Nervous for Interview!

[LauLee 0]

Hi - we have our interview coming up in Mid-April and are pretty nervous. Can anyone tell us about their experience? What should we bring with us to prove the validity of our marriage? I'll be bringing pictures and copies of everything that I sent in, but is there anything else that is a *must*? Thank you!!!

[MacTO 6]

Hi - we have our interview coming up in Mid-April and are pretty nervous. Can anyone tell us about their experience? What should we bring with us to prove the validity of our marriage? I'll be bringing pictures and copies of everything that I sent in, but is there anything else that is a *must*? Thank you!!!

Mine is scheduled in late April, too, so I asked for help on what I should expect to be questioned and all about 5 days ago. This is what I have observed so far.

1. Read the thread of the similar topics (for instance, interview) here as much as you can. I can see that you've recently joined VJ. Since I posted my question, I've been reading what all the VJ members had to say on my question as well as on any similar topics posted by other newly joined members.

2. Choose Reviews: Embassy/USCIS & POE under Forums in the menu bar and choose your USCIS local office to see the results. I assume that yours is in San Jose, CA. It'll bring up decent amount of reviews for you to go over. They were written by those who went to the same local office before you, so it will be tremendously helpful. Someone advised me with it before, and I am so glad that I know what to expect in terms of the IO at my local office. (Of course, there's no guarantee that I will have the same IO, but it gives a general idea.)

Good luck and keep us updated as to how it went after your interview so that people, like me, who go to interviews after you, can can learn and take advantage of those inputs. Cheers.

[LauLee 0]

Thanks so much. That information is very helpful.

I have a few more questions; I'm the USC spouse, but I don't have my original birth certificate. Do you think that will be a problem? Also, my husband's license is out of state, and right now, I don't think he can transfer it to a california license until we get his EAD or GC because his status is not current anymore. Do you know if it is a requirement to have matching addresses on the drivers license? And finally, since I filed my taxes online, all of the copies of my tax returns are not "official". Is it very important to get the copies from IRS directly?

Thanks again!!

[tglea 0]

Thanks so much. That information is very helpful.

I have a few more questions; I'm the USC spouse, but I don't have my original birth certificate. Do you think that will be a problem? Also, my husband's license is out of state, and right now, I don't think he can transfer it to a california license until we get his EAD or GC because his status is not current anymore. Do you know if it is a requirement to have matching addresses on the drivers license? And finally, since I filed my taxes online, all of the copies of my tax returns are not "official". Is it very important to get the copies from IRS directly?

Thanks again!!

Yes it will be a problem not having your birth certificate. The instructions specifically say that the USC spouse's birth certificate is required at the interview. Did you send in a copy with your AOS package? Do you only have a copy now? If so, I would recommend getting a new birth certificate. It's not that hard to do in most states.

[MacTO 6]

Thanks so much. That information is very helpful.

I have a few more questions; I'm the USC spouse, but I don't have my original birth certificate. Do you think that will be a problem? Also, my husband's license is out of state, and right now, I don't think he can transfer it to a california license until we get his EAD or GC because his status is not current anymore. Do you know if it is a requirement to have matching addresses on the drivers license? And finally, since I filed my taxes online, all of the copies of my tax returns are not "official". Is it very important to get the copies from IRS directly?

Thanks again!!

Yes it will be a problem not having your birth certificate. The instructions specifically say that the USC spouse's birth certificate is required at the interview. Did you send in a copy with your AOS package? Do you only have a copy now? If so, I would recommend getting a new birth certificate. It's not that hard to do in most states.

Like tglea said, it is a must.

If you don't have it, I am afraid that you're taking a chance to be denied. My wife (we now reside in New Mexico, but she's originally from Indiana) had to request her birth certificate. It didn't take long. She requested online and came in less than two weeks. If you don't have it now, you better get to it since you still have time till mid-April. Also, don't forget to make a copy of it before you go to the interview. I-797C, Notice of Action clearly states that if you don't have copies (of documentation), USCIS may keep the originals.

As far as your husband's driver's licence's concern, I don't think that it is a big deal as long as you can provide other evidence that shows the same address where you and your husband live together, such as auto insurance, join bank accounts and etc. I only have a Canadian driver's licence. I provided the copies of our joint bank account. I somehow totally forgot to include our auto insurance policy which lists our names together at the same address, so I will bring it to the interview.

As far as the tax returns concern, my wife didn't have to obtain copies from the IRS because she was an independent contractor for the first half of the last year and she filed her taxes toward the end of the last year, so she actually had extra copies that were provided by her accountant. The whole point of enclosing the copies of the tax return is that USCIS wants to determine if you are capable of supporting your spouse as you claim in Affidavit of Support, so I would think that it could be a problem if they can't see the evidence. Please, refer to the instructions.

I think that it is a good time for you to go over the I-797C checklist if you're not missing anything. I'm literally filing the package one more time for the interview and trying to add more evidence. Cheers.

[LauLee 0]

I don't have my birth certificate because I was born outside of the US....

[MacTO 6]

I don't have my birth certificate because I was born outside of the US....

I-130 instructions say on page 2,

A copy of your naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship issued by USCIS or the former INS. (If you weren't born in the U.S.)

And on page 3, what if a document is not available, provide either church record, school record, census record or affidavits.

Please, refer to the instructions. Cheers.

[LauLee 0]

Great - thank you so much!!!