Second Interview? Is this normal?

[hmwtx 13]

My husband and I (I'm the USC) had an interview on August 8, 2024.  It was kind of a blah experience, the lady interviewing us seemed to be a trainee (there was a second, older lady in the room the whole time sitting off to the side with a little notebook, she didn't say much just kind of watched what was going on). After handing over various documents and photos, etc, she gave us a letter that said "decision is pending" and told us it would be up to 120 days before we'd get our response.  Since my husband got his work permit and his advance parole in July already anyway, we didn't think too much about it - we're married for love, living together except when he's on shift and staying at the firehouse, he hasn't been added to my mortgage because frankly I don't want to refinance to add him and give up my 2.875% interest rate, but he's the beneficiary to my 401K, I was briefly on his health insurance until he changed jobs and now works at a company that doesn't provide insurance less expensive than the insurance at my company, I'm on his credit card account with Wells Fargo, he's on my checking account at Capital One and we share a Sam's account and our cell phone account. I did add him to utility bills at the house, etc, and he has been spending money doing fixer-upper stuff around my older house.  He has met all of my family, and we are booked to fly to Singapore at the end of December to spend 3 weeks over there with his brother.  His parents are deceased.  We are bona fide.

 

We took the letter home from the interview and have been watching the case progress online do not much for a couple of months now... a few minor changes on the "progress" tab showing shorter and shorter decision times, and a while back they "cancelled" the interview we had already had - they cancelled our August 8 interview in September. Weird.

 

Fast forward to today, and we both get alerts of "action taken" on our cases, and upon logging in it says "interview has been scheduled... letter will arrive in the mail."  It looks like they're putting us into a second interview?  Is this normal?

[SalishSea 17,970]

4 hours ago, hmwtx said:

My husband and I (I'm the USC) had an interview on August 8, 2024.  It was kind of a blah experience, the lady interviewing us seemed to be a trainee (there was a second, older lady in the room the whole time sitting off to the side with a little notebook, she didn't say much just kind of watched what was going on). After handing over various documents and photos, etc, she gave us a letter that said "decision is pending" and told us it would be up to 120 days before we'd get our response.  Since my husband got his work permit and his advance parole in July already anyway, we didn't think too much about it - we're married for love, living together except when he's on shift and staying at the firehouse, he hasn't been added to my mortgage because frankly I don't want to refinance to add him and give up my 2.875% interest rate, but he's the beneficiary to my 401K, I was briefly on his health insurance until he changed jobs and now works at a company that doesn't provide insurance less expensive than the insurance at my company, I'm on his credit card account with Wells Fargo, he's on my checking account at Capital One and we share a Sam's account and our cell phone account. I did add him to utility bills at the house, etc, and he has been spending money doing fixer-upper stuff around my older house.  He has met all of my family, and we are booked to fly to Singapore at the end of December to spend 3 weeks over there with his brother.  His parents are deceased.  We are bona fide.

 

We took the letter home from the interview and have been watching the case progress online do not much for a couple of months now... a few minor changes on the "progress" tab showing shorter and shorter decision times, and a while back they "cancelled" the interview we had already had - they cancelled our August 8 interview in September. Weird.

 

Fast forward to today, and we both get alerts of "action taken" on our cases, and upon logging in it says "interview has been scheduled... letter will arrive in the mail."  It looks like they're putting us into a second interview?  Is this normal?

Could be, if they have questions about the circumstances of adjusting.  Is he adjusting from an overstay of ESTA?

[appleblossom 2,803]

Looking at your previous posts, I'm guessing it's because you met in January and married only 2 months later just before his work visa expired? So they may have a suspicion it's a green card marriage.

[hmwtx 13]

10 hours ago, SalishSea said:

Could be, if they have questions about the circumstances of adjusting.  Is he adjusting from an overstay of ESTA?

He was on a student visa, which expired in April... so yes, an overstay. 

 

1 hour ago, appleblossom said:

Looking at your previous posts, I'm guessing it's because you met in January and married only 2 months later just before his work visa expired? So they may have a suspicion it's a green card marriage.

That's what I assumed, just not sure what else we can show or tell at this point... I mean, if they showed up here at the house and he wasn't on shift he be here, all of his stuff is here. He still owns the house he had been living in when we met, trying to rent it rather than selling it. So he's a property owner in a different county in the same state, but he doesn't live there anymore.  They were obsessed with his drivers license at the last interview because he hadn't gotten the address changed on it yet, but that is done now.  He did an address change with the post office too, gets his own junk mail here now.... those guys really keep up to date lol

[OldUser 6,979]

Second interview is typically when fraud is suspected. There's a great chance you will be separated and asked about each other.

I'd take a lawyer with you.

 

Do you comingle finances?

Edited November 15 by OldUser

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

3 hours ago, hmwtx said:

He was on a student visa, which expired in April... so yes, an overstay. 

 

That's what I assumed, just not sure what else we can show or tell at this point... I mean, if they showed up here at the house and he wasn't on shift he be here, all of his stuff is here. He still owns the house he had been living in when we met, trying to rent it rather than selling it. So he's a property owner in a different county in the same state, but he doesn't live there anymore.  They were obsessed with his drivers license at the last interview because he hadn't gotten the address changed on it yet, but that is done now.  He did an address change with the post office too, gets his own junk mail here now.... those guys really keep up to date lol

fact that he owns another house and hasnt changed the drivers license indicates suspicion to the IO. Why would you not change Drivers license if he is not living at other place ? they are suspecting for sure 

[Bethie 104]

Its a stroks interview,  we had one, lasted about 3 whole minutes, crazy questions,    Who walks the dogs?  Who smokes?   How many languages does your husband speak? 

