March 2012 AOS filers

[Alejandra2012 0]

Congrats, your journey is finally complete

:dance:

I finally received my email confirmations, I got the I-485 one at 3:45pm saying that they had registered my new PR status and the I-130 approval notice at 4pm.

:joy: :joy: :joy:

Now I am just awaiting on the card in production, card awaiting pick-up & USCIS picked up your card emails. Hopefully that will be quick like the EAD.

yay!! congrats!!

[georgeramsaran 4]

Most likely. We were supposed to be traveling for 13 days, so naturally USCIS would wait to schedule the interview during those 13 days haha.

Just as an advice STRYCEK*** I would recommend you wait till you get the physical green card in hand before you travel ... Because yes you might have got approve for an advance parol, but that does not guarantee that when you come back to USA after trip ,,, the immigration officer will let you in... For one of my friends travel with their advance parol and when returning back to the states she was denied entry... So use at your own risk,, do some research and you will also see it says online your likely and also unlikely to return depend on the officer at customs and immigration... I have my ead and was suppose to Tavel but when I took a free consultation from an immigration lawyer he also told me to wait for green card, because advance parol does not guarantee entry back to the states

[Strycek 7]

Just as an advice STRYCEK*** I would recommend you wait till you get the physical green card in hand before you travel ... Because yes you might have got approve for an advance parol, but that does not guarantee that when you come back to USA after trip ,,, the immigration officer will let you in... For one of my friends travel with their advance parol and when returning back to the states she was denied entry... So use at your own risk,, do some research and you will also see it says online your likely and also unlikely to return depend on the officer at customs and immigration... I have my ead and was suppose to Tavel but when I took a free consultation from an immigration lawyer he also told me to wait for green card, because advance parol does not guarantee entry back to the states

I don't understand that. Why would they give you Advance Parole then? I have heard rumors of that happening, but I guess I just don't understand why they would even offer advance parole, if there is a chance you won't get back in.

[Arce0426 3]

Congrats, your journey is finally complete

:dance:

I finally received my email confirmations, I got the I-485 one at 3:45pm saying that they had registered my new PR status and the I-130 approval notice at 4pm.

:joy: :joy: :joy:

Now I am just awaiting on the card in production, card awaiting pick-up & USCIS picked up your card emails. Hopefully that will be quick like the EAD.

Yahhhhh grats!!

[ChrisPG 30]

I just stumbled across this forum. I'm a March filer. My wife has her EAD/AP card, but the online status for I-130 is "Initial Review" and online status for I-485 is still Acceptance????? #######? It seems like everybody else is getting approved or at least interviewed. I wonder why we haven't heard anything We have a trip planned to Europe from July 19 to August 3rd. I really hope the interview doesn't get scheduled for then.

Anybody have any advice?

I second or third the advice already given, I wouldn't dream of traveling outside of the country until I had my physical GC in hand unless it was an absolute emergency and nor would even consider rescheduling the AOS interviewing under any circumstances, just too many things can go wrong and you can certainly do some searching of the forum for instances were people attempted to reschedule but the information was never relayed and entered correctly into the system and thus they missed their interview and were denied and considered to have abandoned their application. It just isn't a road you want to go down.

Where is your local field office by the way? We have two other March filers whose office is in NYC and they are also experiencing some delayed processing, so my guess is that since you didn't receive an RFE then your local office likely has a backlog that it is trying to clear, just hang in there. You will get your case processed.

[Arce0426 3]

Question!

In what kind of bag did u guys put all the stuff to take to the inteview? i have kinda a bit of stuff to carry

And also... with what kind of clothes should i wear for the interview!

I brought an expandable folder which hubby carried an I held my two scrapbooks in hand. No bags other then my purse oh and if u have a cosmetics bag inside purse I highly advise u to leave it in car bc they WILL go through the cosmetic bag thus causing an unnecessary delay in security

He wore a button down dress shirt n jeans and dress shoes I wore dress pants heels and a dressy (decent) top. Conservative and presentable. I think as long as you seem presentable and decent then it's really up to you.

[ChrisPG 30]

I don't understand that. Why would they give you Advance Parole then? I have heard rumors of that happening, but I guess I just don't understand why they would even offer advance parole, if there is a chance you won't get back in.

