November filers

[marie09 5]

Good luck to everybody who has got interviews tomorrow! Sorry, I've been gone from here for a while. Been busy sending off job applications but, ach, in this economy there are absolutely no suitable teaching jobs for me. All the ones I've seen are for pre-school positions, and I've got zero experience with kids that age. Oh well. Hopefully something will turn up soon.

My interview isn't until February 16th, but I'll pop back here from time to time to see what everyone's up to. Congratulations on having received your EAD, Marie, and having got a job so quickly!

Don't forget to post your interview experiences everybody! Particularly looking forward to reading yours, Shani!

PS/ Wish me luck, too, as I'm going to sit the written part of my Texas driver's licence test tomorrow. Given the amount of idiots on the Texas roads, surely it can't be that hard to pass it?!

Yay! Welcome back girl!

Good Luck on the job search - i'm sure something will turn up soon. I totally sympathise as there seems to be so little out there right now.

I know i'm lucky that my former visa employer were able to offer me seasonal HR employment till April... Not exactly the career progression I was hoping for (this is my 4th season in this job!) but my hubby keeps reminding me how lucky i am to be able to work right away. And he's right

Any news on the teaching programs you applied for?

Good luck with the driver license written test tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be fine - I found a lot of it was common sense. I'm sure you'll ace it

[dirtyweebesom 8]

Good Luck on the job search - i'm sure something will turn up soon. I totally sympathise as there seems to be so little out there right now.

I know i'm lucky that my former visa employer were able to offer me seasonal HR employment till April... Not exactly the career progression I was hoping for (this is my 4th season in this job!) but my hubby keeps reminding me how lucky i am to be able to work right away. And he's right

Yup, there really are very few jobs out there. It's awful. I could take a job completely unrelated to teaching, but then I'd have no time whatsoever to apply for more relevant jobs, or go to interviews, so it seems like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place.

Any news on the teaching programs you applied for?

Well, I got back into the one I was in originally although that's not terribly good news because I didn't like that program. I'll also be attending an interview event with Texas Teaching Fellows on February 6th, but they sent me an email more or less telling me I shouldn't bother turning up because they had so many applications they've apparently filled most slots already. I also need to attend an interview event for New York City Teaching Fellows, but I'm not eve sure I want to go to that because if I get accepted, I have to move to NYC, attend a six-week UNPAID full-time training camp, and there is NO guarantee of a job at the end of it! Eeeek!

There are other programs I've not yet applied to, but they are also out-of-state, and, given that I'm broke, it would be hard to find the money to move somewhere completely different and start all over again this year.

Good luck with the driver license written test tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be fine - I found a lot of it was common sense. I'm sure you'll ace it

Alas common sense is not something I've been blessed with! However, I must say that I do think it's very helpful to have to sit a written test. When I passed my driving test in Scotland (way back in the dark ages of 1995), there was no written test at that point. I think it would have helped me a lot if there had been because I would have understood certain things better if I had had to study it first.

[marie09 5]

Alas common sense is not something I've been blessed with! However, I must say that I do think it's very helpful to have to sit a written test. When I passed my driving test in Scotland (way back in the dark ages of 1995), there was no written test at that point. I think it would have helped me a lot if there had been because I would have understood certain things better if I had had to study it first.

I'm sure you 'll be fine esp. if you've driven in the UK. Honestly i am not car minded at all - never had a British license. Though took lessons in the UK (a few months) then took 3 weeks of lessons in Cali.

Oh my I was clueless when i first came to california I thought you could get a provisional license without taking a written test - like in the UK. I was surprised when they handed me the test sheet (I hadn't read the book/didn't know I had to take a test that day) - I tried to wing it, but realized it wasn't going too well when i started looking out the window at cars on the road for clues! Luckily they let you take it 3 times here. After reading the driver handbook though it all made sense and I passed it easily then.

I'm sure something will fall into place with teaching jobs/courses soon. Fingers crossed for you.

[dirtyweebesom 8]

I'm sure you 'll be fine esp. if you've driven in the UK. Honestly i am not car minded at all - never had a British license. Though took lessons in the UK (a few months) then took 3 weeks of lessons in Cali.

Oh my I was clueless when i first came to california I thought you could get a provisional license without taking a written test - like in the UK. I was surprised when they handed me the test sheet (I hadn't read the book/didn't know I had to take a test that day) - I tried to wing it, but realized it wasn't going too well when i started looking out the window at cars on the road for clues! Luckily they let you take it 3 times here. After reading the driver handbook though it all made sense and I passed it easily then.

