Thank You, Visa Journey!

[sdadams 8]

We had our I-485 approved today, and I cannot thank all of you on Visa Journey enough.

No one understood the "alphabet soup" of RFEs, NOAs, or Biometrics I'd answer when some innocent friend or family member asked how the visa process was going. But you guys did. You were here to remind me I was not insane. From the panicked EEK! Do I Have Everything? posts to the encouragement when we'd hadn't heard things in weeks... You all were the only ones who really understood what we were going through.

Thank you, good luck & see you in about a year and a half!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Congrats!

[Zedayn 485]

Congrats!

[QueenComley 295]

congratulations!!!!!!

[RiverDeep 7]

Congratulations! I've been looking for experiences for those who had their interview in the Fairfax, VA location.

What was your interview experience like? The behavior of the IO?

Please share if you don't mind. Which visa did you adjust from?

Congratulations Again!!

[Erica & L 50]

Congratulations!!

[Terry J 50]

Congratulations and I love the dog pic

[Ben10 2]

We had our I-485 approved today, and I cannot thank all of you on Visa Journey enough.

No one understood the "alphabet soup" of RFEs, NOAs, or Biometrics I'd answer when some innocent friend or family member asked how the visa process was going. But you guys did. You were here to remind me I was not insane. From the panicked EEK! Do I Have Everything? posts to the encouragement when we'd hadn't heard things in weeks... You all were the only ones who really understood what we were going through.

Thank you, good luck & see you in about a year and a half!

Congrat....

May we have a little story of how your interview was?

Thank you.

[sdadams 8]

We can definitely share-- I'm mostly copy/pasting this from my husband (WinstonsDad) who posted this in our November2013 group thread. He was the beneficiary and was adjusting from a student visa.

Our interview was at the DC office in Fairfax, VA (a 10-minute walk from Dunn-Loring Metro Station, (it was not 5 mins as stated on the website - which makes a big difference when it's snowing ). Also, for other DC filers, the website says there is limited parking around the office. There is actually ample parking, including a car park right next to the USCIS office!

We arrived just after 9am for our 9.20am appointment, and we were eventually called back by the case officer at 9.35am, and we were done by 9:55am. We'd brought copies of everything we had sent in previously, as well as further proof - insurance details, joint bank account statements, utility bills, our wedding invitation, wedding pics and even a copy of a newspaper feature article about our wedding. The officer asked us questions about each other - name, date of birth, where we met, if we had been married previously and whether we had done this before. I was then asked a few of the security questions which I'd answered on the forms before: if I'd been involved in any illegal activities, drugs convictions, weapons training, if I'd been in a military unit, that sort of thing. It was all rather straightforward - nothing particularly difficult.

After that, the officer seemed satisfied that our marriage was bona fide and said he was 'probably' going to approve us today, barring any criminal activity (like if I was wanted by Interpol...). He told us that we should expect the green card in 3 weeks, but we asked if it was possible to get a stamp in my passport in case I need to leave the country before that (I may have a work trip coming up). He told us he could do that now if we didn't mind waiting, so we did. We went back into the waiting room, and about 10 minutes later (I was halfway through an apple!) he came out with my freshly-stamped passport!

I hope people find this helpful - I guess my top tips for the interview based on my experience is to ask for your passport stamp, and also to possibly get your marriage mentioned in your local US newspaper, even if it is just an announcement. He also recommended we keep continuous proof that we live together, for the renewal process in 1.5 years.... electricity bills, leases, etc.

Hope this helps!

Edited February 26, 2014 by sdadams

[Ben10 2]

We can definitely share-- I'm mostly copy/pasting this from my husband (WinstonsDad) who posted this in our November2013 group thread. He was the beneficiary and was adjusting from a student visa.

Hope this helps!

Very interesting story. Thanks