April 2012 AOS Filers

[Hypnos 6,576]

It figures that out of the three yesterday I would be the one to get screwed. I am glad that everyone else was approved though.

I actually had an interesting development today.

You may have read my post previously about a change in the law that occurred in 2009 which allowed widows and widowers to apply for AoS even if their marriages lasted less than two years. One of the leading groups behind this change was an organisation known as Surviving Spouses Against Deportation (SSAD) and their pro bono legal counsel is a gentleman by the name of Brent Edison.

On a whim last night as I was trying to figure out how to get this fixed, I shot him an email since he is basically an expert in this small niche of immigration law and asked him directly whether my I-360 should be adjudicated by the local office or the Vermont Service Centre.

He replied to me today and told me that I was right and the Dallas office was wrong, and that they were confusing being able to adjudicate I-360 widow/er petitions with I-360 VAWA cases (which do have to be processed by the VSC) as I had suspected. He said that he had personally assisted several people with cases similar mine and their local offices approved their I-360s without issue.

So, now I know that I was right the question becomes how do I get it fixed? I have forwarded the information to my lawyer and hopefully we will find someone with the authority to get the matter resolved.

Edited July 11, 2012 by Hypnos

[Hypnos 6,576]

I should add that the gentleman's name is Brent Renison, not Edison.

[Old_Dog_Barking 36]

... So, now I know that I was right the question becomes how do I get it fixed? I have forwarded the information to my lawyer and hopefully we will find someone with the authority to get the matter resolved.

Great.

[Purple Viper 0]

Wife got approved on the spot!

We had our interview at the JFK building in Boston. Went through security with ease. Had to give our bags and watches ... Even our belts Once we put our belts back on we headed towards the waiting room located on the same floor. We walked to the registration desk where my wife handed over her interview letter. We were then asked to take a seat. Our interview was scheduled for 10:30 AM. I was called in about 10:45 AM. The Immigration Officer wanted to see just me first. (They did that with another couple.) She lead me to her office. Super friendly and easy to talk to officer. Smiled the whole time. Her name was Andrea (lol chimcham ... thought of you). She swore me in then asked for a piece of ID. I only had to show her my driver's license. She then asked for pictures. I gave her our photo album and she went through all 80 pictures in it. I talked to her about some of the pictures. She enjoyed looking at them and thought my wife's dress looked real good on her. That's all she looked at really. Didn't need to show any other kind of proof. For the remaining time she just asked me questions. She asked about the tattoo on my wrist (my wife's name) and the engraving on my wedding ring. She asked when and how I met my wife. She asked for my current address and household number. She wanted to know more about my job so I talked to her about it for a bit. She asked if my wife works. She asked when we got married. Who was present. What are my mother-in-law's and father-in-law's names. And that's about it for me. She then lead me back into the waiting room and told my wife to follow her. My wife said that the officer smiled with her the whole time too. She was sworn in then asked for a form of ID. (her passport) She was also asked if she had a driver's license and/or a social security card. (She doesn't have either right now.) After that she had to hand over her EAD card. She was then asked very similar questions to me. How did we meet. (online) When did we first meet in person. Wedding date. Current address. Household number. Whether or not she works. She verified the date of her last entry into the United States. She asked about her tattoo (my name on her wrist) and apparently they talked about tattoos for a little bit. The officer also went over the yes/no questions from Form I-485. And that was it! My wife was approved and was told to expect her green card within 5-10 days. The Immigration Officer also went over the ROC stage with her. My wife then joined me in the waiting room and told me the good news She didn't get any approval sheet because the person in charge of that wasn't there or something. But we were told it's not a big deal so... All in all the interview took about 30-40 minutes. My wife and I were never interviewed together. (Wasn't a big deal to us.)

I'm so happy we're done for now. What a process! I'm so grateful for this site and the people in it. Thank you all so much and best of luck.

Edited July 11, 2012 by Purple Viper

[Hypnos 6,576]

Looks like it's time to post an updated list:

Interviews

Aimee K - 13th June (Baltimore, MD) [Pending]

Camo - 15th June (Dallas, TX) [Approved]

chimcham - 25th June (Hartford, CT) [Approved]

Daeras - 26th June (Philadelphia, PA) [Approved]

DC2011 - 26th June (Washington, DC) [Approved]

lupa222 - 26th June (Oakland Park, FL) [Approved]

myafi1985 - 26th June (Washington, DC) [Approved]

mycdngrl - 26th June (Denver, CO) [Approved]

wifi - 29th June (Houston, TX) [Approved]

ALuciansWifey - 9th July (West Palm Beach, FL) [Pending]

aimeelouise - 10th July (Phoenix, AZ) [Approved]

