I just got a letter today from VSC saying that my case is being forwarded to the pittsburgh office for an interview. my noa date is 11/28/06. anybody with interview experience in pittsburgh or anywhere else for i751? please share ur experiences.
thanks!

Hi USA1234
Have you recieved RFE before you were asked for an interview?
Please share

Hello USA 1234,
Please share with us exactly what kind of evidence you had sent with the I-751.Wishing you all the best
Regards-Kishore

No I didn't receive an RFE, case was submitted by my attorney.

Joint Apartments leases since we got the first green card.
Joint utility bills.
Joint health and dental insurance cards.
401K paperwork showing my wife as the beneficiary.
Joint auto registration and insurance cards.
Joint 2005 tax return.
Copy of driver's licenses and SSN card showing same address and wife changed last name.
Copy of boarding passes showing joint travel in the U.S.
3 Joint credit cards.
Copy of my life insurance policy showing my wife as the beneficiary.
Copy of boarding passes showing our joint travel to Morocco.
Different pictures with family and friends in Morocco.

I dont know why they called us for an interview, they have tons of proof from the I-485 showing joint business purchases of $60,000 plus, and joint accounts with over $90,000. I don't think fraudulent couples go that far to show a good faith marriage. Also, I don't know how long I'm going to have to wait for an interview date.

So from the questions of others, I guess an interview is not the NORMAL procedure for I-751? Because the overall timeline that I have in mind is fill out the I-751, mail it in with all those proofs, then wait for your NOA, Biometrics follows, then one gets their 10-yr Green Card. Is that more or less how it works?

My wife will be going through this process come Jan'08 and I just want to be prepare. Plus, we are thinking of filing the I-751 ourselves instead of using an attorney since all I've gathered thus far is what I just described above and make sure we have plenty but NOT too many proofs to inundate those INS people

After studying you case , i think you case has been randomly selected for interview, it mean they did not review it but it was selected randomly, if they would be suspicious they would have ask you for more information and then call you for interview, YOU HAVE GOOD CHANCE THAT YOU CAN STILL ME APPROVED WITHOUT INTERVIEW AT PITTSBURG.
wish you good luck.

Agreed.. if you didn't get an RFE there is a good change that your were randomly selected for a quality control interview.

I received an interview notice in late September to attend the I751 interview on Nov 5th in Pittsburgh. Next day I received a letter to have my fingerprints/boimetrics taken at the local ASC. I have already done my fingerprints back in December 2006, and it hasn't been 15 months yet for the fingerprint to expire. Back then it was just an index fingerprint and a picture. In February 2007, USCIS changed the process, so any NOA with Feb 07 or a later date, has to do fingerprint and biometrics also for a background investigation. I e-mailed the Pittsburgh office and advised them that I had already done it, and the notice says I485 instead of I751, and they said to keep the appointment without any explanation why I should do the fingerprint again, and said not to worry about I485 because it's correct in they systems. So I went and done it anyway (maybe this is another tactic to keep delaying the case since I'm from Morocco, a muslim country). Since I have a 11/28/2006 NOA, I should be grandfathered in the old system and my old fingerprint should still be valid. Anybody experienced this before?
I'm planning to tell the officer that my previous fingerprint didn't expire yet, and can still be used if they try to pull the your background check is still pending scenario.
Anybody with interview experiences in Pittsburgh? Please share your stories and your opinions about the fingerprint/ bio. matter.

Thank you for your help!

Could you please tell me what exactly you first transfer letter (the one they sent in Jun) said? Did the letter cleary say that the file is transfered to District office for an 'interview' or did it just say file is being transferred to District office. I am trying to understant the exact wording of the letters they send out.

I received a transfer notice today saying case is being transfered to District office but doesnot say why. Should i presume an interview or could this be something thing else too? Whats your thought?

It says your case is being transfered to the Pittsburgh office to await an interview date. The only reason they send I751 to local offices is to be scheduled for an interview. So you may want to start preparing for it.

I can't really answer your questions as we are going to be mailing our 751 out this weekend. I wanted to wish you good luck on your interview.

Doreen

Thank you Doreen! It's good to know there's somebody nearby from Morocco. I'm unable to find any Moroccans in the Pittsburgh area.




Thank you Doreen! It's good to know there's somebody nearby from Morocco. I'm unable to find any Moroccans in the Pittsburgh area.

We have an I751 interview Monday, Nov. 5th in NY. I posted last week asking if anyone has any experience with this interview but didn't hear from anyone who has been through it. I am not worried, more curious.

