DV 2020 AOS Only

[Sm1smom]

Hello mom @Sm1smom,
I have just received the electronic receipt notice. Unfortunately, I have to change my address by Aug20. Does it matter if I move within the same state or to different state? (in terms of the processing time). And if I decided to move to different state, does it matter if I submit the change of address request before or after attending the biometrics appointment at my current state?

1. New Address, within the same State (and the new address still falls under the same FO with jurisdiction over the old address) - no impact on case processing, except of course if you do not receive and respond to communications from USCIS as required because those communications got sent to the old address and you did not receive them.
2. New Address, different State - expect a processing delay (regardless of if the change of address is submitted before or after bio) which may not be resolved by the end of the FY. Your case file would have been sent to the FO with jurisdiction over the old address, they will then need to forward this to the FO with jurisdiction over the new address in the new State.
3. New Address, within the same State (and the new address falls under the jurisdiction of a different FO - {some States have several FOs}) - expect a processing delay - same as 2 above.

 

[Sm1smom]

I got my TN Visa mid February. I submitted ds260 the day after I got my TN Visa for CP. Was furloughed mid April. Covid happened and I changed my filling to AOS end of May. Mid June I still did not return to work so my TN is no longer valid. Work said they want me to come back sometime in August but I won't be able to if I don't get my green card by then. I am worried that the officer may have an issue with the fact that I submitted AOS while being furloughed. At this point there is nothing I can do though. I hope the officer shows some leniency in my case. For now I am staying home with my son who was born in USA in April

So you were already in your “grace period” when you filed AOS in May. Your IO may make a case about being already out of status (even though you were not accruing an unlawful presence since you were in your grace period) when you filed and therefore had no status to adjust from. There is indeed cause to be concerned.

What is your spouse’s status? TN? Who is the DV selectee - you or your spouse?

 

[Gata2203]

Wow, that's great! Finally, they charged my card today.

Happy for you!! I had the same situation: I spoke to Tier 2, he confirmed he sees nothing and after 2 hours I spoke to hi, USCIS tried to charge my card.

 

[Jumanjied]

So you were already in your “grace period” when you filed AOS in May. Your IO may make a case about being already out of status (even though you were not accruing an unlawful presence since you were in your grace period) when you filed and therefore had no status to adjust from. There is indeed cause to be concerned.

What is your spouse’s status? TN? Who is the DV selectee - you or your spouse?

We are both on TN, I was the selectee

 

[Sm1smom]

Hi Mom,
I completed my biometrics appointment yesterday at Lawrence MA after receiving the ASC appointment notice via email, as the appointment was scheduled earlier than the actual mail would have been delivered to my apartment. My notice was for I485 but the code was 2 (photo, signature and index finger press-print), thus I did not do 10 fingers. Do you recommend that I call USCIS to ask if I should have been scheduled for a code 3 type of appointment?

Thank you,
ElenP

Was the bio email sent from your FO? I think they made a mistake in selecting Code 2 - code 2 is for when no background check is required. Has USCIS conducted a previous background check on you in the last 2 to 3 years?

Did you subsequently receive a bio notice by mail with a different date? If you did, I recommend you attend it appointment. You can send a follow up email to whoever sent you the bio notice (hopefully it wasn’t sent from an unmonitored account) and let them know you were assigned a code 2 appointment and not a code 3. You can also call and discuss this with a tier 2 rep, for them to contact the NBC and schedule you for a new bio appointment. The tier 2 rep may also be able to tell you if the NBC already scheduled you for their own bio appointment.

 

[Sm1smom]

We are both on TN, I was the selectee

How unfortunate, if only your spouse was the main selectee. So you need to have a backup plan of obtaining a TD as your spouse’s derivative in the worst case scenario of your AOS being denied.

 

[Jumanjied]

Also my letter of employment does not state I am on furlough. It states my salary but it does not state average weekly work hours. I am not sure if that's an issue. The letter is dated July 22.

 

[Jumanjied]

How unfortunate, if only your spouse was the main selectee. So you need to have a backup plan of obtaining a TD as your spouse’s derivative in the worst case scenario of your AOS being denied.

We are worried that my spouse will get their TN revoked and even if it is not revoked I may not be able to obtain TD as I already filed ds260. And we think that even if the TN Visa doesn't get revoked now, it may get revoked when I apply for TD. So many questions right now but I am really hoping to get approved. I was supposed to be back at work sooner than August which would not make my TN invalid so I am really upset right now. I wish we could do CP

 

[RezaReza]

Was the bio email sent from your FO? I think they made a mistake in selecting Code 2 - code 2 is for when no background check is required. Has USCIS conducted a previous background check on you in the last 2 to 3 years?

