May 2020 AOS Filers

[keeza3 4]

Hi everyone. May 2020 filer here 

 

Had my adjustment of status interview in the Houston office on 22 Sept 2021. Our appointment was for 230pm. I have left a review in the review section but here it is here too: 

We arrived 15 mins before our appointment and got in, had to go through metal detectors. We waited about 3 mins for biometrics. They took my fingerprints and a photo. I removed my mask only to get the photo taken and the officer was behind a big glass wall.

We then waited for 30 mins and were called in at 3pm (our appointment was 230pm). We had an older short, bald gentleman who looked and sounded Hispanic. He seemed stern but when we were escorted to his office we saw he was military, which explained his demeanour. Don’t let it put you off!

We sat down and he asked for our IDs, birth certificates and marriage certificate. While I pulled it out of our folder he asked my husband where he lived and how long he had lived there. Husband confirmed our address and was asked to provide proof (lease or mortgage document) but my husband hadn’t brought it as it wasn’t jointly in our name yet. The officer asked my husband if he had any other way of showing proof of address like bank documents, which we did. I took out the bank documents and provided it to him.

The officer seemed more interested in filling out the forms and typing on the computer. After a long silence where he fussed with the forms and typed on the computer he turned to me. He asked my full name, my date of birth, where I was born, consulate where I got my k-1 and confirmed our marriage date. He confirmed when I got my k-1, when I entered the country, when I got married and that I was applying for a green card. He confirmed I met all the requisite legal time frames for entering country, marriage and filing of AOS.

He then went through our bank documents I had provided earlier. I also provided additional information that the officer never asked for but I told him we had it and if he wanted it while he was examining the bank documents. He said he would take it. They were - health insurance information, life insurance info, retirement savings where I am my husband’s primary beneficiary as well as my husbands latest pay information and two years of our joint tax filing. He barely looked at these additional documents but spent a few minutes on the tax documents.

It seemed to us that he didn’t need a lot of documents apart from ID, marriage certificate and bank documents. This reinforced to us that he had made his decision before we had our interview - read to the end to find out!

The officer then went through my entire I-485 with me - asking me name of my parents, where they were from, where I was born, places I have worked, organisations I was in, all the “HAVE YOU EVER” questions. One of the “HAVE YOU EVER” questions I answered YES and gave an explanation on my form. We discussed the answer and he was undisturbed by it. He confirmed that nothing had changed on my form and he was satisfied about the contents. He then made me sign the form.

More typing and filling out forms. Printed out letters.

Then he gave us a long explanation that our application was approved, explained the temporary nature of the card  as we haven't been married 2 years yet and what we had to do 90 days before the expiry of the 2-yr card. He reinforced that in two years time they would be interested in the authenticity of our marriage - "prove that it is a good marriage and you must show intermingling of assets". My husband had asked if we could now freely travel overseas (LOL) and the officer explained we could travel as we wished. He was very friendly at the end and congratulated us and said the card would arrive within 3 weeks. He then made copies of our IDs and returned my passport and my husband’s DL back to us. He returned all ORIGINAL documents to us including certified copy of marriage certificate. DONE AND DUSTED. We were with the officer for about 35 minutes. 

 

Online and on the app it now says "CARD BEING PRODUCED" instead of "INTERVIEW SCHEDULED". 

If our interview was in 2 months my husband and I would have met the 2-yr married mark! Very sneaky of them but I am so glad this is over (for now). 

 

GOOD LUCK to everyone waiting. 

 

If I can answer any questions please let me know. 
 

[Nova83 7]

On 9/23/2021 at 1:07 AM, keeza3 said:

Hi everyone. May 2020 filer here 

 

Had my adjustment of status interview in the Houston office on 22 Sept 2021. Our appointment was for 230pm. I have left a review in the review section but here it is here too: 

We arrived 15 mins before our appointment and got in, had to go through metal detectors. We waited about 3 mins for biometrics. They took my fingerprints and a photo. I removed my mask only to get the photo taken and the officer was behind a big glass wall.

We then waited for 30 mins and were called in at 3pm (our appointment was 230pm). We had an older short, bald gentleman who looked and sounded Hispanic. He seemed stern but when we were escorted to his office we saw he was military, which explained his demeanour. Don’t let it put you off!

We sat down and he asked for our IDs, birth certificates and marriage certificate. While I pulled it out of our folder he asked my husband where he lived and how long he had lived there. Husband confirmed our address and was asked to provide proof (lease or mortgage document) but my husband hadn’t brought it as it wasn’t jointly in our name yet. The officer asked my husband if he had any other way of showing proof of address like bank documents, which we did. I took out the bank documents and provided it to him.

The officer seemed more interested in filling out the forms and typing on the computer. After a long silence where he fussed with the forms and typed on the computer he turned to me. He asked my full name, my date of birth, where I was born, consulate where I got my k-1 and confirmed our marriage date. He confirmed when I got my k-1, when I entered the country, when I got married and that I was applying for a green card. He confirmed I met all the requisite legal time frames for entering country, marriage and filing of AOS.

