British Expats - Green Card Arrived - Milwaukee AOS timeline

Hello,

I'm pretty happy today as I got my Permanent Resident card in the mail. :)

Just thought I'd share our timeline for anyone else filing AOS through Milwaukee:

20th August 2001 - We were married.

24th August 2001 - Went to the court house, in the county where we were married, and got a certified copy of our marriage certificate from the register of deeds. This cost us $7 for the first copy and $2 for each additional copy.

25th August 2001 - We sent our forms to the Milwaukee office.

28th August 2001 - Received the return receipt in the mail. Our forms were delivered yesterday.

30th August 2001 - Received a letter and a cash register receipt for $245 from the INS. The letter states that there is currently a 6 month wait for interviews and that we will receive a notice for our appointment two weeks to a month before the interview date.

1st September 2001 - Got more mail from the INS - a fingerprint scheduling notice. I have to go to Milwaukee on September 17th. They do give you some options if you can't make it but they also give a deadline - December 13th - by which my application will be denied and terminated if I'm not fingerprinted by then.

An applicant information worksheet is also included, with a few basic details required, including race, height, weight, hair and eye colour.

17th September 2001 - Went to Milwaukee for fingerprinting.

29th October 2001 - Mail from the INS - our interview appoinment letter. Our interview is on the 26th of November - only 3 months after we got married and a lot sooner than predicted.

26th November 2001 - Today was our AOS interview. You can read about our unsuccessful experience here: http://www.geocities.com/ben_jennie/Frames/aosmain.html

1st December 2001 - Sent our I-865 affidavit of support & tax returns and our co-sponsor's I-865, tax returns & letter of employemnt to the INS with the letter that we were given at the interview.

20th December 2001 - My application for status as permanent resident has been approved. Yey. The letter actually came on December 29th but the approval date was exactly 4 months after our wedding. My green card is estimated to take 6-12 months to arrive in the mail.</p>

30th May 2002 - Went to the Milwaukee INS to get the I-551 stamp in my passport.

26th June 2002 - Received a Welcome Letter from the Nebraska Service Center, confirming the creation of a "record of lawful permanent residence" in my name.

11th July 2002 - Received a second identical Welcome Letter - I have no clue why.

15th July 2002 - Received Permanent Resident Card in the mail. It was in a plain white indistinct envelope. It comes with a little paper envelope to carry it in and protect the back of it from my fingerprints I think - it has a special mirrored surface.

You can read more details about our AOS process here: http://www.geocities.com/ben_jennie/Frames/aosmain.html

take care, Jennie :)