AOS Filers - May 2009!

[kiwiana 2]

Hi Guys!!! WE WERE APPROVED!!!!!!

Here is a review of this morning!

We got there a little before 8, went through security and handed in our appointment letter.

Sometime around 8:20am we got called in by a young guy (at least he looked really young to me!) and lead us to his office.

We sworn in and he asked me all the typical questions to confirm the application

Then he asked my husband (the US citizen)

1) How did you meet

2) What did you do after you got married

3) Do you get along with her family

I had prepared A LOT of stuff because I wanted to make sure that everything went smooth. I also had an overstay and didn't want that to be an

issue and I was kinda shocked that he never asked for any of it! I really couldn't believe how easy it was going!

He DID ask for updated letter from my husbands work, took another copy of my passport and left the room for what felt like FOREVER but returned

shortly said we were approved( I made a little peep when he said that and he laughed saying he never gets over people's reactions when he says they are approved) He explained that I would get the 2 year card and how to removing conditions and that it's very important to make sure that I remember to do it because I wouldn't get another notice from them.

Then he said I'd get my card in 30 days and I was done! Shook our hands and said congrats!

Oh and before I left and I asked him if I could have the stamp and he said they usually don't give them out anymore but he did it for me anyways.

I'm so happy!!!! My husband and I sat in the car for 20 minutes just talking about the interview and how happy we were!

I really was in shock about the whole thing. I usually don't do well in interview type situations.

We went out to a nice lunch after and I couldn't contain myself and told the waitress who must have told the manager because he

brought us over a free dessert to share!

I just wanted to make a quick note and let future people know, don't be nervous. Everyone here loves their spouses and have nothing

to hide. Regardless if you have an overstay, just trust in your relationship, be calm and keep your answers short. Things will work out!!

Tonite we're going out to celebrate with Hubby's family!

Nanda,R+E & Tekol, I thought about you right after my interview!! Hope your interviews went just as well!

Woo hoo!! Congratulations!! and thank you for your account of the interview!!

S.Fu + T.Fu: Thank you soo much for the info about the Santa Ana office. This is a BIG help!!

[R+E 0]

levnd: Congratulations on your approval. We were also thinking of our fellow forum readers who are having an interview today.

We were invited for our interview in the Garden City office in New York, and scheduled for afternoon appointment. We arrived shortly before the designated time, handed our invitation, and were asked to wait in the "Area C" section in the first floor reception hall. We sat there for a little over an hour until an officer called a group of about 10 applicants and marched us to a smaller waiting area in the second floor. There we waited further for about 20 minutes. We were called for the interview by a pleasant gentleman, who reviewed our passports (with special attention to I-94), birth certificates, marriage certificate. The interview was brief, and most of it was small talk which was irrelevant for our application. He did not ask any questions which pertain to us as a couple, nor reviewed any document to verify that our marriage is in good faith (which rendered all our preparations useless), but I guess the fact we're married for over 4 years, and have 2 children together (who came with us to the interview) are a strong enough testament of that. At the end of the interview he took E's passport and asked us to wait in the main reception hall again. he said it would take about 10-15 minutes, but actually took well over 30 minutes. E's passport was returned to her with the I-551 stamp, as were (apparently) all the passports of those who got approved that day. It seems that in the Garden City office, the I-551 stamp is part of the process for those who are approved.

We are relieved at the outcome of our application, and are looking forward to getting the "real" card in the mail, as well as visiting our families in our home country, which we have not seen in over 2 years.

Good luck to all who are still awaiting interview, and a special thank you to all those who contributed from their experience in this forum over the past 3 months, making the process less intimidating, and more tolerable (knowledge is power...)

[TeeKol 0]

levnd: Congratulations on your approval. We were also thinking of our fellow forum readers who are having an interview today.

We were invited for our interview in the Garden City office in New York, and scheduled for afternoon appointment. We arrived shortly before the designated time, handed our invitation, and were asked to wait in the "Area C" section in the first floor reception hall. We sat there for a little over an hour until an officer called a group of about 10 applicants and marched us to a smaller waiting area in the second floor. There we waited further for about 20 minutes. We were called for the interview by a pleasant gentleman, who reviewed our passports (with special attention to I-94), birth certificates, marriage certificate. The interview was brief, and most of it was small talk which was irrelevant for our application. He did not ask any questions which pertain to us as a couple, nor reviewed any document to verify that our marriage is in good faith (which rendered all our preparations useless), but I guess the fact we're married for over 4 years, and have 2 children together (who came with us to the interview) are a strong enough testament of that. At the end of the interview he took E's passport and asked us to wait in the main reception hall again. he said it would take about 10-15 minutes, but actually took well over 30 minutes. E's passport was returned to her with the I-551 stamp, as were (apparently) all the passports of those who got approved that day. It seems that in the Garden City office, the I-551 stamp is part of the process for those who are approved.

We are relieved at the outcome of our application, and are looking forward to getting the "real" card in the mail, as well as visiting our families in our home country, which we have not seen in over 2 years.

