Kate987

It was the Brooklyn NY office - I’ve written a longer reply about that office in response to another post but just replying here too so you hopefully get email notification of the reply.

We’ve had our interviews now, at the Brooklyn NY Field Office, so I can update a little on that particular office. Everyone was very friendly and the qualifying grandparent was not required to attend but I do think that all of the NYC offices have particularly long waits for everything. I sent our applications in February 2022 and first had an email from an officer at the Brooklyn office at the end of April 2023. It was then at least a two week wait to get replies to any further emails. I found that delay in getting responses quite stressful. I was asked to suggest a date for interview - when I replied, our requested date was 7 weeks away but it wasn’t confirmed until 2 weeks before the interview, making booking flights etc very tight. We particularly wanted the interview this August as we were already visiting Canada, so much cheaper than flying from the UK, so we persevered with that date. Probably if I had requested an interview six months away I could have avoided that stress. It was also very busy in the office itself for our interviews and we had a two hour wait there. I get the impression that other offices don’t have waits as long as those. But if being sure that the qualifying grandparent is not required to attend is a priority then I can confirm I had it written in an email that they weren’t for the Brooklyn NY office and my dad wasn’t even mentioned at the interview.

It’s the Brooklyn NY Field Office. That office does have one of the longest processing times on the website, though: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/ We haven’t had the interviews yet so I can’t fully comment but can update soon on how we felt about picking that office.

I had also thought it didn’t apply to me as I’m married to and live with the father of my children. I was asked to provide this in a Request For Evidence (RFE) once our applications got to the top of the pile and were being looked at (which was after about 14 months, just for info). Some things do appear to be done differently by different field offices - for example the qualifying grandparent is not required to attend the interview at the field office we’re with but other people at different offices have been told the grandparent is required to attend - so perhaps others have not had to provide this evidence. But if it’s fairly simple for you to add in proof of your and your child/children’s addresses then I would recommend doing that.

I had to submit additional evidence to prove this, so would recommend you submit evidence to prove physical custody in your original application. I gave proof of my own address (council tax bill and mortgage letter) and proof of my children’s address (their school printed a copy of their school record showing their full name, date of birth, address and name and address of parents). The fact that my and their addresses are the same was sufficient proof that I have physical custody of them.

Hi Rami >> is the presence of the grandparent essential during the interview in US or the child's parent is enough? Just thought I would add my experience on this as it seems to be different to other people's. We haven't had our interview yet (still in the process of scheduling it) but our email from the USCIS Officer states that the qualifying grandparent does NOT have to attend the interview. I am the US citizen parent. My dad is the qualifying grandparent and we have used his physical presence in the US for our children's N-600K applications. But my dad, the grandparent, is not required to attend the interview. This is from the email inviting us to schedule an interview (email is from May 2023): "The U.S. citizen parent and the child are required to appear for the interview; the U.S. citizen Grandparent is not required to attend."