AOS Approved! Our Story!

hokeybutt · May 12, 2006

My American wife and I went to our interview at the USCIS yesterday (a really , dreary, rainy day here in Milwaukee). Luckily Thursday is her day off work so we were quite happy that we got scheduled for a Thursday. We got through security without a problem (nothing at all like the awful 2 hour line-up we had to stand in 3 or 4 years ago). We went up to the second floor, dropped our letter in the slot for appointments and waited.

At some point one of the officers came out and called the name of an Asian couple. They got up to go inside the (locked) interview area and called out to another Asian woman who was on her cellphone on the other side of the room (we weren't sure who she might have been... maybe an interpreter for the couple?). The female officer bellowed, "Ma'am, get off the cellphone. You are not supposed to use cellphones up here." So the woman hangs up and goes over to her seat to get her coat and purse and put her cellphone away and she is taking a bit too much time apparently. "Okay, fine," the officer says rudely, escorts the other two people through the door and quickly pulls it closed to lock the other woman out. She gets to the door a couple of seconds after it shuts and, of course, can't get in. So she sheepishly takes her seat again.

My wife and I look at each other and think, "Wow, I hope we don't get THAT officer for our interview!"

About 20 minutes later... guess who we get as our officer!!???

Well, it didn't turn out so bad after all. We were sworn in (didn't expect that) and then I was asked some pretty basic questions (current address, mother and father's first names, my birthdate). I was asked where and when I first met my wife and I rambled off for a few minutes on that. Then, taking me surprise I got asked "What do you love about your wife?" Well, I just got totally flummoxed. I stammered and said something about her warmth and sense of humor... and then, after some uncomfortable silence I came out with "We share the same interests.... we like movies and we go shopping together..." "Shopping???" the officer gives me a wide-eyed look. "Really???" So now my wife is never going to ever let me forget that I was asked why I loved my wife and my answer was "Shopping!"

We had photocopied a ton of papers (not knowing what they would consider important) and, of course, t5he officer only wanted a few things. She first wanted to see our current lease or mortage statement in both or names (which we didn't have). We rent the top half of a duplex from my wife's best friend and they have nothing on paper. "Well," the officer says, "you'll have to bring me a letter signed by her, saying that." Right away my heart sinks. "Oh, great," I think. "I'm not getting approved today... gonna have to come back." Then we show her some insurance papers where we are listed as each others' beneficiary, our tax returns for last year, a bank statement with our names on it and the certificate of title to our new car (which we just bought last month). Luckily we had both our names on the title because that piece of paper seemed to impress her more than anything else (we almost didn't remember to bring it at all). She even changed her mind and said that we wouldn't be needed a letter explaining our lease arrangements after all. (Whew!)

The officer pried the staple out of my passport and took the I-94, took my EAD card and said that she was approving me and that I'd probably get the Green Card in 2 weeks! (Yee Haw!) She explained we now had 2 years before the next step and said we should be applying in February 2008. We gathered up our big satchel of documents (I brought every piece of paper I *ever* obtained in connection with USCIS) and left smiling.

Yay! We did it!

Now I just need a job...

motu · May 12, 2006

Congrats! That's an interesting experience and quite funny. And in the name of all males I have to say "Shame on you for promoting shopping! Oy Vey!" :lol: