ChicagoGal
Registered Users (C)
What is the name of your state? IL
Interview office: 230 S. Dearborn, Chicago IL
Interview date: November 16th 2004
I thought I should post my interview experience to hopefully alleviate the anxiety and fears some applicants are going through
• May 2003 Filed I130 and I485 together
• June and July 2003 Received AP and EAD card
• September 2003 Fingerprints taken
• July 2004 2nd EAD card issued
• Aug 2004 Second fingerprints taken
• November 2004 AOS interview scheduled
We didn’t over prepare as many have done and brought documents requested in the appointment letter along with copies of originals. The wait was rather long even though we were 20 minutes early and many who came after us were called in first. That got me slightly concerned but at this point, I was only hoping for a friendly officer to interview us. Finally, after 1 ½ hours, a lady ushered us into her office and proceeded to lead us in the oath. After that, we sat down and she quickly stated all the documents we needed to show her while she typed in my data in the computer. Her name was Maher and she was very professional and efficient. Although friendly enough, she was extremely thorough in looking through the documents and even asked to look at my first student U.S. visa err…. about 8 years ago. Luckily, I had my old passport with me. I think people should bring their passport which has the first record of their entry into the U.S. The most important documents to bring are:
• Tax returns and W2s (My husband’s briefcase was stolen the day he was going bring all our W2s to the tax accountant about 6 months ago so we didn’t have originals but we did have copies. She was a bit irked to notice that my husband’s W2 form was missing although we did have a tax return.)
• Lease or mortgage agreements. Car ownership and joint account statements.
• Wedding photos!!! She stapled ours to our file. I didn’t know we had to bring copies of that but I just happened to have duplicates with me. Lucky again!
• Original employment letters for my husband and me.
• Original birth certificates for the petitioner and beneficiary. (MUST BE ORIGINAL)
Items not requested:
• New medical exam form. I basically wasted $90 and some blood for the medical test because I was told that the medical exam is only valid for a year.
• ADIT photos. She did check the photos she had on file and decided that I pretty much look the same as before.
• Previous copies of EAD cards and H1 visas.
I thought that I would have to mail in the missing W2s and have to spend another infinite period of time waiting but this was not the case. She made a split second decision after it was pretty obvious that ours wasn’t a scam marriage and that our professions would put us far above the poverty line. No uncomfortable questions were asked. The standard set of questions were posed in a rapid fire way and basically I just answered No to everything. The only few questions she asked were when we got married and what were our professions. We signed a document stating that we knew we are supposed to remove the conditional status in the stated period of time. She tore out my I20, took away the EAD card, and stamped by passport. Then, she informed us that it would probably take 3 months for a green card to arrive. I assume that all security checks have been completed since she did stamp on my passport and gave us a letter confirming my conditional status as of Nov 16 2004. Finally, she advised us not to get a divorce or the petition would be voided. In other words, you have to stay married to the same person until the entire process is complete. I plan to stay married so I guess no problem there.
The most interesting thing I noticed in the waiting room was the high number of attorneys. Some applicants had their whole family in tow along with a translator and attorney. It was funny to see an entourage trooping into the interview room with barely enough seats. There was a mini drama when a couple was called but their attorney was with another client on the same day at the same time! The officer looked a little upset and told the poor distraught couple that they had to reschedule. They didn’t seem to understand English very well so fortunately, someone else’s attorney who spoke Spanish was able to explain the situation to them. I think the office took pity on them and led them in for an interview without the presence of the attorney. I told my husband I surely would have fired the guy.
Ok folks, so that’s it. The journey is almost complete. Good luck to everyone for a painless journey to obtaining a green card.
A happy Chicago gal
Interview office: 230 S. Dearborn, Chicago IL
Interview date: November 16th 2004
I thought I should post my interview experience to hopefully alleviate the anxiety and fears some applicants are going through
• May 2003 Filed I130 and I485 together
• June and July 2003 Received AP and EAD card
• September 2003 Fingerprints taken
• July 2004 2nd EAD card issued
• Aug 2004 Second fingerprints taken
• November 2004 AOS interview scheduled
We didn’t over prepare as many have done and brought documents requested in the appointment letter along with copies of originals. The wait was rather long even though we were 20 minutes early and many who came after us were called in first. That got me slightly concerned but at this point, I was only hoping for a friendly officer to interview us. Finally, after 1 ½ hours, a lady ushered us into her office and proceeded to lead us in the oath. After that, we sat down and she quickly stated all the documents we needed to show her while she typed in my data in the computer. Her name was Maher and she was very professional and efficient. Although friendly enough, she was extremely thorough in looking through the documents and even asked to look at my first student U.S. visa err…. about 8 years ago. Luckily, I had my old passport with me. I think people should bring their passport which has the first record of their entry into the U.S. The most important documents to bring are:
• Tax returns and W2s (My husband’s briefcase was stolen the day he was going bring all our W2s to the tax accountant about 6 months ago so we didn’t have originals but we did have copies. She was a bit irked to notice that my husband’s W2 form was missing although we did have a tax return.)
• Lease or mortgage agreements. Car ownership and joint account statements.
• Wedding photos!!! She stapled ours to our file. I didn’t know we had to bring copies of that but I just happened to have duplicates with me. Lucky again!
• Original employment letters for my husband and me.
• Original birth certificates for the petitioner and beneficiary. (MUST BE ORIGINAL)
Items not requested:
• New medical exam form. I basically wasted $90 and some blood for the medical test because I was told that the medical exam is only valid for a year.
• ADIT photos. She did check the photos she had on file and decided that I pretty much look the same as before.
• Previous copies of EAD cards and H1 visas.
I thought that I would have to mail in the missing W2s and have to spend another infinite period of time waiting but this was not the case. She made a split second decision after it was pretty obvious that ours wasn’t a scam marriage and that our professions would put us far above the poverty line. No uncomfortable questions were asked. The standard set of questions were posed in a rapid fire way and basically I just answered No to everything. The only few questions she asked were when we got married and what were our professions. We signed a document stating that we knew we are supposed to remove the conditional status in the stated period of time. She tore out my I20, took away the EAD card, and stamped by passport. Then, she informed us that it would probably take 3 months for a green card to arrive. I assume that all security checks have been completed since she did stamp on my passport and gave us a letter confirming my conditional status as of Nov 16 2004. Finally, she advised us not to get a divorce or the petition would be voided. In other words, you have to stay married to the same person until the entire process is complete. I plan to stay married so I guess no problem there.
The most interesting thing I noticed in the waiting room was the high number of attorneys. Some applicants had their whole family in tow along with a translator and attorney. It was funny to see an entourage trooping into the interview room with barely enough seats. There was a mini drama when a couple was called but their attorney was with another client on the same day at the same time! The officer looked a little upset and told the poor distraught couple that they had to reschedule. They didn’t seem to understand English very well so fortunately, someone else’s attorney who spoke Spanish was able to explain the situation to them. I think the office took pity on them and led them in for an interview without the presence of the attorney. I told my husband I surely would have fired the guy.
Ok folks, so that’s it. The journey is almost complete. Good luck to everyone for a painless journey to obtaining a green card.
A happy Chicago gal