Third AOS interview..help

[bennard]

I am married to an USC and filed my 485 in Virginia in 2004 through a lawyer. We then received an interview date, but my job moved us to NJ. We cancelled our interview and our case was transferred to Newark.

We were called for an interview at Newark Dec 2004. The interviewer asked around 10 questions and said he was not satisfied and he rescheduled the interview. We answered most of questions right, but he was not satisfied.

We got a rescheduled interview for Sept 2005. We went prepared with all the documents and did pretty well in answering all questions. The interviewed us separately and asked my wife if she wanted to withdraw her petition, which she refused.

We did not hear from the USCIS for 6 months, so I approaced our congress person according to my lawyers advice. I received a letter from the congress person after a month that stated that we had requested the USCIS to reschedule our interview as our lawyer was not present and that we did not have all the required documents. This was total BS, we never said that, and we had all the documents but were never asked for them.

I called the congressperson and told them that it was not true. He then contacted the USCIS and sent me a letter a month later that I was going to be sent a notice for an interview by the USCIS.

Last week I received a notice to come to the Newark office for another AOS interview. I am really worried. This time I have to prepare well and answer all the questions right.

Does anyone have any idea what happens on a third AOS interview? Can anyone point me to a list of previous interview questions so I can brush up?

I really thought that if you are truly married you didnt have to prepare. But noooo.

[payala]

If you don't mind me asking...
you said you answered most questions right...which ones did you answer wrong? I keep telling my husband that we shouldn't even worry about the interview since we're not lying and we're a real couple but maybe we need some extra preparation.

[a_usc]

When is your next interview scheduled for? Check out stuff in this thread. You will find not only the links to the interviews of various people, but also a very useful attached document called 'InterviewFAQ.doc', besides other tips/guidelines for preparing for your interview. Hope this will help.

I would add my name too to Payal's request - can you pl share your earlier interview experience, esp the part which you think you didn't do well or the questions to which you think you might not have answered correctly.

Thanks & good luck with your interview.

[anigma27]

Looks like I better not transfer my case to Newark but stay in NY. Good Luck. I am trying to schedule my second interview now...

[bennard]

I had bad first interview experience. Our interview was at 11 am but were called in at 3:15pm. We were interviewed by this old man who was not friendly. He did not greet us, smile or offer a seat. We just stood there for a while and then he started asking questions. We just had to seat ourselves.

The questions I we could answer were.

1. Asked my wife what the birthdate of her father-in-law was? (she has never met my dad as he in South Africa)

2. Asked my wife what the birthdate of her mother-in-law was? (she has never met my mother either)

3. Asked me where my wife lived before we got married. I answered that one. He then asked where she lived before that (that was before I met her), I told him the name of the town, but he wanted the exact address.

All the other questions we answered right. We were not asked for any proof of relationship, no photos… even though we had everything with us, just our IDs as soon as we entered the room.

After about 10 questions, he just typed on his keyboard and printed a document that said that the interview was rescheduled. It was all over in 5 minutes.

My next interview is on May 8th (my wife’s birthday

[bennard]

Sorry, those were the question we could not answer right

[hogwart4]

Sorry, those were the question we could not answer right

well yeah, if she havent met your parents..why would she remember their birthdays...

[icman]

That's foolish. These questions are foolish. I don't carry in my head even the birthdate of my own parents, for me to recollect, if I knew it in the first place, the birth date of my mother and father in law.

You should ask your lawyer to file a lawsuit against the USCIS for asking questions that has nothing to do with your petition, and for asking your wife to withdraw her petition. These questions are ridiculous. If I were to be asked this kind of questions, I would fire back at him/her with criticizim. Man...I can't believe it!!!

[cherr1980]

First of all, you can't file a lawsuit because you think that those questions were out of line when anyway has to do with your spouse family. Yes, ask about their in-laws birthdate can be quite absurd. But if you have read over the internet and even the .doc link on Ari's thread many things around an interview could come up. The officer has the right to ask for the petitioner to withdraw the petition when they consider that there is something that do not satisfy them to approve the beneficiary instead of denied it, even you can consider that is not fair or bs. To ask for the withdrawal of the petition is part of the procedure, like it or not.

It is true that even meeting your in-laws before their birthday can be irrelevant (I know and love my father in law but I don't recall his birthday though I do remember where he lives and how to get there) anyway...every officer is different. There has to be something that in their case that trigger that situation or that type of questions.

If you can give us how you met and what are the circumstances surrounding your marriage probably there is something that we can help you out. When you answer a question that you do not know the exact answer but part of it, try to add things like: "well, we haven't be able to travel to South Africa yet so I haven't meet his/her parents yet but I know that they are in their 60's"...if he does not like it at least you answer somewhat about it. That is my opinion.

