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Hi everyone,
1 year and 10 months since we filed our Adjustment of Status & I-485 application for my foreign spouse, we finally got notice yesterday that my spouse's Green Card was produced and has been sent in the mail. We are over the moon thrilled that we are finally over this hurdle, but would like to give some advice to others as they go through this process:
1.) If you have a complicated matter to discuss with USCIS that is beyond basic information, do not even bother with the Level I USCIS reps. They know nothing special about your case, and can't really give you more information beyond what you can see in the USCIS online portal. Ask to speak with a Level 2 rep for better information. Our AOS interview was delayed by 3 months because USCIS originally sent the notice to our old address. Despite several calls to USCIS and speaking to Level 1 reps, each rep said to us that they had no information stating the interview notice had been mailed, and just to be patient because it was within normal processing time. It wasn't until we made a formal inquiry that USCIS responded that they mailed the letter out and that we missed the interview. Immediately after getting this letter, we got on the phone with a Level 2 rep and that rep was able to confirm that USCIS actually sent our notice out to our old address. So the three times we spoke to Level 1, they had no information about the letter getting sent, even though it was sent before we spoke to any of the reps about this matter. Level 1 reps are useless for anything beyond the basic.
2.) Do not be afraid to reach out to your Congressperson if USCIS errors have delayed your case beyond reason. This is especially true if your Congressperson is a Democrat. Democratic Congressional members love the opportunity to intervene on behalf of their constituents for matters related to immigration. After the Level 2 rep confirmed to me that the interview notice was sent to our old address, he assured us that the error was made by USCIS and we would have our interview rescheduled quickly. Two weeks later, we received a notice in the mail from USCIS asking for evidence as to why the interview should be rescheduled. We were furious. I wrote a stern letter in response, basically saying, "this is completely your fault, you even admitted to it during a call to USCIS at X date at Y time, it shouldn't be our responsibility to give you evidence of your own mistakes, if you took just 5 minutes with our file you would be able to see the mistake was yours." That sternly worded letter got us nowhere, because USCIS never responded. We then went to our congresswoman and explained the entire situation. The congresswoman wrote a letter to USCIS on our behalf, saying their errors have cause undue delay on our application and therefor it should be expedited. Two weeks later, USCIS responded to our congresswoman with a new interview date for us. After we had our interview, we were approved two days later, and got notification that our card was mailed out three days after that. Congressional pressure really does work. Our congresswoman told USCIS to expedite our case, and that they did. Don't be afraid to reach out.
3.) If your marriage is bona fide, you have nothing to worry about at the Green Card interview. The USCIS officers adjudicating your case really do want you to succeed, not fail. Couples that don't pass the interview means more case work for them. You should try to make their jobs as easy as possible. To that end:
4.) Gather AS MUCH EVIDENCE AS YOU CAN, and have notes all explaining what your evidence shows. Don't expect USCIS to connect the dots for you. They won't. To be brutally honest, USCIS officers see some really horrible applications. Applications submitted with little evidence, missing required documents, illegible documents as "proof," et cetera. Everything you submit to USCIS needs to look professional. At the time of the marriage interview, coming prepared with a binder of evidence, organized neatly with a Table of Contents explaining all the evidence, signals to the USCIS officer adjudicating your case that you have your **** together. That speaks volumes to them, and gives them a great impression of you.
Good luck everyone! I wish you all the best on your immigration journey.
Timeline, AOS based on marriage to USC:
07/24/17- PD
08/18/17- Biometrics Appointment
08/29/17- RFIE (English translation of foreign birth certificate)
08/31/17- Responded to RFIE
10/16/17- Received EAD in the mail
06/15/18- Submitted change of address to USCIS
07/06/18- Received USCIS acknowledgement of new address
08/09/18- Application submitted for EAD renewal
08/22/18- USCIS acknowledged receipt of EAD renewal application
01/30/19- Text message about case updated---case scheduled for interview
03/06/19- First call to USCIS about missing appointment notice
03/14/19- Second call to USCIS about missing appointment notice
04/01/19- Third call to USCIS about missing appointment notice- formal inquiry sent
04/09/19- Formal USCIS response received. Interview notice was mailed and we missed the interview. Call to USCIS Level 2 rep made, Level 2 asked for interview to be rescheduled.
04/16/19- USCIS letter, request for evidence as to why interview should be rescheduled
04/17/19- Responded to USCIS letter.
05/08/19- Appointment at office of our U.S. Congresswoman for help with our case
05/17/19- USCIS responds to Congresswoman, interview scheduled for 5/30
05/30/19- AOS based on marriage interview. Stokes format.
06/01/19- USCIS text message update: Case Approved
06/03/19- Received AOS and Green Card approval letters in the mail
06/04/19- USCIS text message update: Green Card was mailed.
