are good suggestions. I will look into my 401k to see if I can get a statement that Jeff will inherit the cash if I feed the worms first.

We weren't able to consolidate our health insurance though -- he served in the Coast Guard and so gets lifetime coverage as a veteran at any VA hospital, whereas I get my health insurance through my job. If necessary, we'll explain to them.

Since there's little we can do now in this long stretch of waiting, I thought I'd start thinking about what documents to start gathering for the interview. Aside from the originals of everything we've already submitted, how much more stuff are people planning to show?

I was thinking:

- 2-3 recent pay stubs of me and hubby

- most recent electric and cable bills showing our names (we had already sent copies of earlier ones)

- most recent joint checking account statement (we had already sent a copy of an earlier one)

- joint auto insurance (this was not included in our original packet as we hadn't consolidated it yet)

- couple more pics

We don't have a joint lease (even though we live together) as the landlord would charge us an additional $360 a year in water/sewer fees if they know someone else lives in the apartment with me. That's the fee for the I-130 right there! So if the INS asks why we don't have a joint lease, we'll tell them that we don't want to pay the extra money. Who can blame us in this economy?

Apart from the above listed, I am not planning on bringing more evidence than what I originally sent. What are you guys' thoughts?

Hi guys,

I guess I belong here . I sent my package yesterday .

I am glad to find someone from my country in these thread SurfingPumpkin .

Wish you all luck !

Great to see a fellow Bulgarian! Welcome / dobre doshli

Also, anyone know how to see if USCIS has recieved your AOS package without having the NOA? I have an account from when we filed the K-1, but isn't this different? You call USCIS and it also prompts you for the number on the NOA in order to get any updates, but I just want to know if they have it in their posession is all!! The postal service online tracker says it was delivered on June 13th successfully, but I haven't a clue if that is true as i didn't get my delivery confirmation or my NOA!

Anyone care to help with any comments?

How about checking to see if your checks were cashed? I didn't get the NOAs till the 13th, but when I logged into my bank account on the 9th saw the checks were cashed so I knew the application was received. When the NOAs later arrived, they were dated the same day as the checks - the 9th.

I wouldn't worry too much just yet if it hasn't been 2 weeks since you sent it. (Though I know all too well how hard it is to be patient in this game!!)

In my case, all of my apps (including AP) got touched after I had the biometrics, but I don't think that means anything one way or another. I heard touches appear even if someone just moved your file from one desk to another.

Look at it this way... If your application is being moved from one desk to the next it means that

1) It hasn't been lost.

2) There's a 50/50 chance that they will work on it or NOT.

I'd rather see a touch than months go by without ANY updates.

Leo - I agree. But don't worry about the lack of touches - I saw somewhere in these forums posts from people who got the aps approves with very few touches along the way! For all we know, less touching = smoother sailing.

Winifred - My online updates say the same.

Leo - The wait is indeed the hard part. Now that the initial excitement of the flurry of NOA1s and the bio appointments has passed, we have to sit tight and wait... Arrgh. It seemed like earlier this year they were processing relatively swiftly - sometimes in as little as 2 months!, but maybe they've slowed down now with more applications. The official timeline on the USCIS site says within 5 months.

Sapphire - Welcome! It's so great that we have the support of each other in this group - it makes it much easier with others out there who are going through this too.

Chelsea - Congrats on getting the biometrics over with!

You are right - all 4 of my applications too now say they are at NBC. Glad to see they've arrived in Missouri safe and sound

Didn't know the NBC was in Missouri lol. Is that where they schedule the interviews and all?

The AOS & EAD got touched again yesterday - adding prints & pic to his account, surely. The AP didn't get touched again and the biometrics were only necessary for AOS & EAD so that explains it.

Yeah, I googled it - apparently, the NBC is in Lee's Summit, MO! (Never heard of this place before.) I even found a photo of the building online - http://www.usaimmigrationattorney.com/Nati...fitsCenter.html lol (I know, I'm stalking my own application...

I think, though I could be wrong, that NBC schedules the interviews in coordination with the local office where we'd actually be interviewed at. I read here that some people get the notice for the interview before they even receive their EAD/AP, which NBC handles.

In my case, all of my apps (including AP) got touched after I had the biometrics, but I don't think that means anything one way or another. I heard touches appear even if someone just moved your file from one desk to another.

Chelsea - Congrats on getting the biometrics over with!

You are right - all 4 of my applications too now say they are at NBC. Glad to see they've arrived in Missouri safe and sound

My understanding is that family-based AOS applications get transfered twice.

The first transfer is from CHICAGO to the NBC.

The second one from NBC to your local field office.

Thanks for the helpful explanation, Leo-Feng. I wonder if we would know when the transfers occur, e.g., if they would be reflected on the case status website.

I frequently find myself musing where my lovely stack of paper is at this very moment and what it is doing. Is it in a box, shelved neatly among a myriad of fellow application files, stacked against the wall at some INS facility, awaiting their turn, or is it in a cozy shipping container on its merry way from Chicago to the NBC, or is it in some officer's luggage as s/he takes a stack of applications from the office to work on at home? (As you can tell, I read, and was infinitely amused by, the interesting and informative account by that former INS adjudicating officer who subsequently got to experience the process from the other side as a petitioner. What a rare and insightful glimpse into the inner workings of an INS office!)

Disclaimer: I can't speak for anyone else, just for myself. Also, I filed for AOS, not K1, so my experience may or may not be relevant to this discussion.

I decided to save the $2000 or so in attorney's fees and do the application myself. Although I am a lawyer too, my field is completely unrelated to immigration law, so I was just as clueless as anyone else.

The forms themselves (I-130, I-485, I-765, I-131) weren’t hard to fill out. The cumbersome and time-consuming part was gathering all the required supporting documentation – e.g., evidence of bona fide marriage, tax returns, pay stubs, etc. And even if we had hired a lawyer, we still would have had to gather all that paperwork and then give to the lawyer to put in a neat stack and make photocopies - hardly worth the 2K.

I think the process is at least in theory designed to be accessible to lay persons. Any reasonably literate person who is careful and has attention to detail should be able to figure the stuff out. I myself did a whole bunch of online research – read the guides and forum postings, made checklists, etc.

It might have been much easier and quicker to just hire an attorney, but we’ve saved a chunk of cash (and now me and my cupcake can use the money to go on a surfing vacation! B)

(Though who knows, maybe I'll regret my decision down the road if it turns out I botched up the application!

Good work, Leo-Feng!

For all I know, the touches simply mean they've added my fingerprints & mug shot to the application file.

Does anyone know what happens to the application file after it is received at the Chicago Lockbox? I know we're supposed to have the interview at our local Field Office in San Diego, but what happens in between? I've seen some mentions of the National Benefits Center (NBC) as well as the Service Centers (e.g., CSC, VSC). Do the AOS applications go through all those? Is that what is meant by the category "Transfer" that I've seen on the AOS filers spreadsheet?