AOS Interview Experiences: Collection

Our interview experience

At the outset, thanks to everyone here in this forum - people who directly answered my questions and all the others who post here about their own cases. We learned a lot from all the posts / questions and it helped us tremendously.

We had our AoS interview yesterday (19th) at the Boston DO. We were there a half hour before our scheduled appointment. But we were not called for nearly an hour until after the scheduled time. This was good, since the waiting helped us unwind a little bit before it was our turn.

The officer was very courteous through the entire course of the interview. She couldn't pronounce my name when she came for us - and I said I'd been telling my husband that it would be me if they struggled with the name. And she smiled - and said "and this is your husband?". I said "yes". We went to her office - and took the oath before sitting down.

We were asked for our driver's licenses, social security card, proof of my current visa status, my husband's citizenship. We provided all these - and a photocopy of both our DL's and SS cards on one sheet to make it easier for her. She verified my address here in Boston, and then asked my husband if he had moved here. (Some of you may know that my husband lives in CA, and I live here in MA due to my work). We said no he hasn't moved here, but on the contrary I am moving to CA next weekend. We gave her a folder - with my resignation letter / email, mail from HR for my exit interview, my lease termination here, my husband's lease termination in CA, and our new lease in CA - for the place we will be moving into in three weeks. She looked through it all carefully, and took copies of my resignation letter and the rental deposit receipt that both of us have signed for the new apartment. She said at this point that since we are both living in different places, she would have to go through this carefully to build the case.

She then asked us when we first met and how did this whole thing work. Forgot to say - she did ask us if we have ever lived together at any point. We said no - we haven't. We told her we met on the internet through a dating website. And then started to verbally give her a timeline of all our visits to each other. I think I was going too fast because she was trying to write it all down - then we said we actually have a printout of all this information. My husband gave her a record we had made of all our visits to each other over the past two years - the file also contained the e-itineraries and some boarding passes but I don't recollect her now looking at these. On the printout we gave her, she made a mark for the trip when we went to India (home country) to get married. At some point, she also checked my I-94 - and that showed the date I entered again after our holiday for the wedding back home.

Next, she went through our marriage certificate - verified the date, names etc. Since for both of us, its the second marriage, she had questions about both of our first marriages. We explained to her the circumstances - and it was obvious that they were in good faith. She did say - we do understand these and its important to move forward. She looked at the previous marriage certificates, and divorce decrees and asked questions about those.

Then she looked through our file quickly - looking at the affidavit of support, the copies of the IRS tax return transcripts we had enclosed with the filing etc. We had copies of our latest return filed jointly, W2s, employment letter for my husband etc - but she didn't ask for these.

At this point, she said that she is approving the case. She then went on to ask me all these standard questions on terrorism etc. Oh - and right at the beginning she also asked each of us when we came to the US first - as students, then our work history etc - basically, the information on the G-325A for the past 5 years to which she added the history for the previous years.

Then she went away to find out what to do about my address change - since I am moving next weekend, staying with my husband - and then both of us are moving again in a few days. She wanted to make sure that we receive the card. She returned and told us that the mail would get forwarded (she had doubts of that earlier) - and said to give the proper forwarding at the post office to ensure this happens. She asked me not to file 2 AR-11s, but wait till we moved to our new place and then file a single AR-11. She asked us not to worry if it doesn't reach us - but that it would eventually come back to our file in their office - though that might take a long time and so ensure that we provide forwarding details to the USPS.

Then she said she was going to order the card now, worked on her computer - and gave us a letter saying our petition was approved, explained the rules about the I-751, CR6 - to file to remove the conditions in 1 year, 9 months (from yesterday - the date of our interview/approval). She said they don't stamp the passport anymore - and also collected the AP travel document and EAD that I had already received. Before this, she also went through another list of documentation that she already had, and told me that the FBI fingerprint / name check had been cleared.

So, we were all set! We got up, she shook hands with us and wished us. We put away all our things, and finally showed her our wedding album - she looked through it while we were standing and wished us again. And smiled and walked out with us to the waiting room. We thanked her and left.

We were very fortunate to get this officer to talk to us - her couteous manner and methodical way made it very easy to present our case. We were very stressed out before the interview and up very late into the night making copies and filing away our documents. And everything just went fine.

I checked my email this morning - and I've received mails from CRIS saying the I130 and I-485 have been approved, welcome letter has been mailed etc. The online case status information also has this information. Now hoping we get the card without any hassles due to our address changes.

Sorry - this has become really long! I wanted to make sure I wrote most / all of it since the interview experiences of all those who posted here really helped me outline what documents we should take, and what to expect.

