Washington, DC interview report

[jxn 86]

Hello VisaJourney friends, my wife and I got married in October 2013 and submitted our AoS application in early January 2014. We quickly did her biometrics and she received her EAD in March. Our case has taken much longer than most others, as in October we received our interview notice for November. We just had the interview notice on Tuesday, making it ten months between our priority date and our interview. We are based in Washington, DC, and this city's field office is located in Fairfax, VA.

I am the male USC petitioner and my wife is the female foreign beneficiary, adjusting from a J-1 visa. Before starting our case we received an advisory opinion letter from the State Department stating that she was not subject to the Two-Year Home Residency Requirement and was thus able to adjust status in the U.S. Our case has had no RFEs and is extremely straightforward—no sponsors, no criminal backgrounds, long dating period, very close in age, plenty of co-mingling of assets.

We arrived a few minutes early to our interview and were immediately called in. Our immigration officer led us to her office and had us take the oath. From there we started with very basic details, such as both of us presenting our Washington, DC driver licenses, my wife showing her EAD, and both of us confirming our Social Security number. We confirmed our names, dates of birth, and address. She then asked how we met and my wife and I gave rather detailed responses. The questions were all simple and there were no curveballs. Overall the interview took just under and hour.

She asked to see our marriage certificate since the one I submitted with our application was a temporary one issued electronically before receiving our official one in the mail. At this point she starting setting aside certain documents that she would want to photocopy to add to the file. She asked to see newer documents since she had everything from our initial application. I showed her a letter from our bank indicating that our shared account was in good standing and the date it was opened, as well as our most recent statement. I also showed her our auto insurance cards, the current and previous apartment leases in both our names, and she made a photocopy of the current lease. I brought photocopies of certain documents just to simply remind me I had them on me—mainly ID cards that don't go well into a binder. Rather than ask to see our physical health insurance cards, she was happy to take our notarized copies of those along with our driver licenses.

I had many more documents, but less than halfway through our binder she said that was certainly enough. Had we gone on, I could have showed her the utility bills in both our names, our cell phone bills, receipts for our engagement ring and wedding bands, our joint tax returns, et cetera.

She then asked if we brought photos and my wife proceeded to whip out an album of about 200 pictures, narrating them and explaining where they were and when. This also shows the fact that we travel together frequently, including multiple trips to California, Florida, Nevada, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, and individual trips to many more places, including to three islands in Hawaii for our wedding. The interviewer herself was very procedural, neutral, and hard to read, but despite that she was friendly and professional. She did seem most interested in the photos, and I must say they really do show the bona fide nature of our relationship. Many photos included my wife at my family's home for the holidays over the years, too.

After this, she started to talk about the timeframes and procedures, and I was a bit taken aback because she said I could request an InfoPass appointment if I don't hear anything after 90-120 days. She explained how it can take time to review the case and that it has to be run by a manager. I didn't want to challenge her, as the IO has complete discretion, but I knew that managers didn't necessarily have to approve a case. In fact, every single couple friend I have that went through this got instant approval. I happily asked if there was anything else I could show to enter into the file before wrapping up since we had gone through approximately half of what I had prepared, and she said that everything looked good and in order and that they certainly had enough information to make a decision soon.

She handed us a "Notice of Interview Results" letter that stated "Your case is being held for review." It reads,

Your case is being held for review. At this time, USCIS does not require any further information or documents from you. Should further information or documents be required, you will receive a notice in the mail. We may also schedule you for another interview at some point. Otherwise, a final decision will be mailed once your case in complete."

I wanted to ask about on-the-spot approval but wasn't sure if it would be appropriate or not. I was dumbfounded for the rest of the day, and my lawyer admitted that he was shocked—he said he was fully expecting an instant approval. Another friend of mine who adjusted status last month with his wife told me that newer IOs don't have the authority to do instant approvals and must run everything by a manager—he suggested that the interviewer may be new and simply didn't want to mention the fact that she didn't have the power to make an instant approval.

We are back to the waiting game now—it's been over twenty-four hours since our interview so it's not like our interviewer was simply waiting for us to leave the building before approving our case on her computer. We've been playing the waiting game for so long, and having the likely prospect of an instant approval closer and closer was so relieving. With our non-decision, I'm feeling stressed out and confused, as I personally think we did a fantastic job demonstrating the the true nature of our relationship. Does anyone have personal experience with this? Have people received approvals within a few days of the "held for review" decision? I searched the forums and saw that some people had house visits to verify their marriage—I would welcome this in an instant but I balk at thinking about how long it takes for that to process.

