AOS Interview

[leash5 3]

Hi there,

I hope some of you find this helpful:

My interview was scheduled at 9:45 today in New York City. I am married to a USC and was adjusting from a TN visa that had expired March 2009. I was very worried as I had crossed the border to Canada to get married and come back here again, without even thinking about the fact that my visa was invalid (sheer stupidity on my part...). I had also got engaged and then got a new TN-- which I was worried would look possibly like some kind of intent to immigrate on a non-immigrant visa. All in all many things I did could have been construed the wrong way, but the truth was, I was just really uninformed and had never intended to immigrate here, even after marriage (we got my husband's Canadian papers earlier this year, but he changed his mind on moving there so I went the AOS route a lot later than I should have). I was worried all my dates and work history, border crossings etc would be scrutinized but...

We got to 26 Federal Way at 9:15 but there was a line outside the building and it took until 9:40 to get in to the office, on the 8th floor. We went in, handed in our appointment notice and were told to wait-- and wait we did! The sign at the desk had said the normal wait time was two to three hours!! We waited until 11:20 to be called.

We were then greeted by an immigration officer and lead down a long corridor to her office. It was incredibly nerve wracking as it seemed she had some kind of mobility problem... (?) nothing visible but she walked more slowly than I can even describe. Both my husband and I could hardly walk slow enough to keep behind her and the walk felt like it took forever. My nerves were at and all time high!

When we got to her office we were sworn in and then we sat down. She asked for our passports, but not our birth certificates. She explained that she would ask "the wife" questions and then "the husband," and one could not respond to the other's questions. She was completely dead pan and devoid of any smile, friendliness or emotion whatsoever!

She asked me:

1) My husband's full birthday

2) Where he was living when I met him, exact address

3) Where he was working when I met him and what he did

4) What his mother and father's full names were

5) If my husband had been married before

6) If he had any children

7) What was my last date of entry into the USA.

She then asked my husband:

1) My full birthday

2) If I was working when I met him

3) What my address was when I met him

She then asked us:

1) Where we met. We both said online in 2005 (she didn't ask anything further about that).

2) If we had a small, medium or large wedding. We said medium.

She then said, "show me the proof that you are married." As she was so blunt and short in all her questions, I was a little confused as to how much or what to show (I had a massive bag of evidence and three albums), but first I gave her my marriage certificate. And then she said, "anything else?" So I handed over a photo copy of the one credit card we share (both cards), our health insurance, a letter from his company stating I am on his 401K and life insurance, the three leases from the different apartments we have lived in together, and 3 letters from friends and family stating how long they had known us as a couple. We don't have shared bank accounts and we did not do our taxes together, or own a home or car together, but she didn't say anything or seem to mind. We've been married 1.5 years.

She then asked for photos of the wedding. I had this big album prepped with photos of our whole relationship, but she said she just wanted the wedding. So I showed her the few I had selected from that. She flipped through them very quickly.

She asked me to select one photo with both of us facing the camera, for her to keep.

She then asked me all the yes/ no questions on the I-485.

And then she asked if we had any questions. We said no and she looked annoyed. She said we should have questions. So my husband tried to think of something and said, "I guess... where do we go from here?" She then said we should be asking if we were approved. (I didn't ask because I thought she'd tell us! Did not want to be presumptuous....) She then said we had been approved, and took my passport and told us to go back to the waiting room.

After about 10 more minutes I was called up and she gave us my passport with the I-551 stamp. It seemed everyone we saw today was getting the stamp on the spot, which is great.

One mistake I made was that I handed her all originals of our leases and letters and she kept them. I didn't notice until we were out of there, and didn't want to go back in and ask for them back! So now for our removing conditions I will not have the leases from now to show, unless I somehow procure replacements or letters from past landlords.

All in all though, we got it! Quite an unfriendly and hard to read officer, and a long wait, but not too many questions and I am very happy we passed. My TN and my long overstay did not come up at all.

Good luck everyone!!!

[ValerieA 350]

Congratulations!

[hellomms 16]

Congrats and thanks for posting the detailed account of the interview. Very helpful!

May I ask when did you receive the interview letter or the date on it? I am waiting for the letter from NYC (live in Astoria) so hoping that it will come soon!

[fiestagirl 7]

Wow you had the same type of officer I had - completely devoid of any emotion. I also adjusted from a TN (it was still valid until 2012) to a GC via marriage to a USC. I don't think an overstay once married to a USC is something they think is a big deal unless you're on the visa waiver program and have overstayed. BTW I received my GC approx 10 days after the interview.

[leash5 3]

Congrats and thanks for posting the detailed account of the interview. Very helpful!

May I ask when did you receive the interview letter or the date on it? I am waiting for the letter from NYC (live in Astoria) so hoping that it will come soon!

Shoot, I handed in the letter at the appointment. I believe I got it on August 19th, or thereabouts.

Wow you had the same type of officer I had - completely devoid of any emotion. I also adjusted from a TN (it was still valid until 2012) to a GC via marriage to a USC. I don't think an overstay once married to a USC is something they think is a big deal unless you're on the visa waiver program and have overstayed. BTW I received my GC approx 10 days after the interview.

Thanks! The card production has been ordered so I do hope to receive it soon. I have the stamp though, and the EAD card, so I am chill about it!

And yes, devoid of emotion!! SO hard to read.

[leash5 3]

Congrats and thanks for posting the detailed account of the interview. Very helpful!

May I ask when did you receive the interview letter or the date on it? I am waiting for the letter from NYC (live in Astoria) so hoping that it will come soon!

p.s. someone told me to expect the interview letter approximately 2 weeks after my original biometrics appointment scheduled date-- not the walk-in date. And i remember that being fairly correct. Good luck at Federal Plaza! You'll probably get the I-551 stamp on the spot, which is great. But be prepared to wait for the interview (there is a snack machine in the hall)!

[hellomms 16]

p.s. someone told me to expect the interview letter approximately 2 weeks after my original biometrics appointment scheduled date-- not the walk-in date. And i remember that being fairly correct. Good luck at Federal Plaza! You'll probably get the I-551 stamp on the spot, which is great. But be prepared to wait for the interview (there is a snack machine in the hall)!

Interesting! Some people who filed after me have already received their letters, some even from NYC. But I guess 2 weeks is a good benchmark, I'll wait a bit longer. Heard NYC is a bit slower then other offices, I guess probably more busy than others too.

Thanks for the heads up on the wait and vending machine, I definitely would have thought that it'd be a 2 hours ordeal at most but definitely isnt for NYC.

thanks again!

Edited September 22, 2010 by M + M