mathranik

Let me give you some good news - My parents are here on visitor visa, and their I-94 was to expire on the 1st of September. They applied for their extension of stay on the 5th August, for which they got an NOA on the 10th August. We panicked on the 24th of August, because we didn't get a decision by then. An infopass was made, and we were told the following details:
--> Until a decision is made on the extension, they can stay for upto 240 days since the extension is filed.
--> If the extension is denied, they will have 30 days to leave the country.
--> Their visa would not be null and void even if they have lived beyond their I-94 and their extension is denied!
Well, luckily, on the 26th of August, their approval of extension was received.
If you have any more queries, please let me know!

:dance: APPROVED! :dance:
With all the build-up to the interview being anti-climatic, the interview itself was a breeze .... probably the most sweet-spoken I/O they have anywhere in the US! She was an Asian lady... and took no more than 10 mins of ours! She said I am approved, and that the green card would be on its way, reaching me in 10 days or so!
Thank you Visa Journey, for serving as an amazing platform for immigrants. Thank you, all the members who have helped us through the process - and we could make do without an attorney! And, thank you, all the well-wishers!
May God be with everyone going through the process , and we both wish you all the best of luck!

That might be the problem. If you need over 4 lbs. of paperwork to prove something very simple, or you feel the need to drown the I.O. in 4+ lbs. of paperwork, he or she might have felt bullsh*tted and closed the file to avoid going through all of this stuff. They are people too, you know.
Yes, quality trumps quantity; a loaf of bread is better than an mountain of grass.
Ultimately, however, you will have to wait for the letter and see the reason for the denial.

I got a call from the Congressman's office a few minutes ago: AP approved and biometrics scheduled for the 20th of october!

keep slamming on the meetup.com site as well.
face to face, for your level of work, is the thing that works.
There's way too much competition , for those at yer level, for the 'send in the resume to HR' crowd. The techniques I am suggesting to you, bypass HR for the 'first-level screening' process.

Received fancy EAD card and AP papers in the mail today. EAD card came in an envelope that looked like it was from a credit card company, no USCIS label or anything, so don't throw away supposed junk mail! lol

I was born here and I don't really understand the national pride thing. I know some will interpret that as "America-hating", but it's really not that. I just see my being born American as a happenstance rather than an accomplishment.

small 'step' -
google 'marketing association chicago'
then find out the meeting dates/events
and go
other small step
go to www.meetup.com
enter yer city / state
then enter 'marketing' in the top text box on the right, above the city/state textbox.
If I was yer guidance counselor I'd say chase these guys - http://www.meetup.com/ChiAMA/ as that's 'the big one'.
also, find the toastmasters guilds in yer area - see http://www.toastmasters.org and try to find a guild that meets in a large company or is sponsered by a large company, and join that guild.
Good Luck !

K-1 visa? sorry, can't return to Canada (and come back to USA) until Green card in Hand
CR-1 visa? no problem (but prolly not what yer friends are doing)
AOS and not visa? leaving USA whilst AOS in process triggers automatic 'abandonment' of AOS casefile.
what's what, and who's who?

Well, if biometrics is between you getting the EAD then they'll make sure you get that. Your objective is EAD, which is what you should emphasis on when speaking to the Congressman personnel. I would not focus too much on Biometrics, from what I have heard people have gotten EAD approval email a day after biometrics. Not sure if that was the result of escalation but it can happen.

