Local US CIS Office Review: Santa Ana CA
Review Topic: cis_topic
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
April 19, 2006 |
| Embassy Review : |
We had been preparing for this interview for about the past month, but really settling down into organizing what we need to bring within the past week, as our formal wedding was held on March 26. So, knowing that my husband has the tendency to be slightly forgetful and/or overlook things, I prepared the following:
A Binder with twelve dividers:
1..........Vaccination Supplement form I-693: Sealed Envelope from Civil Surgeon, copy and vaccination worksheet from UK Physical
2..........Updated Sponsor/Wife Form I-864 and supporting documents: employer letter, tax forms (including 2005), Pay stubs
3..........Updated Co-Sponsor Form I-864 and supporting documents: tax forms (including 2005), birth certificate, proof of income (Social Security/Retirement
4..........I-797 Notice of Action Documents: I-485, I-765, I-129F noa2, I-129F noa1, I-485 interview notice and cancellation (pre-change of address)
5..........Birth Certificates: UK and US citizen (w/ new social security card noting name change of USC to married name
6..........Marriage Certificate and copies
7..........Adoption Record for the “children” (cats)
8..........Compilation of evidence of a relationship: Cards from eachother/friends/family (+ copies), wedding save the date and program, photobooth pictures from wedding, dual membership zoo passes, wedding guest list
9..........Health Care and Benefit enrollment through USC's Employer, noting UK citizen as spouse
10........Bills to the shared residence in both our names: Electricity, Water and Gas bills
11........Apartment Lease Agreement, in both names. Renter’s Insurance, in both names
12........United Kingdom Police Record for UK Citizen
Along with:
An updated G325A, if needed
Copies of UK citizen's passport, visa and I-94
Copies of K-1 and AOS submissions
Wedding Guest book and Photo Mat signed by friends and family
Photo Album containing pictures from throughout our relationship
So, we were feeling pretty good about it. We thought we had everything organized and userfriendly and we were going to dress smartly and go rock the interview.
We left our place at about 7:50am for our 9:35am interview. We arrived at the location at about 8:45 after stopping for a bite to eat quickly. It took us a while to find the right building, and we realized that we hadn't parked close to it when we finally found it. We get to the security check and they ask if we have a camera phone. I did. So BACK to the car to drop it off... Finally we get back to the security, go through and on up to the second floor.
We check in security there and he asks for ID's. I take out my passport, and Chris says to me "Do you have mine?" Now, having compiled the entire packet for the interview, my husband's Identification didn't seem like one of my responsibilities. For some reason, he assumed that I had put it with our collection of evidence, but sadly I had not and didn't even know where he kept his passport at home.
So, yes folks, that's right. My husband forgot his passport containing his K-1 Visa and I-94 at home when attending his AOS Interview.
Needless to say, my previous preparedness and calm was then broken, and I mildly freaked out. I became incredibly nervous and even (dare I admit it...) started crying... They let us into the waiting room using his UK drivers license, but I was sure that once we got into the room with the immigration officer they were going to tell us that we were wasting their time by showing up with out it and then we'd be waiting another month or so for another interview at best....
(Disclaimer: I love my husband to death. I wouldn't be doing all of this if I didn't. He's just, like I said before, a bit scatterbrained and forgetful at times... And he's right here helping me write this post)
We waited for maybe 15 minutes, and we were called in.
We get to the room, and the officer sweared us in and asked for ID, so this is when Chris told him that he didn't have his passport with him...
And the Immigration Officer said it was OK!!!!!
Man, I was SO relieved, I cried again. He told us that since we hadn't been given a biometrics appointment, he couldn't approve us today anyway (which I already knew), so it was OK that we didn't not have the passport with us. He was VERY nice about it.
OK, so on with the interview:
He then asked Chris the following (while looking through our rather thick file)
Name, Address, Date of Birth, Phone Number, have you ever been married before and if he had any children.
He asked me if I'd been married before and if I had any children.
Finally, he asked Chris how we met.
Then went through the whole terrorist, have you ever voted/registered to vote in the US, etc...
Next, he asked for 2005 tax information. He didn't even want the I-864, just the w-2's and returns for myself and our co-sponsor. Followed by evidence of a shared residence, specifically bills in both our names. So he kept some copies of our bills.
Then he wanted pictures, so we showed him our photo album. He wanted to make some photocopies, but we told him just to take the originals. We made the copies specifically for the interview, so it was fine with us.
It all ended with him giving us a biometrics appointment and told us that we are approved pending fingerprint clearing and the completion of the FBI Name Check (which he told us was filed on Jan 9th, and should finish any day now).
I inquired about the EAD, as he hasn't heard anything about it since filing, and he told us to talk to someone at the windows downstair (where one would go for infopass)
So, after waiting down there a bit, we got to talk to another officer and they told us that a hold had been put on his EAD because he hadn't had fingerprints yet. But they had never given him a fingerprint appointment. You'd think they'd be smarter than that right?
So, though its been well over 3 months since filing and submitting the RFE, all the gave him was an EAD bio appt... He did say that the card should be mailed out as soon as they get the fingerprints, so hopefully in a week or two he'll have it!
And then, in about a month or so, he should have his green card!
So, everything ended up pretty well, despite the hiccup.
The moral of the story: don't forget your passport!!!
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| Harassment Level : |
Good |
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ver 5.0