Hypnos - 10th July (Dallas, TX) [Pending]

saudiwife - 10th July (Memphis, TN) [Approved]

coocoo - 11th July (Milwaukee, WI) [Pending]

Gilbermon - 11th July (Houston, TX) [Pending]

Purple Viper - 11th July (Boston, MA) [Approved]

aayitrun - 12th July (Boston, MA)

PCD - 12th July (Washington, DC)

Freedove7 - 16th July

Kay&Jon - 19th July

ibee - 24th July (Philadelphia, PA)

SOflaherty - 24th July (Atlanta, GA)

Waiting Without Interviews

Mrsaveemac (Miami, FL)

Shooli (Los Angeles, CA)

ThatAnneGirl (Orlando, FL)

marbal12 (Baltimore, MD)

meandmybeloved

[RubikNewman 1]

Hey guys-

Just wanted to update you all on my case. I too am a late April filer and have not received an interview notice yet.

Looks like it's time to post an updated list:

Interviews

Aimee K - 13th June (Baltimore, MD) [Pending]

Camo - 15th June (Dallas, TX) [Approved]

chimcham - 25th June (Hartford, CT) [Approved]

Daeras - 26th June (Philadelphia, PA) [Approved]

DC2011 - 26th June (Washington, DC) [Approved]

lupa222 - 26th June (Oakland Park, FL) [Approved]

myafi1985 - 26th June (Washington, DC) [Approved]

mycdngrl - 26th June (Denver, CO) [Approved]

wifi - 29th June (Houston, TX) [Approved]

ALuciansWifey - 9th July (West Palm Beach, FL) [Pending]

aimeelouise - 10th July (Phoenix, AZ) [Approved]

Hypnos - 10th July (Dallas, TX) [Pending]

saudiwife - 10th July (Memphis, TN) [Approved]

coocoo - 11th July (Milwaukee, WI) [Pending]

Gilbermon - 11th July (Houston, TX) [Pending]

Purple Viper - 11th July (Boston, MA) [Approved]

aayitrun - 12th July (Boston, MA)

PCD - 12th July (Washington, DC)

Freedove7 - 16th July

Kay&Jon - 19th July

ibee - 24th July (Philadelphia, PA)

SOflaherty - 24th July (Atlanta, GA)

Waiting Without Interviews

Mrsaveemac (Miami, FL)

Shooli (Los Angeles, CA)

ThatAnneGirl (Orlando, FL)

marbal12 (Baltimore, MD)

meandmybeloved

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this list! It’s really helpful.

[aayitrun 66]

Wife got approved on the spot!

we are at the lawrence office.

ouch i hope they dont separate us. my wife (usc) generally leaves all documentation and legalities to me, so i have actually prepared all the files and everything.. and now if they ask her to furnish documents alone she will get lost.. im training her to say "my husband has put together most of the files and im having difficulty finding something, can we please consult him".

[Purple Viper 0]

we are at the lawrence office.

ouch i hope they dont separate us. my wife (usc) generally leaves all documentation and legalities to me, so i have actually prepared all the files and everything.. and now if they ask her to furnish documents alone she will get lost.. im training her to say "my husband has put together most of the files and im having difficulty finding something, can we please consult him".

Oh okay. Lawrence Office. They might not separate you and your wife then. Unless they follow the same procedures as the ones in town Boston. Maybe go over all documents with her to give her an idea of what is what and what goes where. Be sure to bring some pictures.

[aayitrun 66]

im going over all the documents with her and she seems to understand the basic process but i doubt she will remember all the names of all the forms and such.

she is a photographer and has already printed 180+ wedding photos and about a 100 others from whatever stuff we do. also will be carrying the fat wedding album and a "story of us" album that she has created.

document wise im golden, she is just not a person who concerns herself with documents and therefore has little confidence in being able to whiz out any required document on demand.

[Purple Viper 0]

im going over all the documents with her and she seems to understand the basic process but i doubt she will remember all the names of all the forms and such.

she is a photographer and has already printed 180+ wedding photos and about a 100 others from whatever stuff we do. also will be carrying the fat wedding album and a "story of us" album that she has created.

document wise im golden, she is just not a person who concerns herself with documents and therefore has little confidence in being able to whiz out any required document on demand.

Good. I'm sure all will go just fine. Out of all the forms she should at least know about the I-130 I had to verify some of the information on it. (The IO had all of the forms with her.)

Wow. That's a whole lot of pictures I hope you get an IO that likes looking at pictures. I'm glad ours did. Our album was very helpful. She didn't need further proof from us even though we had so much more to show.

I think what is most important is the ability to answer questions with confidence

[aayitrun 66]

she knows the 130 for the most part, definitely all the answers on it except maybe my i94 number but asking someone to memorize that is too much. she also knows the i864 and i hammered in the whole adding intending immigrants income part till she was about to yell at me.

she gets nervous but doesnt show it because she laughs it off.. so.. hopefully we just dont get separated because then i can dig out any document.