2NS

Good Luck tomorrow!!!

Wish us luck. We're interviewing for the I751 also tomorrow! I'm about to start hyperventilating, but trying to keep it together.

Good luck to you too tomorrow!

GOODLUCK!
please come back and post your interview experience.
I have mine in December

So the applicants from 'CUBA' and 'MOROCCO" get requested for interview, same as if it were Iraq, Iran , or North Korea, its because of your country of origin guys...

I don't know if they do or not, but here's what happened today:
First, we had to get the nastiest unprofessional, female in the USCIS building. So much for luck!
Our attorney, and we got called in, she didn't even swear us in, she asked me to wait outside. Then she battered my wife (USC) with questions, which were answered truthfully, even though she may have a missed a couple. 45 minutes later, she comes out and call me again, and asked my wife to wait outside. Remember, she didn't swear us in, and she said "let me remind you that you're under oath" lol. Then she proceeded to ask me the same questions she asked my wife, and I was looking at her writing the answers while answering, and this hostile, unmannered, and nasty officer said "are you reading my notes?" I said no I'm not reading your notes. Then she asked me to sit in the back chair away from her desk and proceeded asking questions, all were answered truthfully and correctly (missed one or 2 but not cause for concern). When I first applied for AOS, I didn't register under the special registration NSEERS program because the Arabic notice they were publishing said that persons who entered the U.S. on or after Sept 2002 are required to register, it was supposed to say persons who came to the U.S. on or before Sept 2002 are required to register. This was explained in the AOS process, and I was given an opportunity after the AOS interview to register with ICE which I did, and I had proof with me and she has it in my case also (A computer print from ICE showing my picture, information, FIN, and stating that I complied with NSEERS), but this snob lady didn't even look at it, and said "when you register, they stamp your I94 with a FIN number," I said the I94 was taken away by you during the AOS interview, so when we went to ICE, this is the proof they provided us and this is the proof which your agency accepted then, and granted my conditional residence. She then said "I will check with ICE," we're finished here. So what happened, we went through a stokes interview, which she doesn't have anything to say about, and can't deny our case because even a little baby can tell from our paperwork that we're truly married. Our attorney said that they can't deny based on the answers from the interview because they were mostly identical answers, they're going to check with ICE and notify us by mail, hopefully by the end of the week. I never thought the U.S. government would hire people like that to represent them. What kind of signal does this send to immigrants? USCIS motto is Respect, Integrity, Ingenuity, but they don't show respect or integrity in either processing or treatment of immigrants. My wife is so upset with this lady that she's going to file a complaint with USCIS and even further. I'm waiting till the end of the week to hear back, if we don't here anything, then I'll have my attorney check with lady again, and to court we go if this lady tries to play smart.

So sorry you had such a nasty experience. That woman sounds awful. I am sure her bark is worse than her bite!

Hope you get good news at the end of the week.

Hate to say it, but these kind of interviews seem to be intentionally "nasty" as a tactic to determine if you both get tripped up under stress and reveal info you were trying to hide. Hope you hear good news soon.

I am sorry to hear about your bad experiences. I hope that the attitude of your officer doesn't have an influence on the final outcome of your case.

Any USCIS motto will always be less important than the structural frame, which is:
- clients are not US citizens (yet) - when have you ever heard that the better treatment by the USCIS was part of an election campaign?
- most of us go into the process, suffer a bit, and want out as soon as possible, never to look back, especially not years later, as US citizens
- congress doesn't care much about USCIS as long as they don't spend more money than they receive in fees and as long as US congresspersons can "mentor" people into citizenship who might afterwards vote for them out of gratitude (if the system wouldn't be so bad, there would be less reason to intervene and less reason for gratitude)

I agree, but what kind of organization doesn't honor its mission statement whether it's a governmental agency or not? Whether the subject is a USC is irrelevant in this case, because she treated my wife who is a USC the same way. I think that these types of officers think that they have the green light to abuse their authority, and get away with it.
I agree with the other post too, stokes is supposed to be a tough experience, but it has to be conducted in a professional manner, not as if the beneficiary and the applicant are criminals on trial for murder or war crimes. My point here is that anybody who applies for a benefit or a USC should be treated equally in a dignified manner, after all, we are all human beings, whether you're from the U.S. or Rwanda.

Wow, the dick from hell. I hope you get a positive answer very soon and that bozo breaks a leg

i am so sorry that your interview was so horrible.... i have mine in december and i am just praying that they dont tear me into pieces....What kind of questions were they asking you for 45 Minutes? if you dont mind sharing.

