Dear All,
It's a new beginning! Although, this case does not belong to Vermont Forum, but it's origin was from Vermont, back in Dec 2001.
Guys, seriously, I don’t know where to start. I will try to do my best. Finally, after 14 years, 5 years as F-1 Student(BSEE), 1 year optional practical training, 8 years of H-1, 4 address change since filing, 3 FP’s, 2 AP’s, 2 EAD’s, 2 Medicals finally our cases were approved yesterday. (14 years wait ended in 3 hours!!!!).
I would like to thank god and every single one of you for continued moral support. This website and its members mean a lot to me. All of you are part of this journey. Many members came and left as time moved on. I will specially like to thank, The Real Canadian, Marcilo, Dr. Evil, Noni, Ramu, RSK1, PremChopra, Tinnu, Staree, Likid, dsatish, cinta, fira, rapide1, fanshan, sam99, ticktocktick, stuka, Edison_nj, Mavishka, khanbacha. Definitely, Rajiv Khanna and creator of this website.
I really sorry if I excluded your name. I really hope for a faster approval for everybody. I really don’t want to sound like I had to suffer a lot; however, people who know me closely know how uncertainty and other factors contributed to bad times.
Here are the details. Hopefully, it would come in handy for someone still waiting. Our cases were filed at Vermont in Dec 2001 and as we all know nothing was done on 2001 cases until March of 2004. In May 2004, we got two emails from Vermont stating that our cases are transferred to Atlanta. Further since we live in Greenville, South Carolina, our cases got transferred to Charleston, Sub office for adjucation. As we all know that local office are further backedup. I had no hope to get an interview, until things picked up and 7 months later we were called upon on Nov1st, 2004.
We are familiar with this office in Charleston as we lived in this beautiful city. The downtown is very historic. We reached on Sunday a day before and stayed in the hotel because the interview was Monday morning around 11AM. We reached the office kind of early, around 10AM. When we reached we came to know that the computers are down due to some outage and then further the air-conditioning was not working. This is a very small office, and it was already 80 deg outside.
Anyway, when my wife was called around 11Am, she told the officer that I am the primary applicant. Therefore, the officer called me and she took me inside in her office. It’ was a simple office just like we have it at work, with shelves and desk and paper all over the place. This was a black lady, 6ft tall with a manly look and no expressions on her face. She started her questioning. She asked me for my birth certificate and I replied that I misplaced it. She said, your name is NOT on the certificate and with a dirty face she said it’s useless. Before, I could say anything she said, stand up. I thought it’s over at that time; however she asked me to take the oath. She made me sign attorney waiver form as my attorney was not going to represent us. She made my wife sign the same attorney waiver form. Then I gave her affidavits from my parents. She did not look too convinced(i guess there was nothing wrong with the affidavits it's just that they were made in india). She asked me for my employment card. Then I gave her my high school certificates, which she immediately liked and without even saying anything she made copies of those and she said can I keep these affidavits from my parents and uncle. I said sure. After that everything I knew would be a breeze because that’s the only factor that was stopping me. She had already made me sign on I-89 form and updated my address plus took my index finger print. They had already made the decision that they will approve my case. YOU WON’T BELIEVE THAT this OFFICER(BTW, her name was Karleen Williams) was so EFFICIENT. Continously she was making notes, and she was using the yellow sticky to jot down any notes and pasting on the forms. She went over all the paper work one by one like a school teacher grading. I can’t think of anything that she did not ask! She asked for my US University Degree. My nature of work. Then she asked look at the I-485 form, corrected my new address on all sheet of I-485 form. She was making notes while she was talking to me. (She complied a final white sheet on which she wrote all visa's i had, the day i arrived first in the country and basically a brief outcome of the interview).
I was already sweating because the office was on the fifth floor and with NO air conditioning it was kind of hot. I was not nervous as I knew I have nothing to hide. Anyways, the interview moved on and she took tax returns, pay stubs, employment letter, copy of my son’s birth certificate (US citizen), and questions about our marriage, how me and my wife met each other, she also verified the medicals that were submitted again, and she even verified the INS doctor in her list. Everything was just so quick. She was flipping papers like anything. Step by step she went over each and every detail.
