Retired since submitting AOS - Interview Scheduled Before Pension Starts!

[Anna Grant 169]

I entered the US on 27 June 2013 on a K1 visa. We got married on 12 July 2013 and submitted our AOS paperwork on 15 July 2013 and our NOA1 is dated 18 July 2013.

Fast forward a year and they have eventually got around to inviting us to an interview! 7 August. Only problem is that my husband was working when we submitted the paperwork but retired in May this year. He was 66 on 12 July 2014 and has applied for social security (retirement). I also retired. Until he starts to receive his pension on 1 September, he is without income. He has an IRA with about $177K in it and we have savings of around $25K.

Do we have to prepare a new I864 based on the new situation? What about the issue that we will not have income until 1 September? Does this suggest that we should have a co-sponsor? That will be a problem. Will our IRA, savings and proof of application for SS with the amount that will be paid enough ($29K a year gross)?

This interview has taken so long to be scheduled and couldn't have been scheduled at a more awkward time. 3 weeks later and it would be fine!

[Ian H. 207]

I believe the instructions on the I 864 have a specific formula for using assets to meet the income requirement, you guys have over $200k, that definitely looks like more than enough. If for some reason it isn't, you can always use a joint sponsor and file a new I 864. You would still need a new a I 864 for your spouse based on his current situation. And an additional one if you decide to use a joint sponsor.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I wouldn't even worry about three weeks with a proof of the social security and the assets. They are to determine the likelihood of you becoming a public charge. Does it seem likely because of a three week gap?

I would fill out a new form since a year has passed. Call himself retired. List the monthly Social Security benefit as income. Take the latest tax return, SSA documentation of benefits, and proof of assets. Done. No problem.

[Anna Grant 169]

I wouldn't even worry about three weeks with a proof of the social security and the assets. They are to determine the likelihood of you becoming a public charge. Does it seem likely because of a three week gap?

I would fill out a new form since a year has passed. Call himself retired. List the monthly Social Security benefit as income. Take the latest tax return, SSA documentation of benefits, and proof of assets. Done. No problem.

As it worked out, the fact that Wally was retired wasn't an issue. He mentioned it early in the conversation and he wasn't asked for a revised I-864. We also weren't asked for any originals of the supporting documentation. All we were asked for were 'bona fides', as the officer called them. I gave him a packet of bills and our previous lease. The only other thing he photocopied was the card that came with the flowers that my stepsons sent me on Mother's Day! He asked us how we met and if we had met each other's families. He asked me to confirm the addresses that I had lived at during the last 5 years.

We were approved. Took less than 30 minutes. One annoying thing is that we were handed an RFE for my medical. Because it is over a year since my medical, my vaccination record is out of date. I did point out to the officer that we submitted our AOS package less than 2 months after the medical. It wasn't our fault that it was now out of date. I had expected an interview a lot sooner than this. Is this going to be the case for all AOS's that are not adjudicated for over 12 months past the medical date? What about the chest x-ray? That is only valid for 6 months? He said it was a recent change.

We were interviewed at 7:30, I found a civil surgeon and met him at 12:00 (cost $75 to transcribe my vaccination records - another office quoted me $165 to $350!) and got the paperwork back to the USCIS office at 2pm! My status updated to the RFE yesterday - I do hope the status updates to approved soon.

[Ian H. 207]

Congrats on your approval! And it's ridiculous that they are requiring you to get a new medical when THEY take their sweet time processing the application.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Congratulations Anna.

The medical thing is a puzzle to me. If anything, it would be a new medical exam required. I have read the new policy manual which reorganizes the old Adjudicator's Field Manual.

There is a section saying an examination by a civil surgeon must be submitted less than a year from the exam date and also adjudicated less than a year from the exam date. But under that it says:

Special rules may apply to certain foreign nationals who were examined overseas, including certain nonimmigrant fiancé(e)s or spouses of U.S. citizens (K visa), spouses of lawful permanent residents (V visa), refugees, and asylee dependents. Such foreign nationals usually do not need to repeat the full medical exam in the United States for purposes of adjustment of status.[26]

But as has been said before, every adjudicator in every local office may or may not be up on the peculiarities of K1s, just like the civil surgeons who insist every AOS applicant requires a full medical exam over again. I can't find a significan policy change written for Ks and panel physician exams. That still says in the new manual, as long as submitted less than a year from the exam date and found in the file (from the POE sealed packet.)

