June 2013 AOS Filers

[heaven93 1]

Okay so do you guys think it's okay if my husband doesnt bring his original birth certificate to the interview? its in his home country and it seems risky to have it mailed here...

also- silly question but we didnt make copies of the passport pictures... do we need to bring that to the interview?

They are being very specific on the letter it says bring original and copies of the supportive documents. I think it'll be more riskier not to bring the original birth certificate, ask his family to send it by Fedex or UPS.

[sanyata 16]

Okay so do you guys think it's okay if my husband doesnt bring his original birth certificate to the interview? its in his home country and it seems risky to have it mailed here...

also- silly question but we didnt make copies of the passport pictures... do we need to bring that to the interview?

I think I'd try mailing them thru DHL, FedEx or someone like that. They all have a very high rate of success accomplishing deliveries so the risk is minimal IMHO. Yes, it'd be a bummer if it were lost but he can always get another certified copy in the future. And you'd be in the same boat anyway with regards to the interview and having no original.

Just a thought, does he have a relative, like a parent, that could secure additional certified original birth certificates (get more than one) back at home?

[SophiaNichole 0]

Thanks for the feedback everyone- yes I think you are right, we will have his family mail it out asap

[Canerican 242]

So far I have been seeing that people's EAD/AP have been approved almost spot on to the estimate here on VJ. My estimate was from Aug 16-19 for my EAD/AP and then yesterday I checked again and the AP had changed to Aug 15-17. Both sets of these dates have gone by. I'm wondering if I should wait this week out and maybe call CS next week or if I should call CS sometime this week. Any advice would be great. For info on my AOS process pls look at my signature.

[heaven93 1]

So far I have been seeing that people's EAD/AP have been approved almost spot on to the estimate here on VJ. My estimate was from Aug 16-19 for my EAD/AP and then yesterday I checked again and the AP had changed to Aug 15-17. Both sets of these dates have gone by. I'm wondering if I should wait this week out and maybe call CS next week or if I should call CS sometime this week. Any advice would be great. For info on my AOS process pls look at my signature.

Most of the applicants are getting approved from 60 to 68 days from the day USCIS received the application not from the day it was sent.

[SophiaNichole 0]

Notification from USCIS.

They mailed the combo card today- yay!

Weird thing though is right before they sent us a notification for the card being mailed they sent us a notification with a "date" change of when our card went into production from the 14th to the 19th...weird. Anyways it says it's on its way and we having the tracking

[olsan3 8]

Notification from USCIS.

They mailed the combo card today- yay!

Weird thing though is right before they sent us a notification for the card being mailed they sent us a notification with a "date" change of when our card went into production from the 14th to the 19th...weird. Anyways it says it's on its way and we having the tracking

Congratulations!

That happened to me too..9th to the 14th

but who cares?!!? so far the card got to me.. and it did!!

[SophiaNichole 0]

Checklist question:

It says for your sponosr you must have:

letters from each current employer, verifying current rate of pay and average weekly hours, and pay stubs for the past 2 months.

Okay we already included the sponsor's information in the aos package. of course we are bringing copies of everything but this gives us two issues

1. we didnt put the letter from current employer because one of the sponsors is self employed and the other is a co-sponsor

2. we had the pay stubs for the co-sponsor for the "last 2 months" of when we submitted the application... do we need to do it again for the most recent months??

sorry for the questions but our sponsor lives in another state and its a hassle for them to have to do this if its not necessary especially since they already did so much- im sure you understand!

[0lechka 0]

Sanyata, good luck with your interview today!!!!

[heaven93 1]

Sanyata, good luck with your interview today!!!!

Her appointment was yesterday....I hope it went O.K.

[0lechka 0]

Her appointment was yesterday....I hope it went O.K.

The timeline says it's today

[heaven93 1]

The timeline says it's today

August 21st , today is the 22nd, isn't it??

haha I see, you are reading the timeline, I've been reading her signature info.

Edited August 22, 2013 by heaven93

[0lechka 0]

Yep

Edited August 22, 2013 by 0lechka

[sanyata 16]

Sanyata, good luck with your interview today!!!!

Her appointment was yesterday....I hope it went O.K.

Thanks for the well wishes. Sorry about the timeline typo as the interview was yesterday. Oh, I’m the husband doing these postings.

Here’s a summary:

We arrived thirty minutes early and no lines or problems going through security. After being sworn in the CO asked my wife some of the same questions that were on forms submitted earlier such as: Do or have you used drugs? Have you ever been arrested or committed any crimes? Are you a member of a terrorist group? Are you a high ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party? Have you every participated in or arranged the killing of another person?

Then some general questions were asked between the two of us: How do you like America? Why did you get married in San Francisco? Are you planning on petitioning your 21 year old son? (No) How was my divorce? (I said amiable). Where do you work? How does my wife support herself?

