March 2017 AOS Filers

[PinkCandy 134]

Hi, everyone 

I just want to let you know that my I-130 and I-485 have been approved. Our interview was last week, July 12th at the Raleigh Durham office. The approval notice for I-130 was delivered Monday and the I-485/Welcome Notice was received today.

Our interview was okay. Tbh, I cannot say that it was good because of two things: my anxiety and the mini-argument at the end between IO and our lawyer.

So, after we swore in, Immigration Officer explained to us that there will be two parts of that interview: first is going through the forms and verifying all the information and second will be our story. Everything was going well on the first part, we answered each question without any problem. When it was time for the second part, which was about our story, my nervousness got me, I froze!! I was only able to say 3 sentences and my mind stopped. It should have been very easy because I did not have a reason to be scared but my anxiety got the best of me. Good thing my husband was able to do it and I was able to redeem myself at the end but recalling it now still makes me want to punch myself :)))) 

Anyway, after all questions were asked IO told us that he is going to approve us. At this point I was already relieved,however, before the it actually finished,  IO and our lawyer had an argument about my married name so despite hearing earlier the word "approved", we left the office without anything in our hands, not even a paper that says " we will review your file", nothing. In short, we were left hanging. I think the IO got upset on the argument so he just told us to wait for the decision in the mail, that's it. Two days of agony and I did not hear anything from them until I received an email on the third day with a change of online status that says card is in production for my I-485 case, whew!!! Thank you very much dear God!

On Tuesday, my status changed to card was mailed to me and if the delivery period will be the same as my EAD's, I will get the greencard tomorrow. 

By the way, when I received the welcome notice today, I read it more than 10 times. In bold letters it said, "WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA". 
It felt so good reading it again and again because I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and finally, it is here!!!

Good luck everyone!!! 
I am sending you the all the good vibes that you need!! 

(Hi @nikaero, my update above as promised :)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My advice on those who will have interview soon:
--- STOP READING about interview horror stories. You will not benefit anything from it but anxiety. 

--- At least, 3 days before the interview, do not read anymore experiences of other people. Focus on calming your mind and spirit. 

--- Not all interviews about your relationship are on a Q&A format, some IO would want you to narrate your story. That's what happened to us.

--- Your relationship is real, you have nothing to hide so you got this!! 



 

[MsGee 35]

20 minutes ago, PinkCandy said:

Hi, everyone 

I just want to let you know that my I-130 and I-485 have been approved. Our interview was last week, July 12th at the Raleigh Durham office. The approval notice for I-130 was delivered Monday and the I-485/Welcome Notice was received today.

Our interview was okay. Tbh, I cannot say that it was good because of two things: my anxiety and the mini-argument at the end between IO and our lawyer.

So, after we swore in, Immigration Officer explained to us that there will be two parts of that interview: first is going through the forms and verifying all the information and second will be our story. Everything was going well on the first part, we answered each question without any problem. When it was time for the second part, which was about our story, my nervousness got me, I froze!! I was only able to say 3 sentences and my mind stopped. It should have been very easy because I did not have a reason to be scared but my anxiety got the best of me. Good thing my husband was able to do it and I was able to redeem myself at the end but recalling it now still makes me want to punch myself :)))) 

Anyway, after all questions were asked IO told us that he is going to approve us. At this point I was already relieved,however, before the it actually finished,  IO and our lawyer had an argument about my married name so despite hearing earlier the word "approved", we left the office without anything in our hands, not even a paper that says " we will review your file", nothing. In short, we were left hanging. I think the IO got upset on the argument so he just told us to wait for the decision in the mail, that's it. Two days of agony and I did not hear anything from them until I received an email on the third day with a change of online status that says card is in production for my I-485 case, whew!!! Thank you very much dear God!

On Tuesday, my status changed to card was mailed to me and if the delivery period will be the same as my EAD's, I will get the greencard tomorrow. 

By the way, when I received the welcome notice today, I read it more than 10 times. In bold letters it said, "WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA". 
It felt so good reading it again and again because I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and finally, it is here!!!

Good luck everyone!!! 
I am sending you the all the good vibes that you need!! 

(Hi @nikaero, my update above as promised

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My advice on those who will have interview soon:
--- STOP READING about interview horror stories. You will not benefit anything from it but anxiety. 

--- At least, 3 days before the interview, do not read anymore experiences of other people. Focus on calming your mind and spirit. 

--- Not all interviews about your relationship are on a Q&A format, some IO would want you to narrate your story. That's what happened to us.