Thanks everyone - and good luck to you all!

Cheers!
- PriyaB

PS: One thing I realize now is that we were not asked for much joint documentation - we had joint tax returns, bank statements, insurances etc. But maybe it was sufficient that we gave proof of our plans to live together - lease etc.
 
Priya,

Congratulations!!! Didn't I tell you ev thing was gonna be okay and living separately in itself doesn't necessarily means that the marriage is not bonafide :) I'm happy for you.

Thanks for sharing with us that detailed interview experience. I am sure it will put the mind of others who are in similar situation at peace before they appear for the interview.
 
Hi a_usc,

Thanks! And for your earlier reassurances :)

Yep - things have worked out. I think its not the living separately itself but giving them adequate proof that you intend to live together. We also tried not to gather unreasonable documentation like adding each other suddenly on a lot of stuff to get 'joint' documentation; but instead gave them proof of our plans as they unfolded.

Oh well :)

Thanks to all you guys who give your time to this board!

Priya
 
AOS Interview for my wife was today, here in Houston.

We arrived 45 minutes early for our appointment, which was schedueled for 10am.
We didn't get called till 11:15ish.

We got led through a maze of hallways back to his office. Where he administered the oath, etc. Then we sat down. He went through our paperwork verifying information.. "your current address is xxx" "yes sir" "your full name is.." "yes sir". basically went through the entire I485 in that fashion. Then he started looking through other stuff, like the medical exam, etc etc, in the meanwhile, every so often interjecting a matter-of-fact question. It was 100% to try and catch us off guard... but we had no problem answering any of the 'shotgun questions' as I referred to em. Suprisingly, most of them were directed at me, the sponsor. "have you met her parents yet?" "yes sir" "in finland?" "Yes sir" "when was that" "april 2004 sir" "What did you do there?" "we went there to visit her family, and we also went skiing there" "Skiing, in april?" "yessir, (her city) is located inside the arctic circle, it snows there till may"

Anyways, that continued... going through all the paperwork with random shotgun questions thrown in throughout, until the end. My wife hiccuped on the answer to one question, our home phone number, but thats because she never calls herself, rofl, and normally just keeps it in her phone.

All in all, I was more nervous then she was, and It turns out I was more nervous then I had to be.

He printed out the approval notice, then, and this amused me... left the room for about 5 minutes after he printed the notice, but before he signed it, or stamped her passport. I'm *Guessing* he went to another room to watch/listen to our reaction (although I could be totally paranoid here). So instead of whooping for joy and everything, I gave an enthiustic 'yay!' made some small talk about how I was glad this was finally over, and then specifically went back to home life talk, I even asked my wife what she had planned for dinner that evening. It was about 20 seconds after she answered that, that he returned. I guess he was watching for a 'haha we fooled them!' sort of speach or something before signing the paperwork.

Anyways.. thats my story, we left, and got a celebretory lunch.. at Jack in the box :)
 
Dicion,

Congratulations!!!

As for the adjudicating officer leaving you guys alone for 5 mins - you're not the only one who thinks that he might've been watching you both. I have read experiences in the past where the couples felt the same way - that they were being watched from another room. No one knows the truth, but I think its best to play safe and not be over zealous, even though that is warranted for :D. Congrats to you n your spouse once again :)
 
I-485 Interview today in Boston, Massachusetts

Background: I am 29 and my husband is 27. My husband is from South America and did high school here and then attended college on a student visa. Before his student visa ran out, he got a job in a restaurant and stayed there for two years. My parents don't really recognize our relationship yet because our cultures are polar opposites so we just went to City Hall in New York City with my two closest friends as witnesses, and then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, and had dinner in Brooklyn. . Thus, we didn't have wedding photos, or invites, or pictures with the family - which worried me a little. Also, I worried that they would wonder about our cultural differences.
Before filing, we saw a lawyer for a one-hour consultation to make sure we were filing the right things and that my husband was eligible for status adjustment but otherwise we did everything ourselves (with help from this forum after we filed!)

Back to the interview: Despite the fact that the USCIS website said that the interview was cancelled, my husband and I went to the Boston District Office at 8:25 AM this morning (his appointment was at 8:30). We went to room 1-170 and my husband gave the clerk his interview notice. She time-stamped it and told us that they would call his name.

They called him at about 9:15. The immigration officer was a young woman in her 30s. She was business-like to start, but not intimidating. After she swore us in, we sat like obedient schoolchildren while she got organized. First, she had my husband verify his name and address. She asked whether we rent or own and my husband answered that I owned our place. Next, she asked my husband for his visa. My husband showed her his student visa and she asked him where he went to school and if he graduated. My husband said he was one class short of graduation and he did not have the money to finish before his visa ran out in October 2002. She did not chastise him for overstaying his student visa or being out-of-status but scolded him for having so many passports (he renews his passports every year). She made fun of some of his pictures and commented on all his different hairstyles. She took his I-94 record from one of his passports and stapled it to her folder.

