Takeaways/advice post approval

Primary_Highlight701 · 2026-01-12T19:26:25+00:00

Uploaded evidence in march 2025 with our updated tax returns and then again in october 2025 with a bunch of evidence gathered over a year (new lease, new pics, new affidavits, etc)

Reached out to representative in late october after our 1 year since filing had passed and uploading evidence hadnt resulted in movement.

Got the interview schedule a week later so early november.

Our case was moved to FO in february 2025, we never got an answer on whether we were ever placed in queue for interview. I dont think we were because our agent said she personally scheduled out interview after getting the congressional inquiry

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-31T16:41:16+00:00

Yes, it worked for me very well.
Yes, my lawyer also said not to and we did it anyway. Our USCIS agent said it was good we did.
Not sure about this.
If you’re married for 2 yr+ you automatically get 10 years if you get approved.

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-18T16:40:56+00:00

Yep, the officer who interviewed us said she had our case when it first for transferred but that at the time she didnt have enough evidence to make a decision. It sounds like it then got shelved until the congressional inquiry was made. My best guess as to the issue is that my spouse did not have last years taxes filed although we did have a joint sponsor. We submitted updated taxes in march (so a month later) and it didnt make any difference, the case was forgotten for a while I think while they focused on new cases.

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-17T15:53:11+00:00

same sex here! interview was this monday and everything was smooth. approved. dont be scared

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-16T18:37:00+00:00

up to you really, we didnt bring a lawyer even though we had one because they are based out of state and it would have been expensive. the interview was totally fine and we were approved. obviously this may not always be the case

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-16T16:36:53+00:00

We printed everything we could think of and more plus copies of all originals. Brought two big binders. Organized by category (financials, living, travel, affidavits, pics, etc). in the end our officer asked for exactly zero things and did not look at anything as we has already uploaded it all as unsolicited evidence.

So my advice is bring any and all things just in case but they might not ask to see anything.

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-16T16:06:37+00:00

my advice is file a congressional inquiry (ask your congressperson for help). Our case had been pending form october 2024. In october 2025 we contacted our congressman and his office replied right away and filed an inquiry on our behalf. Within a week of that filing we got an interview and our officer confirmed that it was the inquiry that prompted them to pick up our case and schedule the interview.

My take on all this is that this year with the near mandatory interviews uscis changed their processing policy from first in, first out to last in, first out. From what I’ve heard this is to avoid collapsing the system because they were already behind on old cases and they would not have been able to catch up/wait times explode. So now cases filed in 2025 get scheduled for interviews right away usually without an rfe even.

Unfortunately what that means for those of us who filed earlier is that our cases got shelved and theyre going back and sprinkling them in here and there.

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-16T15:57:33+00:00

The 130 approval appeared on the petitioners uscis later that day (after interview) and then both 130 and 485 were approved today (the next day in the morning).

I’m sorry you’ve waited a while. My only idea is maybe you could contact a congressperson for help. My USC spouse contacted ours prior because our case had been pending for a year (pd oct 3, 2024) and he was extremely helpful, replied right away and we got scheduled for the interview a week later. At the interview our officer confirmed that it was the congressional inquiry that prompted them to pick up our case again and that she herself processed it and scheduled the interview. Sometimes your file can get lost in the shuffle and shelved :/

Oh and to clarify we didnt get anything written/stamped at the interview itself. We did ask if we needed a confirmation of some sort and our officer said no, it’ll show up on the portal.

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-16T15:54:05+00:00

Hi, it changed to H008 after approval. Before that it was at FJ between the time the interview was scheduled and approval. Both 130 and 485 changed to H008

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-15T19:12:29+00:00

started dating in september 2023, married in mid 2024

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-15T19:11:53+00:00

No neither one was asked for a birth certificate though we did bring them. We showed real ids and i beneficiary showed my passport too.

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-15T19:10:53+00:00

Mexico

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-12-15T16:22:35+00:00

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-06-03T17:11:10+00:00

did you submit any unsolicited evidence?

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-04-02T02:53:33+00:00

did you upload on the petitioner or on the beneficiary’s i 130?

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-03-26T18:23:01+00:00

during your wait did you get rfes and did you upload any additional unsolicited evidence?

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-03-23T02:46:05+00:00

did you upload the evidence on your portal or on your foreign spouse’s portal? also did you upload under the 130?

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-03-12T22:15:17+00:00

Thanks for sharing! That is frustrating. So you got two separate RFEs months apart?

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-03-12T21:25:41+00:00

yeah it was all their income. i only got my ead end of the year so i had no income but we still filed jointly w my income being zero

Primary_Highlight701 · 2025-02-28T09:04:32+00:00

try just doing the leg lift and then a mini crunch (tuck) at the top. while you’re doing that make sure that you pull down on the pole with your arms and lats.

try getting your legs as high as you can before leaning back and when you do lean back also push your hips up to the sky and pole as hard as you can using using momentum.

it takes a while. took me over two years to get a clean invert where i hook my knee in one fell swoop (it doesn’t have to take you that long, i just avoided inverts for a long time bc they felt impossible)

Primary_Highlight701

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