AOS interview and security clearance

[shon 0]

I filed my i-130 and i-485 in June 2015. My husband (US citizen) and I finally had the AOS interview at SF office last Monday (7 days ago). The officer wasn't chatty or friendly, but very to the point. She asked about our reception venue, which almost felt like she asked out of her own curiosity. She made small jokes randomly, but we weren't sure if we were also allowed to make jokes...Anyways the interview went well we thought. At the end of the interview my husband asked when we would hear the result. The officer said she needed to write a memo about security clearance, and she did not know when she would have time for that. She said if we didn't hear within 120 we should check back. The next day, I got an email that i-130 was approved. So now I am just waiting for the i-485 approval, which is the most important thing here.

My EAD (combo card) will expire in August, so I applied to extend it but not sure it will come in time, which will be an issue since I am employed based on the combo card... God knows how long this i-485 approval will take.. I am also traveling abroad this weekend so not having a GC makes everything complicated. I planned this trip thinking I would have a GC by this time.

my question is.. has anyone had any similar experience i.e. your officer needs to write a memo about security check? What does it mean? I would like to guess that she's waiting for my background check, but it is also nerve breaking since I saw in some cases it took years to have background/security clearance.

please please share your thoughts and/or experience!!

Thank you.

S

PS. this is my first GC application. I came to the USA with F1 visa, then my company sponsored for a H1b, which expired September 2015. I took two trips outside of the US since i-485 filing. In both cases, I used Advance Parole. Do you know if using Advance Parole would trigger another security check or delay it?

Edited June 21, 2016 by shon

[A'n'L 735]

What is your nationality? Where did you travel on your AP? I'm thinking travel to countries regarded as high-risk (terrorism eg) could trigger extended security checks.

[shon 0]

Oh thanks for the reply. I think that might be it. I am from south korea. I visited Turkey during our honeymoon.