May 2022 - AOS Filers

[MCOBAQ 26]

So after 8 months of radio silence, we received an RFE yesterday. They’re not looking for evidence of a bona fide marriage. Nope. They’re looking for our marriage certificate (it was included with the I-485 we sent back in May 2022) and the DS-2053 report of medical exam from the exam performed overseas (which would’ve been in that sealed envelope we handed over at the POE). 
Do these people routinely lose sensitive documents despite all the time and care we take to make sure everything is done by the book?

We can send another copy of the marriage certificate, no problem. 
The medical form they are asking for is not something my husband was given at his exam - it should’ve been in that sealed envelope that came with his visa. We do have the immunization form DS-3025 and submitted it with the I-485, but do we now have to pay for a second exam because of a USCIS error?

Anyone else get a ridiculous RFE like this?

Edited March 31, 2023 by MCOBAQ

[Hardship waiver 20]

26 minutes ago, MCOBAQ said:

So after 8 months of radio silence, we received an RFE yesterday. They’re not looking for evidence of a bona fide marriage. Nope. They’re looking for our marriage certificate (it was included with the I-485 we sent back in May 2022) and the DS-2053 report of medical exam from the exam performed overseas (which would’ve been in that sealed envelope we handed over at the POE). 
Do these people routinely lose sensitive documents despite all the time and care we take to make sure everything is done by the book?

We can send another copy of the marriage certificate, no problem. 
The medical form they are asking for is not something my husband was given at his exam - it should’ve been in that sealed envelope that came with his visa. We do have the immunization form DS-3025 and submitted it with the I-485, but do we now have to pay for a second exam because of a USCIS error?

Anyone else get a ridiculous RFE like this?

I am sorry that you’re going through this awful situation. Definitely don’t pay again. Call USCIS and ask to be referred to a tier 2 agent if the one you’re calling is unhelpful. Make some sort of plan with USCIS that you can send them an unsealed medical. I am sure the doctor has your form on file. 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Hardship waiver

[Edward_Jaqueline 18]

Finally the green card got approved without an interview.  Hope other may applicants get approved soon.  

[Hardship waiver 20]

3 hours ago, Edward_Jaqueline said:

Finally the green card got approved without an interview.  Hope other may applicants get approved soon.  

Congrats!! I received the combo card last week. NBC processes those, so they’re fast. Now waiting for FO to do their job.

[Comlor 12]

That's awesome news @Edward_Jaqueline, congratulations! I hope you celebrated in style ;-)

I have a question for you, if you don't mind.... How were you notified? Did you discover this yourself by checking your case online? Or did you receive an e-mail?

Just curious!

 

Thanks in advance!

Caroline

[Comlor 12]

Hello everyone,

Is it just me or have the processing times gone up again?

A few weeks Nebraska Service center was at 18 months, now it's at 25!

Same for the field office we're at right now, went up to 25 as well! And the field office in our area is pretty much the same.

Jeez Louise!

[Hardship waiver 20]

Congratulations to those who received their green card. I received the combo card a couple of weeks ago. This morning m, I got a notification through my email “we have taken action on your case” so I checked, and I found that for I130, there is an option added for “processing times” and it says 2 months. So here’s hoping it is true.

[Edward_Jaqueline 18]

18 hours ago, Comlor said:

That's awesome news @Edward_Jaqueline, congratulations! I hope you celebrated in style 😉

I have a question for you, if you don't mind.... How were you notified? Did you discover this yourself by checking your case online? Or did you receive an e-mail?

Just curious!

 

Thanks in advance!

Caroline

I received an email.  And when I checked online on  the USCIS site - nothing had changed. But a few hours later the status changed to approved. 

[Hardship waiver 20]

So surreal! When they move, they move fast. My case is now approved. Hoping the same for everyone.

 

cheers!

[Comlor 12]

@Hardship waiverThat's such amazing news, congratulations! 

Edited April 13, 2023 by Comlor

[Comlor 12]

Hello everyone! So here we all are, (nearly) 1 year since filing your I-485 (employment based).

