AOS Approved

[Christopher Smith 0]

My wife and I went to our AOS interview on June 15th where I was approved for a Green Card, and I thought I'd share our story (since this site is so motivational!)

We met in 2000 online at age 16. We met on an internet pro-wrestling forum because at the time I liked wrestling, and one of the community members who I made friends with brought his friends (including my wife) into the general chat section of forum. There was a definite connection, and one thing lead to another as we began emailing and then talking each other over the phone. Over the next two years, we built a strong relationship and in 2002, at 18 years old, we met each other in person for the first time, when I visited the US for ten days. Our bond was very strong, and I made 4 or 5 subsequent trips using the three-month visa waiver - she also came out to visit me in England in 2004. In 2005, realizing I needed to do something with my life, I came over to study as an F-1 student, during which time we realized we wanted to get married. We had a small, intimate wedding in August 2007, and I finished up my education before applying for the AOS, which we filed late March this year.

We were so nervous driving into San Francisco for our interview. We arrived an hour early, just in case my car broke down or something, and sat patiently in the waiting room, until we were called for the interview at our scheduled time. Immediately after each taking the oath, our USCIS officer asked us how we met, to which I replied "well now that's an interesting one". I handed the USCIS officer a short essay that I had written for an English class I had just taken, with all the spelling corrections and comments from my professor. She read all 4 pages, and couldn't help but laugh at the wrestling web site part.

The only subject over which she demonstrated concern was due to my wife's unemployment, but after explaining the reasons, and pointing out the I-864a which listed her father as co-sponsor, she was satisfied and stamped our documents. The whole interview was perhaps 15 minutes.

Now here's some interesting information. We have plans to travel to England in late July, so I bought the e-tickets to see whether I could get my passport stamped (which was not an issue). After showing the officer our tickets, she said that our plane tickets were our best official papers to show a bona-fide marriage because couples in sham marriages don't travel together. I want to pass that on to others who go through this journey and suggest that you bring any travel documents that have both your names on it.

I used VJ while researching information on how to submit forms, and the process would have undoubtedly been more nerve racking without the knowledge and experience of those who have taken time out of their day to help others. To say that this is a weight off our shoulders is an understatement. I feel a certain sense of freedom, and that we can finally start living the life we've always wanted to.

Thank you VJ! - I genuinely wish success to all those who are going through the same process!

Edited June 18, 2010 by Christopher Smith

[besaangel 18]

My wife and I went to our AOS interview on June 15th where I was approved for a Green Card, and I thought I'd share our story (since this site is so motivational!)

We met in 2000 online at age 16. We met on an internet pro-wrestling forum because at the time I liked wrestling, and one of the community members who I made friends with brought his friends (including my wife) into the general chat section of forum. There was a definite connection, and one thing lead to another as we began emailing and then talking each other over the phone. Over the next two years, we built a strong relationship and in 2002, at 18 years old, we met each other in person for the first time, when I visited the US for ten days. Our bond was very strong, and I made 4 or 5 subsequent trips using the three-month visa waiver - she also came out to visit me in England in 2004. In 2005, realizing I needed to do something with my life, I came over to study as an F-1 student, during which time we realized we wanted to get married. We had a small, intimate wedding in August 2007, and I finished up my education before applying for the AOS, which we filed late March this year.

We were so nervous driving into San Francisco for our interview. We arrived an hour early, just in case my car broke down or something, and sat patiently in the waiting room, until we were called for the interview at our scheduled time. Immediately after each taking the oath, our USCIS officer asked us how we met, to which I replied "well now that's an interesting one". I handed the USCIS officer a short essay that I had written for an English class I had just taken, with all the spelling corrections and comments from my professor. She read all 4 pages, and couldn't help but laugh at the wrestling web site part.

The only subject over which she demonstrated concern was due to my wife's unemployment, but after explaining the reasons, and pointing out the I-864a which listed her father as co-sponsor, she was satisfied and stamped our documents. The whole interview was perhaps 15 minutes.

Now here's some interesting information. We have plans to travel to England in late July, so I bought the e-tickets to see whether I could get my passport stamped (which was not an issue). After showing the officer our tickets, she said that our plane tickets were our best official papers to show a bona-fide marriage because couples in sham marriages don't travel together. I want to pass that on to others who go through this journey and suggest that you bring any travel documents that have both your names on it.

I used VJ while researching information on how to submit forms, and the process would have undoubtedly been more nerve racking without the knowledge and experience of those who have taken time out of their day to help others. To say that this is a weight off our shoulders is an understatement. I feel a certain sense of freedom, and that we can finally start living the life we've always wanted to.

Thank you VJ! - I genuinely wish success to all those who are going through the same process!

Thanks for sharing your story and a wee bit of advice... Very helpful

[engineer21 51]

Congratulations!

Very happy for you both and thank you for sharing

[choongchoong 1]

Congrats!!

Let's have a party :dance:

I was there as well.....

[redglasses 1]

Congratulations!

[Christopher Smith 0]

Thanks everyone!

Edit: I'm definitely down to party, haha!

Edited June 18, 2010 by Christopher Smith