--- Your relationship is real, you have nothing to hide so you got this!! 



 

Congratulations!

[KimberleyVDB 77]

@PinkCandy first off congrats! I am so happy for you! I do have a question. When did you get the letter with the appointment. I understand it's different for every office, I was just wondering. 

[KimberleyVDB 77]

On 7/19/2017 at 9:05 AM, jessiew said:

Hey everyone! Congrats to all of those who've gotten their GCs and EAD approvals! 

 

Just wondering if anyone is in the same boat as me...

- 114 days since filing (March 27)
- Our marriage interview has been scheduled for August 10

But we still haven't heard anything about the EAD 

How's everyone else doing? 

I filed on March 24th. Did get my EAD but heard nothing about my GC. No interview scheduled.. Maybe you just get approved and you won't need your EAD. 

[Arnel villarreal 46]

48 minutes ago, PinkCandy said:

Hi, everyone 

I just want to let you know that my I-130 and I-485 have been approved. Our interview was last week, July 12th at the Raleigh Durham office. The approval notice for I-130 was delivered Monday and the I-485/Welcome Notice was received today.

Our interview was okay. Tbh, I cannot say that it was good because of two things: my anxiety and the mini-argument at the end between IO and our lawyer.

So, after we swore in, Immigration Officer explained to us that there will be two parts of that interview: first is going through the forms and verifying all the information and second will be our story. Everything was going well on the first part, we answered each question without any problem. When it was time for the second part, which was about our story, my nervousness got me, I froze!! I was only able to say 3 sentences and my mind stopped. It should have been very easy because I did not have a reason to be scared but my anxiety got the best of me. Good thing my husband was able to do it and I was able to redeem myself at the end but recalling it now still makes me want to punch myself :)))) 

Anyway, after all questions were asked IO told us that he is going to approve us. At this point I was already relieved,however, before the it actually finished,  IO and our lawyer had an argument about my married name so despite hearing earlier the word "approved", we left the office without anything in our hands, not even a paper that says " we will review your file", nothing. In short, we were left hanging. I think the IO got upset on the argument so he just told us to wait for the decision in the mail, that's it. Two days of agony and I did not hear anything from them until I received an email on the third day with a change of online status that says card is in production for my I-485 case, whew!!! Thank you very much dear God!

On Tuesday, my status changed to card was mailed to me and if the delivery period will be the same as my EAD's, I will get the greencard tomorrow. 

By the way, when I received the welcome notice today, I read it more than 10 times. In bold letters it said, "WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA". 
It felt so good reading it again and again because I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and finally, it is here!!!

Good luck everyone!!! 
I am sending you the all the good vibes that you need!! 

(Hi @nikaero, my update above as promised

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My advice on those who will have interview soon:
--- STOP READING about interview horror stories. You will not benefit anything from it but anxiety. 

--- At least, 3 days before the interview, do not read anymore experiences of other people. Focus on calming your mind and spirit. 

--- Not all interviews about your relationship are on a Q&A format, some IO would want you to narrate your story. That's what happened to us.

--- Your relationship is real, you have nothing to hide so you got this!! 



 

Congratulations 🎉 

[KimberleyVDB 77]

On 7/19/2017 at 3:05 PM, Californiansunset said:

Hi everyone,

I just want to verify something real quick as I am wondering whether I'm understanding the field office processing times correctly:

This is my timeline for AOS:

Receive date: 02/27

RFIE receive date: 04/03

Status changed to interview ready to be scheduled: 04/11

 

Now my field office (San DIego) processing times show the following: 

Field Office Processing Dates for San Diego CA as of: May 31, 2017

Form	Form Name	Processing Cases As Of Date:
I-485	Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status	6. Oktober 2016
N-400	Application for Naturalization	10. Oktober 2016
N-600	Application for Certification of Citizenship	3. Dezember 2016

 

So which of my dates do I take as a case date? I assume the RFIE receive date right?! 

I'm trying to find this out because if I take the actual receive date my interview likely would get scheduled around October, exactly the month I would like to book a flight to go back home for two weeks. If I take the RFIE receive date of the day my status changed to ready then I am fine and can go on vacation without being worried that my greencard interview might get scheduled during that time. 

I honestly don't know if you can really rely on those processing times. For Sacramento it's been on October 6th for months now why I called (for something else) and asked about the processing times the lady in the phone said they are working on it everyday so don't worry. Well if they are working on it daily I can't see how it after about 3 months it's still the same. I also have a trip coming up around Christmas and I rather have my greencard then my AP. 

