AOS June 2017 Filers!

[raydamon 3]

Hello fellow June filers,

 

Although a few days late, wife's interview went well and was approved on the spot. The main takeaways were:

1) Make sure the IO has you swear to tell the truth

2) Spend the $200 and get another medical before you go to the interview

 

Here is a review of that day:

This is a review for AOS interview in the San Bernadino USCIS office that took place in mid June, 2018. Summary available at the end.

 

Setting: I am the USC(Petitioner) and my wife is the applicant(Beneficiary)

Our interview time was close to 11am. We got there about 35 minutes earlier. Security line was short and quick. The interview waiting room is on the second floor where everyone is waiting. There were a lot of people waiting for their interviews and from what I can tell, they are mostly here for Naturalization interviews.

 

So we checked in as soon as we got there and started waiting. Many couples came after us went in to their interviews before us. I had to ask the reception desk and their canned response was "it really depends on your Interview Officer(IO from now)". In the end, we were called in after waiting for about 2 hours. Our IO was a kind-looking lady in her 60s and she brought us into her office to get ready for the interview.

 

Before the IO asked us to swear that we’re going to tell the truth, she found out that the previous applicant left something on her table. So she asked us to remain standing and rushed out of the room to find the previous applicant. But it was too late, she came back with the document in her hands and asked us to sit down while she tries to get ahold of the applicant by phone. She could not reach the person and decided to start the interview.

 

First thing was to take a photo of applicant and fingerprints of both index fingers. She then opened our files, she acknowledged that wife is adjusting from K-1 and she believed that it was a good sign. As she went through our stacked file(K1 package plus the AOS package), she asked how we met and the very standard questions. During this time, she seemed very clueless about the applicant and it occurred to me that she probably has never read about anything on the file before we came in.

 

As time went on, she kept on unpacking the large files and tried to organize them into some sort of order. She did ask a couple of random questions such as “so do you work now? What about you?”. During one of the gaps, I asked her that didn’t we have to swear to tell the truth? Then she remembered that we skipped the formality because of the incident in the beginning. So we swore that we would tell the truth and nothing but the truth in the middle the interview. And she mentioned that we would have to come for the second time if I did not asked the question. A large bullet dodged. While the IO was organizing the documents. She went through all the criminal, drugs and other standard questions as well.

 

When the IO finished with the document organizing, she asked and used a pencil to write down a very simple timeline on how we met, got into relationship, engaged, moved to the US and married. At the end, she asked us for any evidence we have brought in this time, we gave everything to her. Without carefully looking at all of them, she just stacked them into the AOS package. Then she asked for a new medical exam which luckily we decided to do a week before the interview. I did not challenge her on the USCIS rules of filing the AOS within one year of the medical exam should keep it validated. We handed the medical exam results over and she checked the important pages and put it into the file as well.

 

At last the IO said she was going to grant our case and printed an approval letter for us to take home. The interview lasted about 30 minutes but I felt like 10-15 minutes of them were just random chatters regarding our home country, our jobs or even our family. She is a very kind person and I would say an easy IO. But she is very slow on everything. But we’re happy that we got our approval with ease.

 

As we were exiting the office, we saw that two other couples were being questioned separately. They did not look very happy and I wished them good luck inside.

 

5 days after the interview, we got an email saying the green card has been shipped out and we should do something if we do not see it within 2 weeks.

 

A summary:

Got there 30 minutes early, waited about 2 hours to get in. Interview lasted 30 minutes. No questions out of ordinary was asked. IO did ask for a new medical exam even though we filed within one year of the medical exam done in oversea and also asked for copies of passports/IDs. Took all additional evidence(recent bills, new I-864, new tax return) except photos. Did NOT take EAD even though GC was approved. Green card shipped 5 days later.

 

Good luck to everyone out there.

Edited June 19, 2018 by raydamon

[Diane and Chris 651]

6 hours ago, raydamon said:

Hello fellow June filers,

 

Although a few days late, wife's interview went well and was approved on the spot. The main takeaways were:

1) Make sure the IO has you swear to tell the truth

2) Spend the $200 and get another medical before you go to the interview

 

Here is a review of that day:

This is a review for AOS interview in the San Bernadino USCIS office that took place in mid June, 2018. Summary available at the end.

