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Update everyone! Finally!
Hey guys, sorry, I got locked out of my account for a while and didn't see these messages or updates. Thank you all so much for your advice and encouragement. I could not do it without you! Seriously.
So, for Dallas filers, I'm going to give you all the information I can. This whole process is so nerve wracking and I always find comfort reading other people's so let me tell you the entire background story of us. You can skip to the updated information if you don't want all this backstory:
My husband and I met in Seoul when I lived there from 2014-2015. We dated until I needed to move back to the US, and then we were long distance. We traveled throughout the US together, then to Europe, and then I went back to Korea to visit. September of 2016 he proposed. It was hard being long distance at that point but I knew I had something to look forward to. December 2016 he came to visit for Thanksgiving and Christmas (his family doesn't really celebrate holidays). About 3 weeks before he was going to fly home, we just said, screw it, what if we got married now? So in 3 weeks we planned our wedding. It was nuts as neither of us were prepared for this and we had no money saved, but somehow it all came together.
After we got married we realized we didn't know how he could stay here. So we started asking immigration lawyers and family friends what to do. Eventually we were directed to an I-130 and I-485, filing for an I-765 at the same time. It was really hard as my husband didn't get to say a full goodbye to family and friends and he couldn't work. So those first few months were really really hard. But eventually we got his work permission and he felt better being able to work at least!
We kept our hope up until November 2017. We had been told it would be about 6 months before an interview was scheduled, but we realized that through different changes in the government and USCIS' focus shifting, interviews were slowing down a lot.
About March of this year I really started losing my mind. My husband missed home and he was starting to feel really "stuck." He couldn't leave the US and his parents were too poor to come here. Then, a few really horrible things happened within his family all at once. I just felt helpless that I couldn't do anything. A lot of people here recommended I write a letter to my congressperson. Well, I did. Mine was Pete Sessions. I knew that our case didn't have issues (as they never sent a notice asking for more documents) and I knew that it wasn't a complicated case, either (neither of us have every broken the law and our application was VERY organized). I wrote to my congressman and told him the entire situation, all the things that happened with my husband's mom and grandmother, then his grandfather
I never heard back from Pete Sessions but I'll tell you something: after writing that letter the status on our USCIS page changed to "there is no information available at this time." It stayed that way for about 2 weeks. Then I got a text that my USCIS case had been updated. When I checked, they were scheduling the interview. I truly think writing the congressmen allowed them to look into my case and expedite it. I would absolutely do it if you have been waiting a really long time.
At first it said our interview was for employment based, which obviously it wasn't. I was worried about it, though, because I don't like things being out of place, and I didn't want to be penalized for being at the wrong interview. Luckily it was a glitch and a few days later it said the right thing. We got our official interview notice about a little over a month before the interview date. So, May 10 we received notice our case had been updated, and about May 14th we received a letter letting us know the interview would be JUNE 14.
Obviously this happened yesterday. Most staff that worked there seemed friendly with each other and even with some of the people waiting in the lobby (I guess some people routinely come in for work green cards?) Our appointment was at 8am, and we waited about 35 minutes before we were called in. I was so nervous, just out of habit. I get really freaked out about things, even if I'm totally prepared. We had been up all night going over everything, organizing it again and again, making sure we had tons and tons of evidence. Well, even though I was sleep deprived and sick to my stomach, it was a good idea.
