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| Norfolk VA |  Review on August 6, 2014: |
Rating:  | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
Hello,
My wife and I are scheduled to have our AOS interview on August
12. We've (obviously) been successful to this point of the
process but admittedly have had concerns about the interview.
First, let me say how very appreciative we are of others who have
posted their experiences at the Norfolk, VA, office, which is
where we are to have our interview. The many positive reviews
have been both very helpful and calming. And we were surprised at
how brief many of the interviews were; another great piece of
information. So, again, thank you to all who have generously
shared so much valuable information. And we plan to post our own
experience in the hopes of giving back to others.
Second, we do have some questions/concerns that can, perhaps, be
addressed by you who have gone through the interview.
Now, we have much in the way of evidence for our relationship:
photos, bank statement, Skype logs, marriage certificate, etc.
What we don't have is: the property and vehicle, credit cards,
utility bills, cell phone bills and other things in our name that
would likely be considered by many to be normal and customary.
Regarding the property and vehicle, these are owned by a Trust,
for which I, the husband and American citizen (her sponsor and
spouse), am the Trustee (one and only) and was setup prior to
meeting my wife, much less marrying her. We do have the one bank
account in our names (I have two other bank accounts that are in
my name only which, once more, pre-date my wife.), but I have no
credit cards (only two debit cards; she has one debit card) in our
names. Also, she has her own cell phone account, which was
established before we met, and I have mine, again set up years
ago. Up to this point it hasn't seemed prudent, from a financial
perspective, to change these things.
The utility bill is in my name, again set up last November (before
we met) when I purchased the property.
My concern is that USCIS will see this as "lack of evidence" for
our relationship, even with our success in this process to date,
what with all the filings we've done that have brought us to this
point. And at this late date, only three business days before the
interview, I'm believing that little to nothing can be done by
putting her on these many accounts, even if I could make that
happen in such a short span of time. But the question is: does it
matter? Will USCIS have issues with this situation?
Additionally, in all the reviews we read, Skype never was
mentioned. Can anyone speak to the value, or lack thereof, of
Skype logs? Would it be to our advantage to have Skype logs? I'm
thinking that we ought not even bring the logs, in whole or in
part. Again, any thoughts on these points?
On a different point, my wife is more concerned (perhaps rightly)
about the interview. That's not because we're not a "real"
couple, but because she's concerned, especially if they separate
us and conduct separate interviews, for whatever reason, that
she'll misunderstand some of the words and/or phrases they might
use. It's not that her English is poor, it's just that her
vocabulary, especially of "Americanisms" and such, is not that
great.
Separately, we have two addresses: one is our physical address
(where we live, obviously) and a mailing address. The mailing
address is what I give out for most everything, most notably for
orders I place (usually online orders). I'd rather not have our
physical address known any more widely than necessary. So, my
question is: is it likely that USCIS will ask for our address, and
if so, which one should we give them?
Additionally, we recently moved (barely one month ago). In fact,
we moved while in this AOS process. We did notify USCIS of this
change, which is why we're interviewing in Norfolk and not an
office near from where we moved, but we're still getting used to
this house. We're presuming that if any questions come up about
where we live, they'll be exactly that: about where we live now.
But I guess I want the interviewer to know that we have just moved
and so we may get things mixed up between the houses. Good idea
or bad idea?
I should say that a lot of this scenario comes from the fact that
I'm a private person. (So why did I embark on this path? You'd
have to know my wife to understand. :-)) And some of what I have
done prior to meeting and then marrying my wife (the Trust, most
notably, the lack of credit cards (it's a financial thing, plus I
didn't know I could live without them!), having things in only my
name), is as much about protecting her privacy as it is about
protecting mine. But I get the sense that just the mere
suggestion, or (GASP!) attempt to actully try to hold on to at
least a little bit of my personal privacy during this interview
process is not only futile but also counter-productive to
succeeding in getting her the almighty Green Card.
Am I over-analyzing things? Should I just give up on holding on
to even a shred of personal privacy and just "go with the flow"?
Thoughts?
Finally, prior to reading the many helpful and positive reviews
about the Norfolk, VA, office, we were considering bringing an
attorney...just to be sure they didn't try to divide us ("Your
husband just signed a piece of paper that says your marriage is a
fraud....") or do/say something to try and get us into trouble.
So is bringing an attorney just a really bad idea, or is it a
really good idea? I'm thinking that, based on what so many have
said, we don't need one: 1) the USCIS officers aren't out to
defraud anyone or to try to get us into trouble; 2) bringing an
attorney only raises a red flag. So, what do you folks think?
I know I've asked a lot of questions. Thank you for whatever
insights anyone can provide.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #14941