January 2014 AOS Filers

[Super King 26]

Hi Skyview...thanks for the info...It is interesting and confusing that you had that experience.

To add to the USCIS link which states the requirements, when I went in for my biometrics the person before me didn't have their passport and the official said (quite bluntly) that they needed something with photo ID that matched their name on the appointment letter otherwise no biometrics today. They were also really strict on the wedding certificate, yet this wasn't mentioned anywhere except for here on VJ...thankfully!

Might be a different office thing, who knows....but good to know.

Have a good one!

Thanks CJC and Skyview for sharing the experience of your biometrics.

I asked similar question on one website where couple of immigration lawyers answered that " as long as I have dependent Military photo ID issued by DOD (department of defense) , US government there won't be any problem."

But to be safe I also called IRS people and I was told to write a letter to them explaining the reason for getting back passport sooner so they will most possibly send passport as soon as possible. ( but IRS woman said, she can't promise anything. lol). Finger crossed.

Thanks again guys for your help.

[CJC 18]

i thought the same.They required a photo ID, passport or something with a picture on it. However, after showing them every ID i had i had to go back to get my passport. After my return they told me, its based on my passport number. I can only speak for Atlanta. I don't know how other departments handle it. So now I'm waiting for my EAD/AP.

Is it true that if your case stays at the NBC you won't get an interview or is it that a rumor? I rather have an interview than waived.

Hiya again Skyview..I am sorry that you had that experience and it is all rather baffling isn't it? Maybe it all comes down to interpretation, theirs....lol lol Better to know what you are up for I say.

From what I can gather by reading forums here on VJ, it seems the longer you are at NBC the more likely you will not get an interview. Some people are sent a letters stating there will be a delay in processing for their GCs, some are sent nothing, and others go to the 'Interview and Testing' stage - which I believe you will definitely have an interview re your AOS (you need to ignore the bit down the bottom that says you might not be interviewed as this relates to naturalization only).

Apparently getting an interview is a faster process, however if your local office is backlogged (like mine) it might work out the same time frame as not having an interview. I guess in some ways it is a luck of the draw and well, I just always remain hopeful for us all

i am so happy for you CJC:)

sadly, mine is still on RFE response review....

i read in the bible of 40 being the testing time....so on march 14 it would be 40 days since i filed....hoping it would end my wait...

if not, i sure hope i dont have to wait 40 weeks (or worse 40 yrs like the ones in the bible:)

I know everything will fall into place in God's perfect time. it is just frustrating in the meantime....

Oh well, i'm sure glad to hear of your update tho:)

Thanks so much JBForever You are so right in that everything will fall into place in the time that it is meant to. This whole thing has taught me so much about timing and that we are right where we are supposed to be on any given day. The time waiting for me has been spent letting go of where I have been, embracing where I have arrived and planning for what is to come. I am so grateful.

I am sure that it won't be long before you hear something Good luck!

Thanks CJC and Skyview for sharing the experience of your biometrics.

I asked similar question on one website where couple of immigration lawyers answered that " as long as I have dependent Military photo ID issued by DOD (department of defense) , US government there won't be any problem."

But to be safe I also called IRS people and I was told to write a letter to them explaining the reason for getting back passport sooner so they will most possibly send passport as soon as possible. ( but IRS woman said, she can't promise anything. lol). Finger crossed.

Thanks again guys for your help.

Hey Samhunter...np...good call re contacting the IRS, hopefully you will have it back before the appointment. Fingers crossed indeed...hey who knows the IRS just might surprise you...lol

Have you thought about going in early to do your biometrics to test the waters? That way you could work on a plan B before your appointment. (Though I am sure you have probably thought about that also!)....

Have a fantastic day all! It is the weekend and another day closer to that EAD

[MaleAlpha 314]

Hi CJC. Looks like on the backlogged local office issue, I am riding with you on the same boat. My case went to testing and interview on 02/19/2014 but a date hasn't been scheduled for me yet and I am seeing some Portland OR filers who sent in their applications before me go through the same thing so I guess I will just have to wait. Hopefully it won't be for too long. Today is exactly day 51 for me since they received my application. I have tried to limit my check on their website to on average once or twice a day (trying hard to not focus on it and I have found some other distractions that are helping too lol). I'm hoping that by the end of this month an interview date would have been scheduled for me and my EAD would have been issued too. I wish the same for you. God bless us all :-)

[Skyview 3]

I know Atlanta is backlogged. They are working on AOS Mai 2013. My status haven't changed for a min and it's nerve wrecking. i stopped looking at the uscis page and mail. I do volunteer jobs just to keep me occupied until I receive my EAD. I also look for new online classes. I keep myself busy…...