 

I hope you'll be able to go.

[MsGee 35]

On 7/19/2017 at 3:05 PM, Californiansunset said:

Hi everyone,

I just want to verify something real quick as I am wondering whether I'm understanding the field office processing times correctly:

This is my timeline for AOS:

Receive date: 02/27

RFIE receive date: 04/03

Status changed to interview ready to be scheduled: 04/11

 

Now my field office (San DIego) processing times show the following: 

Field Office Processing Dates for San Diego CA as of: May 31, 2017

Form	Form Name	Processing Cases As Of Date:
I-485	Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status	6. Oktober 2016
N-400	Application for Naturalization	10. Oktober 2016
N-600	Application for Certification of Citizenship	3. Dezember 2016

 

So which of my dates do I take as a case date? I assume the RFIE receive date right?! 

I'm trying to find this out because if I take the actual receive date my interview likely would get scheduled around October, exactly the month I would like to book a flight to go back home for two weeks. If I take the RFIE receive date of the day my status changed to ready then I am fine and can go on vacation without being worried that my greencard interview might get scheduled during that time. 

@Californiansunset

In my opinion only i'm not sure how accurate the processing time posted In the website.  Our i 485 was ready to be schduled for interviewed last june and last july 8 we already had our interview. Based on the USCIS processing time in LA they are only processing i 485 Nov 2016. 

So if you based on the processing dates showing on the website its not accurate.

I hope you'll get your interviewed date sooner.

GoodLuck!

[rose michigan 75]

2 hours ago, PinkCandy said:

Hi, everyone 

I just want to let you know that my I-130 and I-485 have been approved. Our interview was last week, July 12th at the Raleigh Durham office. The approval notice for I-130 was delivered Monday and the I-485/Welcome Notice was received today.

Our interview was okay. Tbh, I cannot say that it was good because of two things: my anxiety and the mini-argument at the end between IO and our lawyer.

So, after we swore in, Immigration Officer explained to us that there will be two parts of that interview: first is going through the forms and verifying all the information and second will be our story. Everything was going well on the first part, we answered each question without any problem. When it was time for the second part, which was about our story, my nervousness got me, I froze!! I was only able to say 3 sentences and my mind stopped. It should have been very easy because I did not have a reason to be scared but my anxiety got the best of me. Good thing my husband was able to do it and I was able to redeem myself at the end but recalling it now still makes me want to punch myself :)))) 

Anyway, after all questions were asked IO told us that he is going to approve us. At this point I was already relieved,however, before the it actually finished,  IO and our lawyer had an argument about my married name so despite hearing earlier the word "approved", we left the office without anything in our hands, not even a paper that says " we will review your file", nothing. In short, we were left hanging. I think the IO got upset on the argument so he just told us to wait for the decision in the mail, that's it. Two days of agony and I did not hear anything from them until I received an email on the third day with a change of online status that says card is in production for my I-485 case, whew!!! Thank you very much dear God!

On Tuesday, my status changed to card was mailed to me and if the delivery period will be the same as my EAD's, I will get the greencard tomorrow. 

By the way, when I received the welcome notice today, I read it more than 10 times. In bold letters it said, "WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA". 
It felt so good reading it again and again because I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and finally, it is here!!!

Good luck everyone!!! 
I am sending you the all the good vibes that you need!! 

(Hi @nikaero, my update above as promised

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My advice on those who will have interview soon:
--- STOP READING about interview horror stories. You will not benefit anything from it but anxiety. 

--- At least, 3 days before the interview, do not read anymore experiences of other people. Focus on calming your mind and spirit. 

--- Not all interviews about your relationship are on a Q&A format, some IO would want you to narrate your story. That's what happened to us.

--- Your relationship is real, you have nothing to hide so you got this!! 



 

Congratulations.. Our interview is in 3 Weeks.. I am so nervous Because;

1- we could not make a joint bank account together yet.. Because they needed my ID at the bank.. And i was not able to Get it until after my EAD approval.. And i will get it in the mail few days before the interview..

2.- We live with my sister in law, so we do not have a rental pills 

We only have picturs together with the family.. Is that enough ? Did they asked about health insurance?

[PinkCandy 134]

19 minutes ago, rose michigan said:

Congratulations.. Our interview is in 3 Weeks.. I am so nervous Because;

1- we could not make a joint bank account together yet.. Because they needed my ID at the bank.. And i was not able to Get it until after my EAD approval.. And i will get it in the mail few days before the interview..

