My AOS experience
Even though we were married in Ocrober 1999, we didn't file for my green card until December.

It took quite some time to gather all the information, to fill out all the forms and get ready to mail the whole package.

See the
contents of my AOS package.

We live in Maryland. Usually I-130/I-485 petitions are filed with local INS office. But Baltimore, Maryland office stopped accepting them recently, and so we had to file through Vermont Service Center.

12/9/1999 - We mailed the package with overnight mail

12/30/1999 - receipt date

1/6/2000 - checks are cashed (all 4 of them: I-130, I-485, EAD, and fingerprinting)

1/7/2000 - NOAs rceived  (three: for I-130, for I-485 and for EAD)

2/18/2000 - Validity date on my EAD

3/19/2000 - My EAD was actually mailed

3/22/2000 - My EAD arrived in the mail

6/14/2000 - Still nothing new... According to VSC phone system, it takes 100-130 days for I-130 and 90-180 days for I-485

6/28/2000 - Still nothing new... VSC phone system has still the same message. Talked to an INS representative, who said that the numbers on the automated system are not accurate: accually it takes
480 - 640 days for I-485! I told him to tell his boss to update the automated system. He said they can't update it without the approval from congres...

7/19/2000 - Still nothing from VSC. I'm going to Europe in August, and I was hoping (silly me...) that I'd be done by then. Now I need advance parole. Applied for
advance parole in Baltimore. Asked an INS officer, how long the process through VSC is. She said: 22 months.

7/21/2000 - Picked up advance parole. Talked to a INS officer about the process. She said I made a mistake not mailing the medical with my application. She said this will prolong my application.

I asked about the validity of medical (normally 1 year) when the process takes 22 months. The INS officer said that the medical stays valid if submitted with application, because the delay is INS's fault.

8/1/2000 - First day at the new job (I used my EAD to change jobs). Now I'm not in H1 status any more...

August 2000 - Travelled to Europe and returned using AP (advance parole). When I showed the AP to the officer at the point of entry, they sent me to "secondary inspection" to another room. I had to wait for a while. I was a little worried about it, but then, it was nothing special. Another officer there looked at my AP and stamped and stapled the I-94 into my passport. That makes me a "parolee". This status gives me much less rights than any status you get when entering US with a visa. But we're hoping for the best.

December 2000 - I realized that my EAD is about to expire in less than 3 months. I mailed the application for EAD renewal. That's a little reckless, since Vermont can sometimes be pretty slow about EADs. By law they are required to process it in 3 months - but that doesn't include the time they need to open your mail (3-4 weeks) and time they need to print the card after they have approved your application (about 1 month). So
it can take almost 5 months if you're unlucky and they are very busy.

January 2001 - My boss told me they have to fire me if my work permit expires.

January 2001 - We received a letter from Vermont telling us that the preliminary processing has been completed and our application has been forwarded to Baltimore for the interview.

Jan/Feb 2001 - I'm panicking. I called several immigration lawyers in Baltimore and in Vermont, asking if they could do something to either speed up the new EAD or the greed card process. A Baltimore based lawyer Mary Berlin got us an interview on February 7th, when they had a cancellation.
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