AOS interview...I-130 petition approved; no decision on AOS...

[f&c 50]

My wife and I had our AOS interview today (06/12/2014) in Atlanta. We arrived with our 21 month old daughter at 1:30 for our 2:30 interview, but waited until 2:00 to go inside where our lawyer was waiting. After going through security, we were not allowed to check in until 2:15. Our lawyer spoke with a few of the IOs and told him they had 240 interviews scheduled today and 18 officers working. At one point during the day, they were backed up by 3 hours. Our lawyer also predicted that it would be unlikely we receive a decision today, because of my wife's entry circumstances.

At 3:40 (70 min delay) we we called back for our interview. The officer was professional and courteous without much small talk. He began by asking for our IDs and looked at originals of some of our documents. He took every piece of documentation showing proof of my wife's Canadian Permanment Residency along with our 2013 tax returns and relationship proof. He was impressed with our preperation and took a look at our photo album. He said people put a lot of work into their albums, so he feels obligated to look at them.

The IO then asked how we met and how our relationship developed followed by the basic form questions. He then asked my wife about the circumstances surrounding her entry into the US, which understandably was the focus of the interview. The officer then asked my wife the standard form questions.

The IO approved our I-130 petition and said it is obvious to him that our relationship is real, however he could not approve the I-485 today, because of lack of proof of entry. He said that he has to take our file to a supervisor and "run it up the chain." He said that he undertands how people are waved through at the Canadian border and lack proof of entry and believes my wife's account. He will check with CBP and see if he can obtain something from them. I really got the impression that he wanted to approve us on the spot, but could not.

My lawyer is familiar with this IO and said that he doesn't let things sit on his desk for long, so hopefully we get a decision within a few weeks. We were a bit bummed out (especially my wife), but we'll just have to wait a little while longer. At least we are waiting together. The interview itself was not bad at all. Even though we have an attorney, we learned a lot from VJ members. It definitley helped us with our preperation. I really appreciate VJ and its members. Back to the waiting game!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Good job f&c! Hope it works out for you. Thanks for the update.

[f&c 50]

Good job f&c! Hope it works out for you. Thanks for the update.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

[f&c 50]

This evening at 5:14, we received notification that my wife's AOS has been approved and the card is already in the mail. It took less than a week after our interview to get our issue resolved. We are relieved and ecstatic. We appreciate everyone's well wishes. Thank you!

[Teddy B 17,251]

That's great news Frank, congrats!

[f&c 50]

That's great news Frank, congrats!

Thank you! Such a relief!

[f&c 50]

My wife received her Green Card shortly after noon today. The date on the card shows 06/13/2014, which means they actually approved us the day after our interview, even though the IO said it may take week to months. It took 8 days (6 business days) to receive the card after interview. Such a long road for us. We are overjoyed!