He then went through our bank documents I had provided earlier. I also provided additional information that the officer never asked for but I told him we had it and if he wanted it while he was examining the bank documents. He said he would take it. They were - health insurance information, life insurance info, retirement savings where I am my husband’s primary beneficiary as well as my husbands latest pay information and two years of our joint tax filing. He barely looked at these additional documents but spent a few minutes on the tax documents.

It seemed to us that he didn’t need a lot of documents apart from ID, marriage certificate and bank documents. This reinforced to us that he had made his decision before we had our interview - read to the end to find out!

The officer then went through my entire I-485 with me - asking me name of my parents, where they were from, where I was born, places I have worked, organisations I was in, all the “HAVE YOU EVER” questions. One of the “HAVE YOU EVER” questions I answered YES and gave an explanation on my form. We discussed the answer and he was undisturbed by it. He confirmed that nothing had changed on my form and he was satisfied about the contents. He then made me sign the form.

More typing and filling out forms. Printed out letters.

Then he gave us a long explanation that our application was approved, explained the temporary nature of the card  as we haven't been married 2 years yet and what we had to do 90 days before the expiry of the 2-yr card. He reinforced that in two years time they would be interested in the authenticity of our marriage - "prove that it is a good marriage and you must show intermingling of assets". My husband had asked if we could now freely travel overseas (LOL) and the officer explained we could travel as we wished. He was very friendly at the end and congratulated us and said the card would arrive within 3 weeks. He then made copies of our IDs and returned my passport and my husband’s DL back to us. He returned all ORIGINAL documents to us including certified copy of marriage certificate. DONE AND DUSTED. We were with the officer for about 35 minutes. 

 

Online and on the app it now says "CARD BEING PRODUCED" instead of "INTERVIEW SCHEDULED". 

If our interview was in 2 months my husband and I would have met the 2-yr married mark! Very sneaky of them but I am so glad this is over (for now). 

 

GOOD LUCK to everyone waiting. 

 

If I can answer any questions please let me know. 
 

Thank you for sharing your experience and congratulations on your approval !!!

I'm October 2020 and still waiting forever 🙂

[Jeff and Mei 19]

Are any May 2020 AOS filers still waiting for and interview?  (besides us)

[Leonardo107 39]

13 minutes ago, Jeff and Mei said:

Are any May 2020 AOS filers still waiting for and interview?  (besides us)

Yes we are! Haven’t  had any update since bio was done back in august

[marianabrasil 25]

17 minutes ago, Jeff and Mei said:

Are any May 2020 AOS filers still waiting for and interview?  (besides us)

We are also waiting. Pretty much depends on the time processing of your local office, so basically, since I’m in Seattle, nobody - with rare exceptions - from 2020 had interview yet. Just a waiting game! Good luck! 

[TreverR 21]

Still waiting on a green card interview but good news about my wife's work permit extension letter.   She was able to use that here in VA to get her driver's license renewed.  They did not need the renewed work permit card and said the letter of extension was good enough.  Got her license extended for another year.  

 

So for now she can still work with the extension and is good to drive for another year.  Hopefully we don't have to worry about those deadlines and an interview comes soon.  My wife's extension is only good till March of next year.  

[eddie90 31]

23 minutes ago, TreverR said:

Still waiting on a green card interview but good news about my wife's work permit extension letter.   She was able to use that here in VA to get her driver's license renewed.  They did not need the renewed work permit card and said the letter of extension was good enough.  Got her license extended for another year.  

 

So for now she can still work with the extension and is good to drive for another year.  Hopefully we don't have to worry about those deadlines and an interview comes soon.  My wife's extension is only good till March of next year.  

Well my license is gonna be expired tomorrow and I went to multiple locations in Texas but they didn’t renew mine. They mentioned not being able to see my extension from DHS. 🤦‍♂️. I got my i797 renewal receipt letter in the first week of September. 

Edited October 26, 2021 by eddie90

[Ally&Axel 43]

20 hours ago, marianabrasil said:

We are also waiting. Pretty much depends on the time processing of your local office, so basically, since I’m in Seattle, nobody - with rare exceptions - from 2020 had interview yet. Just a waiting game! Good luck! 

Hi Mariana,

 

this is probably the case if your status read “ready to be scheduled for an interview” but if you’re like me and it says “fingerprints were taken” then you’re having a different problem.

our files have been stored in a vault called the FRC or the NRC and they have barely started reopening them like last week.

so our A files haven’t been transferred to the local field offices yet. An absolute joke.

A lot of people filing for their citizenship are in this case. You can read more under the case report for N400.

the problem is that they’re only treating certain people but not everyone now that they’re reopening based on a priority basis. As if this shouldn’t have been done month ago.

[PatSquared 57]

14 hours ago, eddie90 said:

Well my license is gonna be expired tomorrow and I went to multiple locations in Texas but they didn’t renew mine. They mentioned not being able to see my extension from DHS. 🤦‍♂️. I got my i797 renewal receipt letter in the first week of September. 

