March 2017 AOS Filers

[Californiansunset 334]

2 hours ago, umabanana said:

Do they immediately give you a new date or do you have to wait for the letter all over again? 

 Ugh, my medical will be expired by interview date. Should I just go and get a new one? 

Nah you have to wait for a new one... the person on the phone is sitting at the Service Center in Missouri and your local field office will be the one to schedule a new one, so there's no way for them to be able to give you a new date on the spot. They usually try to get you a new date within 60 days of your original interview date though. I belonged to the unlucky ones who had to wait longer.  

[raulgon2493 14]

2 hours ago, Kooky said:

 

 

 

Unclear as to whether the one year limit is from application date or date of medical so it's your call.  My application filing date was March 20, 2017 and my Medical Exam date was March 16, 2017.  The interviewer said since he couldn't approve me on the spot because of a separate issue (and that the issue would take some time to sort out) and that my medical would expire by March 20th (is what he said) so I might need a new one.  I then whipped out the one I had two weeks ago and he was like great! 

 

It's up to you honestly, we almost didn't do a new medical exam since it wouldn't have expired until next month but I didn't want to risk getting an RFE as others did (if you look in this chain some people have had issues with their medical exam being out longer than a year and having to get a new one).  For me it was worth paying for another exam not to have to worry that my file is going back into the abyss.

I do not know when my interview will be but I applied end of march. I am hoping by march or april I will have an interview . I will be going in with a new medical exam just to avoid a RFE. It is just not worth it. I know the money might be tough but its small investing for the return we will get and also peace of mind. 

[KimberleyVDB 77]

5 hours ago, raulgon2493 said:

I do not know when my interview will be but I applied end of march. I am hoping by march or april I will have an interview . I will be going in with a new medical exam just to avoid a RFE. It is just not worth it. I know the money might be tough but its small investing for the return we will get and also peace of mind. 

What kind of Visa are you adjusting from? I know if you're adjusting from a K1 Visa, like myself, you do not need to renew your medical. With other Visa's I'm not sure. 

[Kooky 3]

29 minutes ago, KimberleyVDB said:

What kind of Visa are you adjusting from? I know if you're adjusting from a K1 Visa, like myself, you do not need to renew your medical. With other Visa's I'm not sure. 

I don't know if that's true.  I know the I-693 instructions say within a year of submission for overseas K1 applicant but two things concern me:

 

1) "Starting June 1, 2014, USCIS will limit the validity period for all Forms I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, to one year from the date of submission to USCIS. Applicants must also submit Form I-693 to USCIS within one year of the immigration medical examination." https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-issues-new-policy-form-i-693-report-medical-examination-and-vaccination-record

 

2) If you go to the I-693 Special Instructions and click through to

USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8, Part B, Chapter 4, it says,

 

"An officer may determine that the applicant has met the burden of proof required to establish that he or she is free from a medical condition that would render the applicant inadmissible if all of the following criteria are met:

 

•The medical exam was performed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon in accordance with HHS regulations;

•The medical examination report was properly completed;

•The medical examination report was submitted to USCIS less than one year after completion of the examination;

•The benefit application is ADJUDICATED (emphasis added) no more than one year after the date the medical examination report was submitted to USCIS;  and

•The medical examination report establishes that the applicant does not have a Class A medical condition and has complied with the vaccination requirements or is granted a waiver."

 

If you click on the footnote for the "adjudicated," bullet it says, "USCIS will use the date that USCIS received the Form I-693 to determine whether the medical examination report is more than one year old at time of adjudication of the benefit application. Although the medical examination report is generally valid for adjudicatory purposes up to one year after filing, the officer may order an additional immigration medical examination at any time if he or she has concerns as to an applicant’s inadmissibility on health-related grounds. For more information, see Chapter 11, Inadmissibility Determination, Section C, Other Information [8 USCIS-PM B.11(C)]."

 

And it appears from anecdotal evidence that they are using their discretion even without concerns.   Sooo again, kind of a risk analysis situation here.

[KimberleyVDB 77]

51 minutes ago, Kooky said:

I don't know if that's true.  I know the I-693 instructions say within a year of submission for overseas K1 applicant but two things concern me:

 

1) "Starting June 1, 2014, USCIS will limit the validity period for all Forms I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, to one year from the date of submission to USCIS. Applicants must also submit Form I-693 to USCIS within one year of the immigration medical examination." https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-issues-new-policy-form-i-693-report-medical-examination-and-vaccination-record

 

2) If you go to the I-693 Special Instructions and click through to

USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8, Part B, Chapter 4, it says,

 

"An officer may determine that the applicant has met the burden of proof required to establish that he or she is free from a medical condition that would render the applicant inadmissible if all of the following criteria are met:

 

•The medical exam was performed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon in accordance with HHS regulations;

•The medical examination report was properly completed;

•The medical examination report was submitted to USCIS less than one year after completion of the examination;

•The benefit application is ADJUDICATED (emphasis added) no more than one year after the date the medical examination report was submitted to USCIS;  and

•The medical examination report establishes that the applicant does not have a Class A medical condition and has complied with the vaccination requirements or is granted a waiver."

