Guys the whole point of becoming current and sending the AOS package in advance is that YOU NEED TO BE CURRENT ON THE TIME OF THE INTERVIEW. becaused based on your case number, during the interview if your number is current, they aprove your case, if not, if your case number was not current when you had your interview, they don't aprove the case, that does not mean denial necesarilly , but it just delays your case till it is current.
The USCIS officer told you the correct official answer.
I'll give you another example: Say you drive on a road with 65 MPH speed limit. If you ask a police officer, they would tell you you can drive UP to 65 MPH provided it is safe to drive at that speed, and whatever...
In actual life, you could drive as fast as 70 MPH and maybe more, and not get a ticket...
So if you want to get to your destination faster, i guess you can drive faster and not get in trouble....
Same thing on the Cut of numbers. By law you'll become current in May...but you can take a chance and mail sooner.