Your name/ Wife's name
Date of birth/ wife's date of birth
What did you do on her last birthday? I blacked out for a secs but remembered and answered after the 2nd question. Did you buy her a gift? Of course I did, my wife was very nervous that she started talking about our anniversary lol since they're all close, my birthday is in July, hers in August, and wedding anniversary is in Sept. She said no I didn't buy her a gift lol (I did and have receipts still to prove it if they bring it up).
how many brothers and sisters does she have?
when did you meet? I told this lady, and she said "you remember the date from six yrs ago?" I said you don't forget when you met someone you love (What a moron!)
Where did you meet?
How did you meet?
When did you call her after your first meeting? I said after the holidays, I called her a couple of days after we met on Dec 13th and arranged to talk after the holidays which we did, but I just didn't think of that call when someone as nasty as this lady is looking at you with a face full of acne, and devilish eyes. My wife said a couple of days after we met.
Last movie you watched? where did you watch it?
What do you do for fun together? answered, then what's your favorite soccer team?
When did you get married? where? who attended?
When did you move in with her?
What’s your previous address together?
Address before the previous? lol
Hvae long have you live in each address?
Do you get along with her family?
Name 2 of your co-workers? (this idiot officer is looking for someone we both know and instead of asking for it, she just said name 2 of your co-workers, we both said different names because I have 148 co-workers in my department lol).
Where did you get your wedding rings?
When did you get them?
Do you live in an apartment or house?
When did you move from MD to WA? How long did you stay in WA?
When did you move to PA? How long have you been in PA?
Was the retail business you had in WA established when you bought it or did you open it for the first time?
Why did you move to PA?
Have you ever met his family? When?
Has she ever met your family? When?
Last time you went on vacation? where did you go?
Who paid for the vacation?
Were your family ok with the marriage? and her family?
Have you ever been under immigration proceedings?
After that, I had the irrelevant NSEERS question, which I'm sure you don't care about.

Sorry about your unpleasant experience at your interview. Ours was slightly less unpleasant. I am posting because when I was looking for a heads up on what to expect at the I751 interview there didn't seem to be a lot of info available. Hopefully if someone needs some guidance in the future they will find this thread.

We waited 2 1/2 hours to be called. They didn't separate us. She had a strong accent and was difficult to understand. She started by having us raise our right hands and taking an oath to tell the truth. Her demeanor was pleasant and conversational - although her conversation obviously had an underlying purpose. She said that we were called for an interview because we hadn't sent enough proof of relationship with the I175 application.

She asked the following questions, it wasn't clear who she wanted to answer but I let my husband take the lead since it is his application.

How did you meet?
How long did you know each other before getting married?
Have you travelled together, Where did you go?
What do you do for a living?
Name the people in this photo (noticing I had some photos with me...)
Have you ever gotten mad and walked out?
Have you ever had an argument and talked about divorce?
Do either of you have children, how old is your daughter?

-She seemed very intent to verify our income, saying that the Income Tax Returns we had submitted weren't valid without the W2. Luckily I had brought the W2s. (She also stated that she thinks I make too much money for what I do - which honestly left me feeling disrespected and believe me, I dont make a lot of money.)

-My husband yawned and she investigated this very thoroughly. She wanted to know what he did last night to be so tired. Was he up all night worrying about the interview? She warned him to be careful about yawning because yawning can be misunderstood and taken to be a sign of drug abuse. (It is true that yawning can be a sign of opiate withdrawl and I give her credit for knowing that but considering the context, it would be more likely to be a sign of having waited 2 1/2 hours to be called....)



She asked us for the following documents, none of which we have. For future reference for anyone who is reading this, this is apparently what would really make them happy to see with the I175:

Joint Mortgage or lease
Common life insurance policy
Car insurance policy
Child's birth certificate

A warning. Our appointment letter only stated that we should bring the originals of all documents previously submitted. (Now I understand that this only refers to documents submitted in support of the I175, at least in this case.) The letter did NOT say to bring additional proof of relationship. In fact the appointment letter didn't say anything else, except show up on this date. Luckily, I decided to bring along some photos and our tax files and recent bank and utility statements. Giving her the W2s, some photos, updated utility bills, updated medical insurance claims and bank account statements satisfied her. If we had followed what was stated in the letter and brought only what was previously submitted, it would have been a problem. She wanted to keep the photos and I told her no because they are the only copies we have and we weren't told we had to give them any new originals. (If we had known, I would have copies made to submit.) She disputed this, but what the letter states is very clear.

