MarticaIda

UPDATE: 

today my father's case status changed to Card being produced and he's getting a combo card. So beyond the initial expedite request where we just stated the reason for his expedite, he never received a request for evidence etc. We are beyond happy of course, and wishing everyone else who needs an expedite the same success. 

7 hours ago, emiloo said:

You can receive expedite if you can prove a big loss of income which is true in the case of your father + humanitarian reasons. Maybe it would be better to ask a lawyer to be certain but I don't think it is impossible. 

Thank you for a supportive message. I did ask a lawyer, he came highly recommended, but turned out to be useless. I submitted a request on his behalf last Thursday, received a notice that it was being reviewed on Friday, and now we are just keeping our fingers and toes crossed. I will update here of the result.

Oh, and I decided to go with just one reason (financial) because I always think that one strong reason is always more convincing than a number of disjointed ones, even if in reality they are all true and valid. 

Update: I did clear the previous convo as suggested in the video, typed in Infopass and eventually got in queue! (i am 49th , oh well). Just changed to 50th (smh)

Has anyone lately experienced a situation where you seemingly get to the point where Emma would connect you to a live agent but then it says

"I'm sorry, all of our Service Representatives are currently helping other customers. Please try again later. Is there something else I can help you with?

And it doesn't put you in a queue or anything. Is there a magic word to get on hold or do people now just have to try anew over and over again? 

Any suggestions? (I don't want to call USCIS because I am trying to solve an issue for my father who doesn't speak English)

33 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

  On the other hand, he needs an expedited AP...in order to head back to Russia to work.

 

Typically AP expedites are for things like sick relatives or other emergency situation back home and also when said home does not present a danger to the person.

Financial hardship is one of the reasons for expedite, even for an emergency one, which we are not requesting. He's had his biometrics, he can ask for a simple expedite. He is not going there to STAY and WORK, but he has pending contracts that he needs to fulfill. It is equal to an employee of a foreign company that requires his periodic presence at meetings or going on business trips, so that the company can function and not suffer a devastating financial loss. There are three reasons to expedite and financial loss is the second one. 

6 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

You can try for an expedite by explaining the situation honestly.  Unfortunately, bypassing the visa queue by adjusting status does come with the downfalls of not being able to work or travel.

 

I'm curious as to what he will do for income when he returns though, since that is your reason for requesting an AP expedite.....not sure how well that rationale works with the 8 month wait for an EAD.   If he intends to remain out of the country for the duration of the EAD processing so that he can work back home, I'd say that is a very bad idea.

To your first remark : it was quite problematic and costly to get visitor visas for my parents. Russia de facto didn't have US consular presence even before the war so people had to go to other countries for interview, visitors and immigrants alike. I spent a year trying to get them an appointment somewhere after covid restrictions began to be lifted, starting with island countries by the coast of South Africa and ending with European countries. Yes, in that order, because Europe only began to accept visitors in November 2021. Let's not forget about covid vaccine - Russian one doesn't work for entry into the US, and there are only a few places in the world a person can get an approved one. So once my parents got their 3 year long B2s is Poland this January we were overjoyed and thought we were done for 3 years. They were not ready to immigrate exactly because my father is still actively working in Russia. Maybe in a few years we would have started the i130 process and they would still be able to use their visitor visas for entry meanwhile. 

Then the war started. 

To your second question: they were thinking of eventually renting our their flat in Moscow, or selling it to buy some investment properties in the states. Obviously none of it was done and the flat is not ready to be let without one of them going there and taking their personal belongings away. 

To your last bit: it has been successfully done even by members of this forum despite the usual doom and gloom proffered by the other members of this forum. People have different circumstances in life and there might be different legitimate solutions.

I respectfully asked for no judgment and now that I honestly related our whole story I would be very grateful if someone came up with ideas how to help in the present situation. 

9 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Sounds like the AP issue may be to everybody's advantage.

Unfortunately, not. His mental health is at risk, but I didn't want to touch on that. 

23 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Why did he file to adjust?

 

Seems an odd choice in the circumstances

I'm sorry? What should he have done in the circumstances? Go back and live in the country which attacked his homeland like nothing happened? Being ethnical Ukrainian? He needs to go there, finish his cases, grab some of his and my mom's personal belongings and get the hell out (against my advice). 

