Montreal August 2011 Interviews!

[pocheros 101]

Pocheros: I'm so sorry to her that, what a crummy thing to happen at the holidays. *hugs*

Went to the Social Security office today to change my name... and the lady didn't know how to do it. She called over another guy who said I couldn't do it without EAD which I pushed back on and they said they'd have to ask their supervisor who wasn't in... so they photocopied all my stuff and said they'd call me later. Sigh.

Derp, more SSN employees who need to be trained :/ Hope they work it out.

AOS is finally going in the mail today. Back to worrying about whether I did everything properly or not...

Yay! We can never relax, can we?

I moseyed over to the DMV on the weekend and applied for an ID card because my hub's credit union won't let me open an account without an American ID (my visa wasn't good enough...) and I get nervous walking around with my passport as ID. (They sure do love IDing people here, even just for using cheque cards, which is understandable in Las Vegas, I guess) I was worried the lady wouldn't know what to do with me but the website stated that a valid I-94 can be used to apply for an ID card so it worked out alright. The ID card expires in February though, when my visa expires, which seems silly/wrong to me. I got a piece of paper to serve as a temp ID and was able to open an account with it, though, so yay

Edited December 15, 2011 by pocheros

[canada_socks 97]

How long does it take for them to cash your cheque? My AOS package arrived on Monday Dec 12, and our cheque is still uncashed. Really frustrating. I just saw that some people got their NOA1 emails after a few days.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Argh, post office was closed by the time my husband got to it. Sending it out today instead. At least it gave me one more chance last night to look over it for the 100th time.

[NinoniAndBoosBoos 6]

Sherrybaby, that's awful People are such jerks. I hope you can get your SSN in your married name soon.

Well, I just got some bad news... It's funny, because I was just about to print out our AOS application when I got a phone call from my husband to let me know he was laid off and his last day is on Friday. Mind you, he doesn't work just some expendable manual labour job... He's a technician. But since his company gets funding from the government and the government recently cut their funding, they laid off a whole bunch of people. I can't believe they only gave him a few days notice, though. He's worked there for over two years and was an excellent employee. Oh well, that's how things go.

I think there's a good chance he'll find a job elsewhere soon, plus he's getting severance and he can take out his 401k, although there's a hefty penalty. This puts us even more behind on AOS now though... sigh Even if we could spend the $1070 on it, it'd probably be a bad idea since he doesn't have a job now and can't put that down on the 864, right? :/

Sorry for the bad timing...hugs and keep positive...

[Tileeka 1]

Got my biometrics appointment letter today for Jan.6... still no NOA1 for everything. Should I be expecting more?

[brooksie 3]

How long does it take for them to cash your cheque? My AOS package arrived on Monday Dec 12, and our cheque is still uncashed. Really frustrating. I just saw that some people got their NOA1 emails after a few days.

ours took two weeks to the day, good news from what i understand regarding the 90 day rule they use the received date, and if you dont get your bio letter in 30 days call them and they will put in a service request

[canada_socks 97]

Two weeks! Ugh. And it is the holidays. This sucks lol! It probably won't be cashed until January! So annoying. When we filed our K1 our cheque was cashed like 2 days later.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Yeah I'm thinking I should have waited until January to even file. But oh well. Nothing to do but wait..

[ralyse 31]

Never got called back about the SSN, so... who knows.

Just checked case status online, though: On December 21, 2011, we mailed you an appointment notice for an interview for January 30, 2012, at NATIONAL BENEFITS CENTER. Please follow the instructions on the notice. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

So it looks like we'll be getting an interview for AOS.

[Megnme 0]

How do I check my AOS case status online?

[canada_socks 97]

Just got my emails and texts stating that my case has been accepted at USCIS! They are being routed the the National Benefits Centre for processing (this is normal right?)

Cheque still not cashed but I am assuming that may take a few days to clear (for holiday reasons).

I feel better knowing that things are starting to move!

[ralyse 31]

Just got my emails and texts stating that my case has been accepted at USCIS! They are being routed the the National Benefits Centre for processing (this is normal right?)

Cheque still not cashed but I am assuming that may take a few days to clear (for holiday reasons).

I feel better knowing that things are starting to move!

National Benefits Center is perfectly normal, yup!

[canada_socks 97]

Oh good. I thought so! They also cashed our cheque this morning! *relieved* It is just tough at this time of year to have that kind of money in your account and not being able to use it (seems deceiving when you are paying bills!) We were checking the account every 3 hours or so lol!

Raylse, I am sure you will do fine at your interview! That seemed pretty quick! I am so worried about an interview. I know it isn't a huge deal and is pretty simple, I just get nervous. We are still working on getting my name on some bills and stuff. I have a hospital bill addressed to me at our old address, with the payment coming from my husbands account, so I am going to add that to my pile of evidence. And photos of course.

[ralyse 31]

Oh good. I thought so! They also cashed our cheque this morning! *relieved* It is just tough at this time of year to have that kind of money in your account and not being able to use it (seems deceiving when you are paying bills!) We were checking the account every 3 hours or so lol!

Raylse, I am sure you will do fine at your interview! That seemed pretty quick! I am so worried about an interview. I know it isn't a huge deal and is pretty simple, I just get nervous. We are still working on getting my name on some bills and stuff. I have a hospital bill addressed to me at our old address, with the payment coming from my husbands account, so I am going to add that to my pile of evidence. And photos of course.

I know that feeling! Glad they finally cashed it for you

And, intellectually I know we'll be fine... I just worry about things compulsively so this is no different. It's the financials that worry me the most, under scrutiny. My husband has literally zero income listed due to being a full time student and his mom was our sponsor, but we don't live with her and I'm worried questions like "How do you pay rent when neither of you have income?" are going to come up. And since my husband does landscaping and odd jobs for his father under the table, we can't really explain that without admitting he's getting paid... I'm not sure if that's even a problem since it's his parent, but the whole thing makes me nervous and I'm glad it's only at the end of January and not a few months wait like the Montreal interview.

Plus, there's so much less information about AOS interviews... I've read reviews and such but VJ has the Montreal interview down to a science and I was so confident about what to expect, whereas I have a vague idea with the AOS one, not this clear template...

It does feel good to know that barring any issues I should be able to look for work in February, I like that better than waiting indefinitely.

Did I mention I'm a compulsive worrier and overthinker? I apologize to everyone in this thread who's had to read my constant freakouts through this process, lol.

That being said, this is the first Christmas we're spending together so I'm really excited. My birthday was last week and in previous years my husband came up to KW for my birthday and went home to his family for Christmas. It's nice this year that I'll be able to spend it with him

[canada_socks 97]

Did I mention I'm a compulsive worrier and overthinker? I apologize to everyone in this thread who's had to read my constant freakouts through this process, lol.

OMG I am the same way! I have had a few freakouts over this and waiting for my package to finally be accepted at USCIS (even though I know it got delivered) was very worrisome! I keep asking Jeannie questions on facebook as well as on here and I commend her for her patient nature! As well as everyone else here. I never could get through this alone!