They issue AP to anyone who files form I-131 with the correct documentation. They will even issue AP to those who are out-of-status, even though they are not eligible to use AP and if they leave the country then they trigger the 3 or 10 year bar and AP is of no use to them.

yay!! congrats!!

Yahhhhh grats!!

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

[xloc 0]

Hey fellow Immigrants,

just want to say, this forum has been a great source help and what to expect when filing for AOS. Following your timelines really helped as sometimes you feel you and your spouse are alone in this process, but reading your posts gave me some comfort and I am happy so far everyone has either been approved or at least waiting for a decision.

My timeline

Mailed Aos i-485/i-765/i-130 on March 24

Received at Lockbox on March 26

Received notifications in mail on April 4

Biometrics on April 23

Notice for interview received on May 8

EAD in production on May 27

EAD in hand on June 4

AOS Interview on June 13 (approved on the spot)/status updated later on the same day.Philadelphia office

Hope this helps.

In all our IOr was very professional , IO started by asking my wife who is a USC about her name,number, where she works ( minor stuff)..asked her how we met, IO asked me if i knew her parents and asked her if she knew my parents. I came to the US about 8 years ago on F1 and went out of status so I was a little nervous about that. The IO made it clear before I answer any question it is better to tell the truth about what i did when I went out status, because if I lie then he cant take anything else i say seriously... so i basically told him i took under the table employment to support myself while i was out of status. He then asked for pictures and proof of relationship..we took , pictures, health insurance, car insurance, joint bank account , a ton of gifts we gave each other..he went through all of them asking questions about some family members who were in some pics and kept some of the pictures. He then took out my i-94 from my passport and said he was going to approve us.

I thought we had plenty of evidence proving our relationship, but the IO said we really didn't but from his experience he could tell we were the real deal and in love so he was going to approve us and that he advised us to bring more evidence when we apply to remove the conditions on the 2 year green card.I shook his hand and left.

Later at night checked my status online and I was approved!

In all he was very professional. Only thing that was a bit off was he had to wait about 30 minutes after our appointment time before being called. but that is normal I guess as there were many people who were in the waiting room

I just wanted to share my experience on here because I have read many of yours and felt maybe I can help someone who is going through the same process of AOS.

I know there is a different section for stating experiences, but I am not that big of a blogger and too lazy to find it.

I just want to thank you all for sharing your experiences. It helped me get through some nervous days. I am just happy I can live a normal life with my wife.

Good Luck to all of you looking to change your status.

[georgeramsaran 4]

I don't understand that. Why would they give you Advance Parole then? I have heard rumors of that happening, but I guess I just don't understand why they would even offer advance parole, if there is a chance you won't get back in.

Read this site!!! http://immigration.dinsmore.com/how_to_reconcile_aos_ead.aspx

[Strycek 7]

I second or third the advice already given, I wouldn't dream of traveling outside of the country until I had my physical GC in hand unless it was an absolute emergency and nor would even consider rescheduling the AOS interviewing under any circumstances, just too many things can go wrong and you can certainly do some searching of the forum for instances were people attempted to reschedule but the information was never relayed and entered correctly into the system and thus they missed their interview and were denied and considered to have abandoned their application. It just isn't a road you want to go down.

Where is your local field office by the way? We have two other March filers whose office is in NYC and they are also experiencing some delayed processing, so my guess is that since you didn't receive an RFE then your local office likely has a backlog that it is trying to clear, just hang in there. You will get your case processed.

We live in Chicago, so I assume our field office is Chicago. We definitely won't reschedule the Interview, but I also don't want to cancel or postpone the trip just because we're afraid of leaving on advanced parole. At this point I have no idea when we'll have the interview, so I don't even know how I could reschedule a trip without knowing that. Arrrgh this is frustrating. It really shouldn't be this difficult.

[xloc 0]

Hey fellow Immigrants,

just want to say, this forum has been a great source help and what to expect when filing for AOS. Following your timelines really helped as sometimes you feel you and your spouse are alone in this process, but reading your posts gave me some comfort and I am happy so far everyone has either been approved or at least waiting for a decision.

My timeline

Mailed Aos i-485/i-765/i-130 on March 24

Received at Lockbox on March 26

Received notifications in mail on April 4

Biometrics on April 23

Notice for interview received on May 8

EAD in production on May 27

EAD in hand on June 4

AOS Interview on June 13 (approved on the spot)/status updated later on the same day.Philadelphia office

Hope this helps.

