AOS Interview Experiences: Collection
- Thread starter ari4u
- Start date
If the immigrant just got divorced and you remarry them immediately, it will raise a flag.
If you appl for GC immediately after getting married, it will raise a flag.
If you have a significantly lower income then the immigrant, it will raise a flag.
Those kinds of flags suck.
If you appl for GC immediately after getting married, it will raise a flag.
If you have a significantly lower income then the immigrant, it will raise a flag.
Those kinds of flags suck.
Jane Green
Registered Users (C)
qim said:
They asked my husband if I was married before, how many times, how many children I have, their names, ages and where they live. I was asked some of the same questions about him (less, because he wasn’t married before and no children).
Everything we were asked (questions and answers) were written on my filled I-485, so there were no surprises or tricks.
I was not questioned abut my previous marriage, or divorce, or anything like that.
So unless you were married to US citizen in a past and got your GC, then later naturalization this way – your prior marriage is no INS’s business.
asdrubal22
Registered Users (C)
qim said:
someitguy said:
Jane Green said:
someitguy and Jane Green, thank you for your answers. They look interesting and useful. Firsthand experience is always helpful.
In our case: (1) I (USC) was married before but my wife (AOS applicant) wasn't, (2) I've got my GC and citizenship not through any marriage, and (3) my wife applied for GC after about 1.5 years after we got married.
It thus appears (from what you said) that we probably should not expect a lot of questions from the officer on this.
sonjakrabetz
Registered Users (C)
2nd Interview eperience in SF
We had our first interview in April 27th 2006 and because my husband and me don't live together it lasted less than 5 minutes and we got a letter from the officer stating "further review". Even we had tons of evidences.
After that we got our second interview notice in June with date on July 25 which seemed super fast since it often takes a lot longer.
We hired a lawyer, he helped us organizing our documents (we had so many because we've been together for 5 years ). He said we have to prove that our relationship is still intact, since that's what's more important than the past.
So we organized everything starting with documents of 2001-ending with 2006.
Our interview was at 1 pm and we were there at 12.35 pm supported by my husbands mom and brother who was visting (and the lawyer of course). We were called in at 1.30 pm and the officer had a nice smile ( he knew the lawyer as they asked each other some personal questions ), friendly and we felt comfortable (he was american) right away.
Our lawyer mentioned right away Ely's mom and brother waiting outside if he has questions and we had 10 refrence letters from friends and family (and two suitcases with all documents ).
He looked at the pics, was pleased, the lawyer mentioned that we are avid bikers (by chance the officer was looking for a bike to buy and talked to my husband for 5 minutes about bikes ). He just asked were we live, what we do for a living, if we have pictures of our wedding.He asked how we met and said if he can see my passport because he wanted to stamp it ( too bad it was expired ), so he said congratulations, I cried and hugged everyone and coudn't belive how easy it was.
I have to say we were DAMN lucky to got that officer...the door was open and I overheard some other interviews and it didn't sound very friendly. On top of it our lawyer believed in us and was known to just take cases were he checked on them himself that they were bonafide, and he was very experienced. Before we decided on a lawyer we called around and the price differences were amazing. from 500 $ to 3000$ for attending the second interview and often I felt they didn't belive us because we don't live together and what we are thinking.
I have to say sticking with the truth was definately a big plus and I'm glad we did so. It would have been easy to lie, but we decided not to.
We were never asked for tax returns, employment letters or anything else....
We wanna say thank you for the great help and support we got from this forum...if you need a good lawyer, I know one
.
Good luck to everyone,
Sonja + Ely
Just booked our flight to Germany ( I told my mom I didn't get my greencard and will surpise her on christmas )....
We had our first interview in April 27th 2006 and because my husband and me don't live together it lasted less than 5 minutes and we got a letter from the officer stating "further review". Even we had tons of evidences.
After that we got our second interview notice in June with date on July 25 which seemed super fast since it often takes a lot longer.
We hired a lawyer, he helped us organizing our documents (we had so many because we've been together for 5 years ). He said we have to prove that our relationship is still intact, since that's what's more important than the past.