Did you subsequently receive a bio notice by mail with a different date? If you did, I recommend you attend it appointment. You can send a follow up email to whoever sent you the bio notice (hopefully it wasn’t sent from an unmonitored account) and let them know you were assigned a code 2 appointment and not a code 3. You can also call and discuss this with a tier 2 rep, for them to contact the NBC and schedule you for a new bio appointment. The tier 2 rep may also be able to tell you if the NBC already scheduled you for their own bio appointment.

Hi @Sm1smom and @ElenP ,
As I described previously, I have also the same issue. I had a Bio appointment of code 3 for April which was canceled due to the closure. Then, 2 weeks ago I received another bio letter of rescheduling and attend biometric which is code 2 and they took just 1 finger biometric.
Both Bio letters came from NBC and I did not have any background check conducted previously in USCIS.
I was able to contact FO and talk with them, but they cannot help me. They told maybe NBC is working to reschedule another appointment to do 10 fingers Biometric.
I am waiting to talk with Tier 2 today, hopefully, they can reach out NBC to find an explanation for this issue. But now I see another person is also has same problem as me, so I am curious if this has a special meaning? It does not make sense to do same mistake for multiple people.

 

[Sm1smom]

Also my letter of employment does not state I am on furlough. It states my salary but it does not state average weekly work hours. I am not sure if that's an issue. The letter is dated July 22.

If the IO asks if you’re still working for this employer or not, how will you answer that? When was your last paystub from this employer issued/dated? The response to these questions determines the authenticity of the letter. I don’t need you to answer me on these - I’m just trying to prepare you for a worst case scenario. And you may be lucky, such that at the end of the day, the IO may not deeply probe into your situation.

 

[Jumanjied]

If the IO asks if you’re still working for this employer or not, how will you answer that? When was your last paystub from this employer issued/dated? The response to these questions determines the authenticity of the letter. I don’t need you to answer me on these - I’m just trying to prepare you for a worst case scenario. And you may be lucky, such that at the end of the day, the IO may not deeply probe into your situation.

Thank you. I will report back after my interview

 

[skip1]

To the fellow members who have completed the interview:
What documents did you bring with yourself? Is it necessary to bring all the bank statements that we have included in AOS package? Also, if you had some documents that needed the translation, did you bring that translation with you?

 

[Sm1smom]

Hi @Sm1smom and @ElenP ,
As I described previously, I have also the same issue. I had a Bio appointment of code 3 for April which was canceled due to the closure. Then, 2 weeks ago I received another bio letter of rescheduling and attend biometric which is code 2 and they took just 1 finger biometric.
Both Bio letters came from NBC and I did not have any background check conducted previously in USCIS.
I was able to contact FO and talk with them, but they cannot help me. They told maybe NBC is working to reschedule another appointment to do 10 fingers Biometric.
I am waiting to talk with Tier 2 today, hopefully, they can reach out NBC to find an explanation for this issue. But now I see another person is also has same problem as me, so I am curious if this has a special meaning? It does not make sense to do same mistake for multiple people.

Yes the same mistake may be made from the NBC several times on several applications if the person scheduling those specific bio appointments is a newbie who is unintentionally making those mistakes because they don’t seem to understand the difference between those codes.

By the way did you apply for an I-131 and/or I-765? If yes, then it is possible the person who scheduled didn’t seem to realize they should have selected code 3 which covers all these forms, as against code 2 which is typically used for an AP or EAD.

 

[Sm1smom]

To the fellow members who have completed the interview:
What documents did you bring with yourself? Is it necessary to bring all the bank statements that we have included in AOS package? Also, if you had some documents that needed the translation, did you bring that translation with you?

You need to take a look at the Interview Tips tab of the AOS process spreadsheet.

 

[ElenP]

Was the bio email sent from your FO? I think they made a mistake in selecting Code 2 - code 2 is for when no background check is required. Has USCIS conducted a previous background check on you in the last 2 to 3 years?

Did you subsequently receive a bio notice by mail with a different date? If you did, I recommend you attend it appointment. You can send a follow up email to whoever sent you the bio notice (hopefully it wasn’t sent from an unmonitored account) and let them know you were assigned a code 2 appointment and not a code 3. You can also call and discuss this with a tier 2 rep, for them to contact the NBC and schedule you for a new bio appointment. The tier 2 rep may also be able to tell you if the NBC already scheduled you for their own bio appointment.

Thank you for your reply both @Sm1smom and @RezaReza.

