Tweet
Adjustment of Status based on Marriage January 2019
Hi,
after so much checking of the forum, and a lot of help received, I got the courage to post about my situation.
I am an Aerospace Engineer from Spain, I came to the USA to finish my MsC in Aerospace Engineering. I met my wife while studying in Illinois. She is a US Citizen. We got married on November 3rd 2018, while she was finishing her master still, at that time I had already found a Full Time job as an Engineer in Wisconsin, and my employer tried to sponsor me for a H1B visa, but I wasn't lucky on the lottery.
We waited until she finished her master and moved with me, in order to submit the application for the I-130 (petition for Alien Relative). When I asked for advice to the same lawyers that had processed my H1B (payed by my company), they told us that the company had offer to pay them to process the I-130 (together with all the other documents I-485, I-765 and I-131), so we agreed to it.
Here is my timeline:
City applied from: Brookfield, WI
12/31/18 - The lawyers sent the applications
01/02/19 - Applications received by USCIS
01/07/19 - 4 NOA letters
01/11/19 - Biometrics Notice
01/31/19 - Biometrics Notice
And after that nothings. No news, no emails, no letters, until our lawyers suggested making an expedite request for our I-765, based on the economic loss of the company (due to delays in projects).
05/07/19 - We sent a response to your request to have your case expedited, referral number ZZZ
05/08/19 - Your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYYY was assigned to an officer for response.
05/08/19 - We sent a response to your request to have your case expedited, referral number ZZZ
05/08/19 - Your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYYY was completed.
07/11/19 - We sent a response to your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYY
07/22/19 - Your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYY was assigned to an officer for response.
07/22/19 - We sent a response to your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYY
07/22/19 - Your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYY was completed.
Given the cryptic of those messages (copied from the Case Status Online webpage), we asked our lawyers how that was going, and they sent us the following timeline:
05/02/19 - The lawyers called USCIS to request expedited processing of your EAD
05/08/19 - USCIS requested back up documentation for the request.
05/08/19 - A letter regarding the project delays and financial loss that the company is experiencing was sent to them.
07/03/19 - The lawyers had not received a response from USCIS so they called USCIS again. The representative was not able to provide them any updates on the prior request but stated that they needed to place a (second) expedite request which they did.
07/11/19 - USCIS requested back up documentation (again) and the lawyers send them the letter (again).
07/30/19 - I received this timeline, and neither lawyers nor us had heard anything from USCIS, and it was too soon to follow up.
So far, I had been frequently checking the "Receipt date for a case inquiry" on the USCIS web page for both my I-765 and my I-131. And somehow, at the beginning of August 2019, the date for inquire jumped from November 2018 to March 2019. So I decided to inquire for both cases, (the I-765 over the telephone and the I-131 using the online form).
08/05/19 - Inquires about why the I-765 and the I-131 are taking longer than usual
Contacting Congresspeople
During August 2019, I read in this webpage that some people had successfully contacted with the Congresspeople aids and that helped speed up the process of getting their documents, when they had a hard economical situation, a job offer or some health problems. So I run my numbers, and got my spreadsheet showing that we are losing money per month, also my wife needed some dental work (health problems) and check with my previous employer to confirm that, yes, they want me to go back to work with them.
08/16/19 - Contacted Tammy Baldwin's office (congresswoman representing my district in WI) and submitted the Privacy Act Release form
09/04/19 - Called again to the office, and spoke with Jean Brody (aide in charge of immigration), who confirmed me that they had received the emails, and that they had a long backlog of people requesting help for similar reasons
And so far, I have not heard about them again.
A day before that, I filled the an Ombudsman Request through the USCIS web page, and received the proper email, but no news since then.
09/03/19 - Request for case assistance sent to Ombudsman's Office
Last Chapter
On September 5, 30 days passed since the Inquires for the I-765 and the I-131 were submitted, and no answer had been received.
I called again to the USCIS phone and got to talk with a Tier 2 Official who organized an InfoPass appointment for today, August 10.
09/05/19 - Called to complain about the not-answered Case Inquire. Talked to Tier 2 Official. Organized InfoPass appointment for 09/10/19.
09/10/19 - During the InfoPass appointment, the official told us that our cases were still being processed.
09/10/19 - The official also told us, to our surprise, that our I-131 and I-765 could not be processed until the I-130 had been processed in Nebraska's office.
When I asked him the Nebraska's processing time for the I-130, he told us that it is 12-15.5 months.
This means that, we have to wait 12 to 15.5 months for the I-130 to be processed, plus another 3 to 5 months for the I-765.
That sums a total of 15 to 20.5 months until I can go back to work and make a salary again, counting since January 2nd 2019.
On the meantime, my wife has to face payments for rent, student loans and others on her own, while I am not allowed to work, or leave the country to see my family.
If anyone out there is in a similar situation, I hope you can share your experience and / or your advice.
After Posting (09/13/2019)
Next morning I received some good news:
09/11/19 - Case is ready to be scheduled
09/13/19 - We scheduled an interview for your Form I485
As Enub4 indicated, maybe they are skipping our EAD+AP. It could be the case that they have low workload in Milwaukee and the bottleneck happened in the National Benefit Center.
Alternatively, maybe one or more of the actions taken push my application forward.
Or maybe, it just was the time that my application made it to the top of the pile.
