AOS interview in Phoenix

claire · June 21, 2006

Firstly I want to say a huge thank you to everyone on this site for their valuable input and advice. Today would not have gone half so smooth if it hadn't been for all the information I read on this site.

So, the interview....

Our appt in Phoenix was at 1.15pm. We arrived at 12.45pm and were called at 12.55pm - there were only 3 couples waiting when we arrived. The officer didn't really say anything to us at first, just did the oath. We were interviewed by a guy who is from the LA office, helping out with the backlog at Phoenix. The name on his badge was Alexander. Anyway, he was super friendly and really kept the interview on a seemingly informal basis........Mike said he got the impression that this was to observe the way we interact with each other and I think this was probably the case. The interview lasted about half an hour, longer than I expected, this wasn't because there were any problems, just because he was extremely thorough.

He had all our information in front of him, and went through each form, confirming all information (he never asked us questions like addresses, telephone numbers, birthdates etc - he just said them and asked us to confirm that they were correct). He asked me the standard terrorism, prostitution questions.

He then asked to see our joint evidence - we showed him bank statements, insurance (house, car, life), cell phone bills and joint tax return. He kept the tax return and the bank statements. He then looked through our wedding album.......on the last page of our album there is a shot on a bridge of everyone who came to the wedding (95 people) with us in front of them.......he said, this is what we are looking for, evidence that you had people at your wedding. He then looked at a couple of additional photos we had, and asked us where we were in a couple of them.

He confirmed I had my medical done, the date I had my fingerprints, told me my name check had been cleared and then went online to approve me.....he told me to expect my green card in about 2-3 weeks. He did not ask for my parole document back.

Questions that we were asked along the way (the ones I remember!):

He asked if the bank account and house were Mikes originally

Had we been married before

Are we still married?

Are we intending to stay married?

Any children from our relationship or any prior relationships

How long we had known each other

I had an old J1 from being a camp counselor and he asked a bit about that

Looked through my passport to see where I had been, and asked me about a couple of places.

Asked what I was studying and how much longer til I finish

Did I receive a stipend from the university for my assistantship

Asked Mike to explain his job

Did we have anyone else living at home (only our dog, Austin!!)

Was I pregnant!?!? (I'm hoping this is a standard question, and not based on the fact that he thinks I'm looking a little porky!)

Did we live together before we got married?

Why did we decide to get married?

Which of Mikes family members came to the wedding?

How was married life?

Asked Mike did I coerce or blackmail him into filing the I130 (I think this one was a joke!)

Things we took that he did not ask for:

Letters from our employers

Our pay stubs

Our birth certificates

Certified marriage certificates (he did ask to see the original)

Our wedding cards

Correspondence

Notices from DHS

Mikes old tax returns

Advance Parole document

Like I said, the whole thing was conducted in an informal manner, along the way we talked about things like the other offices he had worked at around the country. He saw that Mike is from California and talked to him quite a bit about different parts of California. It was definitely longer than I thought, and very thorough, but overall a very good experience. I am now looking forward to getting my conditions lifted in 2 years.

Thanks again everyone - my file was so prepared and easy to find things all because of you guys. I wish everyone else lots of luck on their visa journeys - and particularly good luck to Anastacia who I know has her interview in Phoenix on Friday and Molly and Stephen or have their interview in Phoenix in July. Let me know if you have any questions.

HolyMoly2 · June 21, 2006

Congrats .

Cygnet · June 21, 2006

:dance: Congratulations! :star:

Thank you for sharing your experience.

JRluvsLhyn · June 21, 2006

Firstly I want to say a huge thank you to everyone on this site for their valuable input and advice. Today would not have gone half so smooth if it hadn't been for all the information I read on this site.
So, the interview....

Our appt in Phoenix was at 1.15pm. We arrived at 12.45pm and were called at 12.55pm - there were only 3 couples waiting when we arrived. The officer didn't really say anything to us at first, just did the oath. We were interviewed by a guy who is from the LA office, helping out with the backlog at Phoenix. The name on his badge was Alexander. Anyway, he was super friendly and really kept the interview on a seemingly informal basis........Mike said he got the impression that this was to observe the way we interact with each other and I think this was probably the case. The interview lasted about half an hour, longer than I expected, this wasn't because there were any problems, just because he was extremely thorough.

He had all our information in front of him, and went through each form, confirming all information (he never asked us questions like addresses, telephone numbers, birthdates etc - he just said them and asked us to confirm that they were correct). He asked me the standard terrorism, prostitution questions.

He then asked to see our joint evidence - we showed him bank statements, insurance (house, car, life), cell phone bills and joint tax return. He kept the tax return and the bank statements. He then looked through our wedding album.......on the last page of our album there is a shot on a bridge of everyone who came to the wedding (95 people) with us in front of them.......he said, this is what we are looking for, evidence that you had people at your wedding. He then looked at a couple of additional photos we had, and asked us where we were in a couple of them.

He confirmed I had my medical done, the date I had my fingerprints, told me my name check had been cleared and then went online to approve me.....he told me to expect my green card in about 2-3 weeks. He did not ask for my parole document back.

Questions that we were asked along the way (the ones I remember!):

He asked if the bank account and house were Mikes originally

Had we been married before

Are we still married?

Are we intending to stay married?

Any children from our relationship or any prior relationships

How long we had known each other

I had an old J1 from being a camp counselor and he asked a bit about that

Looked through my passport to see where I had been, and asked me about a couple of places.

Asked what I was studying and how much longer til I finish

Did I receive a stipend from the university for my assistantship

Asked Mike to explain his job

Did we have anyone else living at home (only our dog, Austin!!)

Was I pregnant!?!? (I'm hoping this is a standard question, and not based on the fact that he thinks I'm looking a little porky!)

Did we live together before we got married?

Why did we decide to get married?

Which of Mikes family members came to the wedding?

How was married life?

Asked Mike did I coerce or blackmail him into filing the I130 (I think this one was a joke!)

Things we took that he did not ask for:

Letters from our employers

Our pay stubs

Our birth certificates

Certified marriage certificates (he did ask to see the original)

Our wedding cards

Correspondence

Notices from DHS

Mikes old tax returns

Advance Parole document

Like I said, the whole thing was conducted in an informal manner, along the way we talked about things like the other offices he had worked at around the country. He saw that Mike is from California and talked to him quite a bit about different parts of California. It was definitely longer than I thought, and very thorough, but overall a very good experience. I am now looking forward to getting my conditions lifted in 2 years.

Thanks again everyone - my file was so prepared and easy to find things all because of you guys. I wish everyone else lots of luck on their visa journeys - and particularly good luck to Anastacia who I know has her interview in Phoenix on Friday and Molly and Stephen or have their interview in Phoenix in July. Let me know if you have any questions.