AOS October 2016 filers

[Venice1012 35]

13 minutes ago, EmpressBab said:

My i-485 hasn't even changed from fingerprint fee received. I just want the EAD in hand. I know my field office is 8 months backlogged so I'm not even worried

My field office is backlog by about 4 or 5 months and I see persons with field offices 3 months behind my field office getting interview notice. I don't think the information given on the website is accurate.

[JaMerican_2019 34]

3 minutes ago, Venice1012 said:

My field office is backlog by about 4 or 5 months and I see persons with field offices 3 months behind my field office getting interview notice. I don't think the information given on the website is accurate.

They always say every case is different though. I have a friend here who had to wait 9 months from her PD to do her Interview. We'll all get there. I'm trying to learn to wait. USCIS will teach most of us patience lol 

[Venice1012 35]

9 minutes ago, EmpressBab said:

They always say every case is different though. I have a friend here who had to wait 9 months from her PD to do her Interview. We'll all get there. I'm trying to learn to wait. USCIS will teach most of us patience lol 

Lol it certainly has taught me a bit.. 

I'm not really the patient kind but I've decided not to check the website until Monday which will be my 94 days mark. I'm hoping to have good news by them because it'll just break my heart to know that I've worked so hard to gain a little discipline and it didn't pay off. .

[ASEIRDLO 13]

Hi Guys,

 

K-1 AOS applicant here

 

October 17: AOS, AP & EAD received by USCIS

October 31: NOA (I felt that this was a huge gap between received and NOA compared to other timelines. I concluded USCIS received a LOT of applications but I don't know why.

November 23: Biometrics taken

 

I have heard nothing since. Case status for all three is received/finger print fee received.

 

Today: Phoned USCIS for my EAD, a service request was opened. I was given a service request number and told that it will take 15-30 days for USCIS to respond.

 

This is so frustrating. Does anyone have any idea why it is taking so long for October filers? In the November filers thread someone said 3 EADs have been approved. Just seems unfair how we're being treated. 

 

[AlinaB 43]

4 minutes ago, ASEIRDLO said:

Hi Guys,

 

K-1 AOS applicant here

 

October 17: AOS, AP & EAD received by USCIS

October 31: NOA (I felt that this was a huge gap between received and NOA compared to other timelines. I concluded USCIS received a LOT of applications but I don't know why.

November 23: Biometrics taken

 

I have heard nothing since. Case status for all three is received/finger print fee received.

 

Today: Phoned USCIS for my EAD, a service request was opened. I was given a service request number and told that it will take 15-30 days for USCIS to respond.

 

This is so frustrating. Does anyone have any idea why it is taking so long for October filers? In the November filers thread someone said 3 EADs have been approved. Just seems unfair how we're being treated. 

 

As far as I know, there are many October filers who were processed quickly. We just don't post anymore because we don't need to.  As has been said a thousand times to a thousand people on this site, there are multiple reasons why some people's processing times are slower than others, not all of those reasons are fair. And each of us have delays at one stage or another. The wait is horrible, but try to stay positive and do what you can, when you can. 

 

[ASEIRDLO 13]

31 minutes ago, AlinaB said:

As far as I know, there are many October filers who were processed quickly. We just don't post anymore because we don't need to.  As has been said a thousand times to a thousand people on this site, there are multiple reasons why some people's processing times are slower than others, not all of those reasons are fair. And each of us have delays at one stage or another. The wait is horrible, but try to stay positive and do what you can, when you can. 

 

 

Hey Alina,

 

Thanks for your input; I understand that early October filers received responses very quickly but for applicants from around the 17th of October through to the end of October, there has been a total shift in the speed of the processing of applications. I noticed yours was done in 46 days yet applicants from the second half of October have waited almost double the amount of time of yours with still no EAD! This is a general trend. Yes every case is different but the general trend is that our cases are taking much much longer. And the general trend is that earlier cases were approved much quicker. I am yet to see a case from the second half of October that was approved as quickly as yours for example. Yet there are a lot of cases from the first half of October and earlier that were approved quickly. There's clearly a trend and a reason for this trend. We just don't know what it is. And that's frustrating.

