January 2019 - AOS Filers (merged)

[The_Empyrean 733]

Yeah some people can't understand that employer sending a letter to USCIS is an expedition.. That messes with timelines too.

I was pretty optimistic coming into last two weeks, but now, looking at recent approvals and their NOA's, i'm getting a bit more realistic/pessimistic. And its annoying as im 01/31, so im guessing i might be left waiting for a while. 

In general past 2-3 weeks were slower with EAD's vs AoS's. Newark is busy, so i doubt we'll hear anything until atleast october'ish. Meh, nothing we can do about it. Just gotta be patient. 

[Northerndynasty 142]

9 minutes ago, The_Empyrean said:

Yeah some people can't understand that employer sending a letter to USCIS is an expedition.. That messes with timelines too.

I was pretty optimistic coming into last two weeks, but now, looking at recent approvals and their NOA's, i'm getting a bit more realistic/pessimistic. And its annoying as im 01/31, so im guessing i might be left waiting for a while. 

In general past 2-3 weeks were slower with EAD's vs AoS's. Newark is busy, so i doubt we'll hear anything until atleast october'ish. Meh, nothing we can do about it. Just gotta be patient. 

I know I've been the biggest "realist/pessimist" since I joined this forum; I'm sorry (sort of) if that's bleeding on to others.  The fact is, we have to be realistic, because real life matters with this stuff.  It affects us all very seriously (some more dramatic and critically than others in the current moment), but this all has to do with our lives.  That's when realism takes over the dreams and wishes.

 

The only "good" thing is, we - the voices - are sticking together and here to support each other.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Northerndynasty

[The_Empyrean 733]

45 minutes ago, Northerndynasty said:

I know I've been the biggest "realist/pessimist" since I joined this forum; I'm sorry (sort of) if that's bleeding on to others.  The fact is, we have to be realistic, because real life matters with this stuff.  It affects us all very seriously (some more dramatic and critically than others in the current moment), but this all has to do with our lives.  That's when realism takes over the dreams and wishes.

 

The only "good" thing is, we - the voices - are sticking together and here to support each other.

I'm always the realist, and relying on data available. But since USCIS doesn't provide any data about EAD's, all i have is the VJ, and hope that people are filling it out accurately and genuinely, rather than opposite. All i do, is trying to find patterns, explanations using available data. Since the data is contradicting itself past 2months, i cannot predict or explain anything anymore, just give my best guestimate as to what is happening in USCIS. Currently i believe they are trying to finish up the people who were left behind 180+ days. Month ago, they did Dec, Jan, Feb filers. So in my opinion, they have a system that part of resources are trying to eliminate the new files, to ease off the load from the back when they catch up. I.e.

New files 100, within 2 months they do 50, and onto the next two months, now when the back officers catch up, they gotta do 50. In the end 2months from first officers processing, and 7months from back officers, bring an average of 5 months, so that way they keep ALL cases moving. Rather doing one by one in "straight line". Then add to that RFE's, missing documents, incomplete applications etc etc etc. i think they have a system, but i have no concrete data to explain it.

[The_Empyrean 733]

Okay did a bit of digging with case tracker... 500 cases loaded, sorted only for EAD's. NONE were approved recently. And TONS of "Incorrect fee filed" "forms improperly filed" etc. Yeah, won't happen anytime soon. I'm probably gonna be gone from here for a month or so, if anyone will need my help, just @The_Empyrean me and i'll jump here to help.

Interestingly, some AP's were approved, but not EAD's. i think that case tracker is buggy. I don't believe that nobody before or ahead of me weren't approved. there are days i know for sure people were approved and it doesn't show up there so.. yeah.. can't reliably say lol. Anyhow.. Need some time from this website and stop thinking about EAD. It's summer and there are tons of things to do, plus long weekend is coming!

Edited May 24, 2019 by The_Empyrean

[Lynsey_94 5]

Hey! I’ve been somewhat of a silent reader here and thought I’d share my experience, in case it might help anyone in any way. 

 

I filed for an AOS in January, after arriving to US & getting married in November. After a lengthy wait (and reading everyone’s experiences) I realised I wasn’t going to hear anything back anytime soon. My processing time is 120 days today since my NOA1. I searched the internet for some guidance and reasoning on why some people were getting responses so quickly, as it simply defied logic. 

