Asylum Based i-485

[Asylee2017]

I come bearing good news! My Green Card is sent to production. A little history, I applied in March 2018 to Nebraska Service Center, In July 2018, My case was transferred for faster processing at the Texas Service Center. After waiting so long , 18 months which is unprecedented for an asylee to wait for a green card. I wrote to my congressman in New York, and the U.S. Ombudsman, Then today, I received an email from my congressman office that my application was approved yesterday and sent to production. I want to thank everyone for sharing their experience with me. Don't be discouraged! Take all the necessary steps like I did, after waiting reach out to the relevant people for assistance, I got an almost immediate response, and I am actually impressed, All I did was explained to my congressman that I am following the immigration rules and regulations and I cannot be following the Nationality and Immigration Act and being punished with long wait times.

I wish everyone well! Citizenship is next, I will update everyone once the card comes in the mail.

New Card Is Being Produced

On October 8, 2019, we ordered your new card for Receipt Number LIN YYYY YYYY XX, and will mail it to the address you gave us. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Congratulations ! I am very glad to know at least someone with a similar timeline got their gc. This a great news and huge hope for people like me.

If you don’t mind sharing with us a sample of that letter to the congressman. I know many people wrote to their congressman but not a lot of people got result such as yours. That would be helpful. Congrats again!

[gunmeikaz]

I come bearing good news! My Green Card is sent to production. A little history, I applied in March 2018 to Nebraska Service Center, In July 2018, My case was transferred for faster processing at the Texas Service Center. After waiting so long , 18 months which is unprecedented for an asylee to wait for a green card. I wrote to my congressman in New York, and the U.S. Ombudsman, Then today, I received an email from my congressman office that my application was approved yesterday and sent to production. I want to thank everyone for sharing their experience with me. Don't be discouraged! Take all the necessary steps like I did, after waiting reach out to the relevant people for assistance, I got an almost immediate response, and I am actually impressed, All I did was explained to my congressman that I am following the immigration rules and regulations and I cannot be following the Nationality and Immigration Act and being punished with long wait times.

I wish everyone well! Citizenship is next, I will update everyone once the card comes in the mail.

New Card Is Being Produced

On October 8, 2019, we ordered your new card for Receipt Number LIN YYYY YYYY XX, and will mail it to the address you gave us. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Congrats, finally one of us (those whose case was transferred) got his Green Card
And also, as everybody mentioned above, please share with us more info about how to submit request to congressman etc. Probably we all going to do the same
Keep us posted.

[Asylee Expert]

Congrats, finally one of us (those whose case was transferred) got his Green Card
And also, as everybody mentioned above, please share with us more info about how to submit request to congressman etc. Probably we all going to do the same
Keep us posted.

Thank you very much! I requested assistance from two sources, the U.S. Obudsman Case Assistance and from my Senator, Congressman here in New York. It is important to note, this measure is not for those who have just filed, This is a last resort if you don't wish to sue the government as that measure will cost you and to hire an attorney. In my personal opinion, If you have been waiting over a year, You can try both of the options listed below.

I wish everyone well, If you have any other questions, Don't hesitate to ask me.

The link below is the Obudsman Case Assistance website.
https://www.dhs.gov/case-assistance

This is the link to find the Senator for where you live. After finding your representative go to the Senator's website and fill out the form for Immigration Case Assistance.

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/current

[mekus21]

I applied for i485 in November 2018 and it is still pending at TSC. As everyone knows how slow USCIS is processing these days, I'm not surprised by their urgency. I would be grateful if someone can answer these questions I have. Thank you

First Question:
Does anyone have an idea if someone you know or from this thread got their Asylee based i485 approved at TSC who applied around November-December 2019 or any latest approval updates? (I did look up the processing times websites but many say they are not accurate).


Second Question:
Let's say I get my green card after 16 months of processing time, as an Asylee I can apply for Citizenship after 4 years. "Will the additional/unusual waiting period for i485 application be deducted from the 4 years as well ?? or is it 4 years after we receive the green card??". In other words, people whose i485 has been approved after a long delay, normally they would have backdated it by 1 year, what's the issue date printed on your Green Card. Thank you

1) TSC is taking about 1 year now I believe. I know a recent approval last month from TSC who applied around September/October last year.
2) Unfortunately, the extra time delay while your I485 is pending isn't counted towards your wait time for citizenship. If you waited 16 months for your GC approval, USCIS will only backdate it by 12 months, and these 12 months actually cover the 12 months you had to wait as an asylee to apply for your green card. Thus, any time delay spent while waiting for i485 approval is lost time, be it 5 months at NSC or 12 months at TSC. This lost time is shorter for NSC applicants vs TSC applicants. Your wait time towards citizenship starts counting from the 'permanent resident since xx/yy' date on your green card, thus the pending wait time for the I485 is really lost time.

