November 2018 AOS Filers

[kanderson101 131]

3 minutes ago, JMCKNG said:

Completely agree! I have a friend that filed the spousal visa for her husband in Palestine and she received her NOA2 back in March, 6 months after she filed and he's looking at being here this summer. That's 1 year and he's automatically able to leave and work. We started this process in October 2017! This fall will be 2 years and at this point it looks like he won't even start to work until shortly before that time at his point. I feel so bad as well that he hasn't seen his family since September.. almost a YEAR of not seeing their family. I hope law officials or immigration officers browse these blogs from time to time to see how big of an issue this is.. it's just a matter of grabbing money from applicants and sitting on it.

Ughhh that is so painful to read.

 

Unfortunately I'm a pessimist - I totally think that USCIS is being pressured to purposefully slow down processing of applications, in order to reduce the number of probable applicants total. I think the people at USCIS probably do have sympathy for the situation, but it sounds like they're being made to go through even more red tape that inevitably slows things down. Absolutely unbelievable. 

[Crazy Cat 41,884]

4 minutes ago, kanderson101 said:

I totally think that USCIS is being pressured to purposefully slow down processing of applications, in order to reduce the number of probable applicants total. I think the people at USCIS probably do have sympathy for the situation, but it sounds like they're being made to go through even more red tape that inevitably slows things down.

Any proof of that?  Have you looked at the number of petitions?

[TogoAfrica 161]

I can’t believe this!!! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN!!!???? Is it REAL!! OUR INTERVIEW WAS SCHEDULED!!

 

Frustrated and I don’t know why but after coming on VJ and seeing everyone still waiting and the numbers of days so high. I just automatically went to the USCIS app. And of course it told me nothing. Then my hand accidentally swiped down and my screen was refreshed....and now it says MY INTERVIEW WAS SCHEDULED!!! Yesterday!!! Letter in the mail with our interview date. Does this really mean we will be having our interview soon, like in the next month? I thought I read about how some said theirs said interview ready to be scheduled and have been waiting months and no word. But this actually says interview was scheduled!! We went from it saying fingerprint received to interview was scheduled! Does this really mean we will have our interview soon!!! Ohhhh please!!!! Ohhhh please!!!! 171 days waiting for work cards and that wait seems to continue....but we never once thought we would get notification about our I 485 since we live in maine and it says it is a 11-22 month wait for that. But my screen says our interview was scheduled!!! Ohhhh I hope this is true!!! If this is real we will be checking our mail box every day waiting for the letter and date to arrive!! Any advice on what we should do next??  

Edited May 15, 2019 by TogoAfrica

[kanderson101 131]

3 minutes ago, missileman said:

Any proof of that?  Have you looked at the number of petitions?

Have I directly? Nope. Just a feeling I've gotten from reading recent articles, such as these. 

 

https://thinkimmigration.org/blog/2019/03/01/uscis-processing-delays-soared-while-application-rates-fell/

"On January 30, 2019, AILA published an analysis of USCIS statistics showing that case processing delays have reached crisis levels under the Trump administration. Among other findings, AILA determined that USCIS’s “overall average case processing time” grew by 19 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2018 alone, with harmful consequences for families, vulnerable populations, and U.S. businesses throughout the country. That same day, in response to media inquiries on the report, a USCIS spokesperson appeared to attribute delays in significant part to the agency’s case receipt volume. He asserted, “[t]he truth is that, while many factors relating to an individual’s case can affect processing times, waits are often due to higher application rates rather than slow processing.”

Yet earlier this week, the agency disclosed that overall USCIS application rates were far from “higher” in FY 2018 compared to the prior year. To the contrary, the total volume of cases filed with USCIS fell from 8,530,722 in FY 2017 to 7,527,851 in FY 2018—an approximately 13% drop. That’s more than a million fewer cases and the lowest quantity in at least the past four fiscal years.[1] The takeaway is clear: case processing delays rose by a wide margin in FY 2018, even as application rates fell substantially."

 

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/uscis-reports-lagging-processing-times

"Processing backlogs are not a new problem for USCIS; they existed long before President Trump took office. But several of the Trump administration’s newly implemented policy changes, those focused on the “extreme vetting” of visa applicants, are likely contributing to some of the steep jumps in processing times that began in FY 2017, after President Trump took office."

4 minutes ago, TogoAfrica said:

I can’t believe this!!! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN!!!???? Is it REAL!! 