Next, she asked him for my birthday. My husband answered that it was coming up and gave the date and year. She asked him what he was getting me and he said he didn't know. I told her that he always ends up getting me something that I didn't know I wanted but that is always perfect. Then she asked him for our wedding date. Then she asked me for a birth certificate and a picture ID to ensure that I was a US citizen. I gave her my passport and she said that's all she needed.

Next she asked us how we met. We told her that we met at work. She asked him how he proposed and he explained it. I sort of hid my face and started blushing. Then she asked for his EAD and stapled it to her packet. I think by that point she had decided that we were bona-fide.

Next, she asked us for joint-documentation, i.e. stuff with both our names on it. Basically she said "what did you bring for me?" I gave her: federal tax return, state tax return, bank statements, credit card statements, my health insurance with him on it, cellphone bill, and the joint Museum of Fine Arts Membership that we got the day after our wedding. She took the federal tax return, commented that the MFA membership was a very nice way to start married life, and briefly glanced through the health insurance information, noting that my dad remained 25% of my life insurance beneficiary. She barely glanced at the rest. Then, she pretty much flat out told us that she was going to approve his case and scolded him again because his passport expires next week and she wasn't going to stamp an expired passport. She told us not to worry because the green card " will probably be in the mailbox at the end of the day."

Next, she asked him questions on the I-485 form, have you been involved with illegal drugs, worked under someone else's name or social security number, etc. Before she asked the questions, she warned him not to lie because if they find out he could lose the green card. Luckily, my husband had not never used anyone's name or social security number so that part was easy. After that she explained that his green card would be conditional and then we would have to file form I-751 three months before it expired and that he "had to keep our US citizen happy for the next two years."

Finally, after she approved him, she wanted to see pictures. We had brought an album of vacation photos and random photos and a separate wedding album. I wa a little nervous because we got married at City Hall in NYC with just two friends present but she was more interested in the dress than anything else. She told us that she goes on gut instinct and she had no doubts that we were a married couple. She was very conversational but kept dropping important questions in the middle of the chitchat. At the end of the interview she asked me for my husband's birthday and I got the year wrong, then quickly corrected it, and we all laughed.

The interview was a huge relief. I used the checklist on the interview notice and made a separate folder for each item but otherwise, we didn't prepare at all - my husband figured that we had nothing to hide and didn't want to sound rehearsed. She did not ask for anything that had already been submitted, even though we had it. We were done in twenty minutes (it took longer to write this post)!

Anyway, I hope this info is helpful. I know it is long but I wrote it while it was fresh in my mind before I forgot all the little details. Thanks to all the helpful posters who answered questions and shared their stories. Good luck to everyone who has their interview coming up!

TIMELINE
12/10/05: Forms mailed
12/14/05: Receipt Date
12/22/05: ND
2/10/06: I-485 Biometrics
2/24/06: I-765 approved (but notice not received!)
3/27/06: I-765 Biometrics (after a what's up INFOPASS appointment)
4/01/06: EAD Received
4/19/06: Interview Letter Received
5/31/06: Interview and Petition Approved; GC in the mail.
 
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Thanks so much for the detailed interview experience. Nicely written!
And of course, congratulations to the two of you! :) :)
 
AOS interview today, case in further review...?

Hi everybody,

Today I had my AOS interview based on marriage in wichita, kansas. It was at 8 o'clock and my wife and I didn't have to wait long before the interview. The officer was nice, but very formal. He checked that all the info, like address, phone #s and DOB were correct. Then he asked all the I485 questions and then requested any bona fide docs (no pics or sentimental stuff, just plain docs). Then he said that our case is in further review and that we should get a decision within 90 days. We asked him why, and he said that everything was in order but that the cases were not approved in the wichita office and that they have to be fwd to kansas city and then they will make a decision.

He took my I-94 and old EADs, but left me the current EAD. The interview lasted about 25 minutes and it was mostly the officer writing on the documents. He did not asked anything about our relationship or marriage. I hope to get my decision soon, I can't stand the wait.

He also explained us the conditional status and what we should do when the time comes to remove the condition.

Hope this helps for other applicants.