 

You also try to stay positive instead of using condescending language, "As has been said a thousand times to a thousand people..." Totally unnecessarily and certainly not positive :-) Empathy goes a long way. And it's free :-) 

 

Thanks

 

[AlinaB 43]

18 minutes ago, ASEIRDLO said:

 

Hey Alina,

 

Thanks for your input; I understand that early October filers received responses very quickly but for applicants from around the 17th of October through to the end of October, there has been a total shift in the speed of the processing of applications. I noticed yours was done in 46 days yet applicants from the second half of October have waited almost double the amount of time of yours with still no EAD! This is a general trend. Yes every case is different but the general trend is that our cases are taking much much longer. And the general trend is that earlier cases were approved much quicker. I am yet to see a case from the second half of October that was approved as quickly as yours for example. Yet there are a lot of cases from the first half of October and earlier that were approved quickly. There's clearly a trend and a reason for this trend. We just don't know what it is. And that's frustrating.

 

You also try to stay positive instead of using condescending language, "As has been said a thousand times to a thousand people..." Totally unnecessarily and certainly not positive :-) Empathy goes a long way. And it's free :-) 

 

Thanks

 

My apologies if you took my reminder of a repetitive question as condescending, but we all read tone and inflection as we wish into online words. Furthermore, humans are subject to something called confirmation bias. Someone needs to run the actual numbers to get an idea on if those who applied in later October are truly experiencing longer delays or if it just appears that way to those having to suffer. You can use the statistics on the site here to get sort of an idea, but since many people don't fill in their timelines - it won't be super helpful. Anyone who wants to dig through all 85 pages can try to pull as much data as possible, and could even expand out to include data from Sept and Nov as well to build statistical power. I would even grab Sept - Nov 2015 as well. Using this, not only could you get an idea of average timelines, you may even be able to ascertain WHY those in later October have been given the short end of the deal. Perhaps the same thing occurred in 2015 - could it be due to the timing of the holidays? Should people be warned in the future to not apply from Oct 17 - Oct 31? The questions you could answer are endless. 

 

However, it seems a silly waste of time as it will in no way speed decision making. Better instead to do what you can, get help from who you can, and as always - stay positive. =)

 

 

 

 

[JaMerican_2019 34]

1 hour ago, ASEIRDLO said:

Hi Guys,

 

K-1 AOS applicant here

 

October 17: AOS, AP & EAD received by USCIS

October 31: NOA (I felt that this was a huge gap between received and NOA compared to other timelines. I concluded USCIS received a LOT of applications but I don't know why.

November 23: Biometrics taken

 

I have heard nothing since. Case status for all three is received/finger print fee received.

 

Today: Phoned USCIS for my EAD, a service request was opened. I was given a service request number and told that it will take 15-30 days for USCIS to respond.

 

This is so frustrating. Does anyone have any idea why it is taking so long for October filers? In the November filers thread someone said 3 EADs have been approved. Just seems unfair how we're being treated. 

 

Ur right. My package was received 10/14 and I didn't receive the texts and emails until 10/27. Only the early October filers like between 1-5 I've seen receive EAD early and some in that date range still have not received an EAD. I have the app and it shows. October filers have been moving significantly slower and I've seen November filers being approved for EAD as well. We really just really have to wait and be patient. You will never know what's happening with your case by just calling because the agents are just talking from a script. Hang in there! 

[ASEIRDLO 13]

13 minutes ago, EmpressBab said:

Ur right. My package was received 10/14 and I didn't receive the texts and emails until 10/27. Only the early October filers like between 1-5 I've seen receive EAD early and some in that date range still have not received an EAD. I have the app and it shows. October filers have been moving significantly slower and I've seen November filers being approved for EAD as well. We really just really have to wait and be patient. You will never know what's happening with your case by just calling because the agents are just talking from a script. Hang in there! 

 

Exactly. Thank you EmpressBab! And congratulations on the EAD approval after 91 days :-) Hopefully we'll be next soon.

