October 2009 AOS Filers

[ReeRee 0]

Hmm..another touch on the 485 & 130 on the 5th. Wonder what they're doing Anyone else have touches before the interview?

I saw touches on my 485 and 130 on 12/31/09, about a week before my interview, maybe they pulled the files out and shipped to the USCIS office where the interview is held. It's just my guess. From what I read in VJ, anything could create touches on your record.

[RebeccaAndPhil 5]

I saw touches on my 485 and 130 on 12/31/09, about a week before my interview, maybe they pulled the files out and shipped to the USCIS office where the interview is held. It's just my guess. From what I read in VJ, anything could create touches on your record.

Yeah it'd be so great if they wrote what the touches were for, wouldn't it? I suppose that would be a LOT of work though

[marie09 5]

Hmm..another touch on the 485 & 130 on the 5th. Wonder what they're doing Anyone else have touches before the interview?

Hopefully they're reviewing everything getting ready to approve you guys I think it's a good sign

I was wondering I know I read on here that the I-130 seems to stay in initial review until after the interview but what about the I-485? Does that switch to testing & interview before the interview? And if so at what point? Mine are both still in initial review and don't show any touches since biometrics (I-485) and Nov (I-130) even though they sent the interview letter...

Thanks you guys & fingers crossed for Greg & Hakuna Mantata today, hope your interviews are going good

[RebeccaAndPhil 5]

Hopefully they're reviewing everything getting ready to approve you guys I think it's a good sign

I was wondering I know I read on here that the I-130 seems to stay in initial review until after the interview but what about the I-485? Does that switch to testing & interview before the interview? And if so at what point? Mine are both still in initial review and don't show any touches since biometrics (I-485) and Nov (I-130) even though they sent the interview letter...

Thanks you guys & fingers crossed for Greg & Hakuna Mantata today, hope your interviews are going good

My hubby's I-485 has been stuck in Acceptance since the day they got it so you are a step ahead of us I don't think it has any other updates until it's approved when it goes to post-decision activity or card production ordered for the Green Card. I wouldn't worry, everyone's statuses are always different with USCIS updates online. Our I-130 wasn't updated for months and is only being touched now b/c of the interview I'm guessing

[marie09 5]

My hubby's I-485 has been stuck in Acceptance since the day they got it so you are a step ahead of us I don't think it has any other updates until it's approved when it goes to post-decision activity or card production ordered for the Green Card. I wouldn't worry, everyone's statuses are always different with USCIS updates online. Our I-130 wasn't updated for months and is only being touched now b/c of the interview I'm guessing

Lol! Thank you that was most helpful and reassuring...

Yay for your touches I have my fingers crossed for you and all the other October filers for fast approvals!

[km24 0]

Thanks ReeRee, laurelmike, Rebecca and hudons for the well wishes.

Our "documentation package" is complete. I keep adding to it each day with more evidence, but I think it's more than enough. I get the feeling the more organized you are, the less they are likely to ask for things.

Tomorrow we fly to Honolulu for a 2PM interview. I'll post our experience when we get home.

Good luck to hakuna matata who also has their interview tomorrow. Then we have a bunch of folks with interviews next week.

Greg

Good Luck Greg and Hakuna Matata! =)

[Greg001 0]

Hi everyone, I'll copy what I posted in the other topic and do a more detailed review tomorrow.

Thanks you guys for your kind wishes.

.......

First, let me say congratulations to savaleta and hakuna matata on your AOS approvals.

We just got back from Honolulu and it's getting late, so I'll give a quick update now and a full review tomorrow.

We are so happy; we were approved today!! The interview was easy and the IO was very friendly. A few hours after the interview we received the "card production" email. Now that we are home I check the online status and it has moved from the first circle (where it's been since October 2nd) to the last circle "document production".

Thanks to all our fellow October filers for their well wishes and support. As others have said, it really helps to experience this journey with others and share experiences.

More tomorrow.

Vanessa and Greg

[Flyer92 2]

Hi everyone, I'll copy what I posted in the other topic and do a more detailed review tomorrow.

Thanks you guys for your kind wishes.

.......

First, let me say congratulations to savaleta and hakuna matata on your AOS approvals.

We just got back from Honolulu and it's getting late, so I'll give a quick update now and a full review tomorrow.

We are so happy; we were approved today!! The interview was easy and the IO was very friendly. A few hours after the interview we received the "card production" email. Now that we are home I check the online status and it has moved from the first circle (where it's been since October 2nd) to the last circle "document production".

Thanks to all our fellow October filers for their well wishes and support. As others have said, it really helps to experience this journey with others and share experiences.

More tomorrow.

Vanessa and Greg

Greg...CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! :joy: :joy: :joy:

I can only imagine how happy you both are! Get some rest and tell us later how it went...And good job on keep the spreadsheet updated, we all appreciate your efforts! Again...CONGRATS!

[RebeccaAndPhil 5]

Hi everyone, I'll copy what I posted in the other topic and do a more detailed review tomorrow.

Thanks you guys for your kind wishes.

.......

First, let me say congratulations to savaleta and hakuna matata on your AOS approvals.

We just got back from Honolulu and it's getting late, so I'll give a quick update now and a full review tomorrow.