Probably in 2004 things were more strict I don't know but I do recall in a website there were experiences between 2000-2004 and everybody had very though questions.

[token_ranger]

you know if i was an interviewer and i was asking the questions, i would be suspicious if they answered them correctly
kind of indicative of someone overpreparing a little.
I barely remember my wifes name sometimes my memory is so bad.
I remember the important stuff, like our anniversary and the memories we have together. thats all that really matters to me.

[bennard]

Thanks for the link a_usc, the sample interview questions would have definitely helped me before the interview. I wish I had found this forum earlier.

We are getting prepared for the worst in our next interview. The last interviewer suggested to my wife that our case might be sent to the immigration court (never heard of that). But later they sent us an interview notice (May 8).

As we were not succesfull on the first interview, the second one was real bad. we were separated and interviewed (actually interogated). There was one interviewer (Mr.Sinha) and another young lady observing (may be a trainee) We did very well on the second interview, but got two questions wrong.

He asked my wife what she gave me on my birthday. She was right.
But I got it wrong (my birthday is two days after valentines day, so I had received two gifts from her). The interview was in Sept, and I got the gifts mixed up. "I dont remember" would not have been the right anwer either, guess I got nervous.

The second questions was about what we did on Newyears eve. I told them that we stayed at home (she worked during the day and came home late) and made dinner and two of my neighbors joined us. My wife forgot about the neigbors and told them that we stayed at home and had dinner and watced the ball roll on TV.

I guess now we have to sit and discuss every possible questions and what the answers should be, so we both get the exact same answers.

I am also getting together a whole bunch of documents to prove our relationship. we have been married together for 2 years and 4 months now, but were married for less than 2 years ( 1 year and 9 months) when we attended the interview.
We lived together for year before we got married, so we thought we could answer all questions without preparing. Guess I am wrong.

As I transferred from Virginia, my lawyer (from Richmond) was not able to attend the interview with us. 60% of all interview couples had their lawyers present for the interview.

Maybe I should find a good immigration lawyer in NJ if we are not successfull on our next interview.

Any tips or trick questions asked at the Newark office would be highly appreciated.

[icman]

This is insane. I don't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday for me to remember what I have recieved on my last birthday from my wife. We have been together for over 4 years now, and the very exciting moments where at the begining of our marraige. Things get a little cold and those birthday, valentine, new years eve, christmas, holidays, etc. are to not significant for me to remember.

They should ask things related to the daily lives and not some things that are more than 4 months old. I have bad memory, but my wife as memory as good as the hardisk on computers.

Now, how about that?!!

[payala]

I had bad first interview experience. Our interview was at 11 am but were called in at 3:15pm. We were interviewed by this old man who was not friendly. He did not greet us, smile or offer a seat. We just stood there for a while and then he started asking questions. We just had to seat ourselves.

The questions I we could answer were.

1. Asked my wife what the birthdate of her father-in-law was? (she has never met my dad as he in South Africa)

2. Asked my wife what the birthdate of her mother-in-law was? (she has never met my mother either)

3. Asked me where my wife lived before we got married. I answered that one. He then asked where she lived before that (that was before I met her), I told him the name of the town, but he wanted the exact address.

All the other questions we answered right. We were not asked for any proof of relationship, no photos… even though we had everything with us, just our IDs as soon as we entered the room.

After about 10 questions, he just typed on his keyboard and printed a document that said that the interview was rescheduled. It was all over in 5 minutes.

My next interview is on May 8th (my wife’s birthday

WOW, I've known my inlaws for 3 years now and I couldn't have answered those questions. I mean, I've always been at college so I remember my husband celebrating his mom's birthday...hmm maybe May? There's no way my husband knows my parents birthdays.

I don't think those were fair questions.

Thanks for posting them!
Goodluck in your next interview!

[payala]

WOW I don't remember what I gave or what my husband gave me for my last birthday. It was back in November. We celebrate both our birhtdays, plus our anniversary (dating) around the same time so we combine presents some years. In fact, I'm gonna call my husband right now to see if he remembers. I bet he doesn't remember...he's like icman...

[baltimore2006]

The questions for first interview seemed ridiculous, who can remember in-laws birthdates?! I do know those dates just becoz my mother-in-law is right next thanksgiving and my father-in-law's is connected to a family tragedy, but for other people, those dates are impossible to remember. My hubby didn't even remember my birthday this year!(He does know which month though

I would say if any couple can answer all questions right will seem too-well-prepared. Maybe INS officers don't think so. Maybe they should answer these questions to see how many THEY can get it right.

bennard, maybe one positive thing from the chain of stressful interviews is that you will get an unconditional card coz you are married for more than 2 years. Good luck.

