I-485 application - delay in processing

[SquashGuy 4]

Hi folks -

I wanted to get the reaction/advice on my current situation with the AOS process.

Brief background: Applied for AOS in the U.S. through spouse, who is a born citizen. Was on F-1 visa prior to application for MBA. I myself was born in Pakistan, but have been in the U.S. for 10+ years (on H1/F1).

I had my I-485 interview on May 10, 2012. The interview went perfectly fine, no tough questions. The interviewer didn't issue the green card on the spot, but said that she would approve it and to expect it in the mail in the next 2 weeks.

It is now July 30th, and I am still waiting for the card. The online status shows the application as still in the 'Testing and Interview' stage.

Upon calling the immigration helpline last week, I was told that the application has not started processing yet; they even followed up with a detailed letter in the mail basically stating that, because of my country of origin, my application is going through background checks - as a data point, the last time I applied for my H-1, it took about 10 weeks to process because of background checks.

I guess I'm just curious to get any reactions to my situation because my expectation really was that green card document would be issued in 2 weeks. Does this feel out of the ordinary? Are there any other Pakistanis/nationals from countries subject to secondary screening that also ran into delayed processing? If so, how long did it take you?

Thank you very much for your time, and I look forward to hearing the responses. I have another, separate question on EAD that I will be posting in a new thread.

Squashguy

[Que Saudade 284]

as they stated, because you are from Pakistan, there are additional background checks. If no problems, you will be fine.