November 2018 AOS Filers

[kanderson101 131]

3 hours ago, vaksurik said:

I’m convinced our applications are in a pile on the desk of someone who only works Mon-Wed. 0 movement in the past 2 days around and about our #. 😓

Hubby talked to a kind tier 2 officer today. He said that staff at USCIS are now working through weekends (which apparently has never happened before, according to this man) because they're so backlogged. He explained that one of the biggest reasons for seeing approvals near-ish to you and and for dates later than yours is because for each EAD/AP application, they have to "review" the whole family. Essentially, if the application before yours is a family of 7 people, then they all need to be checked into before the next application is completed. So depending on the whose applications are near to yours, it might take much longer until yours is touched if the ones before yours are complex. 

 

I don't know if that's helpful. I was just surprised that we got any kind of relevant information. 

Edited May 18, 2019 by kanderson101
grammar

[vaksurik 106]

2 hours ago, kanderson101 said:

Hubby talked to a kind tier 2 officer today. He said that staff at USCIS are now working through weekends (which apparently has never happened before, according to this man) because they're so backlogged. He explained that one of the biggest reasons for seeing approvals near-ish to you and and for dates later than yours is because for each EAD/AP application, they have to "review" the whole family. Essentially, if the application before yours is a family of 7 people, then they all need to be checked into before the next application is completed. So depending on the whose applications are near to yours, it might take much longer until yours is touched if the ones before yours are complex. 

 

I don't know if that's helpful. I was just surprised that we got any kind of relevant information. 

Thank you! That’s great to know. Any shred of light on this mystery process is always welcome!!!

[Penny&Lee 338]

8 hours ago, KellyAnne22 said:

@Penny&Lee Did you try calling the USCIS? 

182 days here... 

We’re technically not “out of processing times” last I looked you’re able to inquire from October 22nd or before. We’re able to inquire on November 6th, so not too long 

[Soul Mate 35]

Green card: Approved ✅
Interview date: May 9, 2019 approved
Local Office: San Diego 

Never received EAD/AP

NOA date: November 26,2018

 

I cried tears of joy into my husband’s arms right outside the building and all the way home. 😭 We did it and I couldn’t be more grateful. 🙏🏼 
The interview was very detailed and to the point. About 30 minutes total. Towards end when he started asking more personal questions about our marriage and families etc we got to see him be more engaging and more conversational with a friendly smile here and there. I honestly couldn’t read how the interview was going so I think I must of blacked out when he uttered the words “I’m recommending you for approval” 😁Parts of me still can’t believe to be done with this part of the process. I had to ask my husband and lawyer again when we left if this was real!  

 

I have faith that everyone still waiting will hear some great news in the coming weeks! I will of course be keeping everyone in my thoughts and continue sending those positive vibes. This community has definitely been my guiding light when it turned dark. So I owe a huge thank you to you all as well. Any questions don’t hesitate to ask. 🥰

[Eleet90 8]

15 hours ago, emekus94 said:

Have not been following your story so I apologize in advance if am being repetitive-
Have you called USCIS? sometimes you can get a Tier II individual that might be nice to you.

Also, I know you said there's no buses in the area. Is there anything walking distance from you that you can apply for a job at?
Sometimes ANY type of job offer and proof of financial difficulty can get your EAD expedited.
Good luck!

Everything is from 5 miles from home but yes I applied for a few but they need my EAD and social for do “background check “ . Well just wait and apply for jobs for now 

[wakeuplittlesuzy 192]

8 hours ago, Soul Mate said:

Green card: Approved ✅
Interview date: May 9, 2019 approved
Local Office: San Diego 

Never received EAD/AP

NOA date: November 26,2018

 

I cried tears of joy into my husband’s arms right outside the building and all the way home. 😭 We did it and I couldn’t be more grateful. 🙏🏼 
The interview was very detailed and to the point. About 30 minutes total. Towards end when he started asking more personal questions about our marriage and families etc we got to see him be more engaging and more conversational with a friendly smile here and there. I honestly couldn’t read how the interview was going so I think I must of blacked out when he uttered the words “I’m recommending you for approval” 😁Parts of me still can’t believe to be done with this part of the process. I had to ask my husband and lawyer again when we left if this was real!  