 

Setting: I am the USC(Petitioner) and my wife is the applicant(Beneficiary)

Our interview time was close to 11am. We got there about 35 minutes earlier. Security line was short and quick. The interview waiting room is on the second floor where everyone is waiting. There were a lot of people waiting for their interviews and from what I can tell, they are mostly here for Naturalization interviews.

 

So we checked in as soon as we got there and started waiting. Many couples came after us went in to their interviews before us. I had to ask the reception desk and their canned response was "it really depends on your Interview Officer(IO from now)". In the end, we were called in after waiting for about 2 hours. Our IO was a kind-looking lady in her 60s and she brought us into her office to get ready for the interview.

 

Before the IO asked us to swear that we’re going to tell the truth, she found out that the previous applicant left something on her table. So she asked us to remain standing and rushed out of the room to find the previous applicant. But it was too late, she came back with the document in her hands and asked us to sit down while she tries to get ahold of the applicant by phone. She could not reach the person and decided to start the interview.

 

First thing was to take a photo of applicant and fingerprints of both index fingers. She then opened our files, she acknowledged that wife is adjusting from K-1 and she believed that it was a good sign. As she went through our stacked file(K1 package plus the AOS package), she asked how we met and the very standard questions. During this time, she seemed very clueless about the applicant and it occurred to me that she probably has never read about anything on the file before we came in.

 

As time went on, she kept on unpacking the large files and tried to organize them into some sort of order. She did ask a couple of random questions such as “so do you work now? What about you?”. During one of the gaps, I asked her that didn’t we have to swear to tell the truth? Then she remembered that we skipped the formality because of the incident in the beginning. So we swore that we would tell the truth and nothing but the truth in the middle the interview. And she mentioned that we would have to come for the second time if I did not asked the question. A large bullet dodged. While the IO was organizing the documents. She went through all the criminal, drugs and other standard questions as well.

 

When the IO finished with the document organizing, she asked and used a pencil to write down a very simple timeline on how we met, got into relationship, engaged, moved to the US and married. At the end, she asked us for any evidence we have brought in this time, we gave everything to her. Without carefully looking at all of them, she just stacked them into the AOS package. Then she asked for a new medical exam which luckily we decided to do a week before the interview. I did not challenge her on the USCIS rules of filing the AOS within one year of the medical exam should keep it validated. We handed the medical exam results over and she checked the important pages and put it into the file as well.

 

At last the IO said she was going to grant our case and printed an approval letter for us to take home. The interview lasted about 30 minutes but I felt like 10-15 minutes of them were just random chatters regarding our home country, our jobs or even our family. She is a very kind person and I would say an easy IO. But she is very slow on everything. But we’re happy that we got our approval with ease.

 

As we were exiting the office, we saw that two other couples were being questioned separately. They did not look very happy and I wished them good luck inside.

 

5 days after the interview, we got an email saying the green card has been shipped out and we should do something if we do not see it within 2 weeks.

 

A summary:

Got there 30 minutes early, waited about 2 hours to get in. Interview lasted 30 minutes. No questions out of ordinary was asked. IO did ask for a new medical exam even though we filed within one year of the medical exam done in oversea and also asked for copies of passports/IDs. Took all additional evidence(recent bills, new I-864, new tax return) except photos. Did NOT take EAD even though GC was approved. Green card shipped 5 days later.

 

Good luck to everyone out there.

When did you get the notice that you were in line to be scheduled for an interview?  How long did it take to get the interview?  Thanks..

[Diane and Chris 651]

On 5/18/2018 at 10:08 AM, FiKen said:

Congratulations. 

I haven’t got my notice yet. Sigh.

We got the Case Is Ready To Be Scheduled For An Interview Notice today, finally. Does anyone know hw long it typically takes for the interview to be scheduled once you receive this notice?  Thanks in advance for any info. Also, will we need another medical?  

