Family Based Greencard

Hello anyone filing through New Orleans immigration facility? After biometrics how long did you have to wait for the interview? I filed and got approved for parol in place my husband is a citizen and is currently serving in the arm forces. On Nov 15 18 I went in for the biometrics for I-485 and I-765. Thank you!

Hi Everyone,

I learnt a lot from this forum, and I promised to share my experience.
My husband filed a green card petition for me. We were living in Georgia then so Atlanta was our field office. I got a good job in Memphis afterwards, and we moved (I moved first and he joined me later). We successfully changed our address, and surprisingly got our interview scheduled 8 months after PD (Memphis field office is pretty fast).
We were immediately separated and had two interviewers in the room. My husband went in first and was asked series of questions. My husband didn't care to know about the process or paper work (like most men), so I was the one that put all our evidence and paperwork together. That was a problem because he didn't know all the evidence we had and took time locating them in the file. Moreover, he had just lost his brother to a senseless police killing and he was at a loss on everything in life. The interviewers also asked him what exit leads to our house. My husband had just moved to Memphis, he had wrecked his car before leaving Georgia, so he never drove in Memphis before the interview. He didn't know the exit. He was also nervous and forgot our apartment address until later in the interview. The interviewers were pissed at this point. He was also asked to show his Facebook profile and messages. We had messages back and forth on Facebook so that wasn't an issue. They called me in and started to ask me questions. I answered confidently but I knew my husband might have flopped. I was then told that we will be contacted later. They forgot to ask for my medicals, and I forgot to give them too.
I was very angry with my husband (as expected). The next day, I got a letter requesting for my medicals which I sent immediately. We didn't hear back for over 3 months. We had expected a home visit or stoke interview.
We suddenly received two letters after the long wait. At this time, I had applied for EAD renewal. One letter was addressed to my husband, requesting more evidence. The second letter was addressed to me as a notice to deny I-485. Shock, frustration and anger was all I felt. Apparently, they were going to deny me because my medical wasn't properly signed. I then remembered that the doctor had forgotten to include Gonorrhea test during the physicals. I learnt about the Gonorrhea test online and called her office. I was told to do the test at a Walgreens and bring the result. By the time I got to the office, she had traveled outside the country and would not be back for months. The nurse just added the test result and date without a new physician signature. I called her attention to the earlier signature date and later test date. She said it wasn't going to be an issue. Well, it was a big issue. USCIS said my current work permit will be void 2 weeks after the date on the letter.
My world came crashing down because I was going to lose my job. I quickly got a lawyer and was told that the best solution is to submit a fresh application. Several legal advice said there was no point fighting the decision since I would not be allowed new evidence if I appealed. Since there was a RFE for the I-130 anyway, it sounded like the best approach.
We submitted a new filling 8 days after that letter. My job said they could wait for me for 3 months since I said that is the usual timeline for work permit (boy, was I wrong).
I waited and waited for my work permit because my life literally depended on it. Let’s just say it did not arrive until 5 months after the filing. Several expedite request was made by me, lawyer, Senator, and Ombudsman's office. Fortunately, my job was kind enough to wait for me.
I first got a notice of interview before EAD approval. I was sad because I really needed the EAD before interview since I don't know how long it will take to get a response after interview. I was also sad because the interview was scheduled exactly 3 months before our second anniversary. The process had drained the life out of me that I never wanted to go through this again. I really wanted the 10yrs GC. In fact, I didn't mind waiting longer just for the 10yrs GC.
Alas, God had a different plan.
We had our interview some weeks back. I guess the IO went through our file before we arrived. We submitted a lot of evidence with the new filing. She only asked how we met, and that was it. It was a very conversational and jovial experience. It was definitely much better than the first. Our lawyer was there but that didn’t change anything. The IO said we had too much time between the interview day and our 2nd anniversary so she can only approve the conditional GC. She understood my frustration and said the next one shouldn’t be as stressful. I got my GC a week after the interview.

I will be happy to answer any questions.

Thanks.

My journey is finally over! I am very thankful for everyone on this forum - it's been incredibly helpful to read your feedback and experiences, as well as just to know that there were other people who were going through the same thing I was.

I have been in the US for 7 years now, first as an F-1 student, then as an H1-B work visa holder. Got married in September 2017. We are an interracial couple - I am white and my husband (USC) is Asian.

We filed the application by ourselves, no lawyer. We never had an RFE.

PD 10/26/2017
Interview 10/26/2018

The interview was smooth and easy. I organized all of our documents in two binders: one for legal originals (birth certificates, passports etc) and another for all evidence of bona fide marriage. We also brought a photo album with 200+ pictures. Here's a complete list of evidence that we brought:

- All lease agreements
- Joint 2017 tax returns
- Bank letter listing our joint accounts - checking, savings, credit card
- Joint health/dental/vision/life insurance
- Joint phone lines
- Car purchase agreement where me and my husband are co-buyers
- Adoption documents for the doggie we adopted together
- Utility bills
- Joint Amazon Prime account
- A print out from my work profile where my husband is listed as an emergency contact - the officer specifically complimented this one, she said that most people don't think about it, but it's important to show who we would call first when it really matters
- Various hotel/travel/restaurant reservation print-outs

Our interview was at 6:45 am in Downtown LA field office. We were called in at 7:00 am. The officer was a middle-aged lady who was super nice, with a soft voice. She was smiling all the time and really just made us feel very comfortable. She made copies of our drivers licenses, swore us in and took my fingerprints. She went over forms I-130 and I-130A and asked my husband and I to confirm all info. Then she went over form I-485 with me, including all yes/no questions. A lot of these questions are pretty intense (espionage, criminal activity etc) so we were joking a bit, and when we got to the question about prostitution, she laughed and said she cringes every time she has to ask that.