 

Frustrated and I don’t know why but after coming on VJ and seeing everyone still waiting and the numbers of days so high. I just automatically went to the USCIS app. And of course it told me nothing. Then my hand accidentally swiped down and my screen was refreshed....and now it says MY INTERVIEW WAS SCHEDULED!!! Yesterday!!! Letter in the mail with our interview date. Does this really mean we will be having our interview soon, like in the next month? I thought I read about how some said theirs said interview ready to be scheduled and have been waiting months and no word. But this actually says interview was scheduled!! We went from it saying fingerprint received to interview was scheduled! Does this really mean we will have our interview soon!!! Ohhhh please!!!! Ohhhh please!!!! 171 days waiting for work cards and that wait seems to continue....but we never once thought we would get notification about our I 485 since we live in maine and it says it isn’t a 11-22 month wait for that. But my screen says our interview was scheduled!!! Ohhhh I hope this is true!!! If this is real we will be checking our mail box every day waiting for the letter and date to arrive!! Any advice on what we should do next??  

Congrats!! Finally some good news on this thread

[vaksurik 106]

191 days here...all week I’ve been watching all the i765s within 100 cases before ours change to “new card is being produced” IN ORDER! They are now 3 away from ours, and I’m really hoping it happens before Friday!! Point is - there is SOME kind of order happening after all. 

[Crazy Cat 41,884]

15 minutes ago, kanderson101 said:

Have I directly? Nope. Just a feeling I've gotten from reading recent articles, such as these. 

self-delete

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by missileman

[TogoAfrica 161]

3 minutes ago, kanderson101 said:

 

Congrats!! Finally some good news on this thread

I’m just in disbelief!! On my lunch break and doing my normal, checking up on VJ. And then I saw this on USCIS app. Is it real!! I can’t believe it!!! I truly hope so!! Texted my husband (at home board out of his mind because he can’t work) and he said we will believe it’s when it comes in the mail. 

[MichelleKristian 43]

1 hour ago, Gigi2017 said:

I'm a 2019 March filer. We are "only" 70 days away from the NOA. Our field office has one of the most longest waiting time in the process because we are in SoCal. 

Every time when I see someone in the March thread say "yay I've got my EAD and my interview was scheduled" my heart breaks into small pieces. 

I haven't heard anything about the EAD yet, and I don't even want to think about the interview... 

But when I see there are still people from November and October who still haven't got their EAD (not even the interview) my anxiety goes deeper and deeper in me. Every day I promise myself I am not going to read VJ anymore, but it's hard to stop reading especially when you have so much free time. 

Like my friend told me this morning, this process is a really hard emotional roller coaster...  

I completely feel ya. We're at day 183 today... its just so crazy because we would have done so many things differently if we knew we would be waiting this long! I live in SoCal too where everything is SO EXPENSIVE (Including our tiny one bedroom apartment) and month by month its getting harder to pay for both of us, we honestly would have moved in with my parents if we knew the wait time would be this long. Its just unheard of! Well fingers crossed there's a work permit miracle for everyone this week👊

[NewCitizen23 313]

4 minutes ago, MichelleKristian said:

I completely feel ya. We're at day 183 today... its just so crazy because we would have done so many things differently if we knew we would be waiting this long! I live in SoCal too where everything is SO EXPENSIVE (Including our tiny one bedroom apartment) and month by month its getting harder to pay for both of us, we honestly would have moved in with my parents if we knew the wait time would be this long. Its just unheard of! Well fingers crossed there's a work permit miracle for everyone this week👊

We don't live that far from you about 20-25 minutes away. I guess your field office, Santa Ana, too. It's good to know there is someone else in this area in this process. I tried to find people in this field office but no one replied. From your message, it seems like you still don't have your EAD. Which makes me really sad because I wanted to start to go to college from this fall so badly but it seems like it's not gonna happen in 2019.

Our rent is extremely high too, and the gas is almost $4/gallon.  

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

15 minutes ago, TogoAfrica said:

I’m just in disbelief!! On my lunch break and doing my normal, checking up on VJ. And then I saw this on USCIS app. Is it real!! I can’t believe it!!! I truly hope so!! Texted my husband (at home board out of his mind because he can’t work) and he said we will believe it’s when it comes in the mail. 

Believe it because it happened! Congratulations to you both.

 

When we got the notification for interview scheduled, I checked the status like twice a day until the letter arrived.

You'll surely get the letter next week, hopefully sooner.

 

Congratulations again. I've been reading your posts sharing your strughles and I'm happy you got this instead of the EAD/AP.

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

40 minutes ago, kanderson101 said:

Ughhh that is so painful to read.

 

Unfortunately I'm a pessimist - I totally think that USCIS is being pressured to purposefully slow down processing of applications, in order to reduce the number of probable applicants total. I think the people at USCIS probably do have sympathy for the situation, but it sounds like they're being made to go through even more red tape that inevitably slows things down. Absolutely unbelievable. 