Being highly organized really, really ended up doing us a huge favor. She asked to see my passport, my husbands government ID (meaning they wanted him to have a US ID. Luckily he had an official driver's permit since he's learning how to drive, but I didn't realize they would have wanted that from him!), and his passport from South Korea. ALSO-- they DON'T TELL YOU THIS but you need an updated medical form if you're PD has lapsed by 1 year. Luckily we took a shot at it thinking we would probably need it and we definitely did. She then took his biometrics and took a picture of him. Then she asked if we had anything for her. We gave her copies of notices, etc. And she said, "you don't have any evidence of your relationship?" OH. So I took out the huge stack of EVERYTHING: every month of car payments ,copies of our car insurance payments, statements from our bank showing our joint bank account, copies of EVERY letter we had hand written each other, mementos from when we traveled, hotel receipts, airplane receipts, rental car receipts, wedding venue receipts, EVERY THING. We also had certified copies of our marriage certificate, W-2 and tax returns from the past two years, and letters from our bosses stating our jobs and how much we made. We also submitted letters from friends discussing our relationship. She looked at all of it and started filtering through stuff. We made a copy of this book I made for my husband for our first year anniversary and she said it was so beautiful. She looked surprised at how much we had and said, "you guys really came prepared, huh?" I was like, "Yes ma'am I like researching and being as prepared as possible for everything in life." She asked basic questions about when we met, where, how we met, where we got engaged, my birthday, his birthday, etc. She asked when he last entered the US. After those questions, she asked only him a bunch of questions I wasn't allowed to answer. She voiced her appreciation that my husband would ask her to clarify if he didn't understand something, indicating he was actually listening to what she was asking.
At the end of the interview she said they would send us a notice if we were missing anything, but then she said, "I don't really think that will be happening judging by your application." She then said we should wait until we received a notice of their decision. She did not give a time frame for how long that would take. She also asked if we had any questions and we both said no. She was really personable and nice, not what I imagined at all.
Our interview was about 20 minutes. We left at around 9:30. At 4:30 THAT DAY I got a text that our status had changed. When I went to the website I saw it had updated to, "My new card is being produced." I literally cried in the car by myself. We worked so hard (also I'm back in school doing 2 accelerated summer courses so I was also crying from exhaustion haha).
The only weird thing is the I-130 is still just hanging out there. No updates on that. I don't know if that matters or not.
But seriously. Please tell me your stories and how long it's been for you guys and let me know if you have any questions!
PD: January 30, 2017
EAD: February 2nd, 2017 (they received the fingerprints)
Work Permit: Received June 2017 (expired April 30, 2018)
2nd Work Permit: Applied March 2018 (still haven't gotten it)
May 10, 2018: Notice that interview is being scheduled
June 14, 2018: Interviewed
June 14, 2018: Notice that green card is being produced (with I-485)
Hey guys, sorry, I got locked out of my account for a while and didn't see these messages or updates. Thank you all so much for your advice and encouragement. I could not do it without you! Seriously.
So, for Dallas filers, I'm going to give you all the information I can. This whole process is so nerve wracking and I always find comfort reading other people's so let me tell you the entire background story of us. You can skip to the updated information if you don't want all this backstory:
My husband and I met in Seoul when I lived there from 2014-2015. We dated until I needed to move back to the US, and then we were long distance. We traveled throughout the US together, then to Europe, and then I went back to Korea to visit. September of 2016 he proposed. It was hard being long distance at that point but I knew I had something to look forward to. December 2016 he came to visit for Thanksgiving and Christmas (his family doesn't really celebrate holidays). About 3 weeks before he was going to fly home, we just said, screw it, what if we got married now? So in 3 weeks we planned our wedding. It was nuts as neither of us were prepared for this and we had no money saved, but somehow it all came together.
After we got married we realized we didn't know how he could stay here. So we started asking immigration lawyers and family friends what to do. Eventually we were directed to an I-130 and I-485, filing for an I-765 at the same time. It was really hard as my husband didn't get to say a full goodbye to family and friends and he couldn't work. So those first few months were really really hard. But eventually we got his work permission and he felt better being able to work at least!
We kept our hope up until November 2017. We had been told it would be about 6 months before an interview was scheduled, but we realized that through different changes in the government and USCIS' focus shifting, interviews were slowing down a lot.
About March of this year I really started losing my mind. My husband missed home and he was starting to feel really "stuck." He couldn't leave the US and his parents were too poor to come here. Then, a few really horrible things happened within his family all at once. I just felt helpless that I couldn't do anything. A lot of people here recommended I write a letter to my congressperson. Well, I did. Mine was Pete Sessions. I knew that our case didn't have issues (as they never sent a notice asking for more documents) and I knew that it wasn't a complicated case, either (neither of us have every broken the law and our application was VERY organized). I wrote to my congressman and told him the entire situation, all the things that happened with my husband's mom and grandmother, then his grandfather
I never heard back from Pete Sessions but I'll tell you something: after writing that letter the status on our USCIS page changed to "there is no information available at this time." It stayed that way for about 2 weeks. Then I got a text that my USCIS case had been updated. When I checked, they were scheduling the interview. I truly think writing the congressmen allowed them to look into my case and expedite it. I would absolutely do it if you have been waiting a really long time.
