December filers

[longey 1]

Quick question: Did they ask to see the USC's birth certificate at the interview? My husband didn't have his and we didn't send it with the applications, and now he has ordered it but it still hasn't arrived. Our interview is in a week and I am worried it will not arrive in time. They said it takes 15 days, but 15 days have passed and nothing.

In our case the officer did not ask for my wife's US birth/naturalization certificate. But then again he didn't even check my birth certificate, let alone our passports.

[DaniG 3]

Does your husband have a valid US passport? He can take that instead of a birth certificate.

Your other option is to call the Clerk's Office at the county where he was born and ask when they mailed it. If they haven't yet, you can politely ask them to FedEx it to you (they will charge you extra for that). If it is within driving distance, I think they can issue it right away if you go in person, but I would call them and check.

[Val Marty 1]

He has a passport, so we will bring that if the certificate hasn't arrived yet. thanks for the help

[longey 1]

Add one to the list of people who have received their green card in the mail.

Good luck to everyone with an upcoming interview!

[Laura & Kyle 16]

Add one to the list of people who have received their green card in the mail.

Good luck to everyone with an upcoming interview!

Grats longey!

Okay, so I realize that in a little less than 24 hours we will be done with the interview... Was anyone else this excited, nervous, anxious? I have the same kind of anxiousness like I do right before I used to fly to see Kyle in Scotland. I can't even concentrate on work right now. I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight. I think I'm going to drive Kyle insane tonight with my hyperactivity. OMG I am sooo about to freak out with happiness. I don't want to be here at work. I rather look at my forms and memorize all the entries over and over again. AGH!

[Val Marty 1]

Good luck on your interview Laura and Kyle. Looks like our dates are very similar throughout the whole process.

[lovelyalex 99]

good luck guys!!! xx

[Laura & Kyle 16]

Quickly....

I'll write a longer entry soon, but we JUST FOUND OUT... that Kyle's AOS application was approved and they have sent off for greencard production!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!

The IO wouldn't tell us at the interview.. he said he would review later today... I was nervous all day.. even had to take a nap because I had used up all my adrenalin but we just got a text... and YAY!!! Here's an image!!

[DaniG 3]

Congrats, Laura and Kyle!!! By the way, our package was received by the same Mercado guy - it's funny to see familiar faces

[Laura & Kyle 16]

Okay, so the review!

Our appointment was at 10:30am; we arrived at 9:40ish and they let us in. We had to show our appt. letter and photo id's at the door. We then had to go through the metal detectors. We put our interview notice in a little bin near the "front" of the room.

There were about 5 couples there... one with a lawyer. Not to stray away from my review.. but the husband was wearing "NAVY" sweatpants, the wife was of asian decent wearing a polo (can't remember the pants), and a lawyer. They were all standing there, and then the lawyer looks at some of the paperwork and says to the couple, "Now.. they have sent you the information with your name written the way you want it, with your married name as your last name, correct?" Well before the wife could even say yes, the husband flew into a rage yelling, "Why the hell would you ask that??? Why would she want to use her maiden name???" Then he proceeded to ream his wife out about how absurd it was to even consider using her maiden name. Now remember, the lawyer simply asked.. and the married last name was correct (but remember.. there's been lots of issues with last names recently.. so i'm guessing she was just confirming the USCIS had it correct). The lawyer didn't say another thing to the husband. The wife told the husband that she asked for them to use his/her married last name. Talk about awkward.

Anyways, at 10:30 on the dot, a man came out and called Kyle's name. He lead us through the "doors" and into his office. His office looked just like the one in Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynold's film The Proposal. Before we could sit down, he asked us to put our things down and then swore us in. He then asked to see his passport and his EAD. He asked to see my driver's license. He matched it up to our documents. He had Kyle tell him his SSN and wrote it on the front of our I-485. We chatted a few minutes about Kyle's middle name and how he didn't like it. The IO asked Kyle if it was his first marriage (he said yes) and then asked me (I said no, it was my second). The IO said that he would need to look into that. The IO then asked me what our address was and Kyle's DOB. He asked Kyle if it was his first visit to the US and what was his purpose of coming here was. He asked me where Kyle was born. He then had Kyle say my name (and maiden name) and my date of birth.

