Waiting after AOS marriage based interview

[EJaneC]

Hi all,

Would appreciate some input on my situation.

My husband and I had our interview at the NYC field offices on the 18th of January 2018. after over a year wait for the interview. We filed in January 2017. Married August 2016.

The interview went well, so we think anyway. We didn't hire a lawyer. I am an Irish Citizen and I thought we could both competently fill out all the applications ourselves.
We had about a 15 minute interview. The officer was really friendly, was serious when she needed to be but was also having a laugh with us too. She asked my husband basic questions, how we met, what he likes most about me, what he doesn't like so much about me, how he knew I was the one for him.
She moved over to me and asked me what his families names were and where he grew up and where he works.

We had one problem in the interview. I didn't realize the medical exam expired after a year from filling and it was over 10 days. She realized the date was so close and said she would try and get us an extension on the exam so I wouldn't have to go get a new one.
She finished the interview by asking me my favorite thing about my husband and she smiled and said that was the perfect way to end on a happy note. Which we both thought was a nice thing to say and positive sign.

We assumed because of the medical exam stuff it might take a few days to get a notice of approval ( always the optimist) but still no word.
I have checked our case on line and it still says we are scheduled for our interview.

I have seen other people on these forums who had interviews after our date and they have gotten approved in a few days and I am worried and I guess need some advice on the next step.

Thanks in advance and these forums help so much.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Of course, there is no way to predict what your ISO will do. However, I would say that if your ISO was going to seem the medical exam invalid because it was 1 year + 10 days old, he/she would have done it right there and then.
I?ve read about it going in either direction. Some have reported that it is up to the discretion of the ISO, other ISOs run it by their supervisor who then says ?it?s all good? and I?ve read of other people having to submit a second exam.
I would think that they at least try to connect the dots. Did you leave the US while you were waiting for you interview? And if you did, did you visit an area with high incidence rates of Tuberculosis (for example)?
So let?s stick with that example and run through the scenarios. If your TB test came back positive and you ended up having to get treated with isoniazid. Then, yeah, that?d be an issue. I would think they would want to see a follow up.
But let?s say that, you didn?t leave the US, didn?t have any hospitalizations, don?t take any medications, have no chronic conditions, TB test was negative on the first attempt, I can see the ISO and supervisor opting to go ahead and approve you.
It?s in these situations that having an attorney with you can make the difference. An attorney wouldn?t hesitate to ask the ISO if he/she is able to make the decision or if that has to be run by the supervisor. You didn?t know and it?s done.
Given that you waited over a year for your interview and it has almost been a month since your interview, I would just contact your congressperson.
There may be absolutely nothing wrong with your case. For all we know, your ISO could be out sick or taking time off and your case may just be sitting on that desk.
Reaching out to your congressperson won?t technically speed things up but it will get the congress liaison to have someone locate your file and find out the status.
Your medical exam is either expired or not and if it is, they need to say so and you?ll go ahead and get another one. Tell your congressperson you have no issue getting a new medical and to please provide you with a specific person to send it to.

I wish you the best of luck.

[EJaneC]

Thank you for your advice.
I found my congressman representative and sent an email asking for help.

I thought that too, that if the medical exam was not able to be accepted she would have told us then and there. The rest of the interview went really well, so we thought. That is why it has been so frustrating to check the mail box every day and have no correspondence about the case.

I really appreciate your advice. Thank you so much.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Thank you for your advice.
I found my congressman representative and sent an email asking for help.

I thought that too, that if the medical exam was not able to be accepted she would have told us then and there. The rest of the interview went really well, so we thought. That is why it has been so frustrating to check the mail box every day and have no correspondence about the case.

I really appreciate your advice. Thank you so much.

You are very welcome. I wish you the best on this triathlon (AOS - Green Card - Citizenship). I think taking the Congressperson route is the best course of action. They know better than we do who to ask and HOW to ask in order to elicit a response. Your interview took place on the 18th month of your marriage. That's almost two years. You presented plenty of evidence. So what's the hold up?

Fingers crossed. Keeps us posted!