I'll keep posting
after so much checking of the forum, and a lot of help received, I got the courage to post about my situation.
I am an Aerospace Engineer from Spain, I came to the USA to finish my MsC in Aerospace Engineering. I met my wife while studying in Illinois. She is a US Citizen. We got married on November 3rd 2018, while she was finishing her master still, at that time I had already found a Full Time job as an Engineer in Wisconsin, and my employer tried to sponsor me for a H1B visa, but I wasn't lucky on the lottery.
We waited until she finished her master and moved with me, in order to submit the application for the I-130 (petition for Alien Relative). When I asked for advice to the same lawyers that had processed my H1B (payed by my company), they told us that the company had offer to pay them to process the I-130 (together with all the other documents I-485, I-765 and I-131), so we agreed to it.
Here is my timeline:
City applied from: Brookfield, WI
12/31/18 - The lawyers sent the applications
01/02/19 - Applications received by USCIS
01/07/19 - 4 NOA letters
01/11/19 - Biometrics Notice
01/31/19 - Biometrics Notice
And after that nothings. No news, no emails, no letters, until our lawyers suggested making an expedite request for our I-765, based on the economic loss of the company (due to delays in projects).
05/07/19 - We sent a response to your request to have your case expedited, referral number ZZZ
05/08/19 - Your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYYY was assigned to an officer for response.
05/08/19 - We sent a response to your request to have your case expedited, referral number ZZZ
05/08/19 - Your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYYY was completed.
07/11/19 - We sent a response to your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYY
07/22/19 - Your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYY was assigned to an officer for response.
07/22/19 - We sent a response to your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYY
07/22/19 - Your request to have your case expedited, referral number YYY was completed.
Given the cryptic of those messages (copied from the Case Status Online webpage), we asked our lawyers how that was going, and they sent us the following timeline:
05/02/19 - The lawyers called USCIS to request expedited processing of your EAD
05/08/19 - USCIS requested back up documentation for the request.
05/08/19 - A letter regarding the project delays and financial loss that the company is experiencing was sent to them.
07/03/19 - The lawyers had not received a response from USCIS so they called USCIS again. The representative was not able to provide them any updates on the prior request but stated that they needed to place a (second) expedite request which they did.
07/11/19 - USCIS requested back up documentation (again) and the lawyers send them the letter (again).
07/30/19 - I received this timeline, and neither lawyers nor us had heard anything from USCIS, and it was too soon to follow up.
So far, I had been frequently checking the "Receipt date for a case inquiry" on the USCIS web page for both my I-765 and my I-131. And somehow, at the beginning of August 2019, the date for inquire jumped from November 2018 to March 2019. So I decided to inquire for both cases, (the I-765 over the telephone and the I-131 using the online form).
08/05/19 - Inquires about why the I-765 and the I-131 are taking longer than usual
Contacting Congresspeople
During August 2019, I read in this webpage that some people had successfully contacted with the Congresspeople aids and that helped speed up the process of getting their documents, when they had a hard economical situation, a job offer or some health problems. So I run my numbers, and got my spreadsheet showing that we are losing money per month, also my wife needed some dental work (health problems) and check with my previous employer to confirm that, yes, they want me to go back to work with them.
08/16/19 - Contacted Tammy Baldwin's office (congresswoman representing my district in WI) and submitted the Privacy Act Release form
09/04/19 - Called again to the office, and spoke with Jean Brody (aide in charge of immigration), who confirmed me that they had received the emails, and that they had a long backlog of people requesting help for similar reasons
And so far, I have not heard about them again.
A day before that, I filled the an Ombudsman Request through the USCIS web page, and received the proper email, but no news since then.
09/03/19 - Request for case assistance sent to Ombudsman's Office
Last Chapter
On September 5, 30 days passed since the Inquires for the I-765 and the I-131 were submitted, and no answer had been received.
I called again to the USCIS phone and got to talk with a Tier 2 Official who organized an InfoPass appointment for today, August 10.
09/05/19 - Called to complain about the not-answered Case Inquire. Talked to Tier 2 Official. Organized InfoPass appointment for 09/10/19.
09/10/19 - During the InfoPass appointment, the official told us that our cases were still being processed.
09/10/19 - The official also told us, to our surprise, that our I-131 and I-765 could not be processed until the I-130 had been processed in Nebraska's office.
When I asked him the Nebraska's processing time for the I-130, he told us that it is 12-15.5 months.
This means that, we have to wait 12 to 15.5 months for the I-130 to be processed, plus another 3 to 5 months for the I-765.
That sums a total of 15 to 20.5 months until I can go back to work and make a salary again, counting since January 2nd 2019.
On the meantime, my wife has to face payments for rent, student loans and others on her own, while I am not allowed to work, or leave the country to see my family.
If anyone out there is in a similar situation, I hope you can share your experience and / or your advice.
After Posting (09/13/2019)
Next morning I received some good news:
09/11/19 - Case is ready to be scheduled
09/13/19 - We scheduled an interview for your Form I485
As Enub4 indicated, maybe they are skipping our EAD+AP. It could be the case that they have low workload in Milwaukee and the bottleneck happened in the National Benefit Center.
Alternatively, maybe one or more of the actions taken push my application forward.
Or maybe, it just was the time that my application made it to the top of the pile.
I'll keep posting
Comment