Anyway, hope you get your card soon. It has taken an unusually long time.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

This "expiring" medical is a new thing; someone posted the new verbiage on here before, but the short of it is that medical exams "expire" if USCIS is too slow. Is not very fair.

Glad everything else worked out for you though.

[Anna Grant 169]

It is not fair at all. What is particularly galling is getting an RFE for it at the interview. Had we known about it earlier, it could have been rectified and I could have taken the paperwork with us to the interview.

Today is exactly one month until my EAD card expires. I now have to decide whether to extend that for a year or hope that my GC turns up before the month is out. And we are due to leave the area on September 9th and travel for 6 weeks before spending the winter in Texas. And I have to get back to South Dakota when I get my GC so I can update my driver's license (we're fulltime RV'ers). Illinois were happy to give me a DL for 5 years - SD would only give me a DL for the time my current immigration document lasted for.

I was kind of hoping that I could be done with USCIS after Thursday until ROC time. But it's not worked out like that alas.

[Anna Grant 169]

Oh rats! I've now realized that I could have applied for a renewal of my EAD card some time ago - I was certain that I couldn't apply for it until 30 days was left on the card. I have the original letter from USCIS, so that should speed it up. However, I do hope that my AOS gets approved early next week, so it's not an issue.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

As Nich-Nick stated, there are special circumstances listed for a K-1 applicant though. It is still worded as if a K-1 does not need to get a new medical, even if their case is adjudicated when the K-1 medical is over a year old. The part about needing updated vaccinations instead is interesting. I think it will be interpreted differently from one IO to the next.

It sounds like a way for civil surgeons to rake in even more money from immigrants.

This is the where it sends you to read more information about K-1 adjusters and the medical expiry special circumstances > http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume8-PartB-Chapter3.html#S-B

B. Special Considerations

4. K or V Nonimmigrants Applying for Adjustment^[26]

K and V nonimmigrants applying for adjustment of status are not required to repeat the medical examination if the application was filed within one year of the date of the original medical examination, and:

• The medical examination did not reveal a Class A medical condition; or
  

• The applicant received a conditional waiver in conjunction with the K or V nonimmigrant visa or the change of status to V and the applicant submits evidence of compliance with the waiver terms and conditions.^[27]

If a new medical examination is required and reveals a Class A medical condition, a new waiver application will also be required. In such cases, the officer should determine whether the applicant complied with the terms and conditions of the first waiver, if applicable. Such determination should be given considerable weight in the adjudication of a subsequent waiver application.^[28]

Even if a new medical examination is not required, applicants must still comply with the vaccination requirements if the vaccination record was not included as part of the original medical examination report. If the vaccination report was properly completed at the time of the overseas examination, the officer may accept the vaccination assessment completed by the panel physician.

An applicant’s overseas medical examination report completed by a panel physician should already be in the applicant’s A-file. If it is not in the A-file, the officer should request the medical examination report through a Request for Evidence (RFE).

If the applicant was granted a change of status to V in the United States,^[29] the medical examination report completed by the civil surgeon should be in the A-file created at the time that the change of status was initially granted.

Edited August 9, 2014 by KayDeeCee

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Yes the year thing is about a medical exam by a civil surgeon on an I-693. The references to medical and vaccination by a panel physician for K applicants indicates Anna's should have been fine. And it is really weird that he said vaccinations. Those don't "expire" in a year like maybe a disease clearance would. I think you just got unlucky with your guy and the fact they took their sweet time.

[Anna Grant 169]

Now our status has updated to 'Initial Review' with an update date of today. So it seems that someone has opened our envelope - but probably not the officer who conducted our interview! He said that if we marked the envelope with his officer number, it would go straight to him and he would approve us (as long as we had the done the medical stuff right, of course). I'm just hoping that we move to approved shortly.

Edited August 11, 2014 by Anna Grant

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

It doesn't really mean initial review. The updates are notoriously wrong. Don't worry, you're not starting over.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Now our status has updated to 'Initial Review' with an update date of today. So it seems that someone has opened our envelope - but probably not the officer who conducted our interview! He said that if we marked the envelope with his officer number, it would go straight to him and he would approve us (as long as we had the done the medical stuff right, of course). I'm just hoping that we move to approved shortly.

Mr. Nich-Nick was in initial review 13 months after receiving the greencard in the mail. Actually got an email over a year later saying AOS was approved. Duh. really?

[Anna Grant 169]

Thanks Harpa. I thought that was the case. Just stressing me out a bit! I never really thought that we would be in the situation of having to wait a year for an interview and then get delayed further.