Do you need to maintain your status during I-485 decision process

[71411kumar 1]

Maya 123..did you talk to a lawyer?

When you applied for I-485, you status is pending I-485, based on many lawyers responses and forums, you don't have to maintain F-1 once you file I-485 and recived a receipt!

[Maya123 0]

Maya 123..did you talk to a lawyer?

When you applied for I-485, you status is pending I-485, based on many lawyers responses and forums, you don't have to maintain F-1 once you file I-485 and recived a receipt!

I presented my case to the online lawyers forum they also said that the immigration officer is mistaken. Since when I applied for my I-130 and I-485 my F1 status was valid, it does not matter if I am out of status now since i am in I-485 pending stage. My priority date was current when I applied for I-485 thus the reason to deny my case is completely invalid. I tried to explained to him several time about the my status but he is sticking with his reasons.

[71411kumar 1]

Sorry to hear that..looks like you are from new jersey field office and they should be more knowlegeable about this type of scenarios.

Are you appelaing using a lawyer? I think that will help you.

[Maya123 0]

Sorry to hear that..looks like you are from new jersey field office and they should be more knowlegeable about this type of scenarios.

Are you appelaing using a lawyer? I think that will help you.

I am looking into hiring a lawyer. Though the immigration officer has not denied my case yet. He is awaiting to get my I- 130 from Chicago office. Is there any other way to appeal this case. Even I thought the immigration officer would understand my case since they deal with lot of cases at this location.

[Hypnos 6,576]

You would not be able to appeal until they formally denied your I-485.

In the meantime you may wish to contact either one of your congressional representatives or the DHS Ombudsman, or both. I suspect the Ombudsman will be able to do more for you, since it's a misapplication of law rather than a matter of discretion. The Ombudsman has an online form you can use here: https://cisomb.dhs.gov/oca/form7001.aspx

[Maya123 0]

You would not be able to appeal until they formally denied your I-485.

In the meantime you may wish to contact either one of your congressional representatives or the DHS Ombudsman, or both. I suspect the Ombudsman will be able to do more for you, since it's a misapplication of law rather than a matter of discretion. The Ombudsman has an online form you can use here: https://cisomb.dhs.gov/oca/form7001.aspx

Thank you so much for the information. I will immediately contact the congressional representative and DHS Ombudsman. I will update the post if any changes are made.

[discoverusa 253]

Good luck with everything. Please keep us posted. I would be very interested in how this case develops.

[71411kumar 1]

I was looking at my EAD approval document and on the back of the document it clearly says;

"Your EAD card is also evidence of your status"

Not sure how any one can miss that detail!

[raz0407 1]

Hi Maya123

Just wanted to follow up on your case. I am kind of in same boat but we were able to enroll back into the school last minute. I have heard conflicting opinions of attorney about this. My Original Attorney said you can give up F1 and then another lawyer said it’s important that you are in status when they approve the 1485. If it’s true, then I don’t understand why they issued EAD because it’s worthless. When F2A became current in August, I saw so many attorneys writing article on their websites encouraging people to file for F2A and take advantage of dates being current. I remember most of them saying even it doesn’t stay current for long or retrogressed, you will atleast have EAD to work lawfully. What were they thinking then? May be trying to get more people to file and generate business?

FYI- during our interview, the officer did ask us if beneficiary is still in the school. So not sure what the correct rule is. I really hope your officer is wrong and corrects his decision. Please keep us posted.

On the same note, When is the sponsor in your case is going to be eligible to become US Citizen? if it’s not too far , then you can upgrade your case and USCIS has some kind of forgiveness program under which they will can still grant you green card even you hv stayed in the country with NO valid visa status. I verified this with 2 attorneys so it should be accurate. Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for the information. I will immediately contact the congressional representative and DHS Ombudsman. I will update the post if any changes are made.

Edited January 29, 2014 by raz0407

[LPR_filer 2]

While I believe the IO was wrong in saying that you were out of status when you had EAD (both from OPT and 485).... i'm a little concerned now as to how to interpret (5) below......these are the steps NBC has to follow when the visa regressed case has to be adjudicated when numbers become current.....

http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Outreach/Interim%20Guidance%20for%20Comment/regressed-visa-12-15-10.pdf

B. If the case is Family-based, route the A-file to the NBC – Upon receipt of the A-file from USCIS field offices, the NBC must:

1. Verify that the A-file contains a completed pre-adjudication worksheet. If the pre- adjudication worksheet is not included with the A-file or incomplete, the case must be returned to the initiating USCIS field office.

2. Verify case information and request allocation of a visa number in IVAMS through CCD.

3. Enter case in established regressed visa number National File Tracking System (NFTS)

   code(s).

4. Store case locally and track pending case information.

5. Ensure that the applicant maintains eligibility for adjustment of status and that all security

   checks are current and valid at the time of final adjudication.

6. Complete the Form I-485 adjudication when DOS allocates a visa number for the

   applicant.

Can someone throw light on what qualifies/disqualifies a person (who has already successfully filed 485 and was maintaining eligibility at the time of 485 filing) from maintaining eligibility for adjustment of status later at the time of adjudication..... or is that that just latest security checks are needed?

Edited February 5, 2014 by LPR_filer

[LPR_filer 2]

Also check out this almost similar experience:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/445225-aos-filers-happy-filing-and-keep-us-updated-on-progress/?p=6801012

<snip>

The IO said that everything looked good except for the fact that my wife had never registered for classes. The IO said that this meant that my wife was out of status and that the IO had checked with other IOs in the office and all agreed. I went ahead and explained that since we applied while she was still in status, that my wife was therefore on a new immigration status (pending AOS) and that she did not need to go to school if she didn't want to. The IO continued with the basic interview (reviewing 485 responses) and then said that they needed to go out and verify. Luckily for us, another IO confirmed what I had told the original IO.

<snip>

[Maya123 0]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions. Today I received my Green Card. When I checked my online case status it showed card production on March 3, 2014. On March 4, 2014 the status changed to decision but on March 6, 2014 the status changed to card delivery scheduled via USPS with tracking number. I received my card on March 7, 2014 with the welcome notice. I received the conditional GC for two year since I am married less than two years and I will be able to remove the conditions when the expiration date is close. My application process went smoothly without any major obstacles except for the minor interview misunderstanding. I always believed my case would be approved because I filed my application in timely manner. I hope this forum discussion will help people clear any doubts.

[john.smith 5]

@Maya123

CONGRATULATION!!! That is AWESOME! ))

How did he realize that everything was ok like you was telling him? I mean, the immigration officer.

[Maya123 0]

Well I don't know how it worked out I guess the immigration officer was not sure to deny the case so he must have consulted with his supervisor.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Supervisor approval is often required for both approvals and denials, and in this case the supervisor may well have caught the potential mistake.

Glad it all worked out.