She had a check list of the papers. Finally put together everything in order for the file that she has this document she has that document. The time passed so quickly and she looked at the clock and it was already 12PM. Then she started working on my wife’s paperwork before calling her inside. BShe had our photos that were submitted 3 years ago, but when I said I have set of new ones, with front facing she took them. I guess they are using old ones, but i still gave her new ones.
Then she asked me 15 questions on I-485 form about espionage, terrorism, helping illegal aliens, prostitution, etc!!! Ofcourse, i said NO to everything!!! Then she said to me, that you approved, however I cannot stamp your passport today as our computers are down. Moreover, the stamp is no good as we are ruling out the stamp. I said the stamp is still good in traveling and our attorney has notified us that they are still valid). I was trying to talk her into giving me the stamp. I was bit disappointed as I did not want to come again to Charleston, and all thoughts rolled into my mind about taking appointment from Info pass etc!!! But I kept my cool. I said that you are not going to take EAD and AP’s. She was like you are very keen on giving these back to me, let me take them from you At that time I realized it’s no point to joke with her.
She did take the I-94’s and attached to original I-485 folder. She said; mail me the EAD once you go for stamping. At times she did step out of the office. FOR THE FIRST TIME I GOT TO SEE OUR FILES FROM VERMONT! (not a big deal) THE COVER IS BROWN and file had USCIS written on them, propritary information. and there was note on the front(FTC to ATL). I think it means, File transfer to Atlanta. The tab on the file had our A’s on it! These people had done all sorts of research. I saw many many notes on the files made by the officers. There was research done on my case by Vermont staff or maybe this officer. At times she stepped out of the room many times and i did get opportunity to look at things. Basically this officer was just doing the clerical work. She was taking new information attaching with the outdated information. BIG DEAL!!! There were no tricky questions asked, they had already done their homework. (Had not been for the backlog, these cases can be approved in months instead of years).
Then she called my wife. All the questions were the same. She asked if we have another child besides this one we are supporting in India. She asked for Birth Certificate orginial for my wife as well. She tickmarked her copy with red pen that she has verified. however she said that I-134 (Affidavit of Support) form I had filled out is outdated therefore I need to fill out I-864. I said I downloaded this form from USCIS website 1 week ago. She grabbed a new form and she said I will notarize this form. It was already lunch time; she stepped up grabbed some snacks. She was taking casual approach and was going in and out of the office. Then she began to talk to my son, who is two years old. She found him very cute. We had to keep him calm by giving candies, and she wanted some from him. He gave flying kiss to the officer and then he gave her a hug.
Breath of relief came when someone from IT department walked in and said that the computers are up. It was already 2 hours in her room. By that time air-conditioning had started working also. I knew at that moment that she’ll be stamping our passports. Then she said, I will stamp your passport you need to wait outside as I need to verify, FBI Name Check/IBIS check.. I could see a note on her computer. Then we stepped outside, waited for 1 hours, she came outside with passport. No congratulations, nothing, she said I want your EAD. I gave her my EAD and shook her hands. The room was jam packed as all INFOPASS appointments were waiting outside.
Ya… we were excited, but it’s a big relief. The stamp does not even look real as you all know. She did not take Advance Paroles. She said the card will come in few days.
It’s a big relief you guys!!! (I always thought my time will come but didn't know when). Everything seems as if it's the same except that my chest feels less heavy now.
Again, sorry for lengthy message in regards to my green card interview. Please feel free to ask me any questions.
The bottom line is that if you nothing to hide everything will go smooth.
BEST OF LUCK TO ALL YOU IN YOUR FUTURE ENDEVORS!!!!
Best regards
-Tufan
(I am not signing off; I’ll be around to help all of you).
p.s. something really funny…… that you would expect in typical government office. There were no toilet rolls in the men’s room. Then there was no soap. 1 toilet out of 2 were working.