So we organized everything starting with documents of 2001-ending with 2006.
Our interview was at 1 pm and we were there at 12.35 pm supported by my husbands mom and brother who was visting (and the lawyer of course). We were called in at 1.30 pm and the officer had a nice smile ( he knew the lawyer as they asked each other some personal questions ), friendly and we felt comfortable (he was american) right away.
Our lawyer mentioned right away Ely's mom and brother waiting outside if he has questions and we had 10 refrence letters from friends and family (and two suitcases with all documents ).
He looked at the pics, was pleased, the lawyer mentioned that we are avid bikers (by chance the officer was looking for a bike to buy and talked to my husband for 5 minutes about bikes ). He just asked were we live, what we do for a living, if we have pictures of our wedding.He asked how we met and said if he can see my passport because he wanted to stamp it ( too bad it was expired ), so he said congratulations, I cried and hugged everyone and coudn't belive how easy it was.
I have to say we were DAMN lucky to got that officer...the door was open and I overheard some other interviews and it didn't sound very friendly. On top of it our lawyer believed in us and was known to just take cases were he checked on them himself that they were bonafide, and he was very experienced. Before we decided on a lawyer we called around and the price differences were amazing. from 500 $ to 3000$ for attending the second interview and often I felt they didn't belive us because we don't live together and what we are thinking.
I have to say sticking with the truth was definately a big plus and I'm glad we did so. It would have been easy to lie, but we decided not to.
We were never asked for tax returns, employment letters or anything else....
We wanna say thank you for the great help and support we got from this forum...if you need a good lawyer, I know one
.Good luck to everyone,
Sonja + Ely
Just booked our flight to Germany ( I told my mom I didn't get my greencard and will surpise her on christmas )....
Interviewed at Garden city NY .
Hello guys ,
here is my experience in garden city NY .
i had my first interview scheduled for april 25th 2006 .
1) i went there at 12 and was scheduled for 1 pm . spouse of LPR under 245i
I was trying to call in order to reschedule my appointment but couldnt reach any 1800 number that day . ( my wife was having a lot of cramps and suffering and the doctor ask me to not let her get off the bed . and i had a very very bad day ... i decided to go to the interview without her anyways instead of having my case deny for not show and start all over . I went there pass the security check point and took the line to give the appointment letter and then wait about 1 hour to be call to go in the second floor . Then wait another 30 minutes before i was called . The officer asked me for my wife and i told him that she was very seek and couldnt make it and he told me that he is not suppose to let me have the interview because of my wife no show . I excplain to him that she was seek and he said ok and we went to the room . There he called his supervisor and i could have ear the whole conversation . The supervisor explain to him that normaly when the petitioner is not present it is a automatic denial . I was so stress that i asked to talk to the supervisor . he came after 5 minute to the room and then review my folder and said " hey wait a minute , your case hgave been there for some time , since 2001 i have been waiting " and i said yes sir it is correct . he was nice and comprehensif and then he ask me ok i will let you have the interview for another time and rescheduled it . and told me normally if it was a less then two year case he would have deny it . and i was so happy that i could have that interview rescheduled and start to explain to him that i couldnt reach the 1800 number .. And he told me that is your luck now and if i cant make it next time try to let them know before in advance .
2) received another letter for interview in june with the date of july 26 2006 .
this time it was schedule for 2 pm same where but it happened in the 1st floor and it was a lady that called us after 1 hour of waiting and then ask for regulart question and suporting document , ask my wife why she didnt come to the 1st interview , she answer the reason and she check and saw the statement from the first officer . Then talk a lot about a family , she ask me for the pictures i handed them to her and she keep two of them , ask for my passport and id plus social security . Then took a aprrove stamp and stamp the documents on my folder then said ok everything is good , i approuved your case , then went to the computer and check for visa availibility and then told me wow your wife is not yet a USC and because of that i fall into the august 2006 visa retrogression and she couldnt stamp my passport but told me when the date will be current i will received the green card in the mail . and was explainiong to us that she is qualify to be citizen she should fill now . and was happy no matter what , and she said everything is good you will received the green card in the mail and couldnt tell me how long it would take she said , probably months or weeks depends of the retrogression of visa . and when we were going out she told me do not worry about it just be patient it would come in the mail and i could celebrate if i wanted to . By the way she wrote on my passport " pending i-485 " and her name and date .
