AOS interview experience in Albany, NY (approved)

[tenshiswife 1]

Interview experience ( adjustment of status from B2 visa)

I will try my best to write as detail as possible and i hope this can help other memebers.

Came to USA with a B2 visa. I-94 expired on Mar 17, 2010 but only filed for AOS on Nov 8 , 2010.

Both me and my husband wear smartly (as if we are going for job interview)

Interview appointment: 9.15 am on Feb 14, 2010

Reach Albany office at 8.50am. Going through security check with no problems. Cellphones are not allow. They are super strict with this.

We hand over the bag of our documents/evidences with the interview letter to the security guard. By 9am we were seated at the waiting area.

We were call in by the IO at 9.45am. He is tall and very smart looking. We got into his room and was reunited with our bags of documents. We were told to raised our right hand and sworn in.

We were seated right in front of him. IO explained that the interview can be long or short. There is no specific time for it. He started by asking for my passport and my husband's ID. He then removed the I-94 and place my passport at the side of his table. He immediately return the photos i submitted when i sent in the application. He then asked when and how me and my husband met. I told the IO our story and the main reason we got together because we have a lot in common. My husband added that also because i love Motown. IO then asked me which Motown group i like the most which i answered The Supremes and The Temptations. IO replied he like The Temptations too.

He then explained that he have to asked those questions because they are alot of people fake the marriage in order to get a greencard. We nodded and agreed with what he said. He then asked if we have any lease agreement, bank statements or pictures that we can show him. I showed him our Sprint family plan bills where it have both of my name and my husband's name. The National Grid bills, and our joint checking account statement. I even showed him the medical bill i got from Albany Medical Center that was address to me ( this is to prove i stay in the same apartment with my husband) I then showed him our photo album. We only have 1 photo album ( about 150 pics). IO wanted to see our wedding pictures and pictures with our friends. We explained that we only got married in Albany city hall and my only friend is staying in Arizona. We also explained that we dont have any wedding reception yet because we are planning 1 for 2012 in Penang, Malaysia. He then took our wedding pictures and make a copy of it. I told him he can keep the rest of the national grid, sprint and bank statements. My husband also explained that he was unable to put in my name in the insurance because i have yet to have my SSA.

Then he explained a lot of the process is redundant but he still need to go through the forms 1 by 1. He started of with form I-130. Double check our details. Then he said he will approved the I-130 because he believe that we are in bonafide marriage.

He then proceeded to check the I-693 ( the medical).After I-693, he proceeded in checking the Affidavit of Support ( I-864). He was looking at my husband pay stub and an excel table i did to show him how much my husband made in 1 year because he have 2 jobs and we barely make it to the poverty line. He looked at the table for a quite sometimes and then he asked if we have the latest W2. I gave him copies of my husband W2.

He then check the I-485. He check our particulars like address, phone number, parents name and ask the those terrorist questions. Which i answered seriously. He then told us he will approve the I-485 because he really believe that we are in bonafide marriage.

He then explained to us about Removal of Condition and when we should file it. Told us to be very careful with the filing dates. Even though it saids we can file as early as 90 days before the expiration of the 2 years condition greencard, it is best to file 60days before expire instead of 90 days. Reason being is that, he is afraid if we file 90 days before the expiration date, we might miscalculate the days. if we send in 91 days before expiration, USCIS will denial it and we wont be able to get the fees back.

He also explained that we got the condition permanent resident because we only married less than 2 years. He then stress again because alot of people faking marriage for greencard, hence this is necessary so that USCIS will know that we are still married after 2 years.

Explain to us that we can apply citizenship 3 years from now if i want to.

He then told me that i will be expecting my greencard in the mail approximately 10 days from today.

The whole process took approximately 45 minutes. 90% of the time, the IO was checking our application forms and counter check with us to make sure it is correct. The whole process was very relaxing. No funny business or intimidating questions.

We leave the place with a big smile and happy that this part of the journey is over. We are very happy and grateful for all the members in this forum that help us and supported us through this journey.

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

[FinnAlb 0]

Thank you so much for posting this! I have only recently filed my aos package, and the interview part is still very unclear to me. So thank you for being so detailed! And congratulations on getting accepted!

I am also in Albany, so we will be going to the same place as you did.

Edited February 15, 2011 by Mauzki

[TJLove 0]

Congrats!!!!!!!!

Albany is my local office as well. Thanks for the report.

[pixie77 2]

Congrats!!!!!

[Daniel B 0]

Interview experience ( adjustment of status from B2 visa)

I will try my best to write as detail as possible and i hope this can help other memebers.

Came to USA with a B2 visa. I-94 expired on Mar 17, 2010 but only filed for AOS on Nov 8 , 2010.

Both me and my husband wear smartly (as if we are going for job interview)

Interview appointment: 9.15 am on Feb 14, 2010

Reach Albany office at 8.50am. Going through security check with no problems. Cellphones are not allow. They are super strict with this.

We hand over the bag of our documents/evidences with the interview letter to the security guard. By 9am we were seated at the waiting area.

We were call in by the IO at 9.45am. He is tall and very smart looking. We got into his room and was reunited with our bags of documents. We were told to raised our right hand and sworn in.

We were seated right in front of him. IO explained that the interview can be long or short. There is no specific time for it. He started by asking for my passport and my husband's ID. He then removed the I-94 and place my passport at the side of his table. He immediately return the photos i submitted when i sent in the application. He then asked when and how me and my husband met. I told the IO our story and the main reason we got together because we have a lot in common. My husband added that also because i love Motown. IO then asked me which Motown group i like the most which i answered The Supremes and The Temptations. IO replied he like The Temptations too.

