February 2017 AOS from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas

[rosecloud 43]

I thought I'd update everyone here as well. 

 

My husband and I had our interview on June 20th and we were approved on the spot!!! What a relief. 

 

Our interview was at the Chicago, IL field office. We had a very serious but sometimes sarcastic/funny officer. He swore us in and began asking basic information about us. He asked my husband for his full name and date of birth (USC), place of birth, etc. Asked for my birth certificate and wanted to verify our current address. Then he asked about the names of my parents and where they live. He wanted to know if I had any relatives in the States and if I finished my studies, when was the last time that I entered the US. He asked if my family came to our wedding at which time I showed him our wedding album and he seemed to enjoy that we had an actual reception. He asked my husband when/how we met, when was the first time we met in person, when he proposed, and when we started talking about marriage. Then he wanted to know who our joint sponsor was and what he did. Asked about my husband's job and then mine. He said that we submitted a lot of family photos and just asked about my husband's big family (if you can get photos at family functions, please do! It'll help.) Then I had to answer all the yes or no questions.

 

He didn't ask anything about 2016 tax return. He didn't ask for any documents to prove our bonafide marriage, not even bank accounts. But I think it helps that we lived together for two years before getting married (adjusting from a student visa). 

 

He told us his job is to evaluate a case to see whether or not there is immigration fraud and that he believed our marriage is real and that he'd approve us today (card in production now) or tomorrow. 

 

He told me that in two years I need to remove conditions and that it shouldn't require another interview because he isn't/has no reason to flag our case. Then told me that in three years I can become a US citizen. And that was it!

 

Good luck everyone! Hang in there. 

[oncoming traffic 21]

hey dudes...wanted to post and check in with yall! case has been ready for interview since 1 may. dunno where it was but someone told me that it's in our best interest to schedule an infopass if we haven't heard anything by 1 aug. i know the status could change before the end of the month, but just in case, how quick is it on average from the time i send a request to the actual appointment date itself? just wondering : -) thanks! hope you've all been having a good summer so far and staying cool

[jnicolel 10]

Hi all, we finally got my husband's EAD card on Friday.  It arrived 59 days after getting the approval notice. 137 days from filing date.  It took multiple phone calls which resulted in being told to wait, a service request, and finally an expedite on the service request.  There was no explanation as to why it took so long to arrive.  We are still waiting on our interview date.  Our case has been ready to schedule for interview since April 28.

[gallegamericana 8]

Hi all! Just wanted to add a good update!

We were approved for our advanced parole on June 29th and also got our interview date on July 3rd (for August 3rd).

Our interview was great, but we had a problem with the health exam. There was a new form as of August 2016 and our civil surgeon used the outdated one  The case was put on hold for one day while we got the updated form filled out and handed in. On August 4th our case changed to "New Card being Produced" ! Yahoo! GC on its way!

[Raduga 6]

On 6/22/2017 at 7:44 AM, rosecloud said:

I thought I'd update everyone here as well. 

 

My husband and I had our interview on June 20th and we were approved on the spot!!! What a relief. 

 

Our interview was at the Chicago, IL field office. We had a very serious but sometimes sarcastic/funny officer. He swore us in and began asking basic information about us. He asked my husband for his full name and date of birth (USC), place of birth, etc. Asked for my birth certificate and wanted to verify our current address. Then he asked about the names of my parents and where they live. He wanted to know if I had any relatives in the States and if I finished my studies, when was the last time that I entered the US. He asked if my family came to our wedding at which time I showed him our wedding album and he seemed to enjoy that we had an actual reception. He asked my husband when/how we met, when was the first time we met in person, when he proposed, and when we started talking about marriage. Then he wanted to know who our joint sponsor was and what he did. Asked about my husband's job and then mine. He said that we submitted a lot of family photos and just asked about my husband's big family (if you can get photos at family functions, please do! It'll help.) Then I had to answer all the yes or no questions.

 

He didn't ask anything about 2016 tax return. He didn't ask for any documents to prove our bonafide marriage, not even bank accounts. But I think it helps that we lived together for two years before getting married (adjusting from a student visa). 

 

He told us his job is to evaluate a case to see whether or not there is immigration fraud and that he believed our marriage is real and that he'd approve us today (card in production now) or tomorrow. 

 

He told me that in two years I need to remove conditions and that it shouldn't require another interview because he isn't/has no reason to flag our case. Then told me that in three years I can become a US citizen. And that was it!

 

Good luck everyone! Hang in there. 

 Congratulations!  That's great news. 🎉

 I'm still at fingerprint fee excepted.  I submitted an online inquiry and should receive an answer by the end of this week.  But it looks like it will be another generic response. 