[ltr 3]

36 minutes ago, ASEIRDLO said:

 

Hey Alina,

 

Thanks for your input; I understand that early October filers received responses very quickly but for applicants from around the 17th of October through to the end of October, there has been a total shift in the speed of the processing of applications. I noticed yours was done in 46 days yet applicants from the second half of October have waited almost double the amount of time of yours with still no EAD! This is a general trend. Yes every case is different but the general trend is that our cases are taking much much longer. And the general trend is that earlier cases were approved much quicker. I am yet to see a case from the second half of October that was approved as quickly as yours for example. Yet there are a lot of cases from the first half of October and earlier that were approved quickly. There's clearly a trend and a reason for this trend. We just don't know what it is. And that's frustrating.

 

You also try to stay positive instead of using condescending language, "As has been said a thousand times to a thousand people..." Totally unnecessarily and certainly not positive :-) Empathy goes a long way. And it's free :-) 

 

Thanks

 

There are so many variables for this it's difficult to say it's a late October problem.  We are a late October filer and have not heard anything about EAD/AP but have a scheduled interview in early February for my wife's Green Card.  I have not posted much here because I had no news or concerns.  Was waiting for the EAD/AP timeline to get close, but all of the sudden we have an interview.  I was sure we were going to get hit with RFEs for medical, wife's J-1 status, financial intermingling, etc.. but we coasted through while others have all kinds of problems.  

 

Our timeline is literally:

October 21 mailed in packet

Early November NOA

November 23 Biometrics

January 6 Interview scheduled

February 8 Interview

 

I know it's frustrating, but every case is different.  It just takes time, you are in the system and just have to wait for the government to slowly process everything.

[ASEIRDLO 13]

17 minutes ago, AlinaB said:

My apologies if you took my reminder of a repetitive question as condescending, but we all read tone and inflection as we wish into online words. Furthermore, humans are subject to something called confirmation bias. Someone needs to run the actual numbers to get an idea on if those who applied in later October are truly experiencing longer delays or if it just appears that way to those having to suffer. You can use the statistics on the site here to get sort of an idea, but since many people don't fill in their timelines - it won't be super helpful. Anyone who wants to dig through all 85 pages can try to pull as much data as possible, and could even expand out to include data from Sept and Nov as well to build statistical power. I would even grab Sept - Nov 2015 as well. Using this, not only could you get an idea of average timelines, you may even be able to ascertain WHY those in later October have been given the short end of the deal. Perhaps the same thing occurred in 2015 - could it be due to the timing of the holidays? Should people be warned in the future to not apply from Oct 17 - Oct 31? The questions you could answer are endless. 

 

However, it seems a silly waste of time as it will in no way speed decision making. Better instead to do what you can, get help from who you can, and as always - stay positive. =)

 

 

 

 

 

Lol I love your apology IF.....BUT.....FURTHERMORE

You provide some much-needed comic relief :-)

 

Each to their own. Some see the trend, some don't.

 

Indeed your suggestions are a silly waste of time.

[JaMerican_2019 34]

4 minutes ago, ltr said:

There are so many variables for this it's difficult to say it's a late October problem.  We are a late October filer and have not heard anything about EAD/AP but have a scheduled interview in early February for my wife's Green Card.  I have not posted much here because I had no news or concerns.  Was waiting for the EAD/AP timeline to get close, but all of the sudden we have an interview.  I was sure we were going to get hit with RFEs for medical, wife's J-1 status, financial intermingling, etc.. but we coasted through while others have all kinds of problems.  

 

Our timeline is literally:

October 21 mailed in packet

Early November NOA

November 23 Biometrics

January 6 Interview scheduled

February 8 Interview

 

I know it's frustrating, but every case is different.  It just takes time, you are in the system and just have to wait for the government to slowly process everything.

Congrats on your interview and goodluck! Update us to know how your interview goes! 

[ASEIRDLO 13]

16 minutes ago, ltr said:

There are so many variables for this it's difficult to say it's a late October problem.  We are a late October filer and have not heard anything about EAD/AP but have a scheduled interview in early February for my wife's Green Card.  I have not posted much here because I had no news or concerns.  Was waiting for the EAD/AP timeline to get close, but all of the sudden we have an interview.  I was sure we were going to get hit with RFEs for medical, wife's J-1 status, financial intermingling, etc.. but we coasted through while others have all kinds of problems.  

