slavaskii

Approved! 🥳 Interview ended up being waived and we quickly got / returned an RFE for another copy of the marriage certificate. My best wishes go out to all my fellow August friends here. Good luck to you all, Godspeed! Back to finals, these outlines don't write themselves

Thanks! I'm sure you'll hear good news soon; as someone else said here, things definitely pick up as the clock ticks closer to 24 months. The interview notice still hasn't posted as far as I'm aware, but I'll update when we learn how far out it is. From the timelines, though, it seems roughly 4-6 weeks out.

As an update, I just got a notification that our interview was scheduled. Anyone know if we should get a notice of when the interview is on the USCIS account, or usually how far out they are? Of course, after two years of submitting, it will be scheduled during my final law exams / bar prep 😂

March check-up! How's everyone doing here? To follow-up on this, the myProgress tab has been similarly misleading. It's continued to fluctuate anywhere from 5 weeks (most common) to six months (once) to two months (second most common). AskEmma informed the case was at the local office several months ago, and I'm inclined to believe it is based on the second 'active review' we got. For us, DC's estimated processing increased to 24 months, and the congressional inquiry still hasn't returned. Here's hoping March is the month!

Hooray! Best of luck to you all.

Hope everyone is well! Need to bump this thread now that it's February and we've been booted off the front page Any updates on your end, @SandyR? My wife's account suddenly displayed a new "Case is Being Actively Reviewed" a few weeks ago, which made me hopeful for a quick approval, but so far silence. We've gone the congressional inquiry route for now, hopefully the update - the first in nearly 1.5 years - means something good. The "MyProgress" tab also fluctuated between 2 and 6 months, but since that 'update' it's been firmly at 2. @Comlor I apologize for only getting to this now, but if the tab doesn't appear there, then likely your FO doesn't have that feature enabled (?). My understanding is that not all accounts have that tab, but because the meter is apparently tied to "similar cases to yours," I'm guessing whether the tab appears or not is dependent on the FO. I also think you're EB-2 (?), and because this is an AOS from K-1 subforum, your category may not be eligible for the feature altogether. But you're not missing a whole lot, as it doesn't seem terribly accurate.

Thank you both! Yes, she listed her maiden name in that section and, as required, the marriage certificate was included with the AOS packet; so it seems all is perfectly fine. Appreciate your quick responses very much.

For us (K-1 interview June 2022), it took about 3 business days for it be delivered to the MBE office in Warsaw for pick-up. I agree, however, that you cannot bank on an immediate approval as there are unfortunate examples of long Administrative Processing.

Hi all - I hope this isn't considered necro'ing my own thread, but I wanted to come back and report that everything went well. It was, as anticipated, impossible to check-in online (both for the outbound and inbound trip); however, no questions were asked as to what AP meant. There were several immigration checks on the overall journey and each was pleasant. Immigration at IAD is always a good experience. I verified that my wife's class of admission was properly entered as "DA." Nonetheless, I noticed that the Form I-94 (logically) lists her information as "[FIRST NAME] [MAIDAN NAME]" as this is what's reflected on her passport. Will USCIS still be advised she re-entered because all her USCIS documents for AOS are instead her married name? I'm unsure if we have to send some notice to USCIS or if that's all taken care of because it will be matched up with the passport information. Thanks all in advance.

Lol, the myProgress tab just updated to 5 months; that would be quickly approaching two years from the I-485 filing Hope we hear some good news soon in the new year!

Yes, my wife also got her Combo Card early in the summer, in June; I'm very relieved it was a combo card, as it seems like those aren't getting approved anymore. It lets us go on a trip this holiday, so that's fun. Congrats on your husband getting his! That's great yours says 1 week! My wife's said 4 - I'm not sure how likely that is, but that number doesn't really seem to correspond to any public information (i.e., the inquiry date or the estimated processing time), so I hope it's reflecting something internal. We didn't submit an inquiry relating to the RFE yet - if we don't hear anything in early January, we'll probably submit then as it'll also be the end of the 4-week mark. Hoping for all the best!

