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| Columbus OH |  Review on December 14, 2010: |
caeremonarius
Rating:  | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
My wife came in on VWP; we were married about two months after her arrival, but weren’t able to send in the AOS paperwork until almost two months later; she was therefore out of status.
Because of everything I'd read on VJ, we decided to lawyer up. We found an excellent attorney here in Ohio (feel free to PM me for his contact info). He confirmed everything the VJ forums say about VWP overstays being deportable. I asked him point-blank whether my wife should just leave and not risk deportation (she was still under the 180 days of overstay to avoid a 3-year ban). He didn’t make any guarantees, but he said that it was unlikely that my wife would be deported and/or taken into custody at the interview (in case of a bad outcome). A few weeks prior, he had a client who successfully adjusted status from a short (about a week) VWP overstay, so he gave us a good chance of success. He noted that, if he were to represent us, he is familiar enough with the USCIS officers and ICE agents in our area that he could convince them that my wife would leave voluntarily (which she would have), so they wouldn't take her into custody. (He noted that all the frequent flyer miles I’d racked up from my trips to and from Europe to see my her would be helpful in proving that we’d get her out of the country in a timely manner.)
We arrived about 20 minutes early and met our attorney on the first floor of the Leveque Tower, Columbus (USCIS is on the 3rd floor). Our attorney wanted to meet us 30 minutes early, but we had a heck of a time finding a parking spot in the garage. Our lawyer recommended that we load up with evidence of our relationship and our marriage, so we walked in with a small crate full of nicely organized papers in three-ring binders (I’ll post a picture eventually) — 40 lbs. of information in all (I weighed it after we got back home). Our attorney laughed and took a picture of the evidence we brought and said that we had brought so much that they’d probably approve us just to avoid going through everything. Kidding aside, he told us the ground rules for the interview (much of this I knew from VJ already, but it was helpful for my wife to hear). He reassured us that most of the IO’s are non-confrontational, and just want to see whether we’re really a couple.
We went up the elevator, and were met by security. We had to show them our ID’s (we both brought our passports) and our interview letter. We had to empty our pockets, take off our coats and go through a metal detector. They had us wait against the wall while they looked through our coats and our pocket contents (and crate of evidence). After we cleared security, we just sat down in the waiting room and chatted with our lawyer for a few minutes. We were called back in less than 5 minutes.
The IO met us in the waiting room and introduced herself. She was very professional and identified me as the USC and my wife as the immigrant. She brought me back first and asked to see my ID. She swore me in, told me I was being video-taped. She went over my application, asking me all the questions contained therein (name, address, birthdate, wife's birthdate, first marriage, children or not, employer, employment, length of time in current residence, etc.). Then she asked how my wife and I. She asked to look at some pictures (we had an album of over 200), quickly flipped through our album, then called my wife in.
She (the IO) asked for my wife’s ID, then swore her in. She told her that she was being video-taped, and repeated the entire procedure, but included all the "Are you a terrorist?" and "Are you a communist?" type questions. Our lawyer (jokingly) intervened, encouraging my wife (who normally has no trouble speaking up) to talk a little louder (“I know you have a voice: I’ve heard it!”). The IO asked my wife when she first came to the US, which was tough for her to answer, since she came as a tourist when she was 17-years old, then she'd studied here on a student visa in 2000, with numerous visits inbetween and since. The IO asked what year she first came, and my wife stopped, and half-joked, "I'm not good with numbers." The IO asked my wife how she and I met, and was basically already stamping the application at that point. She took my wife’s passport and removed the I-94W. She handed me back my original birth certificate and asked if there was anything else we wanted her to have as evidence. I brought out several affidavits that our lawyer recommended we have. “Didn’t you already send in 2 affidavits from your parents?” she asked. “Well,” I told her, “we had a bunch of friends do these for us, so I’d feel bad if we didn’t use them.” She accepted them, then went on to talk about how she was recommending us for approval. She said that we could expect to receive my wife's green card in 6-8 weeks, although our lawyer piped up and said it would likely be about two weeks, and the IO didn't object. She also explained that this was a 2-year conditional card, then said we could talk to our lawyer about removing conditions.
She asked us if we had any questions, then went on to "talk shop" with our lawyer for a minute or two (it was clear that they had a good professional relationship). We asked her about travel, and she and our lawyer recommended against it till we had the green card in hand. We explained that my wife's grandmother is 93-years old and is living in a senior residence in Spain, so anything could happen to her at any minute. Our lawyer told us that if we had an emergency, then we could get my wife's passport stamped (but we'd have to have the itinerary and proof of necessity to travel in hand). We thanked our IO and shook her hand, and we were on the way.
That's about it. It helps to have a lawyer who knows the system and the USCIS personnel, I think. It certainly kept my wife and me from being too intimidated. Immediately after the interview, I was starved, as I hadn’t been able to eat all day 'cause of nerves (the interview was at 1 p.m.). My wife had an approximately 50-day overstay on VWP, and it wasn’t even mentioned at all. We weren’t asked any questions about her intention on arrival either. The entire atmosphere was very professional, and entirely non-confrontational.
Good luck to everyone!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #6971