ive tried not to be nervous...

[keltic 1]

ok, first of all… WE ARE APPROVED!!!!!!!! in 10 days, we should have Tobe’s greencard in the mail! )

so, to describe the interview:

we arrived at the cherry hill, nj office just before 2pm (our interview time)… it was very easy to find… when we walked in the front door, we were greeted by a security guard who asked for our appt letter and our ids… then we had to go thru a metal detector… both those guards were very professional and efficient…

then we walked around the corner to the waiting area… it was air conditioned (not overly so, tho) and had fairly comfortable chairs and a 6ft replica of the statue of liberty and a flag… several folks came in after us and there was plenty of seating…

there were 2 windows with assistants behind them… and another where the security guard placed all the appt letters… one lady was talking to a couple who apparently had been denied for whatever they had applied (don’t know which step)… they had waited 5 months to do whatever the current step was, and the time limit was 45 days… they couldn’t grasp what she was telling them… they kept trying to explain the delay to her, but she kept saying that she wasn’t the person who could help them… she was very patient and repeated herself many times… she even took whichever form it was they needed and highlighted the address and phone number that they needed to contact for assistance… i think that she must have spent at least 20 mins with them AFTER we came in… who knows how long before hand… the other lady was calling ppl up that seemed to have infopass appts… she was also very polite and patient… but she also was encouraging folks to speak in english… not in a nasty way… just an encouragement…

we kept watching ppl being called back… but we just waited… there was no clock to be seen… i couldnt check the time, because i had to turn off the cell phone when we went in… i took out a notepad and pen from my purse and we played tictactoe and hangman… eventually, there was another large group of folks that started to trickle in… they were coming in for the naturalization ceremony…

so, now all the folks that were in the waiting room besides us were there to take their oath of citizenship… all the folks after us and before them had already been called back! so, Tobe went up to the window to talk to one of the ladies… just as he was asking about our interview, the door opened and another lady called his name… it was about 310pm

she was apologized for the wait… she had said she was allotted 45 mins for an interview… she said that the last applicant was very fishy and took a lot longer than she thought… she was also very polite and professional… she introduced herself… she took us to her office and had us stand while we swore to tell the truth… then we sat and she started the interview… she was funny… making jokes and lightening the air… Tobe wasnt nervous, but i was… she asked for his passport… she commented on the fact that he had already been checked out… i had gathered all this stuff for us to turn in, just in case it was asked for… i had copies and originals of all of it… she wanted to see bills and a bank statement… she commented on the fact that Tobe doesnt write a lot of checks and asked how he got his money… we told her he just used the ATM… she confirmed that we were married in 2005… she asked if he had kids… she actually asked this 2 times, once later in the interview… she asked how old my daughter was… she asked if he married the right lady, cuz if not, he would have to go back and would be out of luck, lol… she asked a bunch of those ‘yes/no’ questions… she threw in some interesting ones among the long checklist… are you or have you ever been – arrested – handcuffed – a terrorist – drug dealer – with or been a prostitute – lied… etc, etc… she asked if he felt it was ok to violent towards someone of another color, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation… she asked if he was ever a Nazi… she asked if amsterdam was in germany… she chuckled when we told her about the pharmacist that asked which Netherlands that Tobe was from… she confirmed that we were both willing and able to marry… that i had been married before and divorced… commented on my ex-hubs surname… that we had, indeed, been born alive (looking at our birth certificates)… she asked if we ever went to ellis island… talked about how there were different rooms there and they asked almost identical questions today as they did back then… she commented on how much information the officers can look up on individuals… but clarified that it was only law enforcement that could… she asked if Tobe had ever given false information, verbal or written to a federal officer… Tobe jokingly told her that he once forged a note from his mom to someone at school… she smiled and said, ‘well, that wasnt a federal officer’… she commented that we must not have known about international calling plans when she was looking at those copies of the phone bills i had submitted… we told her that we had found skype after that and that it was wonderful… she commented that she appreciated how thorough we had been and they still had everything we sent in… there was another file on her desk that was VERY thin… but she said sometimes the files come in boxes because there was so much stuff…

so then she said it all looked good and she only needed to see our 2005 taxes… um… i had submitted 2002, 2003, and 2004 because the form was sent in december… i hadnt brought 2005… i apologized and told her that i could get that information… she asked if i had any proof of my income… i DID have my last couple of paystubs… which had shown an increase in pay from the ones i had submitted in december… she said that we seemed ok… and that i should be able to support him… and that technically we should have those tax returns… then she said that she hadnt approved anyone all day, but she would approve us and take the blame if anything came of it… she said he would have his card in the mail in 10 days… we thanked her and i asked if she ever looked at ppls pictures, because it seemed that the cases i had heard of lately that ppl werent asked for them… she said that sometimes she does… she then said that because we didnt have a lawyer helping us that she wanted to make sure that we knew that this card would be good for 2 yrs and that 90 days before that time we would have to file again… and that it would be up to us to remember… and that in 3 yrs, he could apply for citizenship… she also told us to check and make sure of the fee for that application just before we filed, so that we wouldnt be held up because of a fee increase… we talked a little bit about how we got a lot of info online and that it seemed nuts to pay a lawyer so much money to do something like this… i was putting all those papers back in the folder… and as i picked up the photo album, i asked her if she wanted to see my daughter… she looked and commented that things looked good for us, that everyone seemed to be happy and adjusting well… we thanked her again and we left the office…

from the time we were called back to the time the interview was over, it was only about 25 mins… with our wait, the total time at the CIS office was 1 hr and 35 mins…

it really wasnt bad, even tho i had worried like mad about it… but, now, thankfully, we are good to go for 2 yrs

*whew

thank you to everyone for your best wishes and support… i hope everyone has such a good experience with their interview

[littlepoem 0]

I am so happy that everything went so well for you!!!! I never doubted it for a moment!! CONGRATS!!!

[Donal78 0]

Wow big contacts. Thank you for the interview insight.

[chri'stina 190]

congratulations!!

[giraffemd 0]

isn't it a relief to have this all over....congrats

[Dixie_Peach 1]

YAY!!!

[rob&ana 0]

Congrats...

Now I have butterflies in my stomach!!!

[keltic 1]

yes, its a bigger relief even than R O L A I D S!!!!!!!!!

thanks so much, yall