hudons

Hi everyone!

So here's the good news: APPROVED!

I am so happy it doesn't even seem real yet.

We arrived in Manchester office 10 minutes early for the interview armed with 2 folders of everything we could find and 2 photo albums. It was really busy when we arrived, although because the office is so small there were only 2 other couples - both with attorneys.

A guy called us in about 15 minutes after the scheduled time and we followed him to his office. He didn't smile once but he was very professional. He told us to take a seat and asked for our passports. Immediately he tore my I-94 out of my passport which I took to be a good sign, I guess I was just hanging on to whatever positive signs I could. He then asked for my EAD and social security card, took a good luck at everything and asked what visa I arrived on. I told him J1, he asked what my program was, I told him and he asked for my IP-66. I don't know what an IP-66 is so I got a bit worried and gave him my DS-2019. He said that was what he wanted but they had changed the name of the form. (Other J1s remember this to save any unnecessary stress!)

He then asked us to raise our right hands and swore us in. He asked how long we had known each other, how long we had been married and where we met. He read out our address, my DOB and country of birth and asked if it was correct. He then showed me a page of I-485 with my signature on it and asked me if that was my signature. HE asked if it was only 2 of us living at that address, I said yes. He asked me all of the "Have you ever....." questions and ticked them as I answered. The whole time he never even looked at us, he was clicking things on his computer and writing on a form.

He asked my husband for his pay stubs and as he is an Americorps volunteer, commented that he was heeding Obama's words. He almost cracked a smile! He then said the name of our joint sponsor and asked who she was, my husband said it was his mother.

He pulled out a red stamp and made 2 stamps then gave our passports back with my EAD and SS card. Finally, he looked up and said "Your case is now approved, you are a conditional permanent resident." At which point I started crying and he explained all about renewal etc etc. Pretty embarassing but it was just such a relief.

That is all he asked. No questions about intent to marry on my J1, no questions about our personal life...... nothing. He didn't look at any of the evidence so we're pretty sure the case had been decided before we walked in to the room. Still better to be over-prepared.

Thank you so much to everyone who has put my mind at rest and helped me through this. I'll see you all in here in 1 year 9 months! It'll be a lovely VJ reunion! Best of luck to everyone with upcoming interviews, particularly Rebecca and Phil our fellow J1-ers. You have nothing to worry about.

We had AOS interview today and got approved without an attorney.

The couple who went in before us had an attorney and the girl had not brought her passport because she thought the attorney and USCIS had copies so she didn't need it.

I think an attorney is unnecessary if your case is straightforward. It seems to give people a false sense of security. Prepare all you can and just tell the truth.

Congrats Greg. That sounds pretty painless!

Our interview is on Monday but I will be headed down Manchester for work this weekend and we'll just stay down there. We're getting the paperwork arranged today before we go.

I will post an update when we get home on Monday afternoon.

Bye for now!

Sorry to hear that your hubby is having a hard time.

I live in NH so driving isn't really an issue. There are times when I'm more likely to meet a moose on the road than another person!

However, I found that a few home comforts were really helpful. I watch BBC America religiously, the news is in a very familiar format that is comforting - if news can be.

Also, I have bought my fave UK TV series in box sets from Amazon in US format.

And, there are plenty of places on the web to buy good imported English food. Most butchers will cut bacon like in England if you ask and describe it. I order Marmite, HP Sauce and Golden Syrup on a regular basis. Check out Google and see if you can find a good site. English Tea Shop is the one I use.

Best of luck.

I was here on a J1 visa which expired in December. My husband and I got married in May of last year and didn't file until October because we wanted to be sure that we wanted to live in America, as opposed to the UK, before we spent a lot of money and went through a lot of stress. It is a big decision to leave your home country permanently and USCIS should understand that. I'm sure they do, they see it every day.

As long as you file before the J1 is up you should be okay. Remember that people come here on tourist visas for less than 3 months and file on the last day that their visa is valid, and they get approved.

As soon as USCIS accept your case - about 10 days or so - then your girlfriend has status. When you have an open case pending you are allowed to remain until they close it.

Wow! We have some great progress!

Flyer, thank you so much for posting your experience at Manchester.... I'm almost looking forward to it.

Congrats to Ree Ree and Laurelmike too.

Laurelmike, I'm a little worried about the TB thing as well after reading your experience. I was vaccinated against TB, as I guess you and ReeRee were, and had a positive reaction. I had my chest x-ray and it was clear. I don't know what a large reaction is, I think mine was pretty big. Oh well, I guess what happens happens. Were you offered treatment for a latent infection? I never was so I'm a little surprised.

I will be SO excited to hear when you guys get your GCs!

Good luck for tomorrow Greg!

Yaaaaay!

That is fantastic news flyer! Let us know when you have posted your review, I'm getting anxious. Our interview is at Manchester on Jan 11th so not long now. I'm glad to hear that the experience was not too traumatic.

Is that our first non-K1 approval? What a great start!

Happy New Year everyone. May it bring many green cards and happiness.

I'm considering getting a hotel for the night before. I thought I was the only one!

I haven't had any updates on my I-130 since 10/29. I don't know what's with that. I thought that would be more important since the eligibility for filing I485 is based on that.

Anyway, I feel much better that other people's I-130s aren't active either!

Congrats Rebecca. I don't think delivery would fail on your EAD if your IL arrived.

