February 2020 AOS Filers

[G&BN 90]

I have a question! Also update: had biometrics schedule in March but due to pandemic was canceled so hopeful to be able to do that this summer. 

My husband and I are currently in California and we got a private medical insurance with Kaiser a month after he got here in December. We currently pay monthly for medical insurance we barely use but whatever, we got the insurance to abide by the rule about immigrants needing medical insurance.. We are moving at the end of the month to Texas where there is no Kaiser...would it be okay to cancel the medical insurance we have now and wait til I get a job (hopefully this summer) then add him to that insurance? So we would have a few months gap where he wouldn't be insured..just checking to see if that would be okay. Any thoughts?

[RubiCali 27]

Hello all, 

 

Just wanted to ask if anyone here has the same situation like me, I am a February AOS filer,  Sent out Feb 10, arrived Feb 11, I have all 3 receipt numbers, and also have attended and done the Biometrics on March 13, 2020.  I know many applicants, as soon as they are done with their Biometrics, the case status changes the next day or so, but in our case it has been the same thing, no status update, stating Fingerprint was Completed.  Its already May 10, 2020. As far as the processing time, is this Normal? I live in Riverside County and the field office nearest here is the San Bernardino Office.  Thank you for the response. 

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

4 hours ago, RubiCali said:

Hello all, 

 

Just wanted to ask if anyone here has the same situation like me, I am a February AOS filer,  Sent out Feb 10, arrived Feb 11, I have all 3 receipt numbers, and also have attended and done the Biometrics on March 13, 2020.  I know many applicants, as soon as they are done with their Biometrics, the case status changes the next day or so, but in our case it has been the same thing, no status update, stating Fingerprint was Completed.  Its already May 10, 2020. As far as the processing time, is this Normal? I live in Riverside County and the field office nearest here is the San Bernardino Office.  Thank you for the response. 

It's is normal. There are also people from the months before still at this status. At this point your case is still at NBC and will only move to your local office after it's ready to be scheduled.  

[RubiCali 27]

1 hour ago, Letspaintcookies said:

It's is normal. There are also people from the months before still at this status. At this point your case is still at NBC and will only move to your local office after it's ready to be scheduled.  

Great, thank you for the response, i was just getting worried at this point thats all.

[Magna 44]

11 hours ago, G&BN said:

I have a question! Also update: had biometrics schedule in March but due to pandemic was canceled so hopeful to be able to do that this summer. 

My husband and I are currently in California and we got a private medical insurance with Kaiser a month after he got here in December. We currently pay monthly for medical insurance we barely use but whatever, we got the insurance to abide by the rule about immigrants needing medical insurance.. We are moving at the end of the month to Texas where there is no Kaiser...would it be okay to cancel the medical insurance we have now and wait til I get a job (hopefully this summer) then add him to that insurance? So we would have a few months gap where he wouldn't be insured..just checking to see if that would be okay. Any thoughts?

 

So far I understand, it may not be mandatory to keep health insurance for those who filed AOS before Feb 24, 2020, but if it is mandatory, you need to follow the regulation.

BTW, I can't find any health insurance-related field other than I-944, which is a new form, and I understand the rule is applied only for those who files on or after Feb 25, 2020, but I'm not an immigration lawyer.

 

Besides the regulation issue, you may need to look at the COBRA health insurance program (https://www.healthcare.gov/unemployed/cobra-coverage/) if you and your husband have been covered by an employer-based health plan.

I remember it has a 60-day grace period of enrollment, and more worth mentioning is that you can enroll even after visit a clinic/hospital and are hit by medical bills (which means, so far I understand that this is the only health insurance that is retroactive to the qualifying event).

But, again, the COBRA health insurance program is only for employees who lose their job recently.

 

And, lastly, I personally believe keeping health insurance at any time is good for setting my mind at rest, but it's up to you.

I understand Medicaid (when any unforeseen event happens, you may need to claim Medicaid...) won't hurt our AOS, but the record is forever until the US government has no way to kick us out, which is becoming a citizen.

Edited May 11, 2020 by Magna

[G&BN 90]

23 hours ago, Magna said:

 

So far I understand, it may not be mandatory to keep health insurance for those who filed AOS before Feb 24, 2020, but if it is mandatory, you need to follow the regulation.

BTW, I can't find any health insurance-related field other than I-944, which is a new form, and I understand the rule is applied only for those who files on or after Feb 25, 2020, but I'm not an immigration lawyer.

 

Besides the regulation issue, you may need to look at the COBRA health insurance program (https://www.healthcare.gov/unemployed/cobra-coverage/) if you and your husband have been covered by an employer-based health plan.

I remember it has a 60-day grace period of enrollment, and more worth mentioning is that you can enroll even after visit a clinic/hospital and are hit by medical bills (which means, so far I understand that this is the only health insurance that is retroactive to the qualifying event).

But, again, the COBRA health insurance program is only for employees who lose their job recently.

 

And, lastly, I personally believe keeping health insurance at any time is good for setting my mind at rest, but it's up to you.

I understand Medicaid (when any unforeseen event happens, you may need to claim Medicaid...) won't hurt our AOS, but the record is forever until the US government has no way to kick us out, which is becoming a citizen.

Hello, thanks for your response. Can you say more about the first part? I wasn't aware that it wasn't mandatory for those who filed before Feb 24th. Is there a link I can read about that?