[mekus21]

First of all, many many Congratulations to you, I'm glad the wait was finally over.

But why did you apply to NSC in the beginning, isn't TSC the i485 filing address for NY residents?

Also, I have seen from the previous threads that people often say they wrote to their Congress to speed up their process and that helped them. Can you explain how you approached the Congressman (email, phone, mail??) and any documents you need to send. Thank you

The actual determinant of which office processes the asylee I485 application is the current address lived as at the time of filing. If you file at a different office and upon review of your file a few months later, it will be discovered and the file will be moved to the office holding proper jurisdiction, thus why his case got transferred.

I approached my congressman after waiting for about 12 months at TSC. They gave me a form to fill out with my details and a small box to explain my situation which I did. They have a simple form (and I believe many congressman offices do) because they are used to immigration cases like this. They contacted USCIS afterwards on my behalf. USCIS did respond with a generic response, as they would, but actually took an action behind the scene as I received an RFE the following weeks after to resubmit my medicals which I did and I got approved shortly thereafter.

[mekus21]

I come bearing good news! My Green Card is sent to production. A little history, I applied in March 2018 to Nebraska Service Center, In July 2018, My case was transferred for faster processing at the Texas Service Center. After waiting so long , 18 months which is unprecedented for an asylee to wait for a green card. I wrote to my congressman in New York, and the U.S. Ombudsman, Then today, I received an email from my congressman office that my application was approved yesterday and sent to production. I want to thank everyone for sharing their experience with me. Don't be discouraged! Take all the necessary steps like I did, after waiting reach out to the relevant people for assistance, I got an almost immediate response, and I am actually impressed, All I did was explained to my congressman that I am following the immigration rules and regulations and I cannot be following the Nationality and Immigration Act and being punished with long wait times.

I wish everyone well! Citizenship is next, I will update everyone once the card comes in the mail.

New Card Is Being Produced

On October 8, 2019, we ordered your new card for Receipt Number LIN YYYY YYYY XX, and will mail it to the address you gave us. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Congratulations! I know that feeling, especially when mine got approved. Now your wait time towards citizenship starts counting (from October 2018) and your earliest filing date for the N400 would be July 2023 (4 years and 9 months from the 'permanent resident since xx/yy' date on your green card).

The current wait times across several offices for N400 applications have gone up as well (up to a year or more), save for a few offices. That's another hurdle to face when that time comes. Hopefully, things improve by then to the usual 4 to 6 months previously.

[Asylee Expert]

I come once again bearing goods new! My Green Card through asylum has been mailed. I will update the group once I receive same. Remember while you wait to occupy yourself, take vacations, work and continue with your life.

Card Was Mailed To Me

On October 10, 2019, we mailed your new card for your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Receipt Number LIN YYYY YYYY XX, to the address you gave us. If you do not receive your card by October 25, 2019, please go to www.uscis.gov/e-request to request that we send your new card to you. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

[Asylee Expert]

Congratulations! I know that feeling, especially when mine got approved. Now your wait time towards citizenship starts counting (from October 2018) and your earliest filing date for the N400 would be July 2023 (4 years and 9 months from the 'permanent resident since xx/yy' date on your green card).

The current wait times across several offices for N400 applications have gone up as well (up to a year or more), save for a few offices. That's another hurdle to face when that time comes. Hopefully, things improve by then to the usual 4 to 6 months previously.

I will be able to file earlier than that, I have been married to a United States for over 3 years. Based on my previous calculators, I was slated to be a citizenship next year 2020, but at this that is a little out of reach.

[chaddhaaman]

I applied for i485 in November 2018 and it is still pending at TSC. As everyone knows how slow USCIS is processing these days, I'm not surprised by their urgency. I would be grateful if someone can answer these questions I have. Thank you

First Question:
Does anyone have an idea if someone you know or from this thread got their Asylee based i485 approved at TSC who applied around November-December 2019 or any latest approval updates? (I did look up the processing times websites but many say they are not accurate).


