AOS Approved 1 Week After Interview!!!

[howiej1]

Case Info:
I-485-Family-Based(Marriage to USC)
Country of Citizenship:The Bahamas
DO:Tampa, FL
10/24/2006-I-485,I-765 sent to Chicago Lockbox
10/30/2006-ND from USCIS for I-485,I765
11/07/2006-RFE from USCIS regarding BC
11/09/2006-RFE reply sent to USCIS
11/15/2006-FP Notice received from USCIS
11/17/2006-RFE received at USCIS
12/07/2006-Biometrics taken at local USCIS
12/09/2006-RFE response, BC sent to USCIS
1/03/2007-Interview Letter Received
1/17/2007-EAD Update!!(Finally)-EAD Card Ordered
1/22/2007-EAD Card Received
2/5/2007-Interview at Tampa DO (2006 W-2's Needed for Approval)
2/6/2007-Copies of W-2's mailed to Tampa DO
2/12/2007-Email saying Notice Mailed Welcoming New Permanent Resident

Hi Everyone,

I finally received my Welcome Notice for PR via email this evening. I was very happy about it and ecstatic that this part of my immigrant life is over. I am now eargely anticipating the GC in the mail and continuing to seek employment!! I would like to wish everyone else not yet PR's the best once again and would like any of you with question regarding the AOS process to feel free to post and I will attempt to answer you back promptly. Thank You to everyone that answered me back when I asked questions and who communicated with me during the process. Much thanks Curiousone, Chrisusa and anyone else who helped my case to completion.

[kkboy]

hearty congrats...

on your GC !

Could u pls answer a few questions if you get time?

1. What visa status were you in b4 485 ?
2. What docs did your sponsor have to send ( how many photos? I864, 325A- is it really blank for the sponsor?)
3. Did you send 1 check for all fees or seperate checks?
4. Anything else you would like to add....

Thx !!!
kkboy

[howiej1]

Re

Could u pls answer a few questions if you get time?

1. What visa status were you in b4 485 ?
Ans: Before my AOS i was in B1 status


2. What docs did your sponsor have to send ( how many photos? I864, 325A- is it really blank for the sponsor?)
Ans:My wife had to initially file the I-130 because I was doing Consular Processing first. However with AOS the I-130 can be sent in simultaneously with the I-485, I-765, I-864 and G-325A's. The sponsor files the I-130 and the rest must be filed by you. All the instructions for photo requirement etc are included with the forms. I cannot remember whether or not the G-325A was black for the sponsor for I-485 but I remember that she had filled one out for the I-130.

3. Did you send 1 check for all fees or seperate checks?
Ans:I sent separate checks for each application that had a fee requirement.

4. Anything else you would like to add....
Ans; This site is filled with relevant info. Check out some of the links and also the USCIS official website which is www.uscis.gov.

[kkboy]

Thx for the quick reply HowieJ !!!

A few more questions:

Did you get the medical done and results sent alongwith 130/485/765 or were you asked for RFE for it and took the reports to the interview?
Is the medical form really 4 copies of the same form ?

Thx !

[howiej1]

Re

Did you get the medical done and results sent alongwith 130/485/765 or were you asked for RFE for it and took the reports to the interview?

Ans: I got the medical done prior to sending in the forms and included the sealed results from the Doctors office with my other forms. If you wait to send it later you will get an RFE that will slow the process down a bit. I'd suggest you send everything all at once.

Is the medical form really 4 copies of the same form ?

Ans:Yes if I recall correctly it is the same form x4.

[peace]

howiej1

Could you please tell me what was the total time taken from filing I-130
to GC approval.

[howiej1]

RE:Peace

My wife filed the I-130 in mid-June of 2006.However, my I-130 was filed alone because I initially did Consular Processing in The Bahamas. I returned to the US in early Sept of 2006, two weeks before the I-130 was approved and mailed in the AOS packet the last week of October 2006 with a PD of October 24th 2006. My GC was approved on Feb 12th 2007.

[raghavanmohan2003]

Grateful

Howieji you are the man!!

Thank you for taking the trouble to read through the various queries or cries for help from various souls.

Your well thought out and insightful answers, I am sure, is appreciated by many.

Thank you.

[peace]

howiej1

thanks for the reply.
It took you about 8 months from I-130 filing to gc approval.
Is it the usual time for I-130 + I-485 processing in US? I guess it depends
on the service center as well.

[kkboy]

how many vaccines did u take...howiej ?

I am hearing from folks that their 485 were rejected cos of "incomplete medical forms/vaccines". Pls advise, thx !

[howiej1]

Re

Hey raghavan2003 thanks for your kind words. They are much appreciated. There were persons who helped me in my time of need so Im just returning the favor.

Peace: yes it took me roughly 8 months from beginning to end if you factor in the I-130. However it was really under 4 months if you factor in my forms reaching the Chicago Lockbox on October 24th 2006 to GC approval on February 12th 2007. If my wife had waited until I got back to file the I-130 with the AOS packet I probably would have still been approved in under 4 months. During my research as of late Im noticing that a lot of marriage-based AOS applications are being approved in around the 4 month timeframe.Its not often that we can say that USCIS has improved on any process but they have drastically reduced the time for approving AOS applications within the last 6 months to 1 year.

kkboy:I had to take a TB shot because my last one was almost outdated. But they drew blood for an HIV test, gave me a chest examination and that was it. Whoever got their I-485 rejected because they did not produce their medical did not do so by the interview date. If any applicant fails to send in their medical with the AOS packet, they must do so by the Interview date or face denial of their application.

[peace]

howiej1

I am still a little confused.

If you look at the processing times for vermont service center,
they are processing I-130s for USC spouses which are dated march 06 which means a processing time of about 11 months.

Is chicago lockbox a different process?

[howiej1]

Re

Peace,

All FAMILY-BASED I-485 Applications MUST be sent to the Chicago Lockbox. Only EMPLOYMENT-BASED I-485 Applications MUST be sent to the Nebraska Service Center. I think many people get confused with this and a few have sent their applicationS to the wrong Service Center.Any processing times you see for Nebraska relate solely to Employment-Based Applications and have nothing to do with Family-Based Apps.

Regarding the I-130 filings, I believe this State Department change in policy began around the time my wife was about to file my I-130. We were initially going to file it at the US Embassy in The Bahamas for quicker processing time. Upon contacting them, they said that US Embassies would no longer be accepting I-130's regardless of the US citizen residing in that country with the foreign spouse. Thus, my wife had to send the I-130 to the Texas Service Center and it took a few months to be processed and approved.

Interestingly however, about four months prior (February 2006) to my I-130 attempt, a friend of mine also from Bahamas and married to a US citizen spouse had his I-130 processed and approved along with his Consular Processing (CP) packet at the US Embassy. The whole process took only 6 weeks for him because his I-130 was approved right there in front of him and his wife and he handed in all the other forms for CP at the same time!!! But he was told that he was lucky because his I-130 would be the last one accepted at the US Embassy in The Bahamas. I cannot conclusively speak for India but I believe that this practice has been discontinued the world over at US Embassies and this is unfortunate.As far as the reason for the change I dont know but I can say that it does make the CP option much longer than it would be if the I-130 could be processed at the foreign embassy.