Interview went well but still marked as "further review" - what to expect

lotus29

New Member
Hi,

I (foreigner) and my husband (USC) went in for the AOS interview last week. The officer was nice and made some small talk, but was very professional throughout. Our case is straightforward (married summer 2008, filed November 2008) - we have known each other for 4 years, lived together for 5 months before I moved for school.

I went to school in another city because I was admitted to my dream school for my MBA. We got engaged my first semester and have been flying back and forth since (every 3-4 weeks). I also spent my internship in my husband's city and I get along great with his family. Both families have met, we have tons of pictures, we are of similar age, education level, etc. I am moving back to his city this summer after graduation. At the interview, we explained everything and showed documentation containing both of our names, as well as pictures, letters, airline itineraries. The officer said "it looks fine" but he said that my file is very large (I've been in the country legally for about 10 years with different employers, graduate and undergraduate school) and he wants to look through all the documentation we sent.

He took my I-94, Advance Parole trave doc and my EAD cards and told me to look for the green card in the mail within 4 weeks and to call the number if "it gets lost in the mail". He even asked me which address we want the green card mailed to. But when he handed me the note, it said that the case has been continued for "further review". I'm confused - why would he mark "further review", while taking my documents and telling me to look for the card in the mail? Also, do most second interviews (aka fraud interviews) get scheduled during the first interview or later in the mail? I don't know if it's safe to assume no "fraud interview" is coming our way... He seemed so positive but I'm worried about the "further review" mark.
 
Issue resolved

Nevermind, my online case status just changed to indicate that they have ordered production of the card:). This shows that "further review" may not mean any further investigation - I guess officers sometimes use it to buy themselves more time to go throught the paperwork, if there's a lot of it, like in our case.
 
Congrat ... Your case is EXACTLY the same as mine. My spouse is going to school in another state (Pharm + MBA) and she's been travelling back and forth to visit me and her parents.

My interview is tomorrow and I hope everything will be ok :D ...
 
Good luck tomorrow luxuguy! Just make sure you bring plenty of documentation showing both your names, flight itineraries and pictures that the officer can keep. Also, he asked us twice about when I'm moving back to live with my husband - I guess you need to have a definite timeline of moving back in together. But as long as the degree and school are reputable, they understand the temporary separation. Best of luck!
 
Similar situation

Just wanted to let you all know that me and my husband had our interview in Fort Lauderdale, FL on February 23rd, the officer was great, told us that we were approved and that the welcome letter will get here in one week, but nothing came... We were told that the case is approved and waiting for final approval once the interview was done, so I was getting a bit worried as the days went by...

Then just now I got the email notice of CARD PRODUCTION ORDERED. Almost 3 weeks after the interview.

So don't worry if it takes them some time to reply... just be patient :)
 
Lital 182

Lital, we had our interview on Feb 17 in Oakland park, FL, I believe this is the same office where you had your interview, it's been three weeks and nothing, we were told my wife was recommended for approval and we should get something in the mail in three weeks, this waiting is killing me.
 
Guacho

Yes, we had the interview at the new Oakland Park office.

I know waiting is very hard, but just be patient... I drove myself crazy thinking that something was wrong.

I have heard from people around here that had to wait longer after the interview. South Florida has a lot more cases than other states.

Before we went in for our interview we overheard a lawyer explain to his client that if something is wrong during the interview they will tell you right away and give you the option to drop your case. He said that whenever they say that you are approved or that they recommend to approve you that means that everything is ok.

I hope that you will hear from them in a few days.

Reading this forum taught me that there is no definite timeline for the process, it seems like it just depends on the officer handling your case...

Good Luck :eek:
 
Hi lital182 and guacho

We had our interview at Oakland park /Florida in January 15 2009 at 8:30 am
Interview took only 15 minutes.Officer didnt ask much question.Just marriage date,our 3 years old son's birthday.some questions from I-485.He had all the copies we send and he wanted to see original of documents that's all.He took I-94.We have been married for 5 years.(Couldn't apply before because I got my naturalization certificate last year in march.But applied before for I-130 in 2004 and appproved in 2007.)At the end he said everything looks good he will review the file and let us know by mail in 2 months(by the way he was a young officer).So we are still waiting...
If nothing happens in two months we will go to infopass for information.
Good luck...
By the way,who was your interviewer?
Thank you.



