AOS FILERS: OCTOBER 2008

[Kang Lang 7]

ok so I have a kind of stupid question:)I made copies of every document and I am bringing both the originals and the copies with us to the interview.when they ask for a document do I show the copy of that document or the original?I mean if they want to keep it do they ask me if they can keep it or if i have a copy?

or should I just hand them the copies and if they ask the originals then show the originals???

I would suggest to show the original and then offer a copy. That's what I'm going to do anyway.

Yes that's what we did and the adjudicating officer really appreciated that.

Congrats BTB!!!!!

Congrats Sweet!!

Canadian...i've still got my fingers and toes crossed man!

[Eli the Barrowboy 16]

Hopefully today's the day Canadian ... rooting for you big time.

[Rosie74 0]

I'm finally back from the USCIS office, and we are APPROVED!!! :dance:

Our appointment was at 10:00, but we were only called in at 11:10.. and all the waiting was really nerve-wrecking!

We were finally called in and introduced to the officer that interviewed us, who scared us right away by telling us he had just finished the paperwork for 2 arrests for sham marriage!! Obviously he did that to intimidate us, but since we had nothing to hide we actually showed we were very calm and his attitude changed right after that. He asked us for the original passport and marriage certificate, my husband's divorce papers, how we met, where, where did we live and currently live, the names of my husband's kids and how old they are.

Then he looked at some of the wedding pictures we brought and said he didn't need any more paperwork from us. He went through my medical and signed it off, then took out a big stamp with "APPROVED" on it and stamped a couple of papers with it.

He took my I-94, my EAD card (sigh.. I wanted to keep it as a memory..) and my AP papers and told me we will have to remove conditions in 2 years since we have been married for less than 2 years (even if we're only 4 months short!).

Then we had to sign some paper and date it and that was it. He congratulated us for being his first real marriage of the day (!!), and told us we should get the card in 10 days. If not, he even gave us his name and phone number to call him!!

Overall, we were in and out in 15 minutes.. too bad we waited over an hour to be called!

I'm happy!! Now we're immigration free for one year and 9 months.. then we start again! LOL!

Good luck to everyone else with pending interviews or pending approvals (Canadianmade, you're in my thoughts and I hope something good will happen very soon!)

Good luck everyone!!

:dance:

[Rosie74 0]

ok so I have a kind of stupid question:)I made copies of every document and I am bringing both the originals and the copies with us to the interview.when they ask for a document do I show the copy of that document or the original?I mean if they want to keep it do they ask me if they can keep it or if i have a copy?

or should I just hand them the copies and if they ask the originals then show the originals???

Bring both original and a copy

They'll tell you what they need. Normally they just want to see the original and keep the copy.

Good luck with the upcoming interview!!

[Beantownbabe 1]

Alright, the details now - as promised!

So as you know, I was concerned because of the huge snowstorm we were having overnight. I was scared that the offices would close and we'd arrive to a canceled interview. We left on time and made our way to the office. When we got there, security was very tight. Jackets, belts etc had to come off, then walk through the metal detector or be wanded down. My daughter at 21 months had to get out of the stroller and walk through the detector by herself, which raised a smile.

We all used the restrooms and it was only then that I actually realized "Oh shoot! This is really going ahead! NOW!" It was 10.15 and we had a 10.30 appointment. We found the waiting room, checked in and then were sent to check in somewhere else too. The guy at the second place told me he'd pull my file and to go back to the first waiting room. As soon as we got back and sat down a door swung open and our last name was called at 10.30 on the nose!