He then explained that he have to asked those questions because they are alot of people fake the marriage in order to get a greencard. We nodded and agreed with what he said. He then asked if we have any lease agreement, bank statements or pictures that we can show him. I showed him our Sprint family plan bills where it have both of my name and my husband's name. The National Grid bills, and our joint checking account statement. I even showed him the medical bill i got from Albany Medical Center that was address to me ( this is to prove i stay in the same apartment with my husband) I then showed him our photo album. We only have 1 photo album ( about 150 pics). IO wanted to see our wedding pictures and pictures with our friends. We explained that we only got married in Albany city hall and my only friend is staying in Arizona. We also explained that we dont have any wedding reception yet because we are planning 1 for 2012 in Penang, Malaysia. He then took our wedding pictures and make a copy of it. I told him he can keep the rest of the national grid, sprint and bank statements. My husband also explained that he was unable to put in my name in the insurance because i have yet to have my SSA.

Then he explained a lot of the process is redundant but he still need to go through the forms 1 by 1. He started of with form I-130. Double check our details. Then he said he will approved the I-130 because he believe that we are in bonafide marriage.

He then proceeded to check the I-693 ( the medical).After I-693, he proceeded in checking the Affidavit of Support ( I-864). He was looking at my husband pay stub and an excel table i did to show him how much my husband made in 1 year because he have 2 jobs and we barely make it to the poverty line. He looked at the table for a quite sometimes and then he asked if we have the latest W2. I gave him copies of my husband W2.

He then check the I-485. He check our particulars like address, phone number, parents name and ask the those terrorist questions. Which i answered seriously. He then told us he will approve the I-485 because he really believe that we are in bonafide marriage.

He then explained to us about Removal of Condition and when we should file it. Told us to be very careful with the filing dates. Even though it saids we can file as early as 90 days before the expiration of the 2 years condition greencard, it is best to file 60days before expire instead of 90 days. Reason being is that, he is afraid if we file 90 days before the expiration date, we might miscalculate the days. if we send in 91 days before expiration, USCIS will denial it and we wont be able to get the fees back.

He also explained that we got the condition permanent resident because we only married less than 2 years. He then stress again because alot of people faking marriage for greencard, hence this is necessary so that USCIS will know that we are still married after 2 years.

Explain to us that we can apply citizenship 3 years from now if i want to.

He then told me that i will be expecting my greencard in the mail approximately 10 days from today.

The whole process took approximately 45 minutes. 90% of the time, the IO was checking our application forms and counter check with us to make sure it is correct. The whole process was very relaxing. No funny business or intimidating questions.

We leave the place with a big smile and happy that this part of the journey is over. We are very happy and grateful for all the members in this forum that help us and supported us through this journey.

I want to start by saying congrats on yalls journey. I have a couple questions for you. My fiance, soon to be wife on March 5, is here on a B-2 visa. After we get married, what forms should I file right then to start our process for her AOS?

[tenshiswife 1]

Thank you everybody for the wonderful wishes. I really appreciate it.

Daniel B,

First, Congratulation to you and your wife.

Second, to answer your question,

We file for I-130 ( together with G-325A), I -485 ( together with G-325A,I-693( medical) and I-864( affidavit of support), I-131 (optional) and I-765 (optional) and G-1145 (for notification on our status).

We also had our medical exam done as well before we start filing.

this is the link i followed when i start my AOS journey. You can always message me if you have any question. I will try my best to answer and help you but bear with me.. my english is not good.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

Good luck

[FinnAlb 0]

We had our interview yesterday 4/25 also in Albany, NY and everything went for the most part the same way as tenshiswife explained. Basically, the IO just asked us to briefly explain how we met and our history, after which we showed our car insurance, credit cards, wedding pictures, joint bank accounts and such things. He took photocopies of them and said that he believes that we have a bona fide relationship and that we just have to go over the paperwork to make sure everything is right in there.

The situation was very calm and relaxed. The IO was very warm and explained right in the beginning that we have to do the interview simply because every now and then people have fraudulent marriages to get into the country. He also tried to relax the situation with little jokes and asking about the weather and things like that, which was nice.

So, overall not a scary situation at all. Our application was approved, and I should receive the GC shortly .

Also, if there are other people in Albany, who are going to get their biometrics done. If you want to go earlier than your scheduled time, they have walk-in time on Wednesdays.

Thank you everybody for all the help in here. I really appreciate it! Thanks to these forums and a lot of research, we didn't need to waste money on a lawyer.

[Little_My 463]

Congrats! I will be interviewing in NYC eventually (though not probably until August the earliest), but it's always nice to read other people's experiences. Question - did you provide them with your Finnish BC with translation, or just the population extract (väestörekisteriote)? I have both, but just sent the latter one with the AOS.

Again, congratulations!

[FinnAlb 0]

Congrats! I will be interviewing in NYC eventually (though not probably until August the earliest), but it's always nice to read other people's experiences. Question - did you provide them with your Finnish BC with translation, or just the population extract (väestörekisteriote)? I have both, but just sent the latter one with the AOS.

Thanks . I only had the extract, since I have no idea where my birth certificate is. He was a little surprised about it, since it wasn't on an actual letter head or anything, just a plain copy with a stamp. But he didn't really give us a hard time because of it. But always better if you have both.

Let me know if you have any questions. I'm glad to help, even though you probably don't have much more to do if you already submitted the application..

[Newport 0]

I had my interview yesterday in Albany, NY. My interview went well and exactly the way how it's described here in this thread. So I am so glad that I read this thread before my interview. So I truly appreciate that people post their interview experience here! Thank you very much. Now I'm waiting for my card!!!