September 2013 Filers

[jerni 24]

Great news! Hopefully you'll hear asap

[Frannyglass 10]

For those of you who received your EAD/AP card, how long did it take from the text saying it was mailed? Mine was sent on monday and I am thinking of flying this friday to France with my wife as my grandfather passed away today and my family needs me. We would be back on time for our interview on dec 10. I'm just hoping to get it tomorrow since Thursday is a holiday...

[smitherton 3]

Just got the tracking number for my EAD.

[Frannyglass 10]

Just got the tracking number for my EAD.

Where do you get the tracking number?

[Natasha&Luka 16]

I just checked my status online ! But there was no text msg, is that normal ?

On November 26, 2013, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you. If you move before you receive the card, call customer service at 1-800-375-5283.

[jerni 24]

The USCIS email/text service does not seem to work very well. I only got email notifications related to my EAD, no text messages.

Where do you get the tracking number?

It seems like it is supposed to be in the email, but the email is not formatted correctly so the actual tracking number does not show, if you go to the USCIS website, the tracking number shows on the I-765 case status page. According to USPS they sent it 2 day priority mail with $100 insurance, it is scheduled for delivery on Friday due to the holiday. The email I got says:

Your Case Status: Card/ Document Production


The USPS reported that they picked up mail from USCIS containing your new card on November 26, 2013. The USPS tracking number assigned is xxx. You can use this number at www.usps.com to view updates to the delivery status of your mail. You should receive your new card within 7 days. If you do not, or if you move before you get it, please call our customer service at 1-800-375-5283...

Edited November 27, 2013 by jerni

[Derby dog 9]

Figured I should post this here too. Lol.

Hey guys. Sorry for the slow update, my phone was dying while out yesterday. (Sorry for the long post, I'm drinking coffee and went crazy haha.)

Our appointment was scheduled for 10:30am at the Dallas office. I am the beneficiary and my wife is the US citizen. We got there around 9:55 and went straight through security. All the guys were joking around with us because the box we had our file copy in looked like a donut box or something i guess. They were all thanking us for bringing them bagels, so we messed with them a little before going upstairs.

We checked in and they gave us the buzzer. I think there was around 3 or 4 other groups of families in there. No same sex couples from what I could tell. I'm not sure how long we waited because i didn't have the time near me, but it wasn't more than, about 15-20 minutes id say.

A youngish, probably 30's white guy came and got us. (I know his full name, but I'm not sure i should put it in here) We just generally chatted as we walked to his office. Asked how his day was, if he had to work around thanksgiving. He made a joke about how everyone thinks of them as lazy government workers lol.

When we got in his office, i immediately started pulling out the stuff i knew I had to give him, passports, id and such. He said let's start with your IDs and then laughed and asked who the organized one is. I tried to say both and my wife made a face and just pointed to me. I started laughing and said "jeez i was trying to make you look good" and then told him she loses EVERYTHING, so i don't let her hold it lol. He swore us in and then we sat down.

I was nervously pulling out our originals, marriage certificate, birth certificates, things i was pretty sure he needed but he didn't seem to care, he said yeah ill take a look if you've got it. He then said we will start with the i130, and asked us to state name address and date of birth. Then he said "ok now the fun questions, how did you guys meet?" And this is where the interview ended and the fun began lol.

My wife told him we had met online through mutual friends in the gaming industry, and explained the circumstances of our first interaction online, which i won't bore you guys with. He immediately laughed and said ""ooooh when you said gaming my head went straight to Vegas, so you play xbox? Have you got the new one?" Then i swear for the next 15 minutes or so we talked about the new xbox and how ours was DOA when we got it so we are waiting for them to send a new one. He told us he had kids and asked what they should be playing and it was just general conversation between the three of us. After a while he pulled the file back to him and said , "ok i better get on with this huh!"

At this point i was not nervous at all and really quite enjoying the whole thing lol. I think he then asked about my last point of entry and the visa i came in on, then we talked about what I was studying at school, which is wine, and we talked about that for quite a while, both me and my wife answering because she goes to school with me too. The conversation naturally flowed and buying Land in Australia came up and how expensive it is in some places. So then the conversation went to how long my wife had lived there with me and he said he didn't realize it was that long. We started talking about all the moving back and forth and the different visas we had to apply for to stay legal. He said he was interested how they do it over there and asked about our spouse visa in Australia. He was shocked that we don't have gay marriage over there but have a "defacto visa". We just talked about the difference in application process and stuff like that.

Then we started talking about where I was from in Australia and i told him about the town i grew up in, my wife told him it was beautiful and then we talked about my dad still living there and visiting him. We talked about living in Sydney, what it's like, the traffic, rent, all of that, he said he was from Orange County so he completely understood. He laughed and said "people think the traffic is bad here in DFW, they have no idea" we laughed and i did an impersonation of my father in law screaming about he traffic. So then the conversation moved naturally moved into talking about our families.

