Washington DC AOS Filers

[Comanutd33 61]

On 1/5/2021 at 4:18 PM, Rearviewmirror said:

When did you file AOS? Please fill out your timeline.

 

 

Can you please update your timeline with the details of when you did your biometrics etc?

Updated. 

Quick question, 

 

Do I need an updated medical? It will hit 2 years September 2021

[Rearviewmirror 397]

On 1/8/2021 at 8:53 AM, Comanutd33 said:

Updated. 

Quick question, 

 

Do I need an updated medical? It will hit 2 years September 2021

As long as your interview is before then I don't believe so. Did you do medical before submitting AOS?

[bedi1919 15]

Hey folks,

 

So we had out interview last Friday and it didn't feel so great. We are hoping for a positive outcome but I wanted to share the experience. As many folks have noted you come in and go thru airport like security ( shoe removal, jewelry removal etc.) We took the lift to the second floor and checked in for our interview. Initially I was excited to hear our IO escort a couple and verbally say you are all set, congratulations, etc. I thought wow I hope she interviews us and says the same thing. But once we got into the room it just seemed to go downhill. The IO wasn't very friendly. The questions asked were all standard. I was taken off guard by her request to know more about my ex husband. She asked what my husband's parents do and asked if we had met each others family. She was noting down all updates she needed to make to our file such as new employment, visa status etc. There were four updates in total that she would need to make but she gave no verbal indication that we were approved ( not required I know). She also walked us out very quickly and all in all wasn't friendly. Sorry to hammer on this point but it just wasn't a good experience as so many other folks have said everything went well and case updates were made so quickly. I will say if you have a new job bring your letter of employment or a pay stub. She also wanted to see utilities which we don't have ( included. paid in the rent) and insurance documents ( we had a letter from our car insurance with our names and policy but that wasn't enough for her ( she stated this is just a piece of mail). She never asked for pictures and my husband mentioned it as we were leaving the office. Good luck to anyone with an upcoming interview. No status updates made online and I assume it is due to the number of updates she needed to make to our file. 

[beefmaster2 51]

3 hours ago, bedi1919 said:

Hey folks,

 

So we had out interview last Friday and it didn't feel so great. We are hoping for a positive outcome but I wanted to share the experience. As many folks have noted you come in and go thru airport like security ( shoe removal, jewelry removal etc.) We took the lift to the second floor and checked in for our interview. Initially I was excited to hear our IO escort a couple and verbally say you are all set, congratulations, etc. I thought wow I hope she interviews us and says the same thing. But once we got into the room it just seemed to go downhill. The IO wasn't very friendly. The questions asked were all standard. I was taken off guard by her request to know more about my ex husband. She asked what my husband's parents do and asked if we had met each others family. She was noting down all updates she needed to make to our file such as new employment, visa status etc. There were four updates in total that she would need to make but she gave no verbal indication that we were approved ( not required I know). She also walked us out very quickly and all in all wasn't friendly. Sorry to hammer on this point but it just wasn't a good experience as so many other folks have said everything went well and case updates were made so quickly. I will say if you have a new job bring your letter of employment or a pay stub. She also wanted to see utilities which we don't have ( included. paid in the rent) and insurance documents ( we had a letter from our car insurance with our names and policy but that wasn't enough for her ( she stated this is just a piece of mail). She never asked for pictures and my husband mentioned it as we were leaving the office. Good luck to anyone with an upcoming interview. No status updates made online and I assume it is due to the number of updates she needed to make to our file. 

Sorry you had such a negative experience. I hope that things get cleared up shortly. 

 

Were the updates to your the beneficiary or petitioner employment? What other changes did the IO want to make?

 

What other evidence did you provide? E.g. to show co-mingling of finances? 

[bedi1919 15]

51 minutes ago, beefmaster2 said:

Sorry you had such a negative experience. I hope that things get cleared up shortly. 

 

Were the updates to your the beneficiary or petitioner employment? What other changes did the IO want to make?

 

What other evidence did you provide? E.g. to show co-mingling of finances? 

I'm sure it will all be fine. But just wanted to share because not everyone walks out smiling. We had bank statements and our tax returns. I forget what all 4 of the updates were but they were 4. 

[Linyahui 103]

Hello, fellow DC filers! I hope you don’t mind us joining this forum 25 pages in...

 

My husband filed for ROC in April 2019 (he has a conditional two-year GC based on marriage to me, the US citizen). On May 13, 2020 the case status changed to “interview ready to be scheduled” but it’s been crickets since then. We’ve been waiting for 627 days and even contacted Congresswoman Norton’s office for help, but have just gotten the standard “your case is taking longer than expected.” 
 

Seeing that others in DC are getting interviews and filed around the same time is worrying. Any advice?

 

My husband also has a pending N-400 that was filed in May 2020, but hasn’t even been given biometrics for that. Not sure if that is related. 

[Rearviewmirror 397]

On 1/15/2021 at 10:12 PM, Linyahui said:

Hello, fellow DC filers! I hope you don’t mind us joining this forum 25 pages in...