We had our interview today at 10:45 am. We got our name called at around 11 am. We went straight back to an office where we were asked by the lady officer to raise our right hands and swear in that the answers we give will be the absolute truth. Then she asked us to present identification. I showed her my drivers licenses and he showed her his passport and state ID. I was amazed at how fat our file was sitting on her desk. Everything was there and probably things we had no idea about what was in it.
The first question she asked is what took us so long since we've been nearly married for 4 years.
I wasn't expecting that question and I started to feel shy and nervous because dh had told me right before the interview to let him do most of the talking and not to correct him.
We explained that he was taken into the military for his mandatory duty and I had to finish college.
She asked me if I finished college and I told her yes.
She asked me what my degree was and I gave her the mouthful, Radio/TV/Digital Media Production.
Then she proceeded to ask my Husband the list of questions on the AOS form.
His full name,
His date of birth.
Where he was born.
His father and mother's first name.
His wife's full name.
His wife's date of birth.
The date of our marriage.
Had he ever been arrested for or committed illegal acts.
Was he involved in any terrorist organizations.
Was he apart of the medical syndicate.
Then she spoke to herself that he served in the Egyptian Military and wrote something down.
Then she asked, Is this your signature. (I smiled to myself about that because when he got here and were filling out all this paperwork and he had to sign things he would tell me he never really had a signature before and I would tell him he needs to come up with his own signature and stick with it.)
As she was asking all these questions she was marking off areas in red after his answers.
Then she asked how did we communicate during his time in the military.
I pulled out a book of hand written letters he sent me from Egypt and explained that on his breaks we also spoke through email and webcam chats and phone calls.
She didn't flip through the binder of letters but she did watch as I flipped through the letters for her.
Then she asked if we had a wedding in Egypt.
We said yes.
She asked to see pictures and we showed her binders and binders of studio pictures and pictures at the Mosque with his family and wedding cards, and pictures of our first trip there and the second trip when we lived together for the summer in Egypt.
She asked if my family went to the wedding.
I told her no because of expense but they did some preparations with me before to go like the bachelorette party in Las Vegas and wedding dress shopping.
She asked to see joint evidence and I showed her my photobook I made online with shutterfly.com. She said it must have taken some time to put this together. I smiled and said yes and it's of his time here in the US these past months and the events we've been together with friends and family. She looked through it. I'm glad she did because I really love that book and it's a special time of our first few months together here.
Then I gave her a copy of four months of bank statements for our joint bank account, and two copies of our Verizon Family Plan bills. Then I also gave her 5 supporting letter from our friends and family. She was most interested in my Mom's letter since she's our co-sponsor and explains in the letter we live with her and about our family plan bill. She didn't read through all the letters though. I also gave her a copy of our Paypal account together and letter addressed to both of us for events. I kicked myself in the pants because I remembered that I had forgot to print out his and I's signature on my Master Promissory Note for my Student Loans from 2007 when he was in Egypt and we'd gotten married and the school wanted his name on it as well. That would have also shown our co-mingling of finances.
She said ok I have what I need. She took his passport and took his I-94 and put a red line through his K3 visa. Then she gave back our ID's, our Paypal account info, our cards addressed to both of us and she didn't ask to keep any pictures. I said I hope that we didn't overwhelem her with evidence and asked if she wanted to keep the joint evidence she gave back like the paypal account and the cards or if she wanted copies of any pictures. She said no.
Then she said she will make her decision and we will be mailed a letter in a couple of weeks. She didn't come right out and say we were approved so then I felt nervous with the "not really knowing for certain" factor, but hopeful since she'd seen a lot of our evidence and took his I-94 and crossed out his K3 visa in red that it's a potential approval she just has to take time to read through the 5 letters of support and review everything.

Comment inappropriate for the Immigration forums has been removed. Acceptable parts of the removed post are returned here:
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Moderator's hat off - re: gender check for immigrants. They are basically assuming that if you write male you are male and if you write female you are female. A quick check will ascertain those particular differences unless someone is deliberately trying to disguise their gender. They don't expect people to be doing that. If the 'quick peek' shows problems, then yes, they would probably explore further but a normal male or female is not going to have problems. It really is a non-issue. A quick peak really is all that it is - and it isn't a close peek either. There is definitely no touching. (At least in countries not considered high fraud countries and yours isn't considered high fraud)
A DNA test will run you around $1200 and takes several weeks to several months to receive results. It is not normally done and very few medical facilities are set up to do DNA testing. You would have to make an appointment at a special facility and add whatever time all of this additional testing takes to your process, if you are even allowed to submit a DNA result instead of a quick peek. USCIS/DOS do use DNA tests (paid for by the applicant) generally if someone is requesting a family member to immigrate (other than spouse) and their home country has a known problem with documents (missing, destroyed, altered, never kept, etc.). Such DNA test are not to prove gender but to prove consanguinity (degree of relationship) . I strongly suspect that if you asked for a DNA test instead of a quick visual check it would raise suspicions that maybe you did have something to hide as the request is so unexpected - and in their eyes - probably unreasonable.
The Immigration physician may not be a doctor you have personally chosen, but it is the doctor who is appointed by USCIS to determine if you are medically fit to enter the US. If you wish to come to the US, then you need to satisfy their criteria, which includes the medical exam. Quite honestly, they are going to be more on the lookout for the possibility of you having any contagious disease that would put the US population at risk - such as tuberculosis - than if you are an altered male or female.
The other question I have is that you said you already had a physical exam for immigration. If that is so, I have two comments: 1) they have already confirmed your gender during that exam to the degree they normally do for non-high fraud countries. If they didn't look below the waist then they saw enough elsewhere on you physically to determine you are a female. So that is what you were getting all upset about and as you can see, it really wasn't a big deal. 2) if you have had your medical exam and are immigrating to the US on a K-1, in all likelihood you will not need another medical exam. If you get married within the stated time period and apply to adjust status, if your K-1 medical was done less than a year prior to your applying for your green card, you do not need a new medical. You just need to provide an updated vaccination history on the appropriate form.
So, if you have already done your medical, you can safely disregard any comments others make to you about how you are going to be grilled by immigration to prove your gender. You will find there are a lot of 'experts' out there on immigration who have no idea what they are talking about. The people who told you that you could expect a grilling gender exam appear to fall into that category.
Good luck to you