[jnicolel 10]

We got our greencard appointment for Sept. 27!  I was checking daily for any updates through early August. Finally I got sick of it and just forgot about it for a while.  All of a sudden the notice came in the mail yesterday.  Our priority date is Feb. 27.  

[oncoming traffic 21]

didn't get an email or text notice despite being signed up for them??.. but our interview has officially been scheduled for 26 oct first thing in the morning! good luck to everyone.. please update the thread with your experience, i intend to and i'm sure we would all very much appreciate the info. thanks and see you all soon!!

 

edit: ah.. i see why i didn't get a text - it's not even updated in the system online! weird. make sure to check your mail people!

Edited September 26, 2017 by oncoming traffic
update

[jnicolel 10]

Had our interview Sept. 27, 7 months exactly after we filed.  We were approved. Card should come in a week or so.  

[antoineD 36]

9 hours ago, jnicolel said:

Had our interview Sept. 27, 7 months exactly after we filed.  We were approved. Card should come in a week or so.  

congrats, that's wonderful!

[DurioM 1]

I had our interview on Sept.5th which is exactly one month ago, and still haven't heard back from them since then. In the interview the officer basically went over all the documents and forms page by page, and in the end told us he couldn't make decision because my background check hadn't cleared yet. He only verbally informed me to wait for mail once they make a decision, but no hardcopy notice like some interviewee would receive telling them when they could check back.

I'm wondering if there's supposed to be an estimated time frame after the interview? Should I call them to find out?

Edited October 6, 2017 by DurioM

[el_greco 20]

Hello everyone,

 

I just got the notification in the mail that schedules our interview for the San Antonio office November 7th! Excited and nervous at the same time. Quick question, in the check list provided with the notification for the interview, it states that I need to provide my birth certificate, even though I have mailed it to USCIS with my original packet. Should I ask for a second copy of my birth certificate from the consulate of Greece?

 

In general, should I print out all the documents I submitted with my original packet again, or can I expect they will have them?

[oncoming traffic 21]

17 hours ago, el_greco said:

 it states that I need to provide my birth certificate, even though I have mailed it to USCIS with my original packet. Should I ask for a second copy of my birth certificate from the consulate of Greece?

that's what we plan on doing just to be safe

 

17 hours ago, el_greco said:

should I print out all the documents I submitted with my original packet again, or can I expect they will have them?

i think the expectation is that at the very least you both need to know the information that was submitted on those forms. i'm in the same boat as you at the moment so don't take my word as gospel - i'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong lol..but we just intend on bringing more new proof of relationship stuff as opposed to copies and copies of paperwork we know they already have.

[ThinkerBelle 5]

Hi guys, may I ask for an updated timeline of your AOS? I would like to know how long it took from when you mailed documents to approval/GC production. Also which service center. Did you also need a lawyer to assist with application?

[oncoming traffic 21]

4 hours ago, ThinkerBelle said:

Hi guys, may I ask for an updated timeline of your AOS? I would like to know how long it took from when you mailed documents to approval/GC production. Also which service center. Did you also need a lawyer to assist with application?

my timeline is updated with all the current info about our case.. we did not use a lawyer just scoured all the info available here on vj! and im quite young and i was able to figure everything out on my own for us without any requests for evidence. it is 100% doable!! our local office (baltimore) is also super swamped as far as i've heard but we managed to go from priority to interview date in what looks like record time lol.

 

edit: thts not to say a lawyer wouldnt be useful for some more unusual or messy cases like with prior arrests or divorce stuff. this is serious stuff and if it would make you feel more comfortable yes a lawyer can help. but keep in mind they are no guarantee either so please get familiar with the process and paperwork on your own as well

Edited October 8, 2017 by oncoming traffic
addtl info

[ThinkerBelle 5]

On 10/8/2017 at 1:51 PM, oncoming traffic said:

my timeline is updated with all the current info about our case.. we did not use a lawyer just scoured all the info available here on vj! and im quite young and i was able to figure everything out on my own for us without any requests for evidence. it is 100% doable!! our local office (baltimore) is also super swamped as far as i've heard but we managed to go from priority to interview date in what looks like record time lol.

 

edit: thts not to say a lawyer wouldnt be useful for some more unusual or messy cases like with prior arrests or divorce stuff. this is serious stuff and if it would make you feel more comfortable yes a lawyer can help. but keep in mind they are no guarantee either so please get familiar with the process and paperwork on your own as well

Hi. Thanks for the response, so far our case is simple, no fellony no divorce no kids. But my concern is I have an ongoing employment based immigrant visa petition and I dont know how that will affect my case.