Any May filers around?

Big congrats Tommy..........do you know the name of your IO?


I know this is a silly question.....but are you allowed to take water bottle inside?.......or at least get one inside?

Not sure if you can bring one, but at our DO, they had a vending machine inside the waiting room. I really do not see a problem though.
 
Congratulations, Tommy!
K.ambrose, while I do not post very much (I just started school, and I am very busy), I will for sure log in after the interview to let you and everyone else how it goes.
I had a dream this morning that I went to the interview and forgot the evidence home :( I am kind of nervous, but I am hoping things will go well. And as far as the dream, it's just a dream.
Tomorrow, I will review all the evidence and make sure things are in order, and go from there.
Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed for me.

Hi Luci_merlion, I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed for you and sending lots of best wishes your way! :) You'll be fine.
Dreams... they sometimes act up :rolleyes: because of stress, tension and all the what-nots that go on in our lives. Just disregard it and think positive thoughts :)

All the best, good luck and can't wait to hear from you on Monday! God bless...
 
Hi all -- as you know, my interview's coming up on Wednesday. All the advice given so far on this board has been great, but there's one thing I have a question about, which I don't think anyone has raised yet. What should I wear? My wife says I should wear a suit with tie, but I was thinking of something a little less formal. Any thoughts?

_________________

UK citizen on F-1 visa, married to US citizen

I-130, I-485, I-864, I-693 concurrently filed
04/30/2007: package mailed via USPS
05/01/2007: received date
05/07/2007: notice date
05/08/2007: checks cashed
05/24/2007: RFE for I-693 supplement
05/30/2007: RFE mailed with updated I-693 supplement
05/31/2007: biometrics appointment
06/25/2007: received interview letter
09/12/2007: interview appointment
 
Hi all -- as you know, my interview's coming up on Wednesday. All the advice given so far on this board has been great, but there's one thing I have a question about, which I don't think anyone has raised yet. What should I wear? My wife says I should wear a suit with tie, but I was thinking of something a little less formal. Any thoughts?

_________________

UK citizen on F-1 visa, married to US citizen

I-130, I-485, I-864, I-693 concurrently filed
04/30/2007: package mailed via USPS
05/01/2007: received date
05/07/2007: notice date
05/08/2007: checks cashed
05/24/2007: RFE for I-693 supplement
05/30/2007: RFE mailed with updated I-693 supplement
05/31/2007: biometrics appointment
06/25/2007: received interview letter
09/12/2007: interview appointment

Tairaesias, actually several people had previously mentioned in their very detailed interview experience anywhere from smart casuals (polo shirt and dress pants etc.) to business formals (suits and ties).

As for me and my hubby, I'm wearing a suit and he'll be in formal pants, long-sleeved shirt and a tie. Black dress shoes for both. Hope this helps somewhat.
 
Wear something, that you are confortable in, but also that shows the officer two things: You are not poor and will become a burden to the US and that you are not trying to hard, rented a Tuxedo kind of thing :p
 
Thanks K and Praetorian. I think my wife just wants to see me in a suit!

_________________

UK citizen on F-1 visa, married to US citizen

I-130, I-485, I-864, I-693 concurrently filed
04/30/2007: package mailed via USPS
05/01/2007: received date
05/07/2007: notice date
05/08/2007: checks cashed
05/24/2007: RFE for I-693 supplement
05/30/2007: RFE mailed with updated I-693 supplement
05/31/2007: biometrics appointment
06/25/2007: received interview letter
09/12/2007: interview appointment
 
Hi Guys... I've checked the website and this is the info I got, look at this...

Application Type: I130, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN

Current Status: Approval notice sent.

Application Type: I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Current Status: Notice mailed welcoming the new permanent resident.

Big Congratulations!! Enjoy :)

Neha
 
Gratulacje Tomek :) i milej podrozy do Polski... ja tez sie niedlugo wybieram :)

I went to the Motor Vehicle yesterday and I passed written part of the test... I could have a regular driving licence but my international driving licence was expired so they could not transfer it. So now I just have to easily translate my polish DL and they will transfer that one ;)
 
Gratulacje Tomek :) i milej podrozy do Polski... ja tez sie niedlugo wybieram :)

I went to the Motor Vehicle yesterday and I passed written part of the test... I could have a regular driving licence but my international driving licence was expired so they could not transfer it. So now I just have to easily translate my polish DL and they will transfer that one ;)

Witam, Lecimy z zona na 4 tygodnie za kilka dni - nie wydaje mi sie aby przyszla juz karta zielona ale lecimy na AP.

Dzieki za wsparcie.
Pzdr.

------------------------------------------------
We are flying out for 4 weeks to Poland in couple of dates on AP. Thank you all for the support.



Tomek.
 
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I have a question about renewal of the GC - The officer didn't mention anything about re newing the card afer 2 years. Is it different for people that were here few times and did not over stay.