[Diane and Chris 651]

On 5/4/2018 at 7:24 PM, Selma and Nermin said:

Any updates on cases or notices?

We received Case Is Ready To Be Scheduled For An Interview today. At least something is happening. I wonder how long it will take. 

[raydamon 3]

12 hours ago, Diane and Chris said:

When did you get the notice that you were in line to be scheduled for an interview?  How long did it take to get the interview?  Thanks..

We got that notice last September that it was ready to be scheduled. It was then scheduled for mid June this year.

[Diane and Chris 651]

7 hours ago, raydamon said:

We got that notice last September that it was ready to be scheduled. It was then scheduled for mid June this year.

Did you have to get a new medical?  Did you have an EAD before you got the GC?  Thanks!  

[raydamon 3]

1 minute ago, Diane and Chris said:

Did you have to get a new medical?  Did you have an EAD before you got the GC?  Thanks!  

Yes, the IO asked for a new medical. I had my wife did another one just in case and I am very glad that I did. Otherwise I would probably get an RFE.

Yes, got EAD in October last year.

[Diane and Chris 651]

1 minute ago, raydamon said:

Yes, the IO asked for a new medical. I had my wife did another one just in case and I am very glad that I did. Otherwise I would probably get an RFE.

Yes, got EAD in October last year.

Thanks for answering. That’s something I wondered about. My husband got his EAD last October as well. I’m sure it will expire (this October) before we get the interview. You didn’t have that problem. Do you know what we should do?  His driver’s license will expire in October when EAD expires. 

[Diane and Chris 651]

On 3/30/2018 at 1:55 PM, wildling99 said:

Hi June filers! I'm a July filer, but I lurk in your waters to see how much progress is being made in June to gauge where I'm at  Up until this point, I thought we were on track to get an interview date scheduled sooner rather than later, but then...

 

I noticed something that I just posted in our July filer thread: USCIS rolled out a new case processing time page that is apparently supposed to be more accurate. I thought it was awesome until I looked up Phoenix for an I-485.

 

Current time: 14 to 22.5 months. They're currently working on MAY 2016, which is a LOT more backlogged than I anticipated. I tried a couple other field offices to see if it was consistent, and it looks like Phoenix is one of the longest waiting times. It also means you're not out of "normal" processing time to submit a service request unless your date is prior to that. So it's kinda crazy!

 

https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

 

Will you apply for a new EAD soon if you don’t get an interview?  

[Athens 101]

On 6/19/2018 at 5:34 PM, raydamon said:

Hello fellow June filers,

 

Although a few days late, wife's interview went well and was approved on the spot. The main takeaways were:

1) Make sure the IO has you swear to tell the truth

2) Spend the $200 and get another medical before you go to the interview

 

Here is a review of that day:

This is a review for AOS interview in the San Bernadino USCIS office that took place in mid June, 2018. Summary available at the end.

 

Setting: I am the USC(Petitioner) and my wife is the applicant(Beneficiary)

Our interview time was close to 11am. We got there about 35 minutes earlier. Security line was short and quick. The interview waiting room is on the second floor where everyone is waiting. There were a lot of people waiting for their interviews and from what I can tell, they are mostly here for Naturalization interviews.

 

So we checked in as soon as we got there and started waiting. Many couples came after us went in to their interviews before us. I had to ask the reception desk and their canned response was "it really depends on your Interview Officer(IO from now)". In the end, we were called in after waiting for about 2 hours. Our IO was a kind-looking lady in her 60s and she brought us into her office to get ready for the interview.

 

Before the IO asked us to swear that we’re going to tell the truth, she found out that the previous applicant left something on her table. So she asked us to remain standing and rushed out of the room to find the previous applicant. But it was too late, she came back with the document in her hands and asked us to sit down while she tries to get ahold of the applicant by phone. She could not reach the person and decided to start the interview.

 

First thing was to take a photo of applicant and fingerprints of both index fingers. She then opened our files, she acknowledged that wife is adjusting from K-1 and she believed that it was a good sign. As she went through our stacked file(K1 package plus the AOS package), she asked how we met and the very standard questions. During this time, she seemed very clueless about the applicant and it occurred to me that she probably has never read about anything on the file before we came in.