Hello guys ,
here is my experience in garden city NY .
i had my first interview scheduled for april 25th 2006 .
1) i went there at 12 and was scheduled for 1 pm . spouse of LPR under 245i
I was trying to call in order to reschedule my appointment but couldnt reach any 1800 number that day . ( my wife was having a lot of cramps and suffering and the doctor ask me to not let her get off the bed . and i had a very very bad day ... i decided to go to the interview without her anyways instead of having my case deny for not show and start all over . I went there pass the security check point and took the line to give the appointment letter and then wait about 1 hour to be call to go in the second floor . Then wait another 30 minutes before i was called . The officer asked me for my wife and i told him that she was very seek and couldnt make it and he told me that he is not suppose to let me have the interview because of my wife no show . I excplain to him that she was seek and he said ok and we went to the room . There he called his supervisor and i could have ear the whole conversation . The supervisor explain to him that normaly when the petitioner is not present it is a automatic denial . I was so stress that i asked to talk to the supervisor . he came after 5 minute to the room and then review my folder and said " hey wait a minute , your case hgave been there for some time , since 2001 i have been waiting " and i said yes sir it is correct . he was nice and comprehensif and then he ask me ok i will let you have the interview for another time and rescheduled it . and told me normally if it was a less then two year case he would have deny it . and i was so happy that i could have that interview rescheduled and start to explain to him that i couldnt reach the 1800 number .. And he told me that is your luck now and if i cant make it next time try to let them know before in advance .
2) received another letter for interview in june with the date of july 26 2006 .
this time it was schedule for 2 pm same where but it happened in the 1st floor and it was a lady that called us after 1 hour of waiting and then ask for regulart question and suporting document , ask my wife why she didnt come to the 1st interview , she answer the reason and she check and saw the statement from the first officer . Then talk a lot about a family , she ask me for the pictures i handed them to her and she keep two of them , ask for my passport and id plus social security . Then took a aprrove stamp and stamp the documents on my folder then said ok everything is good , i approuved your case , then went to the computer and check for visa availibility and then told me wow your wife is not yet a USC and because of that i fall into the august 2006 visa retrogression and she couldnt stamp my passport but told me when the date will be current i will received the green card in the mail . and was explainiong to us that she is qualify to be citizen she should fill now . and was happy no matter what , and she said everything is good you will received the green card in the mail and couldnt tell me how long it would take she said , probably months or weeks depends of the retrogression of visa . and when we were going out she told me do not worry about it just be patient it would come in the mail and i could celebrate if i wanted to . By the way she wrote on my passport " pending i-485 " and her name and date .
sonjakrabetz said:We had our first interview in April 27th 2006 and because my husband and me don't live together it lasted less than 5 minutes and we got a letter from the officer stating "further review". Even we had tons of evidences.
After that we got our second interview notice in June with date on July 25 which seemed super fast since it often takes a lot longer.
We hired a lawyer, he helped us organizing our documents (we had so many because we've been together for 5 years ). He said we have to prove that our relationship is still intact, since that's what's more important than the past.
So we organized everything starting with documents of 2001-ending with 2006.
Our interview was at 1 pm and we were there at 12.35 pm supported by my husbands mom and brother who was visting (and the lawyer of course). We were called in at 1.30 pm and the officer had a nice smile ( he knew the lawyer as they asked each other some personal questions ), friendly and we felt comfortable (he was american) right away.
Our lawyer mentioned right away Ely's mom and brother waiting outside if he has questions and we had 10 refrence letters from friends and family (and two suitcases with all documents ).
He looked at the pics, was pleased, the lawyer mentioned that we are avid bikers (by chance the officer was looking for a bike to buy and talked to my husband for 5 minutes about bikes ). He just asked were we live, what we do for a living, if we have pictures of our wedding.He asked how we met and said if he can see my passport because he wanted to stamp it ( too bad it was expired ), so he said congratulations, I cried and hugged everyone and coudn't belive how easy it was.
