Interview coming up-quick questions

[Cookie Monster 14 5]

Good Morning,

My interview is coming up on October 16, 2014. We are just in the middle of making sure we got everything. I just have a few questions:

1.) On the I797C that we got it says to bring in a certified copy of our marriage document issued by the appropriate civil authority. We have the original that was sent to us. Should we just bring this one just so they can make copies or would it be better to order one and have another original mailed to us just in case?

2.) Is it better to have everything in one binder with organized tabs or loose in a box? I was thinking binder with tabs for easy find and easy access.

Just trying to get all our ducks in a row and not get too nervous about it. Any help/tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to everyone.

[Ian H. 207]

1. As long as the certificate is certified you will be fine. They don't keep it, they just look at it or make a copy.

2. This is up to you. Personally I just bring everything in one of those priority mail envelopes. But if you have A LOT of docs, then you can bring one of those accordion type binders or whatever you feel is convenient. I'm not sure about a box.

[Ortolan 381]

Bring the original that's stamped or embossed, and bring a copy of that to leave with them if they want it. They just want to see the stamp to make sure it's real.

I would suggest bringing a folder of the other stuff, and organize everything with a card clipped to it just so you can find stuff easily if they ask.

I have read others that have said they put a binder together, but it was a pain for the officer to deal with (they'd have to remove pages if they wanted to make copies of something).

[fullglass 5]

Good Morning,

My interview is coming up on October 16, 2014. We are just in the middle of making sure we got everything. I just have a few questions:

1.) On the I797C that we got it says to bring in a certified copy of our marriage document issued by the appropriate civil authority. We have the original that was sent to us. Should we just bring this one just so they can make copies or would it be better to order one and have another original mailed to us just in case?

2.) Is it better to have everything in one binder with organized tabs or loose in a box? I was thinking binder with tabs for easy find and easy access.

Just trying to get all our ducks in a row and not get too nervous about it. Any help/tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to everyone.

When in doubt, better to be safe than sorry.

What I did was I made two binders, one binder of only originals and the other binder of all copies (and readily available for the IO to keep in case). I used the plastic cover sleeves and used tabs to mark each section so I can easily flip to a document if requested.

1. I had my original marrige certificate and then went back to the civil authority and ordered another original and made copies.

2. binder option is better than taking a box.

You don't want to inconvenience the IO. Just have copies of every original document and have the copies available to where the IO can keep if necessary.

[BlueDevil 61]

I did exactly what fullglass did. A second certified copy cost me $5 at the local county clerk's office and took all of 10 minutes to obtain. I figured I'd rather have a copy in case they wanted to keep one. More than likely they won't but you never know.

As far as the paperwork goes, I bought two tabbed file folders from Walmart - one for the originals and one for the copies so I wouldn't accidentally hand over any originals. The folders were tabbed and labeled in the same order for easy access. $10 took care of that. The IO also pointed out how well we were organized which I think reflects positively in the interview as opposed to fumbling around trying to find documents and their copies and wasting the IO's time.

Edited September 25, 2014 by BlueDevil

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

I made a copy of it and took along the original and was ready to give them the copy in case they needed (they didn't need neither the original or the copy). Regarding the pack I took it in one bigass envelope.

Ps: I know I spelled bigass wrong but don't want them to remove it so hence writing it as one. LOL

Good luck!

[Cookie Monster 14 5]

Thanks everyone for all your input and answering the questions. I will keep everyone posted on how the interview goes and if I have any last minute questions. The support here is great!