On our side, we've had the I-140 approved as well as our EAD. We didn't file for AP, as we have an L1 and L2 status until Sept 2024.

Since filing, our case and processing time moved as follows:

May 2022: Nebraska, processing time 24 months

May 2022: Nebraska, processing time 18.5 months

Oct 2022 transfer to NBC: processing time unknown

Feb 2023 transfer to Albuquerque:  processing time 20 months

Apr 2023 according to the agent I should select my local FO for processing time, which is currently 25.5 months (Seattle)

 

So I guess (almost) 1 year down, 1 year to go..................

 

Any employment based adjustment I-485 filers who have had better success stories? I notice this group contains a lot of family based adjustments applicators, so was wondering if there is a difference in processing times between the two.

 

Good luck to everyone out there and hang in there!
 

[Amanda&David 33]

My husband had his interview today, and we were sent home with a letter that our case was being held for further review. The officer was very nice, and the interview went well overall. However, he informed us that the reason he was keeping our case open was because it had been some time since he had reviewed a case adjusting status from K1, and he wasn't sure about the validity of the medical examination that was done prior to the consular interview. We submitted the DS-3025 with our original I-485 application which was marked as 'K  Visa applicant voluntarily completed vaccination requirements'. The medical examination was also completed long before the one year requirement from when the application was filed, and no class A medical conditions were revealed. We still had the unsealed envelope with us from the examination, since nobody asked for it when my husband entered the US. We gave that to the officer and he put it in our file. I assume the evidence we provided is enough to just wait for that officer to perform his final review and adjudicate our case. Maybe this could be useful for others to inform them that this might happen should they have an interview adjusting from K1. I guess it depends on the knowledge of the officer on whether he will approve you on the spot or not.

[EatBulaga 314]

2 minutes ago, Amanda&David said:

We still had the unsealed envelope with us from the examination, since nobody asked for it when my husband entered the US. We gave that to the officer and he put it in our file. I assume the evidence we provided is enough to just wait for that officer to perform his final review and adjudicate our case.

Wait...whoa...you had the brown sealed envelope this whole time? which was supposed to be picked up by the CBP at the POE to forward to USCIS? And the current officer accepted it to put in the file?

 

This is highly irregular.

 

I'm guessing the officer is elevating the review to a superior since this is highly irregular. Ideally, the brown sealed packet is reviewed by the CBP at POE, and then forwarded to USCIS. Not sure what will come of this? Do keep us updated.

[Amanda&David 33]

1 minute ago, EatBulaga said:

Wait...whoa...you had the brown sealed envelope this whole time? which was supposed to be picked up by the CBP at the POE to forward to USCIS? And the current officer accepted it to put in the file?

 

This is highly irregular.

 

I'm guessing the officer is elevating the review to a superior since this is highly irregular. Ideally, the brown sealed packet is reviewed by the CBP at POE, and then forwarded to USCIS. Not sure what will come of this? Do keep us updated.

It was a white sealed envelope, but yes we had it since he entered. The current officer seemed confused on what it even was, but he accepted it and put it in the file since he said we did a good job in keeping it sealed. Yeah, that might be the case, but we will see.

[EatBulaga 314]

12 minutes ago, Amanda&David said:

It was a white sealed envelope, but yes we had it since he entered. The current officer seemed confused on what it even was, but he accepted it and put it in the file since he said we did a good job in keeping it sealed. Yeah, that might be the case, but we will see.

I've only heard of one case where the CBP agent didn't know the procedure to open and inspect the sealed envelope. The K1 called USCIS to inquire what to do with the envelope, and USCIS told them to immediately go back to the airport to drop it off with the CBP.

There are supposed to be other documents inside the sealed envelope besides the medical like police report, etc. so all those are supposed to be with the USCIS already when you file the AOS.

Yes, good thing that you kept the envelope sealed. I read posts that in the near future this passing of the sealed envelope procedure will be updated to electronically transferred.