 

As time went on, she kept on unpacking the large files and tried to organize them into some sort of order. She did ask a couple of random questions such as “so do you work now? What about you?”. During one of the gaps, I asked her that didn’t we have to swear to tell the truth? Then she remembered that we skipped the formality because of the incident in the beginning. So we swore that we would tell the truth and nothing but the truth in the middle the interview. And she mentioned that we would have to come for the second time if I did not asked the question. A large bullet dodged. While the IO was organizing the documents. She went through all the criminal, drugs and other standard questions as well.

 

When the IO finished with the document organizing, she asked and used a pencil to write down a very simple timeline on how we met, got into relationship, engaged, moved to the US and married. At the end, she asked us for any evidence we have brought in this time, we gave everything to her. Without carefully looking at all of them, she just stacked them into the AOS package. Then she asked for a new medical exam which luckily we decided to do a week before the interview. I did not challenge her on the USCIS rules of filing the AOS within one year of the medical exam should keep it validated. We handed the medical exam results over and she checked the important pages and put it into the file as well.

 

At last the IO said she was going to grant our case and printed an approval letter for us to take home. The interview lasted about 30 minutes but I felt like 10-15 minutes of them were just random chatters regarding our home country, our jobs or even our family. She is a very kind person and I would say an easy IO. But she is very slow on everything. But we’re happy that we got our approval with ease.

 

As we were exiting the office, we saw that two other couples were being questioned separately. They did not look very happy and I wished them good luck inside.

 

5 days after the interview, we got an email saying the green card has been shipped out and we should do something if we do not see it within 2 weeks.

 

A summary:

Got there 30 minutes early, waited about 2 hours to get in. Interview lasted 30 minutes. No questions out of ordinary was asked. IO did ask for a new medical exam even though we filed within one year of the medical exam done in oversea and also asked for copies of passports/IDs. Took all additional evidence(recent bills, new I-864, new tax return) except photos. Did NOT take EAD even though GC was approved. Green card shipped 5 days later.

 

Good luck to everyone out there.

Hello, congratulations. When you say you filed within one year of the medical exam done in oversea, does it mean you didn’t submit a new medical when you filed AOS. 

[Athens 101]

On 6/19/2018 at 5:34 PM, raydamon said:

Hello fellow June filers,

 

Although a few days late, wife's interview went well and was approved on the spot. The main takeaways were:

1) Make sure the IO has you swear to tell the truth

2) Spend the $200 and get another medical before you go to the interview

 

Here is a review of that day:

This is a review for AOS interview in the San Bernadino USCIS office that took place in mid June, 2018. Summary available at the end.

 

Setting: I am the USC(Petitioner) and my wife is the applicant(Beneficiary)

Our interview time was close to 11am. We got there about 35 minutes earlier. Security line was short and quick. The interview waiting room is on the second floor where everyone is waiting. There were a lot of people waiting for their interviews and from what I can tell, they are mostly here for Naturalization interviews.

 

So we checked in as soon as we got there and started waiting. Many couples came after us went in to their interviews before us. I had to ask the reception desk and their canned response was "it really depends on your Interview Officer(IO from now)". In the end, we were called in after waiting for about 2 hours. Our IO was a kind-looking lady in her 60s and she brought us into her office to get ready for the interview.

 

Before the IO asked us to swear that we’re going to tell the truth, she found out that the previous applicant left something on her table. So she asked us to remain standing and rushed out of the room to find the previous applicant. But it was too late, she came back with the document in her hands and asked us to sit down while she tries to get ahold of the applicant by phone. She could not reach the person and decided to start the interview.

 

First thing was to take a photo of applicant and fingerprints of both index fingers. She then opened our files, she acknowledged that wife is adjusting from K-1 and she believed that it was a good sign. As she went through our stacked file(K1 package plus the AOS package), she asked how we met and the very standard questions. During this time, she seemed very clueless about the applicant and it occurred to me that she probably has never read about anything on the file before we came in.

