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DV 2024 AOS (Adjustment of Status) Process Only

Hello,



I’m following up regarding your request for clarification about the payment. USCIS confirmed that your case has been approved and that your card is now being produced.
 
hamptonevan said:
I was on H-1B status until May 10, which was my last day of employment. My H-1B visa stamp and I-94 are valid until September 2025. I filed an I-539 on May 17, and it was approved on August 20. Am I considered to be in unlawful status during the period between May 10 and May 17, or does the approval of my I-539 retroactively make this gap lawful? Additionally, is the 60-day grace period following H-1B termination considered lawful status or just authorized stay? I only recently learned about the distinction between authorized stay and lawful status from forums after my priority number became current, and I'm concerned if this gap could be causing delays in processing our cases.
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My understanding is that the grace period is considered in status, but I’d advise you to confirm that with a lawyer or someone else knowledgeable about H1B.
 
Plus19 said:
Hey everyone, I just wanted to update you on my situation. Unfortunately, USCIS denied my I-485 application, and it seems like they misunderstood several key details about my case. My spouse also received a denial because my case was denied. I don't know why they waited this long to review the case. If I had received a denial early when they reviewed it, I would have submitted I-290B to reopen/reconsider my case. I tried to walk into the USCIS office, but they said the case was closed already. My senator also said the same thing: since the case is closed, they can't do anything.

1. Out of Status Claim:​

USCIS said I was out of status from September 2022 to August 2023, but that’s not true. I filed for a change of status to F-1 on time, and it was approved in February 2023. I attended Harvest English Institute right after that and transferred to GT Educational Center within the allowed 5-month window. I was never out of status. If I were to be out of status, I could not get approval from USCIS, and schools wouldn't be able to transfer me in SEVIS. I also talked with senators

2. Full Course of Study:​

They claimed I didn’t maintain a full course of study at Harvest English Institute, but I completed my course successfully, with 80.11% attendance, meeting the requirements for F-1 visa compliance. I sent them a letter from the Designated School Official that said I had completed the full course of study and was in good standing when transferring to another school.

3. Misinterpretation of Grades:​

USCIS also said I failed a course because of a final grade of 50.99, but that grade was low because I transferred early, and the school made a grade report for the whole course. My actual grades during the course were 86 and 80, both passing. The transcript also showed this, but the officer chose whatever they wanted to justify their decision. Even if my grades were low, this does not change my status. Even if I get low grades, no rule in F-1 regulation says that I need to get good grades.

4. Bar to Adjustment of Status:​

Finally, they said I was barred from adjusting status under INA 245(c), but that’s incorrect since I’ve always maintained lawful status.
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Oh no! This is so melancholic. I had you in my thoughts even during my own interview when my IO asked if I was maintaining status after filing AOS. I hope you guys are doing okay.
 
selbi said:
Hello,
Can having F in some courses and low than 70% attendance in the middle of the term be problem?
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Your name tells me you are from post soviet country as well. Probably, the issue with your application is name check. I had a chance to talk with officer taking care of my case. He mentioned me that because we had wars in the region and because we are from post soviet country with the surname ending with -ov/-eva (russian ending), they probably do a more thorough check than normal on us. So probably we will not get it given the tight deadline
 
sisagov said:
Your name tells me you are from post soviet country as well. Probably, the issue with your application is name check. I had a chance to talk with officer taking care of my case. He mentioned me that because we had wars in the region and because we are from post soviet country with the surname ending with -ov/-eva (russian ending), they probably do a more thorough check than normal on us. So probably we will not get it given the tight deadline
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Yes, I am from soviet country, but because @Plus19 mentioned about grade and attendace, I just wanted to know if it can affect the decision.
 
selbi said:
Hello,
Can having F in some courses and low than 70% attendance in the middle of the term be problem?
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Grades wouldn’t have any impact on the adjudication process as far as i know. The IO didn’t even look at my transcripts just to give u a peace of mind.
 
selbi said:
Hello,
Can having F in some courses and low than 70% attendance in the middle of the term be problem?
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School grade review is typically not part of the adjudication process, and I believe school transcript is not even listed as part of the document for inclusion in the AOS package as a matter of fact.
 
sisagov said:
Your name tells me you are from post soviet country as well. Probably, the issue with your application is name check. I had a chance to talk with officer taking care of my case. He mentioned me that because we had wars in the region and because we are from post soviet country with the surname ending with -ov/-eva (russian ending), they probably do a more thorough check than normal on us. So probably we will not get it given the tight deadline
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That is correct, unfortunately. Selectees from post Soviet Union, Russia, Iran, Syria, to name a couple of countries, tend to be subjected to prolonged background checks more often than not.
 
thisistanya said:
Hi! I had my interview on August 12th at the Miami Field Office. The officer mentioned that everything looked good and told me to contact USCIS if I didn't hear anything within 30 days. However, I haven’t received any updates on my case status since my biometrics on June 16th. My EAD expired on September 3rd, and I’ve been on unpaid leave from my job since August 12th.
Here’s what I’ve done so far:
  1. I’ve spoken to a Tier 2 officer twice, and both times my expedite request due to severe financial loss was denied. My Infopass appointments were also unsuccessful for the same reason—no evidence supporting expedite or Infopass.
  2. My employer, who is also a lawyer (I work in a legal field), wrote a very supportive letter asking for an expedite due to the severe financial impact on both me and the company. I sent this letter to a congressperson, a senator, the Miami Field Office, and the White House.
  3. I submitted inquiries to the senator, congressperson, and the White House.
  4. Based on advice from @Joy_76 (thank you!), I submitted an inquiry to schedule an Infopass appointment based on Emergecny Parol.
Results:
  • I met in person with a caseworker from the congressperson's office, as they hadn’t been responding to my emails and calls. They submitted my employer’s letter to USCIS and told me to wait for a response.
  • The White House responded that they’ve received my inquiry and forwarded it to USCIS.
  • Infopass advised me to submit expedite request.
  • I called USCIS today, and my Tier 2 expedite request was denied once again.
At this point, I’m really frustrated. It’s been over a month since my interview, and I still haven’t received any updates. If anyone has any suggestions on what more I can do, I’d really appreciate it.
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Hi all,

I’m excited to finally share some good news – my case has been approved, and my card is being produced!

