Waiting for I-485 Receipt

[Airam2007 0]

My husband came here on an H1 visa and my daughter and I have H4s, all of which were recently renewed and valid till 2010. We filed our AOS together in May07 and my husband got his I-797 NOA Biometrics Appointment June 26 while my daughter and I didn't get ours. My husband did his fingerprinting Jul11. On Aug 15 I received my EAD but still no NOA for biometrics for me and my daughter. Our friends who filed their AOS later than ours received their NOA and are already done with their biometrics. We also found out that they received together with the Biometrics NOA their I-797 NOA acknowledging receipt of the AOS application (i.e. 1-485 receipt). Someone even already got a greencard. We followed-up with our lawyer who basically said that we just have to wait, that whether NOAs are sent to all applicants within a family all togther or separately is of no consequence on our AOS application, and is pretty much subject to whims of the case manager. My daughter and I need to go home to the Philippines to be with my father who's been diagnosed with cancer but we are discouraged from doing so by the laweyer because of the possibility fo being deemed as having abandoned our AOS application if we leave the US without our I-485 receipt. Please comment/advise. Thanks and God bless...