Hi folks, I searched hi and low and even sent private messages to people who came before me but never got an answer, so I figured I have to ask here. 

My father is in AOS process right now, he just had his biometrics done last week (walk in in Houston FO btw). He needs to travel back home soon for a number of reasons (he didn't intend to immigrate when he came to visit me in January, but he lives in Russia, while our whole extended family is in Ukraine, so going back to live in Moscow is a very very big question, therefore... Lots of unfinished business in Moscow). Anyways, he actually has pending contracts with clients and court hearing dates that he needs to attend (he's an attorney), and we need to expedite his AP. 

Could you please (as non-judgmentally as possible) give me an advice how to craft his expedite request? I understand that we don't have anything that qualifies as a true emergency (and thankful for that) but he also can't wait 9ish months for AP cause he'll lose his income.

Does AOS from K1 go faster than other family based AOS? Like for parents of a USC? 

I had my interview (divorce waiver) today and it went well. Will update as soon as I get an official notification.

Thank you! A weight off my shoulders!

I had received the same letter with the same wording. Went all by myself and was not asked why x-wife did not appear.

Don't bring your ex, do bring all documentation you filed and your divorce decree.

Hi! I also am removing my conditions after a divorce although I filed with a waiver and divorce decree already.

I received an interview notice few days ago also saying that "You and your spouse are required to appear at... for an interview by a USCIS examiner in connection with the petition to remove...." and "You and your spouse are requested to bring the following... (the usual list of supporting documents)". The interview notice came on a plain white paper, no fancy watermark/color ink stuff as on the previous notices. I received the same notice (words and paper) last October for the interview that I had to reschedule, and both times I didn't pay much attention to the words "you and your spouse", thinking that they just must have one form for all cases.

Now your post got me worried - is this wording unusual? Do they send waiver people notices addressed to them solely?

I will not be able to bring my ex-husband to the interview. 1) we are not speaking much due to mutual hard feelings and 2) it was a real pain to bring him to the AOS interview, cause he hates talking to authorities. It's just not happening.

Guys, what's your insight? What did your waiver ROC notices say?

Hi! I see from your timelines that I'm in a strange position.

My processing center is Vermont and local UCSIS is in South Florida. I filed I-751 with a divorce waiver in October 2011 (!!) and received my biometrics appt in December 2011. Then a year passed and I received my interview appointment for Oct 29 2012 but I had to reschedule. I went in for InfoPass appt and asked to reschedule and it seemingly went alright. I haven't received any confirmation though and I was so scared to ask for a reschedule that I forgot to ask for any. I had to make another appt to get a stamp in my passport a week after and again asked about reschedule. The officer couldn't find anything in my case so he made another request and AGAIN I didn't ask for any confirmation. Since then I haven't received anything and it's been 5 months. All in all my i-751 process is taking a year and a half to the date.

To make matters worse i moved in December to Rhode Island. I decided not to change my address yet cause I was hoping to receive my new interview appt anytime now. And I knew that changing address moves you to the back of the line. So that just adds to my anxiety.

I called them a few times. First, they just told me that rescheduling takes about three months and I should just wait. I called today and it seems like they can't even find my case anymore. They gave me 15 days timeline to get a reply from them and a confirmation number this time.

I was moderately worried before but now I see how fast everybody's been getting their cards in the mail and I'm worried sick. To make matters worse my ex husband told me (a long while ago, about 19 months ago) that he went to the USCIS and said that our marriage was a fraud. And that there was some adjudication regarding his person. BUT I have no way of knowing whether it's all just talk (he has a free way with reality) or there is some huge red flag on my case file. I'm thinking that if that was true I would've already been contacted by USCIS at the very least as a witness, correct? Not to mention that they would want to deport me...

So, what are your thoughts? Does anybody else have such a long journey? Or maybe you know that smth has been going on in the immigration department cause of the budget cuts? Please, give me some comfort :/

I personally know a person who got Illinois driver license for the same reasons (them being so lax at that time - they aren't anymore) and she was being interviewed here in Florida for her AOS. She and her husband showed their DLs as they were asked at the beginning of the interview and she explained to the officer why she had that license with that address. Her reason was exactly as your wife's: no green card = no license in Florida, but that she will get one as soon as she is able. Their interview went absolutely fine and she effectively received her green card.