It's a new beginning! Although, this case does not belong to Vermont Forum, but it's origin was from Vermont, back in Dec 2001.
Guys, seriously, I don’t know where to start. I will try to do my best. Finally, after 14 years, 5 years as F-1 Student(BSEE), 1 year optional practical training, 8 years of H-1, 4 address change since filing, 3 FP’s, 2 AP’s, 2 EAD’s, 2 Medicals finally our cases were approved yesterday. (14 years wait ended in 3 hours!!!!).
I would like to thank god and every single one of you for continued moral support. This website and its members mean a lot to me. All of you are part of this journey. Many members came and left as time moved on. I will specially like to thank, The Real Canadian, Marcilo, Dr. Evil, Noni, Ramu, RSK1, PremChopra, Tinnu, Staree, Likid, dsatish, cinta, fira, rapide1, fanshan, sam99, ticktocktick, stuka, Edison_nj, Mavishka, khanbacha. Definitely, Rajiv Khanna and creator of this website.
I really sorry if I excluded your name. I really hope for a faster approval for everybody. I really don’t want to sound like I had to suffer a lot; however, people who know me closely know how uncertainty and other factors contributed to bad times.
Here are the details. Hopefully, it would come in handy for someone still waiting. Our cases were filed at Vermont in Dec 2001 and as we all know nothing was done on 2001 cases until March of 2004. In May 2004, we got two emails from Vermont stating that our cases are transferred to Atlanta. Further since we live in Greenville, South Carolina, our cases got transferred to Charleston, Sub office for adjucation. As we all know that local office are further backedup. I had no hope to get an interview, until things picked up and 7 months later we were called upon on Nov1st, 2004.
We are familiar with this office in Charleston as we lived in this beautiful city. The downtown is very historic. We reached on Sunday a day before and stayed in the hotel because the interview was Monday morning around 11AM. We reached the office kind of early, around 10AM. When we reached we came to know that the computers are down due to some outage and then further the air-conditioning was not working. This is a very small office, and it was already 80 deg outside.
Anyway, when my wife was called around 11Am, she told the officer that I am the primary applicant. Therefore, the officer called me and she took me inside in her office. It’ was a simple office just like we have it at work, with shelves and desk and paper all over the place. This was a black lady, 6ft tall with a manly look and no expressions on her face.
She started her questioning. She asked me for my birth certificate and I replied that I misplaced it. She said, your name is NOT on the certificate and with a dirty face she said it’s useless. Before, I could say anything she said, stand up. I thought it’s over at that time; however she asked me to take the oath. She made me sign attorney waiver form as my attorney was not going to represent us. She made my wife sign the same attorney waiver form. Then I gave her affidavits from my parents. She did not look too convinced(i guess there was nothing wrong with the affidavits it's just that they were made in india). She asked me for my employment card. Then I gave her my high school certificates, which she immediately liked and without even saying anything she made copies of those and she said can I keep these affidavits from my parents and uncle. I said sure. After that everything I knew would be a breeze because that’s the only factor that was stopping me. She had already made me sign on I-89 form and updated my address plus took my index finger print. They had already made the decision that they will approve my case. YOU WON’T BELIEVE THAT this OFFICER(BTW, her name was Karleen Williams) was so EFFICIENT. Continously she was making notes, and she was using the yellow sticky to jot down any notes and pasting on the forms. She went over all the paper work one by one like a school teacher grading. I can’t think of anything that she did not ask! She asked for my US University Degree. My nature of work. Then she asked look at the I-485 form, corrected my new address on all sheet of I-485 form. She was making notes while she was talking to me. (She complied a final white sheet on which she wrote all visa's i had, the day i arrived first in the country and basically a brief outcome of the interview).I was already sweating because the office was on the fifth floor and with NO air conditioning it was kind of hot. I was not nervous as I knew I have nothing to hide. Anyways, the interview moved on and she took tax returns, pay stubs, employment letter, copy of my son’s birth certificate (US citizen), and questions about our marriage, how me and my wife met each other, she also verified the medicals that were submitted again, and she even verified the INS doctor in her list. Everything was just so quick. She was flipping papers like anything. Step by step she went over each and every detail.