We are so happy; we were approved today!! The interview was easy and the IO was very friendly. A few hours after the interview we received the "card production" email. Now that we are home I check the online status and it has moved from the first circle (where it's been since October 2nd) to the last circle "document production".

Thanks to all our fellow October filers for their well wishes and support. As others have said, it really helps to experience this journey with others and share experiences.

More tomorrow.

Vanessa and Greg

YAYYYY!!!!! CONGRATS!!! :dance: :dance:

[laurelmike 0]

Congrats Greg

So happy for you and Hakuna Matata!!!

[marie09 5]

Congratulations Greg & Hakuna Mantata! :dance:

[ReeRee 0]

Congratulations Greg and Hukuna Matata!!! So so happy for your AOS approval!

[Greg001 0]

Thanks everyone for the congratulations. Here's the interview review. Very easy and quick.

We arrived at the USCIS office about an hour before our appointment. At the window we were asked for our appointment letter, which was date/time stamped and returned to us along with a number. We were directed to walk down a hallway and wait until our number was called. There was one other couple waiting there also. About 10 minutes later a lady came out and called our number. Our impression was that she was very pleasant and easy going. She asked us to follow her to her office and swore us in before we sat down.

The interview lasted about 15 minutes. She first asked for my wife’s passport (the applicant) and my ID. She examined both, then removed the I-94 from the passport and returned them to us. She then explained the conditional permanent residence is granted for a two year period and we must file Form I-751 during the 90 day period prior to expiration. She had us sign an acknowledgement that we understood this requirement.

Then she started asking basic questions from the I-485 form, like name, address, phone number, etc. She moved on to asking a few of the yes/no questions on page 3, then just asked “are all of these answered correctly”.

At this point she started thumbing through the file double checking that she had all the required documents, like marriage certificate, birth certificates, I-864, etc. I commented that the file looked big. She laughed and said “this is a small file”; take a look at that one. In the corner of her office was a 3 foot stack of files. One of them looked 5 inches thick.

Then she took out a form to take notes and started asking relationship questions. These were like: describe how you met; when was the first time you met in person; when did you decide to get married; have you met each others’ families; which family members have you met; did you have a civil or religious ceremony; did you have a reception; etc. She took notes the whole time. She asked what joint accounts we have: checking/savings, insurance, etc. She didn’t ask to see any proof of these. Darn, I brought tons of copies and pictures. She didn’t ask to see any.

Then there was a few minutes of chit chat and finally she said she would update the computer that we were approved. She said we should receive the green card in about three weeks and not to leave the country in the meantime. She said if an emergency comes up and you have to leave, come into the office and have a stamp (I-551) put in the passport. She said she didn’t want to stamp it unless it was needed. I asked about the EAD and AP documents. She didn’t collect them, but said not to use them.

That was it. She walked us to the hallway and said to enjoy the rest of our time in Honolulu. A few hours later we received the “card production” email.

[RebeccaAndPhil 5]

Thanks everyone for the congratulations. Here's the interview review. Very easy and quick.

We arrived at the USCIS office about an hour before our appointment. At the window we were asked for our appointment letter, which was date/time stamped and returned to us along with a number. We were directed to walk down a hallway and wait until our number was called. There was one other couple waiting there also. About 10 minutes later a lady came out and called our number. Our impression was that she was very pleasant and easy going. She asked us to follow her to her office and swore us in before we sat down.

The interview lasted about 15 minutes. She first asked for my wife’s passport (the applicant) and my ID. She examined both, then removed the I-94 from the passport and returned them to us. She then explained the conditional permanent residence is granted for a two year period and we must file Form I-751 during the 90 day period prior to expiration. She had us sign an acknowledgement that we understood this requirement.

Then she started asking basic questions from the I-485 form, like name, address, phone number, etc. She moved on to asking a few of the yes/no questions on page 3, then just asked “are all of these answered correctly”.

At this point she started thumbing through the file double checking that she had all the required documents, like marriage certificate, birth certificates, I-864, etc. I commented that the file looked big. She laughed and said “this is a small file”; take a look at that one. In the corner of her office was a 3 foot stack of files. One of them looked 5 inches thick.

Then she took out a form to take notes and started asking relationship questions. These were like: describe how you met; when was the first time you met in person; when did you decide to get married; have you met each others’ families; which family members have you met; did you have a civil or religious ceremony; did you have a reception; etc. She took notes the whole time. She asked what joint accounts we have: checking/savings, insurance, etc. She didn’t ask to see any proof of these. Darn, I brought tons of copies and pictures. She didn’t ask to see any.

Then there was a few minutes of chit chat and finally she said she would update the computer that we were approved. She said we should receive the green card in about three weeks and not to leave the country in the meantime. She said if an emergency comes up and you have to leave, come into the office and have a stamp (I-551) put in the passport. She said she didn’t want to stamp it unless it was needed. I asked about the EAD and AP documents. She didn’t collect them, but said not to use them.

That was it. She walked us to the hallway and said to enjoy the rest of our time in Honolulu. A few hours later we received the “card production” email.

That's a great experience!! Congrats!!!

[hudons 0]

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!