I have to say we were DAMN lucky to got that officer...the door was open and I overheard some other interviews and it didn't sound very friendly. On top of it our lawyer believed in us and was known to just take cases were he checked on them himself that they were bonafide, and he was very experienced. Before we decided on a lawyer we called around and the price differences were amazing. from 500 $ to 3000$ for attending the second interview and often I felt they didn't belive us because we don't live together and what we are thinking.
I have to say sticking with the truth was definately a big plus and I'm glad we did so. It would have been easy to lie, but we decided not to.
We were never asked for tax returns, employment letters or anything else....
We wanna say thank you for the great help and support we got from this forum...if you need a good lawyer, I know one
Good luck to everyone,
Sonja + Ely
Just booked our flight to Germany ( I told my mom I didn't get my greencard and will surpise her on christmas )....
Sonja, Im so happy for you. Congrats! Here is a big hug... {{{{}}}}}
patty579 said:Denver, CO
The interview was scheduled for 11:15, we arrived at 11:05, submitted the interview letter and waited for one hour. Time was passing by pretty fast though.
We were called in by a very young and nice looking guy, probably in his thirties. He was as nice and pleasant as he looked.
He swore us in, looked at our IDs, verified all the questions from I-485, almost didn't ask for anything but tax returns, employment letter, our lease agreement and pictures.
When it came to proof of relationship, he was very understanding that we couldn't get insurance or bank account together because I didn't have a Social yet.
He was happy with our lease agreement, a hotel room bill from when we went to Washington D.C. (his name, my credit card) and the 102 pictures that I had printed out.
He asked very casually where we met each other and my hubby said, in Germany, when I was stationed with the Airforce in her home town.
And I added, that we met in an Irish Pub.
The officer joked that Josh should have gone to a German pub, so he could learn German! And asked him if he spoke German, and we said yes, a little.
He was having fun looking at the pics. When he saw the picture of my hubby's friend's baby at our Welcome Party in PA last year, he asked who it was and we told him and said that he looked like the baby from the Quiznos commercial. He laughed out loud at that.
He enjoyed the pictures from when my parents-in-law were here three weeks ago.
Then he said: Well I don't have to spend more time on this, I have one more case to do before lunch...
He explained that he had to do a final security check and that was the end of the interview.
Lasted about 20 minutes.
He didn't even want to see paystubs or our marriage certificate. It was a very pleasant experience, I really didn't have to be that worried!
I got the approval emails 4 hours later.
Thanks so much to this forum, a_usc, Ari4u, cherr1980, rex1960, payala, justnew, running_swede, sarrebal, jenimmi, JohnnyCash, indone, someitguy and everyone else who helped me, was thinking of me and prayed for me!
This forum rocks!
I know it's a bit late to wish you... But hey... CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
A hug for you too {{{{{}}}}}}And congratulations to all those who got approved recently. Sorry, havent been lurking around this forum lately, so if i missed out on congratulation you, nothing personal, ok?
Take care.Thank you so much Ari! You were one of the most helpful people for me, and for many others.
I wouldn't have known what to do without you!!
Don't worry about not having so much time anymore. Priorities change, I totally understand. Hope to see you again here once in a while. Take care!
I wouldn't have known what to do without you!!
Don't worry about not having so much time anymore. Priorities change, I totally understand. Hope to see you again here once in a while. Take care!
My interview experience in Chula Vista, CA
Our interview was on 8/31/2006 at 10:30am, we arrived at 10:00am, by the time we got through the line, security point and dropping the letter at the window it was 10:15. The officer called us in at 10:30am, I was prepared to wait an hour.
The officer was in his 50's, he was very pleasant gentlement. He took us to his office, first he asked my husband, the petitioner, for the ID, then mine and he realised he needed to swear us, so we did it.
Everything went so fast, I will try to remember everything.