Good luck to all who are still awaiting interview, and a special thank you to all those who contributed from their experience in this forum over the past 3 months, making the process less intimidating, and more tolerable (knowledge is power...)

Congratulations to both of you. We were also thinking about both of you while we were waiting for our interview.

When we are not too sure how I got on. They asked myself, husband and son some questions which I am confident we answered ok. The woman took out mine and my sons I-94's from the passport, ticked alot of boxes and said that we would hear within 30 days....I asked if we had been approved and she said that we will hear in 30 days. No-one else seems to have had this response, I am not confident that we got it although my husband says he is. I suppose I will just have to wait and see.

I will post the interview experience tomorrow. It has been a long day, but it is all positive.

Good luck to those whose interview is pending. Just be yourself, have all your paperwork to hand and things should sail along nicely.

[missyk 0]

Hey All

I want to share to all that my wife and I had our interview today in San Francisco. I am happy to tell you all that we got APPROVED! We are looking forward to the "card". I want to thank all for your support, tips, comments and just being part of this journey.

Thanks All

Ollie & Kasia

[R+E 0]

levnd: Congratulations on your approval. We were also thinking of our fellow forum readers who are having an interview today.

We were invited for our interview in the Garden City office in New York, and scheduled for afternoon appointment. We arrived shortly before the designated time, handed our invitation, and were asked to wait in the "Area C" section in the first floor reception hall. We sat there for a little over an hour until an officer called a group of about 10 applicants and marched us to a smaller waiting area in the second floor. There we waited further for about 20 minutes. We were called for the interview by a pleasant gentleman, who reviewed our passports (with special attention to I-94), birth certificates, marriage certificate. The interview was brief, and most of it was small talk which was irrelevant for our application. He did not ask any questions which pertain to us as a couple, nor reviewed any document to verify that our marriage is in good faith (which rendered all our preparations useless), but I guess the fact we're married for over 4 years, and have 2 children together (who came with us to the interview) are a strong enough testament of that. At the end of the interview he took E's passport and asked us to wait in the main reception hall again. he said it would take about 10-15 minutes, but actually took well over 30 minutes. E's passport was returned to her with the I-551 stamp, as were (apparently) all the passports of those who got approved that day. It seems that in the Garden City office, the I-551 stamp is part of the process for those who are approved.

We are relieved at the outcome of our application, and are looking forward to getting the "real" card in the mail, as well as visiting our families in our home country, which we have not seen in over 2 years.

Good luck to all who are still awaiting interview, and a special thank you to all those who contributed from their experience in this forum over the past 3 months, making the process less intimidating, and more tolerable (knowledge is power...)

Congratulations to both of you. We were also thinking about both of you while we were waiting for our interview.

When we are not too sure how I got on. They asked myself, husband and son some questions which I am confident we answered ok. The woman took out mine and my sons I-94's from the passport, ticked alot of boxes and said that we would hear within 30 days....I asked if we had been approved and she said that we will hear in 30 days. No-one else seems to have had this response, I am not confident that we got it although my husband says he is. I suppose I will just have to wait and see.

I will post the interview experience tomorrow. It has been a long day, but it is all positive.

Good luck to those whose interview is pending. Just be yourself, have all your paperwork to hand and things should sail along nicely.

TeeKol: I was recently told by an immigration lawyer that a delay in decision may be a possible outcome of an interview. This, according to him, happens when the interview is conducted by an inexperienced officer (or a trainee), who has to present the case to a supervisor for decision. He told me that if it were the ourcome of my interview, not to get upset by it, as in no means it signifies rejection.

Good luck.

[TeeKol 0]

TeeKol: I was recently told by an immigration lawyer that a delay in decision may be a possible outcome of an interview. This, according to him, happens when the interview is conducted by an inexperienced officer (or a trainee), who has to present the case to a supervisor for decision. He told me that if it were the ourcome of my interview, not to get upset by it, as in no means it signifies rejection.

Good luck.

Thanks for this R + E I think that may have been the case. She was very unsure of herself it seemed throughout the interview and this morning we received an email saying the GC was in production :dance:

This thread is so supportive and helpful. It is things like this that really help. I came away feeling very confused and kept going over and over the interview in my mind wondering where it MAY have gone wrong and not coming up with any answers. Now I understand that it wasnt our fault and was probably as you explained, due to inexperience. Thank you so very much !!

[TeeKol 0]

Ok, here is my interview account...

We arrived 1 hour early due to the time of day and rush hour traffic, but managed to get in the waiting room out of the heat of the day. There was no receptionist so we had to just sit and wait to be called, as we were in the only room on that floor we were hoping we were in the right room. My appointment was for 11.00am and my sons for 10.30am, we were called into the room around 11.00am, so not too far off the mark.

We had to stand and raise our hand and swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then we started with my interview first. She asked my husband most of the questions He being the USA citizen). Has he been married before, how many times, why did the marriage end, where did we meet, has he met my parents, how did they treat him, has he ever been to the UK, his name, address, SSN, had he ever seen my son before we visited him.