 

As time went on, she kept on unpacking the large files and tried to organize them into some sort of order. She did ask a couple of random questions such as “so do you work now? What about you?”. During one of the gaps, I asked her that didn’t we have to swear to tell the truth? Then she remembered that we skipped the formality because of the incident in the beginning. So we swore that we would tell the truth and nothing but the truth in the middle the interview. And she mentioned that we would have to come for the second time if I did not asked the question. A large bullet dodged. While the IO was organizing the documents. She went through all the criminal, drugs and other standard questions as well.

 

When the IO finished with the document organizing, she asked and used a pencil to write down a very simple timeline on how we met, got into relationship, engaged, moved to the US and married. At the end, she asked us for any evidence we have brought in this time, we gave everything to her. Without carefully looking at all of them, she just stacked them into the AOS package. Then she asked for a new medical exam which luckily we decided to do a week before the interview. I did not challenge her on the USCIS rules of filing the AOS within one year of the medical exam should keep it validated. We handed the medical exam results over and she checked the important pages and put it into the file as well.

 

At last the IO said she was going to grant our case and printed an approval letter for us to take home. The interview lasted about 30 minutes but I felt like 10-15 minutes of them were just random chatters regarding our home country, our jobs or even our family. She is a very kind person and I would say an easy IO. But she is very slow on everything. But we’re happy that we got our approval with ease.

 

As we were exiting the office, we saw that two other couples were being questioned separately. They did not look very happy and I wished them good luck inside.

 

5 days after the interview, we got an email saying the green card has been shipped out and we should do something if we do not see it within 2 weeks.

 

A summary:

Got there 30 minutes early, waited about 2 hours to get in. Interview lasted 30 minutes. No questions out of ordinary was asked. IO did ask for a new medical exam even though we filed within one year of the medical exam done in oversea and also asked for copies of passports/IDs. Took all additional evidence(recent bills, new I-864, new tax return) except photos. Did NOT take EAD even though GC was approved. Green card shipped 5 days later.

 

Good luck to everyone out there.

Hello, congratulations. When you say you filed within one year of the medical exam done in oversea, does it mean you didn’t submit a new medical when you filed AOS. 

[Diane and Chris 651]

On 3/31/2018 at 4:33 PM, rulix said:

 

Wow!!! Thank you for the news.

 

It's about time to think about my work permit renewal. Have someone filed for a work permit renewal yet?

 

We will need to file for EAD renewal soon. Did you end up applying for renewal?  If so, what was the process like and did you hear back yet?  Thanks for the info. 

[Diane and Chris 651]

On 2/21/2018 at 11:33 PM, JSWH said:

Your Field Office (I assume it's Phoenix?) processing time is well ahead of Houston, where I am. I believe you should expect your interview notice any day now. Houston office keeps blaming the Hurricane Harvey and "snow days" (1.5 days in December with laughable 0.5" of snow) for their inconceivable backlog. 

Good luck to you!

Hi!  I saw this post and wondered if you are still waiting?  We got our in line to be scheduled for an interview yesterday. Did you receive one of those notices?  Thanks for your info!  

[Diane and Chris 651]

On 2/13/2018 at 6:41 PM, seal72 said:

I think the majority is in the same boat, however we are still at fingerprint fee was received. Processing time is over a year, so probably after june of this year. I received the EAD back in September so 3 months before I am planning on send the renewal just in case. Since processing time is over a year now they should send EADs valid for 2 years. It saves them money.

Hi there. Did you end up sending in you EAD renewal?  Have you heard anything about EAD or an interview yet?    

[JSWH 262]

31 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

Hi!  I saw this post and wondered if you are still waiting?  We got our in line to be scheduled for an interview yesterday. Did you receive one of those notices?  Thanks for your info!  

 

Sadly, yes, we are still waiting. Houston is arguably the slowest office in the nation now. My case status has stayed "ready to be scheduled for an interview" since September 2017. In 10 days, it's exactly a year since we sent our AOS application. Filed to renew EAD/AP and re-doing medical exam next week.