Checking on the K1 threads, many have been approved in 3 months, so it seems like they're focusing on them now, maybe because of the awful delays they had with us K1 filers from 2017/2018.

Some AOS filers from my same local office got interview after 2 months of filing, while we waited 6...and I found someone who was scheduled after waiting 8 months. 

So delays must be a mix of things: more scrutiny, more people filing, 5000 pages files, less personnel and not the best organization.

Now, is fixing those issues a priority? I honestly don't think so. 

 

This is such a weird process, really. Something you don't visualize when you fall in love and decide to spend the rest of your life with someone. 

 

I just wish there was a way to make things run smoothly and most of all, in a just, fair manner. 

[Bluewaters 288]

1 hour ago, kanderson101 said:

Yep, if only I could turn back time.... after 9 years of long distance, the wait for the spousal visa would have been "nothing new", at least. I regret doing the K1. And it makes me even angrier because honestly, I'm sure our current administration would be so satisfied if potential K1 visa applicants were turned off to the whole thing. 

 

I'm honestly infuriated at this point. 173 days, so not as long as some, but my husband has also been applying and is currently in his third round of interviews for a job he really wants. I can't imagine having to decline due to lack of EAD/AP. And there's always our scheduled upcoming trip back to see his family (supposed to be first week of July) which now seems like it might fall through. I know, we shouldn't have made plans before having the combo card, but back in November when we applied...who on earth thought this would be taking so long???? 

 

Hah. I'm trying so hard to not be bitter about later filers receiving their combo cards. Some part of me is happy for them - at least it shows movement. But it's really hard to see. 

I know that at least we all feel happy for later filers receiving their combo card and even some are getting their interview scheduled. But with them getting ead/AP approvals is unfair. Because at least it should be done in the order in which they received the applications. There can't be a November, 2018 filer waiting for EAD approval and a March 2019 filer getting ead approval. 

That is so so unfair. 

 

But I hope you guys get approved before your scheduled travel date is due. 

[kanderson101 131]

29 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Checking on the K1 threads, many have been approved in 3 months, so it seems like they're focusing on them now, maybe because of the awful delays they had with us K1 filers from 2017/2018.

Some AOS filers from my same local office got interview after 2 months of filing, while we waited 6...and I found someone who was scheduled after waiting 8 months. 

So delays must be a mix of things: more scrutiny, more people filing, 5000 pages files, less personnel and not the best organization.

Now, is fixing those issues a priority? I honestly don't think so. 

 

This is such a weird process, really. Something you don't visualize when you fall in love and decide to spend the rest of your life with someone. 

 

I just wish there was a way to make things run smoothly and most of all, in a just, fair manner. 

this is most likely true - it is a combination of many, many factors. i think it just makes people feel good to have something to point at and say "this is why this is happening to me", even though that is likely only one of many factors. it's good to hear recent K1's are moving along, I really hope it stays that way! 

[TogoAfrica 161]

1 hour ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Believe it because it happened! Congratulations to you both.

 

When we got the notification for interview scheduled, I checked the status like twice a day until the letter arrived.

You'll surely get the letter next week, hopefully sooner.

 

Congratulations again. I've been reading your posts sharing your strughles and I'm happy you got this instead of the EAD/AP.

Thank you for the touching comments and support! We are all struggling in one way or another. It’s just a crazy system that doesn’t make sense sometimes. 

 

Im truly shocked to be getting the AOS! So the letter comes in a week or two? And then we normally have a month to prepare for the interview? I guess I need to start looking at what is needed for that....we kind of put that on the back burner thinking it’s so far away! Does this mean we also didn’t have any RFE? 

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by TogoAfrica

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

1 hour ago, TogoAfrica said:

Thank you for the touching comments and support! We are all struggling in one way or another. It’s just a crazy system that doesn’t make sense sometimes. 

 

Im truly shocked to be getting the AOS! So the letter comes in a week or two? And then we normally have a month to prepare for the interview? I guess I need to start looking at what is needed for that....we kind of put that on the back burner thinking it’s so far away! Does this mean we also didn’t have any RFE? 

 

We've received every USCIS letter exactly a week after email notifications, so I guess yours will be no different.

From what I've seen, interviews are scheduled 4 to 5 weeks after you receive the letter, so your interview might happen between June 18th and 25th.

The RFE could happen after the interview if there's an important document missing, such as the marriage certificate or the medical, but that's pretty unlikely; I've just seen those happening when the agent considers the medical expired, but it shouldn't be your case. 

You have plenty of time to gather evidence and hopefully it won't be even needed. So, from now until the interview, surrender to happiness and joy. 😁