Waiting on interview notice, vacation in India, might miss the interview

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liveundead

Registered Users (C)
Hi guys,

I applied for AOS based on my wife's citizenship , receipts dated July 28. I have got my advance payroll and EAD, dated September 28. I went for my finger printing for my i-485 on Nov 18th 2005. My wife is on vacation in India till Feb 15th and I will be joining her in Dec and returning earlier by Jan 15th.

Questions:

1. How long does it take for an interview letter to come after being finger printed for i-485 ? (Applied in NEW YORK)
2. I have two copies of Advance payroll, do I take both with me ? Are they (immigration here in teh US) going to keep the originals on my way back?
3. Since I will be on vacation and my mail will be on hold at the post office, what if I miss the interview date ? What should i do ? Should I call and tell them that I would be away and schedule the interview when both me and my wife are back, that is after feb 15th? Or when I come back an find the interview notice date already passed, then should I call them and explain the situation ? Any other options ?
4. Missing an interview call without asking for re-scheduling mean abandoning my case ?

Thanks for all your help.
 
liveundead said:
Hi guys,

I applied for AOS based on my wife's citizenship , receipts dated July 28. I have got my advance payroll and EAD, dated September 28. I went for my finger printing for my i-485 on Nov 18th 2005. My wife is on vacation in India till Feb 15th and I will be joining her in Dec and returning earlier by Jan 15th.

Questions:

1. How long does it take for an interview letter to come after being finger printed for i-485 ? (Applied in NEW YORK)
2. I have two copies of Advance payroll, do I take both with me ? Are they (immigration here in teh US) going to keep the originals on my way back?
3. Since I will be on vacation and my mail will be on hold at the post office, what if I miss the interview date ? What should i do ? Should I call and tell them that I would be away and schedule the interview when both me and my wife are back, that is after feb 15th? Or when I come back an find the interview notice date already passed, then should I call them and explain the situation ? Any other options ?
4. Missing an interview call without asking for re-scheduling mean abandoning my case ?

Thanks for all your help.
Click to expand...


It depends on how long your vacation is for. Some people get the interview notice before 3 weeks and some get it before 60 days. You should ask someone to check your mail if you are taking a long vacation. This way you can be prepared to come early or to call USCIS and ask them to postpone your interview. Missing an interview is considered as abandonment of your GC and you have to file a MTR to re-open the case. In my opinion, you should call USCIS and ask them what the correct procedure is.

One sheet of the AP would be retained by the officer at the POE and the other copy would be stamped. You should use the stamped copy everytime you use it for travel.
 
Thank so much. I know the excat dates of my travel and coming back, I guess I could call up USCIS and ask them in advance to schedule it after Feb 15th.

The interview requires for both of of us to be there, so I guess the interview has to be scheduled after 15th Feb.

Never called up USCIS before hmm, lets see how it goes.
 
“How long does it take for an interview letter to come after being finger printed for i-485 ? (Applied in NEW YORK)”

Nobody can tell you the definite answer to this question, not even people who work for USCIS. Each case is different and unique. And I’m sure you don’t want to mess up your case based upon speculations. So obviously, you should not try to get the idea on this based upon other people’s cases.


“I have two copies of Advance payroll, do I take both with me ?”

It is up to you whether do you want to take both copies of it or take it with you only one of them. If you ask me, then you should take both copies of it. Keep both separate places, so that if you loose one of them then you have another one to return back. Anyway, INS always issues two copies of it. Sometimes even 3 copies.


“Are they (immigration here in teh US) going to keep the originals on my way back?”

US Immigration officers at the airport won’t keep any copy or original of Advance Parole upon your return from abroad. Instead, they will just stamp it when you would arrive back. And they will stamp the same kind of stamp on your passport as well. Airline agent might like to see your advance parole at the time of leaving the country if you would have return ticket and no green card because airlines usually ask people how you would be returned back if you would have a return ticket.


“Since I will be on vacation and my mail will be on hold at the post office, what if I miss the interview date ?”

Too bad then. Because if you DON’T want to miss the interview date then you would need to postpone your vacation no matter how important/emergent it would be, or you would need to find another way to take care of your mail. Otherwise, there is no way around.


“What should i do ?”

You would need to make sure that you wouldn’t miss a letter from INS. For that, not only you need someone who will check your mail at the post office box, but also you need to give your mail key at home for that person to keep eyes on your mail from INS. Because, many times postal service does deliver the mail at home despite of having request to hold it at post office or alternate address. If this would happen, then you will be in trouble and not anyone else. You cannot blame anyone after this once damage would already been done. If I were you, I would ask a reliable person to keep eyes on my mail. Thus, I will give the keys of my house mailbox and postal mailbox as well. Because I won’t take any chance.

“Should I call and tell them that I would be away and schedule the interview when both me and my wife are back, that is after feb 15th?

I can bet you my life that INS wouldn’t give the damn about request even if you call them or write them thru a certified mail about scheduling your interview after you guys would return. You are not a VIP or someone special for them to accommodate you as per your request. Nor INS gives the damn about this kind of request, especially when they don’t even know when they will schedule you. If you contact INS, they might say thing that you want to hear out, but you would make a biggest mistake of your life if you would trust INS people on this. I’m telling you all this based upon my insight knowledge. Further, I’ve family member who is an adjudication officer and I myself practiced immigration laws.


“Or when I come back an find the interview notice date already passed, then should I call them and explain the situation ?”

If you won’t show up at interview (for whatever reason), your case would be administratively closed. You would have up to one year to make a request to reopen it thru a motion. But you would need to give a reasonable reason why you were not able to attend the interview; otherwise your motion to reopen it would be denied, especially when INS doesn’t like when people don’t show at interview as it wastes their time and sources. If they would know in advance that you won’t show up at interview, they would fix an interview date for someone else. Explaining them about trip and mail problem won’t make your motion to be granted because it is a lame excuse. Besides, it is people’s responsibilities to make sure they receive mails from INS, so obviously it is not the responsibility of INS.


“Missing an interview call without asking for re-scheduling mean abandoning my case ?”

Yes. In addition, it means- denial of your case, which also means denial letter would also ask you-[1] to depart the United States, [2] otherwise INS would detain you and start a deportation proceeding against you.
 
Thanks for all the help, I will ask one of my friends to check my mail twice a week. I have another question, going through the timelines of people who applid AOS based on a citizen spouse, it looks like after the interview notice is received, one usually has about 3 months before the actual interview.

So do I have to send anything or respond after I get the interview notice ? If not then I think I should be ok. Wife would be back Feb 15th, so if the interview notice comes in dec 2005, I should be able to make it.
 
Again, you CANNOT assume anything based upon other people's case or the timeframe of their case. So obviously, you cannot presume that you would also get an interview letter 90 days prior to your interview. However, by law-INS must have to give you at least 2 weeks notice in advance for your interview.

After receiving an interview letter if you think you won't be able to attend the interview for whatever reason, then you must write to local INS office as soon as possible after receiving interview letter to reschedule your interview. You would need to attach a copy of interview letter with your request. But don't forget that requesting for rescheduling might delay your case for many months.
 
I have noticed that on the notice ofr Fp there is usually a section on the notice itself that you can use to re-schedule.

Will there be a re-scheduling section on the interview notice ? Or i would have to write to them a separate letter along to re-schedule ?
 
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