 

If you click on the footnote for the "adjudicated," bullet it says, "USCIS will use the date that USCIS received the Form I-693 to determine whether the medical examination report is more than one year old at time of adjudication of the benefit application. Although the medical examination report is generally valid for adjudicatory purposes up to one year after filing, the officer may order an additional immigration medical examination at any time if he or she has concerns as to an applicant’s inadmissibility on health-related grounds. For more information, see Chapter 11, Inadmissibility Determination, Section C, Other Information [8 USCIS-PM B.11(C)]."

 

And it appears from anecdotal evidence that they are using their discretion even without concerns.   Sooo again, kind of a risk analysis situation here.

Ok just an fyi. I am adjusting from K1. I got here in Augustus of 2016. We got married in October of 2016. I had to do my medical before my interview at my embassy/consul which I had in July of 2016. I did my adjustment of status in March of 2017. I have received my Green Card. I haven't heard anyone who entered on a K1 needing to renew their medical. It actually was in every piece of paperwork I got from USCIS that I had to submit a medical unless it was already submitted. Since it was already submitted, I did not have to do it again. I did submitted my medical before it was a year after taking my medical.

[Kooky 3]

19 minutes ago, KimberleyVDB said:

Ok just an fyi. I am adjusting from K1. I got here in Augustus of 2016. We got married in October of 2016. I had to do my medical before my interview at my embassy/consul which I had in July of 2016. I did my adjustment of status in March of 2017. I have received my Green Card. I haven't heard anyone who entered on a K1 needing to renew their medical. It actually was in every piece of paperwork I got from USCIS that I had to submit a medical unless it was already submitted. Since it was already submitted, I did not have to do it again. I did submitted my medical before it was a year after taking my medical.

Hmmm I think you might be misunderstanding the concern here--it's that they have discretion to reject  a medical that is over a year old AND past the a year since filing at the time of adjudication.  By your timeline you did the medical in July 2016 applied for AOS in March 2017 and got adjudicated in January 2018--which means your medical was deemed sufficient as within a year from filing since you got approved last month.  What we are/were concerned is with the policy of discretion to require one be done within a year of adjudication if that date is more than one year from filing.

 

Like if you had your interview in April it would be more than a year since you applied...which is the unfortunate situation a lot of filers are in because of the backlog.

Edited February 24, 2018 by Kooky

[KimberleyVDB 77]

On 2/23/2018 at 8:31 PM, Kooky said:

Hmmm I think you might be misunderstanding the concern here--it's that they have discretion to reject  a medical that is over a year old AND past the a year since filing at the time of adjudication.  By your timeline you did the medical in July 2016 applied for AOS in March 2017 and got adjudicated in January 2018--which means your medical was deemed sufficient as within a year from filing since you got approved last month.  What we are/were concerned is with the policy of discretion to require one be done within a year of adjudication if that date is more than one year from filing.

 

Like if you had your interview in April it would be more than a year since you applied...which is the unfortunate situation a lot of filers are in because of the backlog.

 Yes you're right there was a misunderstanding. I do however still think there is a difference between a K1 Visa and the others when it comes to that. I know a guy who waited 1 year and 4 months to hear anything about his application. He did aos after K1. He didn't need to redo his medical. Since they can get a waiver..  I think sometimes it would be easier if poeple would say, when they have a question, what Visa they are doing their aos from. Because it is different. It will help resolve a lot of confusion. Buy that's just my opinion.

[riah_b 2]

Hi Guys! Just wanted to update you all. We had our interview at the NYC office this morning was scheduled for an 11:25 interview. We weren't seen  until 1:30. I thought the officer didn't really show any emotion so it was hard to get a read and she was confused as to why we haven't traveled together yet, but after showing her all of our evidence and photos she told us we she was going to approve us pending any inconsistencies from the standard background check! So happy to almost be done

[lwlinda1208 7]

On 2/26/2018 at 3:28 PM, riah_b said:

Hi Guys! Just wanted to update you all. We had our interview at the NYC office this morning was scheduled for an 11:25 interview. We weren't seen  until 1:30. I thought the officer didn't really show any emotion so it was hard to get a read and she was confused as to why we haven't traveled together yet, but after showing her all of our evidence and photos she told us we she was going to approve us pending any inconsistencies from the standard background check! So happy to almost be done

Did she say how long the background check is gonna be? I'm having my interview tomorrow and I'm freaking out super hard... 