 

A lot of people had mentioned expedites and I still struggled to trust that this was working for everyone after reading the USCIS expedite requirements. I kept asking myself surely everyone is suffering financial loss to some extent, so how are some people getting priority over others? A lot of articles seemed to dissuade people from filing for an expedite, stressing approvals were like hens teeth. 

 

After weighing up the options I figured I had nothing to lose by applying for an expedite. I called USCIS and explained my situation, and highlighted that I’m no more special than anyone else but I was struggling in a variety of ways. I didn’t have a job offer because I hadn’t formally applied for anything, as most applications ask about rights to work in the US from the offset. The lady I spoke to on the phone was extremely empathetic and submitted an expedite request for me. Several days later I got a letter in the post asking me for some further evidence as the request had been submitted under financial hardship. 

 

I responded to this on May 12th and faxed through a cover letter outlining my case. I tried my best to just appeal to the officer dealing with my case, and expressed how long I had already been waiting and how the delay was causing a lot of pressure. I tried to again stress that I wasn’t any more special than anyone else, and I fully understand that via my affadavit of support we outlined that we were prepared to deal with a period of unemployment. I kind of just wanted to get my case in front of someone for consideration at least. 

 

Fortunately my case was approved for my EAD yesterday, so around 9 working days after I filed for the expedite. 

 

I really hope this helps some people who are on the fence about filing for expedites. I’m really not a fan of the whole ‘screw you me first’ culture this process is accommodating, however I truly feel like this is the only way to deal with the flawed system. 

[Shiran 1,134]

Case tracker is not buggy. All it does is gets its data from https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/mycasestatus.do?appReceiptNum=MSCXXXXXXXXXX site. You can do it yourself, take the URL I posted and instead of 10 X put in your MSC number, then go in sequence. 
What is "buggy" is accuracy of that site. Case in point my 129F WAC number shows "Received" while in reality was approved long ago. On AoS side of thing I NEVER got any "Biometrics review completed" etc status that people report.

I can absolutely see people needing to expedite AP for emergency travel a lot more often then EAD. I believe AP expedites are done in person, and when approved issued on the spot.  I do agree that I would be highly surprised to see non-expedited EAD approval earlier than say 5 months. But, you do not need EAD if you have GC from one of the "fast" local offices. I certainly  do see a few "Interview scheduled" in the late March batch. (Once again, the website is highly suspect and I do not trust its accuracy) 

[nikki1992 62]

10 minutes ago, Lynsey_94 said:

Hey! I’ve been somewhat of a silent reader here and thought I’d share my experience, in case it might help anyone in any way. 

 

I filed for an AOS in January, after arriving to US & getting married in November. After a lengthy wait (and reading everyone’s experiences) I realised I wasn’t going to hear anything back anytime soon. My processing time is 120 days today since my NOA1. I searched the internet for some guidance and reasoning on why some people were getting responses so quickly, as it simply defied logic. 

 

A lot of people had mentioned expedites and I still struggled to trust that this was working for everyone after reading the USCIS expedite requirements. I kept asking myself surely everyone is suffering financial loss to some extent, so how are some people getting priority over others? A lot of articles seemed to dissuade people from filing for an expedite, stressing approvals were like hens teeth. 

 

After weighing up the options I figured I had nothing to lose by applying for an expedite. I called USCIS and explained my situation, and highlighted that I’m no more special than anyone else but I was struggling in a variety of ways. I didn’t have a job offer because I hadn’t formally applied for anything, as most applications ask about rights to work in the US from the offset. The lady I spoke to on the phone was extremely empathetic and submitted an expedite request for me. Several days later I got a letter in the post asking me for some further evidence as the request had been submitted under financial hardship. 

 

I responded to this on May 12th and faxed through a cover letter outlining my case. I tried my best to just appeal to the officer dealing with my case, and expressed how long I had already been waiting and how the delay was causing a lot of pressure. I tried to again stress that I wasn’t any more special than anyone else, and I fully understand that via my affadavit of support we outlined that we were prepared to deal with a period of unemployment. I kind of just wanted to get my case in front of someone for consideration at least. 

 

Fortunately my case was approved for my EAD yesterday, so around 9 working days after I filed for the expedite. 

 

I really hope this helps some people who are on the fence about filing for expedites. I’m really not a fan of the whole ‘screw you me first’ culture this process is accommodating, however I truly feel like this is the only way to deal with the flawed system. 