First, he asked for our marriage certificate, he said they did not have it, which I am sure I have sent it, then he asked how I met my husband, how I came to US, and if I ever have gone back. Then he asked me to verify my name and address. He asked when did we get married, I was going to say it, the officer said it for me. He asked about my husband current employment, he has changed the employment since we filed our papers. We had a letter from employer stating that my husband is hired there and how much he is expected to earn. Then, he asked for his pay stubs, I handed it to him but he even did not look at at them, he just wanted to make sure we have it. He also asked us for any documents where our names appear together, we gave him our bank statement, our car insurance, our gym membership, he kept it to make copies.
Here comes the scariest moment, my husband filed for the extension of 2005 taxes and we did not have a copy of it, but my husband assurred the officer that he filed it and it must be in the folder, the officer pass on it. I was scared that it will cause problems.
Then he turned to me and asked me what are my parents first names.
Finally, he asked for our wedding pictures, I said we eloped, but there are pictures. So we handed him a photo album, he just glanced at the first two pics and did not go futher. Then he started to type something on the computer, after that he said he needs to make copies of the pictures.
When he was gone, my husband and I tried to be relaxed, we still were not sure if we got it or not.
After the officer came back, he started to type something in the computer, my husband and I started talking to him, little talk like we usually do in the elevator with others. I was observing the officer as he was typing something in his computer and also hoping he will take my passport and stamp it. He took my passport and he stamped something and start writting on it, he had two stamps on the desk, I still was not sure if I got it. Finally, he handed to me my passport and said to us "I am granting your case." We were so happy. He then mentioned that the stamp is valid for 1 month, because I will get the card within 3 weeks, and then he went over instruction on the removal of the two year conditional green card.
So everything took us about 30 minutes, we were in the car exactly at 11am off to celebrate.
My advise, have everything what they ask you on the interview letter including all the documents you filed. Be organised, it makes it easier on both side, dress neatly and if your marriage is bona fide then you have nothing to worry about.
Our interview was on 8/31/2006 at 10:30am, we arrived at 10:00am, by the time we got through the line, security point and dropping the letter at the window it was 10:15. The officer called us in at 10:30am, I was prepared to wait an hour.
The officer was in his 50's, he was very pleasant gentlement. He took us to his office, first he asked my husband, the petitioner, for the ID, then mine and he realised he needed to swear us, so we did it.
Everything went so fast, I will try to remember everything.
First, he asked for our marriage certificate, he said they did not have it, which I am sure I have sent it, then he asked how I met my husband, how I came to US, and if I ever have gone back. Then he asked me to verify my name and address. He asked when did we get married, I was going to say it, the officer said it for me. He asked about my husband current employment, he has changed the employment since we filed our papers. We had a letter from employer stating that my husband is hired there and how much he is expected to earn. Then, he asked for his pay stubs, I handed it to him but he even did not look at at them, he just wanted to make sure we have it. He also asked us for any documents where our names appear together, we gave him our bank statement, our car insurance, our gym membership, he kept it to make copies.
Here comes the scariest moment, my husband filed for the extension of 2005 taxes and we did not have a copy of it, but my husband assurred the officer that he filed it and it must be in the folder, the officer pass on it. I was scared that it will cause problems.
Then he turned to me and asked me what are my parents first names.
Finally, he asked for our wedding pictures, I said we eloped, but there are pictures. So we handed him a photo album, he just glanced at the first two pics and did not go futher. Then he started to type something on the computer, after that he said he needs to make copies of the pictures.
When he was gone, my husband and I tried to be relaxed, we still were not sure if we got it or not.
After the officer came back, he started to type something in the computer, my husband and I started talking to him, little talk like we usually do in the elevator with others
. I was observing the officer as he was typing something in his computer and also hoping he will take my passport and stamp it. He took my passport and he stamped something and start writting on it, he had two stamps on the desk, I still was not sure if I got it. Finally, he handed to me my passport and said to us "I am granting your case." We were so happy. He then mentioned that the stamp is valid for 1 month, because I will get the card within 3 weeks, and then he went over instruction on the removal of the two year conditional green card. So everything took us about 30 minutes, we were in the car exactly at 11am off to celebrate.
