Stokes Interview Experience in San Francisco
My wife (USC) and I have had our second AOS interview in San Francisco USCIS office. I wanted to write the details of the interview before forgetting anything. I am sorry for the typos... I am writing really quickly.
Background:
We met and got married pretty quickly although we lived in different states. We could have moved in together approximately after 3 months in CA. My EAD and advance parole document came from the mail pretty fast after my initial application. We didn't hire a lawyer as I had many friends who went the process without an attorney and finished it successfully. We had been scheduled for a first interview in San Francisco in September 2010. The interview went bad due the lack of preparation and partially, the IO (Immigration Officer) was not a friendly person (No offense).
First Interview versus Second Interview:
I would like to share my experience briefly from the first interview before detailing the stokes interview (the second one). At the first interview, we waited for a while in the waiting room in San Francisco building. We saw several different couples waiting with their lawyers. During the waiting time, we saw different IOs coming in and out into the waiting room to pick the couples up. There was one precise IO that I really didn't want to have for the interview. Actually, we got her
) At this very moment, I knew this interview will end bad and it did. In 2-3 minutes to the interview, she decided that we have to come back another time. I couldn't accuse her really as we had been newly moved in together back that time and even my wife didn't have a driver license from CA yet. She gave us back the documents and told us to wait a notice from the mail in a couple of months. This was actually the notice for the stokes interview. We had the stokes interview notice within one month and it was scheduled for a month later in December. Not surprisingly, we had been very tense during the waiting period.
Stokes Interview:
For the second interview, we were prepared a little bit better. We had additional documents and pictures. We went into the building
quite early around 7.30AM. The notice was for 7.55AM. We went to the same waiting room. While we were waiting, I saw the same IO again. I prayed we don't have her again. I am not a religious person but It worked. We had a very pleasant and professional IO. She was Asian origin and very young. She took us into a room with a videotaping setting ready. Before starting the interview, she pressed RECORD and gave a description of the process. She didn't ask why we don't have a lawyer and or make any expressions. She made my wife to read the penalty of a fake marriage etc. She took me into a waiting room and she said she will be interviewing my wife alone first. We were expecting a similar setting. I waited in a small room approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes with another guy having a similar stokes interview with a lawyer. Scared of being videotaped, we did not talk to each other. It was really funny. Actually, it would have helped a lot both of us if we spoke a little bit.
After the waiting time, I saw my wife coming into the waiting room with IO. She had a very big smile on her face. At this point, I was not nervous anymore. The IO took me into the same room and said she is going to ask me a bunch of questions. She started to ask me around 100-150 questions as usual. You would only know them if you really lived together as a couple. So, some of them were really detail oriented. For example, "where was your wife when you woke up on Saturday morning?" After the initial questions about the location where we live and our parents etc. I recall some specific questions like "when did you have sex last time?", "Birth control methods you use?",
"Plans about having a family?". She was also looking for details that you would explain and she could double check from your wife.
During Saturday, we went to some remote place with a friend together. Although I remember the timeline in general, I don't remember many details such as:
"Who woke up first on Saturday?"
"Where was your spouse when you woke up?"
"What was she doing when you woke up?"
We have a 1 bedroom apartment and everything is very close to each other) so, I explained I can see her pretty much from anywhere in the apartment and I don't remember those details. She told me to explain what we did over the week-end beginning on Saturday. As I mentioned above, we went to shop with a friend. I suspect people track really what their spouse was doing precisely when they wake up. Personally, before getting a shower and a coffee, I am a zombie on the mornings. So, no chance for me to know these questions.
I have the impression this part of the interview went good as it was obvious that we went somewhere together on Saturday. After the interview, I discussed the questions/answers with my wife about the trip on Saturday. For example, she couldn't remember the details of the first shop we went into and I couldn't remember the place we ate together. I would advise you to try to remember everything about what you do in the previous days before the interview. She asked us if we bought anything. We did not buy anything, but our friend did. So, we could remember some specific details although there were mismatches. I don't think she expected us to remember every single detail.
More than two hours into the interview, the IO told me to go back to the waiting room and she restarted with my wife. I guess they went over the mismatches. After the interview, my wife said that the IO indicated that minor mismatches were not important such as the name of the burger place we went. After that she came back and asked me some additional questions. She also took the new pictures and other documents. The IO was not happy with the fact that we don't have too much things common property. She asked why I didn't transfer all of my money to the joint account and I still keep a separate account. The IO said something like, we didn't have too much really in the file and she wanted to support the case. I am not sure I understood her correctly at this point, but it was obvious that she was running out of time to wrap up the interview.
After few minutes, she did bring my wife back with my passport and driver licenses and she said we are done here and we can leave. Of course, I wanted to know the decision. I asked her "is it good or bad?" and "what is going to happen now?" She said she has to check with her supervisor and they will mail me the decision within two months max. She was smiling when I insisted. I don't know what this means. I also noticed she left the I-94 in my passport. I am not sure it is a good or bad sign as the previous postings about this are pretty much inconsistent for keeping or taking the I-94.
Now, I would like to know what you guys think about our experience? Am I adjusting my status or the case is still open?