 

My husband filed for ROC in April 2019 (he has a conditional two-year GC based on marriage to me, the US citizen). On May 13, 2020 the case status changed to “interview ready to be scheduled” but it’s been crickets since then. We’ve been waiting for 627 days and even contacted Congresswoman Norton’s office for help, but have just gotten the standard “your case is taking longer than expected.” 
 

Seeing that others in DC are getting interviews and filed around the same time is worrying. Any advice?

 

My husband also has a pending N-400 that was filed in May 2020, but hasn’t even been given biometrics for that. Not sure if that is related. 

Afraid I can't be much help, but it might be worth posting a question in either the ROC or Citizenship sub forum?

[Comanutd33 61]

On 1/12/2021 at 10:42 AM, bedi1919 said:

Hey folks,

 

So we had out interview last Friday and it didn't feel so great. We are hoping for a positive outcome but I wanted to share the experience. As many folks have noted you come in and go thru airport like security ( shoe removal, jewelry removal etc.) We took the lift to the second floor and checked in for our interview. Initially I was excited to hear our IO escort a couple and verbally say you are all set, congratulations, etc. I thought wow I hope she interviews us and says the same thing. But once we got into the room it just seemed to go downhill. The IO wasn't very friendly. The questions asked were all standard. I was taken off guard by her request to know more about my ex husband. She asked what my husband's parents do and asked if we had met each others family. She was noting down all updates she needed to make to our file such as new employment, visa status etc. There were four updates in total that she would need to make but she gave no verbal indication that we were approved ( not required I know). She also walked us out very quickly and all in all wasn't friendly. Sorry to hammer on this point but it just wasn't a good experience as so many other folks have said everything went well and case updates were made so quickly. I will say if you have a new job bring your letter of employment or a pay stub. She also wanted to see utilities which we don't have ( included. paid in the rent) and insurance documents ( we had a letter from our car insurance with our names and policy but that wasn't enough for her ( she stated this is just a piece of mail). She never asked for pictures and my husband mentioned it as we were leaving the office. Good luck to anyone with an upcoming interview. No status updates made online and I assume it is due to the number of updates she needed to make to our file. 

Feeling kind of nervous after reading this. Any advice you’d give? Our interview is next week iA🙏🏼

[Bec Asmar 2]

4 minutes ago, Comanutd33 said:

Feeling kind of nervous after reading this. Any advice you’d give? Our interview is next week iA🙏🏼

I would just over prepare. I googled USCIS interview evidence document format and spent days collating and preparing it. I was chatting with our officer at the end of our interview and I asked her “what is a red flag for you that tells you the couple is not legitimate?” And she said the biggest one is the photos. She wants loads of photos. She shared a story that one couple only brought in 3 photos and they had the same clothes on. It’s better to have more evidence than less. 

[Comanutd33 61]

Thank you ❤️ Do you happen to have the format?

[Bec Asmar 2]

1 hour ago, Comanutd33 said:

Thank you ❤️ Do you happen to have the format?

Hey Comanutd33 I had to go searching back in my history to find it lol. I deleted my version unfortunately after the interview, but I did find the original post here https://www.***removed***/forum/adjustment-of-status-i-485/180463-august-interviewees/page2#post559008

 

I'll outline what I did by step in case anyone is not sure how to format the evidence packet. It was confusing to me at first, and actually took me about 3 days to put together. 

 

1. Table of contents - I have attached not my table of contents, but the person I was referencing from in the above link. I actually Numbered each type of evidence, (i.e. EXHIBIT 1. EVIDENCE OF PETITIONER'S US CITIZENSHIP      EXHIBIT 2. EVIDENCE OF APPLICANT'S IDENTITY etc), and then I listed what was in each section of evidence (i.e. i - Petitioner's Birth Certificate ii - Petitioner's US Passport etc)

 

2. Time  Line of relationship - I made an actual line of the significant events and when they happened so the IO could get the timeline of our relationship easily

 

3. Evidence Section Title Pages - I made a whole page with the title of the Exhibit and the Exhibit number for each section of evidence in the table of contents so the IO could quickly flip to a section of evidence during the interview. She really like this cause she conducted the interview in her own order which didn't always match how I had collated the packet. I actually bought some blue paper to print these title pages on so there was a clear visual cue. - I attached a photo and a PDF of the template for this page

4. The photo section was very important. My IO even said in the small talk after we passed our interview that the photos were one of the places she could tell if the couple was legitimate or not. I just put a bunch of photos together from facebook, my phone, instagram etc onto a word doc, and wrote a caption for what was happening in the photo and when it was taken. 

 

5. I topped the whole packet with a title page with my name, my husband's name, my A number, and the type of application (i485) and then underneath that, I put a copy of the notice to appear for an interview.

 

6. To bind it all together, I got a hole puncher and used 2 inch prong paper fastener sets (make sure the box says "set". I had to go back cause I originally bought the box with only the prongs) - I put a photo of them so you know what I mean. I like the paper prong fastener option, as the whole packet will live forever in some USCIS file storage, so I wanted it to have a small profile so the OI won't reject it, or I would have to embarrassingly pull each individual sheet out of some binder while the IO waits.

