F2A 2018 AOS Filers

[QAF2A 27]

15 hours ago, Tenreyro said:

If any of you guys get a new status on your case, please let me know @QAF2A and @Bfree3 ^^

 

My next status will probably be "RFIE received" I'm curious to know about any "fingerprints received" status

I will! Do you know of any other posts from people of F2A categories adjust status from chart B dates? I really want to read their timelines and find some peace! 

[Tenreyro 174]

1 hour ago, QAF2A said:

I will! Do you know of any other posts from people of F2A categories adjust status from chart B dates? I really want to read their timelines and find some peace! 

Unfortunately, we have some information vacuums, because not everyone fill out their Timelines, but here are some people that have gone through the same, on the ones quoted, you can see their signature, where is says their timeline. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope these cheer you up!!!!

 

 

 

[Aj06 11]

Hi guys,my priority date is December 2016,and when i asked my immigration lawyer if i can file for adjustmentof status,"he said no".U can only file once your i130 is approved...can i hear some views plz.

[Bfree3 132]

...

Edited April 8, 2018 by Bfree3

[Aj06 11]

On 3/15/2018 at 9:16 PM, talad said:

Congratulations! Thank you for creating this forum. Super helpful!

Hi,are you sure you can file for AOS with out NOA2?

[Bfree3 132]

@Aj06 My i130 is not approved, only pending. Priority date April 24,2017. My AOS package was accepted. Please follow this thread for additional updates and just read all of it, I think all of our i130 petitions are still pending. We sent the AOS package anyway because per the USCIS instructions for filing with chart B, it is possible to file AOS while still pending once your spouse is currently in USA with legal status.

[Aj06 11]

5 minutes ago, Bfree3 said:

My i130 is not approved, only pending. Priority date April 24,2017. My AOS package was accepted. Please follow this thread for additional updates and just read all of it, I think all of our i130 petitions are still pending. We sent the AOS package anyway because per the USCIS instructions for filing with chart B, it is possible to file AOS while still pending once your spouse is currently in USA with legal status.

Is your spouse a green card holder or US citizen?

[Bfree3 132]

Just now, Aj06 said:

Is your spouse a green card holder or US citizen?

Green card holder.

@Aj06  Everyone in this specific topic(F2A) is married to a green card holder FYI.

Edited April 8, 2018 by Bfree3

[talad 25]

3 minutes ago, Aj06 said:

Hi,are you sure you can file for AOS with out NOA2?

Hi @Aj06, like what @Bfree3 has mentioned, everyone here has pending I-130 petitions, and are spouses of permanent residents (green card holders), and we all have/will be filing for AOS. As long as your PD allows you to file based on chart B, and you have been maintaining legal status in the US, you can file for AOS.

[Aj06 11]

2 minutes ago, Bfree3 said:

Green card holder.

Ok thanks...i am confident now what i have to do.

[Bfree3 132]

Thanks for those past posts @Tenreyro after reading through I'm seeing that some persons package still ended up at NVC even after filing the AOS. Do you think that will happen to us? @QAF2A

Edited April 8, 2018 by Bfree3

[Tenreyro 174]

1 hour ago, Aj06 said:

Ok thanks...i am confident now what i have to do.

Hi @Aj06 welcome! I also have a pending I-130 and filed for AOS. All of us are petitioned by Permanent Resident.

 

@Bfree3 I believe some of us will end up at NVC after they approve the I-130. Mine was sent when I was outside the US, so in the I-130 it was completed as such. I believe mine will be sent to NVC, but it should not influence on anything, it is kind of an absurd thing. I contacted NVC to let them know I was going to go via AOS, I just received an email that said that they did not have my file on their system. I don't expect it to influence at all on the AOS, but when I hear something from NVC, I'll let them know I decided to file for AOS, just to fulfill their requirements. Honestly, it does not stress me, it is just the way their structure has been built.

Edited April 9, 2018 by Tenreyro

[QAF2A 27]

@Bfree3 I agree with @Tenreyro's answer, I think getting cases sent to NVC might be possible but it won't affect the case.

Thank you @Tenreyro for the thorough research! It's always good to know that you are not alone.

 

From reading the posts, I see that the EAD/AP combo card will come eventually. And whether you receive the combo card not does not indicate whether your AOS will be approved or not. I guess getting a combo card is a sure thing as long as we meet the requirement of I-765(So they do not need to approve the actual I-485 content we sent to give us EAD?). Next step is waiting for chart A date for an interview, which, reading from the posts, would be 2~3 months after chart A's PD becomes current. 

 

Our AOS notice dates are all in March~April, 2018. When do you guys think we should be expecting the EAD card?(Isn't this what we are thinking every hour)

 

One more question is that when we receive the EAD/AP combo card in the future, and start working using the EAD card(new job or change job), does it mean we are out of our current legal status(for example, losing F1, H1B...)?  I am asking because I want to analyze the risk of using the EAD card. If we started using the EAD, and became out of status/AOS pending status, the next time this status will change, is the interview date, right? They wouldn't reject a case before interview, causing us to be out of status permanently? In other words, there won't be any decision made to our AOS case until the interview date?

 

 

[QAF2A 27]

Ok, what I am asking is, at what point would we know that we have filed AOS the right way?