Was here back in
2004 for 2 months
2006 for 3 months
2007 - that is when we got married (before visa expireation date)

Maybe for people that did not over stay they do care about renew of the card.

Anyone?
 
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Gratulacje Tomek :) i milej podrozy do Polski... ja tez sie niedlugo wybieram :)

I went to the Motor Vehicle yesterday and I passed written part of the test... I could have a regular driving licence but my international driving licence was expired so they could not transfer it. So now I just have to easily translate my polish DL and they will transfer that one ;)

From seeing your signature, wow... and congratulations on becoming a PR, I hope my process goes as fast as yours.
 
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I have a question about renewal of the GC - The officer didn't mention anything about re newing the card afer 2 years. Is it different for people that were here few times and did not over stay.

Was here back in
2004 for 2 months
2006 for 3 months
2007 - that is when we got married (before visa expireation date)

Maybe for people that did not over stay they do care about renew of the card.

Anyone?

As far as I know, it has nothing to do with over staying. It depends on how long you've been married. If they give you the GC before 2 years of marriage you'll get a "conditional GC" that you must renew before the 2nd anniversary of your PR. That's what our IO explained to us.

They'll give you a 10 years GC if you were married for more than 2 years at the time permanent residency is granted. Hope this helps :)
 
We will see what happens thanks for the info.



As far as I know, it has nothing to do with over staying. It depends on how long you've been married. If they give you the GC before 2 years of marriage you'll get a "conditional GC" that you must renew before the 2nd anniversary of your PR. That's what our IO explained to us.

They'll give you a 10 years GC if you were married for more than 2 years at the time permanent residency is granted. Hope this helps :)
 
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Is it not sad that after I took the time to actually write my interview experience, the message did not go through? I logged in, yet after I submitted the answer, it asked me to sign in again...i did, but the message was lost.

Anyways, I just wanted to say I was APPROVED! It was a 50 minutes long interview. I may re-write the details later, but i just wanted to send this in first.
 
Is it not sad that after I took the time to actually write my interview experience, the message did not go through? I logged in, yet after I submitted the answer, it asked me to sign in again...i did, but the message was lost.

Anyways, I just wanted to say I was APPROVED! It was a 50 minutes long interview. I may re-write the details later, but i just wanted to send this in first.

CONGRATS..........
 
So, yeah, now that I got over the technical problems, here's how my interview went:
(I wrote more in the other message, but since it did not go through, I'll just post the main things).

Hubby and I arrived to the Immigration office half an hour before the scheduled interview time. We passed the security check, first me, and then him. We went inside, and, as advised by our lawyer, we did NOT turn in the interview notice. The lawyer came in and we talked about the latest developments on the case, particularly as we recently moved in a different state. Hubby looked for work in this new city, but is waiting for a license before he can start working in this new city, and decided to stay in Philly for the time being and work. We had evidence of him having applied for this license, a letter from the new landlord with both names on it (we did not have an actual lease, as the landlord said we are free to stay as long as we want without any strings attached/lease term). Lawyer turned in the appointment letter just before the actual appointment time, and we were called in 2 minutes after that.
We set down, and the office sworn us in. He then proceeded to go through the forms and verify hubby's name, date of birth etc. The lawyer then told the officer about address change and he said he may not be able to process the case as a new jurisdiction may now need to be involved. Say what, I told to myself??!! My lawyer then told him that the policy is for interview to take place where the case was filed, and politely suggested to run that through his superviser, if needed. He said the computer may not let him put the new address in/process my case. He put this issue on hold for a moment, and went on to ask me when we got married and if we had any marriage pictures. I showed him a bunch, and there were a few that caught his attention (e.g. picture of hubby, myself, and the statue of Rockie lol in Center City Philadelphia, both dressed up in wedding clothes; picture of a plate with crabs-I told him we went to a Malay restaurant after the wedding and that's what we ate. I threw that picture in there just with the crabs, and another one with our wedding cake :)), then he also made a comment about a picture with hubby's family in front of a restaurant named after my country...for a minute he actually thought we visited my country together :) )
We then talked about my acceptance into a PhD program in this new city and he asked me what I studied there. I told him, and he gave his opinion on the subject matter...I agreed with him, after all he was quite right in his assessment. He asked my husband about his educational background and how he got to be a citizen (he was born elsewhere). He also asked him when he will be join me full time in this new city, and hubby told him that it will be in 2 weeks.
The officer went to make some copies. He then said he did not want to let us go until he finished everything with the case. we told him we were happy to wait. He stampped the file and updated my address in the system...finally, the computer worked!!!
All in all, this has been quite an experience. The outcome of the interview was earned, so to speak. It could have gone either way. (At the beginning I was nervous..He checked my hubby's passport and it does not have some security chip, he shook his head because of this...oh well, it is not our fault).
Some lessons learned: be confident, make eye contact with the officer, don't give away more details than asked, hire a lawyer if you think you need it (you will know when you need it). Personally, when I came to U.S. the first time I had my passport stamped "subject to 212e" by mistake, and I was afraid this issue may came up, but like I said, it was a mistake, and my prior visas did not even come into discussion. I have never overstayed. I believe that this, as well as the fact that I am now in graduate school weighted a lot in his decision. My lawyer had to ask for the outcome of the interview (officer stamped the file and updated status in the system, but did not verbally told us we were approved) and he said I should get my card in 2 weeks or so. Just now I got an e-mail that card production was ordered.