Has anyone seen the new "myProgress" tab on the myUSCIS profile? I checked my wife's account this morning, and in addition to status, history, and documents, there's now a new "myProgess" section which gives an estimated completion date. I'm actually pretty impressed with what it conveys; it doesn't just say to wait until the inquiry date, rather, it seems to be more specific to the case. Is this specific to the FO or is being rolled out everywhere? Is it accurate? TIA

It's wonderful hearing from you again, Sandy! I hope you and yours are doing well. My understanding is that, because we are still well within processing time (DC FO keeps pushing it back, and back, and back...), there's really nothing we can do to inquire. Fortunately, we know USCIS touched the packet in September because the dates updated, so perhaps we can submit a service inquiry 60 days from that date. In any event, if we were to wait until the inquiry date, we'd practically be at our two year anniversary - which on one hand would obviate ROC, but on the other, would be pretty ridiculous if it still didn't come by that time. Although if we actually got to the two year mark without an update, I would pursue the mandamus. Another element to this is my wife's country, Belarus, is now refusing to renew passports for those living abroad. Which means that there will be a period of a few years in which she cannot visit her family elsewhere in Europe, because her passport will have expired. As the delays with the GC delay the citizenship clock, the whole situation becomes especially frustrating.

Thank you so much! Just wanted to cycle back to say that I bought the tickets, but interestingly, neither United or Lufthansa asked for passport / visa information. This could be because the flight is originating in the US? I may call tomorrow if I have time; I distinctly recall having to put this information down in the past. Now for the second 'fun' part - renewing the Schengen!

Any more August 2022 updates? Still pretty much silent here - I keep checking the timelines, and for whatever reason, those who filed after July 2022 in DC are now delayed (everyone else seemed pretty standard to finish AOS 11-13 months). I did notice, however, that the "RFE Received" date for the I-864 (requested last year, shortly after receipt of the AOS package) 'updated' to Sept. 2023. My understanding is that this means someone actually looked at the packet; however, it's been well over a month since that update, and I would've expected something more immediate. Is this just another waiting game until we can file an inquiry in May 2024? Given that it's already been 14 months and there's now an updated RFE Received, any chance we can do some inquiry sooner (possibly, 60 days after that RFE update, i.e., mid/late November)? Again, after the disaster that was the I-129F slowdowns, I really feel like being proactive is the solution here; maybe a congressional inquiry instead at the end of the 60 days? TIA Edit: Separately, what's the protocol for when you approach your 2 year anniversary but do not have the I-485 approved yet? I understand you can file ROC with a conditional GC 90 days prior to the conditional GC's expiration, but when you don't have the GC yet, do you take any action at all? For us that will be early May, likely before we could even submit an 'out of processing time' inquiry for the I-485.

Good morning! My wife and I are finalizing a trip to visit her family in Poland. I searched this question before, but want to understand completely the answer & what to prepare for - my wife's passport (Belarus) has her maidan name, whereas her EAD/AP combo card has her married name. It is impossible to update the Belarusian passport. Given this, I understand the following: We need to book the tickets under the name on her passport (i.e., maidan name); If the tickets ask for any reentry permit number, this should be the card number on her AP; She is fine reentering the US with only the unexpired combo card and passport, and presenting these at check-in should not produce any issues; and She should additionally carry both her Form I-485 receipt notice and our marriage certificate. Additionally, is there anything I can print out to provide for the airline staff to ensure they know she can travel with the different surnames? I have had extremely bad experiences myself with staff (particularly in FRA - story for another time), and my worst fear is the airline not letting my wife leave Poland because they can't understand what's going on. TIA! *I also wanted to confirm: it is not necessary to maintain an unexpired passport throughout the immigration process, correct? We are on over 14 months waiting for the Green Card, and the passport will expire before eligibility for naturalization. The passport is fine for this trip (will not expire w/in 6 months).

