AOS FILERS: DECEMBER 2008

[Diazy 10]

I got my greencard today! that's 3 days after I received the welcome letter. I'm so happy. Thank you very much all for the great help. Congrats to those who got their welcome notice and card. And best of luck to those who are still waiting.

One question though, the category on my card says CF1. Is that what it's supposed to be? Coz i have no clue what that category means. If someone can explain that to me, I'd appreciate it.

Mine says CF1 too, it means: "The beneficiary gains legal immigrant status (CF-1) in the U.S. upon CIS approval".

All categories:

CF1

Alien whose record of admission is created upon the conclusion of a

valid marriage contract after entering as a fiance or fiancee of a

U.S. citizen - conditional.

CR1

Spouse of a U.S. citizen - conditional. (Entered with immigrant visa)

CR6

Spouse of a U.S. citizen - conditional.

IF1

Alien whose record of admission is created upon the conclusion of a

valid marriage contract after entering as a fiance or fiancee of a

U.S. citizen

IR1

Spouse of a U.S. citizen. ((Entered with immigrant visa))

IR6

Spouse of a U.S. citizen.

[itty_bitty 0]

I got my greencard today! that's 3 days after I received the welcome letter. I'm so happy. Thank you very much all for the great help. Congrats to those who got their welcome notice and card. And best of luck to those who are still waiting.

One question though, the category on my card says CF1. Is that what it's supposed to be? Coz i have no clue what that category means. If someone can explain that to me, I'd appreciate it.

Mine says CF1 too, it means: "The beneficiary gains legal immigrant status (CF-1) in the U.S. upon CIS approval".

All categories:

CF1

Alien whose record of admission is created upon the conclusion of a

valid marriage contract after entering as a fiance or fiancee of a

U.S. citizen - conditional.

CR1

Spouse of a U.S. citizen - conditional. (Entered with immigrant visa)

CR6

Spouse of a U.S. citizen - conditional.

IF1

Alien whose record of admission is created upon the conclusion of a

valid marriage contract after entering as a fiance or fiancee of a

U.S. citizen

IR1

Spouse of a U.S. citizen. ((Entered with immigrant visa))

IR6

Spouse of a U.S. citizen.

So it's either CF1 or IF1 for those who came with a k1 visa then. Thanks Diazy for that.

[isa5521 0]

My husband and I went on our interview this morning and we were approved! Yay!!!!!!

For all of you still waiting on your interview, here's my experience:

Our appointment was at 11:30am. They don't allow any cell phones or cameras inside, so we had to leave them in the car. We got to the office at around 11:15, went through security and waited less than 30 minutes in the waiting room. Everyone in the office was polite and friendly and the interview went well. The officer that interviewed us was very nice. She asked me (the beneficiary) to come in first, show my passport and birth certificate, and then she asked me some questions on how we met, if we had any children, where both of us worked, where we lived, plus some of the "no" questions. This took about 10 minutes. Then she called my husband into the room, and asked for his ID. She only asked him how we met (to check his answer against mine) and then asked us to show any evidence that we had brought (I had a pretty big folder). I gave her copies of documents with both our names on: bank and credit card statements, utility bills, car and life insurance, and tax returns. She scanned through them, then looked through our photo albums, as we talked about our wedding ceremony. After that, she asked me to confirm that my name was correctly spelled on the forms, then printed a letter saying that we were approved, and another letter (that both of us had to sign) explaining the conditional status. She asked to see my SSN card and explained that I can get it replaced with one that does not say "not valid for work without DHS approval". She also took my EAD and AP, and stamped my passport with a temporary visa that allows me to work and travel until I receive the green card in the mail (up to 6 weeks, but usually sooner than that).

That was it... a rainy day in Tampa, with severe weather and tornado warnings all around, but a very calm interview, and now I'm permanent resident.

Thanks everyone, for all the great information I got here throughout the process. Good luck to all of you!!

[TBoneTX 43,631]

Well, December filers who were transferred to the CSC are starting to pop. We got the "welcome" letter (dated April 9) on April 13. Would that it had arrived earlier, because over the weekend we had to endure 35 minutes of Customs' bumbling through the processing of the Advance Parole document at a land-crossing from Mexico! At least we now have the spare AP copy, handsomely suitable for framing. Can someone please update our status on the spreadsheet?

Edited April 14, 2009 by TBoneTX

[Diazy 10]

TBoneTX, isa5521, congratulations!!!!

isa5521, thanks for review!

Edited April 14, 2009 by Diazy

[itzy 0]

Yes, my case was transfered to CSC on January 6, thanks Diazy, hopefully you hear something soon!

That was fast Itty, Bitty! Congratulations!

Hopefully all of you receive your GCs soon!

Itzy

[SKluvSH 0]

We got approved for Green card today. We are told that we will receive card in 2 weeks. Thanks for all support and good luck to all for rest of journey.

