DALLAS AOS Filers/Timelines 2013-2014

[theoleg 1]

Thank you so much for this detailed description. I have been so depressed after my interview yesterday on april 26th. I know it rarely ever happens but i was expecting to be approved on the apot, but my status has been sitting on "my interview is completed and my case must be reviewed since yesterday". I have waited more than a year after submission to get this interview and recently got a great job that is starting on may 9th and my ead is expiring on june 25th. I have filed an extension abt 30 days ago but considering how slow dallas office is i dont know if it will get here on time.

I really wanted my green card right now but feel like with uscis everything just disappears in the limbo. I am just sleeping since yesterday to overcome my depression. Husband has been reassuring me continuously, but deep down inside we both are just hopeless and so done with this bureaucracy. I dont want to lose this new job, but there is nothing i can do . Your post makes me hopeful that may be my card will get here in a week too my interview went great i dont know what needs to be reviewed more especially since they have had the file for over a year now.

We thought we'd be approved on the spot as well - but we received the "Case needs to be reviewed" letter that many others have received.

The interviewer did however state that we did seemed to have a strong case, and that we would likely receive a notice of approval (if approved) within 2 to 3 weeks, with the green card about 2 - 3 weeks after that. We didn't question that, as I guess they had done a great job of setting our level of expectations accordingly (i.e. we didn't expect anything to move quickly).

So it was a pleasant surprise when our status online changed to "Your card is being produced" about 8 days afterwards (and to "you have been approved" the day after that). The approval notices for the i130 and i485 arrived in the mail about 3 or 4 days after, and the card exactly 15 days after our interview date.

Hang in there!

[karalis 5]

Hi everyone,

haven't posted on this thread yet, but I've been lurking for a few months, as I am a Dallas filer myself.

I want to share my story as a Dallas i-485 applicant, I feel that we're a completely different animal from applicants at any of the other offices

Quick background: my wife and I met in 2008, lived together since 2010, moved to Dallas for grad school and got engaged in 2014. We decided to have the wedding of our dreams on a beach on an italian island (which is where I'm from) and we realistically planned it for summer 2016. Meanwhile, we had a private court wedding -and when I say private I mean the two of us. We obviously told close friends and immediate family, but we didn't want to taint the big wedding. It was actually fun to celebrate something like that just the two of us, sharing a moment without having strangers saying hi and congrats.

We applied for AOS about 2 months after getting married. The employment authorization process was as smooth as it could be. Biometrics after a few weeks, card in hand after 2 and a half months. Piece of cake.

The actual AOS process was a different ball game. I first got an RFE for the financial affidavit: I forgot to sum the number of people in the household on the form, so I literally lost about 2 weeks for forgetting to write 2 in a box, the sum of 1+1 .

After i sent in the RFE, the waiting game began. I didn't hear anything from USCIS for about 8 months. I had heard that the Dallas office was beyond backlogged, so I was not worried. The only concern was that our wedding was scheduled for June 25. Come March, the fun began. I started panicking, realizing that the 10 month period I predicted was looking more like a 13-14 month period in Dallas, as the office was getting even more overwhelmed. I was scared that they would schedule the interview during the period of time we were gonna be in Italy (we are leaving on June 12th).

At the apex of my 2-month panic-attack, I finally get a interview notice. I got all excited, until I started doing the worst thing possible: checking the internet for everything that could go wrong at an AOS interview. I spent a month reading horror stories about canceled interviews rescheduled after 6 months, genuine marriages that were denied, wrong information from fbi name checks of individuals with your same name. It's like google-ing your symptoms when you're simply sleepy and ending up believing that you have cancer. Don't do it. Ever. If you have a honest, legit marriage, stay away from google at all costs.

