Unpleasant NSC Phone Call... Successful AOS Interview!

[ArykahUofA 0]

Last Tuesday, May 8, I called the National Service Center with a concern. Our AOS interview was scheduled for the following day, but our certified copy of the marriage certificate is still at the passport agency (I sent it in to them in March so they would issue a new passport with my married last name, but I still haven't gotten it back). I was worried because the list of items required for the interview included that copy of the marriage certificate. I made the grave mistake of calling to ask for advice and ended up having the most unpleasant phone call of my life.

First, I spent 5 or more minutes navigating the automated menu system, trying to figure out how to speak with a live person. When I finally got there, the agent I spoke with, named Jose, started out by asking a series of questions. I was unaware that my responses were to be simple "Yes" or "No" and so when he asked "Are you calling because you are applying for US citizenship?" I replied "No, my husband came to the US on a K1 visa and we are in the process of adjusting his status." He repeated his question, verbatim, and I gave a modified version of the same response. He reprimanded me for not answering "Yes" or "No", even though there was no forewarning that I was only allowed to speak in single-syllable robot talk. His tone of voice was so condescending, but I kept my mouth shut... at least at first. He continued to ask inane questions about the reason for my phone call, even though I had already explained my situation. After determining that I am the spouse of a K1 visa entrant in the process of AOS (wait a second, didn't I already say that?!?), he finally asked for our case number. If he'd asked for it from the beginning, he would have known everything... Anyway, he read every little detail from our case (every touch, status update, RFE, etc...), and since I had already been scolded for providing too much information, I simply responded to each of his statements, "Yes, I am aware of that." When he got to the end of his list, he said "Well, then, if you already know all this, why are you calling?" (that condescending tone returned...). I told him "I'm calling because I have a question. There is no need to be rude to me." He responded, "I'm not being rude... blah blah blah" ... the banter continued for awhile and finally I started to explain my specific situation to ask what to do about the marriage certificate. I started out saying, "We have our AOS interview tomorrow and our certified copy of the marriage certificate is at the passport agency..." and then the @$$shole had the nerve to interrupt me and say "Ma'am, this is not the passport agency. They are a separate department.".... ARG!!! "Yes, sir, I am fully aware of that. Can you STOP INTERRUPTING ME and let me ASK MY QUESTION!?!?" I continued, explaining the situation and asking what to do about the marriage certificate and he had no clue... he continued to be a jerk, but at the end of the conversation apologized "if I had felt he was rude to me..." I ended up going downtown, paying a ton of money for a new certified marriage certificate, and then was never asked for it at the interview... Moral of this story: NEVER CALL USCIS, and if you do, take down the agent's badge number (which they give at the beginning of their spiel)

I was so upset about the phone call and the way the guy treated me (it's hard to imitate his tone in writing, but it was definitely disrespectful/rude/superior/etc.), I started to prepare myself mentally for the same treatment in the next day's interview. Fortunately, we were given the most pleasant interviewer EVER... she called us in at 8:10, greeted us with a smile and a handshake, laughed about how similar our Portuguese was to her Spanish, confirmed simple information from our paperwork, and then said we were approved. She took one piece of paper with both of our names on it (our 2006 tax return), but then there were no questions about anything, no revision of documents, nothing. I asked her "You don't even want to see our wedding photos?" and she said "No, sorry, I don't need to! Sometimes you just know when a couple is for real..." ... Junior and I were elated and we were back in the car driving home by 8:20!

I wish you all the same luck in your interviews!

[mRx 16]

Sorry to hear about you unpleasant experience with the hotline, but nevertheless, congrats on the AOS approval. Wish you all the best.

[lostunderwaves 0]

Glad your interview went well! How much did you have to pay for your certified copies? Most places they're only $5-7.

[Jashley820 0]

Glad your interview went well! How much did you have to pay for your certified copies? Most places they're only $5-7.

Ours are only $2 here in Cincy, but I've heard in places like Florida it's $40 a copy!! That's just insane!

[cellarlily 0]

Congratulations! I'm sorry you had such a horrible experience with the USCIS line, but at least everything turned out for the best!

[TracyLuis 0]

The USCIS hotline is virtually useless. But what a relief your interview was much more pleasant...that's the most important thing, after all!!!

Congrats