I-485,I-765 Received Date: 07 Apr 2008
I-485,I-765 Notice Date: 11 Apr 2008
Fingerprinting Date: 07 May 2008
EAD Received: 21 Jun 2008
Interview letter received 11/20/2008 for january 15,2009
Last touch:january 6,2009
 
florida 17

thanks guys for your reply, Florida 17...our interview seems to be pretty much like yours, a pretty polite african american woman in her 40's, she asked basic questions:
1. how we met
2. how I proposed to my wife
3. there was a ceremony after the wedding?
4. Took a picture of the wedding and asked us who those people are...
5. where we got married.

She took my wife's I94 but not her work permit, we gave her a bunch of prove and paperwok, everytime we took something out of the folder she would go.." ohh yeahh let me have that"....at the end she said "this looks really good" and we thought we were gonna be approved at the spot, but then she realized that we were missing a police record from New York City since we lived there for a few years ( what is the point of the police record if my wife was fingerprinted anyway ??), she said I'm recommending you for approval but we might request that police record, you will get an answer in the mail in two or three weeks...either the green card or the RFE....so we are wating, it;s interesting that lital182, you and I were told the same thing about waiting.....could be the fact that the Oakland Park office opened just three months ago and most cases must be approved by the supervisor, but I'm surprised that they told you to wait two months......that's a lot to considering other district offices....
Florida17, let's keep in touch, send me Private Messages if you want...
thanks guys and I hope we all share good news soon..

Guacho.
 
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Florida17 and Guacho

Our officer was a young man, very nice, polite and respectful. Totally changed my view of the system.

The whole interview was much more pleasant than what I anticipated. Short and very casual. We brought a whole bag full of photo albums with us (5 years worth of photos...), but he only took a few photos of the wedding and didn't even look at the rest.

It is possible that because the Oakland Park branch is new it takes them longer to process approvals... Our lawyer said that technically they have 120-180 days to process the approval. I've heard of someone down here that waited 6 months after the interview and then just got the green card in the mail :rolleyes:

Good luck to both of you, I hope that you will hear something soon!
 
aos interview

Same situation here, my interview was march/09 , same office at OAKLAND PARK ,everything seemed to be ok, IO said i should get my card in 2 or 3 weeks, no ONLINE UPDATE yet, just waitting for any mail... lets hope for the best...
 
Same situation here, my interview was march/09 , same office at OAKLAND PARK ,everything seemed to be ok, IO said i should get my card in 2 or 3 weeks, no ONLINE UPDATE yet, just waitting for any mail... lets hope for the best...


hey embrj 145, so far 4 people with sucessful interviews and neither of them was approved at the interview, so I think this is the way Oakland Park works, let's hang together guys and keep in touch....I'm almost a month after the interview and nothing....

Guacho
 
quick update, today , march/16 i received a NOA I-130 was approved, and i had to wait for any decision about my adjustment of status application, etc etc etc ... no I-485 approval letter yet... :/
 
quick update, today , march/16 i received a NOA I-130 was approved, and i had to wait for any decision about my adjustment of status application, etc etc etc ... no I-485 approval letter yet... :/


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

Current Status: Card production ordered.

On March 17, 2009, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you. If you move before you receive the card, call customer service. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.

looks like its on its way ... :D
 
How do we check status online at uscis.gov. I have put in case in my portfolio and everything .. but I do not see any info getting updated. Latest it says " we received the case and it is pending". But from my timeline you can see my case has already moved a lot ahead .. why is online status not updated, how do you check latest updates? Am I missing something here?

Thanks in advance for all the help and infor.
 
Good News
Application Type: I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Current Status: Card production ordered.

On March 17, 2009, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you. If you move before you receive the card, call customer service. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.

looks like its on its way ... :D


Congratulations !!! great news indeed.......was you i485 based on marriage to a US citizen???

Guacho
 
How do we check status online at uscis.gov. I have put in case in my portfolio and everything .. but I do not see any info getting updated. Latest it says " we received the case and it is pending". But from my timeline you can see my case has already moved a lot ahead .. why is online status not updated, how do you check latest updates? Am I missing something here?

Thanks in advance for all the help and infor.

there is nothing else u can do, it takes a lil while to get update, and i heard some people dont get updated at all, i had NOA for I-130 approval and it wasnt update on their website, just hang on, u should be getting something soon ... good luck
 
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