Local US CIS Office Review: Philadelphia PA
Review Topic: cis_topic
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
February 27, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
Manu and I had our interview today in Philadelphia at 9:00am. I was so nervous on the drive down that I could hardly talk when we got within 10 minutes of arriving (and I usually have a lot to say). We arrived at 8:50, and were admitted into the building, cleared security, and were checked in on the 3rd floor by 9:00am. The security was very polite and friendly and there was no wait time getting in. We were called by our interviewing officer around 9:40am. When we were brought into the room, he told us to remain standing, asked to raise our right hand, and swear to tell the truth. Once we were seated, the officer spent about 5 minutes looking for a red pen, emptying a 2-hole punch, and telling us a story about when he used to collect the hole punch clipping to save to put in an envelope to use as an office prank. We were somewhat relieved by his conversation, but still incredibly nervous! :blush:
The first thing he asked us was if either one of us had been married before in any country in the world. We both said no. Then he asked if either of us had children in any country of the world. We both said no.
He started flipping through our file and asked to see both of our driver's licenses (Manu gave his French Driver's License, he doesn't have one here yet), proof of my US Citizenship (I gave my passport) and our original marriage certificate. While he continued looking through papers, he asked how we met. I told him I met Manu while I was on vacation in Europe in the fall of 2010. I had traveled to London, Paris, and Rome and met him in Paris at a bar next to the Moulin Rouge, and it was love at first sight- there was just a sparkle in his eye from across the room. He then asked how we remained in touch with each other. I told him we emailed, called, and skyped. I explained that I went back to France a month later for work by chance and was able to see him again, he came to the US for the first time ever in March for 1 week to visit me, then he came back in May for 3 months, we went to France in July so I could meet his family, he came back in August and we were married in October. I usually go into much more detail about our love story, but I felt like he wasn't really listening to me as he was looking through the paperwork the whole time I was talking, so I just gave a bare outline. When I finished, he said "Wow that's a great story". He then held up the 1 page photo montage that I made on walmart.com of our wedding photos and had submitted with our initial paperwork in November (the only photos I submitted with our application). He said "This is great". He then asked if we still lived at the address listed in our paper, which we replied yes. He asked us if we planned on moving soon, and we said not within the next year.
He asked if we had the same jobs, which I said yes, and Manu said he just got a job a few days ago (he was previously unemployed, and just got a job after receiving his EAD 2 weeks ago). He congratulated Manu on finding a job, and asked what he was doing. When Manu replied that he was a waiter at a sushi restaurant, the interviewer started a whole conversation about how much he likes sushi and was asking questions about the place Manu works. After what seemed like 5 minutes of sushi talk, he started explaining to us what conditional residency means, what it meant to be adjusting the status of Manu's immigration, and what paperwork we would need to file in 2 years to remove the conditions. He still hadn't said we were approved yet though, so I told him that I had brought along tax records (we filed married jointly in 2012), health and life insurance papers, and 2 photo albums, and he said "I would only ask to see them if I questioned the validity of your marriage, which I don't." I was stunned (this was WAY too easy!) and asked him what would make him question a marriage. He went on for the next 10 minutes to explain all the ways he sees marriage fraud, listing certain countries, and different scenarios that send up a red flag. None of them related to us, thank goodness!! He said that the fact that Manu is a French National right off the bat made him not overly concerned, because worse case scenario he would get deported and I would just move to France with him (I immediately said this WOULD be a very worse case scenario to us!). He said there are jobs and a good quality of life in France, so US marriage fraud is not prevalent. I wish I would have known that USCIS feels that way towards French immigrants before the interview, I wouldn't have been freaking out for the past 4 months! :rofl:
Once he got done telling us about all the bad scenarios he sees every day, he went into more information about the green card and that Manu would receive it within 2 weeks. I said "So, we are approved?!?" and he just said "Yes." Manu and I exchanged excited glances and smiles and I said "Oh yay! We were so nervous!" and he said "Most people in real marriages are." He asked if I wanted to submit any of the additional documents and photos I had brought along to be included in our file, but that he did not want me to present them to him one-by-one. I handed him the insurance confirmations, my updated employment letter, and an 8x10 wedding picture. He looked at the life/health insurance papers on top of the stack and said "See... this is a real marriage here...". I then asked him what picture would be used for the Green Card, and he said the ones we submitted with our application. I told him that I was curious because they used an awful snapshot they took at his biometrics appointment for his EAD card, where he had a full beard and looked like a Taliban member! The interviewer said seriously "You can't say that word here, that's like saying 'bomb' in an airport. Let me see the picture..." I apologized quickly and handed him Manu's EAD card. He looked and said "Hmmm... he does look Lebanese here" and we all started laughing. I was so relieved how pleasant and friendly our interviewer was, and so thrilled he approved us on the spot!
We then got up and were getting ready to leave, and Manu asked if he wanted to see any of the photos we brought (we had 2 albums with over 300 pictures). He said that he was sorry he didn't have enough time to look through and fully appreciate them, but he would take a quick look because he had went to the trouble to bring them. After he saw a few pages, we got ready to leave. Manu and I both thanked him so much, and he said "No, I want to thank you both. You have renewed my faith in true love and that these real marriages really do exist. I am so skeptical because of what I see every day. You both made my day. Happy Valentine's Day and thank you." :dance:
Our biggest fear walking into this interview was that we would be questioned about adjusting the status of Manu's Visa Waiver Program on the basis of marriage. Our proposal, wedding, and Manu's intent when he came here was a tourist was NEVER BROUGHT UP ONCE. :wow:
Good luck to everyone else waiting for their interview. Happy Valentine's Day! (Also our Green Card day, and 4 month wedding anniversary) (L) |
| Harassment Level : |
Very Good |
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ver 5.0