Then he asked me if I had added her to my insurance benefit at work. I hadn’t because I secured an individual policy that was substantially less expensive. I provide copies of the insurance and the Health Savings Account that has both our names on it. I also gave him bank statements of our saving account, my IRA account with her as beneficiary, copies of credit cards and copies of ownership titles on my various cars, etc.

He then asked to talk to me alone and had my wife leave the room. He proceeded to query me about our age difference which is 18 years. He said all our paperwork was perfect and we had done everything correctly but he had to ask. I pointed out that my previous wife was 11 years younger and that I historically always dated younger women. I told him I feel and act much younger than I am and that it’s only when I look in the mirror that I am reminded of my age. Ha Ha ! He did acknowledge that my wife isn’t that young (45) and that in the Chinese culture she is considered old.

Then he spent a fair amount of time asking me if I had really assessed the financial risk I was taking. I have a decent amount of assets and he asked if I was I willing to risk them all? I told him that obviously I did because I had put her name on all the various accounts and documents. I also pointed out that I have no children of my own and if I were to die tomorrow there was nobody that I felt any obligation to an inheritance from my estate. He probably spent a good five minutes going over this one area! I was taken totally off guard with this line of questioning and it did make me wonder why he spent so much time on it. He said that he was maybe crossing the line but wanted to be sure I knew what I was doing.

Afterward my wife came back in and he handed us a piece of paper, the I-485 form. He told us he had to do further background checks and that the case would go to his supervisor for review. He only kept the financial documents and never looked at, asked for, or kept anything else whatsoever! No photos, no forms…. Nothing!

I’m sure you all can imagine how we felt as our hope was to walk out with an approval notice. Hopefully the review will go quickly and the wait will be short. But I’ve read the stories of long waits and delays so we’ll prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

He also asked if my wife had any travel plans out of the country. I asked if that was OK being as we had the EAD card with AP on it. He said the risk was if you are out of the county with the AP and the green card is approved during that time, the AP becomes voided. Thus getting back in to the States would be a problem.

I had high hopes of not dealing with any of this stuff for one year and nine months but instead we wait in limbo……………..

[heaven93 1]

Thanks for the well wishes. Sorry about the timeline typo as the interview was yesterday. Oh, I’m the husband doing these postings.

Here’s a summary:

We arrived thirty minutes early and no lines or problems going through security. After being sworn in the CO asked my wife some of the same questions that were on forms submitted earlier such as: Do or have you used drugs? Have you ever been arrested or committed any crimes? Are you a member of a terrorist group? Are you a high ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party? Have you every participated in or arranged the killing of another person?

Then some general questions were asked between the two of us: How do you like America? Why did you get married in San Francisco? Are you planning on petitioning your 21 year old son? (No) How was my divorce? (I said amiable). Where do you work? How does my wife support herself?

Then he asked me if I had added her to my insurance benefit at work. I hadn’t because I secured an individual policy that was substantially less expensive. I provide copies of the insurance and the Health Savings Account that has both our names on it. I also gave him bank statements of our saving account, my IRA account with her as beneficiary, copies of credit cards and copies of ownership titles on my various cars, etc.

He then asked to talk to me alone and had my wife leave the room. He proceeded to query me about our age difference which is 18 years. He said all our paperwork was perfect and we had done everything correctly but he had to ask. I pointed out that my previous wife was 11 years younger and that I historically always dated younger women. I told him I feel and act much younger than I am and that it’s only when I look in the mirror that I am reminded of my age. Ha Ha ! He did acknowledge that my wife isn’t that young (45) and that in the Chinese culture she is considered old.

Then he spent a fair amount of time asking me if I had really assessed the financial risk I was taking. I have a decent amount of assets and he asked if I was I willing to risk them all? I told him that obviously I did because I had put her name on all the various accounts and documents. I also pointed out that I have no children of my own and if I were to die tomorrow there was nobody that I felt any obligation to an inheritance from my estate. He probably spent a good five minutes going over this one area! I was taken totally off guard with this line of questioning and it did make me wonder why he spent so much time on it. He said that he was maybe crossing the line but wanted to be sure I knew what I was doing.

Afterward my wife came back in and he handed us a piece of paper, the I-485 form. He told us he had to do further background checks and that the case would go to his supervisor for review. He only kept the financial documents and never looked at, asked for, or kept anything else whatsoever! No photos, no forms…. Nothing!

I’m sure you all can imagine how we felt as our hope was to walk out with an approval notice. Hopefully the review will go quickly and the wait will be short. But I’ve read the stories of long waits and delays so we’ll prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

He also asked if my wife had any travel plans out of the country. I asked if that was OK being as we had the EAD card with AP on it. He said the risk was if you are out of the county with the AP and the green card is approved during that time, the AP becomes voided. Thus getting back in to the States would be a problem.

I had high hopes of not dealing with any of this stuff for one year and nine months but instead we wait in limbo……………..

Thanks for sharing your story, Don't give up, there's hope...!! Best Wishes for you and your wife....you'll get approved..