 

Our timeline is literally:

October 21 mailed in packet

Early November NOA

November 23 Biometrics

January 6 Interview scheduled

February 8 Interview

 

I know it's frustrating, but every case is different.  It just takes time, you are in the system and just have to wait for the government to slowly process everything.

 

Indeed every case is different. A trend doesn't mean that all the cases follow the same trend. It simply means that there are enough similarities for a pattern to be noticeable. That's all I'm pointing out. Congratulations on your progress and good luck in the interview.

Edited January 17, 2017 by ASEIRDLO

[ASEIRDLO 13]

32 minutes ago, ltr said:

There are so many variables for this it's difficult to say it's a late October problem.  We are a late October filer and have not heard anything about EAD/AP but have a scheduled interview in early February for my wife's Green Card.  I have not posted much here because I had no news or concerns.  Was waiting for the EAD/AP timeline to get close, but all of the sudden we have an interview.  I was sure we were going to get hit with RFEs for medical, wife's J-1 status, financial intermingling, etc.. but we coasted through while others have all kinds of problems.  

 

Our timeline is literally:

October 21 mailed in packet

Early November NOA

November 23 Biometrics

January 6 Interview scheduled

February 8 Interview

 

I know it's frustrating, but every case is different.  It just takes time, you are in the system and just have to wait for the government to slowly process everything.

 

Yes every case is different. Just from this short conversation here between 4 people we have 4 October filers: 1 early October filer and 3 mid to late October filers.

 

Earlier October filers:

Alina

Quick response time between filing and NOA - less than 5 days. 

 

Mid to late October filers:

EmpressBab

ltr

Aseirdlo

Longer response time between filing and NOA - more than 10 days.

 

That's all I'm pointing out folks.

 

I am very aware that every case is different. I'm just also aware that are certain similarities between some cases, some, that were filed around the certain date.

 

Similar thing happened with K1 petitions last year. Newer petitions were routed to California Service Centre where they were processed quicker than older petitions that were in a backlog at Texas Service Centre. 

 

[rostofer 0]

Hello, mid-Oct filer here, reached my 97th day of waiting to hear back since my biometrics were taken, no RFE's or updates of any kind. So I decided to try my luck contacting my local congressperson this afternoon and surprisingly they got back to me within a couple of hours with the following:

 

Quote

Our office is in receipt of your request for assistance. In order for our office to contact USCIS you will need to complete a privacy release form authorizing our office to speak on your behalf. I have mailed this form to the address you provided us with in Ann Arbor. Please complete the form and return to my attention using the self-addressed franked envelope (no stamp required). I ask that you do not list your social security number, list all USCIS receipt numbers for each of your applications. Once I receive the completed form I will contact USCIS.

If your biometrics were received on November 7^th- your applications would still be pending background checks which could take up to 90 days. USCIS does not adjudicate applications until background checks are complete.  EAD and AP cards are typically adjudicated and issued within 30 days after assignment to an officer only if no additional evidence is requested. These applications are not adjudicated at the Detroit Field Office. If emergency travel should arise, USCIS Detroit could issue a one-time emergency travel document at the discretion of the officer reviewing your documents.  In regards, to the I-485 application, that will be adjudicated at the Detroit Field Office after an initial interview is scheduled, currently I believe they are reviewing cases received May 2016.

Interesting what she says about it potentially taking up to 90 days from biometrics while they do the background checks, which kind of conflicts with the general consensus of opinion on here and other forums that the expected turnaround is 90 days from USCIS receiving the application.

 

Also interesting that she mentions the AP and EAD's are issued within 30 days of being assigned to an officer. As far as I know, from what I read on here of other applicants experiences, the status never gets updated to "Your case is assigned to an officer". This would certainly be useful, as at least we'd get some feedback and have a rough idea of how long we have remaining to wait.

 

Anyway, I just thought I'd share this, in case anybody else is in the same boat and is considering reaching out to their congressperson but was perhaps putting it off thinking the response would be unhelpful or might take a while.