After that, she asked for the original birth certificates from me and my husband and the original marriage certificate. She didn't ask for any other legal documents. Then she asked what other documents we have got for her, meaning evidence. She didn't ask for anything specific, so I just started handing over everything we brought with us (see above). When we got to the reservation print-outs, I just said that we brought them (there were a lot) and she didn't ask to see them. Instead, she asked where we traveled. I offered to show her the photo album, as we have a lot of pictures from trips. She said sure.

As she was flipping through the photo album, she didn't ask any questions, so I just commented on some of the pictures myself. She then asked us to pick any 6-8 pictures to be included in the file. Then she asked when we moved in together. She didn't really ask anything else. Everything felt very natural, like a conversation.

Finally, she said it's been a year since my application and I would need a new medical. I was prepared for that and handed her the new medical I completed before the interview. She looked very relieved and smiled and thanked me for making her job easier. She then gave us the "case under review" paper. I asked if our case has been approved, and she said that they are not allowed to tell people on the spot that the case is approved - but it looks like everything is in order here, so when she has time this afternoon, she will process everything, and I should expect my greencard within 30-45 days at most.

Overall, throughout the interview, she made comments that kind of implied that my case was approved. For instance, she complimented the way we started documenting everything in our relationship and said that when we apply for removal of conditions in 2 years, there will be a bit more scrutiny on that part, so it's really important to start collecting all documentation now to show a timeline.

The interview only lasted an hour - we walked in at 7 and were out by 8. On the day of the interview (Friday) my online case status changed to "interview was completed and case is under review". Today (Monday) it changed to "new card is being produced".

I am happy to answer any questions!

I was wondering how many folks have gotten their interview scheduled at San Francisco field office? My PD is Sept 01 2016 and is current in Final Action Date as of Nov Bulletin (marriage based). Status had changed to "Ready for Interview" in May 2018

Applied for AOS on Oct 1, 2017. Took forever to get EAD and now have been waiting for 6 months and no interview yet. I had asked my congress person to check status last month and the response they got from the SF office was they were interviewing cases of May 2017!!

Just wanted to check if there were any Oct/Nov 2017 filers who had gotten their interview? Was anyone able to get infopass appointment or able to expedite based on financial loss?

Seems really hopeless with SF office ... I am seeing folks with later dates get their interviews and green card as well. Will be good to know how many others are still waiting. Thanks

I am IR-5
Mi admission is what is called the Quilantan case, but I still have the flight ticket from Canada to Minneapolis (I am not Canadian), but there is no record of me been admitted because I was Waived Through at the airport (USA customs was at the Canadian international airport) and the airline is now out of business.
 
My PD: 12/9/17
interview: 5/10/18 Ready to be scheduled,
EAD: 05/15/18 card being produced.
07/27/18 interview was scheduled for 10/4/18 at 10: am

I went to the offices 30 minutes early, I when in at 10:45 am
The officer she was very professional and courteous, and immediately we sit down she started asking me questions about how I enter to the USA, I told her exactly how I remember, she said OK, them proceeded to ask me the questions from the I-485, and she said you will have an answer within 120 days, and walked me to the door and before the door closed she called me back, and she said I forgot to take your picture and fingerprints, so I when back to the office, after she was done she said lets wait to see if goes thru, I said Ok, and she told me you will receive your need card in about 6 weeks, I asked her, so my petition is been approved? she said yes, congratulations. I was in shock so the only thing I said was Thank you!!
This part of the journey is over

Received AOS application receipts and it shows different A-number than what it was in F1 EAD card, etc.
1) Please share if you have any experience on this.
2) Do I need to contact USCIS and inform about my existing A-number? It is already shown in application package.

Thanks for sharing experience / knowledge on this.

Any immediate relative experiences. Would be great if you included the birth country also.

YESTERDAY WE RECEIEVED AN E MAIL AS UNDER :-

On September 25,2018, we sent your case, Receipt Number LIN xxxxxxxxx6, to the
Department of State for visa processing.
You can find general information on Consular Processing by visiting our website at www.uscis.gov. The website will provide information on what to do next, who to contact, and how to inform us of any changes in your situation or address.

WHAT IS THAT MEANS? WHEN CAN WE GET APPROVAL LETTER?

My interview is scheduled this Friday, and they need my birth certificate and my husband’s birth certificate. My question is can I translated to English or one of my family members can do it for me, or they I have to go to certified translator.

Recent Visa Bulletin shows F2B category filing date is current and I have submitted recently the AOS package for my adult child (I am sponsor and my daughter is beneficiary). Myself and my daughter are from Houston. She is working on H1B at this time.

Wondering if there is anyone in this category, in the same process, started preparing or submitted AOS package?

Idea is to exchange the status, opinion and thoughts on this subject.
Thanks for being connected.