Congretulation!!! so, when are we meeting at Global mall for the celebration??
Thank you!
Thank you!
TheRealCanadian said:Dropped by around 7:40am for the 8/8:30 interviews. No lineup (but if you have an interview notice you can go direct to the security guard and skip the line.) Once you get in through the metal detectors, again you can skip the next line and go to room 287. One hint: there's a front staircase and a sign for interviews; ignore it and walk all the way to the back until you get to the elevator. There's a staircase just past it. The upstairs waiting room is nicer than the downstairs holding area. Place your interview notice in the tray by the window and wait. (All INS waiting rooms seem to lack clocks - by design, I suspect.)
We had officer 'D', who turned out to be pretty friendly and nice to our 3 year old. The first thing she did was get us to swear the oath and our index finger stamp (which was a good omen). Confirmed our identities and dates of birth, etc. Then asked for employment letter, and rooted through my file. Never mentioned that it didn't match the I-140, although my wife says that she did check the I-140 approval notice.
Asked if we had been filing taxes, and I asked if a copy of my most recent 1040 was OK. She said that was fine, and took it. I had IRS transcripts for 99 through 2001, and PDF copies from TurboTax for 2002 and 2003. If you have the IRS transcripts, great, if not a copy should be fine.
She then took out a secure card and plugged it into a reader, and logged onto a web site. At first I was wondering if she was verifying my tax info with the IRS (gulp - I assume it's right but I just printed off the PDF that was on my PC) but it turns out she was logged into a Department of State site since her printout had the title "IV Request Approved". When you get the visa number, it's all over but the stamping.Which she then proceeded to do. (Based on what I saw, if you are an EB case there is no reason that you cannot get a visa number on the spot while you are there. I've heard of some folks not getting the stamp at the interview for this reason, and you shouldn't accept that. Fingerprints and IBIS checks are another matter, though.)
In some senses I ask myself "I waited almost two years for this?" but at the same time I am very grateful that it was so straightforward and simple. Thanks to all of you for sharing information and keeping us enthusiastic when Atlanta looked like it was never going to move.
Chatted for a minute or two and that was it. In case you're wondering, this is what an I-551 stamp looks like. Thanks everyone - and I'll keep hoping for all of you this month. Let's get together in a few years to bitch about how crummy N-400 processing is.