Our interviewer was an older, heavy-set straight faced man and I almost ran over his feet with the stroller, which was quite comical. Okay, so on to the room. We get there and he swears us in. Then don't you know it, our daughter starts acting up! She is fussing and half-way crying and squirming to get down and I'm thinking "Is my nightmare really coming true?!!!" Once I settled her down, (very quickly!) the AO suddenly became so sweet and started talking to my daughter, and telling her "I know all about you!" Then he went on to tell us about his 10 Grandchildren...He shuffled papers and then asked for my passport, EAD and I-94 card. Checked off a few things on his paperwork, then asked my husband for his original birth certificate. His question to me was "Do you know his date of birth?" to which I replied "Yes." He waited for a half second and said "Do you want to tell me?!" It made us chuckle a little bit and he then asked my husband for my date of birth also. He then asked what my father's name was. Hmm, I thought that was kind of odd - wouldn't you ask what the spouse's parents name was?!!! So then he wanted to see our original marriage certificate and my husband's divorce certificate - and asked if my husband was only divorced once, then joked "What, was one time enough?!" to which my husband replied "Yes, one divorce is enough!" and it made the AO smile. He then started telling us how hard it was to go through a divorce and that he went through one himself, etc. etc. etc. Then went on to tell us what seemed like his whole life story, he's 66 and on his third career, how he came out of retirement because after his divorce he just laid around watching tv, eat and sleep. How he started his own business, how he is going to retire in Texas because his wife is Mexican and they will be able to take day trips to see her family! All this while he is going over my paperwork! And let me tell you this - I saw him very early on in the chit-chat/interview(!) stamp a big red "APPROVED" on the top of one of the papers! So for all intents and purposes, we were approved without all the fluff that we brought with us. I get the impression that he was really just verifying information infront of him. There was no inquisition, no blindfold or shooting squad - just a chat with Grandpa really! All said, he talked more about himself than we ever did. Almost at the end of the interview he said "Do you have anything with joint names on, like a bank statement?" So I was very deliberate in what I gave him, Health insurance, Dental insurance and a bank statement - that was it. Seems like he would have been okay with just the bank statement though. He glanced at it and turned to the photocopier beside him and before he could even lift the top I said "Oh those are copies - you can keep any of those..." He puffed up and said "Oh then that makes my job even easier!" He put them in my file and said to my husband "Well the good thing is, your wife is VERY organized!" and we all laughed. At this point my daughter was playing with the photo book we'd brought and she was trying to open it - the AO asked her "Oh do you have something you want me to look at?!" Clearly he wasn't bothered with photos though, so I didn't even offer them up any further.

So the last part, he asked me about three of the standard "Are you a terrorist" questions and then said "And just to make your husband happy - do you plan to practice Polygomy here in the United States?!" He did more paper shuffling, typed information into his computer and then said, "So it's a Conditional Residency card...blah, blah, blah" I don't even remember that part because I was so happy I tuned out, doing little dances in my head! When I tuned back in, he was telling me how important it is to lift the conditions or I could get deported and no they don't remind you to do it, etc. Then he told me "Your card should be in the mail in 2-3 weeks." When my husband asked him about us travelling, the AO told us that they used to stamp passports right away but since things are done so quickly now, they don't have to. AO told me that if I really want to travel and don't have the card, then to make an Infopass and they will give a temporary stamp.

That was it!!! He told us he'd walk us out, which he did and then we waited for about fifteen minutes in the waiting room for a letter which says I've been approved and became a Conditional Resident on that day (words to that effect...) Then off we went, back into the snow! Yesterday was a very good day...

That's it...I have go and eat lunch after that marathon essay!

[Beantownbabe 1]

Rosie- Congratulations!!!!!!!!!! Great news!

Thank you,guys for all your good wishes yesterday!

[Rosie74 0]

Rosie- Congratulations!!!!!!!!!! Great news!

Congratulations to you too!! My interview was just as easy as yours, and thank you for sharing your experience as well!!

I am so happy we went through this process so easily!

We'll be together again on the removal of conditions portion of the forum!

[KIMCORENE 0]

Congrats Rosie! Thanks for the details, BTB, I hope we all have easy interviews like you guys.

[Fuzzymiss 2]

Thanks for the Boston details Beantownbabe.....only 2 days to go until we go through the same thing....

[triniredbone 0]

Congrats on the approvals Rosie and Beantownbabe. Good Job guys!

Hope all the upcoming interviews go well and easy too.

Thanks for the Boston details Beantownbabe.....only 2 days to go until we go through the same thing....

[eck2006 0]

congrats Rosie!!!!!

[Rosie74 0]

Thank you SweetnSexc and eck2066!

Eck2006, good luck with Friday's interview!

[Beantownbabe 1]

ok so I have a kind of stupid question:)I made copies of every document and I am bringing both the originals and the copies with us to the interview.when they ask for a document do I show the copy of that document or the original?I mean if they want to keep it do they ask me if they can keep it or if i have a copy?

or should I just hand them the copies and if they ask the originals then show the originals???

The interviewer we had asked for specific originals of USC birth certificate, Divorce decree and Marriage Certificate - after that, I gave him copies and he was happy with that. Good luck for Friday!

[Kang Lang 7]

congrats rosie!

[Rosie74 0]

congrats rosie!

Thank you! I'm glad this part is over