I'm sure something will fall into place with teaching jobs/courses soon. Fingers crossed for you.

Well, even though I passed my test in 1995, I moved to Glasgow the day afterwards to go to uni and never needed a car from that moment onwards. I can't even remember the last time I drove a car, so I have very little experience as a driver. I spent the last five years just cycling around Austin, which is not too bad for day-to-day living, but is a nightmare if you need to go futher than four miles. To be honest, I'm kind of scared of driving, especially here in Texas where so many people drink and drive, or use their cell phones at the wheel. I have never encountered so many terrible drivers in my life.

[FortLaudy 10]

We have a little bit of time before having to leave for the interview, I sent hubby out to pic up ink cartridges, yes we ran out... #######? Also still need to go have a few pics printed, sheezz, don't leave things 'till the last minute folks!

[IstanBulls 1]

I wanna wish good luck to Shani682, DongDong, spongebobiwan, MaddyCruise, m_ru with the interviews today. We are waiting the good news from everybody. Best of luck!

[dirtyweebesom 8]

Yes, good luck to everybody. Hope everything goes smoothly! Can't wait to read your interview reviews!

[SpongebObiWan 0]

Interview Day: Interviews were scheduled for 9:30 a.m. (Maddy), and 10:00 a.m. (daughter). We arrived at about 9:00 a.m. to the Milwaukee, Wisconsin USCIS office. We arrived upstairs in the large waiting/seating area, and dropped our interview letters into the slot outside the door into the offices, per instructed, then waited. At approximately 9:15 a.m., an interview officer of what I think was Indonesian descent, opened the office door and called our names. All three of us followed him in to his office, , where he swore in Maddy and myself. We then all sat down.

He first asked us for our indentifications which we provided. He then began asking me a bunch of questions, i.e. "is your birthday ......."?, is your address........."?, "is your phone number......."?, "is this your signature"? I found it interesting that he wasn't actually asking me the questions, but merely whether or not the answers he already had in his file, were correct. Then he began asking Maddy the same series of questions, with some additional questions pertaining to her only. He then asked Maddy the customary "have you ever...."? questions. When he finished with her, he then began flipping through the pages of his file on us, which was about 2 inches thick, and asking various additional questions. My perception was that he was merely verifying some of the information he had on us in his file.

He then asked our daughter if she was off school today, and a short conversation with her about school, her friends missing her today, did she like school, etc., which lasted about one minute.

He then asked me if we had filed our 2009 income taxes returns yet. I told him we had not yet filed, though they were completed. He said that was okay, and only if he needed a copy of that, would he contact us and request them. Then he flipped through the pages of his file a bit more, verifying a couple more items. Then he asked us if we brought any other papers for proof of bonafide marriage, at which time we gave him a copy of our joint bank accounts, life insurance policy, joint lease, and copy of a joint membership card at Sam's Club. He stapled all of that together after very briefly looking them over, and put them into his file. I also informed him that we had a picture album and asked if he would like to see that. He answered that he didn't need to look at that..

All this time he was asking us questions or looking at things, he was checking off items, or circling items, or making small notations on various papers in his file. After about 20 minutes of this, he indicated that that was all he needed, and he would review everything and let us know. I got the impression that he merely wanted to go over our case to make sure he had all the necessary information. I got no "bad vibe" or anything like that from him. There were no questions of "how we met" or anything pertaining to "intent to immigrate", or anything like that.

All in all, I would describe it as a pleasant and professional interview. Certainly we would have liked to know right then and there what our approval status was, but I didn't think it wise to push the issue. Perhaps that isn't how he operates. But, I'm pretty comfortable that after he reviews everything, we will be notified, and I'm mostly confident that there will be no problem and we will be approved. I base this merely on my own speculation and the flow of the interview, etc. The fact that no conversation regarding intent to immigrate, and not even questions about how and when we met, indicates to me that there were no issues there. I'm also assuming from the fact he didn't even need to look at any of the pictures we had brought, that he has no real issues with whether or not we have a bonafide marriage. I think he just wants to review everything to cover his own #######. I'm sure they operate with some sort of accountability to somebody for making sure they've done their job properly.

So, now we'll just wait to hear back, and I'm guessing that we should hear something within the next couple of weeks

That's about all I can think of right now.

