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| Saint Paul MN |  Review on June 17, 2005: |
Laxmi
Rating:  | Review Topic: General Review
Our AOS interview at St. Paul, MN, went very well. We were approved on 6/22/05! The interview was very relaxed and friendly !
We reached St. Paul office at 11:40, 20 minutes before our scheduled interview. There were eight people before us but except two couples rest of them were asylees. We were called by a female officer around 11:55. She took us to her room which was very organized. The room had pictures of her kids and family members. Since the female officer was pregnant, my wife asked her when she was due and the officer replied very cordially. From there on it was all relaxed and open.
We were asked to take oath and we did. We sat down in front of the officer and she asked me to take out our IDs, passports, and all the immigration documents ever issued to me. I layed everything on the table which she did not touch for a while. She told us that she would ask my wife first and then me.
She asked my wife (US citizen): what is your full name? Where were you born? What is your date of birth? Do you have children? Do you have adopted children? Do you have step children? Is this your first marriage?
She asked me (Alien): what is your full name? Where were you born? What is your date of birth? What is your father's first name? What is your mother's first name? Do you have children? Do you have adopted children? Do you have step children? When did you enter the US last time? Did you leave the US after that?
After that she asked me six questions from the I-485 form and I answered NO! to all of them.
She asked us to show our wedding photos and photos that show us together. I asked her if she wanted to see the wedding album or scrapbook that my wife had made with wedding photos or her scrapbook from Nepal when she was a Peace Corps volunteer. She was very happy to know that my wife had couple of scrap books and wanted to see them first because she told us that she was into scarpbooking From here on we knew we got the approval. It was just a chit chat after this. We never felt stressed from the get go. The officer made many good remarks about my wife's ability to scrapbook
After that she asked my wife to tell her how we met. My wife told her that she met me while she was working in Nepal as a Peace Corps volunteer and I was one of the Peace Corps staff. My wife told her that I had received a scholarship from the US government and I was to leave Nepal to come to the US to study. My wife told the officer that she was proposed at the "Taj Mahal". The officer replied, "I can obviously approve you now."
After this she asked for the employment letters (my wife's and mine) which I gave her and I also asked if she needed our tax transcripts. She took the tax transcripts and the employment letters. She did not want the pay stubs. She told us that if we had not brought the employment letters she would have taken the pay stubs.
She then told us that the application was approved and now "You are a Resident Alien." To which I replied, "But I don't have tentacles and conehead like aliens in movies." The officer laughed.
The officer told us that she would take the EAD card and the I-94 away from me because I don't need them.
The officer asked for my passport and she stamped it and told us that the card should arrive in 10-15 days time and valid for 10 years because we're married for 5 years.
We left the building at 12:20 with smiles on our faces We went to Mall of America and had a good lunch at Tuci Banuch(sp?).
Good luck to all the Folks who are waiting for their Green card approval.
Time Line:
8/25/98 - entered US with J-1
5/16/2000 - left US
6/18/2000 - entered US with F-1
6/24/2000 - married my wife, a US citizen
11/23/2003 - applied for 2 year home residency waiver (for J-1 visa holders only), Dallas USCIS
[Most J-1 visa holders have to return to their home country for 2-year before they can apply for H-1B or any non-immigrant visa or AOS.]
7/7/2004 - recevied approval of 2 year home residency (J-1) from DOS
7/22/2004 - received approval of 2 year home residency from Dallas USCIS
7/24/2004 - EAD based on OPT received to work at a University
11/26/2004 - Applied for AOS and EAD at Bloomington, St. Paul, MN, USCIS
12/15/2004 - All NOAs received
1/22/2005 - Finger printed
1/26/2005 - EAD received, based on AOS (EAD based on OPT is automatically invalid)
4/15/2005 - AOS interview notice received
6/22/2005 - AOS interview and APPROVED!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #192