AOS Interview

[Damian211111 0]

Hi guys

I got married while visiting last year, and after tonnes of ups and downs, sending forms back and forth, i got an interview date at Garden city.

I notice there is a lot of concern with this getting married while visiting, and some saying it is illegal and such. Should i be worried? what should i expect at the interview?

1. I have a few pics with me and my wife in Jamaica, some from back in high school, tonnes of notes and emails from a few years back.

Is there anything else i need to take in as evidence, other than what they requested in the letter?

2. My wife is due to give birth may 4, with interview date may 11.

Its likely that she might not be able to come. In that case, should i just take in her information, passport, birth certificate,

along with the birth certificate of our lil princess? would they reschedule?

3. What is the interview like? Does any of you have any experience at the Garden City service center in NY worth sharing?

[sciencenerd 56]

My understanding is that your wife must come. If there is an absolute emergency/event (ie: she's giving birth that day or is in the hospital), you can request a reschedule. More experienced forum members will likely have more specific advice, but you can't just bring your wife's documents if she can't make it. Also, it's not illegal to marry as a visitor as long as it was not your intention when you entered the country. If you told immigration you were visiting and you knew you were going to get married and adjust status, that is highly illegal. If you came as a visitor and decided during your time here that you would get married and adjust status, there is no problem with that.

Good luck and congrats on the baby on the way!

[dancehallquana 5]

you will need to show any proof that u guys are living together in the same residence as a married couple..

lease, bank accounts, car ins, health ins..

she looked to see that our addresses were the same on id cards..

she asked us both how we met and how many times we had visited each other.. she asked why i love him.. she wanted to know why my husband loved me, he wasn't detailed enough for her, so she asked like 3 times LOL

a few questions she asked over and over to make sure he would say the same thing each time..

be confident and don't show that ur are nervous..they are watching ur body language..

i am not trying to scare u, the interview is pretty straightforward and easy, just heart wrenching. we were approved the same day even tho IO told us she was concerned due to my husband being very nervous and we also didn't have much evidence because my husband had JUST got his EAD a week b4 the interview so i was only able to get him on my health ins only..

as long as u have ur ducks in a row u will be fine

if anyway possible i would try to have ur wife come.. they are very suspicious already of our kind of petition, no reason to raise more eyebrows, they want to hear from her.. they may not say anything about it or at worst they would reschedule. i would not risk it

Edited April 7, 2010 by dancehallquana

[Damian211111 0]

you will need to show any proof that u guys are living together in the same residence as a married couple..

lease, bank accounts, car ins, health ins..

she looked to see that our addresses were the same on id cards..

she asked us both how we met and how many times we had visited each other.. she asked why i love him.. she wanted to know why my husband loved me, he wasn't detailed enough for her, so she asked like 3 times LOL

a few questions she asked over and over to make sure he would say the same thing each time..

be confident and don't show that ur are nervous..they are watching ur body language..

i am not trying to scare u, the interview is pretty straightforward and easy, just heart wrenching. we were approved the same day even tho IO told us she was concerned due to my husband being very nervous and we also didn't have much evidence because my husband had JUST got his EAD a week b4 the interview so i was only able to get him on my health ins only..

as long as u have ur ducks in a row u will be fine

if anyway possible i would try to have ur wife come.. they are very suspicious already of our kind of petition, no reason to raise more eyebrows, they want to hear from her.. they may not say anything about it or at worst they would reschedule. i would not risk it

Cool, thanks.

We have nothing together really but a bunch of pics and some other things. Can't get anything done without a ssn(sigh), and thats been a mess. I sent in the I765 app last December, but it got rejected along with my I485 because of some wrong info on the I485.

I corrected and resubmit, got NOA for I485 receipt, but nothing for I765. Called i was told to wait 90 days. I waited 90 days only to find out they dont have it in there system. So i resubmitted it about 2 weeks ago along with a copy of I485 receipt n, then called yesterday to find out if they received it, and they told me to wait 90 days again. I told the person what happened the last time and they said i just have to wait again....

So, i don't know what to do about that. I cant wait to get over with this.

My big question is, will the pictures and notes be enough?

The only thing we might have together is a birth certificate with both our names on it, if our little girl comes on her due date(may come up to 2 weeks later since its my wifes first pregnancy)

[dancehallquana 5]

technically, its not enough greg, but its all u have so u gotta go with it!! lol

our IO was kind of upset that we didn't have more than pictures and the health insurance, we also didn't have the ssn becuase we had JUST got the EAD.. she kept saying.. is this all?? u don't have anything else.. no bills etc?

i fully explained to her what the situation was and how we had made effort to do all those things but becuz of the timing of the interview and ssn arrival, it just wasn't possible, and waited for the next question..

like i said as long as u are confident in ur answers u are good..

if u are able to get u name on any bills or she add u to her health ins or anything u can do last minute, get it done, but if not.. just go in with what u have.

oh and i also brought emails from friends that has wished us a happy wedding day..

she wouldn't even look at those.. i had heard on vj that this might happen tho so i was a prepared..