Now my interview day. I went to the office in Irving. Great office, sort of new, very polite and nice staff - different experience from any public office I've ever been to. I got to my interview 15 minutes early. Officer came out and recognized us, she said she had been looking at the pictures I sent as initial evidence.I was like good, i brought 200 more. She made us swear in and then we went into the actual interview. Let me start by saying that we got THE BEST OFFICER EVER. Very nice, young, conversational and really helped me feel more at ease, although I was obviously nervous. She started with basic bio questions about each other - asked my wife my name, my dob, my mom's name..then she did the same thing with me, asking for her info. I think throughout the interview I was asked my wife's date of birth about 6 times -- I know that I will NEVER forget a birthday from now on . The rest of the interview was seriously very, very smooth, it was a very nice conversation. Talked about how we met, and when we mentioned we met in 2008 she had a look like oh ok this is an easy one. We talked a bit about our story, without going into much detail. For some reason we ended up talking about dogs for a minute, since we mentioned that we have a puppy. She looked at our pictures from 2009 to 2016, I brought pictures abroad, pictures with family, halloween pictures. Then she asked for supporting documents that weren't sent in as initial evidence: I gave her the copy of our two past leases, wife's life insurance documents with my name as a beneficiary, health and auto insurance with both names, last tax return filed jointly and maybe something else I forgot. She didn't even ask for her birth certificate, american passport was enough. Mind that I was pretty nervous and she could tell, she kept telling me there was no need to.

At the end of what I thought was the best interview in history, she hands us a letter saying that a decision could not be made, and she mentions that it takes on average 2 months. I freaked out for 2 reasons: a) my EAD is about to expire; b) we were 3 weeks away from going to Italy. She noticed that and she said that ours should not take that long. I obviously went home and started looking at catastrophic cases where there are huge delays after the interview

Long story short (yeah right) i did not get any text or online update, my case status was stuck on "interview scheduled" . Then monday I check the mail, and find the approval notices for the I-485 and I-131. Online status was not updated until today, when I got a message saying my card was mailed yesterday.

So if you're a Dallas applicant, here are some takeaways:

1) it's a long process, it's not their fault, they're really overwhelmed. It will take time so don't worry if you don't hear anything for a while, just make sure you renew any temporary permit in time.

2) DO NOT sweat the interview. If you are a legit couple, this should not be a stressful event, there is nothing to fear, nobody will trick you into a blackhole. Rather than stressing about everything that could go wrong, like I did, ENJOY this big step with your wife/husband, make it a fun experience.

3) The officers are there to help you get something you have a legal right to. They know people are nervous, and at least in my experience they are trained to make you feel at ease. It's not a trial, it's a conversation!

4) Don't rely too much on the online status, sometimes it does not get updated

5) Last minor thing...it's ok to say "I don't remember" ..don't try to memorize stuff, if you have a looong relationship it is ok to forget what you guys ate 475 days ago.

Hopefully this was not too long and dry, I really hope my post can help some applicants make this into a more enjoyable experience. Nothing to stress about!!

Edited May 25, 2016 by karalis

[A_Saif 12]

Hi guys!

I just want to give an update on my Status.

I applied for AOS on June 1, 2015 and they received it on the 5th of June. I had 2 RFE because I sent the wrong information twice. (Lucky they gave me a second chance)

Last update for the RFE was September 10, 2015. Sent a few inquiries but they only said that the case was taking longer that usual.

My last inquiry last month, they mailed me a letter stating that my case was moved to Sacramento, CA and that i should have a decision in 30-60 days.

Then I received a text yesterday June 2, that a new card is being ordered and got another update saying that my case was approved without any interview. Thank god.

Waited for 367 days for the decision and I was planning on renewing my EAD/AP next week.

Now time to wait for that card.

For everyone else still waiting, I'm praying for you. Hang in there, it will come eventually.

Thank happy thoughts all the time! Peace and love!

Edited June 3, 2016 by A_Saif

[MASH 172]

I applied for my AOS and I am still waiting for eaither an interview or GC but from what it looks that Dallas takes a year to finish 0-0