He was asking if my wife's parents are cool with us, and we said yes and that we currently live with them. He looked at me making a face and biting my lip and started laughing. I said we get along great, but the time has come to move out haha. We joked around about that for a bit. Then we talked about all of the in laws we had and all the ones we cant stand, like my dad's wife. And then my wife's, brothers current girlfriend/fiancé. Totally trashed her to him it was kinda funny, he was laughing the whole time as we talked about young kids hormones and the stupid things they do..(like get engaged at 18 to prove their parents wrong and spend $5000 on engagement rings..and then break up and get back together over and over) we all were laughing and I said "atleast im the favorite daughter in-law now"

Honestly, people walking past the office must have been wondering what the hell was going on in there because we were all laughing the entire time.

Then after about another 20 minutes of chatting he once again grabbed the file and said he should start doing it. I think we did some of the i485 question, not all of them though. He asked us to verify our signatures. He asked if there was anything we wanted to add to the file, and i asked if there was anything he wanted to see. He said well your file is pretty thick already lol. I gave him some more recent bank statements, and pay slips from my wife's job. Then we talked about who was my sponsor. I said we put my wife's dad in as a joint sponsor Incase they needed it, because at the time of filing my wife had only been working for a few months. He said he should be able to let him off the hook, or to leave him on there and go open a bunch of credit cards and live it up so he has to pay them haha.

He went through a couple of extra photos we had and we talked about them. Joked At the progression of horrible haircuts. He then went to photocopy our id's and then came back and joked with my wife to "lose" her license and get a new one because it's another bad haircut. Then he went through something on the computer, which I think was all my point of entry photos, and started cracking up and said " hey, i see your hairstyles here too, you cant just laugh at her now!!"

After that he was about to take my i94 out but asked if i needed it for school, i said no and he said he will be replacing it with something better.

He said thats it, unless you want to stay, and we laughed and said it had been fun. He said it was a pleasure and that we would know within 30 days.

I think we got out around 11:40 and then got the text saying card production at around 3pm!!!! We were already out celebrating because we were sure it had gone well.

So yay it's granted! Feels different waking up today. Honestly, my body hurts like ive had a week long work out. It's like all the stress and tension has let go and my muscles just ache a little. It's crazy.

(Btw one particular conversation right at the start of the interview was about some of the immigration forums, we talked about some of the BS that people write and swapped stories..all im gonna say is they do read them...)

[Derby dog 9]

Btw, when I got the tracking for my EAD, the tracking number was in a link on the uscis website. Luckily i checked it right when I got the text. Because then i got another text and email a little later and the tracking link in the email didn't include the tracking number.

when I went back to the uscis website it had updated again and just said it was mailed directly to the address on file. So I think there was only like a 30 minute period where I could get the number. Seems silly not to include it in the email they send. Luckily when I went through my browser history i could find the link i went to and the number was there to write down.

Either way it is sent 2 day shipping, by usps, so that will come with your regular mail. They sent mine Tuesday the 19th and I got it on the Thursday 21st.

[sunshinestate2013 136]

Btw, when I got the tracking for my EAD, the tracking number was in a link on the uscis website. Luckily i checked it right when I got the text. Because then i got another text and email a little later and the tracking link in the email didn't include the tracking number.

when I went back to the uscis website it had updated again and just said it was mailed directly to the address on file. So I think there was only like a 30 minute period where I could get the number. Seems silly not to include it in the email they send. Luckily when I went through my browser history i could find the link i went to and the number was there to write down.

Either way it is sent 2 day shipping, by usps, so that will come with your regular mail. They sent mine Tuesday the 19th and I got it on the Thursday 21st.

Congratulations! Have a happy and wonderful life! My best wishes!

[TeamM&M 4]

Wow. This thread seems so much more active than the Family-Based progress reports.

Seems like I'm on about the same page as many of you.

EAD delivery On the 30th, testing and interview, waiting for my appointment.

Cheers!

[TeamM&M 4]

And Yes, the links in my EAD shipped email and text were all broken with no tracking number. Only found it on the Case status website,

[NUSHka 0]

We had our inteview on the 27th,the day before Thanksgiving

Got aproved on the spot,now I'm waiting for the GC in the mail.I'm so glad this is almost over with and now I can enjoy my last 2months of my pregnancy and focus on our new baby.good luck to all u guys and happy holidays

[jerni 24]

My EAD arrived.

[Frannyglass 10]

My EAD arrived.

Mine too (haven't seen it yet, my wife called me to say it arrived)! Never got the tracking number. I'm happy about this!

[sohel200 0]

got my EAD/AP approved card in the mail on Nov 27th. it took 2 days to get here. didn't know the pic in black and white before.