A special thank you to @Sm1smom! There are no words to express how thankful I am for your help. This forum has been invaluable, and I truly wouldn’t have made it through this process without all the support, advice, and shared experiences from you and others.

An interesting thing happened: my case was approved on September 18th, but on September 25th, I received a call from the Congress office regarding the inquiry I had submitted earlier. They said USCIS got back to them, stating that my background check was still pending. I’m not sure if it just took USCIS a long time to respond to Congress, but as of the 25th, the caseworker mentioned my background check was incomplete.

Regardless, my case is now approved! For those following the timeline spreadsheet, my case is listed there. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions—I’ll be checking the forum for a while, as this has been my daily read throughout the year.

Thank you again, everyone, and fingers crossed for those still waiting. Wishing you all the best!
 
thisistanya said:
Hi all,

I’m excited to finally share some good news – my case has been approved, and my card is being produced!

A special thank you to @Sm1smom! There are no words to express how thankful I am for your help. This forum has been invaluable, and I truly wouldn’t have made it through this process without all the support, advice, and shared experiences from you and others.

An interesting thing happened: my case was approved on September 18th, but on September 25th, I received a call from the Congress office regarding the inquiry I had submitted earlier. They said USCIS got back to them, stating that my background check was still pending. I’m not sure if it just took USCIS a long time to respond to Congress, but as of the 25th, the caseworker mentioned my background check was incomplete.

Regardless, my case is now approved! For those following the timeline spreadsheet, my case is listed there. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions—I’ll be checking the forum for a while, as this has been my daily read throughout the year.

Thank you again, everyone, and fingers crossed for those still waiting. Wishing you all the best!
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Fantastic. Congratulations :)
 
Hi @Sm1smom , I just wanted to share another worst scenario for my case, as I've informed before I received 3(should have 4) NOA via text message after a long time( 45 days). And when I checked with the bank my child's cashier's check was not cashed out and I thought his case is still in the process. Guess what ? I just received(9/20, evening) NOA on my mailbox stating that MY case was rejected due to wrong fee($950). What a surprise ? How that could would happen ?
1) My package took so long to be processed, and HOW my cashier's check and my kid's check might switched by chance or what(Since every check had the name on it) ? Even this happened by any chance how my kids i485 was processed with the correct fee of $1440. And at this point I gave up completely and NO hope for me.

Good luck for all who are still in HOPE !


PS: I still didn't receive the NOA for my derivatives at least
 
asoliev said:
processed
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asoliev said:
Hi @Sm1smom , I just wanted to share another worst scenario for my case, as I've informed before I received 3(should have 4) NOA via text message after a long time( 45 days). And when I checked with the bank my child's cashier's check was not cashed out and I thought his case is still in the process. Guess what ? I just received(9/20, evening) NOA on my mailbox stating that MY case was rejected due to wrong fee($950). What a surprise ? How that could would happen ?
1) My package took so long to be processed, and HOW my cashier's check and my kid's check might switched by chance or what(Since every check had the name on it) ? Even this happened by any chance how my kids i485 was processed with the correct fee of $1440. And at this point I gave up completely and NO hope for me.

Good luck for all who are still in HOPE !


PS: I still didn't receive the NOA for my derivatives at least
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And I was just wondering is it normal the derivative's file to be accepted eventhoug the main applicant gets rejected ?
 
I have a semi-positive news lol. I got an email from USCIS saying that they forwarded my expedite request to the local field office. Let’s hope some kind soul looks at it and help adjudicate the case before the program ends.
 
asoliev said:
Hi @Sm1smom , I just wanted to share another worst scenario for my case, as I've informed before I received 3(should have 4) NOA via text message after a long time( 45 days). And when I checked with the bank my child's cashier's check was not cashed out and I thought his case is still in the process. Guess what ? I just received(9/20, evening) NOA on my mailbox stating that MY case was rejected due to wrong fee($950). What a surprise ? How that could would happen ?
1) My package took so long to be processed, and HOW my cashier's check and my kid's check might switched by chance or what(Since every check had the name on it) ? Even this happened by any chance how my kids i485 was processed with the correct fee of $1440. And at this point I gave up completely and NO hope for me.

Good luck for all who are still in HOPE !


PS: I still didn't receive the NOA for my derivatives at least
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Oh no! This is so messed up. I'm so sorry. Not sure what's going on with your case. How old are your kids by the way?

asoliev said:
And I was just wondering is it normal the derivative's file to be accepted eventhoug the main applicant gets rejected ?
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Yes that is possible. Derivative's file could be accepted ahead of the main applicant's. The derivative's case however will not be approved ahead of the main applicant's (except for one or two instances which I vaguely remember the IO approving the derivative's case while the main applicant's was still pending).
 
Sm1smom said:
How long it takes to clear the background check is specific to each applicant - it depends on what your initial check reveals.

At this point, I suggest you make a walk-in attempt at your FO to explain your situation and hope the guards allow you into the FO to talk to someone knowledgeable.
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Thank you, my case is at the National Benefits center, and I am in San Diego. But I am gonna try to go in tomorrow anyways and see if any of the officers can help me out.
 
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