Ok...here goes....
My appointment was scheduled for 10AM this morning and I received the appointment notice November 2004 so it was well in advance. It's for a marriage-based GC.
I took a cab and got stuck in some traffic so we didn't end up at 26 Federal Plaza until around 9:30AM. Got to the Worth St entrance and showed the guard our appointment letter and ID. Went through security check (took about 10 mins) and then went to the 8th floor.
9:40AM - Took my appointment letter and gave it to the clerk who told me to take a seat and I would be called. There was a sign on her desk that said "2-3 hour delay" or something..
11:00AM - I was called over loudspeaker to go to the glass door leading to interview rooms. I went with my wife and we followed the female officer to her office.
Highlights of interview:
1- She had a HUGE file she was going through of what I guess are all the documents the INS/USCIS has on me
2 - She asked to see my passport and my wife's (who is the USC) driver license..her passport was not sufficient. We had that so it was ok.
3 - She asked for "Affadavit of Support" since the one filed by my lawyers didn't show enough income, etc. This was a huge problem since I didn't have another one but she was nice enough to go to the USCIS website on her PC, print one out and have us fill it out. Once we filled it out, we signed it infront of her and she notarized it.
4 - She asked for evidence of bonafide marriage. Gave her medical insurance cards, marriage certificate, joint lease, bank account,etc. She asked if I had made photocopies of my insurance cards which shocked me. I said no. She got up and made photocopies of them. She also asked for my sealed envelope with my medical exam results which I gave her.
5 - She then asked for pictures and after looking through them she told us she was going to keep 2. We said ok.
6 - She made a huge deal about whether I had applied before which my parents had done but they had withdrawn the application...I said no thinking they wouldn't have a record but it turns out they did. She gave me a hard time as to why I didn't say I had applied before and I told her it was my parents and I was young, etc etc...she said "Well it wasn't like you were 6, you knew what was going on." I realized she was getting annoyed so I just stopped talking.
7 - She confirmed our mailing address. She wrote in my passport and then said "You are all set, you will receive your GC in the mail"
8 - I asked her if she is going to stamp my passport and she said no. I then told her that I had not received my EAD or AP, should I get temporary ones until my GC arrives. She said "I have your EAD app right here and I could give you an EAD if I was putting your app on hold but I'm not so you won't even need the EAD." She also said that we should get the GC within a month or two max and we were part of a "fast-track process"
Things that worry me:
a) I didn't see her even opening the medical exam envelope which was odd...
b) She didn't ask for the IRS certified transcripts, employee letters, or other common items mentioned by people on this board
c) She didn't ever once say we were "approved"
d) I have no idea how long it's going to take to get the GC in the mail? What is the experience of people?
e) There's no stamp on the passport...just says in small print "I-485 Pending A# (my alien number) xxxxx (her name) DAO SEC245 2/9/05". That's it. Is this normal process for NYC? I spoke to my laywer afterwards and they said that processes are different in different offices...some of them stamp your passport and some may just mail you a card.
f) She never once mentioned anything about a background or security check.
Overall I left confused as to where I am now...she was very COLD, never smiled and at times I thought she was just going to deny the app.
I'd appreciate feedback on people who've gone through this and specifically how long it took to get your green card in the mail? I hope it comes soon.
My appointment was scheduled for 10AM this morning and I received the appointment notice November 2004 so it was well in advance. It's for a marriage-based GC.
I took a cab and got stuck in some traffic so we didn't end up at 26 Federal Plaza until around 9:30AM. Got to the Worth St entrance and showed the guard our appointment letter and ID. Went through security check (took about 10 mins) and then went to the 8th floor.
9:40AM - Took my appointment letter and gave it to the clerk who told me to take a seat and I would be called. There was a sign on her desk that said "2-3 hour delay" or something..
11:00AM - I was called over loudspeaker to go to the glass door leading to interview rooms. I went with my wife and we followed the female officer to her office.
Highlights of interview:
1- She had a HUGE file she was going through of what I guess are all the documents the INS/USCIS has on me
2 - She asked to see my passport and my wife's (who is the USC) driver license..her passport was not sufficient. We had that so it was ok.
3 - She asked for "Affadavit of Support" since the one filed by my lawyers didn't show enough income, etc. This was a huge problem since I didn't have another one but she was nice enough to go to the USCIS website on her PC, print one out and have us fill it out. Once we filled it out, we signed it infront of her and she notarized it.
4 - She asked for evidence of bonafide marriage. Gave her medical insurance cards, marriage certificate, joint lease, bank account,etc. She asked if I had made photocopies of my insurance cards which shocked me. I said no. She got up and made photocopies of them. She also asked for my sealed envelope with my medical exam results which I gave her.
5 - She then asked for pictures and after looking through them she told us she was going to keep 2. We said ok.
6 - She made a huge deal about whether I had applied before which my parents had done but they had withdrawn the application...I said no thinking they wouldn't have a record but it turns out they did. She gave me a hard time as to why I didn't say I had applied before and I told her it was my parents and I was young, etc etc...she said "Well it wasn't like you were 6, you knew what was going on." I realized she was getting annoyed so I just stopped talking.
7 - She confirmed our mailing address. She wrote in my passport and then said "You are all set, you will receive your GC in the mail"
8 - I asked her if she is going to stamp my passport and she said no. I then told her that I had not received my EAD or AP, should I get temporary ones until my GC arrives. She said "I have your EAD app right here and I could give you an EAD if I was putting your app on hold but I'm not so you won't even need the EAD." She also said that we should get the GC within a month or two max and we were part of a "fast-track process"
Things that worry me:
a) I didn't see her even opening the medical exam envelope which was odd...
b) She didn't ask for the IRS certified transcripts, employee letters, or other common items mentioned by people on this board
c) She didn't ever once say we were "approved"
d) I have no idea how long it's going to take to get the GC in the mail? What is the experience of people?
e) There's no stamp on the passport...just says in small print "I-485 Pending A# (my alien number) xxxxx (her name) DAO SEC245 2/9/05". That's it. Is this normal process for NYC? I spoke to my laywer afterwards and they said that processes are different in different offices...some of them stamp your passport and some may just mail you a card.
f) She never once mentioned anything about a background or security check.
Overall I left confused as to where I am now...she was very COLD, never smiled and at times I thought she was just going to deny the app.
I'd appreciate feedback on people who've gone through this and specifically how long it took to get your green card in the mail? I hope it comes soon.