The IO went on to take the green I-94w out of Kyle's passport and attached it to his files. He then asked Kyle the standard "have you ever" questions and checked them off on the I-485 to make sure they were consistent. He asked Kyle when we got engaged and when/why Kyle decided to stay. The IO asked Kyle about his employment and asked for details about his previous work in Scotland and when/how he let them know he was leaving work.

The IO then asked to see our pictures, he looked at our little wedding album and then a few other pictures we gathered together. I had already sent them two collages of pictures (printed on just a 8.5x11 piece of paper)with the application (one was of our wedding / the other was of before and after the wedding, with dates, and descriptions)..He didn't take any of the pictures and said that the collage we provided with the application was great. He then asked to see any other evidence we had like bills, bank accounts, housing, etc. We gave him a copy of our rental insurance, car insurance, joint bank account, and electric bill. In return, the IO gave us a certified copy of our marriage back as we had submitted two. (One for the I-130 and one for our I-485).

He then said that that was all the questions he had for us for now, and then said we would hear a decision in our case in 7-10 days by mail. At that point I was guttered because I wanted a Yes or No answer right then and there. He then proceeded to explain the removal of conditions process (i-751) and gave us a pen to write the information down. He said we would file 21 months from us receiving the greencard. He also said to provide pictures and evidence like we have before and we "shouldn't" have to appear for an interview. He said 30% of people who file for ROC get an interview, and our chances would go down if we provide all that evidence. So, after reading all the reviews here I kept watching for him to stamp Kyle's passport or have Kyle sign something..and none of that happened. So I asked again, so how will we find out in 7-10 days? And the IO said by mail. Kyle told the IO that I would drive him crazy because I would be constantly checking the websites, texts, and all because we didn't get a clear cut yes/no. The IO just laughed (this is coming from Kyle because I just glazed over wondering why we didn't a yes) and shook his head and said, "no, don't worry. you'll be fine and will hear from us soon."

We then were walked out by the IO and that was that. I was hoping to celebrate and go to a nice lunch and feel all warm and fuzzy feeling with the acceptance. We didn't get that at all. Kyle said he just wanted to go home, so we drove in mostly silence (Kyle slept most of the 2 hour drive home). When we got home, I fell asleep for a few hours as I couldn't even think or eat or anything. I woke up at around 5pm and at 5:30 we got a text from the USCIS. Kyle refused to log on, and I logged on and saw it had moved to post-decision activity saying our greencard had be put into production. I screamed of course and then there was lots of kissing and hugging. :luv:

So.. There's the review. Hope it helps. And for the record, no they didn't ask for my birth certificate (i had already submitted two official/certified copies and didn't want to spend more money on it/or take off time from work to get it). Kyle also kept his EAD.

[juliava 80]

Congrats, Laura&Kyle!I am happy for you!

[Val Marty 1]

Congrats Laura and Kyle! I am glad things worked out well for you too.

[marie09 5]

Congrats Laura & Kyle,

Wow those few hours waiting must have felt long. Must have been such a relief to get the e-mails, I can't imagine. Also wow how awkward over the couple and the lawyer! But yay congrats on being done, that's awesome so happy for you guys and everyone else that's recently got approvals

Edited March 26, 2010 by marie09

[daffydill 0]

congratulations! What a relief it is

[Laura & Kyle 16]

Thank you so much for all the congrats, DaniG, juliava, Val Marty, marie09, and canam2010! I really could not have done it without all the encouragement, support, and advice from Visa Journey, and specifically this forum. I can't believe it's actually over (or this chapter anyways). It felt like it was just recently that I was asking questions about the I-693 or the cover sheets. No more waiting for a biometric appointment...

Good luck Val Marty.. I know your interview is coming up very soon! Good luck DaniG on your AOS process! I'll still be lurking on the forums trying to watch what happens! Juliava.. my word lady, you've been through so much. I hope things move quicker for you and I hope to hear some good news from you soon.