She had a check list of the papers. Finally put together everything in order for the file that she has this document she has that document. The time passed so quickly and she looked at the clock and it was already 12PM. Then she started working on my wife’s paperwork before calling her inside. BShe had our photos that were submitted 3 years ago, but when I said I have set of new ones, with front facing she took them. I guess they are using old ones, but i still gave her new ones.
Then she asked me 15 questions on I-485 form about espionage, terrorism, helping illegal aliens, prostitution, etc!!! Ofcourse, i said NO to everything!!! Then she said to me, that you approved,
however I cannot stamp your passport today as our computers are down. Moreover, the stamp is no good as we are ruling out the stamp. I said the stamp is still good in traveling and our attorney has notified us that they are still valid). I was trying to talk her into giving me the stamp. I was bit disappointed as I did not want to come again to Charleston, and all thoughts rolled into my mind about taking appointment from Info pass etc!!! But I kept my cool. I said that you are not going to take EAD and AP’s. She was like you are very keen on giving these back to me, let me take them from you At that time I realized it’s no point to joke with her. She did take the I-94’s and attached to original I-485 folder. She said; mail me the EAD once you go for stamping. At times she did step out of the office. FOR THE FIRST TIME I GOT TO SEE OUR FILES FROM VERMONT! (not a big deal) THE COVER IS BROWN and file had USCIS written on them, propritary information. and there was note on the front(FTC to ATL).
I think it means, File transfer to Atlanta. The tab on the file had our A’s on it! These people had done all sorts of research. I saw many many notes on the files made by the officers. There was research done on my case by Vermont staff or maybe this officer. At times she stepped out of the room many times and i did get opportunity to look at things. Basically this officer was just doing the clerical work. She was taking new information attaching with the outdated information. BIG DEAL!!! There were no tricky questions asked, they had already done their homework. (Had not been for the backlog, these cases can be approved in months instead of years).Then she called my wife. All the questions were the same. She asked if we have another child besides this one we are supporting in India. She asked for Birth Certificate orginial for my wife as well. She tickmarked her copy with red pen that she has verified. however she said that I-134 (Affidavit of Support) form I had filled out is outdated therefore I need to fill out I-864. I said I downloaded this form from USCIS website 1 week ago. She grabbed a new form and she said I will notarize this form. It was already lunch time; she stepped up grabbed some snacks. She was taking casual approach and was going in and out of the office. Then she began to talk to my son, who is two years old. She found him very cute. We had to keep him calm by giving candies, and she wanted some from him. He gave flying kiss to the officer and then he gave her a hug.
Breath of relief came when someone from IT department walked in and said that the computers are up. It was already 2 hours in her room. By that time air-conditioning had started working also. I knew at that moment that she’ll be stamping our passports. Then she said, I will stamp your passport you need to wait outside as I need to verify, FBI Name Check/IBIS check.. I could see a note on her computer. Then we stepped outside, waited for 1 hours, she came outside with passport. No congratulations, nothing, she said I want your EAD. I gave her my EAD and shook her hands. The room was jam packed as all INFOPASS appointments were waiting outside.
Ya… we were excited, but it’s a big relief. The stamp does not even look real as you all know. She did not take Advance Paroles. She said the card will come in few days.
It’s a big relief you guys!!! (I always thought my time will come but didn't know when). Everything seems as if it's the same except that my chest feels less heavy now.
Again, sorry for lengthy message in regards to my green card interview. Please feel free to ask me any questions.
The bottom line is that if you nothing to hide everything will go smooth.
BEST OF LUCK TO ALL YOU IN YOUR FUTURE ENDEVORS!!!!
Best regards
-Tufan
(I am not signing off; I’ll be around to help all of you).
p.s. something really funny…… that you would expect in typical government office. There were no toilet rolls in the men’s room. Then there was no soap. 1 toilet out of 2 were working.
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