I should add that the IO wanted to confirm my wife's initial PoE and entry date. Once we confirmed that, she asked if that was also the most recent entry date, and my wife added that she went home for a brief vacation several years ago, so we flipped open her old passport and told her the latest date of entry. The IO wanted to know the port of entry as well and it was too faded for us to read, but the officer said she could easily look it up after the interview. Also, my wife was disappointed in me for not being my lovey-dovey self and resting my hand on her leg or rubbing her back, as I would often do in public. What can I say?—my focus was on the interviewer and showing our documents. I also felt in the back of my head that being my genuine sweet self with my wife could inadvertently come off as "fake," and now my wife is concerned my actions had the opposite effect and that the interviewer may have read us as too cold and thus had an (incorrect) gut feeling that we're not legitimate.

We've had some time to settle after the interview, and I genuinely still feel that we did a great job. In retrospect, I wish I could have continued flipping through our joint documents even after the officer had said that it was enough, just to erase any possible doubt. I'll also add that the interview talked about the RoC process, and how since we've been married for less than two years that a conditional green card would be issued for two years. This was earlier in the interview, so I understood she was just explaining the overall procedure without indicating if we were approved or not. It strikes me as odd that she would go into the RoC process in detail, and then at the end of the interview not even indicate if she was planning on approving us our not. My hope is that the difficulty in reading her is just that—a reflection on her neutral personality and not on our interview itself.

My apologies for the long post, but I wanted to get out as much as I could and explain in fine detail how our process was. I understand a lot of people will want to chime in saying "It could be one day, it could be one year," but I'm really looking for specific knowledge about the interview procedure and rules (is it indeed possible that we weren't approved because new hires can't do so without managerial review?) and personal experiences from couples who went through the same "held for review" process. Thanks!

Edited November 5, 2014 by jxn

[KDMG12 9]

I certainly have no experience to add. Just my most sincere condolences. Please keep us updated. We hit the 5-month mark on Thursday with still no news of an interview. I can't imagine waiting that long for an interview and hitting yet another speed bump. Stay strong!

[NeverGiveUp 1]

I had an interview on the Sept. 17th,I-130 was approved same day,I-485 is still pending.Did not receive any paper during/after interview.I was told up to 90 days for decision.

[hellostranger57 18]

Yes, same thing happened to us. We waited for 2 weeks after the interview before I received an email update saying that my card was already in production.

It sucks that they say that it could take up to 120 days (that's what they told us) but you can really just hope for the best. I hope you guys get your approval soon! The wait is almost done!

[jxn 86]

This afternoon we received an email from USCIS saying card production has been ordered. We've been approved!

That marks eight days since our interview, and five business days from the interview considering that yesterday was Veterans Day. So that was very much in line with the waiting timeframe that many other VisaJourney members who didn't receive instant approval went through.

It sounds most people receive the green card approximately seven to ten days from the acceptance notification? We're looking forward to receiving it later this month, updating my wife's Social Security card to remove the restrictive text, and being done with the process for two years as we wait for RoC!

[KDMG12 9]

This afternoon we received an email from USCIS saying card production has been ordered. We've been approved!

That marks eight days since our interview, and five business days from the interview considering that yesterday was Veterans Day. So that was very much in line with the waiting timeframe that many other VisaJourney members who didn't receive instant approval went through.

It sounds most people receive the green card approximately seven to ten days from the acceptance notification? We're looking forward to receiving it later this month, updating my wife's Social Security card to remove the restrictive text, and being done with the process for two years as we wait for RoC!

Congrats!!!

[CdnRN 40]

This afternoon we received an email from USCIS saying card production has been ordered. We've been approved!

That marks eight days since our interview, and five business days from the interview considering that yesterday was Veterans Day. So that was very much in line with the waiting timeframe that many other VisaJourney members who didn't receive instant approval went through.

It sounds most people receive the green card approximately seven to ten days from the acceptance notification? We're looking forward to receiving it later this month, updating my wife's Social Security card to remove the restrictive text, and being done with the process for two years as we wait for RoC!

Congratulations! I think a solid week or more would be good, though I think the USCIS says a month. I had my interview and was approved on the spot and got my card 8 days later. With Veterans Day also happening. 18 months of downtime, with added evidence collecting of course...