Jump to content
spacemanspiff

I-485 AOS interview was today!

 Share

1 post in this topic

Recommended Posts

To all that previously helped on my few short questions - before I took legal advice - thank you. Your words spurred me to find a lawyer and have a few questions answered. They also helped ensure my forms were filled and filed correctly.

It's been a long few months since my wife (US Citizen) and I (UK) filed for AOS (I-485/785/131 and I-130) in March. I was here on VWP, and admittedly - obviously - somewhat doubtful about the process of AOS from VWP. This fear was put to rest by two immigration lawyers here in Baltimore. One is a friend, and so I didn't want to bother them too much, but they showed me proof of previous precedent for this being okay, and the other helped me get my forms together for a fee of about $150. He offered further advice once I remembered (insert oh sh*t moment here) that I'd been arrested a few times, but at $300/hr for further interviews I declined. I didn't have time to get the police report before filing, so wrote down accounts of what happened, and sent them off with the packet.

So while filing, I detailed the whys and hows of each stupid arrest, and the fact I'd received a caution for one, been charged for another, but never received any further information.

In August, after months of USPS being absolute failures at delivering post in Baltimore City, I had my biometrics appointment. My EAD/AP card came days later in the mail. Shortly afterwards, a letter for the I-485 interview was sent.

We spent a month collecting and collating things: phone logs, photos, joint asset and insurance proof, employment proofs, and so on. The final bundle - excluding photo albums - was over 300 pages. Better to be over prepared, right?

Today, we got up super-early, made coffee and breakfast, and headed downtown. After finding the garage below the Federal Building, we headed in and joined the line, about half an hour before our 8am interview. The line was long but the wait was short. We were in in about ten minutes, waiting for our names to be called. At 8:00 exactly, a young woman came out and called my name while smiling. The precedence of the warm friendly smile continued for the length of the interview.

After the oath and initial questions (my date of birth for her, hers for me etc), we had a few jokes exchanged. She looked through our photos and let out a squee or two at our wedding/reception pictures. After checking our joint asset proof, she asked me the I-485 questions. "Have you ever been arrested?" came up. Obviously. So I explained the last one, which she admitted she'd been a little confused about, so I explained in detail. Laughs were had, and I showed her my UK Police Certificate, showing the wonderful two words "NO TRACE" in bold capitals on the single sheet (meaning the UK Police actually haven't a single record of the three arrests (the last one was five years ago)). After a quick scarper to her supervisor's office to make sure it was all okay, she told us we were definitely, obviously in a legitimate marriage (apparently, it shows!) and that I'd receive the Permanent Residency/Green Card (2yr conditional) in 14-28 days. She even accepted the wife's parents address for delivery of it to make sure I received it in a timely manner.

We were led out to the waiting room while she took photocopies of our state IDs/driving licenses and my EAD/AP. After a few minutes she shook our hands and handed our cards back, and congratulated us.

A feeling of relief it's all done with for the next two years came over us as we walked back to the parking lot, happiness that we can move on and have less stress in our lives as we look towards possibly moving and heading down the path towards starting a family. I realised my heart was beating like crazy, and had been all through the interview - but it was more that the coffee I'd brewed was so strong it was more like soup.

This afternoon, text messages arrived to say my I-485 was in the 'card production' stage!

So again, thank you to those who helped me previously. And thanks to everyone for a great forum with a lot of answers already recorded.

But, one last question: considering my I-785, I-131 and now I-485 have all been approved, when can we expect movement away from "initial review" for the I-130?

*sits back with a beer, feels properly relaxed for the first time in six months*

Edited by spacemanspiff
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Ask our VJ Immigration Lawyers.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
- Back to Top -

Important Disclaimer: Please read carefully the Visajourney.com Terms of Service. If you do not agree to the Terms of Service you should not access or view any page (including this page) on VisaJourney.com. Answers and comments provided on Visajourney.com Forums are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Visajourney.com does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. VisaJourney.com does not condone immigration fraud in any way, shape or manner. VisaJourney.com recommends that if any member or user knows directly of someone involved in fraudulent or illegal activity, that they report such activity directly to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You can contact ICE via email at Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov or you can telephone ICE at 1-866-347-2423. All reported threads/posts containing reference to immigration fraud or illegal activities will be removed from this board. If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by contacting us here with a url link to that content. Thank you.
“;}
×
×
  • Create New...