[alex and astrid 38]

Cool, thanks.

We have nothing together really but a bunch of pics and some other things. Can't get anything done without a ssn(sigh), and thats been a mess. I sent in the I765 app last December, but it got rejected along with my I485 because of some wrong info on the I485.

I corrected and resubmit, got NOA for I485 receipt, but nothing for I765. Called i was told to wait 90 days. I waited 90 days only to find out they dont have it in there system. So i resubmitted it about 2 weeks ago along with a copy of I485 receipt n, then called yesterday to find out if they received it, and they told me to wait 90 days again. I told the person what happened the last time and they said i just have to wait again....

So, i don't know what to do about that. I cant wait to get over with this.

My big question is, will the pictures and notes be enough?

The only thing we might have together is a birth certificate with both our names on it, if our little girl comes on her due date(may come up to 2 weeks later since its my wifes first pregnancy)

You BOTH need to be at an AOS interview. If you both aren't there, it's grounds for a denial. Notes and pictures in her place are not going to cut it. The best course of action is to try and contact Garden City and inform them about your situation. I assume there should be some kind of information on how to do that on your interview notice. Hopefully, they can help you.

As for your evidence that shows your lives are mingled...anything that has your names on it is good. Rental agreement? Bank accounts (you can get an account even if you don't have an SSN)? Costco memberships? Affidavits from people you know attesting to your relationship, like your landlord or close friends or someone from your church? You still have a month to get these things together. Try and get together anything and everything!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Moved from AOS from a Family Visa forum to AOS from Work, Student & Tourist Visa forum as OP is adjusting from a visitor's visa

Edited April 8, 2010 by Kathryn41

[EmVee 3]

Cool, thanks.

We have nothing together really but a bunch of pics and some other things. Can't get anything done without a ssn(sigh), and thats been a mess. I sent in the I765 app last December, but it got rejected along with my I485 because of some wrong info on the I485.

I corrected and resubmit, got NOA for I485 receipt, but nothing for I765. Called i was told to wait 90 days. I waited 90 days only to find out they dont have it in there system. So i resubmitted it about 2 weeks ago along with a copy of I485 receipt n, then called yesterday to find out if they received it, and they told me to wait 90 days again. I told the person what happened the last time and they said i just have to wait again....

So, i don't know what to do about that. I cant wait to get over with this.

My big question is, will the pictures and notes be enough?

The only thing we might have together is a birth certificate with both our names on it, if our little girl comes on her due date(may come up to 2 weeks later since its my wifes first pregnancy)

Your best bet is to call them or schedule an InfoPass to have your interview date changed, because your wife has to be there. You can't bring her documents in and hope that is enough.

As for evidence, I don't have an SSN either because I haven't received my EAD but the kind of evidence we are bringing is;

Joint lease

Joint bank account

Joint Cost Co membership

Joint gym membership

Family Plan for our cell phones

Photographs of our relationship and wedding over the last 3 years

Congratulatory cards for the wedding

Christmas cards addressed to both of us

Receipts from airline tickets for the last 3 years

Letters from me to him and vice versa

We also already sent them in a letter from his sister (our co-sponsor) that states who she is, how she knows us, that myself and her are now friends, that she attended our wedding, blah blah. And a similar letter from my best friend who flew over here to attend our wedding.

Basically, because we don't have any insurance together and I don't pay any bills (though I'm trying to get them to put my name on the statements) we're bringing a lot of other evidence, anything that we feel shows our relationship is bona fide and shows that we live together as a true couple.

[Damian211111 0]

Thanks alot for the help guys.

We'll just try opening a bank account again.

We tried once with chase, but the banker told us I would need a ssn.

Me and my wife(USC) are pretty young, both of us 20yo, and been dating since we were 15yo.

We are currently living with her parents, just until we get over this immigration process.

My wife is still in school, with about a year left to complete. We pay no bills, no mortgage.

I just hope that won't be a problem.

When i came here on vacation last summer things happened, and we decided to sort of elope.

Planned to keep it a secret from our parents for a long while until we finished school, but then even more things happened, and my wife said there was no way she would cope with a lil pumpkin growing in her belly with me so far away. So everyone found out, and i decided to stay.

So here we are now, about to do the interview, with nothing but a bunch of pics, emails and letters.

We'l get a joint gym membership

Try for costco

How would our friends go about the affidavits attesting to our relationship??

I hope it won't be a prob that my wife is in school, and never worked a day in her life.

[EmVee 3]

Thanks alot for the help guys.

We'll just try opening a bank account again.

