babytoe's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: D
Beneficiary's Name: M
VJ Member: babytoe
Country: Armenia
Last Updated: 2008-05-09
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Immigration Checklist for D & M:
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Dept of State Other Visa:
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USCIS I-485 Petition:
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USCIS I-765 Petition:
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USCIS I-131 Petition:
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USCIS I-751 Petition:
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USCIS N-400 Petition:
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Other Visa
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| Event |
Date |
| NVC Received : |
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| NVC Left : |
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| Consulate Received : |
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| Packet 3 Received : |
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| Packet 3 Sent : |
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| Packet 4 Received : |
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| Interview Date : |
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| Interview Result : |
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Second Interview
(If Required): |
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| Second Interview Result: |
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| Visa Received : |
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| US Entry : |
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| Comments : |
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Adjustment of Status
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
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| Date Filed : |
2008-02-19 |
| NOA Date : |
2008-02-26 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2008-03-05 |
| AOS Transfer** : |
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| Interview Date : |
2008-05-08  Submit Review |
| Approval / Denial Date : |
2008-05-08 |
| Approved : |
Yes |
| Got I551 Stamp : |
Yes |
| Greencard Received: |
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| Comments : |
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Employment Authorization
Document
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago National Office |
| Filing Method : |
Mail |
| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2008-02-19 |
| NOA Date : |
2008-02-26 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Bio. Appt. : |
2008-03-05 |
| Approved Date : |
2008-04-22 |
| Date Card Received : |
2008-05-01 |
| Comments : |
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your EAD was approved in 63 days. |
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Advance Parole
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| Event |
Date |
| CIS Office : |
Chicago National Office |
| Filing Method : |
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| Filing Instance : |
First |
| Date Filed : |
2008-02-19 |
| NOA Date : |
2008-02-26 |
| RFE(s) : |
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| Date Received : |
2008-05-05 |
| Comments : |
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Processing
Estimates/Stats : |
Your AP was approved in 63 days. |
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Member Reviews:
Local US CIS Office Review: New York City NY
Review Topic: cis_topic
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
May 9, 2008 |
| Embassy Review : |
AOS interview in Garden City, NY – Received I551 Stamp!
We had our AOS interview in the USCIS Garden City office, and my Permanent Residency application was approved!
Here are some notes for those who are expecting an interview (especially at the Garden City office).
As far as I could see, the USCIS website somehow no longer has any information of the Garden City office. (It only lists information on the Manhattan office, which I visited for biometric processing.) So for those who are going to the Garden City office, I'm adding at the bottom of this posting the directions that I found on the net after some google searches.
Although the interview appointment letter noted a room number on the second floor, once we got to the USCIS building we were told to take the appointment letter to a booth in a big hall on the first floor. We had gotten to the office very early, so we sat there for a very long time, but about half hour before our interview appointment time my name was called and we were ushered to another waiting room on the second floor. There we waited for another hour and half before we were called into to one of the small offices on the floor.
In the office, the first thing that the USCIS officer made us do was to raise our hands and swear that we say nothing but the truth.
Then the officer asked me some questions: When and how did you meet; Have either of you ever been married before; When did you decide to get married; Where did you hold the wedding ceremony; Did your parents come to the wedding; Do you have pictures?
I did most of the talking, but my husband chimed in now and then. The officer seemed pretty happy to hear that he speaks Japanese and had spent some years in Japan.
The atmosphere of the interview was quite friendly, and we chatted about how we met in school, about our studies, how we managed the long-distance relationship after my now-husband graduated and moved to NY (with some questions asked about the details of the trips), how we had a civil marriage ceremony at the city hall in NYC as well as a social wedding in California to which my parents flew in from Japan, why the time between the engagement and the actual marriage was a bit long (11 months – because when we got engaged my parents had not met my fiancé-now-husband and things got under way for real after we spent the summer in my home country).
The officer asked us to choose one of the photos of us together to keep in the USCIS file.
Then she wanted to see the originals of our marriage certificate and birth certificates.
!! The simple copy of the Birth Certificate that I got at the Japanese consulate in NYC was NOT sufficient, and the officer wanted to see the original Family Register in Japanese along with an English translation !!
