snapshaps

What happens if we are approved immediately after the interview. I see that happening quite frequently.

Once you're approved, you will probably need to make an appointment and show them proof that you are going on a trip in which case they may stamp Form I-551 in your passport. If you can do all of this on the day of your interview depends on your IO I'd guess.

You'd better bring boading passes or e-tickets to your interview just in case.

I wish they would post their statistics for those things (if they do we couldn't find them anywhere) so we would have known!

I don't think you can see how many was denied, but you can see how many non-immigration visas issued by posts in Nigeria here:

http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY10AnnualReport-TableXIX.pdf

There is a lot of interesting statistics on this page: http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/statistics/statistics_5240.html

We went to our interview today and everything was approved. It seemed like the IO had made up his mind in advance he went over the forms and confirmed the list of I485 yes/no questions and our address and wedding date. He didn't ask any other questions, and he did not ask us to present any new evidence or originals of anything we submitted.

Yay, I just received my interview letter. The interview is scheduled for the first week of February.

By the way, my i485 is still not in the online system.

My AP and EAD was approved today, now I'm waiting for them to arrive in the mail.

I'm an October filer as well (details in signature).

My biometrics appointment letter came rather late and my appoint is not until mid-December. (I'd love to get my EAD in 2010, but it's not looking like that will happen).

I tried to do a walk-in at the Raleigh, NC office today and made it through security where I waited in the waiting area for more than an hour. The security guard then came back and told me that they, unfortunately, were unable to squeeze me in today. They were very pleasant about it though, it was worth a try .

This fits more or less with what I was hoping (and expecting). Thank you guys.

Maybe I can make my point more clear. It is my understanding that if it's been decided that you entered the US on fraudulent terms because of misrepresentation or something else, you are automatically banned from entering without a waiver of some sorts. I guess my question is if AOS'ing from a J1 automatically makes you guilty of something like that (even if it is forgiving for the green card itself). This means that there is nothing you can do to be let in without this waiver, regardless of what evidence you may have at the time of entry. This is very different from just dealing with a suspicious CBP officer that however is willing to listen to you. I definitely understand that the proof of burden is harder to lift if you've AOS'ed from a J1 in the past, but at least you still get to try.

Frankly, I don't think they'd need the IO's notes for a basis to use their discretion to deny a visa or entry. The fact that the alien adjusted status on a visitor's visa or entry pass previously is enough evidence to indicate that they might intend to do it again.

Maybe, but hopefully they'd not just deny everyone automatically because of a J1->LPR in their history somewhere.

Assume you AOS from J1 to live with your US spouse and then decide to bring your family back to your home country to settle there. This would imply that you could never join them on visits back to the US (to visit grandparents et al.) without filing for a hardship waiver, right? That seems a bit harsh if there were no clear intent on the original J1. It's clear that if you visit on the VWP or a tourist/visitor visa and AOS right away, this would raise strong suspicions. But I would hope that you, in cases where there genuinely were no intent and the visitor had complied with the J1 status for a long time, could still convince the officer to let you in especially if you left wife/kids/job/house/dog/stamp collection/cat in the home country.

However, I could be naive, maybe this is in fact the policy of the CBP. I would think that a lot of J1 postdocs/researchers could find themselves in this position and I'd surprise me if they were suddenly banned from visiting the US without a hardship waiver.

AOS is discretionary, so there's always a chance it won't be approved. However, they won't deny it solely for preconceived intent, even if they can prove the intent. The Battista case in 1987 put a stop to that. Battista succeeded in getting an AOS denial overturned because preconceived intent was the only reason it was denied, and the BIA determined that his family ties in the US outweighed that one negative factor. Since then, USCIS doesn't deny solely for preconceived intent. They will deny for material misrepresentation if they determine the applicant lied about their intent to an immigration officer, though.

In your case, I doubt it will even come up. First, your wife is not from a high fraud country. Second, she has been lawfully present in the US for years. She made a brief trip home, and reentered with the same visa, essentially just continuing her previous stay. If an IO was going to apply the 30/60/90 day rule then they would have to set the WayBack machine to 2007, because that's when she originally entered with her J1 visa. If they were going to suspect her intent for any reason then it would be because she returned with only a couple of months left on her visa, and not because of when she married. She could have married a long time ago, if that was her real intent.

Here's a technical question that I've been wondering about. Assume that the IO does decide that there was immigration intent, but grants the green card anyways since intent alone is not enough for a denial (and there was no lying involved). Now, after a couple of years as a resident in the US, the green card holder moves with his wife back to his home country, voluntarily giving up his green card in the process. Will the IO's judgment cause the foreign national issues down the road in getting other non-immigrant visa's, or when using the VWP?

Also, keep in mind what was said in this post: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/285131-urgent-need-advice-on-how-to-file-aos/ .

It is the last date of entry on the J! that counts when they consider intent. Even though you have been in the US for years you may want to make sure you don't enter the country right before you get married to avoid a suspicion of immigration intent (which, apparently, is not enough to deny you but would probably be best to avoid anyways).

I'm a J1 postdoc, I filed the AOS in October. The following responses are based of what the university's visa office told me and what I've been able to figure out for myself. Hopefully at least some of it is correct.

1) After we are married, but before I file for an AOS, is my ongoing J-1 status jeopardized or changed in any way? Will I run into problems if I leave and re-enter the country (e.g. for a honeymoon)? Does being married to a USC raise suspicion of immigrant intent?

I was advised not to leave the country after the marriage and before the AP and I followed this advice and stayed away from foreign conferences and workshops. I guess it depend on what risks you're willing to take. Giving what you said in this post you do have immigration intent so if the officer at the border happens to ask you something to that effect you'll have to answer truthfully which would probably mean that wouldn't be let in. However, he may not find out that you're married, it's not something they usually ask of me when I enter the country.

2) After I file for an AOS, but before I receive my EAD, am I eligible to continue in my current job (i.e. under authorization of my not-yet expired J-1)?

Yes, according to the visa office at my university. I'm still employed as a J1 since the status remains valid. However, they probably cannot extend your status, so you have to get your EAD before your status expires.

3) After I file for an AOS, but before I receive my Advanced Parole, am I eligible to leave and re-enter the country using my J-1 status?

No, you cannot enter into a non-immigrant status with an AOS pending. (Someone should probably confirm this?).

Hopefully.

We applied in mid-Oct and still haven't received the biometrics letter.