[xFf 0]

We got approved for my Green Card today, yay! Thanks to everyone for all the help, this forum saved me hundreds or thousand of dollars in attorney fees!

[TBoneTX 43,631]

To all recent fellow approvees: Si, man!

[itzy 0]

I received my card yesterday!!! So it was an aproval without interview after transfer in january to CSC.

Thanks everybody for all your help and encouragment!.

Hopefully the ones missing come soon.

Itzy

[SMOKE 1,426]

just a reminder.

everyone is updating their timelines right?

the speadsheet worked great for us, but we need to update our timelines so the people going thru after us can have a more accurate estimate of how long it will take for them to adjust status.

Edited April 16, 2009 by SMOKE

[Diazy 10]

Question about December's spreadsheet:

What is the difference between Italic and non-Italic timelines?

[anaid 0]

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to let you all know that my husband was approved for his Green Card today We aren't regular posters, but this site has been extremely helpful to us from the K-1 process to now. We consulted an Immigration Attorney at the beginning of our 'journey' and were told that a consultation alone would cost us $1,500! So thanks to you all for saving us a lot of money!!

Anyway, I just wanted to post today about our interview experience, since I know I was looking for information prior to ours and it was hard to come by...

We arrived at the office at about 10:20 (our interview was at 10:30) and we went through security and handed our interview letter to the woman at the window - we weren't asked for any ID at this point. We waited only about 10-15 minutes and were called in. The man (I never got his name) brought us to his office where we swore that we would tell the truth. Then, he asked my husband (from the UK) a few questions straight from our AOS packet (his parents names, date of birth, etc.) He made some chit chat about his family also being from the UK and it put us at ease. He then asked for our passports and state ID's and asked a few questions about them. 1. - Why was my address different (we had just moved and I hadn't changed mine yet) and 2. Why my husband didn't have a driver's license (he can drive with his foreign license for the time being). Then he asked all of the 'no' questions (have you been convicted of a crime, deported, etc.). He asked what else we brought with us (we were very laid back about this seeing as we gave them our entire life story with the K-1 and then the AOS packet). I handed him the leases to our first and current apartment and our joint car insurance paperwork along with a few recent pictures and a scrapbook from before we were married. He looked through everything and asked why we didn't have a joint bank account. At this point I got very defensive. Why do we need a joint bank account, anyway? Surely not all married couples have joint bank accounts? I told him we had a joint credit card. He went on for a bit about the joint bank account - but in the end said, 'It's a personal preference really, I'm not saying you need one - we just like to see a lot of things...' That statement annoyed me a bit, only because he went on for a minute about it and then in the end he didn't really care. He also asked why we hadn't brought our tax return and how could I prove that I could 'take care' of my husband. I told him that the AOS packet had all of my salary information and that the interview letter said only to bring things 'if they weren't previously submitted'.

We were worried that we would be asked a gazillion questions about our wedding (we didn't have wedding pictures as we were married privately and are planning a big wedding ceremony for the fall) but the man didn't ask a single one. Only briefly asked if we had met here. He asked me if I wanted my husband to stay in the country (hmmm...?) and when I said yes he told us we were approved and my husband would receive his Green Card in the mail. He flipped through the scrapbook and sent us on our way. He didn't stamp my husband's passport, or take his EAD. He just told him to hold onto it and destroy it when his Green Card arrives. We were in and out of the building in 30 minutes.

As I said, we were very laid back about the whole thing. We read about people bringing everything but the kitchen sink with them to their interviews and we just were fed up with the whole process of having to 'prove ourselves'. We have a marriage certificate, a million pictures of us together, and we have proof that we live together. Surely that's more proof than a bank account or utility bill. We didn't get even dressed up - I wore jeans, my husband wore jeans and flip-flops.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't have joint bank accounts, and you shouldn't bring stacks and stacks of proof with you - by all means do whatever makes you happy. My husband and I could have easily gotten a joint bank account, a joint life insurance policy, snapped a few wedding pictures, etc - but it wouldn't make us any more of a 'legitimate' couple than we already are. I'm just glad that this whole process is over and I don't have to 'prove' my love to anyone anymore...except my husband.

Good luck to you all - and again, thanks for your help.

[Diazy 10]

anaid, Congratulations!

Please fill in your timeline! It will help others.

[desain 0]

All: I recieved my GC card yesterday in mail. This was exactly 3 days after I recieved my welcome letter. The category is IR6 and is valid for 10 years. Goodluck to all the remaining December filers.

Timeline:

Currently on H-1b visa status.

Submitted I-485/I-130/I-765 document on December 11

Biometerics done on Jan 9 No RFE

Recieved parole and EAD document Feb 4th

Recieved GC interview letter on Feb 25, Interview date April 7th

Inteview on April 7th

Recieved Welcome letter on April 13th

Recieved GC card on April 16th