All the best,
My wife (USC) and I have had our second AOS interview in San Francisco USCIS office. I wanted to write the details of the interview before forgetting anything. I am sorry for the typos... I am writing really quickly.
Background:
We met and got married pretty quickly although we lived in different states. We could have moved in together approximately after 3 months in CA. My EAD and advance parole document came from the mail pretty fast after my initial application. We didn't hire a lawyer as I had many friends who went the process without an attorney and finished it successfully. We had been scheduled for a first interview in San Francisco in September 2010. The interview went bad due the lack of preparation and partially, the IO (Immigration Officer) was not a friendly person (No offense).
First Interview versus Second Interview:
I would like to share my experience briefly from the first interview before detailing the stokes interview (the second one). At the first interview, we waited for a while in the waiting room in San Francisco building. We saw several different couples waiting with their lawyers. During the waiting time, we saw different IOs coming in and out into the waiting room to pick the couples up. There was one precise IO that I really didn't want to have for the interview. Actually, we got her
) At this very moment, I knew this interview will end bad and it did. In 2-3 minutes to the interview, she decided that we have to come back another time. I couldn't accuse her really as we had been newly moved in together back that time and even my wife didn't have a driver license from CA yet. She gave us back the documents and told us to wait a notice from the mail in a couple of months. This was actually the notice for the stokes interview. We had the stokes interview notice within one month and it was scheduled for a month later in December. Not surprisingly, we had been very tense during the waiting period.Stokes Interview:
For the second interview, we were prepared a little bit better. We had additional documents and pictures. We went into the building
quite early around 7.30AM. The notice was for 7.55AM. We went to the same waiting room. While we were waiting, I saw the same IO again. I prayed we don't have her again. I am not a religious person but It worked. We had a very pleasant and professional IO. She was Asian origin and very young. She took us into a room with a videotaping setting ready. Before starting the interview, she pressed RECORD and gave a description of the process. She didn't ask why we don't have a lawyer and or make any expressions. She made my wife to read the penalty of a fake marriage etc. She took me into a waiting room and she said she will be interviewing my wife alone first. We were expecting a similar setting. I waited in a small room approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes with another guy having a similar stokes interview with a lawyer. Scared of being videotaped, we did not talk to each other. It was really funny. Actually, it would have helped a lot both of us if we spoke a little bit.
After the waiting time, I saw my wife coming into the waiting room with IO. She had a very big smile on her face. At this point, I was not nervous anymore. The IO took me into the same room and said she is going to ask me a bunch of questions. She started to ask me around 100-150 questions as usual. You would only know them if you really lived together as a couple. So, some of them were really detail oriented. For example, "where was your wife when you woke up on Saturday morning?" After the initial questions about the location where we live and our parents etc. I recall some specific questions like "when did you have sex last time?", "Birth control methods you use?",
"Plans about having a family?". She was also looking for details that you would explain and she could double check from your wife.
During Saturday, we went to some remote place with a friend together. Although I remember the timeline in general, I don't remember many details such as:
"Who woke up first on Saturday?"
"Where was your spouse when you woke up?"
"What was she doing when you woke up?"
We have a 1 bedroom apartment and everything is very close to each other
) so, I explained I can see her pretty much from anywhere in the apartment and I don't remember those details. She told me to explain what we did over the week-end beginning on Saturday. As I mentioned above, we went to shop with a friend. I suspect people track really what their spouse was doing precisely when they wake up. Personally, before getting a shower and a coffee, I am a zombie on the mornings. So, no chance for me to know these questions.I have the impression this part of the interview went good as it was obvious that we went somewhere together on Saturday. After the interview, I discussed the questions/answers with my wife about the trip on Saturday. For example, she couldn't remember the details of the first shop we went into and I couldn't remember the place we ate together. I would advise you to try to remember everything about what you do in the previous days before the interview. She asked us if we bought anything. We did not buy anything, but our friend did. So, we could remember some specific details although there were mismatches. I don't think she expected us to remember every single detail.
More than two hours into the interview, the IO told me to go back to the waiting room and she restarted with my wife. I guess they went over the mismatches. After the interview, my wife said that the IO indicated that minor mismatches were not important such as the name of the burger place we went. After that she came back and asked me some additional questions. She also took the new pictures and other documents. The IO was not happy with the fact that we don't have too much things common property. She asked why I didn't transfer all of my money to the joint account and I still keep a separate account. The IO said something like, we didn't have too much really in the file and she wanted to support the case. I am not sure I understood her correctly at this point, but it was obvious that she was running out of time to wrap up the interview.
After few minutes, she did bring my wife back with my passport and driver licenses and she said we are done here and we can leave. Of course, I wanted to know the decision. I asked her "is it good or bad?" and "what is going to happen now?" She said she has to check with her supervisor and they will mail me the decision within two months max. She was smiling when I insisted. I don't know what this means. I also noticed she left the I-94 in my passport. I am not sure it is a good or bad sign as the previous postings about this are pretty much inconsistent for keeping or taking the I-94.
Now, I would like to know what you guys think about our experience? Am I adjusting my status or the case is still open?
All the best,