At first we were unsure whether we could file I-485 while I-130 is pending. Now that most of us have filed I-485, and got NOAs and even biometrics done. At this point, does it mean we have filed AOS according to the rules? I am hoping there would be no scenario where we start working with our approved EADs, thus became out of status, and then suddenly a letter came saying that case rejected because we filed I-485 too early. 

At what point would we know we filed AOS correctly? Would a tier 2 officer at USCIS provide answers to our question? I just do not trust the immigration lawyers. You guys seem to know a lot more.

[Tenreyro 174]

It is normal to have all these doubts, trust me, I have asked myself all that, and have played out every single scenario. I even have a mental possible timeline based on previous recent filings. These are my opinions and answers, and they are based on research, and it's the information I have and re-analyze when I am getting desperate.

 

7 hours ago, QAF2A said:

Ok, what I am asking is, at what point would we know that we have filed AOS the right way?

Well, we should actually consider that we filed properly. First, when we sent them, and they ask or didn't ask for RFIE, they have reviewed our cases, they have seen what we have as evidence and see if they need anything else, if it was improperly filed, it should have been returned by now. Anyone that is considered 'improperly filed' at the interview should immediately file for the reopening of the case with proper legal help. Throwing them a piano of evidence, it is what I think I would do.

 

8 hours ago, QAF2A said:

From reading the posts, I see that the EAD/AP combo card will come eventually. And whether you receive the combo card not does not indicate whether your AOS will be approved or not. I guess getting a combo card is a sure thing as long as we meet the requirement of I-765(So they do not need to approve the actual I-485 content we sent to give us EAD?)

Yes, a lot of people have received their EAD and/or AP. They should come eventually, right now we should try not to get frustrated with those, they are something to look forward to, but it can take 5 months, Some October F2A AOS filers are waiting for theirs, they are not very far from meeting the 6 months line.

 

Short version on what to expect, they need the Biometrics just to start your Background check, and after they get those from the FBI, is when they can start working with our EAD forms. right now average time between Biometrics and Approval is 86 days, I am expecting mine to be ready in July, if I am in the average (hopefully).

 

8 hours ago, QAF2A said:

Next step is waiting for chart A date for an interview, which, reading from the posts, would be 2~3 months after chart A's PD becomes current.

In AOS cases, PD is not THAT related for the interview. The Local Offices have a queue, and when their queue moves on, your interview comes, it only affects for Green Card issuing, literally the interviewing officer then would recommend for the approval. What happens after varies, but in the end, people get their GC. In my scenario, my local office is Long Island, as I filed on March 2nd, at the current speed, I should expect for my case to be processed in 10 months minimum. SO, in January 2019. However, it could take longer, as the maximum part of that spectrum goes up to 26 months, that being May 2020, but I am optimistic that it won't take that long . My PD (Dec 19, 2016) should be current somewhere between Dec '18 to Feb '19). So, who knows in that case. What would be your local Field Office?

 

 

8 hours ago, QAF2A said:

I am asking because I want to analyze the risk of using the EAD card. If we started using the EAD, and became out of status/AOS pending status, the next time this status will change, is the interview date, right?

Technically, if your previous status expires, your status would be "Authorized Stay" because of the pending AOS. Risk is a funny word, the EAD card is a benefit the US government decided to create for people with pending forms, by itself it does not represent a risk or anything, if you leave your H1B job/F1 studies and can not maintain that status, and use the EAD, you are in the same area as any other person filing for AOS, the authorized stay does not constitute out of status time, and EAD work would not be considered illegal work. I would like to hear what scenarios are you thinking that would be risky to use the EAD. Also, I think H1B do not need to file for AP, in case that's your status, I think H1B can travel with pending AOS (If it is, let me know to send you the source of that information).

 

8 hours ago, QAF2A said:

At what point would we know we filed AOS correctly? Would a tier 2 officer at USCIS provide answers to our question? I just do not trust the immigration lawyers. You guys seem to know a lot more.

I believe the collective knowledge is the best one you can find, and that Immigration Lawyers want to deal in a 'Liability Free' way, or in a "I-don't-know-where-I-have-my-head-at" one. I literally met with one that told me to stay here illegally, and another discarded AOS entirely, even if my I-130 got approved, because it was 'easier' to go via Consular Processing, and I made a lot of emphasis on my desire to spend my days with my wife.

 

I think, that same as me, you found a case of a person that filed AOS, and when he/she went to the interview, got told that the AOS was filed before she could do it. And got denied. I found it too, it scared me on the possibility, but if that's what happened, breathe. If you check the dates, Chart B was very very new when she filed, and it is highly likely that an officer not properly trained said that thing, she was an appeal away from her approval (Even less if the supervisor of that officer caught the mistake and reverted it, I have seen many cases saved by supervisors). It is unclear how it ended, the person does not say it in the post.

 

That is something you have to consider. When there are specific circumstances such as F2A AOS with pending I-130, you will find a lot of examples of things going wrong. You will find few on things going well, this is an information bias, and you can even see it in the posts I quoted before, people appear when they have questions and fears, or to share the bad news, but the good news get scarce, a lot of people fade out and never update after they receive their approval.

 

It is a process, it will take time, it have a good chance on ending well. Life is too short to torture yourself over small things as paperwork and waiting, try to enjoy the most out of life in a healthy way, smile more, and let them waste time checking papers and PD's. A mental scheme of a timeline helps, but don't get frustrated on it, because it will change.