AOS June 2009

[Bill y Bella 0]

Thank you for your advice! I also thought that the local office should know something, but I was wrong. I made an infopass appointment, and the lady said that she cannot get any information on the interview schedule. So she said I should just wait some time (and it took me 2.5 hours one way to get to my office) I don't know what I should be doing, I am obviously behind everyone else's timelines by probably a couple of weeks at least.

Given that you have such a long drive for an infopass appointment I can understand why you would be reluctant to make another one. Hopefully Marry is correct and you will get your letter soon.

[SurfingPumpkin 1]

We had our interview today and were APPROVED!!! I will describe in more detail later when i'm at a computer. :dance:

[Bill y Bella 0]

We had our interview today and were APPROVED!!! I will describe in more detail later when i'm at a computer. :dance:

Congratulations!

Everyone seems to be doing very well at their interviews. I hope we have the same luck on Friday.

[SapphireDreams 71]

Congrats to everyone.

I got my EAD card in the mail on Saturday! Yay!

I also got a job offer today, which is perfect timing!

[cdneh 3,112]

Lots of good news...hard to keep up Congratulations everyone!

[Troy/Anita 0]

We had our interview at 8:30 am and by 8:35 am we were out the door with an "approved stamp", and "welcome to america" from the interviewer to my wife. He asked the standard 5 yes/no questions on the I-485 and asked if we still lived at the same address. Nothing else was asked. It was quick and easy!

good luck to the rest of ya waiting for your interview

Congratulations!

I have to wonder though, why did they even bother to have an interview? If that is all the interview consists of it seems to be a huge inconvenience and expense for everyone.

Did USCIS already have evidence of your post marriage relationship? I know they have the K1 stuff, but did you send new relationship evidence when you submitted the 485?

Again, much congratulations. It must feel great to finally be finished with this process for a while!

Nope. They didn't ask for pictures,bills,joint accounts, or insurance info. We didn't even file an I-693. Yes, it did seem like a waste of time and money(hotel costs), but in the end the approval was all we cared about. :)

[subguy812 1]

here's our interview experience:

we arrived at the USCIS in Chula Vista at 10:15am, dropped the appointment letter at the window then waited for our name to be called. It took about an hour and a half for us to be interviewed. The interviewer told us that the reason why there was a delay. An officer called in sick so they had to do double interviews (naturalization and adjustment of status). During the wait time, my son kept on walking around the waiting area. Babies get bored too. They tried to finish the N-400 applicants first before proceeding with the I-485. Imagine having one officer absent for a day; it sure can mess up everything.

A lady came by the door and called my name. She greeted us with a warm smile and she led us to her room which was approximately a minute walk from the entrance door. Then she asked us to take an oath. Then she asked us to sit down. She was so kind to just let my 11 month old son wander around the small room. She said we could close the door so the baby won't be able to get out of the room.

She asked for my passport and my husband's military ID and my babies birth certificate and CRBA. She verified if our address, names and birthdays are correct. And asked the 5 of the yes or no question in the I-485. She didn't ask anything else. NO "how did you meet? where? etc..." It was a good ten minutes of CHIT CHAT about my baby and her 3 year old baby.

Then as she was talking to us about how it is taking a child into daycare, she was typing stuff in her PC then i saw grab the ink pad and stamped my application APPROVED. Then she went outside to make a copy of my baby's CRBA. And then, when she got back, she said, "ok. i think you are wondering why I didn't ask you any question about your relationship... Its simply because your baby is one strong proof already. And I can see that your relationship is so genuine that I had to skip that questioning part."

Then she led us to the door and pointed as to where the exit was. And that's it. It was a breeze....

Hope everyone else will have a journey like ours - not the easiest but quite fast...

Very happy for you!! It seems to have gone real well for you.

[subguy812 1]

Congratulations to everyone on their GC approval!! And thank you for posting your interview experience, it is very helpful for the rest of us!

As to me, I STILL DID NOT get my interview date. I am really worried and don't know what to do. I just hope that it wasn't lost in the mail and I am going to miss it because of that :crying: Or that there are some problems with my case..

I would make an infopass appoinment and find out...it may not be necessary but it might make you feel better

edited: sorry I read further...I guess they are saying to be patient but I totally understand your concern

We had our interview at 8:30 am and by 8:35 am we were out the door with an "approved stamp", and "welcome to america" from the interviewer to my wife. He asked the standard 5 yes/no questions on the I-485 and asked if we still lived at the same address. Nothing else was asked. It was quick and easy!

good luck to the rest of ya waiting for your interview

Glad it was an easy interview...woohoo!

Edited August 25, 2009 by subguy812

[subguy812 1]

I have some questions:I know they are saying to bring EAD and AP documents at the interview.Do they take those documents? And did it happen to any of you not to have the passport stamped at the interview?

The thing is I have my interview scheduled on September 17 and we plan to go to Romania on September 20-21 (that means we should get the tickets soon and I don't know what to do)to attend my husband's cousin wedding but since I will not get the GC by that time I will probably need the AP(if they don't stamp my passport /if they will schedule me for a second interview-hopefully not).I plan to ask them at the interview but I am trying to get more info because I have to decide what to do about the plane tickets since most of them are non refundable.

Any experieces or ideas? Thanks.

