February 2018 AOS Filers

[GioRod 69]

15 hours ago, tzbazin1 said:

We were late February filers and we just received our interview notice today! Received combo card last week after requesting to expedite and then interview notice came today. Praise God! Our status has not updated on either of the websites, no app updates, emails or texts, and "user-defined" error is still showing up. For those of you feeling discouraged because of a RFE, we received one at the end of March as well, so it didn't seem to slow our process down too much. I hope many of you will begin receiving notices soon as well! 

Hello May I ask what did they ask for when you requested the expedite just curious .

[Itssimons 122]

15 hours ago, tzbazin1 said:

We were late February filers and we just received our interview notice today! Received combo card last week after requesting to expedite and then interview notice came today. Praise God! Our status has not updated on either of the websites, no app updates, emails or texts, and "user-defined" error is still showing up. For those of you feeling discouraged because of a RFE, we received one at the end of March as well, so it didn't seem to slow our process down too much. I hope many of you will begin receiving notices soon as well! 

Congrats! What’s your PD and field office? Can you help out a little bit with the expedite process?

[bostonfilerca 35]

2 hours ago, simonvikih79 said:

Congrats! What’s your PD and field office? Can you help out a little bit with the expedite process?

Agree!

[bostonfilerca 35]

Guys i called yesterday (15th) and spoke to an officer about expediting my case and she gave me a reference number and said they'd get back to me within 5 days. This is what my case tracker says. I'm confused - which comes first? Did they decide already? I also didn't get any emails or anything. 

[Itssimons 122]

19 minutes ago, bostonfilerca said:

Guys i called yesterday (15th) and spoke to an officer about expediting my case and she gave me a reference number and said they'd get back to me within 5 days. This is what my case tracker says. I'm confused - which comes first? Did they decide already? I also didn't get any emails or anything. 

It means your expedition process has been completed and you’ll either receive a RFE if necessary or an approval. By the way, how did you do? Please explain a little bit your own story coz I also wanna expedite mine

Edited May 16, 2018 by simonvikih79

[bostonfilerca 35]

2 minutes ago, simonvikih79 said:

It means your expedition process has been completed and you’ll either receive a RFE if necessary or an approval. By the way, how did you do? Please explain a little bit your own story coz I also wanna expedite mine

Oh I think it'll be an RFE then. The reason i'm confused is because i didn't do much actually. I called and said i wanted to try expediting my EAD, they asked under what category i said financial loss and they said what can i prove for financial loss and that she would write down notes on my case i said maxed out credit cards, car loan payments and student loans as well as my husband only having a part time job. Then she gave me that ref number and said they'd get back to me within 5 days!

[Itssimons 122]

5 minutes ago, bostonfilerca said:

Oh I think it'll be an RFE then. The reason i'm confused is because i didn't do much actually. I called and said i wanted to try expediting my EAD, they asked under what category i said financial loss and they said what can i prove for financial loss and that she would write down notes on my case i said maxed out credit cards, car loan payments and student loans as well as my husband only having a part time job. Then she gave me that ref number and said they'd get back to me within 5 days!

Okay, you’ll definitely have to get the proof of financial lost documents ready then.

[bostonfilerca 35]

7 minutes ago, simonvikih79 said:

Okay, you’ll definitely have to get the proof of financial lost documents ready then.

Yes i'll keep you all updated. if anyone has advice or tips let me know!

[cpthk 1]

21 hours ago, tzbazin1 said:

We were late February filers and we just received our interview notice today! Received combo card last week after requesting to expedite and then interview notice came today. Praise God! Our status has not updated on either of the websites, no app updates, emails or texts, and "user-defined" error is still showing up. For those of you feeling discouraged because of a RFE, we received one at the end of March as well, so it didn't seem to slow our process down too much. I hope many of you will begin receiving notices soon as well! 

Congrats. Could you share your experience on the expedite request? What reason did you tell them? Are you employment based or family based?

