Interview or No Interview-That is the question

[MikeInWyoming 2]

The interview is there for the officer to gauge, as best they can, if there is a true marital relationship. They asked us about our wedding, where we live, asked my wife some questions about my work, her school, how she likes it, etc.

One thing that may be completely irrelevant but caught my attention was that the officer had us walk in front of him on our way back to his work area. Now this was through a large field of cubicles with a couple of turns. It would have made sense for us to follow him as he knew where we were going. My thought is that he wanted to see how we interacted when walking along. Did we walk together as newlyweds would likely do, or would one of us just leave the other behind? Who knows why, but that's my thought.

Thanks. Seems odd I guess.

Beth and I had lived together for months in the Philippines before getting the visa. It still feels like honeymoon now - but we certainly are not clingy like we were early on. We leased our condo in the Philippines a year ago last September and only got the US and married this September. I thank God for Beth every night, but I am not sure we "act like newlyweds"!

My work is technical and I doubt Beth can do more than say I work with computer networks. As she can not drive without a GC in Wyoming - there is no way for her to go to school or work or have any life outside the house!

Well, whatever - we will do it and get through it. Thanks.

[TBoneTX 48,677]

it's mostly luck

No, it's not. Transfer and no interview occurs for a reason. OP, pay attention to the other posts here.

In our AOS paperwork filing, we included a checking-account deposit slip with both of our names on it. By it, I truthfully noted, "This took moving mountains to get." The only other similar evidence that we had to provide included an insurance card for "her" car, and a couple of envelopes addressed to us as "Mr. & Mrs." I'll never know for sure why we were transferred (recently having been put through the wringer at the consulate, including the deposit slip with note, or overloaded local USCIS office), so I conclude that it was a combination of those factors.

[rebeccajo 14]

it's mostly luck

No, it's not. Transfer and no interview occurs for a reason. OP, pay attention to the other posts here.

In our AOS paperwork filing, we included a checking-account deposit slip with both of our names on it. By it, I truthfully noted, "This took moving mountains to get." The only other similar evidence that we had to provide included an insurance card for "her" car, and a couple of envelopes addressed to us as "Mr. & Mrs." I'll never know for sure why we were transferred (recently having been put through the wringer at the consulate, including the deposit slip with note, or overloaded local USCIS office), so I conclude that it was a combination of those factors.

TBone - there really is no reason. Really.

USCIS doesn't have to interview anybody. They aren't legally admonished to do so in the INA. For decades there was a pattern of interviewing adjustees, but that was before 9/11 and DHS directives which slammed the Service into the heaps of paperwork we see today. Nonetheless, it has always been strictly up to the Service whether they want to conduct an interview or not. When they got super-busy in 2005, they made a decision and issued the following memo.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/CS...s_121305_ST.pdf

Now - I know there is language in the memo which states "some cases that are unlikely to require an interview" will be transferred, but there's never been any anecdotal evidence in this community as to what that means. I've seen cases from every country for every type of couple with every thickness of file submission be approved for adjustment without an interview of the couple. It really does appear to merely be a case of keeping up with workload.

Edited December 5, 2009 by rebeccajo