I am so glad that the day before the interview I decided to get the set prepared even though at the time I thought that the Birth Certificate in English that I had submitted with my AOS application was sufficient and that I probably won’t even be asked to show the Family Register.
The officer also asked for some bills addressed to us both. We gave a copy of a statement of our joint bank account. She asked if we had anything else, like utility bills. We didn’t have any because we sublet our apartment and do not get any utility bills. We explained the situation and I showed her some letters from our friends and relatives that were addressed to both of us at our current address. She glanced at the pile (did not pick them up for a closer look) and seemed to be satisfied with that.
All the other items that we prepared, like the letter from the employer, recent pay stubs, email correspondences, record of our trips to see each other and the trips we took together, copies of our AOS application materials, and even the EAD and AP that I had received were not asked for and thus were not shown to the officer.
At the end of our 15 minute or so interview, the officer told us to go back to the big hall downstairs and wait for my passport to be returned. Everything seemed to have gone well, so I was pretty confident that I passed the interview, but she had not said whether I was approved or not. So we waited anxiously for another half hour downstairs for my passport.
Having looking at some postings on this and some other websites, I was under the impression that the USCIS stopped giving out the I-511 stamps on the day of the interview (i.e. the stamp that serves the same purpose as the actual green card). But when we went to the booth after my name was called, I saw that my passport had been stamped with the I-511!
The person at the booth informed me that my application was approved and my green card would arrive in my mailbox within the next seven weeks, and if I need to leave the country before the card arrives, I could do so with the I-551 stamp which is valid for a year.
I am still pinching myself in amazement, but the whole process, from the day I mailed the AOS application to the receipt of the I-551 stamp took only two and half month! I think we were extremely lucky and had our application go through the right hands at the right time :-)
I hope these notes help others who are expecting interviews in future (especially in NY), and I wish you all good luck!!
*** Directions to the Garden City Naturalization Office ***
By Train and Bus:
Long Island Railroad - Board the Long Island Railroad from Penn Station, Flatbush Ave., Woodside Station, Jamaica Station or any other station in Queens. Woodside travelers may have to transfer at Jamaica.
Take the train to the Hempstead Station, the last stop on the Hempstead branch. Walk directly across Columbia Street to the Hempstead Bus Station.
Take Long Island Bus N16 Roosevelt Field, N35 Westbury, or N37 Glen Cove (weekdays) to 711 Stewart Avenue.* Call for Long Island Bus Travel Information at (516) 766-6722 or call the Long Island Railroad at (718) 217-5477.
[* Yes, "711 Stewart Avenue" is a bus stop, and you get dropped off right in front of the USCIS building. The bus ride from the Hempstead station to the USCIS office is about 20 minutes. The bus ride from 179th subway station, according to the MTA website, appears to be about an hour.]
By Subway:
From Brooklyn and Queens: Take the "F" train to 169th or 179th Street and Hillside Avenue. Take the Nassau County Buses N22 or N24 to Stewart Avenue, Garden City.
By Car:
Take the Southern State Parkway to exit 22N-Meadowbrook State Parkway North. Take the Meadowbrook Parkway to exit M3E Stewart Avenue. Stay to the right on Stewart Avenue. The office is on the right, # 711 Stewart Avenue.
Take the Northern State Parkway to the Meadowbrook Parkway South. Exit at Stewart Avenue exit M3W. At #711 Stewart Avenue.
Make sure to give yourself extra time to reach to the office. If you will use public transportation you should leave your house at least 3 hours in advance because you will be making many transfers.
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| Harassment Level : |
Very Good |
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Timeline Comments: None yet, be the first!
*Notice about estimates: The estimates are based off averages of other members recent experiences
(documented in their timelines) for the same benefit/petition/application at the same filing location.
Individual results may vary as every case is not always 'average'. Past performance does not necessarily
predict future results. The 'as early as date' may change over time based on current reported processing
times from members. There have historically been cases where a benefit/petition/application processing
briefly slows down or stops and this can not be predicted. Use these dates as reference only and do not
rely on them for planning. As always you should check the
USCIS processing times to see if your application
is past due.
** Not all cases are transfered
ver 5.0