Thx,

Flyer
 
Flyer729 said:
Hi everybody,

Today I had my AOS interview based on marriage in wichita, kansas. It was at 8 o'clock and my wife and I didn't have to wait long before the interview. The officer was nice, but very formal. He checked that all the info, like address, phone #s and DOB were correct. Then he asked all the I485 questions and then requested any bona fide docs (no pics or sentimental stuff, just plain docs). Then he said that our case is in further review and that we should get a decision within 90 days. We asked him why, and he said that everything was in order but that the cases were not approved in the wichita office and that they have to be fwd to kansas city and then they will make a decision.

He took my I-94 and old EADs, but left me the current EAD. The interview lasted about 25 minutes and it was mostly the officer writing on the documents. He did not asked anything about our relationship or marriage. I hope to get my decision soon, I can't stand the wait.

He also explained us the conditional status and what we should do when the time comes to remove the condition.

Hope this helps for other applicants.

Thx,

Flyer
Click to expand...


My case is pretty similar to your case, except my offical said she will review my case----it was not fowarding the case to another office for review. It was ask to wait for a decision with 90 days, but should be a lot less than 90 days. I wish the best of luck to you. The waiting is really painful!
 
Here are the things I brought to the interview:
Driver licenses
Passport
I-94
Original noticed letters(485, 130 & 765)
Shared Pictures
Joint Bills(Bank and Lease)
Employment letter
3yrs Tax transcript

Here are the questions were asked:
How we met
Why we moved to NJ from CO
Where I work
Asked my wife about my cell phone #
Asked my wife how she became a naturalized citizen

*Interview was about 15mins but there’s about an 1hr waits prior to the interview.

H1b Married to USC
Do: Newark, NJ
RD: 08/21/05
ND: 08/24/05
FP/Biometrics: 10/05/05 (walk-in)
EAD Approved:11/01/05
Aos Interview(Cancelled):01/30/06 *Due to changed address(Denver, CO to Newark, NJ)
Aos Interview (GC Approved):06/07/06
 
We had our interview today at San Jose DO. The interview were scheduled for 12:30 and we were out in the car by 12:41. It was a breeze, a piece of cake... very few questions asked - nothing about how we met, relationship, each other's family, not even our wedding date. Only docs asked for - Marriage Cert, IDs, passports, my Naturalization cert, our joint tax return for latest year and some joint docs. I have shared the experience in the following thread - http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=216832

:)
 
That's exactly how mine was!

a_usc said:
We had our interview today at San Jose DO. The interview were scheduled for 12:30 and we were out in the car by 12:41. It was a breeze, a piece of cake... very few questions asked - nothing about how we met, relationship, each other's family, not even our wedding date. Only docs asked for - Marriage Cert, IDs, passports, my Naturalization cert, our joint tax return for latest year and some joint docs. I have shared the experience in the following thread - http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=216832

:)
Click to expand...

That's exactly how my interview was. The officer didn't ask nothing personal about our relationship. And he did not approved us at the spot, he said that he will FWD the file with his recomendation to kansas city office and there they will make a decision. Good luck with your case! keep us posted.

Flyer
 
My husband and I arrived at the local office in San Francisco around 7:45. Our interview was scheduled for 8:30, we went to the 2nd floor gave our notice to a woman at the front desk and she told us to sit in section 'E' and wait until our names were called. We waited a for what seemed like 30 minutes ( I didn't have a watch) and then my name was called over a loud speaker telling me to go to door 'E' so I did. I walked to the door and the officer a bald gentleman with a 'gotee' came to the door and asked me if the beneficiary was with me, I said yes and I went walked back to signal my husband to come and then he directed us to his office.

Once we were in his office he swore us in and asked us if the testimony we were about to give was the truth.. the whole truth and nothing but the truth and of course we said yes, and then we sat down. Through the first couple of minutes he was going through the file and we just sat there quietly and then he began typing on his computer which made me more and more nervous as the minutes ticked away. He asked us for our ID's and we gave them to him and he wrote down our information. He went to the I-130 and asked me to give my name and date of birth, and then he made a check marks on our i-130 and then he asked me where I lived and I told him, after that he asked my husband the same questions...his name DOB and where he lived, and what part of Nicaragua was he from and my husband told him he was from Mexico. After that he basically focused on me instead of my husband he asked me when and where did we meet and I told him then he asked me to describe our first meeting and I told him then he was quiet for a few seconds and said if we had a joint bank account and I said yes, and he asked if I had a copy of the statements and I gave him a copy and he asked if he could keep it and I said yes, I also asked him if he wanted to look my checkbook ( so he could see that both our names are on the checks) but he said he didn't need to see that.