She began by taking out mine and my sons I-94 out of our passports and stapling them to the folder.

Then to me she asked:- my name, address, SSN (which I had to look at my card for), had I been married before, why had my marriage ended, how did we meet, had I ever seen my husband before we visited, when did we visit, has he ever visited the UK, have we been to the USA before, when, how long did we stay, when was the last time we entered, where was POE, have we ever been deported, when did we marry, had we any witnesses, had we any pictures of the wedding ( I asked did they want the shortened version which were some photos we had printed for them to keep, or the full wedding album which we had also brought. She said it was up to me, I gave her the ones she could keep and then asked if she wanted to see the album, which she said she would, so she looked through that. Then she asked where we were married, were there any guests from the UK, where did we have photos taken, where did we have the reception). The questions continued...had I ever been deported? was I in the process of being deported, and then she went through the list that I ticked no to on the application regarding terrorism, drugs, prostitution etc. Then she asked to see anything that had our joint names on to substantiate our relationship, so we gave telephone bill showing both phone numbers, hubbys life insurance showing me as beneficiary, credit card bill but because I have a second card on the account my card and name doesnt show on the bill so I photocopied my credit card onto the bill to show that the number on the card corresponds to the number on the account. We also gave her photographs of us together since POE at various locations. I also pulled out a huge file of other evidence I had brought such as my son's report card from school, letter showing his enrollement for next year, cards, letters etc, she looked through them but didnt want to have copies.

She then turned to my son and asked him if he liked the USA, if he had ever been deported (as if he knew what that meant he is 11!) his full name and address, did he miss the UK. I am afraid I cant remember any others for him as he had been participating in the main questions when myself and my hubby were interviewed.

She then took copies of our passports with the entry stamp on them and asked if there were any further questions. I asked if we had been approved then and she said that we will find out within 30 days.

Then we left around 11.30am.

As mentioned previously, I was very confused as others had been notified at the interview that they were approved and she wouldnt say. This morning we received an email saying the GC was in production.

I hope this helps. BTW, the I-693 that we had done by Dr. Arnold, ironically wasnt asked for, but it was reassuring to know we had it if they asked for it. I was prepared for every eventuallity, even having other paperwork in case we had to re-submit our affidavit of support due to a change in circumstances.

Thank you so much everyone for all of your support through this process, you have helped so very much and it's been so nice to share with people that are actually going through the same things as you are. I shall keep checking in and definitely following people's progress and help out where ever I can if needed.

Good luck to those who are not so far along, and congratulations to those who have already made it. We are a fantastic team !!!

[skparker 0]

Hey everyone. congrats on most of you getting your interviews/green cards.

we got a touch on ours on the 17th...so maybe that is them sending over the card?? we got transfered the same day we had our biometrics done back in june. and there was no interview for us.

[NANDA 0]

Congrats everybody for the approval.

We were approval yesterday too.

She made one question: how did we met?

And then she looked some papers and said: your card will arrive in 2 to 4 weeks.

The interview was less than one minute.

no stamp in passaport and i still have my i-94.

I want to say thanks for every single one person in this forum.

This happy journey was easy because of you guys!

I already saw at the gov website:

Application Type: I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Current Status: Card production ordered.

On August 20, 2009, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you. If you move before you receive the card, call customer service. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.

[Ju&Ja 1]

Received my GC today ! Yoohoo !

[bellavita 0]

Wow,it's beeing so fast to recieve the card,Congratulation

Today we got interview in los angeles and it was approved,the IO was a young korean guy,professional and stay cool,

made a lot questions to us,but finally he was satisfied with our answer and happy with joint name stuff we have.In the end

he handed me a notice and said" Congratulation "

We were so happy,it's time to celebrate,yeah...................

It seems everybody here got smooth expenrience,so good

Advice for future vj members who will have interview soon,should be well prepared on the joint name document...

Received my GC today ! Yoohoo !

[TeeKol 0]

Received my GC today ! Yoohoo !

Congratulations Julliette!!!! so happy for you

Well done also to Nanda and Bellavita on your approvals !!!!

Good luck to those who are still going through the process.

[Ju&Ja 1]

Received my GC today ! Yoohoo !

Congratulations Julliette!!!! so happy for you

Well done also to Nanda and Bellavita on your approvals !!!!

Good luck to those who are still going through the process.

Thank you ! And Congrats to you also ! So happy to see that it is smooth and fast for everybody. This part is way easier than the K1. I think that after a K1 we are warriors !

[stardusted 0]

So much good news. Yay. I received my GC in the mail today! I am glad to be done with USCIS for a couple of years.

[S.Fu + T.Fu 0]

Congrats all!

Time to celebrate XD.

Got both approval letter for I-485 + I-130 today.

G'luck on those with upcoming interviews. Do your best and prepare for the worst. Always a good idea to over prep than having not enough documentation.

Best.