At first it said our interview was for employment based, which obviously it wasn't. I was worried about it, though, because I don't like things being out of place, and I didn't want to be penalized for being at the wrong interview. Luckily it was a glitch and a few days later it said the right thing. We got our official interview notice about a little over a month before the interview date. So, May 10 we received notice our case had been updated, and about May 14th we received a letter letting us know the interview would be JUNE 14.
Obviously this happened yesterday. Most staff that worked there seemed friendly with each other and even with some of the people waiting in the lobby (I guess some people routinely come in for work green cards?) Our appointment was at 8am, and we waited about 35 minutes before we were called in. I was so nervous, just out of habit. I get really freaked out about things, even if I'm totally prepared. We had been up all night going over everything, organizing it again and again, making sure we had tons and tons of evidence. Well, even though I was sleep deprived and sick to my stomach, it was a good idea.
Being highly organized really, really ended up doing us a huge favor. She asked to see my passport, my husbands government ID (meaning they wanted him to have a US ID. Luckily he had an official driver's permit since he's learning how to drive, but I didn't realize they would have wanted that from him!), and his passport from South Korea. ALSO-- they DON'T TELL YOU THIS but you need an updated medical form if you're PD has lapsed by 1 year. Luckily we took a shot at it thinking we would probably need it and we definitely did. She then took his biometrics and took a picture of him. Then she asked if we had anything for her. We gave her copies of notices, etc. And she said, "you don't have any evidence of your relationship?" OH. So I took out the huge stack of EVERYTHING: every month of car payments ,copies of our car insurance payments, statements from our bank showing our joint bank account, copies of EVERY letter we had hand written each other, mementos from when we traveled, hotel receipts, airplane receipts, rental car receipts, wedding venue receipts, EVERY THING. We also had certified copies of our marriage certificate, W-2 and tax returns from the past two years, and letters from our bosses stating our jobs and how much we made. We also submitted letters from friends discussing our relationship. She looked at all of it and started filtering through stuff. We made a copy of this book I made for my husband for our first year anniversary and she said it was so beautiful. She looked surprised at how much we had and said, "you guys really came prepared, huh?" I was like, "Yes ma'am I like researching and being as prepared as possible for everything in life." She asked basic questions about when we met, where, how we met, where we got engaged, my birthday, his birthday, etc. She asked when he last entered the US. After those questions, she asked only him a bunch of questions I wasn't allowed to answer. She voiced her appreciation that my husband would ask her to clarify if he didn't understand something, indicating he was actually listening to what she was asking.
At the end of the interview she said they would send us a notice if we were missing anything, but then she said, "I don't really think that will be happening judging by your application." She then said we should wait until we received a notice of their decision. She did not give a time frame for how long that would take. She also asked if we had any questions and we both said no. She was really personable and nice, not what I imagined at all.
Our interview was about 20 minutes. We left at around 9:30. At 4:30 THAT DAY I got a text that our status had changed. When I went to the website I saw it had updated to, "My new card is being produced." I literally cried in the car by myself. We worked so hard (also I'm back in school doing 2 accelerated summer courses so I was also crying from exhaustion haha).
The only weird thing is the I-130 is still just hanging out there. No updates on that. I don't know if that matters or not.
But seriously. Please tell me your stories and how long it's been for you guys and let me know if you have any questions!
PD: January 30, 2017
EAD: February 2nd, 2017 (they received the fingerprints)
Work Permit: Received June 2017 (expired April 30, 2018)
2nd Work Permit: Applied March 2018 (still haven't gotten it)
May 10, 2018: Notice that interview is being scheduled
June 14, 2018: Interviewed
June 14, 2018: Notice that green card is being produced (with I-485)
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