the signed rent agreeent was a red flag for me, of course could have signed before when on the visa exempt but sounds unlikely as no guarantee of long term stay at that point ( unless hoping for successful back to back border runs every 60-90 days ).
these days with alot of luck and persistence or agent ! I got mine early last year just as they tightened the rules so was fortunate. You can obviously search the topic in the group home page for past posts.