[ari4u]

Everyone here is completely missing the point.
The names and birthdates of parents were filled in the G-325A and its only a matter of going through these dates before the interview to remember what was filled. It is not mandatory to meet a person in order to remember their birthdates. The officer only tries to check if you really know what you filled in the forms, since in the case of fraud marraiges, often these little details are conveniently forged.

It is a matter of being prepared for the interview, not a matter of remembering dates. If i had to remember the birthdate of my dog for the interview, i would do it to make sure i dont create complications for my own case. To those of you who read the InterviewFAQ, you would know the seriousness of the questions asked during the interview.

[ari4u]

That's foolish. These questions are foolish. I don't carry in my head even the birthdate of my own parents, for me to recollect, if I knew it in the first place, the birth date of my mother and father in law.

You should ask your lawyer to file a lawsuit against the USCIS for asking questions that has nothing to do with your petition, and for asking your wife to withdraw her petition. These questions are ridiculous. If I were to be asked this kind of questions, I would fire back at him/her with criticizim. Man...I can't believe it!!!

Remember, you are in the hot seat and you do what it takes to save your a$$. The officer can ask you anything he/she wants. The lawyer would probaly laugh his a$$ off hearing what you wrote in your post

Its time to get real. You filled all that information in the G-325A, so it is only a matter of knowing what is in your forms. period. It does not have anything to do with meeting people before knowing birth date. And please dont tell the officer that you dont remember your wife's name, it would be catastrophic. I dont think you read the InterviewFAQ, i suggest you give it a reading in your spare time.

[bennard]

I have a couple more questions for you experienced members.


Is there a thread for Newark DO experiences?

Are all the interviewers in Newark unfriendly? Has anyone had a good experience?

Is there a possibility that I could get the same interviewer for a second time?

Has anyone so far been called for a third interview at Newark if so how did it go?

Has anyone been sent to immigration court or was it just a threat?

Thanks.

[jenimmi]

Newark thread - but not a lot of updates, lately.
http://www.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=89831

Not a lot od detail, but you can see recent interview exp in Newark - "XYZ004"
http://www.immigrationportal.com/sho...ghlight=newark

[bennard]

I went to the Newark office yesterday for FPing for the renewal of my EAD.

I was surprised that there was no line and I could walk in, get my FPs taken and walk out in 5 minutes. The last year I was there for the same reason, the line was all the way from outside the building and up the stairs and into a rooom that was packed.

Have they changed something. How come they have become so efficient. The minute I walked in the room I was sent straight to the FP machine.
Awesome...

[bennard]

My wife and I attended the interview on May 8th. We took 5 huge folders of documents including medical/dental/vision insurance cards, both car titles in both our names, Joint YMCA, AAA and Costco cards, joint car loan papers, joint bank and credit card accounts etc, apartment lease papers for the last four years and all joint documents in the last 4 years (including the year we lived together before marriage). I had everything organized thanks to ari4u


The funny part was that the immigration officer announced our names over the PA system and asked us for all the supporting documents that we had brought, through the window. She then asked us both wait outside while she went over all our documents for nearly an hour. Then we were called in and interviewed separately for an hour each.

Long story short, on Friday I received an email that our I-485 and I-130 cases were approved. Today I also received an email that a new card had been mailed out. I think the long wait was worth the trouble as I should be getting a 10 year green card.

Some questions that I thought would be of interest to others

1. Does your spouse invest in a 401K. If so, which company handles it?
2. Does your spouse invest in stocks, if so whats the name of the broker?
3. Where does your spouse get his/her hair done.
4. Does your spouse have a student loan. If so how much?
5. Does your spouse own/finance or lease his/her car? If finance/lease, how much are the monthly payments.
6. How much exactly was your federal and state returns this year and did you get a check or a direct deposit for the amount?


Thanks for all your support.

[catus&stone]

It's really hard questions and I don't think a lot of people can answer 100% correctly including me. But do u think from 'waiting more than 4 hours for the interview schedule', 'angry old man' and 'the extremely difficult questions', those incident seems that they on proposely made the interview difficult.

[eddie_d]

Seems to me like all the information asked was part of the application and is valid for asking at the interview.

In-law birthdays: G325A
Previous addresses: G325A
Current / previous employment: I864 and G325A
Income / tax data: I864
Stocks / 401K/ broker: 864 (if you use assets as qualification criteria)

I think the moral of this story is make sure you know all the info you put on those forms inside and out before the interview.