In all our IOr was very professional , IO started by asking my wife who is a USC about her name,number, where she works ( minor stuff)..asked her how we met, IO asked me if i knew her parents and asked her if she knew my parents. I came to the US about 8 years ago on F1 and went out of status so I was a little nervous about that. The IO made it clear before I answer any question it is better to tell the truth about what i did when I went out status, because if I lie then he cant take anything else i say seriously... so i basically told him i took under the table employment to support myself while i was out of status. He then asked for pictures and proof of relationship..we took , pictures, health insurance, car insurance, joint bank account , a ton of gifts we gave each other..he went through all of them asking questions about some family members who were in some pics and kept some of the pictures. He then took out my i-94 from my passport and said he was going to approve us.

I thought we had plenty of evidence proving our relationship, but the IO said we really didn't but from his experience he could tell we were the real deal and in love so he was going to approve us and that he advised us to bring more evidence when we apply to remove the conditions on the 2 year green card.I shook his hand and left.

Later at night checked my status online and I was approved!

In all he was very professional. Only thing that was a bit off was he had to wait about 30 minutes after our appointment time before being called. but that is normal I guess as there were many people who were in the waiting room

I just wanted to share my experience on here because I have read many of yours and felt maybe I can help someone who is going through the same process of AOS.

I know there is a different section for stating experiences, but I am not that big of a blogger and too lazy to find it.

I just want to thank you all for sharing your experiences. It helped me get through some nervous days. I am just happy I can live a normal life with my wife.

Good Luck to all of you looking to change your status.

Forgot to add.. Interview was about 15-20 minutes

[Strycek 7]

They issue AP to anyone who files form I-131 with the correct documentation. They will even issue AP to those who are out-of-status, even though they are not eligible to use AP and if they leave the country then they trigger the 3 or 10 year bar and AP is of no use to them.

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

If a person files for AOS while they are still in-status, they are officially in-status as long as the AOS is pending I thought? Her J-1 has since expired, but that was after we filed all the paperwork.

[ChrisPG 30]

If a person files for AOS while they are still in-status, they are officially in-status as long as the AOS is pending I thought? Her J-1 has since expired, but that was after we filed all the paperwork.

It really has nothing to do with visa expiring per-se, it has everything to do with how much unlawful presence one accumulated and it doesn't sound like this is even relevant to your wife's case so I won't bother going into any more detail.

Now legally speaking, your wife was still in-status when you filed and once you filed she entered a new period of lawful status while her AOS is being adjudicated. In this case, it your legal right to use the AP, however having AP does not guarantee re-entry, in fact the only people who have a right to freely enter without running the risk of being denied are USCs. So, I guess what I am trying to see is that yes, you can use AP and while the risk of being denied re-entry is small, that risk is still there and we would be doing you a disservice by not mentioning it.

Edited June 14, 2012 by ChrisPG

[MrsNotBonJovi 18]

Question!

In what kind of bag did u guys put all the stuff to take to the inteview? i have kinda a bit of stuff to carry

And also... with what kind of clothes should i wear for the interview!

The trick is to be able to pull out documents without fiddling around too much. So, this is how I did it.

--Two separate box-type files (one for original documents, the other for photocopies, labeled)

--Separate folders for each category of original documents(financial documents, marriage documents, birth documents, immigration documents etc.,labeled.

--Photocopies also labeled in similar categories, but not put in separate folders.

--All folders with original documents put into one box file

--All photocopies in another box file

--Both box files put in a brief case which the husband was made to carry

--Wedding photo album in a separate tote bag which I carried.

Yes, I know, sounds kind of overdone, but I wanted to keep it as streamlined as possible.

I wore a simple long cotton skirt with dress blouse and the husband wore shirt and slacks.

[MrsNotBonJovi 18]

Congrats, your journey is finally complete

:dance:

I finally received my email confirmations, I got the I-485 one at 3:45pm saying that they had registered my new PR status and the I-130 approval notice at 4pm.

:joy: :joy: :joy:

Now I am just awaiting on the card in production, card awaiting pick-up & USCIS picked up your card emails. Hopefully that will be quick like the EAD.

Yaay! Finally you can get a good night's sleep today. I got my second card production email today (which, I take it, means the card is ready to be picked up) and am expecting the USPS-has-picked-up email tomorrow.