Thank you! Yes, WES was actually the service we were going through (and the question which is the subject of this thread was the third thing they asked, lol). Unfortunately, I've heard from Belarusians that these comparisons take quite a lot of time, because Belarusian institutes are slow to respond to information requests pertaining to emigrants. My wife's specialist degree is in intercultural communications / interpretation so it 'speaks for itself' (no pun intended), but there are still quite a few positions that do want to see an official equivalency nonetheless.

Thank you both! Sorry, was a neurotic question that had been nagging me for some time Came to mind again as I was looking into the 'degree equivalency' services for my wife's degree, which apparently provide an 'official' US equivalent (?). Hers is a specialists degree, which is really only given in Belarus now (my understanding is that Russia has moved to the BA / Masters system). Some say a specialists degree is a masters, others say bachelors, so I was trying to settle it once and for all.

Searched around for this and couldn't find anything concrete. Many employment applications and other forms have a generic "where do you reside?" question; interestingly, even AmericanAirlines has this for some reason. Given the multiple meaning of 'residence,' what is the safest answer to this question for a person doing AOS? Is it the citizenship country, or the United States? TIA.

That's very interesting to know, thank you. Now that AR-11s can be efiled, we got an email right away confirming its receipt and telling us to wait 2 weeks for the official update. With the confirmation number in the first email, you can actually enter it on USCIS' website to see the AR-11 that was electronically transferred to them (quite useful, as I hadn't saved the document properly after submitting). Interestingly, the signature block was empty and didn't even indicate an esign, but apparently that was normal.

Thank you! I sent the Form I-865 promptly via Priority Mail Express. Ironically, USPS managed to lose the envelope for a day (imagine), so apparently they passed it along to a third party to fulfill the final delivery in Vermont (at least, per the USPS employee I talked with and the website itself). As such, I'm unable to receive an actual delivery confirmation apart from "Delivered to Agent." Does anyone know if USCIS will send me a confirmation through email / postal mail? I really don't want to resend this thing, but I'm uncomfortable not having an actual receipt of delivery. Thanks!

Thanks! I only note that @Chancy seemed confident that the best time would be at the AOS interview or immediately after GC if interview waived; someone else mentioned that submitting the Form I-865 may be wrongly asserting that the sponsee is already a GC holder. Am I just overthinking this, is the only important thing just registering the move? I guess my presumption was that until USCIS approves the Form I-485, USCIS doesn't have anything to update because it hasn't given effect to the Form I-864 (which was itself RFE'd early on, signaling to me they never officially "accepted" it). Yes, didn't want to duplicate the thread I've been thinking about this question since my wife did the AR-11 and was trending towards not filing it based on everything I've read here on VJ, but wanted to see what others' thoughts were.

Hi all. Just wanted to make sure I was understanding this correctly; if AOS is still pending, the sponsor does not need to submit a Form I-865 confirming change of address, correct? Or update their address through any other means? My wife already did the AR-11, but I wanted to make sure that I don't have the obligation to file the Form I-865 yet because the sponsorship agreement is not technically "in force." This question was asked and answered in 2021 in this thread, though I'm unsure if anything has changed since then and/or if there are other recommendations (such as, if it's advisable to send the Form I-865 anyway). For context, my wife's AOS from K-1 has been pending for almost 13 months and we have not received any notice of interview though Emma (for what it's worth) said it was waived back in July. Thanks in advance.

Anyone here still waiting on GC? My wife got her EAD/AP combo card approved for a while now, but absolutely entirely silent on the GC. Used the Emma chat a few months ago (I know, not terribly reliable), and the rep said the case was at the FO. Complete radio silence since. We're pushing 13 months... I would've thought we would've gotten something by now, especially considering those who filed 2 weeks before us at the same FO already have GC in-hand.

Apologies! I was just editing my post as you replied.