Community
finally got my green card in hand! brooklyn fo + full timeline
background:
i was born in Toronto and have lived in the US since i was 8 months old because my dad worked in the US with a TN visa. i never got a green card thru my dad because he changed/lost jobs so frequently. I got married to my husband who is a USC in March 2019, two weeks after my 19th bday.
timeline:
april 6th, 2020: i130 submitted
november 25, 2020: i130 approved
march 26, 2021: i485/i131/i765 submitted thru an (awful) lawyer
april 20, 2021: fingerprint fee accepted
june 3, 2021: i485 rfe (missing a signature)
august 24, 2021: rfe response received
october 4, 2021: biometrics appointment
november 4, 2021: AP/EAD approved
november 11, 2022: AP/EAD delivered
november 4, 2021: interview ready to be scheduled
december 10, 2021: interview, but missed the interview because the mail for it never came. coincidentally i flew out to Turkey for rhinoplasty that morning at the same time my interview was supposed to be at 10:30 (i definitely would have rescheduled my surgery had i know i had an interview)
December 21, 2021: mail sent back to USCIS as undeliverable. case status showed as “we have come to a decision on your case” a day before i was supposed to fly back home to NYC. husband called lawyer and lawyer said he knew our interview date was december 10 because USCIS sent him a copy. my husband asked why he didn’t tell us, then lawyer started screaming at us about how he told me not to travel with AP/EAD and how it’s a 95% chance that they denied my case and they’re not gonna let me back in. we flew back on the 23rd and surprisingly they gave me no issues at the airport despite having a swollen face and cast on my nose. i was out of secondary screening in less than 5 minutes.
December 21, 2021: we sent a duplicate notice about a decision on i485. never got any notice
february 8, 2022: we reopened your case
radio silence for damn near a whole year… during 2022 we filed an address change and my case moved from Long Island FO to Brooklyn FO. also we filed multiple service requests and called several times and everyone we spoke to said my case is within normal processing times and they’re unable to make a decision on my case at the moment.
february 6, 2023: received medical rfe in mail a whole year later. case status never showed that an rfe was sent out, it continued to show “we reopened your case”. rfe said medical needs to be submitted by may 5
april 7: medical mailed out via USPS to Brooklyn FO.
april 10: medical delivered to USCIS
may 5: i485 card is being produced (not sure why this update came before the actual approval)
may 8: i485 case was approved
may 9: card was mailed. this was the last update from USCIS. i spoke to live agents on ask emma multiple times and every time they would tell me tracking is not available at the moment and disconnect.
may 12: delivered! my husband found my green card in the mail at like 11pm while taking the dogs out. so weird because i checked the mail like twice and there was other mail but no card. i contacted a live agent on ask emma around 4pm and they said they couldn’t provide me with a tracking number. maybe the usps guy came back? idk. also, i still haven’t received any other mail like an approval letter or my updated SSN. but either way i am so grateful that i am finally done and this depressing and stressful era of my life is over.
the green card is not gonna dramatically change my life within the US since i already have a job since 2020, i already built my credit (i built credit with my ITIN then transferred my ITIN history to my new SSN once i received it after EAD/AP approval), and i own a house (just closed on april 10! you don’t need to be a citizen or permanent resident to buy a house). BUT i haven’t seen my family in so long! as soon as i opened my green card mail the first thing i did was book a plane ticket to see my mom. i’m just so happy and feel so free now, i can finally travel the world. i really hope everyone gets their approvals soon, i’m manifesting it for everyone especially for the ones who’ve been waiting for a really long time.
thank you for reading this super long post and i’m more than happy to answer any questions!
IR-1/CR-1
U.S. citizen filing for a spouse
Total Days: 775 days
Case
2021-03-26
2023-05-10
I-485
775 Days
National Benefits Center: I-485
I-130 denied
hi,
my I-130 got denies yesterday.
any idea whether I can appeal or next steps.
thank you.
IR-1/CR-1
U.S. citizen filing for a spouse
Total Days: 1471 days
Case
2022-05-11
Today
I-765
315 Days
I-130
367 Days
I-485
618 Days
I-131
1471 Days
National Benefits Center: I-765, I-485, I-131
Texas Service Center: I-130
Brooklyn based - how do I expedite work permit
Hello I’ve been pending my I-765 for the past 7+ months. All work, travel and I-485 forms were submitted concurrently on Sept. 8, 2022 and I took biometrics Oct. 2, 2022.
I’ve heard no word or update from the government until the end of April this year when they sent a RFE for my medical exam (to clarify it wasn’t a deficiency notice because they already sent that in 2022) and there was no interview date.
Any advice or recommendation that has helped your case process would be of immense help. I’ve been stuck with no movement and it’s starting to drive me lightly nuts.
IR-1/CR-1
U.S. citizen filing for a spouse
Total Days: 280 days
Case
2022-09-08
2023-06-15
I-485
275 Days
I-765
280 Days
National Benefits Center: I-485, I-765
finally approved
I just got approved today guys I’m so so happy, thanks for everyone here, we know how difficult is this whole process!! I wish the best for everyone
IR-1/CR-1
U.S. citizen filing for a spouse
Total Days: 924 days
Case
2022-06-27
2025-01-06
I-130
322 Days
I-485
924 Days
National Benefits Center: I-130, I-485