1 year and 10 months since we filed our Adjustment of Status & I-485 application for my foreign spouse, we finally got notice yesterday that my spouse's Green Card was produced and has been sent in the mail. We are over the moon thrilled that we are finally over this hurdle, but would like to give some advice to others as they go through this process:
1.) If you have a complicated matter to discuss with USCIS that is beyond basic information, do not even bother with the Level I USCIS reps. They know nothing special about your case, and can't really give you more information beyond what you can see in the USCIS online portal. Ask to speak with a Level 2 rep for better information. Our AOS interview was delayed by 3 months because USCIS originally sent the notice to our old address. Despite several calls to USCIS and speaking to Level 1 reps, each rep said to us that they had no information stating the interview notice had been mailed, and just to be patient because it was within normal processing time. It wasn't until we made a formal inquiry that USCIS responded that they mailed the letter out and that we missed the interview. Immediately after getting this letter, we got on the phone with a Level 2 rep and that rep was able to confirm that USCIS actually sent our notice out to our old address. So the three times we spoke to Level 1, they had no information about the letter getting sent, even though it was sent before we spoke to any of the reps about this matter. Level 1 reps are useless for anything beyond the basic.
2.) Do not be afraid to reach out to your Congressperson if USCIS errors have delayed your case beyond reason. This is especially true if your Congressperson is a Democrat. Democratic Congressional members love the opportunity to intervene on behalf of their constituents for matters related to immigration. After the Level 2 rep confirmed to me that the interview notice was sent to our old address, he assured us that the error was made by USCIS and we would have our interview rescheduled quickly. Two weeks later, we received a notice in the mail from USCIS asking for evidence as to why the interview should be rescheduled. We were furious. I wrote a stern letter in response, basically saying, "this is completely your fault, you even admitted to it during a call to USCIS at X date at Y time, it shouldn't be our responsibility to give you evidence of your own mistakes, if you took just 5 minutes with our file you would be able to see the mistake was yours." That sternly worded letter got us nowhere, because USCIS never responded. We then went to our congresswoman and explained the entire situation. The congresswoman wrote a letter to USCIS on our behalf, saying their errors have cause undue delay on our application and therefor it should be expedited. Two weeks later, USCIS responded to our congresswoman with a new interview date for us. After we had our interview, we were approved two days later, and got notification that our card was mailed out three days after that. Congressional pressure really does work. Our congresswoman told USCIS to expedite our case, and that they did. Don't be afraid to reach out.
3.) If your marriage is bona fide, you have nothing to worry about at the Green Card interview. The USCIS officers adjudicating your case really do want you to succeed, not fail. Couples that don't pass the interview means more case work for them. You should try to make their jobs as easy as possible. To that end:
4.) Gather AS MUCH EVIDENCE AS YOU CAN, and have notes all explaining what your evidence shows. Don't expect USCIS to connect the dots for you. They won't. To be brutally honest, USCIS officers see some really horrible applications. Applications submitted with little evidence, missing required documents, illegible documents as "proof," et cetera. Everything you submit to USCIS needs to look professional. At the time of the marriage interview, coming prepared with a binder of evidence, organized neatly with a Table of Contents explaining all the evidence, signals to the USCIS officer adjudicating your case that you have your **** together. That speaks volumes to them, and gives them a great impression of you.
Good luck everyone! I wish you all the best on your immigration journey.
Timeline, AOS based on marriage to USC:
07/24/17- PD
08/18/17- Biometrics Appointment
08/29/17- RFIE (English translation of foreign birth certificate)
08/31/17- Responded to RFIE
10/16/17- Received EAD in the mail
06/15/18- Submitted change of address to USCIS
07/06/18- Received USCIS acknowledgement of new address
08/09/18- Application submitted for EAD renewal
08/22/18- USCIS acknowledged receipt of EAD renewal application
01/30/19- Text message about case updated---case scheduled for interview
03/06/19- First call to USCIS about missing appointment notice
03/14/19- Second call to USCIS about missing appointment notice
04/01/19- Third call to USCIS about missing appointment notice- formal inquiry sent
04/09/19- Formal USCIS response received. Interview notice was mailed and we missed the interview. Call to USCIS Level 2 rep made, Level 2 asked for interview to be rescheduled.
04/16/19- USCIS letter, request for evidence as to why interview should be rescheduled
04/17/19- Responded to USCIS letter.
05/08/19- Appointment at office of our U.S. Congresswoman for help with our case
05/17/19- USCIS responds to Congresswoman, interview scheduled for 5/30
05/30/19- AOS based on marriage interview. Stokes format.
06/01/19- USCIS text message update: Case Approved
06/03/19- Received AOS and Green Card approval letters in the mail
06/04/19- USCIS text message update: Green Card was mailed.
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