I know what you mean about early!

I'm okay with mornings but our interview is at 8:40 and we live just over 2 hours away.... if the roads are good.

It's going to be an early one! It seems early is the trend. Hopefully really good starts to all our days!

Great news KM! Yours is the day after ours. Exciting.... but also pretty nerve racking.

We attended my work's xmas party tonight and the board of directors have offered to picket the USCIS office the day of my interview!! I hope that won't be necessary! It's a nice offer though.

I think having your employers behind you makes this a lot easier.

I hope that you all are this lucky.

Interview letter arrived today. 8:40 am 1/11/10

I've got my fingers crossed the snow doesn't mess up the roads. We have a 2 hour drive south. Eek.

Also, got my drivers license extended. They didn't even want any money! I just walked in gave the guy my EAD and he printed a new temp license. Result!

Here's hoping for more interview letters next week. Jan will be a busy month for us!

Yay! Got my EAD in the mail today. Perfect timing. That was fast. I only got one e-mail saying the card was ordered, no approval notice. That was Thur and today I got the card! HAPPY DANCE!

Rebecca, as things are working out you guys should get yours in a day or 2.

Now, I have a SS card for my J1, I assume I have to tell SSA my status has changed or do they already know?

That interview column on the spreadsheet is looking pretty full guys!

Thanks laurelmike!

And Rebecca, don't worry. You did biometrics after us and I only got the production e-mail yesterday.

Also, thanks for the info Greg. I hope NH will be the same.

Great news on the interview front..... things seem to be moving along!

I received an e-mail today that my card production was ordered for EAD. I'm a little confused though because I didn't get an approval notice. I thought they would need to approve an application before ordering a document?

Also, my drivers license expires tomorrow and I thought I would have to wait for a green card before I could renew it. If I could use my EAD that would be fabulous. I haven't done an research as the DMV in NH are incredibly unhelpful and inefficient for non-US citizens. Any info is gratefully received.

Things move fast during the holidays!

I stil haven't heard anything about my EAD..... fingers crossed.

Flyer92, FANTASTIC news about the interview. That was fast! I look forward to the first reports of approvals.

Out comes the tin foil hat again.......

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

I am thankful that we have all come as far as we have, I am also infinitely thankful for patience.

Hopefully we will all have some real results by the end of the holiday season.......

We filed the I-864 for AOS so slightly different but I believe you have to fill it out too.

MY husband didn't meet the income requirements but still had to provide W2s and tax transcripts etc.... even though my mother-in-law is our co-sponsor and makes more than enough.

Good luck, I think it's quite a common situation

I was able to open a bank account as soon as I had my social security card. I just went in with my passport, social security card and proof I was here legally. All banks are different I guess but I think you just have to prove legal status.

I also got my drivers license in NH. I just needed copies of my paperwork and to take my tests again. The only problem is standing in line at the DMV for 3hours because they don't do appointments.

I did all this on a J1 visa so K1 shouldn't be too different, especially if you have NOAs and a SS card.

Thanks for the support and all the dancing guys!

I hope everyone gets good news this week.

Hi all.

I hope everyone's having a good day. I had my first face-to-face meeting with USCIS today at my bio appointment.... and everyone at the office was lovely. Very kind and helpful. I don't expect it will be as nice for my interview but I feel lucky I live in NH.

I spoke to the lady at the desk when I went in about my RFE for I-765, that I had to re-file and hadn't received a bio appointment for that form yet. Luckily I had brought my NOA with me and she said it was fine to do bio for everything together so when I receive my appointment letter for I-765 to just ignore it. She just stamped my NOA for a receipt of biometrics. I couldn't have been happier! Hopefully this will make up for lost time on the EAD filing.

I hope SoCal sort their bios out soon! It must be awful waiting but we are all 100% behind you!

Touches on I-485 and I-765 this afternoon! (I don't know how to do the dancing man smilet, but I would put it here! )

This makes me smile. I know exactly why this thread was started. In a thread of filers for a month if you are far behind - like us - there is not really any consolation! I got a bunch of RFEs for stupid stuff, it's my own fault but it doesn't make it any better.

It's nice to see a good bit of British complaining. Feels like home.

And god knows we're entitled to complain!!

Maybe have a consultation?

If you're confident putting the paperwork together and you have all the documentation then I don't think there's much else a lawyer can do for you unless something goes wrong later in your case. You can always hire a lawyer if things start to go wrong later down the line.

I see plenty of people in these forums are successful with records. Just make sure your spouse is aware of the charge in case they ask at interview.

This, however, is just my opinion.

You are required to submit evidence and explanation of a criminal record with I-485.

There is a sheet with lots of yes/no questions on. If you answer yes to any of the questions then you should furnish your application with details of any convictions - traffic tickets under $60 do not count.

CONGRATS INNA!

I have not been posting here (I'm an October filer) but I've been following interview progress. I'm so happy for you. Sounds like it was fairly painless.

I think we can forgive your grammar. It's almost perfect, I think if I just got this news my grammar would be bad and I'm English!!

Well done you both deserve it!

luckykaren, when i sent my RFE back i didn't include a cover letter. i just put the RFE letter at the front of the bundle. i also used certified mail as it's kind of as important as the original filing. best of luck! i hope it all gets resolved quickly!

good job rebecca! hope you had a good time in NYC!