Thank you for reading my story, and good-luck to everyone for your interview!

P.S. K.ambrose, thanks for your support. I am very happy my interview went well. Please be sure to be there on time/earlier, if possible. My officer thanked us for being on time, and I think this also had a possitive impact on the final decision. Good-luck, and keep us updated of how things go on Wednesday.
 
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So, yeah, now that I got over the technical problems, here's how my interview went:
(I wrote more in the other message, but since it did not go through, I'll just post the main things).

Hubby and I arrived to the Immigration office half an hour before the scheduled interview time. We passed the security check, first me, and then him. We went inside, and, as advised by our lawyer, we did NOT turn in the interview notice. The lawyer came in and we talked about the latest developments on the case, particularly as we recently moved in a different state. Hubby looked for work in this new city, but is waiting for a license before he can start working in this new city, and decided to stay in Philly for the time being and work. We had evidence of him having applied for this license, a letter from the new landlord with both names on it (we did not have an actual lease, as the landlord said we are free to stay as long as we want without any strings attached/lease term). Lawyer turned in the appointment letter just before the actual appointment time, and we were called in 2 minutes after that.
We set down, and the office sworn us in. He then proceeded to go through the forms and verify hubby's name, date of birth etc. The lawyer then told the officer about address change and he said he may not be able to process the case as a new jurisdiction may now need to be involved. Say what, I told to myself??!! My lawyer then told him that the policy is for interview to take place where the case was filed, and politely suggested to run that through his superviser, if needed. He said the computer may not let him put the new address in/process my case. He put this issue on hold for a moment, and went on to ask me when we got married and if we had any marriage pictures. I showed him a bunch, and there were a few that caught his attention (e.g. picture of hubby, myself, and the statue of Rockie lol in Center City Philadelphia, both dressed up in wedding clothes; picture of a plate with crabs-I told him we went to a Malay restaurant after the wedding and that's what we ate. I threw that picture in there just with the crabs, and another one with our wedding cake :)), then he also made a comment about a picture with hubby's family in front of a restaurant named after my country...for a minute he actually thought we visited my country together :) )
We then talked about my acceptance into a PhD program in this new city and he asked me what I studied there. I told him, and he gave his opinion on the subject matter...I agreed with him, after all he was quite right in his assessment. He asked my husband about his educational background and how he got to be a citizen (he was born elsewhere). He also asked him when he will be join me full time in this new city, and hubby told him that it will be in 2 weeks.
The officer went to make some copies. He then said he did not want to let us go until he finished everything with the case. we told him we were happy to wait. He stampped the file and updated my address in the system...finally, the computer worked!!!
All in all, this has been quite an experience. The outcome of the interview was earned, so to speak. It could have gone either way. (At the beginning I was nervous..He checked my hubby's passport and it does not have some security chip, he shook his head because of this...oh well, it is not our fault).
Some lessons learned: be confident, make eye contact with the officer, don't give away more details than asked, hire a lawyer if you think you need it (you will know when you need it). Personally, when I came to U.S. the first time I had my passport stamped "subject to 212e" by mistake, and I was afraid this issue may came up, but like I said, it was a mistake, and my prior visas did not even come into discussion. I have never overstayed. I believe that this, as well as the fact that I am now in graduate school weighted a lot in his decision. My lawyer had to ask for the outcome of the interview (officer stamped the file and updated status in the system, but did not verbally told us we were approved) and he said I should get my card in 2 weeks or so. Just now I got an e-mail that card production was ordered.

Thank you for reading my story, and good-luck to everyone for your interview!

P.S. K.ambrose, thanks for your support. I am very happy my interview went well. Please be sure to be there on time/earlier, if possible. My officer thanked us for being on time, and I think this also had a possitive impact on the final decision. Good-luck, and keep us updated of how things go on Wednesday.

What fantastic news! :) CONGRATULATIONS,Luci_merlion :) :) Rest easy now. I hope that ours goes well and we get an approval at the end of the interview just like you did. I noticed the officer did not ask for joint documents...
We'll make sure we're there early as ours is at 8:30 am this Wed. Again, a big congratulations and thank you so much for posting your experience. Celebrate now.
 
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