On top of that she was an overstay, and her brother previously was deported on some small criminal charge. All that means that people need to stop worrying about insignificant stuff.

As to whether they will ask for the license or not (if she only presents her passport, for example), IO did ask for mine after I only gave him my passport, and I did not have a DL.

Best of luck!

It's a bit too early for you, don't worry. Good luck!!

I am a Florida filer, sent in my package May 25 2010. So far haven't heard anything from USCIS. Wish me luck!

Good luck, guys!

Hey, good morning all. Just got the ball rolling last night, and like all of you, we are very excited. Good luck, and God bless!

We got joint lease, joint checking/savings account, my name on his health insurance. Letters to the same address. Bills are on his name naturally, since companies in FL don't allow a second name on bills. He pays my phone. My car is on his insurance, but it's also registered to him, so not much help there )... And we've got just a little bit of photos, cause we're both not big on pictures. Not too photogenic both of us )... But those that we have are fine, i hope, since it's of our wedding (courthouse) with both sets of parents, of me spending Christmas with his family, of his family here and so forth, some pics of 8 years ago when we first met. Overall, i think we'll too have about 20-30 pictures - and that's basically all we have )). So armed with the above, we will face the IO in less than a month.

I really hope our Oakland Park office won't be too busy. Don't want to make hubby sit and wait for an hour in a nervous stupor...

Your case seems pretty much like ours, it makes me feel better )

yes, we have all the bills, joint bank account statements and car insurance....and our driver licenses.

some photos with both of us, and with her sister and friends....not a lot though, we are going to pick about 20 photos, don't know if its enough.

what have you got?

Hey!!! You were so right! I got the interview appointment letter last night. And it's for June 29th, so it seems like the case is moving fast. Still no news about EAD or AP though.

So, have to concentrate on NOT worrying about the interview now. I'm reading everybody's experiences too... So far they make me feel better.

You have enough paper evidence for your interview? I am trying to convince myself that our papers are all in order and hence it will be alright.

Yes. I am getting bit nervous even I will still get the interview letter in a quite while.

I've been reading everyones interview experience to see how it goes.

Really hope everyone good luck here.

My local office is in Pompano Beach, but I understand that it serves basically Ft Lauderdale. I was there for walk-in biometrics, people were unexpectedly nice when they didn't have to at all - I showed up 10 minutes before the office closed (i didn't know the hours and really was mostly researching). So I hope they won't be too harsh on me during the interview. My husband has horrible memory and ADA so I am dreading basic question although the marriage is legit. Thus, if they just stick to the paperwork we'll be fine.

You have any info about your office? Nervous?

P.S.: thanks for the cheer!

I would guess your local office is in Ft Lauderdale, right?

My friend had her interview there in Jan, and she said he officers were nice there!

hey, nice to know, seems like your are getting your interview appointment letter soon, later this week or next week, good luck!!!

Oh well, who knows! I didn't receive any notice re EAD yet, so I don't really know which comes first... But I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Yours is taking a bit longer than mine, it seems... Maybe due to a congested Orlando office?

Hi! I'm a Florida filer ) Wishing us both good luck!

Hey, any FL filers???

Google "Tax transcript" - you can call the IRS and ask them to send (or fax) a copy of the information from the return. It's free, and fast.

Do not send the application in without the tax info.

Thank you so much for the advice!! Will do!

Hi everybody!

My husband (filing on my behalf) is not the best record keeper in the world, so he doesn't have his 2008 tax return. His accountant filed it, but somehow failed to send my husband a copy. And due to some tensions between them we might not be able to retrieve that paper. So we have his 2007 tax return, we will have his 2009 1040 too, and his W-2's for 2007-2009. According to his W-2 he is making way above the poverty line so at least we're good here.

My question is: can we send the package with what I listed above and then on the interview explain how the stupid document got lost, or they won't even look at the application without one of the last tax returns? And another question - maybe we could just recreate the 2008 return now somehow?

Thank you!!