Thanks for sharing!

 

How long after you submitted evidence did you hear anything? Is there a way to track the status of the expedite? I submitted my evidence for expedite on Wednesday (22nd May), but haven’t heard whether they received the evidence yet. Did you get any notification like that or nothing until it was approved?

[The_Empyrean 733]

10 minutes ago, Shiran said:

Case tracker is not buggy. All it does is gets its data from https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/mycasestatus.do?appReceiptNum=MSCXXXXXXXXXX site. You can do it yourself, take the URL I posted and instead of 10 X put in your MSC number, then go in sequence. 
What is "buggy" is accuracy of that site. Case in point my 129F WAC number shows "Received" while in reality was approved long ago. On AoS side of thing I NEVER got any "Biometrics review completed" etc status that people report.

I can absolutely see people needing to expedite AP for emergency travel a lot more often then EAD. I believe AP expedites are done in person, and when approved issued on the spot.  I do agree that I would be highly surprised to see non-expedited EAD approval earlier than say 5 months. But, you do not need EAD if you have GC from one of the "fast" local offices. I certainly  do see a few "Interview scheduled" in the late March batch. (Once again, the website is highly suspect and I do not trust its accuracy) 

By buggy i meant "not very accurate". I understand how it works. 

IT's the USCIS that doesn't "update" the website, or update the new one and there are no consistencies across the board, so case tracker is pretty much useless in a way.

[Bluewaters 288]

24 minutes ago, Lynsey_94 said:

Hey! I’ve been somewhat of a silent reader here and thought I’d share my experience, in case it might help anyone in any way. 

 

I filed for an AOS in January, after arriving to US & getting married in November. After a lengthy wait (and reading everyone’s experiences) I realised I wasn’t going to hear anything back anytime soon. My processing time is 120 days today since my NOA1. I searched the internet for some guidance and reasoning on why some people were getting responses so quickly, as it simply defied logic. 

 

A lot of people had mentioned expedites and I still struggled to trust that this was working for everyone after reading the USCIS expedite requirements. I kept asking myself surely everyone is suffering financial loss to some extent, so how are some people getting priority over others? A lot of articles seemed to dissuade people from filing for an expedite, stressing approvals were like hens teeth. 

 

After weighing up the options I figured I had nothing to lose by applying for an expedite. I called USCIS and explained my situation, and highlighted that I’m no more special than anyone else but I was struggling in a variety of ways. I didn’t have a job offer because I hadn’t formally applied for anything, as most applications ask about rights to work in the US from the offset. The lady I spoke to on the phone was extremely empathetic and submitted an expedite request for me. Several days later I got a letter in the post asking me for some further evidence as the request had been submitted under financial hardship. 

 

I responded to this on May 12th and faxed through a cover letter outlining my case. I tried my best to just appeal to the officer dealing with my case, and expressed how long I had already been waiting and how the delay was causing a lot of pressure. I tried to again stress that I wasn’t any more special than anyone else, and I fully understand that via my affadavit of support we outlined that we were prepared to deal with a period of unemployment. I kind of just wanted to get my case in front of someone for consideration at least. 

 

Fortunately my case was approved for my EAD yesterday, so around 9 working days after I filed for the expedite. 

 

I really hope this helps some people who are on the fence about filing for expedites. I’m really not a fan of the whole ‘screw you me first’ culture this process is accommodating, however I truly feel like this is the only way to deal with the flawed system. 

Very interesting. Well.... Congrats

Edited May 24, 2019 by Bluewaters

[Lynsey_94 5]

32 minutes ago, nikki1992 said:

Thanks for sharing!

 

How long after you submitted evidence did you hear anything? Is there a way to track the status of the expedite? I submitted my evidence for expedite on Wednesday (22nd May), but haven’t heard whether they received the evidence yet. Did you get any notification like that or nothing until it was approved?

So it was around 9 working days before I heard anything back and that was only the approval. I didn’t have anything on the case tracker app/USCIS case track site to suggest my case was being considered or anything so I was quite surprised to click on and see an approval yesterday. As far as I know there’s no way to even track the progress of the expedite either. 

 

If you posted your evidence on Wednesday I would imagine you should hear back around the 1st week of June (judging by my timescale). I really hope it is good news for you - the entire process is so hard and exhausting. 