We tried once with chase, but the banker told us I would need a ssn.

Me and my wife(USC) are pretty young, both of us 20yo, and been dating since we were 15yo.

We are currently living with her parents, just until we get over this immigration process.

My wife is still in school, with about a year left to complete. We pay no bills, no mortgage.

I just hope that won't be a problem.

When i came here on vacation last summer things happened, and we decided to sort of elope.

Planned to keep it a secret from our parents for a long while until we finished school, but then even more things happened, and my wife said there was no way she would cope with a lil pumpkin growing in her belly with me so far away. So everyone found out, and i decided to stay.

So here we are now, about to do the interview, with nothing but a bunch of pics, emails and letters.

We'l get a joint gym membership

Try for costco

How would our friends go about the affidavits attesting to our relationship??

I hope it won't be a prob that my wife is in school, and never worked a day in her life.

The letters have to be notarized... I assume you guys have a co-sponsor, right? Is it her parents? You can give the IO a letter from them stating that you live with them and don't pay rent or bills. I think you'll rely heavily on her parents for this whole thing. They could sign affidavits as well, saying your relationship is bonafide and they've agreed to let you guys stay there while your wife is pregnant.

With the bank account, my husband just added me to his own. I'm not sure that I could open one without a SSN but I was allowed get a debit card for HIS account and my name is now on the account as well. So if your wife opens it, you might be able to get yourself added to it, you just can't be an account-holder. If you know what I mean.

[Damian211111 0]

The letters have to be notarized... I assume you guys have a co-sponsor, right? Is it her parents? You can give the IO a letter from them stating that you live with them and don't pay rent or bills. I think you'll rely heavily on her parents for this whole thing. They could sign affidavits as well, saying your relationship is bonafide and they've agreed to let you guys stay there while your wife is pregnant.

With the bank account, my husband just added me to his own. I'm not sure that I could open one without a SSN but I was allowed get a debit card for HIS account and my name is now on the account as well. So if your wife opens it, you might be able to get yourself added to it, you just can't be an account-holder. If you know what I mean.

Yes we do have a co sponsor.

Thanks for the advice

[besaangel 17]

Yes we do have a co sponsor.

Thanks for the advice

I as an F-1, opened an account with Chase but had to take along my I-20 and passport so as to provide proof of my legal status. But I'd recommend BOA as they allowed me to not just get an account, but a credit card and joints with my husband all without a ssn. Try to see what can be done.

And what is this note that letters HAVE TO BE NOTARIZED... I've never seen it? I have heard it before on VJ but never seen or read about it?

[Nartaki 7]

The letters have to be notarized... I assume you guys have a co-sponsor, right? Is it her parents? You can give the IO a letter from them stating that you live with them and don't pay rent or bills.

I have a similar letter stating that I live with my dad, but he didnt mention that we pay rent or bills...will that be a problem?

I as an F-1, opened an account with Chase but had to take along my I-20 and passport so as to provide proof of my legal status. But I'd recommend BOA as they allowed me to not just get an account, but a credit card and joints with my husband all without a ssn. Try to see what can be done.

And what is this note that letters HAVE TO BE NOTARIZED... I've never seen it? I have heard it before on VJ but never seen or read about it?

I think its these affidavits regarding a bonafide marriage. People make a sworn statement that they know the couple etc.

[besaangel 17]

I have a similar letter stating that I live with my dad, but he didnt mention that we pay rent or bills...will that be a problem?

I think its these affidavits regarding a bonafide marriage. People make a sworn statement that they know the couple etc.

I know that its the sworn affidavits but I've never read anywhere that says it HAS to be notarized. Thats what I am asking. Does anyone have any proof that is has to be notarized?

[Val Marty 1]

Thanks alot for the help guys.

We'll just try opening a bank account again.

We tried once with chase, but the banker told us I would need a ssn.

This is very strange. When I came to the USA as a student I opened my bank account before I had SSN. I needed it so my parents can send me money and at the time I didn't know if I was even able to get a SS. They opened it based on my passport and had me as foreigner. Perhaps it differs from one bank to another, or perhaps it is different for F-1 students. Check out a different bank. I have Bank of America (not trying to advertise lol). Call a few banks and see what they say.

As for other evidence, if you are really in love (i am sure you are), just be yourselves and they will read it from your body language. We had a joint account and credit card, but that was the only thing other than pictures. Of course we also had the same address on out IDs. And my husband got my birthday wrong when she asked him lol we still got an immediate approval and she knew that we were in love - your behavior is the most important.

And I am pretty sure the affidavit from friends and family etc. has to be notarized, I know i read it somewhere in the instructions. We notarized ours and the interviewer even referred to it during the interview - just mentioned it. I had actually forgotten about it

Edited April 8, 2010 by Val Marty