Edited March 7, 2014 by Skyview

[Valia and Serghei 4]

Hi ,

i want to ask you one question.

Me and my kid ( K1 and K2) sent our AOS documents on 01/06/14. We had biometrics taken on 02/06/14

My kid is 5 years old but still they took her fingerprints and picture , which i am not sure is it right or not , but it is not the point.

I saw that most of you few days after biometrics was taken , your status changed to " Testing and Interview".

Ours doesn't. Nothing still changed - our statuses are still on Acceptance and Initial Review , like they were before biometrics.

So ,is it often or it is not common to be like this or this means that something's wrong with our documents ?

I started to worry that nothing in the status changed 1 month after biometrics and 2 months after acceptance of AOS.

Should i expect RFE or denial?

Tell me from your experience, please , should i worry .

Is there Somebody like us?

[R&IJourney 12]

Hi CJC. Looks like on the backlogged local office issue, I am riding with you on the same boat. My case went to testing and interview on 02/19/2014 but a date hasn't been scheduled for me yet and I am seeing some Portland OR filers who sent in their applications before me go through the same thing so I guess I will just have to wait. Hopefully it won't be for too long. Today is exactly day 51 for me since they received my application. I have tried to limit my check on their website to on average once or twice a day (trying hard to not focus on it and I have found some other distractions that are helping too lol). I'm hoping that by the end of this month an interview date would have been scheduled for me and my EAD would have been issued too. I wish the same for you. God bless us all :-)

Hey - I know the feeling. Now that I am seeing January filers getting their status changed and letters mailed, I am constantly checking the status online. I know I should stop and just let it happen but I can't help it. And this is for my husband, so I'm at work in front of a computer all day, and just refresh the status page every couple of hours. And did you guys know that you can check other applications. I accidentally put in the wrong number so now I'm looking up hundreds of other cases that were filed the same day as mine (the date is listed on the status but not the names) and comparing what status everyone is in. Seems more than half either have gotten an interview date or RFE and the rest of us are still in a holding pattern.

Good luck to us all.

[MaleAlpha 314]

Hi Valia and Serghei. Regarding the timelines, it looks like it's quite routine for USCIS to delay on some cases especially when the applicant is adjusting from a K-1 visa. It is a fact that they don't always adjudicate cases in the order in which the cases were received. Perhaps the long wait is because they are waiving off the interview for you, in which case it might take a little longer than the average. But in any case if you have concerns, call USCIS and speak to a tier-2 person. It can be a bit difficult getting through to the Tier-2 agents as the customer reps who first answer your calls (who unfortunately have no knowledge of the cases than we do) will try to answer your questions. Good luck!

[MaleAlpha 314]

Hey - I know the feeling. Now that I am seeing January filers getting their status changed and letters mailed, I am constantly checking the status online. I know I should stop and just let it happen but I can't help it. And this is for my husband, so I'm at work in front of a computer all day, and just refresh the status page every couple of hours. And did you guys know that you can check other applications. I accidentally put in the wrong number so now I'm looking up hundreds of other cases that were filed the same day as mine (the date is listed on the status but not the names) and comparing what status everyone is in. Seems more than half either have gotten an interview date or RFE and the rest of us are still in a holding pattern.

Good luck to us all.

I know right lol. This whole black box approach where everything is hidden from us and some little information trickles down to us can drive you crazy. I noticed that sometime back when I mistakenly typed in my number wrongly and someone's status popped up. I kind of used the same pattern to check the case immediately before and after mine and they both have interviews scheduled (one for March 31st and the other for April 7th). Our applications were received the same day. So in my case, I can tell it's due to the backlog in my local office. And I'm not in this alone, other Portland OR filers have the same complaints. Two others who filed before me (one in early January and the other in late December) have still not been scheduled for an interview yet. Their statuses just say testing and interview, so I'm guessing I'm in for the long haul lol. Hopefully something ticks them and they start working on our cases faster. I'm pretty certain you will receive a date soon though. Wish you the very best. God bless us all :-) Edited March 7, 2014 by MaleAlpha

[Skyview 3]

Hey - I know the feeling. Now that I am seeing January filers getting their status changed and letters mailed, I am constantly checking the status online. I know I should stop and just let it happen but I can't help it. And this is for my husband, so I'm at work in front of a computer all day, and just refresh the status page every couple of hours. And did you guys know that you can check other applications. I accidentally put in the wrong number so now I'm looking up hundreds of other cases that were filed the same day as mine (the date is listed on the status but not the names) and comparing what status everyone is in. Seems more than half either have gotten an interview date or RFE and the rest of us are still in a holding pattern.