 

Remember that all of the documents that go into the packet NEED TO BE COPIES as the USCIS officer will take the packet to keep in their records. you MUST bring the originals of all the copied documents with you in a binder to show to the IO. If you attach original photos, they will take them.

 

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions just quote me in this thread as I still get the email notifications for them.

 

Good Luck!

 

Exhibit Template.pdf

[Comanutd33 61]

5 minutes ago, Bec Asmar said:

Hey Comanutd33 I had to go searching back in my history to find it lol. I deleted my version unfortunately after the interview, but I did find the original post here https://www.***removed***/forum/adjustment-of-status-i-485/180463-august-interviewees/page2#post559008

 

I'll outline what I did by step in case anyone is not sure how to format the evidence packet. It was confusing to me at first, and actually took me about 3 days to put together. 

 

1. Table of contents - I have attached not my table of contents, but the person I was referencing from in the above link. I actually Numbered each type of evidence, (i.e. EXHIBIT 1. EVIDENCE OF PETITIONER'S US CITIZENSHIP      EXHIBIT 2. EVIDENCE OF APPLICANT'S IDENTITY etc), and then I listed what was in each section of evidence (i.e. i - Petitioner's Birth Certificate ii - Petitioner's US Passport etc)

 

2. Time  Line of relationship - I made an actual line of the significant events and when they happened so the IO could get the timeline of our relationship easily

 

3. Evidence Section Title Pages - I made a whole page with the title of the Exhibit and the Exhibit number for each section of evidence in the table of contents so the IO could quickly flip to a section of evidence during the interview. She really like this cause she conducted the interview in her own order which didn't always match how I had collated the packet. I actually bought some blue paper to print these title pages on so there was a clear visual cue. - I attached a photo and a PDF of the template for this page

4. The photo section was very important. My IO even said in the small talk after we passed our interview that the photos were one of the places she could tell if the couple was legitimate or not. I just put a bunch of photos together from facebook, my phone, instagram etc onto a word doc, and wrote a caption for what was happening in the photo and when it was taken. 

 

5. I topped the whole packet with a title page with my name, my husband's name, my A number, and the type of application (i485) and then underneath that, I put a copy of the notice to appear for an interview.

 

6. To bind it all together, I got a hole puncher and used 2 inch prong paper fastener sets (make sure the box says "set". I had to go back cause I originally bought the box with only the prongs) - I put a photo of them so you know what I mean. I like the paper prong fastener option, as the whole packet will live forever in some USCIS file storage, so I wanted it to have a small profile so the OI won't reject it, or I would have to embarrassingly pull each individual sheet out of some binder while the IO waits.

 

Remember that all of the documents that go into the packet NEED TO BE COPIES as the USCIS officer will take the packet to keep in their records. you MUST bring the originals of all the copied documents with you in a binder to show to the IO. If you attach original photos, they will take them.

 

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions just quote me in this thread as I still get the email notifications for them.

 

Good Luck!

 

Exhibit Template.pdf 10.34 kB · 0 downloads

Thank you thank you!! 
 

Also, we currently live with my mom and therefore do not have a lease. Do you think this would be an issue? I could probably have her write a letter and notarize it

[Bec Asmar 2]

Just now, Comanutd33 said:

Thank you thank you!! 
 

Also, we currently live with my mom and therefore do not have a lease. Do you think this would be an issue? I could probably have her write a letter and notarize it

Hmm she did really like the lease. I would definitely get your mum to do that. Do you guys have linked bank accounts with lots of transactions from both of you? Are you both on the same phone bill? If you haven't done those things, I would do them as soon as you can, like go out and do it today. You want as much time with your assets combined as possible. Did you guys file your taxes together or separately? Even if you filed separately,  does the return have the same address on it, cause that is fine. Were both your parents at the wedding by chance?

[A110 96]

So we had our interview January 12th My wife is a US citizen.The documents we brought were:

1. Updated lease for 2020 with our names on it + 2019 lease with our names
2. Joint tax return for 2019
3. Her mother giving us a 30K wedding gift
4. Joint bank account (checking/saving) with a decent amount of money in it
5. Photos with friends/family and on trips (around 20)
6. Our joint insurance (she is on my plan)
7. my 401k with her as beneficiary
8. her 401k with me as her beneficiary
9.  Our ID's showing same address 
10. Joint Invitation card to wedding (pre covid)

This was on top of the previous stuff we submitted for our I485 initial application.Our IO was super nice and did not ask anything beyond birthdate and how we met. Nothing else. She also loved my wifes company as their cause resonated with the IO.That being said after the interview we got a paper saying our case is "under review" and no updates since then. (We filed in november 2019). Any idea on when we will be approved? Would we get an RFE? The IO was super nice and did not ask us much and kept saying how sweet we were and all that.

[beefmaster2 51]

Just received the notice. My interview is scheduled for February 9.