[simplyjessica09 1]

Hello, all! I hope this message finds you well. I am petitioning for my husband and was our sponsor on our Affadavit of Support. We are currently waiting for a notice on our interview date (hopefully, soon! We filed on 03/01/2017, waiting for interview since 04/17/2017) and I know many people are asked to bring in a letter from their current employer confirming employment and salary. However, I was recently let go from my salaried work (also the employer I submitted on our paperwork). I also started a business in June 2017 but have not yet been able to turn a profit from it and we are mostly living on our savings & the money I am earning from the business. I am concerned that since I am no longer employed and cannot show reasonable financial support anymore, his adjustment of status will not be approved. Does anyone have an idea of what I should do? All help is appreciated. Thank you.

[Kooky 3]

8 hours ago, simplyjessica09 said:

Hello, all! I hope this message finds you well. I am petitioning for my husband and was our sponsor on our Affadavit of Support. We are currently waiting for a notice on our interview date (hopefully, soon! We filed on 03/01/2017, waiting for interview since 04/17/2017) and I know many people are asked to bring in a letter from their current employer confirming employment and salary. However, I was recently let go from my salaried work (also the employer I submitted on our paperwork). I also started a business in June 2017 but have not yet been able to turn a profit from it and we are mostly living on our savings & the money I am earning from the business. I am concerned that since I am no longer employed and cannot show reasonable financial support anymore, his adjustment of status will not be approved. Does anyone have an idea of what I should do? All help is appreciated. Thank you.

To clarify, did you not complete the Affidavit of Support when you submitted your original AOS?  We did (it was submitted with our AOS application in March of 2017), but since the interview notice also stated that we should bring in paystubs from last 2 months, most recent tax return, and letters confirming employment we did that too and I volunteered it but the interviewer said our Affidavit of Support had long been approved anyway so he didn't need it.  So if you already submitted it when you were working at your salaried job I would assume you're good to go.

 

If not, for a household of 2 people you just need to show you make $20,300. 

https://www.uscis.gov/system/files_force/files/form/i-864p.pdf?download=1 If you have a tax return from last year with your salaried job income and ample savings such that you can live on them (at least temporarily while your business gets up and running) then you should be in the clear.  I would bring all I have regarding the business plan/ investors/ analysis of projected profit/ anything to show the business is legit, in case they ask. 

 

If you are not close to having enough, then you have two options:

 

1) If your husband works his income can also be used in the calculation via a contract (he would fill out this form and supply all the supporting documentation as per the instructions):  https://www.uscis.gov/i-864a

2) Another person can also file an Affidavit of Support as long as they (and you) agree to assume financial liability--they have to be citizens or permament residents, 18 and live in the states and would also need to fill out the regular Affidavit of Support (along with yours) and supply all the supporting documentation as per the instructions.

[Bast' 22]

12 hours ago, lwlinda1208 said:

Did she say how long the background check is gonna be? I'm having my interview tomorrow and I'm freaking out super hard... 

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

[Tommi F 2]

On 2/21/2018 at 2:55 PM, Tommi F said:

The only caveat was that since we had been married only 1.5 years at the time of filing (we married 06/2015, I filed for AOS 03/2017), my green card will end up being conditional permanent residence, valid only for 2 years. In 2 years, I need to petition to get those conditions removed. Not that it's a big deal, but after 3 H-1Bs and now this process in 6 years, I was hoping to finally have dealing with immigration over and done with.

 

I guess I still have one more time around the block to do.

Quick update on this. I think my interviewer was incorrect in his statement as based on my research and the fact that I just received a NOA saying I've been approved for a 10 year GC, it seems the 2 year requirement indeed is for the time of approval, not filing.

 

Pretty relieved about this. Hopefully the card arrives fast and without issue. I have a friend currently dealing with a card lost in the mail, effectively pushing his permanent resident status back by almost a year.

[riah_b 2]

14 hours ago, lwlinda1208 said:

Did she say how long the background check is gonna be? I'm having my interview tomorrow and I'm freaking out super hard... 

She did not say how long, however we just received our "Card Is Being Produced" update

 

So happy and excited about this! Huge thanks for everyone + this website as this is all we used to file (no lawyer) and happy to see we had such a smooth process. Good luck to everyone here!

[lwlinda1208 7]

1 minute ago, riah_b said:

She did not say how long, however we just received our "Card Is Being Produced" update

 

So happy and excited about this! Huge thanks for everyone + this website as this is all we used to file (no lawyer) and happy to see we had such a smooth process. Good luck to everyone here!

Congratulations!!!!!