Good luck to us all.

I've seen some of CASES too. Well, some Jan fillers receive similar RFEs. Tax return 2013 and W2s. We had one ( Silly RFE too) We forgot (accidentally) to sent page 1 to our tax return 2012. We sent it off and our status have changed to rfe review but thats about it.

[R&IJourney 12]

I know right lol. This whole black box approach where everything is hidden from us and some little information trickles down to us can drive you crazy. I noticed that sometime back when I mistakenly typed in my number wrongly and someone's status popped up. I kind of used the same pattern to check the case immediately before and after mine and they both have interviews scheduled (one for March 31st and the other for April 7th). Our applications were received the same day. So in my case, I can tell it's due to the backlog in my local office. And I'm not in this alone, other Portland OR filers have the same complaints. Two others who filed before me (one in early January and the other in late December) have still not been scheduled for an interview yet. Their statuses just say testing and interview, so I'm guessing I'm in for the long haul lol. Hopefully something ticks them and they start working on our cases faster. I'm pretty certain you will receive a date soon though. Wish you the very best. God bless us all :-)

Unless I missed something - the case status doesn't say which office it was filed in. So we can't tell which office is still behind and which is moving faster. If I find out, it'll just add to my obsession. LOL - so maybe I don't wanna know. Ok - tell me anyways :-)

[Valia and Serghei 4]

Hi Valia and Serghei. Regarding the timelines, it looks like it's quite routine for USCIS to delay on some cases especially when the applicant is adjusting from a K-1 visa. It is a fact that they don't always adjudicate cases in the order in which the cases were received. Perhaps the long wait is because they are waiving off the interview for you, in which case it might take a little longer than the average. But in any case if you have concerns, call USCIS and speak to a tier-2 person. It can be a bit difficult getting through to the Tier-2 agents as the customer reps who first answer your calls (who unfortunately have no knowledge of the cases than we do) will try to answer your questions. Good luck!

Thank you for your response.

What you mean by "Perhaps the long wait is because they are waiving off the interview for you" ?

Is that means that MAY BE we will NOT have interview or that May be we will have interview ?

(Sorry for my not understanding of '' waiving off'')

[MaleAlpha 314]

Unless I missed something - the case status doesn't say which office it was filed in. So we can't tell which office is still behind and which is moving faster. If I find out, it'll just add to my obsession. LOL - so maybe I don't wanna know. Ok - tell me anyways :-)

Yeah the case statuses don't say but in the testing and interview stage, it is the local USCIS office that takes charge of it. So when a date is scheduled for an interview depends on them. If you're lucky and your local office is not too backed up, you might get an interview soon. The Portland OR office is quite small and looks like they are a bit under staffed (I'm just guessing), so there's no wonder the cases aren't moving too quick.

[MaleAlpha 314]

Thank you for your response.

What you mean by "Perhaps the long wait is because they are waiving off the interview for you" ?

Is that means that MAY BE we will NOT have interview or that May be we will have interview ?

(Sorry for my not understanding of '' waiving off'')

From what I know, K visa holders are either scheduled for an interview or are not. USCIS decides which route to follow and if an interview is scheduled, then you go through the 'testing and interview' stage, get a date set, you attend an interview etc..but if not, you receive an email/mail from USCIS regarding an intent to waive off the interview (and subsequently letting you know that your case might take longer to adjudicate because your interview is being waived off). If your interview is being waived, you do not get an interview but move straight to card production and get your green card. The catch there is that it will take a longer time to adjudicate if USCIS waives off the interview.

In your case, since you are not certain about what is happening to your case, perhaps call them and speak to a level 2 agent. Tell them about your case and they will let you know what is happening with it. They have more knowledge about the cases than the regular customer service reps.

[vbtwo 54]

I saw that most of you few days after biometrics was taken , your status changed to " Testing and Interview".

Ours doesn't. Nothing still changed - our statuses are still on Acceptance and Initial Review , like they were before biometrics.

Is there Somebody like us?

Yes, same thing by us. No changes in status whatsoever. Stuck on Acceptance for AOS and Initial Review for AP and EAD.

[Skyview 3]

I just had the best job opportunity ever and I don't know what to do because I don't have a EAD and SSN yet. Is there anything i can do to get the job?