[nikki1992 62]

1 hour ago, Lynsey_94 said:

So it was around 9 working days before I heard anything back and that was only the approval. I didn’t have anything on the case tracker app/USCIS case track site to suggest my case was being considered or anything so I was quite surprised to click on and see an approval yesterday. As far as I know there’s no way to even track the progress of the expedite either. 

 

If you posted your evidence on Wednesday I would imagine you should hear back around the 1st week of June (judging by my timescale). I really hope it is good news for you - the entire process is so hard and exhausting. 

Thanks for letting me know! About an hour after you replied I got an email from USCIS that they received my evidence and it’s under review. We’ll see what happens!

[catdhru 3]

2 hours ago, The_Empyrean said:

Okay did a bit of digging with case tracker... 500 cases loaded, sorted only for EAD's. NONE were approved recently. And TONS of "Incorrect fee filed" "forms improperly filed" etc. Yeah, won't happen anytime soon. I'm probably gonna be gone from here for a month or so, if anyone will need my help, just @The_Empyrean me and i'll jump here to help.

Interestingly, some AP's were approved, but not EAD's. i think that case tracker is buggy. I don't believe that nobody before or ahead of me weren't approved. there are days i know for sure people were approved and it doesn't show up there so.. yeah.. can't reliably say lol. Anyhow.. Need some time from this website and stop thinking about EAD. It's summer and there are tons of things to do, plus long weekend is coming!

Most of the EAD which are approved shows
"Card was mailed" or "Card was delivered" without the saying what type of case it is. These cases are mostly around the cases i485 and i131 but they don't show up when you only select i756.

[Northerndynasty 142]

26 minutes ago, nikki1992 said:

Thanks for letting me know! About an hour after you replied I got an email from USCIS that they received my evidence and it’s under review. We’ll see what happens!

Best wishes!  

[MichelleKristian 43]

2 hours ago, Lynsey_94 said:

Hey! I’ve been somewhat of a silent reader here and thought I’d share my experience, in case it might help anyone in any way. 

 

I filed for an AOS in January, after arriving to US & getting married in November. After a lengthy wait (and reading everyone’s experiences) I realised I wasn’t going to hear anything back anytime soon. My processing time is 120 days today since my NOA1. I searched the internet for some guidance and reasoning on why some people were getting responses so quickly, as it simply defied logic. 

 

A lot of people had mentioned expedites and I still struggled to trust that this was working for everyone after reading the USCIS expedite requirements. I kept asking myself surely everyone is suffering financial loss to some extent, so how are some people getting priority over others? A lot of articles seemed to dissuade people from filing for an expedite, stressing approvals were like hens teeth. 

 

After weighing up the options I figured I had nothing to lose by applying for an expedite. I called USCIS and explained my situation, and highlighted that I’m no more special than anyone else but I was struggling in a variety of ways. I didn’t have a job offer because I hadn’t formally applied for anything, as most applications ask about rights to work in the US from the offset. The lady I spoke to on the phone was extremely empathetic and submitted an expedite request for me. Several days later I got a letter in the post asking me for some further evidence as the request had been submitted under financial hardship. 

 

I responded to this on May 12th and faxed through a cover letter outlining my case. I tried my best to just appeal to the officer dealing with my case, and expressed how long I had already been waiting and how the delay was causing a lot of pressure. I tried to again stress that I wasn’t any more special than anyone else, and I fully understand that via my affadavit of support we outlined that we were prepared to deal with a period of unemployment. I kind of just wanted to get my case in front of someone for consideration at least. 

 

Fortunately my case was approved for my EAD yesterday, so around 9 working days after I filed for the expedite. 

 

I really hope this helps some people who are on the fence about filing for expedites. I’m really not a fan of the whole ‘screw you me first’ culture this process is accommodating, however I truly feel like this is the only way to deal with the flawed system. 

Thank you for sharing! I think this is something we will definitely do! (Also funny that anything past day 192 would be considered an expedite lol) 

 

Congrats on the approval! 

[Northerndynasty 142]

Anyone see the latest Estimated Processing Times now for EAD/AP, updated on the USCIS site today?!?!

 

Wow...it is absolutely insane!!  These people should be gravely ashamed of themselves!!

 

6.5-8.5 months, current PD date has dropped dramatically back to September 16, 2018!!!

 

This disgusting disgrace must end!