Club Colombia AOS!

[buck501 0]

We sent off the AOS docs today, sighhhhhhhhhhhhhh, now I guess it is back to the waiting game.

I may be a bit delusional here, but this part seems awful easy, it is a bit scarey that anything could be this easy. We already had all the papers required, no hassel there. The $1010.00 was a bit painful.

What are the chances of not having to go thru another interview? Is that asking to much? Our case will go through California most likley. I have read where many folks going thru CSC have not had to have an interview. That would be sooooooooo nice.

Also tthings seem to be a bit out of whack if I understand them correctly, We get the green card, it is good for two years, then we apply for the 10 year card after 2 years, but she is eldgable to apply for citizenship 3 years after the AOS is approved. I am thinking this is a way to get nore money from us in a short period of time. I have not looked into the cost's of the next green card or citizenships fees but I am sure it is not cheap.

[TonyS 0]

Yes Buck, this is the waiting game part. You should receive a NOA in a few weeks and a biometric appointment after that. If you receive news that your case is transfered to CSC then do a dance! Most likely you will be approved without a interview. CSC approval have been running about 2-4 months. But you must also have patience. I sent my package off in June. I have done the biometric, my wife has a EAD but I still can't check the status of the case online or by phone. The 'Misinformation Line" says the package is in Missouri and everything is fine. They put out the standard 6-12 months time for approval. I guess I was spoiled by the quick K-1 visa time. Anyway, I have a INFOPASS scheduled for next week. I wish you speed Buck because you had a rough time during the K-1 approval.

[HAL 9000 96]

SSN to be done next week... We anticipate that we'll have two incomes coming in by the end of the year! Maria is anxious to start contributing to the family piggy-bank.

We also had to reschedule Biometrics, and we kindly wrote them to reschedule... no problem, even though a trip out of "ignorance" was met with a little bit of attitude on their part. I still managed to diffuse that with a bit of a smile.

[HAL 9000 96]

Any new updates?

Our EAC countdown is at approximately 6 weeks.

[KathyB 0]

Hi Club!

Francisco's green card was approved November 10! We were transferred to the California service center in August so we had a few months of inactivity but not enough to make us crazy. No interview. We had one RFE for tax information. And though I expected an RFE for the vaccination supplement (I-693A), we never got it! We had just submitted the vaccination supplement from the Department of State (DS-3025).

All said and done for nearly the next two years. However, considering we applied for the K1 visa at the end of October and just one year later, he is a permanent resident, I am extremely pleased! All the more reason to celebrate!

Francisco's grandmother is coming to stay with us for three weeks to attend our December 8 wedding ... must go practice my Spanish!

Chao!

[HAL 9000 96]

Great news Kathy!

Not too bad indeed, even with an RFE. I notice that AOS transfers to CSC tend to not go through the local office interview step. I hope in this case we also get our paperwork sent to CSC since I am not in the mood to ask for another day off from work to do these things, even though my colleagues are more than understanding being mostly foreigners themselves.

Congratulations on your second wedding celebration...

[Chester y Monica 2]

Whew - getting the AOS packet ready is like signing mortage loans!

Just some basic questions:

1. All the forms I-485, I-765 and I-131 all get sent to the same Chicago lockbox correct?

2. I don't have the I-693A yet and after calling around within a reasonable distance from me, they want $100 just to fill it out. Did anyone submit theirs without this form? And tried to complete it at a later time?

3. Do you send in photos for the G-325a?

2 photos for I-485

2 photos for the G-325a

2 photos for the I-131

2 photos for the I-765

Did I miss out anything?

4. The I-864 Affidavit of Support does not need to be notarized, correct?

5. I'm only including W-2s for the past 5 years and not including any 1040 printouts. I think that should suffice.

6. Monica's I-94 did not have any A# on it. I found that A# on my NOA2. This is "the" number right?

7. The visa number is the "RED" number sequence on the K1 visa page. It is NOT the "control" number.

Hopefully, if only I could haggle with the Civil Surgeons' piece of #######, I'll be set!

I hope to mail the packet by Friday, 60 days after K1 entry.

Thanks folks!

FYI - Monica has her CA learner's permit to drive. Let's just say ... my uhhmmm.. clutch on my car is hurting everytime she takes off at a light.

Monica and Chester

[HAL 9000 96]

Whew - getting the AOS packet ready is like signing mortage loans!

Just some basic questions:

1. All the forms I-485, I-765 and I-131 all get sent to the same Chicago lockbox correct? Yep

2. I don't have the I-693A yet and after calling around within a reasonable distance from me, they want $100 just to fill it out. Did anyone submit theirs without this form? And tried to complete it at a later time? You could do it later, but it will mean an RFE and delays in processing the AOS package. Try asking around at your local public health dept.- in Chicago it was completely free to fill out.

3. Do you send in photos for the G-325a? Nope.

2 photos for I-485

2 photos for the G-325a

2 photos for the I-131

2 photos for the I-765

Did I miss out anything?

4. The I-864 Affidavit of Support does not need to be notarized, correct? That's right.

5. I'm only including W-2s for the past 5 years and not including any 1040 printouts. I think that should suffice. I included tax transcripts that only took about a week to receive after ordering from a live IRS rep; very courteous.

