Please Help! Interview tomorrow!

[Eternnitty89 0]

Hi everyone! My husband and I have been married going on 4 years in August. WE finally have our 1st interview for the Adjustment of status. I was wondering if you guys would please help with info or tips of things we should bring with us from your experience or from others you know!

My main question is should we bring our son to the interview? He is going to be 2 in april. I was wondering if it was best to bring him ith us. Or better to bring him with his nanny for the time we are there??

Should I bring a photo album or is ok that I bring my laptop showing all our family photos?

Thank you so much!

[Lexlee08 18]

Hi Eternnitty,

When I had my AOS interview in 2004 we brought in our son and my aunt with us, he was 7 months old then, we brought my aunt with us just in case he cries or throws a tantrum she can watch him or attend to him, and all went well. I also brought in 2 photo albums. The IO swore me in, and asked me some questions (I forgot most of them, so sorry can't help you on that part). It was a painless and almost informal interview, my husband was more scared than me!

Anyways, good luck and hope everything goes we with you too!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You can bring your son if you like. Better to bring a photo album; some offices do not let guests have electronics at all (laptop, cellphone are turned in at the door). Good luck.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The AOS is to prove the validity of your marriage. I think bringing your son with you is very good evidence - far better than just having pictures of him - that you have a real and ongoing relationship. It would be a good idea to bring his Nanny as well so she can look after him if necessary, but prepare to bring him into the interview unless they suggest you leave him in the nanny's care.

Don't bring your laptop - it won't be allowed in and they won't look at photographs on it. Use hard copies of photos even if they are just printed out black and white copies from a basic printer. You can bring photos in a photo album, yes.

Bring evidence of your combined financial liabilities and benefits (joint bank accounts, joint credit card accounts, joint bills, evidence of each of you paying bills; health insurance for the family and for the two of you before the birth of your son, etc.) for all four years of your marriage. Don't just bring something from the most recent time period. Think about bringing evidence from each quarter - so for each year of marriage have 4 complete bank statements, 4 complete joint credit card statements, things like that. Bring any mortgages or leases you have/have had in the past 4 years; bring proof that both of you reside in the same house (driver's licenses/State IDs, mail addressed to each of you at the same address, etc.). Bring tax documents issued to both of you and copies of your filed joint returns. Basically,what you want to do is show you have co-mingled your financial, your personal and your social lives together as a married couple and a family.

Bring the originals of your marriage certificate and your son's birth certificate even though they have copies. They may not wish to see them but if they do, you will have them.

Be aware of common information that each would know about the other - full names and birth dates/ birth places/ parents and siblings names/ where each other works and what they do; annual income for the family and cost of basic expenses such as rent or mortgage, etc..

After 4 years of marriage you should have lots of good evidence to show you have a valid marriage, but because of that you may also be expected to provide a good amount of documentary evidence as well.

Good luck on the interview .

Edited January 31, 2011 by Kathryn41

[Eternnitty89 0]

Thank you everyone for all your inputs! I really appreciate it so much! :0)

[ceadsearc 516]

We brought our daughter and honestly, I don't think it really made anything better, maybe worse. She was cranky, it was near naptime by the time we got back after waiting ... there was nowhere for her to really sit, and despite the idea of a baby being good evidence, we got grilled for an hour anyway - while she cried and fussed and tried to unplug everything in the office. That being said, she is 14 months old, not 2, so it may go way better for you. I think it would have been a benefit had we had a different interviewer, but ours really didn't care if we had a kid or not.