I 751 interview experience

[wakwanza 0]

We had our interview yesterday after filing last April and receiving RFE in Nov. Married in March 2012. My husband was arrested in 2013 and got out end of 2014 and is in a treatment facility now at least until mid june so we don't live together. Also, when we first got married, he was in a different city and while we planned for him to relocate to my city, his job wouldnt transfer him. So I made the plans to move, but he got arrested.

We had initially submitted:

Deed of trust showing joint home ownership

car insurance

bank/credit card statements but not covering whole two years

tax returns for two years

In RFE we submitted:

more bank/credit card statements going back 6 months

home owners insurance

joint letters

life insurance

At the interview we presented:

bank statements going back to early 2013

telephone bills

water bills

HOA bills

joint letters

letters from my husband while incarcerated

my deposits to his accounts

phone calls

notice of sale of previous house which i had sold in order to relocate

We arrived early for our interview as I was hoping that they could get to us early. I had to get special permission for my husband to leave the treatment facility as they have restricted hours and I wanted to get him back in time. The IO called us into her office and asked us our names, asked him my birthday, asked me his birthday. Asked me my current address and asked him our previous address. she then asked how long he'd been incarcerated and if he was currently commited. At that point she asked me to step out and she interviewed him for 20 mins.

She came to get me and asked me a ton of questions about our lives before we go married. How did we meet, what were the names of the people who introduced us, where did we go on our first date, how/where did he propose, his old address before we got married, how many dates we had before we got married. I answered as best as i could but felt like she was reaching. then she asked why he got arrested, how we communicated in the first year before he got arrested, how many times we visited each other (it's a 4 hour drive through very rural roads), how he came to see me (drive, bus, air). Still reaching. I make a lot more than my husband does and ofcourse since he's been incarcerated he has no check now. So i could sense her questions were edging in that direction. she asked if he new how much i made or how much the previous mortgage was on the old house i had. I said no to both because, i'd had the house before marriage...and as for how much i make, i told her i dont hide it, but he's currently not home...when he comes back, he'll see my checks. plus we have a joint account so he can see. she asked where i work and what i do. as i gave her additional information, on the bank statements she said "oh but these are just yours...does he have access" and i showed her that they were joint accounts...both names on. I gave her additional letters and she said "oh but are these joint or just your name"....i gave her letters that come to him and to both of us. Still could tell she was looking for a reason to show something is wrong. last question was that she didnt understand how we managed to buy a new house and he has bad credit because he's in jail. I told her, i have good credit and knew my husband had bad credit and understood that when we got married. we plan to fix it. I'm not worried about that. I had to have notaries go to him in jail to sign paper work so he was fully immersed in the process. at the end she said thanks, and i'll get a letter in the mail. she cant provide a timeline since mine is not the only case she's working. she needs to review all the material provide. she told me that i already have a one year extension so should be good to use that while she researches.

we didnt bring a lawyer this time, but when we compared questions, we were pretty similar ofcourse with some obvious variations due to the duress of the process and ofcourse it's two different people recollecting events.I'm eligible to file for citizenship in a month. can i go ahead and do that if i dont hear back from her by then?

Hope my story helps someone.

[wakwanza 0]

any thoughts on filing for citizenship if my process is prolonged? can i apply when i become eligible in a month?

[mananto 36]

any thoughts on filing for citizenship if my process is prolonged? can i apply when i become eligible in a month?

Sasa Wakwanza...yes you can file for citizenship if your process is prolonged. This forces them to adjudicate the pending I-751 before the N-400. Good luck with the process.

[wakwanza 0]

Fit sana Mananto! thanks for finding this and responding. ok i'll start making preparations to file for that. do you know anyone who has a similar experience and from my 'brief' summary (our interview lasted at least an hour...so there's more) how concerned should i be about negative outcome? what should i prepare for worst case...if they say no, if my CR is canceled, i'm wondering about my work situation...I work for a company that has offices outside the US but I'm worried about being able to transfer quick enough. If i try to fight it here, would i still be able to work?

[mananto 36]

Fit sana Mananto! thanks for finding this and responding. ok i'll start making preparations to file for that. do you know anyone who has a similar experience and from my 'brief' summary (our interview lasted at least an hour...so there's more) how concerned should i be about negative outcome? what should i prepare for worst case...if they say no, if my CR is canceled, i'm wondering about my work situation...I work for a company that has offices outside the US but I'm worried about being able to transfer quick enough. If i try to fight it here, would i still be able to work?

Yes Wakwanza. It happens all the time. I have many in this forum and many of my friends that have done that. You file may just be with a disorganized officer or she may have requested more info on your case from other govt agencies just to make sure. Because your husband is not living with you and is in an institution, there is always extended scrutiny so that is normal. It does not mean much but it just means a delay in your case and it is never more than six months after your interview at worst. But I am sure you do not want to wait that long. So..filing the N-400 will force it to be adjudicated.

Edited March 14, 2015 by mananto

[wakwanza 0]

Yes Wakwanza. It happens all the time. I have many in this forum and many of my friends that have done that. You file may just be with a disorganized officer or she may have requested more info on your case from other govt agencies just to make sure. Because your husband is not living with you and is in an institution, there is always extended scrutiny so that is normal. It does not mean much but it just means a delay in your case and it is never more than six months after your interview at worst. But I am sure you do not want to wait that long. So..filing the N-400 will force it to be adjudicated.

Mananto, thanks a lot!! This is good to know. I definitely don't want to be waiting anxiously for up to 6 months. I'll plan to apply. I know it's going to be another interview and after my last experience I'm not looking forward to another. Let me know if you have any thoughts on what i need to include in the N-400 so that i can make it as strong as possible