You are going to have a medical exam. They are going to look at your genitals. Your gentials are part of your body and it is an exam of your body.
If you do not comply with the requirements of the visa, no visa is issued.
FWIW the "gender question" is more an issue for high fraud countries, France is not one, neither is Canada. I suspect the Canadian comment was made in jest as it is simply nothing more than a box to be checked for the examining doctor. In high fraud countries they may well do a DNA test, in addition.
There is no point in arguing that a "peek" is not sufficent, since sufficiency is subjective in all levels of this process. The doctor and the consulate must be "satisfied" that you are not circumventing the immigration laws by posing as a fiancee of a US citizen (man or woman) If a "peek" satisfies in France or Canada, then so be it. Maybe big hoop earrings will satisfy in France...who knows? I would wear big earrings just in case. I think high heels satisfies the requirement in Ukraine.

Once you get the biometrics form, you can try to go to the LA office for a walk in, but only if you have the form in hand.
No idea re: expediting AP.

Biometrics: depends on the office.
Office: What address did you list on the form? If you're in LA permanently but listed another address, then you'll have to file a change of address form for your interview etc to be in LA.
You can expedite it now, though the EAD can't be processed until you have your biometrics taken.
It's possible - if they take you as a walk in. I don't know anything about the LA office, but you'd have to do it as a walk in, if that's not the one closest to your listed address. If they don't take walk ins, then you're out of luck and will have to go to your 'home' office.

Yep, that's within the normal range.
You can expedite your EAD by either calling USCIS or calling your congressperson (either the rep or either of the senators) and asking for their help in expediting it. You need to have some reason (typically severe financial hardship).
Not sure about the AP, though.
It doesn't make the process any faster - just gets that particular thing done quicker. The green card is on its own timeline.

Well, for my ead expedite request, i simply walked into my congressman's office, met the staff and told them i need it because of my new job offer... and that was done... My congressman rep got on the phone with the NBC representative, that deal with only congressional request and had it approved. I thank the guy and drove home, to get an email of approval. Please don't feel like that will hurt you case my trying. you will be suprised with the outcome. Understand that your Congressman will probably never see your paperwork. He/she has a large staff of specialized people in their twenties who handle 99% of the mail and email.
Finito.

Yes, your wife has to fill I-864 as a primary sponsor even if her income is 0. Her dad has to fill another I-864 and check the box where it says joint sponsor. He has to include last 3 years taxes (tax transcripts), and if he meets poverty guidelines there is no need to include assets etc. And her dad needs to include proof of citizenship or permanent residence ( passport, birth certificate or naturalization certificate or if PR , copy of front and back of his green card.)

And if he's married and his wife's income is included on a joint tax filing, then she needs to fill out the I-864A.
You can send the tax transcripts (probably easiest), but if they have their 1040, you can send that too - but then you also have to send in any 1099 or W-2s that they have.

My wife, who is an american citizen, is filing for my immigration tomorrow and I would like to double-check the forms and documents before she applies. Here is what I would have in the envelope:
-> Form i-130
-> Form i-131
-> Form G-325(a) (each for me and my wife)
-> Form i-485
-> Form i-693
-> Form i-765
-> Form i-864
We are also including a copy of both of our passports, her proof of citizenship of USA, a copy of our marriage certificate, passport sized photographs, a copy of my current B2 visitors visa and a copy of my i-94 card. I also have my birth certificate copy enclosed.
Now I would like to know if we have to put in more evidence of our marriage , like photographs of our marriage and/or previous photographs through our relationship.
Yes, you should include some of those, as well as any joint bills you have together.
Also, do i need to include a copy of each and every page of my passport and the back of my i94 card?
Not each and every page - just the page with all the information on it. Yes, to the back of the I94 card.
Do we put in all the forms in the same envelope and drop it at the drop-box in chicago?(That is where we live).
Yes, all in the same envelope.
Importantly, in my case, do i need to get my medical examination done before filing for immigration? Lots of confusion here!
Yes, how are you including the 693 if you don't have the medical examination done? It must be done before you go by a qualified civil surgeon or you will get an RFE (request for evidence).
I would include one exhaustive cover letter that includes everything in the package. Is that correct?
Yes, that's fine.
A Final question - how long does it take these days for processing of EAD and AP? I know there is no fixed timeline, but what is the current trend in a case like mine where its sponsored by spouse.
It varies a lot, somewhere between 2 & 3 months, I would say. Other people may have better guesses/estimates.

There is no certain format for the vaccination certificate. Mine just had my doctor saying I got this and that in this year. You still need birth certificate. The copies don't have to be in color just regular.