Actually I called yesterday 7/27 9am USCIS to receive an update on the status of notice for biometrics and interview. I was told by a tier 1 that a biometrics letter was sent 7/24 pm (while when I called on 7/24 at noon they could see no biometrics letter that had been mailed) and that I should wait for the letter to arrive as she did not know the date of the appointment. However she connected me to a tier 2 representative who was able to see that the appointment was scheduled for the same day!!! (7/27) and she offered to send me the notice via email (which shows NBC as service center) so that I could make it to the appointment on time. Thus I have not received the actual letter by mail yet. I called today USCIS again to follow up on the matter and a tier 1 representative told me that my biometrics were received and that if there is an issue with them I will receive a second notice, however she agreed to connect me to a tier 2 and I am waiting for a call back currently. Unfortunately the email yesterday was sent from a no-reply address: no-reply@uscis.dhs.gov so I don't think anyone will get back to me if I try to reply.

As for the background check, I do remember having 10 fingerprints done for the liquor Mass ID and a VA hospital in 2019.

 

[ElenP]

Yes the same mistake may be made from the NBC several times on several applications if the person scheduling those specific bio appointments is a newbie who is unintentionally making those mistakes because they don’t seem to understand the difference between those codes.

By the way did you apply for an I-131 and/or I-765? If yes, then it is possible the person who scheduled didn’t seem to realize they should have selected code 3 which covers all these forms, as against code 2 which is typically used for an AP or EAD.

I did not apply for any of those two forms.

 

[Sero1033]

Hi everyone!

Quick update. I tried to use rhe email invitation for my biometrics today, but was turned around. I spoke with the same person who emailed me and she pointed out that in email she said NOT to come and that I confirmed that I understood. Hope she is not the one who will be interviewing me.

Anyway, this is what happened. At least I tried. Now will be waiting the invitation in my mail. Hope it comes soon.

 

[Hirouri]

Hello Mom,
(FYI, I received my NOA on 06/25) - I called USCIS on last Friday and the rep could see in the system that one Bio appointment had been scheduled for me but she was not able to say when, she just told me to wait week 1-2 weeks. This morning I called again to follow-up and another rep told me neither BIO appointment or Interview had been scheduled for me - she could just say that I was put in the "queue" for BIO appointment - It looks like the two reps have a different understanding as to what they can see in the system. Later in the call today, the rep accepted to put an expedite request to schedule my Bio and Interview because my case is time sensitive and need to be approved bu 09/30. I then asked if my husband (derivative spouse) should do the same request, she answered yes, he needs to ask for the same expedite request... I don't think this is true.
What do you think Mom? Should my husband initiate the same expedite request? Sounds so weird...

 

[Sm1smom]

Thank you for your reply both @Sm1smom and @RezaReza.

Actually I called yesterday 7/27 9am USCIS to receive an update on the status of notice for biometrics and interview. I was told by a tier 1 that a biometrics letter was sent 7/24 pm (while when I called on 7/24 at noon they could see no biometrics letter that had been mailed) and that I should wait for the letter to arrive as she did not know the date of the appointment. However she connected me to a tier 2 representative who was able to see that the appointment was scheduled for the same day!!! (7/27) and she offered to send me the notice via email (which shows NBC as service center) so that I could make it to the appointment on time. Thus I have not received the actual letter by mail yet. I called today USCIS again to follow up on the matter and a tier 1 representative told me that my biometrics were received and that if there is an issue with them I will receive a second notice, however she agreed to connect me to a tier 2 and I am waiting for a call back currently. Unfortunately the email yesterday was sent from a no-reply address: no-reply@uscis.dhs.gov so I don't think anyone will get back to me if I try to reply.

As for the background check, I do remember having 10 fingerprints done for the liquor Mass ID and a VA hospital in 2019.

I believe we already discussed the Mass ID bio check is not a USCIS ordered background check and will not qualify in that case. Hopefully you get some better insight from a tier 2 rep.

 

[Sm1smom]

Hello Mom,
(FYI, I received my NOA on 06/25) - I called USCIS on last Friday and the rep could see in the system that one Bio appointment had been scheduled for me but she was not able to say when, she just told me to wait week 1-2 weeks. This morning I called again to follow-up and another rep told me neither BIO appointment or Interview had been scheduled for me - she could just say that I was put in the "queue" for BIO appointment - It looks like the two reps have a different understanding as to what they can see in the system. Later in the call today, the rep accepted to put an expedite request to schedule my Bio and Interview because my case is time sensitive and need to be approved bu 09/30. I then asked if my husband (derivative spouse) should do the same request, she answered yes, he needs to ask for the same expedite request... I don't think this is true.
What do you think Mom? Should my husband initiate the same expedite request? Sounds so weird...

Your spouse is your derivative, if your case gets expedited so would theirs based on your expedite. It is not unusual for first tier reps to say what they think a caller wants to hear in order to get them off the phone. You can call again and request to speak with a tier 2 rep to confirm if they see a bio appointment or not.