technolog

I received a letter from USCIS yesterday. It said they'd identified my case as one likely to get an interview waiver. That was the good news. The bad news was that they said my case was likely to be delayed for a further 6 months due to a backlog.

It's not much of a problem other than we've been told that I need my green card before we can apply for a mortgage, which in turn means we have to lodge with the in-laws for 6 months longer than we'd hoped would be necessary. We're going to try to find somewhere to rent that will accept our two Labradors and doesn't want a minimum rental period of a year.

RICH

I don't think you "need" a green card to get a mortgage, but a GC will likely make it easier and possibly cheaper to get one, assuming your US wife can't swing the loan on her own. (My ex did - I think I had the GC by then, but lack of credit history made it best for her to do the loan herself).

ian-mstm

As long as you're not paying in advance for the entire period, what does it matter if the rental is for a year? Leave when you need to, and let the landlord sue you for the difference. My guess - it'll cost more to sue you than he'll collect - so he'll be disinclined to pursue action. It's a common scenario.

Ian

augigi

You don't need a greencard to get a mortgage. I got one while on E-3 visa.

technolog

It seems you were correct RICH and augigi. We got a mortgage too and the green card is still a few months away.

We got a 15-year fixed rate mortgage, fixed at 3.0% which appears to be really good. We got the mortgage in both names but we only had to take my salary into account to qualify. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to get a mortgage so soon as most things I'd read on here prior to the move led me to believe it would probably be two or three years before we would establish sufficient credit history.

technolog

I got a notice from USCIS today that my green card had been ordered.

It also contained the following: 'On May 30, 2015, we registered your permanent resident status and mailed you a Welcome Notice for Receipt Number MSC**********. Please follow the instructions in the notice. Your new permanent resident card should arrive by July 29, 2015, after this registration or after you complete any ADIT processing referred to in the welcome notice, whichever is later.'

Googling 'ADIT processing' tells me it's extra processing that's only necessary if there's a problem with your documentation such as passport photos or fingerprints.

Any idea what the instructions are likely to say?

technolog

I received my green card in the mail on June 8th. There were no further instructions to follow so the next step will be applying to remove the conditional status 90 days before the expiry date of May 30th 2017.

Noorah101

Within the 90 day window just prior to expiration, yes.

Rene

ian-mstm

Excellent! Get a magnifying glass and take a look at all the neat things etched into the card!

Ian