AOS March 2016 Filers

[Ninahi 53]

Good luck to you all, my new March family!

I hope I won't have to be adopted by that many more month-families anymore.

[Heather&Kevin 25]

I was speaking to a guy who helps people with their immigration process. He firmly believes there was a delay in processing Green Cards while the election campaign was in full flow as the attention was diverted to processing New Citizens instead. As a New Citizen was 70% likely to vote democrat. While us GC wanabees were of little use in the electoral process.

Certainly has a ring of truth to it. And could explain why soon after the voting closed we got notified of our interview. We were estimating October for interview and it eventually got scheduled for December. And to me this might just explain why our (very simple case) took 50 days longer than average at our local office to be called for interview.

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/aosstats.php << always good to keep in mind that every office is different (for those who might not be fully aware of that)

It will come, my March family. Sooner or later it will come. And then it will be just a memory. A happy one.

Lots of love and peace to you all.

[sparkles_ 456]

I was speaking to a guy who helps people with their immigration process. He firmly believes there was a delay in processing Green Cards while the election campaign was in full flow as the attention was diverted to processing New Citizens instead. As a New Citizen was 70% likely to vote democrat. While us GC wanabees were of little use in the electoral process.

Certainly has a ring of truth to it. And could explain why soon after the voting closed we got notified of our interview. We were estimating October for interview and it eventually got scheduled for December. And to me this might just explain why our (very simple case) took 50 days longer than average at our local office to be called for interview.

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/aosstats.php << always good to keep in mind that every office is different (for those who might not be fully aware of that)

It will come, my March family. Sooner or later it will come. And then it will be just a memory. A happy one.

Lots of love and peace to you all.

This is probably the most sense making scenario out of all the guesses I've heard. Thanks

Edited December 6, 2016 by sparkles_

[E and R 8]

Finally nearing the end. Had interview 12/01/16 in Seattle. Original interview cancelled due to records for Seattle not being correctly sent. Contacted two different senators office and the USCIS Ombudsman for assistance. It paid off. We had ticket number K22 and after sitting 5 minutes was called in after K4 was called. Others sitting in the area were not amused but most of all the officer that greeted us at the door. Definite feeling of intimidation. Didn't phase us and just got to business.

Officer was very direct and cold with my spouse asking direct questions off the I 485 application. Very basic stuff. Is this your signature, where did you meet, how long were you together on your first meeting.

We came very very prepared and it was a good thing. They had incorrect dates on the wedding and lost the majority of our 693. Had I not brought copies of EVERYTHING we would not have been approved that day. By the end of the meeting we did get a verbal approval but the officer had to dig for things in the file and ultimately never could find the entire 693 document. At one point he said that he could not complete the interview due to the missing documention that THEY lost.

He said that we were very prepared and that we appreciated it. We brought in copies of around 50 photos with several of the wedding. He focused mostly on those. He also was most interested in bank statments. I brought complete statements for the last six months that showed both our names on savings and checking accounts. Also copies of medical, life, dental and car insurance that showed both our names. Copies of the lease and also car financing were there. He kept everything! Our stack of documentation was probably 5 inches thick when we arrived and after he kept what he wanted it was about .5 inches think. Make sure to make copies if you want the originals back.

The last half of the interview was lighter and not so intense. In the end he said we were approved. On 12/05/16 our status updated to case approved and at 5PM this afternoon it changed to Card has been mailed.

Thanks everyone for the incredible help on everything. It has been very valuable and at times much needed comfort. It is greatly appreciated.

[SanneW 30]

You guys wanna know some real insanity. We have been waiting since January 2015 technically due to our complicated process. All our immigration fiasco began then, we just dropped he AOS in March. Stay positive guys....I have a feeling we will see a big rush of interview letters once workers come back from the holidays

I was lucky with my AOS going quick, but my K1 took a year, no joke. I know what you guys go through and it is insanely frustrating. Tho, you are together and you get to work, that should make it a bit more positive! Cheer up and I am sure you guys will be fine! Just an annoying ### waiting game.

And to think we still have removal and naturalisation upcoming after all this...

[sparkles_ 456]

I was lucky with my AOS going quick, but my K1 took a year, no joke. I know what you guys go through and it is insanely frustrating. Tho, you are together and you get to work, that should make it a bit more positive! Cheer up and I am sure you guys will be fine! Just an annoying ### waiting game.

And to think we still have removal and naturalisation upcoming after all this...

Literally not worth thinking of what happens past this step lol, it is enough to make me start drinking

[Everlast 49]

Literally not worth thinking of what happens past this step lol, it is enough to make me start drinking

Very hilarious!

[Linyahui 103]

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

That is all. Just an exclamation of emotion.

Pass the eggnog.

[PaddyGirl13 75]

We filed March 8, but I'm not holding my breath. We're heading to Taiwan for the holidays and a good distraction. Thank God for advance parole.

My husband asked a good question last night. We were looking at timelines of fellow VJ members who also live in the Twin Cities. The couple who filed right before us and the seven couples who filed right after us have all received their green cards (some had interviews, some didn't). There was just one blank line in the timeline comparison indicating no decision made yet--ours. Of course. But then my husband asked me to check the countries of origin of those couples--Czech Republic, Poland, two from the U.K., Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, and Armenia. No other couples with one partner from Asia, like us.