At the end she stamped a 1 year extension in his passport, said he can use this to travel and said to expect the 10 year green card in 6-8 weeks. (They had taken his greencard when we checked in.)

Hope this helps someone else, and mysweets, hope things go well for you too...
2NS

Congratulations! Wish us luck! I spoke to our attorney, and we're going to wait till Friday and see if we receive anything from USCIS, and we're going to file a complaint with this person's director for misconduct in the way she treated us and conducted the interview.

Did anybody in this forum ever file a complaint against a USCIS employee? if so, please sahe your experiences.

Did anybody in this forum ever file a complaint against a USCIS employee? if so, please share your experiences.

What a nightmare..!! Please keep us informed and also if you happen to file a complaint, would love to hear she gets Terminated.

Best wishes,
Debra

USA are you still around?, if you don't mind my asking.. your letter to invite you to the interview what did it say... did it say to report to the "special cases"officer? or just to come for the interview.... my attorney reckons if the suspect fraud they would refer you to the special cases officer , and thats why she was so vicious from the word go! but still i don't think they have a right to treat people like crap. I know they have to appear tough and all.. but it is not right to harass people... if they didnt like your story.. all they could have done is refuse to remove conditions

Thanks Debra!

We're here! We weren't referred to special cases, and our interview letter only said that it's being transferred to the local office to await an interview date. You're right, they're supposed to treat people with respect, and be tough also to prevent fraud, but this lady think she has carte blanche to just abuse us, and we're not going to do anything about it. Oh she forgot my wife is a USC, our attorney will file a complaint on Tuesday. They're also not supposed to just refuse cases because they don't like the story or the people, they have to uphold the law, and if any male and female are truly married, then the beneficiary is entitled to permanent residency giving that they don't have criminal records to decide otherwise. I read that they can't retaliate against someone's case for filing a complaint, but whatever it takes, even if they want to spend our tax dollars in court and make themseleves look like fools, then we're all for it lol.

You do realize that one can commit or attempt to commit fraud without having an accompanying criminal record, yeah? People pretend to be married to get residency all the time.

I'll reserve my comments about whether or not you suffered abuse at your interview.

Hi Cassie,

Yes I do realize that, but if you read our post carefully, it said if any male and female are truly married, and they don't have or the beneficiary doesn’t have a criminal record, then they shouldn‘t be hassled this way. I know there are a lot of fraudulent couples out there, that is why we're in this situation, because of all of those who spoiled the process for everybody. I wouldn't be surprised if the fraudulent couples get through the system smoothly, and we, the legitimate ones have to go through an ordeal to get everything straightened out.
If you think that looking at someone in a bad manner, and treating them like criminals, and talking down on them in an offensive way is not abuse and misconduct, then I don't know what you might call abuse.

Well, seeing as I wasn't at your actual interview, it would be hard to say. Your definition of abuse or hassling and mine (and our various interpretations of how you were treated) in this situation may be completely different. There are times in our lives when we don't get the kid glove treatment or automatic respect that people think they deserve, this seems to be one of those times for you. The adjudicators are not our friends, nor do they have to be happy happy joy joy during the interview. With only your side of the story to go by, I have no way of determining how rude/abusive/whatever your adjudicator was.

And yes, I did read your post carefully, and my answer remains the same. The lack of a criminal record means nothing in this situation. It doesn't give the couple any bonus points or automatically confer to them the status they are petitioning for. Like I said before, people who do this process fraudulently can be squeaky clean too -- it is not an indicator that the marriage is bonafide, just that you two are law-abiding residents of the US.

One thing that still bothers me about a previous post of yours was your use of the word "entitled". IMHO, as non-USCs petitioning for various visas/status, we aren't entitled to squat. We must prove our case to the satisfaction of the powers that be and in esssence, we are at their mercy. It's not a fun place to be, and I chafe at some of it, but if I want to live here, I must play the game.

Ok, ok, ok, you're still missing my point Cassie, let me rephrase it for you again. If a couple is truly married (the marriage is bonafide), and there's no criminal record to disqualify the beneficiary, then YES, the beneficiary is entitled to the relief, in this case, permanent residency. And if USCIS is blind to see it and uphold their own laws, rules, regulations, then there's the courts to do it for them.
I know that adjudicators aren't our friends, and I know the difference between tough and professional treatment, and abusive and unprofessional treatment, and the latter was the case here. Keep in mind that I was in an AOS interview before this one, and even though the adjudicator was tough, she remained professional and respectful throughout the interview. But hey, you're entitled to your opinion.

