Interview Experience
This is my experience of my interview this morning at the field office in Santa Ana, CA. It's rather detailed, so I apologize if you think it's too much info:
My interview was at 7:30, but I arrived 15 mins late (which I know is stupid, don't tell me
). I put my appointment letter in the designated basket and took a seat. I waited for quite a while but I had no idea how long - there was no clock in the room and cell phones were prohibited. People that arrived after me were called before me. Finally, they called my name and I went in. There was two female officers that saw me, one was observing the interview and seemed to be in training. The other lady explained to me that I had to wait longer because I was late, so I missed my slot (so to anyone reading this: DON'T BE LATE for your appointment, it'll delay things). First, she wanted to see my passport and state ID. When she saw I only had a temporary paper driver's license, she wondered what state I was in before and how come I only got my CA license now. I figured I should be honest and told her I realize I should have done it sooner, but simply hadn't. We laughed about it, and overall she was very courteous and professional. Next, I was put under oath. She explained that DV cases have a different procedure than family or employment based status adjustments. She was just going to ask questions, and I should answer to the best of my knowledge. Further, she warned me that I might be offended by some of the questions, but they're required by law to go through this procedure, and it's nothing personal. Basically, she then verified the data on my I-485, name, address, DOB, nationality, parents' names, when I last entered the US (she verified this on the actual I-94), etc. and asked some of the other I-485 questions (espionage, if I support terrorism, etc.), all while writing on the form. Everything seemed fine. She looked through the rest of the package I had submitted, noticing the birth certificate and didn't really care about the rest. The only thing she wanted to see was my original high school diploma (which I had brought), asked me where I went to school (if in the US or abroad), and that was it. Didn't ask for anything else. She then checked to see if my visa number was current and said she has to order the green card but couldn't because she had to request my file from the KCC and would do it today (because the Dept of State file is the basis for my adjusting status - I think usually this is already done by the time you have your interview). Because of that, she can't make a decision on my case just yet but doesn't see any reason why I wouldn't get approved; everything looks good. I asked her how long I should expect to wait for the green card, and she said I'll most likely get it before the end of the year, worst case mid-January. Further, she didn't want to take my I-94 yet because of that reason. Lastly, she checked for any questions and then brought me to the door. The whole time she said things like how great it was that I'm a lucky winner, what my parents thought when I won, what my plans are for the future and that I could apply for citizenship in 5 years if I wanted. Really very nice. I was out of there by 9:30, so the whole thing took me less than two hours, despite being late. Otherwise I'm sure it would have gone a lot faster.
So now I think I might call the KCC to make sure they send my file. Other than that it was super smooth. My online status hasn't changed - I don't expect it to until they get the file. I'll keep you guys posted when something happens. Let me know if you have any questions.
This is my experience of my interview this morning at the field office in Santa Ana, CA. It's rather detailed, so I apologize if you think it's too much info:
My interview was at 7:30, but I arrived 15 mins late (which I know is stupid, don't tell me
). I put my appointment letter in the designated basket and took a seat. I waited for quite a while but I had no idea how long - there was no clock in the room and cell phones were prohibited. People that arrived after me were called before me. Finally, they called my name and I went in. There was two female officers that saw me, one was observing the interview and seemed to be in training. The other lady explained to me that I had to wait longer because I was late, so I missed my slot (so to anyone reading this: DON'T BE LATE for your appointment, it'll delay things). First, she wanted to see my passport and state ID. When she saw I only had a temporary paper driver's license, she wondered what state I was in before and how come I only got my CA license now. I figured I should be honest and told her I realize I should have done it sooner, but simply hadn't. We laughed about it, and overall she was very courteous and professional. Next, I was put under oath. She explained that DV cases have a different procedure than family or employment based status adjustments. She was just going to ask questions, and I should answer to the best of my knowledge. Further, she warned me that I might be offended by some of the questions, but they're required by law to go through this procedure, and it's nothing personal. Basically, she then verified the data on my I-485, name, address, DOB, nationality, parents' names, when I last entered the US (she verified this on the actual I-94), etc. and asked some of the other I-485 questions (espionage, if I support terrorism, etc.), all while writing on the form. Everything seemed fine. She looked through the rest of the package I had submitted, noticing the birth certificate and didn't really care about the rest. The only thing she wanted to see was my original high school diploma (which I had brought), asked me where I went to school (if in the US or abroad), and that was it. Didn't ask for anything else. She then checked to see if my visa number was current and said she has to order the green card but couldn't because she had to request my file from the KCC and would do it today (because the Dept of State file is the basis for my adjusting status - I think usually this is already done by the time you have your interview). Because of that, she can't make a decision on my case just yet but doesn't see any reason why I wouldn't get approved; everything looks good. I asked her how long I should expect to wait for the green card, and she said I'll most likely get it before the end of the year, worst case mid-January. Further, she didn't want to take my I-94 yet because of that reason. Lastly, she checked for any questions and then brought me to the door. The whole time she said things like how great it was that I'm a lucky winner, what my parents thought when I won, what my plans are for the future and that I could apply for citizenship in 5 years if I wanted. Really very nice. I was out of there by 9:30, so the whole thing took me less than two hours, despite being late. Otherwise I'm sure it would have gone a lot faster.So now I think I might call the KCC to make sure they send my file. Other than that it was super smooth. My online status hasn't changed - I don't expect it to until they get the file. I'll keep you guys posted when something happens. Let me know if you have any questions.