6. Monica's I-94 did not have any A# on it. I found that A# on my NOA2. This is "the" number right? Yes, that is the #. I ended up memorizing Maria's!

7. The visa number is the "RED" number sequence on the K1 visa page. It is NOT the "control" number. Exactly.

Hopefully, if only I could haggle with the Civil Surgeons' piece of #######, I'll be set!

I hope to mail the packet by Friday, 60 days after K1 entry.

Thanks folks! Go go Chester Go... just think about the tax stuff and in my opinion you're set to Go.

FYI - Monica has her CA learner's permit to drive. Let's just say ... my uhhmmm.. clutch on my car is hurting everytime she takes off at a light.

Monica and Chester

[KathyB 0]

Whew - getting the AOS packet ready is like signing mortage loans!

2. I don't have the I-693A yet and after calling around within a reasonable distance from me, they want $100 just to fill it out. Did anyone submit theirs without this form? And tried to complete it at a later time? You could do it later, but it will mean an RFE and delays in processing the AOS package. Try asking around at your local public health dept.- in Chicago it was completely free to fill out.

5. I'm only including W-2s for the past 5 years and not including any 1040 printouts. I think that should suffice. I included tax transcripts that only took about a week to receive after ordering from a live IRS rep; very courteous.

Monica and Chester

Hi Chester, my husband's green card just was approved. I did not submit the I693A with our petition and did not receive an RFE. I did include the DS-3025 vaccination supplement with the initial paperwork. I simply read the instructions that a vaccination supplement was required on I485 and sent what Francisco received from the physical in Bogota. However, numerous people have received RFEs for not submitting the I693A and I cannot deduce why some and not others! So if you want to ensure no RFE for it, it's probably good to include.

We did receive an RFE for tax transcripts because I filed an extension this year and copies of my tax forms and W2s were not enough. I did just what Willy suggested and ordered the tax transcripts. They came very quickly and yes, they were very cordial on the phone!

Good luck!

[Chester y Monica 2]

Thanks Willie and KathyB!

I just got off the phone with the IRS. There are two ways to receive the transcripts, via mail or fax. Unfortunately, I am not at the office next to the fax machine to receive it. They will not fax it unless they are assured that you are there to receive it. So I opted to received via mail. I do however have the option later in the day to call again and ask them to fax it once I have access to a fax machine.

[HAL 9000 96]

Regarding the vaccinations, I think that if you want to get by with the DS-3025 then you should definitely include a good cover letter explaining this as a submittal in lieu of the I-693A... nevertheless it most likely boils down to what case worker gets your AOS packet to look at. Some will let the DS-3025 go by no sweat and yet others will most likely ask you to make sure each dot in each 'i' is exactly 1.5mm above the letter stroke.

If you can get to the fax machine today then go for it... if the copy is legible all the better.

Godspeed and get ready to kiss another grand bye bye

[TonyS 0]

Congrats Kathy and Chester, your information is correct. I wishing you good luck and hopefully a quick transfer to the CSC.

[parkpapa 0]

For those who might read this and are going the K-3 route....

If you choose to apply separately for the work permit (I-765) in hopes that it will speed up that portion of the process, I advise against it. We applied separately in early July (the rest of the AOS packet went at the end of the month). Lorena received the NOA for the I-765 on July 16 and had her biometrics appointment on August 6. At the biometrics appointment, the officer said she should have her work permit in two or three weeks. After three weeks I checked the USCIS website and it said that normal I-765s were now taking 11 weeks. Eleven weeks after the original application I called USCIS and was told by a less than helpful woman that I should not call until six months had passed!!!

Three days ago, I came across the following FAQ at USCIS: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...0000ecd190aRCRD (pay special attention to the final paragraph about I-765s)

The website still says 11 weeks. I called USCIS again yesterday and a slightly more helpful woman said that the important date was the July 16 date (or NOA date). In that case, it had been 75 days since we received that notice. She said I should wait 15 more days before calling again. Knowing how this all is going, my guess is that when I call, they will tell me to wait some more. But at least their own information now gives something a little more concrete to go on.

Finally, unless my math is really, really bad, eleven weeks does not equal six months - and neither one of those equals 90 days. But this is our tax dollars at work.

Charles

[parkpapa 0]

Here's a link to use IF you have a problem (as outlined on the site) at any point in the process: http://www.dhs.gov/cisombudsman

Note there is yet another form to fill out, and certainly no guarantee positive action will be taken, but at least I did finally get an (automated) response when I wrote to the ombudsman.

Charles

[paisita411 0]

HELLO AOS COLOMBIA CLUB...I'm sooooo happy to join you on this leg of the Journey. This has been a long time coming for us and I can't express in words how happy we both are. I'm reading through your posts to catch up on everything. I'm putting our AOS package together this week and hope to have it in the mail by Monday, 11/26.

One question, have any of you had the opportunity to get a Social Security Card for you K3 spouse prior to recieving the EAD? I'm wondering how I can add Oscar to my bank account without the SS card?

Dre