 

I have faith that everyone still waiting will hear some great news in the coming weeks! I will of course be keeping everyone in my thoughts and continue sending those positive vibes. This community has definitely been my guiding light when it turned dark. So I owe a huge thank you to you all as well. Any questions don’t hesitate to ask. 🥰

Congratulations!!! That's so exciting! I can only image how elated you and your husband feel right now. 🍾🎉 Enjoy!

[RambaCat 643]

9 hours ago, Soul Mate said:

Green card: Approved ✅
Interview date: May 9, 2019 approved
Local Office: San Diego 

Never received EAD/AP

NOA date: November 26,2018

 

I cried tears of joy into my husband’s arms right outside the building and all the way home. 😭 We did it and I couldn’t be more grateful. 🙏🏼 
The interview was very detailed and to the point. About 30 minutes total. Towards end when he started asking more personal questions about our marriage and families etc we got to see him be more engaging and more conversational with a friendly smile here and there. I honestly couldn’t read how the interview was going so I think I must of blacked out when he uttered the words “I’m recommending you for approval” 😁Parts of me still can’t believe to be done with this part of the process. I had to ask my husband and lawyer again when we left if this was real!  

 

I have faith that everyone still waiting will hear some great news in the coming weeks! I will of course be keeping everyone in my thoughts and continue sending those positive vibes. This community has definitely been my guiding light when it turned dark. So I owe a huge thank you to you all as well. Any questions don’t hesitate to ask. 🥰

Congratulations! 😁

[TogoAfrica 161]

November 26 packet was recieved by the uscis 

May 14 uscis app changed to interview was scheduled 

May 18 we recieved the letter in the mail

July 3 is the INTERVIEW!! 

 

Wow still in shocked that we got it early, since Maine is suppose to be a 11-22 month wait 

but i guess when you do the calculation, we will have waited a total of 9 months for it.

[TogoAfrica 161]

10 hours ago, wakeuplittlesuzy said:

Congratulations!!! That's so exciting! I can only image how elated you and your husband feel right now. 🍾🎉 Enjoy!

Congratulations!!!!

[Luna3716 68]

On 5/17/2019 at 5:23 PM, jakejon said:

That's a good question. I won't be using AP with until August with POE @ Seattle but I plan to bring:

 

• "My awful pictured" combo card
• Copies of NOA1 for I-765, I-131, I-485
• Copy of my marriage certificate
• A photocopy of my passport (in case I loose it-you never can be too careful),
• "My awful pictured" US DL Real ID LOL.
• Might bring copy of lease, bank statements too (not sure if really needed and if it'll be TMI but sure)... 

 

Maybe a bit much but sure what's the harm  

 

 

Can’t hurt to bring extra documents! My husband is planning to bring the same as you’ve listed (except he doesn’t have a US license). He is traveling to/from London Heathrow. Will let you know how it goes! I’m obviously very stressed about it and he doesn’t seem to have any worries...haha. Unfortunately I won’t be able to travel with him because I have to work and couldn’t get the time off. 

[Ash&Jaye 159]

On 5/17/2019 at 11:08 PM, Soul Mate said:

Green card: Approved ✅
Interview date: May 9, 2019 approved
Local Office: San Diego 

Never received EAD/AP

NOA date: November 26,2018

 

I cried tears of joy into my husband’s arms right outside the building and all the way home. 😭 We did it and I couldn’t be more grateful. 🙏🏼 
The interview was very detailed and to the point. About 30 minutes total. Towards end when he started asking more personal questions about our marriage and families etc we got to see him be more engaging and more conversational with a friendly smile here and there. I honestly couldn’t read how the interview was going so I think I must of blacked out when he uttered the words “I’m recommending you for approval” 😁Parts of me still can’t believe to be done with this part of the process. I had to ask my husband and lawyer again when we left if this was real!  