Has anyone noticed discrepancies in order of processing based on country of origin? Could this be affecting us? Yet when we spoke to USCIS, we were told there was no reason why our application should not have been sent on to our local service center back in April after my husband completed his biometrics and got the EAD/AP combo card. Maybe the national processing center just sucks.

I realize that continuing to vent on the VJ forum is counter-productive if my ultimate goal is to remain positive and optimistic...but I'm also curious about the question I posed above. Just want some answers to explain the loooooooooooooooong wait compared to others in our area.

I too am waiting to hear about an interview date in St Paul, we filed March 17th, I'm from Ireland. Thankfully I'm working now and we passed our 2 year anniversary during the wait so will get the 10yr green card. The wait is painful for sure!!

[Linyahui 103]

I too am waiting to hear about an interview date in St Paul, we filed March 17th, I'm from Ireland. Thankfully I'm working now and we passed our 2 year anniversary during the wait so will get the 10yr green card. The wait is painful for sure!!

It's great to hear from someone else in the Twin Cities! It looks like you're not adjusting from a K-1...may I ask which type of visa you had?

When I checked the St. Paul immigration timeline, it looks like most of the K-1 adjusters sped through the process and received green cards within 3-6 months (except for us and a couple of other unlucky couples). Based on the conversation in this thread the past few days, I'm wondering whether all of the "slower" applications are assigned to the same officer who just processes things super thoroughly (or is twirling in his desk chair twiddling his thumbs). Either/or.

[PaddyGirl13 75]

It's great to hear from someone else in the Twin Cities! It looks like you're not adjusting from a K-1...may I ask which type of visa you had?

When I checked the St. Paul immigration timeline, it looks like most of the K-1 adjusters sped through the process and received green cards within 3-6 months (except for us and a couple of other unlucky couples). Based on the conversation in this thread the past few days, I'm wondering whether all of the "slower" applications are assigned to the same officer who just processes things super thoroughly (or is twirling in his desk chair twiddling his thumbs). Either/or.

I had an approved i-130 and was a couple of months off from my CR1 interview, was over here for Christmas last year on vacation, and my father in law took seriously ill, it looked like he wouldn't make it for a while, I couldn't bring myself to leave so we filed for AOS. We had our (myself and son) biometrics in April and got my EAD in june.

Thankfully he has a successful valve replacement due to heart failure in March and made it thru, it's been a slow road to recovery but he's getting stronger everyday. (he has a myriad of medical issues due to Agent Orange exposure).

In hindsight I'd have my greencard already if we stuck with the CR1 process, but I'd not have forgiven myself if I wasn't here for my husband and kids if my father in law passed away.

[Linyahui 103]

I had an approved i-130 and was a couple of months off from my CR1 interview, was over here for Christmas last year on vacation, and my father in law took seriously ill, it looked like he wouldn't make it for a while, I couldn't bring myself to leave so we filed for AOS. We had our (myself and son) biometrics in April and got my EAD in june.

Thankfully he has a successful valve replacement due to heart failure in March and made it thru, it's been a slow road to recovery but he's getting stronger everyday. (he has a myriad of medical issues due to Agent Orange exposure).

In hindsight I'd have my greencard already if we stuck with the CR1 process, but I'd not have forgiven myself if I wasn't here for my husband and kids if my father in law passed away.

Thanks for sharing your story with us. I think USCIS officers sometimes forget that we're not just application numbers--we're people trying to live our lives with our loved ones, and sometimes things happen in life beyond our control, such as your FiL's illness. It sounds like you definitely made the right decision for your family in staying by his side and won't ever have any regrets about that long-term.

[Linyahui 103]

We contacted Congresswoman Klobuchar's office on November 30 for help with our case. I called back today (Dec 7) for an update and was told that a caseworker had been assigned to our case and had reached out to their congressional liaison on December 2. At this point, no further information is available. The intern told me, though, that military-related inquiries take 3-4 weeks to receive further information and he imagined our information timeline might be similar. He also said that the caseworkers do keep track of how much time has gone by and will follow up with USCIS at a given point, but that he was not at liberty to tell me what that point might be.

Arghhhhh....so, still no idea why our case has been untouched since April but at least we've got someone on the hunt for info. I will be calling every week for updates...they are going to LURV me.

[sparkles_ 456]

We contacted Congresswoman Klobuchar's office on November 30 for help with our case. I called back today (Dec 7) for an update and was told that a caseworker had been assigned to our case and had reached out to their congressional liaison on December 2. At this point, no further information is available. The intern told me, though, that military-related inquiries take 3-4 weeks to receive further information and he imagined our information timeline might be similar. He also said that the caseworkers do keep track of how much time has gone by and will follow up with USCIS at a given point, but that he was not at liberty to tell me what that point might be.

Arghhhhh....so, still no idea why our case has been untouched since April but at least we've got someone on the hunt for info. I will be calling every week for updates...they are going to LURV me.

I actually feel like I should be on first name basis with the 800 number at this point LOL.

"Oh hi, remember me...I called last week, and the week before, and before that....."

[Linyahui 103]

I just signed into my account on the USCIS website to check the status. The official status remains the same at "Fingerprint fee was received on March 11..." However, under the case history it now states that the service request made by the Tier 2 officer with whom we spoke by phone on November 15 was assigned to an officer for processing yesterday, December 7. The service request was supposed to move our case to the local service center in St. Paul, MN to be ready for interview. The online update says that USCIS sent a response to me yesterday...but I haven't received anything by email or text (checked spam folder, too). My last service request from Nov. 8 arrived by email.

Any suggestions??