[Purple Viper 0]

she knows the 130 for the most part, definitely all the answers on it except maybe my i94 number but asking someone to memorize that is too much. she also knows the i864 and i hammered in the whole adding intending immigrants income part till she was about to yell at me.

she gets nervous but doesnt show it because she laughs it off.. so.. hopefully we just dont get separated because then i can dig out any document.

I can't wait to find out how everything turns out for you. Be sure to let us all know

Don't worry ... She doesn't need to memorize your I-94# or SS# or A# or any of that. Just information about you and your family. (i.e. parents names)

[DC85 113]

Wife got approved on the spot!

We had our interview at the JFK building in Boston. Went through security with ease. Had to give our bags and watches ... Even our belts Once we put our belts back on we headed towards the waiting room located on the same floor. We walked to the registration desk where my wife handed over her interview letter. We were then asked to take a seat. Our interview was scheduled for 10:30 AM. I was called in about 10:45 AM. The Immigration Officer wanted to see just me first. (They did that with another couple.) She lead me to her office. Super friendly and easy to talk to officer. Smiled the whole time. Her name was Andrea (lol chimcham ... thought of you). She swore me in then asked for a piece of ID. I only had to show her my driver's license. She then asked for pictures. I gave her our photo album and she went through all 80 pictures in it. I talked to her about some of the pictures. She enjoyed looking at them and thought my wife's dress looked real good on her. That's all she looked at really. Didn't need to show any other kind of proof. For the remaining time she just asked me questions. She asked about the tattoo on my wrist (my wife's name) and the engraving on my wedding ring. She asked when and how I met my wife. She asked for my current address and household number. She wanted to know more about my job so I talked to her about it for a bit. She asked if my wife works. She asked when we got married. Who was present. What are my mother-in-law's and father-in-law's names. And that's about it for me. She then lead me back into the waiting room and told my wife to follow her. My wife said that the officer smiled with her the whole time too. She was sworn in then asked for a form of ID. (her passport) She was also asked if she had a driver's license and/or a social security card. (She doesn't have either right now.) After that she had to hand over her EAD card. She was then asked very similar questions to me. How did we meet. (online) When did we first meet in person. Wedding date. Current address. Household number. Whether or not she works. She verified the date of her last entry into the United States. She asked about her tattoo (my name on her wrist) and apparently they talked about tattoos for a little bit. The officer also went over the yes/no questions from Form I-485. And that was it! My wife was approved and was told to expect her green card within 5-10 days. The Immigration Officer also went over the ROC stage with her. My wife then joined me in the waiting room and told me the good news She didn't get any approval sheet because the person in charge of that wasn't there or something. But we were told it's not a big deal so... All in all the interview took about 30-40 minutes. My wife and I were never interviewed together. (Wasn't a big deal to us.)

I'm so happy we're done for now. What a process! I'm so grateful for this site and the people in it. Thank you all so much and best of luck.

Congrats

[DC85 113]

It figures that out of the three yesterday I would be the one to get screwed. I am glad that everyone else was approved though.

I actually had an interesting development today.

You may have read my post previously about a change in the law that occurred in 2009 which allowed widows and widowers to apply for AoS even if their marriages lasted less than two years. One of the leading groups behind this change was an organisation known as Surviving Spouses Against Deportation (SSAD) and their pro bono legal counsel is a gentleman by the name of Brent Edison.

On a whim last night as I was trying to figure out how to get this fixed, I shot him an email since he is basically an expert in this small niche of immigration law and asked him directly whether my I-360 should be adjudicated by the local office or the Vermont Service Centre.

He replied to me today and told me that I was right and the Dallas office was wrong, and that they were confusing being able to adjudicate I-360 widow/er petitions with I-360 VAWA cases (which do have to be processed by the VSC) as I had suspected. He said that he had personally assisted several people with cases similar mine and their local offices approved their I-360s without issue.

So, now I know that I was right the question becomes how do I get it fixed? I have forwarded the information to my lawyer and hopefully we will find someone with the authority to get the matter resolved.

why you don't book an info pass and try to go there with your lawyer, and maybe they can check with headquarter and approve you.. because if they gonna send ur file to vermont , it's gonna take longer time...

[aayitrun 66]

I can't wait to find out how everything turns out for you. Be sure to let us all know

Don't worry ... She doesn't need to memorize your I-94# or SS# or A# or any of that. Just information about you and your family. (i.e. parents names)

in less than 24 hours u will know.

fortunately my parents came over and lived with us for a month and so did hers (at different times) so we know each others family pretty well and as far as any relationship question goes we are both well prepared.