JohnnyForeigner

In my case - no update on I-130 when I-485 showed update for biometrics. It only got updated when interview was scheduled.

Feel really bad for you. So unfair that YOU get penalised and inconvenienced by THEIR mess up.

Good point re my coming from the era of Irish terrorism. I am leaning toward it being a busy office and a mess up of some sort rather than a problem. One thing I forgot to mention - interview was set for 10am but we waited until 2pm ! About 30 other couples waiting - all with 4hr delays too. They came out a few times to get a list of who was present. Apparently the check in process failed and they lost track. At 1.45pm they came and called out "Does anybody here have an appt time of 9am or earlier" and 3 couples did !

Line of work occurred to me as a possible reason but absolutely no mention of it at interview - not a single question. Knowing my luck - just slipped between the cracks or in someones pending tray perhaps due to their vacation etc

IF......I had come to the US on a non immigrant visa with immigrant intent THEN applied for AOS you would have a point. That is not what happened. I met someone while here and dealt with my CHANGED situation in a way allowed by the rules. For a person stating they do not wish to provoke, you have an odd way of going about it. It was YOU who used "circumvent"......

Thanks for your input.

I submitted an AOS completely in accordance with the rules.

Then its a mistake dudess and I will remove it !

I did not circumvent anything. The visa I arrived on was properly obtained. And I had no immigrant intent ( I still had a house and business in UK ) I found myself in circumstances beyond my control and applied for AOS in a manner allowed by legislation.

I do not recall entering my date of entry on the timeline. In any case - I did not get married and start AOS on the day I arrived in USA !!!! EAD is NOT enough for Law Enforcement or any other job involving firearms as an expired i-94 renders one a prohibited person. As to extra info coming up at interview - in mine, every question was confirming what I already gave in paperwork. Nothing new was disclosed.

Interesting info - thanks.

I too was "properly petitioned" for. I doubt my field of work attracts extra scrutiny. It is very common line of work here - more so than Europe. I was not asked a single question about it at interview. I doubt they conduct an interview before they have finished their checks / vetting.

Ok - I was under the impression ( reading here and elsewhere ) that more were approved on the day than held back for review. If that is not the case and its "usual" to have to wait a few weeks after interview, fair enough. I still do not get why you bring immigrant vs non immigrant into it. As I understand it, they interview when they have collated all required info. Whether immigrant or not. So why would it be an issue as to whether a decision is made on the day or not ?

Regardless of expedite or status before the interview, most applicants hope for a decision on the day or soon afterwards. If I had NOT expedited - waited the 32.5 months for an interview, then had to wait for weeks/months for a decision, I would still be asking what I asked in the OP. You infer that the delay is punishment for adjusting from a non immigrant visa. You have any evidence that those who aos from non immigrant visas are deliberately delayed ? Or just guessing ? Do you have reason to believe there is a pattern of AOS decision on the interview day for immigrant visa holders and held back for review if non immigrant visa ?

Yes. And for most day to day life - authorised stay is enough. But certain activities require the person to be legally present ( and the legislation defines what they mean by legally present ) In my case, the legislation covering my field of work defines it as entered legally and has unexpired i-94 or parole. I believe the definition was written before "authorised stay" was coined. There is one precedent in case law where a person who was in "authorised stay" was convicted of a felony. He appealed and it was granted ! The DOJ appealed to a higher court and they confirmed that for the purposes of that legislation, authorised stay is not legal status.

Yes - as stated - authorised stay so I have SSN, drivers license and EAD. But unfortunately still out of status. When a prospective employer sent the vetting off, it came back from DHS ICE as "Illegally present in US" and quoted my i-94 departure date. For 70% of jobs - not an issue. In my particular field it is a problem due to federal legislation covering the stuff I would be working with.

Big discussion here previously. Authorised stay is NOT immigration status. Authorised stay does not change your i-94 expiration.

You raise an interesting point re 130 vs 485. I assume when filed concurrently they are dealt with together but who knows ?

I am the beneficiary. I hold dual UK and Irish citizenship. My particular line of work - although "authorised stay" and EAD allows me to work, I am still technically out of status until AOS approved ( Authorised stay not being status ) so when background checked and vetted due to the nature of my field of work, the result is "illegally present in US" so not able to pursue my career. Also my age - 54 upon marriage and 55 now. I was advised that they take this into account. For example a 25 yo applicant waiting 2 or 3 years has decades of work ahead of him. With the Atlanta backlog, I could be spending 2 or 3 years out of my 5 remaining years of working life (UK pension pays at 60 and will retire then) barred from my particular line of work. I guess the theory is, the older you are, the more a few years waiting impact upon you ?

Yes - correct. Uscis NBC approved my request to expedite. Once they did - Atlanta arranged a fast interview for which I was grateful. I dont think it would be wise to sue etc just yet. Even if I have to wait a little longer, it will still be MUCH faster than if they had not expedited. Atlanta has a terrible backlog. I will give it a while longer and hope for the best.

I feel I had a good reason for expediting - they approved the expediting so they seem to have accepted that reason. No intention to line jump - they have criteria for expediting and I applied accordingly.

I thought it might be a documented procedure. But I cannot find much reference to "final review" online. For example, I-130 approved but I-485 referred to supervisor - x happens. If supervisor unable to deal - y happens. I was hoping there was a policy document. Or that someone who went through it might know. For example we know the steps from filing through to interview. There must also be a set routine / policy for post interview. Re the other questions - my wife has never married a non US citizen before, meets income criteria, no criminal record etc I guess it must be my status at time of filing and / or Atlanta having a huge backlog. Or just bad luck and my file got lost / delayed / sent to wrong desk during the review process.

Way over 26 🙂 closer to 60.

Could be ! I was out of status ( expired b1/b2 ) Though interviewer referred to it and said it was not a problem as married to USC. Maybe all out of status get referred as policy.

No idea. Interviewer seemed happy. Gave the impression the passing to supervisor was a formality and actually said it would only be a matter of days. No RFE so I assume they have all the info they need. Not sure its a different question at all. Those who have had a delay post interview might have discovered the reason for the delay.