My advise, have everything what they ask you on the interview letter including all the documents you filed. Be organised, it makes it easier on both side, dress neatly and if your marriage is bona fide then you have nothing to worry about.
Last edited by a moderator:
liangfeixia
Registered Users (C)
interview experience
Hello everybody, I went to my interview yesterday in Salt Lake City office, Utah.
The appointment was at 2:00pm, we got there at 1:00pm, it seems they won't interview us early, even there were no other people waiting before us.
So we sat there for an hour, the officer called us right at 2:00pm.
He was a very nice man, he sworn us first, and then had us sit down. He started with confirming the information in form i-130, as he asked the questions from the forms, he checked on each of the answers. It was very straight forward. Easy questions. Because we were kind of nervous, so my husband choked up on our current address, he said the wrong street # first, (we were very worried about the address, because we used our parents address for the application, we thought that would be easier for us since we were not sure how soon we would move. Then we changed the address after we decided to stay in where we lived, which 3 months after we got married, and i lived there for 3 months before we got married. But we both used the other address for the forms, so if he asked where we live before, then we will have conflict answer with the form if we tell the truth. So we worried about that a lot), but the officer was very nice and just smiled when my husband slowed down and gave him the correct street number.
When he asked my birthday, I told him the wrong year, you know I was so nervous, I said the year of my husband's birthday, but I corrected it right away, and he just smiled. We felt very relieved after the address question, and since he was smiling all the time and very easy going, we felt much more comfortable from that point on.
he asked how long did we date before my husband popped the question, so my husband briefly told him that we met in March 2005 and he purposed on Dec 31 2005.
Then he asked me the criminal questions on the I-485 form. And cracked a joke at the end.
After that, he asked whether we understand all the questions in the forms when we were filling them out. We both said yes, so he said if there is any question, he will be happy to explain it to us. Then the explained about the conditional GC, and told us to remove that before it expires.
Then he asked what kind of evidences we brought to him, so I gave him our joined lease agreement, bank statement, health insurance, and he kept them with my application together. I asked whether he need more, he said maybe a couple more, so I gave him our rental insurance, and right after that he said that was good enough, he doesn't need more.
As he put those documents in the folder he also worked on the computer too, I assume he was putting the name of the documents I gave him in the computer as a record.
After that he told us that he approved our case, and we should receive the GC by mail in 7 to 14 days. He also said it might come as early as in 3 days. He also explained a little bit about how I could travel with my green card. and then he opened the other side of the folder contains all my applications and documents, and told me that even I applied for I-131 and i-765, I no longer need them since my green card is approved. And he also marked on those applications as "void".
Then finally he asked whether we have any questions for him. I asked him if he is going to stamp on my passport, he told me they no long do that. Because the stamp is for emergency traveling, and since the GC is coming in mail so soon, they no longer stamp the passport. And the other reason he told us is because there are a lot of passports got stolen, so to prevent other people from stealing and using the stamped passport, they no longer stamp on passport.
(I never heard that before the interview, so I am not sure it is a new thing, or it is just for a certain areas.)
Then we said goodbye to each other, and he wished us have a nice trip home. The whole interview lasted about 10-15min, it was really quick. We were so nervous while we were waiting, especially when we were not sure what to say about our address mistake. But it was much easier than we expected. My husband and I both thought it was a blessing that we got this nice officer; he was very polite and kind and smiled to us the whole time.
The only question I forgot to ask is how to file the application to remove the condition for the GC, do we do it through mail or we have to go to another interview in person. Can anybody give me some information on that? Thanks!
So, again, the interview went really smoothly, even we prepared a lot, and went through all the questions from the "interview FAQ" and was so nervous about the address thing. We also brought a lot of pictures and letters we wrote to each other, wedding invitations, etc, and I brought all the original documents, like birth certificate, marriage license, etc, but he did not ask for those at all.
I will say, to those who are going to the interview in the future, do prepare yourself, but don’t' worry about anything, because it makes you feel more nervous. Just relax, and things will go the way it suppose to.
Good luck to you all.
