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| Houston TX |  Review on January 8, 2019: |
hugitout
Rating:  | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
My husband and I had our I-485 Application for Permanent Residence or Adjustment of Status interview today at the Houston USCIS office. Our scheduled appointment was 10:55am. We arrived at 9:45am because we live in South Houston towards Galveston and we didn't want to be late due to traffic. When we arrived, we had to empty out our pockets and walk through metal detectors airport-style. Then we had to check in using our Notice of Action. We were told our names would be called on the Intercom and that we'd be seeing our agent at Door #1.
We waited, and waited, and waited. We saw other couples arrive and they were called before us. This Houston office seems to have two calling systems going on at the same time: 1) People who were inquiring about the status of their case were on a ticket system where their number would be called and they would be directed to a specific window; 2) People who were there for an interview were called by their name on the Intercom (you wouldn't know when you would be called, which was kind of anxiety-inducing).
Finally, my husband's name was called at around 12:30pm. We were greeted by a tall, friendly gentleman, who led us through Door #1 into a long corridor lined with tons of offices. First we swore in, then the agent asked to see our IDs, passports, birth certificates, and marriage license. He made small talk with us while he scanned each item into the system. He was very welcoming and forthcoming.
Next, the agent asked us how we met and was satisfied with our answer. Then he asked my husband the basic questions on the I-485, a procedure he explained was mandatory--Are you a spy? Do you plan on overthrowing the government? Have you ever killed someone? etc. After that, he asked my husband to state his name, DOB, and address, and asked me the same as well. Finally, he asked to see our 2017 tax receipt, which showed that we had filed jointly as a married couple (this was major, he indicated), in addition to evidence to show that our finances were tied together: joint bank accounts, credit cards, store discount cards, etc. He paid great attention to our transactions on our debit card, and, when I asked him why, he explained that they liked seeing bank accounts with lots of transactions because that meant it was an established account that was really being used. I brought copies of all this to the interview and he asked if he could keep them. Yes, take it all!
He asked no further questions and explained that since he was new (he was recently hired and trained), that he could not approve our application himself. He would have to wait until his supervisor reviewed our case and gave his approval. He also stressed that our case seemed completely normal and that it would be highly unlikely that we would not get approved. He explained that we would get a decision within 15 days: 1) An approval, OR 2) a Request for Evidence. If we were approved, the USCIS would send us a tracking # of our green card within 7 days after we received our decision. I asked the agent if there were any other pieces of evidence we should/could provide, since I had made binders and binders of evidence. He said he had all he needed, and that everything looked good.
All in all, the interview took about 20 minutes and was stress-free. I was surprised he didn't ask more questions about our relationship or our photos or anything. I suppose that's a good thing? Granted, I had already provided a ton of stuff in our original I-485 application. Though we waited a long time for the interview, we left feeling pretty good. Oh, and it didn't seem to faze him that we were a same-sex couple, which was nice.
Will update once we get our decision, hopefully soon.
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I received an email at 4:00am the following morning (January 8, 2019), that indicated they were ordering a green card for us. Thus, we were approved!
"On January 07, 2019, we ordered your new card for Receipt Number MSCXXXXXXXXX, and will mail it to the address you gave us."
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We received my husband's permanent residence card in the mail on January 12, 2019, 5 days after our interview. So relieved!
(updated on January 8, 2019)
(updated on January 9, 2019)
(updated on January 12, 2019)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #25326