 

I have faith that everyone still waiting will hear some great news in the coming weeks! I will of course be keeping everyone in my thoughts and continue sending those positive vibes. This community has definitely been my guiding light when it turned dark. So I owe a huge thank you to you all as well. Any questions don’t hesitate to ask. 🥰

HUGE CONGRATS!!!!! We have our interview on June 11th in San Diego! How was the overall process? Pretty simple? And how long did you wait around in the office, etc? Thanks

[kdesigner 50]

Hey all,

We had our AOS Greencard interview last Friday, May 17th. Here is our experience in Raleigh, NC:

 

We arrived around 12:45 for our 1pm appointment. We were given a ticket # by the receptionist and headed to the second floor where we sat while we waited to be called in. The waiting area only had two other couples waiting and we were the first ones. After about 15 minutes of waiting, we were called in by a lady who was going to interview us. She was quiet and not outwardly friendly. She led us to her office and told us to keep standing to take our oath. We were then asked to show our IDs. I told her I had my passport or license and she asked for my license. My husband (the applicant) showed his passport and then had his picture and fingerprint taken.

 

The lady told us to hand in all documents that are in addition to what we already submitted. At this, I was a bit confused as I thought she would list documents that she needed but instead, she left it up to us to decide. I also handed her our marriage certificate, but she said she already had it and she stressed that she only wants documents that she does not have in our case. So then, my husband and I took a few minutes to decide what we needed to hand in that was new:

- Pictures from our wedding, honeymoon and other trips (she said we can show her pictures now if we wanted to keep them or leave 10 for her to review, so we chose 10 to give to her)

- Copy of our honeymoon flight tickets

- Joint bank account document & bank statements

- Joint phone account document

- Co-sponsor's residential address & copy of US citizenship 

While handing in the documents, I tried to explain what each was, but the lady told us not to explain as she will review everything once our interview is over. She added that her main goal is to judge if our marriage is truthful. So I quietly handed everything then she proceeded with the interview questions.

 

She went through the I-485 form that she had in our case file and asked for our date of marriage. There was a slight mix up as we wrote a date earlier than it was (we had too many dates to track!) but she said it's okay and fixed it on the form—phew! Another area that we skipped was if we already had children and she marked our answer as no. She asked my husband all the questions on the form regarding criminal activities. Then she asked me how we met and why we decided to get married. I told her our story on how we met through a mutual friend, when we decided to get engaged and what we liked about each other. I went on for about 2-3 minutes and she gave us a few smiles which was refreshing.

 

After this, she said our interview is over, which was surprising because I thought she would ask my husband more questions. She also said that she will review all our documents after the interview so the decision has not yet been made. At this, I became a little upset but I maintained myself and asked her politely when we can check for our case update. She said it will take about 5-7 business days for a case update and if approved, we will receive an approval letter after a few days and the actual card might take up to 4 weeks. She also said that sometimes, the case can be updated on the same date as the interview. I asked if the approval letter would be enough for my husband to show the employer if he wants to get a job and she said it's up to the employer to accept it or not. Basically, we haven't received our AED and we have been waiting for this interview for a long time so my husband can finally look for jobs! I was a bit upset when it was over, but my husband assured me everything will be okay as we have been truthful and our case looks good.

 

Once we left and came home, I decided to casually check the case status a few hours later and to my surprise it was updated to: New Card is being Produced! I could not believe this, and I am still a little nervous because I did not think the interview went as I'd hoped. We are anxiously waiting for the card and are excited for this part of the process to be over!