I have read that once approved at your interview the EAD and AP are no longer valid, that could be wrong so do a search on VJ to double check. I would clearly push my trip back until after the interview and you can ask them. I know the tickets are non refundable and are very expensive but you clearly don't want issues upon arriving at the POE.

[subguy812 1]

We had our interview today and were APPROVED!!! I will describe in more detail later when i'm at a computer. :dance:

That is great I am very happy it went so well for you!! Congrats!!

We had our interview today and were APPROVED!!! I will describe in more detail later when i'm at a computer. :dance:

Congratulations!

Everyone seems to be doing very well at their interviews. I hope we have the same luck on Friday.

I am sure you will do fine at your interview!!

[shefellfromheaven 18]

Congrats all on the good news.

[SurfingPumpkin 1]

Thanks, everyone! Here is my account of yesterday's interview:

There was some backlog, so we were called in about 45 minutes after our appointment time. Both of us wore suits. We were the only ones to do that - other couples looked very casual and some even wore such outfits that we thought looked highly questionable, especially given the circumstances. So I think our professional attire and demeanor helped a lot.

The I/O came out and called my name, then led us to his cubicle in a large room full of cubicles. He was very pleasant and polite. He confirmed my date of birth then asked us when and how we met. He then asked us how long we've been living together. He also asked me 3 of the standard questions about being arrested, committing a crime, etc. He also noted several times my profession and my hubby's profession. My hubby, who's very friendly by nature, made lots of small talk with him. We commented on his usage of a thumb protector as he was leafing through my entire file at a lightning speed. It seemed that he was looking for any red flags from the officer reviewing the file before him indicating items that needed to be questioned, but he found nothing.

Then he asked me for my passport and our original marriage certificate. He couldn't find in his file a copy of our marriage certificate, so he was very thankful when we produced the binder full of copies and originals that we had meticulously organized and handed him another copy. He was also very impressed with our organization!

I mentioned that we brought additional bona fide evidence and he didn't care much about anything except the joing bank account, auto insurance and life insurance - he asked for copies of those docs for his file.

Then he took out the piece of paper advising us about the removal of conditions in 2 years and told us we were approved!! At the end, my hubby told him we were excited to have had an opportunity to share our love story with him and admired the great job he has to get to hear people's stories! He smiled and said that's why he loves his job. He was a really nice man!

Time to book our Christmas visit to my family - I get to see them for the first time in 6 years! Hooray!

What a journey this has been! 14 years of worrying, frustration, laboring over various paperwork, interminable waiting, going through all kinds of hurdles and hardships - and at last - I breathe the air of freedom and relief!

The Lord is there watching over his faithful ones. Good luck to all those of you who are still waiting, and congratulations to those who are already there. It has made all the difference to have this community where we can share our experiences and questions and worries and joys. Thank you all for all your support and I wish everyone here the very best of luck!

[catedelacruz 1]

CONGRATS on all the good news... i received another one today...

*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The last processing action taken on your case

Receipt Number: MSC092461****

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

Current Status: Card production ordered.

On August 25, 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.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

*Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under Case Status and Processing Dates.

*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.

Sincerely,

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

:dance::dance:

[subguy812 1]

Thanks, everyone! Here is my account of yesterday's interview:

There was some backlog, so we were called in about 45 minutes after our appointment time. Both of us wore suits. We were the only ones to do that - other couples looked very casual and some even wore such outfits that we thought looked highly questionable, especially given the circumstances. So I think our professional attire and demeanor helped a lot.

The I/O came out and called my name, then led us to his cubicle in a large room full of cubicles. He was very pleasant and polite. He confirmed my date of birth then asked us when and how we met. He then asked us how long we've been living together. He also asked me 3 of the standard questions about being arrested, committing a crime, etc. He also noted several times my profession and my hubby's profession. My hubby, who's very friendly by nature, made lots of small talk with him. We commented on his usage of a thumb protector as he was leafing through my entire file at a lightning speed. It seemed that he was looking for any red flags from the officer reviewing the file before him indicating items that needed to be questioned, but he found nothing.

Then he asked me for my passport and our original marriage certificate. He couldn't find in his file a copy of our marriage certificate, so he was very thankful when we produced the binder full of copies and originals that we had meticulously organized and handed him another copy. He was also very impressed with our organization!

I mentioned that we brought additional bona fide evidence and he didn't care much about anything except the joing bank account, auto insurance and life insurance - he asked for copies of those docs for his file.

Then he took out the piece of paper advising us about the removal of conditions in 2 years and told us we were approved!! At the end, my hubby told him we were excited to have had an opportunity to share our love story with him and admired the great job he has to get to hear people's stories! He smiled and said that's why he loves his job. He was a really nice man!

Time to book our Christmas visit to my family - I get to see them for the first time in 6 years! Hooray!

What a journey this has been! 14 years of worrying, frustration, laboring over various paperwork, interminable waiting, going through all kinds of hurdles and hardships - and at last - I breathe the air of freedom and relief!

The Lord is there watching over his faithful ones. Good luck to all those of you who are still waiting, and congratulations to those who are already there. It has made all the difference to have this community where we can share our experiences and questions and worries and joys. Thank you all for all your support and I wish everyone here the very best of luck!

I am sure it feels good to know you can visit family for the holidays!! Also to not have to worry with USCIS for a couple of years, and thanks for your contribution to this community.

[amberdima 6]

congrats everybody!