 

I understand the need to always have health insurance for emergency! If we can find cheap medical insurance in Texas then we'll enroll but if not, we'll just wait til I have a job to add my husband to my medical insurance. 

[Sarge2155 4,586]

3 hours ago, G&BN said:

Hello, thanks for your response. Can you say more about the first part? I wasn't aware that it wasn't mandatory for those who filed before Feb 24th. Is there a link I can read about that?

 

I understand the need to always have health insurance for emergency! If we can find cheap medical insurance in Texas then we'll enroll but if not, we'll just wait til I have a job to add my husband to my medical insurance. 

Good luck with that medical insurance is not cheap not even the worst coverages!

[YvetteS 178]

4 hours ago, G&BN said:

Hello, thanks for your response. Can you say more about the first part? I wasn't aware that it wasn't mandatory for those who filed before Feb 24th. Is there a link I can read about that?

 

I understand the need to always have health insurance for emergency! If we can find cheap medical insurance in Texas then we'll enroll but if not, we'll just wait til I have a job to add my husband to my medical insurance. 

Have you considered Cigna Global health insurance? It's a private international insurer, which provides nation wide coverage in the US. It's only available to expats. Your husband should be eligible for it, but unfortunately USC are not. 

[YvetteS 178]

Have any February AOS filers who had their biometrics appointment cancelled, been notified about getting it rescheduled? 

 

Or has there been any February AOS filers in general who have received a biometrics appointment for the coming months?

[MelOe 187]

4 hours ago, YvetteS said:

Have any February AOS filers who had their biometrics appointment cancelled, been notified about getting it rescheduled? 

 

Or has there been any February AOS filers in general who have received a biometrics appointment for the coming months?

Nope, still waiting to have it rescheduled. I suspect they wait until they are sure that they will really reopen in June before they start sending out new appointments, rather than making more appointments now and then getting another extension of the office closings that interferes with those new appointments once again.

[PimT 15]

A couple of questions for anyone who has received the "Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview" notice:

1. We submitted multiple forms (i-130, i-485, i-131, i-765) and when I checked the case status online, ONLY the i-485 status was changed to "ready for an interview" but nothing has changed for the other cases. What does this mean?
2. We have driven down to Florida for a couple weeks and so we have not seen the actual notice. Do we need to take action right away? It was updated on May 8th

Thank you so much in advance for all your help!!

[Sarge2155 4,586]

42 minutes ago, PimT said:

A couple of questions for anyone who has received the "Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview" notice:

1. We submitted multiple forms (i-130, i-485, i-131, i-765) and when I checked the case status online, ONLY the i-485 status was changed to "ready for an interview" but nothing has changed for the other cases. What does this mean?
2. We have driven down to Florida for a couple weeks and so we have not seen the actual notice. Do we need to take action right away? It was updated on May 8th

Thank you so much in advance for all your help!!

The I-485 is what you are interviewing for. No action needed on your part. Your  interview will be scheduled when they are ready and open to the public again. It means just what it says they are ready to schedule your interview period!

[Ryan G 56]

On 5/13/2020 at 9:24 AM, Sarge2155 said:

The I-485 is what you are interviewing for. No action needed on your part. Your  interview will be scheduled when they are ready and open to the public again. It means just what it says they are ready to schedule your interview period!

I am in the same boat continuing to wait for mail to come in as my status has been awaiting scheduling interview.

[Manuel94 72]

I just called USCIS as my impatience for the work permit is rapidly growing. I  told them that I understand biometrics cannot be taken due to everything being closed, but I have not received any biometrics appointment letter and it’s now been 3 months. I told them sending biometrics letter is not an in-person service. The lady replied that they are not scheduling any appointments until after June 4th (if not postponed again). I replied back “To be clear, this means that if you are sending out letters after June 4th, that means that on the day of June 4th there will be no biometrics appointments at all? Even though that’s when centers reopen?” She said that is correct. So guys in other words, they are trying to slow everything down as much as they can, and this proves it. What kind if place opens up on June 4th but with zero appointments scheduled for that day? What are they opening in-person services for if there are zero persons to serve? I am guessing they will open on the 4th, send us letters a month later, and maybe we’ll be able to take biometrics in August or September. Meanwhile we cannot leave the country to work back home for that period of time, or our AOS will be considered as abandoned. I guess we just have to stay home and be taken care of like little children by our spouse for 8 months or so just for a work permit.

[Cyndy&Onyi 145]

On 5/13/2020 at 8:37 AM, PimT said:

A couple of questions for anyone who has received the "Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview" notice:

1. We submitted multiple forms (i-130, i-485, i-131, i-765) and when I checked the case status online, ONLY the i-485 status was changed to "ready for an interview" but nothing has changed for the other cases. What does this mean?
2. We have driven down to Florida for a couple weeks and so we have not seen the actual notice. Do we need to take action right away? It was updated on May 8th

Thank you so much in advance for all your help!!

Agreed!!! This process (I-485) has felt faster in comparison to the K-1 Visa process because for this process we got updated every 3wks-4wks since we filed (please check my timeline for reference). But ever since they received my RFE and updated my status to "Ready to Be scheduled For Interview" on April 16th... things have been at a complete stand still with the I-485. As for the I-765 and I-131 none of those have had any decision or action made on them since March 2nd (when  my husband completed his biometrics). We just have to wait as frustrating and as tough as it is. Maybe June will bring progress.