2.- We live with my sister in law, so we do not have a rental pills 

We only have picturs together with the family.. Is that enough ? Did they asked about health insurance?

Hi Rose,

 

Thank you!

 

i didnt have a lot either because my ssn and ids just came one month before the interview. Our lawyer said that USCIS totally understands this because it is hard to get joint accounts when you do not have an SSN yet. Just explain it to them of your situation.

 

We had:

- birth certs of our kids

- computer printed joint bank statement with a balance only less than $200 LOL

- retirement beneficiary proof (set up a week before)

- 40 pictures (you can do more) of mostly groups with family or friends --- Our attorney advised us that It would be convenient for IO to photocopy the pictures (colored and good quality) in white paper (3-4 pictures in one paper is okay) and then put a description on each so that IO will not ask anymore who's who or what's the event on each photo. What IOs will do is when they ask (some or all) these pictures for them to keep is they will punch hole on it and file them in your folder. 

 

We didnt have health insurance, utilitiy bills or even drivers insurance. 

 

 

. 

 

 

 

 

 

[PinkCandy 134]

3 hours ago, KimberleyVDB said:

@PinkCandy first off congrats! I am so happy for you! I do have a question. When did you get the letter with the appointment. I understand it's different for every office, I was just wondering. 

Hi Kimberley,

I received the email on June 9th regarding our interview schedule.  

Please see below the timeline of my I-485 application if you could not see it at the bottom of my posts: 

 

Filed for concurrent I-130 / Adjustment of Status with EAD and AP: 

2017-03-07 - Lawyer mailed out the packet to Chicago Lockbox office 

2017-03-09 - Application packet was delivered to Chicago Lockbox

2017-03-10 - Priority Date for all cases  

2017-03-20 - USCIS cashed the check

2017-03-23 - Received four notices - I-130 / I-485 / I-765 / I-131

2017-03-27 - Received email that they are sending an RFIE notice

2017-03-31 - Lawyer received the RFIE yellow notice 

2017-04-03 - Response to RFIE mailed out today

2017-04-05 - Response to RFIE was delivered to NBC, Lee's Summit, MO 

2017-04-07 - USCIS acknowledged receipt of the reply to RFIE 

2017-04-07 - Received biometric appointment letter in the mail 

2017-04-18 - Biometric appointment 

2017-05-17 - Status changed to "We ordered your new card..." for my EAD

2017-05-19 - Status changed to "We mailed your new card..." for EAD 

2017-05-22 - Received approval notices for EAD and AP

2017-05-23 - Received EAD/AP combo card in the mail

2017-06-09 - Received email that interview is scheduled on July 12th

2017-07-12 - Interview day

2017-07-12 - Status changed to "We updated your name..." for my I-485 and I-130

2017-07-14 - Status changed to "We ordered your new card.." for my I-485

2017-07-17 - Received approval notice by mail for I-130

2017-07-18 - Status changed to "We mailed your new card..." for my I-485

2017-07-20 - Received I-485 approval / Welcome Notice by mail

[nikaero 131]

10 hours ago, Jessleb said:

Finallyyyyyy just got an e-mail for EAD. We ordered your new card. ! :D:D:D:D I can't believe it. Took about 114.

Congratulations!!! that was a very long wait... hope the next part is not as long and you hear good news sooner this time... sending out thoughts and prayers...

[nikaero 131]

4 hours ago, PinkCandy said:

Hi, everyone 

I just want to let you know that my I-130 and I-485 have been approved. Our interview was last week, July 12th at the Raleigh Durham office. The approval notice for I-130 was delivered Monday and the I-485/Welcome Notice was received today.

Our interview was okay. Tbh, I cannot say that it was good because of two things: my anxiety and the mini-argument at the end between IO and our lawyer.

So, after we swore in, Immigration Officer explained to us that there will be two parts of that interview: first is going through the forms and verifying all the information and second will be our story. Everything was going well on the first part, we answered each question without any problem. When it was time for the second part, which was about our story, my nervousness got me, I froze!! I was only able to say 3 sentences and my mind stopped. It should have been very easy because I did not have a reason to be scared but my anxiety got the best of me. Good thing my husband was able to do it and I was able to redeem myself at the end but recalling it now still makes me want to punch myself :)))) 

Anyway, after all questions were asked IO told us that he is going to approve us. At this point I was already relieved,however, before the it actually finished,  IO and our lawyer had an argument about my married name so despite hearing earlier the word "approved", we left the office without anything in our hands, not even a paper that says " we will review your file", nothing. In short, we were left hanging. I think the IO got upset on the argument so he just told us to wait for the decision in the mail, that's it. Two days of agony and I did not hear anything from them until I received an email on the third day with a change of online status that says card is in production for my I-485 case, whew!!! Thank you very much dear God!