And thank you sooooooooo much for those who helped me, and answered all my questions here, I really appreciate you all, without your help, it would be much more difficult for me. So thanks again!!! You guys are the BEST!!!!!!
Hello everybody, I went to my interview yesterday in Salt Lake City office, Utah.
The appointment was at 2:00pm, we got there at 1:00pm, it seems they won't interview us early, even there were no other people waiting before us.
So we sat there for an hour, the officer called us right at 2:00pm.
He was a very nice man, he sworn us first, and then had us sit down. He started with confirming the information in form i-130, as he asked the questions from the forms, he checked on each of the answers. It was very straight forward. Easy questions. Because we were kind of nervous, so my husband choked up on our current address, he said the wrong street # first, (we were very worried about the address, because we used our parents address for the application, we thought that would be easier for us since we were not sure how soon we would move. Then we changed the address after we decided to stay in where we lived, which 3 months after we got married, and i lived there for 3 months before we got married. But we both used the other address for the forms, so if he asked where we live before, then we will have conflict answer with the form if we tell the truth. So we worried about that a lot), but the officer was very nice and just smiled when my husband slowed down and gave him the correct street number.
When he asked my birthday, I told him the wrong year, you know I was so nervous, I said the year of my husband's birthday, but I corrected it right away, and he just smiled. We felt very relieved after the address question, and since he was smiling all the time and very easy going, we felt much more comfortable from that point on.
he asked how long did we date before my husband popped the question, so my husband briefly told him that we met in March 2005 and he purposed on Dec 31 2005.
Then he asked me the criminal questions on the I-485 form. And cracked a joke at the end.
After that, he asked whether we understand all the questions in the forms when we were filling them out. We both said yes, so he said if there is any question, he will be happy to explain it to us. Then the explained about the conditional GC, and told us to remove that before it expires.
Then he asked what kind of evidences we brought to him, so I gave him our joined lease agreement, bank statement, health insurance, and he kept them with my application together. I asked whether he need more, he said maybe a couple more, so I gave him our rental insurance, and right after that he said that was good enough, he doesn't need more.
As he put those documents in the folder he also worked on the computer too, I assume he was putting the name of the documents I gave him in the computer as a record.
After that he told us that he approved our case, and we should receive the GC by mail in 7 to 14 days. He also said it might come as early as in 3 days. He also explained a little bit about how I could travel with my green card. and then he opened the other side of the folder contains all my applications and documents, and told me that even I applied for I-131 and i-765, I no longer need them since my green card is approved. And he also marked on those applications as "void".
Then finally he asked whether we have any questions for him. I asked him if he is going to stamp on my passport, he told me they no long do that. Because the stamp is for emergency traveling, and since the GC is coming in mail so soon, they no longer stamp the passport. And the other reason he told us is because there are a lot of passports got stolen, so to prevent other people from stealing and using the stamped passport, they no longer stamp on passport.
(I never heard that before the interview, so I am not sure it is a new thing, or it is just for a certain areas.)
Then we said goodbye to each other, and he wished us have a nice trip home. The whole interview lasted about 10-15min, it was really quick. We were so nervous while we were waiting, especially when we were not sure what to say about our address mistake. But it was much easier than we expected. My husband and I both thought it was a blessing that we got this nice officer; he was very polite and kind and smiled to us the whole time.
The only question I forgot to ask is how to file the application to remove the condition for the GC, do we do it through mail or we have to go to another interview in person. Can anybody give me some information on that? Thanks!
So, again, the interview went really smoothly, even we prepared a lot, and went through all the questions from the "interview FAQ" and was so nervous about the address thing. We also brought a lot of pictures and letters we wrote to each other, wedding invitations, etc, and I brought all the original documents, like birth certificate, marriage license, etc, but he did not ask for those at all.
I will say, to those who are going to the interview in the future, do prepare yourself, but don’t' worry about anything, because it makes you feel more nervous. Just relax, and things will go the way it suppose to.
Good luck to you all.
And thank you sooooooooo much for those who helped me, and answered all my questions here, I really appreciate you all, without your help, it would be much more difficult for me. So thanks again!!! You guys are the BEST!!!!!!