[tzbazin1 8]

11 hours ago, GioRod said:

Hello May I ask what did they ask for when you requested the expedite just curious .

We used the "non profit status of requesting organization for furtherance of United States" as my husband needed to lead some mission trips this summer for a US based organization. They simply asked for proof that the organization did make a request.

[tzbazin1 8]

11 hours ago, simonvikih79 said:

Congrats! What’s your PD and field office? Can you help out a little bit with the expedite process?

 

5 hours ago, cpthk said:

Congrats. Could you share your experience on the expedite request? What reason did you tell them? Are you employment based or family based?

 

PD February 22. New Orleans field office. We put in a request to expedite based on "non profit status of requesting organization". We put in the request and the next day we received an email telling us to fax evidence. We faxed a cover letter explaining that my husband had been selected to lead several mission trips this summer by a US based non profit organization. We also got a representative of the organization to write an accompanying letter on company letterhead. We faxed both of those in. The following week we received an email stating an officer was reviewing our case we should hear back shortly. We made an info pass appointment for that Friday and she informed us that our review was still in progress. She was also able to let us know that our i-485 was in line to be sent to field office so that was helpful considering we had the user-defined error for weeks.  About one week after the info pass appointment we received notification that our application had been approved and then a few days after that we had combo card in hand. We are family based. Hope I answered all questions!

[A&H2018 146]

Congrats! Non-profit for sure very strong case. New Orleans office crushing it lots of speedy applications.

[JayDGODITRUST 132]

Hey guys have been quiet since March 22nd but today I receive this email and text so far this is what’s current. Day 86 no update on EAD. Good luck to everyone PD is February 20th 2018

[A&H2018 146]

Congrats! What visa you switching from?

[Jamz835 7]

Good news to report. We had our interview on Monday and received our notifications the same day that our case was approved and cards were being produced. 

 

The interview itself was about 45 minutes, and our officer was very friendly, yet thorough. Questions included: how/when we met, how many visits the applicant made to the US previously, and other questions pertaining to the timeline of our relationship. 

 

Given that our situation was fairly straightforward--no prior marriages, no children, both of us being the same age, and very clear documentation proving our relationship--I think the officer was fairly convinced from the beginning. The only abnormality in our case was the fact that we haven't had a traditional wedding yet. We eloped at a courthouse in order to get the process started as quickly as possible. We were honest about our plans to celebrate our marriage later on when our careers are at a more stable point.

 

If I have one suggestion, it is to keep your file organized and as clear as possible. Come to the interview with as many timestamped photos showing family visits and other big events as possible. If you're adjusting from a student visa, emphasize the passion behind your field of study. It helps credentialize your motives behind the initial move.

 

I will be share the methodology behind our application in a separate post in one of the general forums, as I really think it will help folks that are new to the process make sense of all of the moving parts. 

 

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

 

Here's our timeline from the beginning:

Started preparing application packet	01/14/2018
Submitted applications via FedEx (I-130, I-130A, I-485, I-864, I-131)	02/06/2018
Applications received by USCIS	02/07/2018
Electronic NOA's received for I-130, I-485, and I-131	02/17/2018
Biometrics Appointment notice received for 03/06/2018	02/17/2018
Biometrics Completed (walk-in)	03/05/2018
Update to I-485 Application status on website: RFIE sent out	03/05/2018
Received RFIE for Birth Certificate	03/13/2018
Sent RFIE with new Birth Certificate	03/19/2018
USCIS received RFIE response	03/22/2018
USCIS acknowledged receipt of RFIE response on website (status update)	03/23/2018
USCIS acknowledged correction of name on website (status update)	03/24/2018
Courtesy Letter for I-693 Received	04/02/2018
Received email advising of I-485 status change to "Testing and Interview"	04/09/2018
Received interview letter for May 14th at 11:15 AM in Chicago USCIS office	04/14/2018
Completed interview in Chicago office	05/15/2018
Received email notifications and status update on USCIS "New Card is being produced"	05/15/2018