[marie09 5]

Yay Spongebobiwan & Maddy! Congrats on being done! I'm sure you'll get the card production order any day now. I was reading in the october filers thread that some IO's don't have the authorization to approve on the spot - they need supervisor approval. So i'm sure you're all set. It definitely sounds like it went good

I'm hoping they don't need 2009 tax returns to approve the AOS since you legally have till April 15th to file. We're still waiting for one of my W2s & My hubby's business partnership agreement which we need to file taxes doesn't come through till Mid March at the earliest! So that would be a nightmare if they can't approve us till taxes are done.

Fingers crossed for all of us

[SpongebObiWan 0]

I had considered filing my 2009 tax returns and taking a copy of that along for the interview. The reason I did not is kind of a circular problem. I had no problem providing Maddy's social security number on the tax return, since she's received her EAD card and we were able to get her ss card based on that. However, we will not be able to get the social security card for our daughter until we receive her green card. So obviously, I wasn't able to include a ss number for her on the returns. My only option was to not list her as a dependent. I thought it would be better to wait until after we get her green card and then her ss card, so that we could then provide her ss number on our tax return, not for any financial benefit in filing, but merely to be complete and precise. Now if it's decided by USCIS that they want to see our 2009 tax returns, we will have to go ahead and file the return without including her as a dependent, so that we can provide a copy of that to USCIS.

[MaddyCruise 2]

Yay Spongebobiwan & Maddy! Congrats on being done! I'm sure you'll get the card production order any day now. I was reading in the october filers thread that some IO's don't have the authorization to approve on the spot - they need supervisor approval. So i'm sure you're all set. It definitely sounds like it went good

I'm hoping they don't need 2009 tax returns to approve the AOS since you legally have till April 15th to file. We're still waiting for one of my W2s & My hubby's business partnership agreement which we need to file taxes doesn't come through till Mid March at the earliest! So that would be a nightmare if they can't approve us till taxes are done.

Fingers crossed for all of us

That's a big relief for me... Im kinda confuse when we head to out of the building. And then hubby explain it to me what happened ..lol.. coz im all nervous when we went in...so were hoping to hear any notice from them soon .

Goodluck to your upcoming interview.. :thumbs:

And to everyone goodluck..we almost there..

[marie09 5]

I had considered filing my 2009 tax returns and taking a copy of that along for the interview. The reason I did not is kind of a circular problem. I had no problem providing Maddy's social security number on the tax return, since she's received her EAD card and we were able to get her ss card based on that. However, we will not be able to get the social security card for our daughter until we receive her green card. So obviously, I wasn't able to include a ss number for her on the returns. My only option was to not list her as a dependent. I thought it would be better to wait until after we get her green card and then her ss card, so that we could then provide her ss number on our tax return, not for any financial benefit in filing, but merely to be complete and precise. Now if it's decided by USCIS that they want to see our 2009 tax returns, we will have to go ahead and file the return without including her as a dependent, so that we can provide a copy of that to USCIS.

That makes sense to me, why file twice unless you have to? I think we would do the same if they require our tax returns. We would file with all our W2s. Then refile with the partnership agreement once that arrives.

Congrats again on what sounds like a great interview

[marie09 5]

That's a big relief for me... Im kinda confuse when we head to out of the building. And then hubby explain it to me what happened ..lol.. coz im all nervous when we went in...so were hoping to hear any notice from them soon .

Goodluck to your upcoming interview.. :thumbs:

And to everyone goodluck..we almost there..

Thank you for the good luck messages.

I'm sure you'll get a lovely e-mail/text message from the USCIS in the next few days

I think i'll be nervous too, luckily my husband is super calm/laid back about this!

[FortLaudy 10]

Just leaving a short message as we're heading out to take the dogs to the park, they've not been yet and are making us crazy.

Interview went fine, a lot of cracking jokes mostly, nothing intense. Only problem we had was that the medical form was not completed fully by the doc.. The TB part, where it asks the mm, even though it was negative the doc was still supposed to write 0mm but didn't, so we had to go back to the docs office and get it signed and dated and sealed and return to the same IO.. she said we'll get the card in the mail in a few weeks, very friendly lady. Will write a review later.

[noirdior 0]

Just leaving a short message as we're heading out to take the dogs to the park, they've not been yet and are making us crazy.

Interview went fine, a lot of cracking jokes mostly, nothing intense. Only problem we had was that the medical form was not completed fully by the doc.. The TB part, where it asks the mm, even though it was negative the doc was still supposed to write 0mm but didn't, so we had to go back to the docs office and get it signed and dated and sealed and return to the same IO.. she said we'll get the card in the mail in a few weeks, very friendly lady. Will write a review later.

congrats shani!!!!!