Then he started typing again and stamping things in our file, then he asked a few more questions: He asked me if I knew my husband was in deportation hearing when I met him and I said I didn't and he asked me when did I know and I said that he told me about a year and 1/2 into our relationship, then he asked me if I was in love with him already when he told me this and I said yes I was. Then he began to type again... and looked at my maiden name and he asked if it was Italian and I said yes, then he sort of looked at me and asked me if I spoke Spanish and I said yes, and he asked where I learned it and I said my mother is from Nicaragua and he jokingly said ' Oh that's where I got Nicaragua from," and we sort of laughed it off. He asked if I had any pictures and I asked of the wedding or the reception and he said ceremony and I said no that my mother in law has them and she is in Mexico and then he nodded his head.

After that he asked me how long had we been living at our current residence and I said two years, then he excused himself from his office, while he was out of his office my husband and I were talking about what we needed to buy from the store, after a few minutes he came back and sat at his desk and began typing on his computer again, and then he printed two pieces of paper from his printer and stamped and initialed them and then said "I am approving your petition, and this is your copy." We shook his hand and thanked him and he showed us where we can exit.

And that was it! I was really surprised I assumed he was going to separate us both, and grill us with tons of questions, but he didn't and he only asked a few and nothing about what our aparment looked like or anything. He didn't even look at the affidavits of support we bought or photos' or any other documentation the only thing I gave him was the bank statement, and that was that. Overall it wasn't that bad of an experience it was a little nerve racking but everything worked out.

Hope this helps some of you going to your interviews in San Francisco.
 
Caligirl415 said:
My husband and I arrived at the local office in San Francisco around 7:45. Our interview was scheduled for 8:30, we went to the 2nd floor gave our notice to a woman at the front desk and she told us to sit in section 'E' and wait until our names were called. We waited a for what seemed like 30 minutes ( I didn't have a watch) and then my name was called over a loud speaker telling me to go to door 'E' so I did. I walked to the door and the officer a bald gentleman with a 'gotee' came to the door and asked me if the beneficiary was with me, I said yes and I went walked back to signal my husband to come and then he directed us to his office.

Once we were in his office he swore us in and asked us if the testimony we were about to give was the truth.. the whole truth and nothing but the truth and of course we said yes, and then we sat down. Through the first couple of minutes he was going through the file and we just sat there quietly and then he began typing on his computer which made me more and more nervous as the minutes ticked away. He asked us for our ID's and we gave them to him and he wrote down our information. He went to the I-130 and asked me to give my name and date of birth, and then he made a check marks on our i-130 and then he asked me where I lived and I told him, after that he asked my husband the same questions...his name DOB and where he lived, and what part of Nicaragua was he from and my husband told him he was from Mexico. After that he basically focused on me instead of my husband he asked me when and where did we meet and I told him then he asked me to describe our first meeting and I told him then he was quiet for a few seconds and said if we had a joint bank account and I said yes, and he asked if I had a copy of the statements and I gave him a copy and he asked if he could keep it and I said yes, I also asked him if he wanted to look my checkbook ( so he could see that both our names are on the checks) but he said he didn't need to see that.

Then he started typing again and stamping things in our file, then he asked a few more questions: He asked me if I knew my husband was in deportation hearing when I met him and I said I didn't and he asked me when did I know and I said that he told me about a year and 1/2 into our relationship, then he asked me if I was in love with him already when he told me this and I said yes I was. Then he began to type again... and looked at my maiden name and he asked if it was Italian and I said yes, then he sort of looked at me and asked me if I spoke Spanish and I said yes, and he asked where I learned it and I said my mother is from Nicaragua and he jokingly said ' Oh that's where I got Nicaragua from," and we sort of laughed it off. He asked if I had any pictures and I asked of the wedding or the reception and he said ceremony and I said no that my mother in law has them and she is in Mexico and then he nodded his head.

After that he asked me how long had we been living at our current residence and I said two years, then he excused himself from his office, while he was out of his office my husband and I were talking about what we needed to buy from the store, after a few minutes he came back and sat at his desk and began typing on his computer again, and then he printed two pieces of paper from his printer and stamped and initialed them and then said "I am approving your petition, and this is your copy." We shook his hand and thanked him and he showed us where we can exit.

And that was it! I was really surprised I assumed he was going to separate us both, and grill us with tons of questions, but he didn't and he only asked a few and nothing about what our aparment looked like or anything. He didn't even look at the affidavits of support we bought or photos' or any other documentation the only thing I gave him was the bank statement, and that was that. Overall it wasn't that bad of an experience it was a little nerve racking but everything worked out.

Hope this helps some of you going to your interviews in San Francisco.
Click to expand...

Congratulations! i know you were worried. Time to celebrate.
 
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