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| Seattle WA |  Review on March 23, 2016: |
Seattleite
Rating:  | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
I'm typically not one for writing reviews but I know how helpful they were for my husband and I throughout this journey, so this is my way of paying it forward 
We had our AOS interview today at the Tukwila USCIS location and overall, the two experiences we've had here have been extremely positive (the first being biometrics). After clearing security (don't forget to bring the $7 for parking!), we were directed to the receptionist and then on to the waiting area upstairs. Much to our surprise, the room was not completely full (between 10-12) so we remained hopeful we wouldn't have to sit waiting and nervous for too long! We were called in by the officer about 10 minutes after our initial start time.
Now I preface this next part with I'm the 'very prepared' type. With many USCIS experiences in the past (border crossings, etc.), these officers appreciate detail and want you to provide direct evidence to support your case. I put together a large binder with a copy of our petition, an abundance of joint account information (leases, utility bills, car purchases, tax return, etc.), along with past trip itineraries, marriage license/certificate, and so on. In addition to a large photo album filled with family photos, trips, etc. along with our wedding photos. Now although not ALL of this information was reviewed in our interview, I'd rather have too much documentation than not enough and be turned away! To note - my husband and I sought legal counsel for our petition and I highly recommend others to do the same as immigration attorneys can provide valuable insight around what to expect and also be able to act on your behalf should USCIS require additional information.
As for the interview itself, the officer was not overly conversational initially so we kept our tone the same. He was very professional and we learned he was an army vet – suspect this was why he was less chatty at the beginning We started off by being sworn in and provided our ID’s and passports. He began asking the basics – DOB, current address, nationality, etc. After this first round of questioning, the officer cracked a few jokes with us and the tone of the interview changed to be more of a conversation, which made us so much less nervous! He then requested our joint documentation and affixed all copies to our case file (note: if you need originals of your documents, make copies as USCIS will likely keep them for their records). After a short review of those, he moved into the ‘relationship’ questions – how we met, timeline of our love story, if we met each other’s families, what are their names, when did we get married, etc. and took notes throughout – all very basic but important questions. He then requested any photos that we brought – he did not specifically ask for our wedding photos (and I did bring an album) but did review our family/friends photo album and pointed to certain people for us to name/who are they. To a bit of surprise, he didn’t have questions around our wedding aside from when we got married – we eloped, in case this is helpful to mention. The questions then turned to me/applicant for the ‘have you ever’ portion – all answers were no, of course. Last section of questions were a bit more detailed and my husband/I were very glad to have reviewed together beforehand and the officer directed these at both of us, separately – what our current salaries are, where my husband/I worked prior to our current employer, who our current employers are, asked my husband what my parents’ home address is (tricky one!), parents’ names, what my husband’s address was prior to us moving in together – potentially tougher questions but as mentioned before, all information contained in the petition so weren’t intended to trip us up necessarily. After the questioning finished, we sat in a few minutes of silence while the officer completed his notes (these few minutes felt like forever!). He then grabbed a large stamp (I think we both held our breath at this point) and marked our case file with APPROVED! The officer walked us through next steps and mentioned that I would receive my GC in the mail in two weeks – woohoo! The officer told us he thought we were a nice couple and even said congratulations at the end. Overall, a very positive experience and although nerve-wracking, went smoothly. On the ride home, I received a text/email notification that our case had been updated to ‘Approved’ as well.
Tips for the interview based on our experience: Review your petition, paying special attention to the biographical information documented for one another, and read up/quiz each other on typical GC interview questions officers will ask (how did you meet, what are your spouse’s parents’ names, does your spouse have any siblings/names, where does your spouse’s family live, etc.).
Like many of you reading this, my husband and I were nervous heading into the final stretch of the Green Card journey and while nothing can quite quell those nerves, hopefully you find this review helpful as we did reading through others on Visa Journey. Be prepared, be natural and be confident. The interview is nothing to be afraid of! Best of luck!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #19159