On Tuesday, my status changed to card was mailed to me and if the delivery period will be the same as my EAD's, I will get the greencard tomorrow. 

By the way, when I received the welcome notice today, I read it more than 10 times. In bold letters it said, "WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA". 
It felt so good reading it again and again because I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and finally, it is here!!!

Good luck everyone!!! 
I am sending you the all the good vibes that you need!! 

(Hi @nikaero, my update above as promised

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My advice on those who will have interview soon:
--- STOP READING about interview horror stories. You will not benefit anything from it but anxiety. 

--- At least, 3 days before the interview, do not read anymore experiences of other people. Focus on calming your mind and spirit. 

--- Not all interviews about your relationship are on a Q&A format, some IO would want you to narrate your story. That's what happened to us.

--- Your relationship is real, you have nothing to hide so you got this!! 



 

Hearty congratulations @PinkCandy!!! and thanks for updating like you promised...  those are some very good points for me to note for my interview too... I have a tendency to overthink stuff and get stuck in my head sometimes too lol... how long did the actual interview take ? not including the waiting time before meeting the IO... I'm so glad you finally have reached your goal now its smooth sailing from here, ROC in 2 years and citizenship in 3... Congratulations again and i do understand why you had to wait and put a detailed post about the interview in this case as it needed explanation, thank you for that... hope you guys have a nice celebration planned when you get card in hand!!! Please pray for me coz my interview is in less than 2 weeks and my knees are starting to shake not coz I'm not prepared but coz it is such an important event...

Edited July 21, 2017 by nikaero

[PinkCandy 134]

1 hour ago, rose michigan said:

Congratulations.. Our interview is in 3 Weeks.. I am so nervous Because;

1- we could not make a joint bank account together yet.. Because they needed my ID at the bank.. And i was not able to Get it until after my EAD approval.. And i will get it in the mail few days before the interview..

2.- We live with my sister in law, so we do not have a rental pills 

We only have picturs together with the family.. Is that enough ? Did they asked about health insurance?

By the way, good luck on your interview!!!!! People are right. It's not as bad as I thought it would be.

Just be prepared with whatever you can come up with. 
If you only have pictures, then give them more of that. If you have gym membership together, have that as well. We even asked proof of our church membership together but our church did not produce the document on time so we did not bring it anymore. 

[rose michigan 75]

10 minutes ago, PinkCandy said:

By the way, good luck on your interview!!!!! People are right. It's not as bad as I thought it would be.

Just be prepared with whatever you can come up with. 
If you only have pictures, then give them more of that. If you have gym membership together, have that as well. We even asked proof of our church membership together but our church did not produce the document on time so we did not bring it anymore. 

Wow.. Thank you so much.. That is such a relief.. Welcome to the USA.. Enjoy your life with your family and remember me in your prayers ..God bless you

[PinkCandy 134]

2 minutes ago, nikaero said:

Hearty congratulations @PinkCandy!!! and thanks for updating like you promised...  those are some very good points for me to note for my interview too... I have a tendency to overthink stuff and get stuck in my head sometimes too lol... how long did the actual interview take ? not including the waiting time before meeting the IO... I'm so glad you finally have reached your goal now its smooth sailing from here, ROC in 2 years and citizenship in 3... Congratulations again and i do understand why you had to wait and put a detailed post about the interview in this case as it needed explanation, thank you for that... hope you guys have a nice celebration planned when you get card in hand!!! Please pray for me coz my interview is in less than 2 weeks and my knees are starting to shake not coz I'm not prepared but coz it is such an important event...

Thank you so much!! 
 

You know what, that's what my husband said after the interview about me having mental block in front of the IO, he said I was overthinking the whole thing. He was right because instead of just answering the IO, in my head I was also trying to filter what I say or what I will do instead of just making it like a regular polite conversation. Thank you for understanding. I really did not want to update when my heart was still heavy from the uncertainty of the situation.    

We will have a celebration for sure! You are right, this is such an important event for all of us!

As for your interview, I will definitely pray for you to give you guidance and clarity of mind. God bless!!!  Update us too afterwards when you are ready.