 

Sorry for the long story...just thought it would be helpful for some of you. I wish you all the best of luck, it's nervewracking but as long as you tell the truth and be polite, things will turn out well. 😊

Edited May 20, 2019 by kdesigner

[RambaCat 643]

20 minutes ago, kdesigner said:

Hey all,

We had our AOS Greencard interview last Friday, May 17th. Here is our experience in Raleigh, NC:

 

We arrived around 12:45 for our 1pm appointment. We were given a ticket # by the receptionist and headed to the second floor where we sat while we waited to be called in. The waiting area only had two other couples waiting and we were the first ones. After about 15 minutes of waiting, we were called in by a lady who was going to interview us. She was quiet and not outwardly friendly. She led us to her office and told us to keep standing to take our oath. We were then asked to show our IDs. I told her I had my passport or license and she asked for my license. My husband (the applicant) showed his passport and then had his picture and fingerprint taken.

 

The lady told us to hand in all documents that are in addition to what we already submitted. At this, I was a bit confused as I thought she would list documents that she needed but instead, she left it up to us to decide. I also handed her our marriage certificate, but she said she already had it and she stressed that she only wants documents that she does not have in our case. So then, my husband and I took a few minutes to decide what we needed to hand in that was new:

- Pictures from our wedding, honeymoon and other trips (she said we can show her pictures now if we wanted to keep them or leave 10 for her to review, so we chose 10 to give to her)

- Copy of our honeymoon flight tickets

- Joint bank account document & bank statements

- Joint phone account document

- Co-sponsor's residential address & copy of US citizenship 

While handing in the documents, I tried to explain what each was, but the lady told us not to explain as she will review everything once our interview is over. She added that her main goal is to judge if our marriage is truthful. So I quietly handed everything then she proceeded with the interview questions.

 

She went through the I-485 form that she had in our case file and asked for our date of marriage. There was a slight mix up as we wrote a date earlier than it was (we had too many dates to track!) but she said it's okay and fixed it on the form—phew! Another area that we skipped was if we already had children and she marked our answer as no. She asked my husband all the questions on the form regarding criminal activities. Then she asked me how we met and why we decided to get married. I told her our story on how we met through a mutual friend, when we decided to get engaged and what we liked about each other. I went on for about 2-3 minutes and she gave us a few smiles which was refreshing.

 

After this, she said our interview is over, which was surprising because I thought she would ask my husband more questions. She also said that she will review all our documents after the interview so the decision has not yet been made. At this, I became a little upset but I maintained myself and asked her politely when we can check for our case update. She said it will take about 5-7 business days for a case update and if approved, we will receive an approval letter after a few days and the actual card might take up to 4 weeks. She also said that sometimes, the case can be updated on the same date as the interview. I asked if the approval letter would be enough for my husband to show the employer if he wants to get a job and she said it's up to the employer to accept it or not. Basically, we haven't received our AED and we have been waiting for this interview for a long time so my husband can finally look for jobs! I was a bit upset when it was over, but my husband assured me everything will be okay as we have been truthful and our case looks good.

 

Once we left and came home, I decided to casually check the case status a few hours later and to my surprise it was updated to: New Card is being Produced! I could not believe this, and I am still a little nervous because I did not think the interview went as I'd hoped. We are anxiously waiting for the card and are excited for this part of the process to be over!

 

Sorry for the long story...just thought it would be helpful for some of you. I wish you all the best of luck, it's nervewracking but as long as you tell the truth and be polite, things will turn out well. 😊

Congratulations! You should get the approval notice in the next couple days (ours arrived today, but I know it can depend on location as to how quick things get delivered!).

The approval notice states that it should take no longer than three weeks for the new card to arrive.

[kdesigner 50]

6 minutes ago, RambaCat said:

Congratulations! You should get the approval notice in the next couple days (ours arrived today, but I know it can depend on location as to how quick things get delivered!).

The approval notice states that it should take no longer than three weeks for the new card to arrive.

That's great—thank you again for your help! 

[MichelleKristian 43]

OKAY Fingers crossed this week is the week! We always start off so hopeful on Mondays. Its day 188 today and I am just praying we don't hit the 200's  I mean they have to get to ours eventually right? Good luck to all the other November filers still waiting