And you are entitled to your opinion as well, and I appreciate you having this discussion with me

Being a North American, it is very likely that you might not have gone through a treatment similar to USA1234's or that you would never understand his feelings and observations about how he was treated. I think that your comments are unnecessary and condescending. If you don't believe him, you certainly don't have to post here and imply that this person, who has obviously gone through an experience that is deeply troubling to him, is essentially not telling the truth about how he was treated. This is a forum where people help and support each other - if you enjoy doing the opposite of that, perhaps you should consider "reserving your comments" period.

Perhaps you are right, perhaps I haven't gone through the same experience, but who knows? No one really knows what kind of K-1 and AOS interviews or questioning at POE's I went through, only my husband who was present for my AOS interview.

I don't presume to know exactly what USA1234 and his wife went through either, because I wasn't there, nor did I say that he wasn't telling the truth about how he felt or what happened. All I am saying is that what he felt was rude or abusive behaviour, I myself may not characterize it as such, I may see the same behaviour in the same circumstances in a different light. I have a hard time with the use of the word "abuse" -- it is a very strong word to use, and one I don't use lightly, but that's just me.

To be honest, I don't particularly like the inference that North Americans get an easy pass -- there are some Canuck VJ'ers that can tell you differently! If I am called to an interview before my 10 year card is approved, I will be expecting a rough interview (ie. one that is more intense), based on what I have read and what has been told to me by people who have gone through it......and will be pleasantly surprised if it isn't.

I am sorry you feel the way you do about my posts in this thread, that is your opinion and it is your right to express it. Not only is this forum where help and support is offered, but also differing opinions, some that may not be palatable to hear, but still need or have the right to be said. If you were to do a search of my previous posts, you would soon see that my idea of enjoyment isn't to demean or to deliberately antagonize people on this board.

To USA1234, I am interested in hearing what response you get if/when you file the complaint (if you haven't done so already).

i have been reading this ongoing conversation and i will have to disagree with Casie, just because we are immigrants doesn't mean we are not human! what do u mean we are at their mercy? everybody in this country has rights and they should be treated as such. if they suspect that this case is not adding up.. all they have to do is refuse to adjust status and the USA1234 can take it to another level. There is no need disrespect people, make them feel like dirt just so you can say you are getting your job done. This problem of immigrants being harassed has been around for years but we are normally so oppressed and scared that we don't date say anything because " we are their mercy" and they "owe us nothing". I have been to an AOS interview, which was tough and long.. but the interviewer maintained class and dignity at all time, he did not make us feel like we are convicts, he did not make us feel we are worthless and at his mercy he was professional and firm without being demeaning and condescending. So USA1234 if you feel that you were wronged, you have the right to file a complain... thats what it means to be American.. and thats why we want to live in this awesome land.. because you have the right to get justice no matter WHO YOU ARE!

No actually you need to understand what the job of the adjudicator is.. it's to find out the facts and make decisions regarding those facts.

The truth of the matter is people lie inorder to get the benefits that the USCIS conveys. It's a known fact that when under pressure, if people are lying, then they typically will get their stories mixed up with the truth because they don't have the time or peace of mind to keep up their lie.

Sorry if the interview was a little intensive, but this is what is required to see if one is telling the truth and is truly eligible for the benefits that they are entitled to.

A USCIS's officer's job is to protect the US by only allowing those people who are entitled the benefits to receive them. If they have to make it a little hard on people to determine the truth in order to do their jobs, then they are more than willing to do that. THeir priority is not to make you feel happy and confortable during the interview... their priority is to determine the facts...

well put

Anyway, my wife and I aren't very sensitive people to be affected by interview toughness or intensive interviewing, but I would like to put this subject to rest since I just got a voicemail from my attorney stating that my I751 was approved and a new card is being requested I think that lady in USCIS saw the light, and decided not to make a fool out of herself or the agency. We can't wait for my citizenship interview now. I don't think I will have to go through the same ordeal again for the N400.
They didn't even cash my check yet from October 9th. The website said they're working on N400's received on 07/29/07, so I have to sit and wait like everybody else. I can't say how relieved we are that this ordeal is over. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this discussion.

So how was the interview?

Congratulations

Thank you Cassie! I'm looking forward to say congratulations to you too soon.

I'm so happy to read your update! Congratulations

Doreen

I appreciate that! Unfortunately, since I am stuck in the pit known as TSC, it's gonna be a while.

Thank you Doreen! I'll be around to hear good news from you also.