Interview Advice: BRING EVERYTHING!

[Ian H. 207]

When you submit the originals to the NVC, you don't need them again for the interview because everything sent to the NVC is forwarded to the embassy.

I'm not sure about the second one, but the financial support docs that were sent to the NVC would also be there at the embassy for the interview, unless your situation changed from when you got case complete from the NVC, i.e. got a new joint sponsor.

Question for you guys - do you bring original copies to the interview or copies of original documents??? What I am reading says original documents need to be submitted to NVC. . . but then it says original documents need to be submitted at the interview. Can't have it both ways obviously, so which is recommended???????

Secondly, when people are saying the interviewee brought tax statements - is this tax statements of the petitioner or what?

[dhlunar 25]

When you submit the originals to the NVC, you don't need them again for the interview because everything sent to the NVC is forwarded to the embassy.

I'm not sure about the second one, but the financial support docs that were sent to the NVC would also be there at the embassy for the interview, unless your situation changed from when you got case complete from the NVC, i.e. got a new joint sponsor.

The original post is in regards to the citizenship interview at a USCIS office here in the US. This case doesn't deal with NVC.

[noxiusa 4]

When I went for the interview the officer asked me what basis I was filing under. I told her marriage to a citizen (3 years). She asked, why don't you file under the 5 year clause, so I pointed out that it's only been 4 years since I received my green card.. After she figured this out by counting on her fingers she agreed and asked me what proof I have. So I showed her the original marriage certificate and his birth certificate. (I actually mailed in another original marriage certificate with my application but I guess that went into some file somewhere and will never see the light of day.) That was enough for her and she moved on to asking civics questions.

What the interviewing officer did with your husband is very unfair and I'd be mad as hell too.. Sounds like your officer is either having a bad day or is just a jerk. >_>

I'm sure once you send in all the papers they will let things move along and you can put this all behind you. Hang in there, you're almost done!!

[Ian H. 207]

I am aware the the OP was talking about the citizenship interview, but the post was answering another person's question about the NVC.

The original post is in regards to the citizenship interview at a USCIS office here in the US. This case doesn't deal with NVC.

[gap1 21]

When I went for the interview the officer asked me what basis I was filing under. I told her marriage to a citizen (3 years). She asked, why don't you file under the 5 year clause, so I pointed out that it's only been 4 years since I received my green card.. After she figured this out by counting on her fingers she agreed and asked me what proof I have. So I showed her the original marriage certificate and his birth certificate. (I actually mailed in another original marriage certificate with my application but I guess that went into some file somewhere and will never see the light of day.) That was enough for her and she moved on to asking civics questions.

What the interviewing officer did with your husband is very unfair and I'd be mad as hell too.. Sounds like your officer is either having a bad day or is just a jerk. >_>

I'm sure once you send in all the papers they will let things move along and you can put this all behind you. Hang in there, you're almost done!!

My husband said the officer didn't ask him for anything on the 'documentation needed' list they gave us to prepare for the interview. When my husband asked him if he needed our tax documentation (as it was on the freakin' letter!!) he replied with "Nope, I already have all of that right here!" Then he acted surprised when my husband didn't have our financial records and leases, when it wasn't even requested! I honestly think the person processing our N-400 made a mistake when creating our documentation list and wrote down what we already submitted versus what they wanted to see. It's the only explanation. At any rate, I am just really annoyed. I don't mess up the paperwork, I never have for this entire process. I read the instructions meticulously and cross reference at every step of the way.

I know it could be much worse, but I'm just eager to be done with it all.

[slangofoil 50]

That blows. I hope you get your approval soon.

[Tom_Jim 40]

Best of luck. It looks like you're doing everything right. The end is near. Hang tight.

All this paper gathering does get so old, so fast...and the whole process lasts such a long time. My sympathies, gosh. But thanks very much for the heads-up.

Cry me a river. You could be in Liberia right now. What does one expect BUT paper gathering for getting US CITIZENSHIP.

[Ortolan 381]

Of course you have to get a lot of paperwork together. And it does get old fast.

Just acknowledging support and the lack of receipt of a comprehensive list of what to bring, which is what the OP was upset about. And very glad I'm not in Liberia.

[gap1 21]

Cry me a river. You could be in Liberia right now. What does one expect BUT paper gathering for getting US CITIZENSHIP.

Right, and we could all be starving, or we could be dying from the plague, or we could be enslaved....does that mean no one is allowed to complain about anything ever? Everything could always be worse.

Yes, you expect to gather paperwork to become a citizen of a country, but it becomes increasingly infuriating when there is no logic to the system. This has been four years now of submitting the same stuff over and over again (registered copy here, in duplicate there, don't sign here and make sure you notarize this initial there, oh and we'll need another $1k for the 15th biometrics appointment, you know, in case my husband's fingerprints changed in the last year) and it's obvious the immigration departments do not speak to each other or even reference a centralized database when looking through the files. A database probably doesn't even exist.

I have provided the so-called 'missing' documents that are currently delaying our case countless times on prior forms and packets, yet because we didn't produce them AGAIN when we weren't even asked to bring them to the interview in the first place, they were not yet able to approve him at the interview. It gets to the point where I feel like they're just making up the rules as they go along based on how they feel that day.

Edited October 17, 2014 by gap1

[Ian H. 207]

I agree with all of your points. This is why I hate bureaucracies. It's the same things over and over again. At least here they only require photocopies and don't typically keep the originals, which just adds more expense.

In my country, all civil docs expire and you need a new one for every little thing, you need one each year to register for school, you need one to get an ID, you need one for a passport, etc instead of using the one copy you have for everything.

I think that so much paperwork, is highly unnecessary when most things can be verified electronically now a days. Why do you need to see my marriage certificate again? I wouldn't be in the country based on a marriage to a USC if I didn't already show it once. The fingerprints too, what's up with that? Any crime you committed previously would show up anyway.

We need a major overhaul of all of these government agencies, my biggest peeve is the IRS. Why does it have to be so complicated to figure out how much you owe the government? Rant over lol

[aurora07 6]

My husband had his interview today, but they can't yet approve him because they wanted copies of our joint account statements and leases. They did not mention this ANYWHERE in the document list on the letter, not to mention, we've submitted this to them countless times on the other applications. How can they not approve us for something they didn't even say they needed??? I'm fuming angry right now.

I just wanted to post here to warn people to bring everything, even if they don't say it's needed. He went in with only the documents listed on the letter: Green card, passport, tax statements for the last 3 years, both birth certificates, and our marriage certificate. Nope, apparently we have to be mind readers.

Hopefully this only delays us slightly. We are getting it all to them tomorrow, but why do I have a feeling this will take forever to sort out? If they wanted to see it, why the #### wouldn't they ask for it on the letter???

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience and I hope you get your approval soon.

As for the USCIS not mentioning that they need it, I clearly remember reading on the second page of the Interview Notice that if you are applying based on marriage to a US Citizen, you should bring proof of bonafide marriage like joint bank statements, insurance, leases, birth certificates, etc. I believe this is a generic reminder that comes with all Interview letters.

The yellow letter that I previously received did not even mention any of those things. My yellow letter just asked me to bring my State ID and payment plan with IRS. Two nights before my interview, I made sure to reread the INterview letter and that's when I started getting all the necessary docs.

On another note, my husband and I do not have joint bank accounts and it was not a problem.

Goodluck!

[Virginian61 1]

Thanks for the warning about this Gap1. We are just getting ready to submit the N400 and I'm wondering how much documentation they want.

You say they asked for bank accounts and leases. What are they trying to establish?? That your marriage is valid? Or that you are continuously residing in the US?

Very strange! Best of luck!