Second Question:
Let's say I get my green card after 16 months of processing time, as an Asylee I can apply for Citizenship after 4 years. "Will the additional/unusual waiting period for i485 application be deducted from the 4 years as well ?? or is it 4 years after we receive the green card??". In other words, people whose i485 has been approved after a long delay, normally they would have backdated it by 1 year, what's the issue date printed on your Green Card. Thank you

Actually i got my GC after 26 months of waiting and when i saw the date on it it says August 30, 2019 not even gave me one year grace period that means i have to wait 5 more years for Naturalization... Its crazy but as i waited so long for GC and dont want to get in trouble by asking them about grace period... I will wait one more year to get naturalized.

[mekus21]

Actually i got my GC after 26 months of waiting and when i saw the date on it it says August 30, 2019 not even gave me one year grace period that means i have to wait 5 more years for Naturalization... Its crazy but as i waited so long for GC and dont want to get in trouble by asking them about grace period... I will wait one more year to get naturalized.

The bolded part is an error on the side of USCIS and it can be corrected. The officers sometimes do make mistakes like this one. Contact USCIS and report the error. They will have you mail back your card and resend you a corrected one.

[mekus21]

I will be able to file earlier than that, I have been married to a United States for over 3 years. Based on my previous calculators, I was slated to be a citizenship next year 2020, but at this that is a little out of reach.

In addition to being married to a US citizen, the 3 years start counting from when you obtained the marriage-based green card through marriage to a US citizen. That is, if you marry but together file your documents a year later and get your green card 9 months after filing, your count towards citizenship starts as of the day you obtained your marriage-based permanent residence. If you get your green car through asylum then you have to wait 4 years from the date of approval or 5 from date on the asylee card.

[Asylee Expert]

In addition to being married to a US citizen, the 3 years start counting from when you obtained the marriage-based green card through marriage to a US citizen. That is, if you marry but together file your documents a year later and get your green card 9 months after filing, your count towards citizenship starts as of the day you obtained your marriage-based permanent residence. If you get your green car through asylum then you have to wait 4 years from the date of approval or 5 from date on the asylee card.

I will be applying for citizenship based on 3 years continuous marriage to a United States citizen using my green card I have recieved through asylum. I am quite sure I know this, one of my friends did the same thing.

[mekus21]

I will be applying for citizenship based on 3 years continuous marriage to a United States citizen using my green card I have recieved through asylum. I am quite sure I know this, one of my friends did the same thing.

Naturalization for Spouses of U.S. Citizens


In general, you may qualify for naturalization under Section 319(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) if you

• Have been a permanent resident (Green Card holder) for at least 3 years
• Have been living in marital union with the same U.S. citizen spouse during such time
• Meet all other eligibility requirements under this section

In certain cases, spouses of U.S. citizens employed abroad may qualify for naturalization regardless of their time as permanent residents. These spouses may qualify under Section 319(b) of the INA.

For more information, see USCIS Policy Manual Citizenship and Naturalization Guidance.

For information relating to spouses of military members, see our Members of the Military and Their Families page. Also for information about becoming a permanent resident or petitioning for family members, please visit our Green Card or Family webpages.

https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship...es-us-citizens



The difference in wait time is only 1 year though (4 years for asylee green card holders and 3 for spouses of US citizens). In your case, since your asylee green card will be backdated by 1 year, you'll have only 2 more years (1 year and 9 months, the earliest) to live as a green card holder to apply. Goodluck.

[Asylee Expert]

Hello Everyone, I come bearing good news! On last Saturday I receive d my permanent resident approval letter from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. I will update you once I receive the call tomorrow. I will be eligible for citizenship in October 2021, I am excited.

[Asylee Expert]

Hello Everyone, It is official, I am a United States Permanent Resident. The card came today and IT IDS BACK DATED AS EXPECTED. I will be eligible gor citizenship October 8, 2021.

Timelines

Apply for Permanent Residency/Green Card on March 2018

Case transferred to Texas Servicr Center for faster processing in July 2018

Solicited the assistance of the U.S. Obudsman and New York Congressman in October 2019. It was dealth with immediately and approved on October 8, 2019.

Thanks everyone! I am here as usual, I will leave for the Kingdom of Netherlands next week. It is not too late to join me!