[jenimmi]

A big Congrats, Bennard!

Wow.. Those seem to be very tough questions, you seem to have prepared well that you got approved inspite of questions set to "trap" you

Name of the stock broker and hair salor questions are a bit too much

[Addie_Goodvibes]

Seems to me like all the information asked was part of the application and is valid for asking at the interview.

In-law birthdays: G325A
Previous addresses: G325A
Current / previous employment: I864 and G325A
Income / tax data: I864
Stocks / 401K/ broker: 864 (if you use assets as qualification criteria)

I think the moral of this story is make sure you know all the info you put on those forms inside and out before the interview.

Good On Ye Eddie-
Hopefully before a person files I-130/I-485 I-864 ect. they make copies of everything. That way you have copies of the exact forms you submitted, all you have to do is go over those forms and be able to verify the info on the original forms you sent in to USCIS.

We copied everything in triplet! We have copies of all original forms and documents submitted. We plan on looking over them together the days before our interview. And in case we get any RFE's we have copies of all documents to send back.

It all comes down to the Bottom line of being prepared for the Most Urgent Important part of AOS applicants' and their families life.
How much would you prepare if you knew that your spouses future was on the line? NEWS FLASH; IT IS! That Interview is the most important interview you will ever encounter, Take it seriously, and not for granted!

Those who really do not understand the seriousness of this interview really should question if they really deserve GC if they are not doing everything they can and really being prepared. The USCIS officers are doing thier job it is up to the AOS petitionor to prove his/her case. Your marriage is NOT legit until you PROVE it is!

[nolillan]

Bennard where was your interview?, did he write anything on your passport (beneficiary's passport)?

[sarrebal]

Honestly, it sounds a little ridicolous. Just answer that you don't remember your in-laws birthdays.
I know some people that don't even remember their own parents' birthdays....
If you know it, it's great, if you don't just say you don't remember....

My wife doesn't remember my parents' birthdays, she just knows their zodiac signs.

And sitting there and studying in-laws place/date of birth is not a thing to do, IMO. College was over long time ago.

[sarrebal]

Wrong attitude. You have a month before your interview. I suggest you take that time to memorize the documents mentioned above if you want to ensure successful outcome. It's not about what you think or your opions - it's all up to the immigration officer.

I don't agree.
I don't agree with who puts too much emphasis on an interview. It is important of course. My wife and I know everything we wrote on the paperwork because it's the truth, not because we studied it very well. We have more than enough proof of a bona-fide marriage (including an overseas reception and at least some 10 trips we took together).
I do not honestly see why an officer should give us any kind of problem if my wife doesn't remember my mom's date of birth.

[eddie_d]

Guys,

You're looking at this the wrong way. It's not a test where if you get 80% you pass. Nobody expects anyone to remember every piece of detail of your husband/wife's life.

What they are looking for is a general feel.

Scenario A;
What is your mother' in -law's bday? Don't Know. Do you know her name? No? Hmmm Do you at least know where she lives? No? Hmmm this looks a little suspicious.

As opposed to:

Scenario B:
Do you know your mother in-law's b-day? No. Ok how about here name. Mary. And where does she live. New York. OK moving on to something else.

You see the difference? In both cases you don't know your mother-in-law's b-day. But in scenario B that doesn't matter. It's not about knowing 100% of your wife/husband's life history. It's about knowing what a normal married couple should now about themselves. I would guess that 95% of husbands at least know the name and city of residence of their mother-in-law and it is a very valid question at an interview.

[sarrebal]

Guys,

You're looking at this the wrong way. It's not a test where if you get 80% you pass. Nobody expects anyone to remember every piece of detail of your husband/wife's life.

What they are looking for is a general feel.

Scenario A;
What is your mother' in -law's bday? Don't Know. Do you know her name? No? Hmmm Do you at least know where she lives? No? Hmmm this looks a little suspicious.

As opposed to:

Scenario B:
Do you know your mother in-law's b-day? No. Ok how about here name. Mary. And where does she live. New York. OK moving on to something else.

You see the difference? In both cases you don't know your mother-in-law's b-day. But in scenario B that doesn't matter. It's not about knowing 100% of your wife/husband's life history. It's about knowing what a normal married couple should now about themselves. I would guess that 95% of husbands at least know the name and city of residence of their mother-in-law and it is a very valid question at an interview.

I totally agree with you.
I see too much paranoia around this. Paranoia that should be just on fraudulent couples, not on real ones.
They can't deny your application because they don't like your dress code or because you have bad breath.