I think possible it was a 2nd interview cause the 1st one was way over a year before. 

 

We had no lawyers with us at the interview nor the whole process.  But with your case, you may want to look into hiring a lawyer.

 

Best Wishes.

 

 

 

[hmwtx 13]

Thanks everyone for your insight.

I am now mentally prepared for a Stokes interview, we'll pass - we really do live together as husband and wife, there isn't much they could ask that we couldn't answer properly.  He has addressed the wrong address on his driver's license already, it got changed a few months ago.  The house in De Witt County where he used to live has been vacant for a while now, he was slowly moving his stuff out of it and back to our shared home and he made the last trip a few weeks ago.  It's a >3-hour drive from our house, so he does it on days off in between his shifts at work. He has been working with the lady that owns the huge ranch that his property was cut out of, trying to get it rented.  There just isn't a lot of demand in that area, so it's a slow thing.  He hasn't lived there since the end of January of last year, though he paid the taxes on it last month.  We spent weekends there together in the past, not recently though since it has been basically stripped out of all of his belongings and furniture and stuff.

 

I know we got married really quick, and we've been slowly adapting our financial lives to include each other - I was 48 and he was 52 on our wedding day, we already had everything set up so now we've been making changes here and there to add each other into stuff.  I haven't refinanced my house and really don't want to just to add him to the deed, it's not a sound financial move at this point when (1) no way on earth I'd get the same sort of interest rate (I originally bought during COVID, my rate is 2.875%), and (2) while he has good credit and our combined income and DTI would allow us to pass underwriting with no issues, I dread doing that whole process again.  I would, if I thought we were on the brink of disaster with immigration - but even if we started tomorrow, it might not be complete in time for a second interview anyway.  I've put him on the tax account with the county, so it will show he has interest in the property (this is a community property state, and adding him to the tax account on my house means he has to sign off on his interest if I ever sell it or we divorce). He is putting together $20,000 to put on the mortgage as a lump sump principal payment at the end of December, he put the funds in a short-term CD back in September which matures in December. He's already on all of the utilities, and I'm on his cell phone plan.  Most of the household bills are being paid out of my checking account, they're all set on autopay, but his paychecks aren't deposited there just mine.  We do have one checking account which is joint, where we put savings funds for household repairs, car repairs, etc.  It isn't highly active, mostly deposits, but it has both of our names on it.  We also share a credit card account that we use to buy gas, groceries, prescriptions, etc. and pay off each month.  We mostly use cash on a day to day basis, I have a ton of old debt I'm paying off and I dislike incurring new debt - I'm paying off my 2019 car, he owns his outright (bought it with cash).  Bills are for utilities, Netflix, internet.  We handle our own car insurance and the homeowner's policy is in escrow with the mortgage company. I'm having mutual wills done by my boss (an attorney) but they haven't been finished/signed yet.  I'm not sure what else there is to do now...  just prepare for the interview, I suppose.  We're due to be in Singapore at his brother's from December 28-January 19, so I hope they don't schedule it right in the middle of that.

[hmwtx 13]

Well, we finally got the letter - and it just adds question marks.  It is an exact copy of our earlier interview appointment letter - both even say "First Interview" - just with a different date on it.  December 6.  Same instructions, same note that "if your application is marriage based, your spouse must attend," same word for word except the dates.  Well, okay... guess we'll see what happens on Friday.

[SalishSea 17,970]

1 hour ago, hmwtx said:

Well, we finally got the letter - and it just adds question marks.  It is an exact copy of our earlier interview appointment letter - both even say "First Interview" - just with a different date on it.  December 6.  Same instructions, same note that "if your application is marriage based, your spouse must attend," same word for word except the dates.  Well, okay... guess we'll see what happens on Friday.

Thanks for the update.  Definitely attend, and you may find when you get there that it was scheduled in error.

[hmwtx 13]

Here's hoping.  Thanks.

[hmwtx 13]

Ok, interview completed today. 

It was an error, but turns out it was the officer at the first interview that messed up.  According to today's officer, the original interview was supposed to be done separately but wasn't.  Today's was... she took me in first, asked me questions we had answered last time, scolded me a little for ovesharing (she had to type in my answers and I guess they have limited space or something)... then went and brought my husband in, asked him the same questions, took down his answers and then printed both sets out and had us read them and sign them.  She went through his application questions... have you ever plead guilty to a crime? Do you plan to practice polygamy? Etc... and she took copies of documents just like the previous one had done.  At the end, she approved my I-130 and gave us a notice letter saying that his AOS is under active review and a decision is imminent.  Since he was recently (last year) wrongfully accused of something he did not do (he has already been exonerated and the record has been expunged)... it all has to be reviewed carefully and I suppose she couldn't just approve it immediately.  She did tell us that she'll do the review today before she leaves for the day, and we'll get the end result notice soon.  All in all, it seemed to go really well and we are hopeful that it is going our way soon.  A wonderful way to make progress on my husband's birthday 🎂