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workhomes2003
Registered Users (C)
We had our interview in Houston today. Officer was very nice. He was up to the point. First he asked as our Driver license and Passport. Then he asked our wedding date. He asked for insurance and bank statement. We gave him everything. He asked how my spouse came to the USA and then visa status .. Then he said he was ready to approve but he wanted to check the papers he had to see my spouse cleared the security.then he checked the FP status. He said all checks are clear except FBI Name check. He said sicne the interview happens fast these days, lot of people are struck in FBI name check. he said we should here in the next few months typically clears in 1 month. He also had our AP & EAD papers. Since we are struck in FBI check, he said he will approve EAD & AP and we should expect in 1 week in mail.
Appointment was for 1PM so we arrived at 12:30 to be on the safe side. Handed the appt. letter throught the window and proceeded to wait. Let me mention that the place was PACKED, I'd guess minimum 75 people or more.
So we waited, and waited, and at 2:00 I ran down to put more change in the parking meter. When I got back up, I asked at the window if they call folks in order of arrival because several people who got there way after us were done already.. she answered that you are assigned an officer and when it's your turn, they will call you. SWELL
At 2:50 we were called in, raise the right hand and sworn in. " you swear to tell the truth? " yea. OK, let's proceed.
Needless to say, I've had time to prepare, so I brought the kitchen sink
He saw the pile and said, ok hold up with all that... He specifically asked me who's baby we had there, and I said 'Ours." He said do you have the birth cert? I said original or copy, he said both. I gave him both, he handed back the original. He then asked to see our original marriage cert, even though he had a copy in his hand, then handed it back. Then he asked to see both of our divorce papers originals, then handed them back. After that he was typing and asked how we met, I BRIEFLY metioned that we met online 5 years ago while playing a pc game He remarked that was interesting and said that at this time he cannot approve us.
My jaw hit the floor.
Apparently the Dr. who filled out the 693 forgot to check the box that says no maladies, so he issued an RFE right there on the spot. The good news is, he said rather then mailing it in, "since you are approved once I get that" you can just bring it in, ask for me, and I'll stamp your passport
Smooth as pie, what a relief... took 7 minutes total.
Drove to see the Dr who was closed, so I'm going in the AM to get that fixed, then back to Newark to present it and get her Passport stamped.
Woohoo, done for now
Patty, Ari4u, lil_brit, singsmiles, runnin_swede, blondy and goodvibes-and everyone else who I failed to mention -- thanks for all the info and moral support
So we waited, and waited, and at 2:00 I ran down to put more change in the parking meter. When I got back up, I asked at the window if they call folks in order of arrival because several people who got there way after us were done already.. she answered that you are assigned an officer and when it's your turn, they will call you. SWELL
At 2:50 we were called in, raise the right hand and sworn in. " you swear to tell the truth? " yea. OK, let's proceed.
Needless to say, I've had time to prepare, so I brought the kitchen sink
He saw the pile and said, ok hold up with all that... He specifically asked me who's baby we had there, and I said 'Ours." He said do you have the birth cert? I said original or copy, he said both. I gave him both, he handed back the original. He then asked to see our original marriage cert, even though he had a copy in his hand, then handed it back. Then he asked to see both of our divorce papers originals, then handed them back. After that he was typing and asked how we met, I BRIEFLY metioned that we met online 5 years ago while playing a pc game
He remarked that was interesting and said that at this time he cannot approve us.My jaw hit the floor.
Apparently the Dr. who filled out the 693 forgot to check the box that says no maladies, so he issued an RFE right there on the spot. The good news is, he said rather then mailing it in, "since you are approved once I get that" you can just bring it in, ask for me, and I'll stamp your passport
Smooth as pie, what a relief... took 7 minutes total.
Drove to see the Dr who was closed, so I'm going in the AM to get that fixed, then back to Newark to present it and get her Passport stamped.
Woohoo, done for now
Patty, Ari4u, lil_brit, singsmiles, runnin_swede, blondy and goodvibes-and everyone else who I failed to mention -- thanks for all the info and moral support