Hi @eddie90 - my husband and I also live in TX (Dallas area) and we also endured head aches while trying to renew his license with his EAD extension letter, but we were eventually able to get it done!

 

His EAD/AP combo card expired last month. We filed for his renewal back in mid-May, but STILL haven’t received any updates other than a letter from USCIS saying that they would re-use the biometrics they took from him last year.

 

He went to the Fort Worth DMV location (was the only place where he could get a timely appointment) a week before his license was set to expire. He presented his current card that was about to expire, his NOA1 receipt/extension letter, his I-485 NOA1, and print-outs from the USCIS website explaining the nature of the extension - the DMV personnel wouldn’t budge. As expected, they did not understand immigration law. My husband thankfully held his ground and insisted that they run a “second verification” on him. This is when agencies like the DMV submit your documentation to Homeland Security for them to verify your eligibility for benefits like a driver license. It took about two weeks for him to be verified, but once he was notified, he returned to the Fort Worth DMV and they produced his new license (with one-year validity) without any issues.

[PatSquared 57]

46 minutes ago, Ally&Axel said:

Hi Mariana,

 

this is probably the case if your status read “ready to be scheduled for an interview” but if you’re like me and it says “fingerprints were taken” then you’re having a different problem.

our files have been stored in a vault called the FRC or the NRC and they have barely started reopening them like last week.

so our A files haven’t been transferred to the local field offices yet. An absolute joke.

A lot of people filing for their citizenship are in this case. You can read more under the case report for N400.

the problem is that they’re only treating certain people but not everyone now that they’re reopening based on a priority basis. As if this shouldn’t have been done month ago.

@Ally&Axel - I had no clue that such a vault existed! Is it a literal cave?! Ugh. Like you, my husband has been stuck on “fingerprints have been taken” since August of last year. Such a head ache. At least they’re opening it up, I guess. I hope we’ll all see an end to this long journey. 

[PatSquared 57]

15 hours ago, TreverR said:

Still waiting on a green card interview but good news about my wife's work permit extension letter.   She was able to use that here in VA to get her driver's license renewed.  They did not need the renewed work permit card and said the letter of extension was good enough.  Got her license extended for another year.  

 

So for now she can still work with the extension and is good to drive for another year.  Hopefully we don't have to worry about those deadlines and an interview comes soon.  My wife's extension is only good till March of next year.  

@TreverR - my husband’s EAD/AP combo card expired last month. We filed for his renewal back in mid-May, but haven’t heard anything back apart from a letter from USCIS informing him that they would re-use the biometrics they took last year.

 

He called several weeks ago and the agent told him that it looks like they are “adjudicating” his case, as of Sept. 26. When he asked how much longer it would take for his new card to be approved, the agent couldn’t give him a straight answer and said that two months is the longest he’s seen it’s taken from this point. Ugh.

 

My husband’s extension also expires next March. He was assigned an “IOE” case number, which I thought is supposed to take quicker to process! We know of people who received their new cards within 2-3 months.

 

When did you file for your renewal?

Edited October 26, 2021 by PatSquared

[Ally&Axel 43]

2 minutes ago, PatSquared said:

@Ally&Axel - I had no clue that such a vault existed! Is it a literal cave?! Ugh. Like you, my husband has been stuck on “fingerprints have been taken” since August of last year. Such a head ache. At least they’re opening it up, I guess. I hope we’ll all see an end to this long journey. 

Yes it’s called the federal record center. I’m getting ready to send my document to my congressperson and hope this help.

ill let you know for sure.

[PatSquared 57]

1 minute ago, Ally&Axel said:

Yes it’s called the federal record center. I’m getting ready to send my document to my congressperson and hope this help.

ill let you know for sure.

Thank you so much! We contacted our congressperson in the Dallas area and Sen. Cornyn weeks prior to my husband’s EAD/AP expiration, but their efforts only resulted in a standard response from USCIS saying that we are still within processing time, blah, blah… would love to know if your able to get your case to progress!

[Eshoesco24 31]

On 10/25/2021 at 1:58 PM, Jeff and Mei said:

Are any May 2020 AOS filers still waiting for and interview?  (besides us)

Yes! Detroit office here.. we did biometrics in august 2020 and not a peep since. 

[Jeff and Mei 19]

On 10/26/2021 at 9:32 AM, Ally&Axel said:

Hi Mariana,

 

this is probably the case if your status read “ready to be scheduled for an interview” but if you’re like me and it says “fingerprints were taken” then you’re having a different problem.

our files have been stored in a vault called the FRC or the NRC and they have barely started reopening them like last week.

so our A files haven’t been transferred to the local field offices yet. An absolute joke.

A lot of people filing for their citizenship are in this case. You can read more under the case report for N400.

the problem is that they’re only treating certain people but not everyone now that they’re reopening based on a priority basis. As if this shouldn’t have been done month ago.

Well this FRC thing is a new one on me.  How did you find out about it?