August 2017 AOS Filers, Part II

[Canelita 166]

5 hours ago, Phoenix Filer said:

Hi Canelita,

Congrats!

Mine was also scheduled on February 20, but I haven't received a paper notice to see when the interview is. I also called them and they said they did not even mail one out for me yet. Have you received your notice regarding the interview?

My PD is 08-29-2017 by the way.

 

Printed out the same application that we originally submitted, documented changes in work/places live and preparing additional evidence of cohabitation and financial co-mingling as they put it.  

I am glad for you too I think my notice came in the mail in the day 7th after receiving the text notification. My interview is March 20th I'm preparing I got my medical exam done envelop ready to take it, my doctor had it in 4 days, now  we will do our taxes .

[Phoenix Filer 24]

18 minutes ago, Canelita said:

I am glad for you too I think my notice came in the mail in the day 7th after receiving the text notification. My interview is March 20th I'm preparing I got my medical exam done envelop ready to take it, my doctor had it in 4 days, now  we will do our taxes .

Good to know, thanks! Best of luck! I am pretty much ready as well, just trying to finish bona fide documentation. 

[SerendipityMuse 24]

We just had the interview today! It went well. Detailed account below (long), in the hope that it may help those still waiting prepare for the interview and reduce their nervousness. TL;DR - standard interview, approval to follow shortly. 

 

We got to the USCIS office in San Francisco, went through security similar to the airport (show ID, put your shoes, belt, and everything in your pockets in a bin, metal detector, etc.), then got checked in.

 

An officer called for us about 15-20 mins past our scheduled time. She was a senior officer, very buttoned up and professional, very stoic. She took us to her office, swore us in, then started with my husband, the US citizen. She verified his name, date and place of birth, parents, current address, occupation (he's a student so was asked the name of his school, his major, and year of graduation). She then asked questions about his ex-wife - her name, whether she was a US citizen, and why they split up. 

 

When it came to me, she asked very similar questions plus others related to the visa on which I entered the US and when was my last entry, and we updated some employment information in the form. My current organization's name is a mouthful so we had a laugh about that, and the officer started to warm up. Then she asked me all the yes / no questions one by one (long list), and complained about how the list is getting longer and longer and she has to repeat it multiple times a day, so we had another laugh. Once that was done, she gave the forms to our lawyer to review and then we signed them.

 

She then asked questions about relationships. She started by asking my husband "so, tell me about your wife" to which he responded with a total deer-in-the-headlights look, lol. She helped him by asking how we met, so he ended up telling the story of our first year together. She asked him whether he met my parents, who attended our wedding, and whether we had a honeymoon. She asked me if I met his parents, then she asked if we had common assets so I gave her copies of our joint tax return, joint bank accounts, life and medical insurance, print-outs showing we are each other's emergency contacts at work, and joint bills. 

 

Finally, she said that she will verify all the evidence, but if all checks out she will recommend us for approval. So we got out of there smiling widely and went for a celebratory lunch! I hope the official approval comes soon. 

 

A few learnings -

- Remember to bring the interview invitation letter, our lawyer said that some people forget to bring it and can't get to their appointment!

- Be focused but relaxed, most officers are professional and positive, not adversarial. If you can help warm up and lighten up the atmosphere, do it!

- The interview lasts about 20-25 mins.

- If you have new information, disclose it so it can be included in the form. 

- Be over-prepared. I had a beautiful binder with copies of basically all our life organized by sections, which came in handy when she asked us for evidence of common assets. The common assets seem to be the most important pieces of evidence you can bring - she didn't even glance at the photo album I had spent hours lovingly putting together!

- Bring originals of your ID, EAD, and passport.

- Our lawyer said that generally officers pass the file with their interview notes to their supervisor who makes the final decision, but senior officers don't have to do that, they can approve it themselves. 

 

If you're still with me, and especially if you're still waiting for your interview - I hope you get the invitation soon and I hope this long entry is a bit helpful. Thanks for reading. Good luck!!

 

[Hamilton 511]

On 3/12/2019 at 2:46 AM, SerendipityMuse said:

We just had the interview today! It went well. Detailed account below (long), in the hope that it may help those still waiting prepare for the interview and reduce their nervousness. TL;DR - standard interview, approval to follow shortly. 

 

 

Congrats!! Can't believe it took so long. Do you think you'll still get the conditional 2 year green card instead of the permanent one?

[Canelita 166]

Hi Guys I went to my interview we got there like 15min before, appointment was 9:05 we waited around 45min then they called us and in the beginning the IO was kind of serious, then he was nicer and everything went smoothly he looked our application asked for id's, social nnumbers, he asked you guys been married ffor 12years what took you so long to aply we said we never been in a hurry but now we how everything is we wanted to apply and also I want to go meet my nieces and nephew, he asked how we meet? How long we dated, if we meet each other parents he did I didn't his mom died when hhe was littlelittle his dad wasn't in his life until yeayears ago, he asked who proposed when, if we have a wedding which we didn't my family didn't wanted me to marry him, he asked where hhe works, what he does?, income tax, rental agreement, he asked me if I work I said no I a housewife,  he got into conversationconversation more with my husband which it was great. He approves us right tthere, I was with a big suit ccase oof everything pics, more evedice, bank statements but he didn't asked for, I gave him the new medical exam he said my was still good after all this time, I told him I called USCIS and they told me to get a new one so I did to be prepared, I was over prepared and it was great is better to be prepare than sorry. Thank you guys for all you support and most of Thank you to God to Him be the Glory 🙌🏼😊 I received an update my Green Card is in production, anyone knows how long it takes to receive it ?

[MrMizo 144]

12 minutes ago, Canelita said:

Hi Guys I went to my interview we got there like 15min before, appointment was 9:05 we waited around 45min then they called us and in the beginning the IO was kind of serious, then he was nicer and everything went smoothly he looked our application asked for id's, social nnumbers, he asked you guys been married ffor 12years what took you so long to aply we said we never been in a hurry but now we how everything is we wanted to apply and also I want to go meet my nieces and nephew, he asked how we meet? How long we dated, if we meet each other parents he did I didn't his mom died when hhe was littlelittle his dad wasn't in his life until yeayears ago, he asked who proposed when, if we have a wedding which we didn't my family didn't wanted me to marry him, he asked where hhe works, what he does?, income tax, rental agreement, he asked me if I work I said no I a housewife,  he got into conversationconversation more with my husband which it was great. He approves us right tthere, I was with a big suit ccase oof everything pics, more evedice, bank statements but he didn't asked for, I gave him the new medical exam he said my was still good after all this time, I told him I called USCIS and they told me to get a new one so I did to be prepared, I was over prepared and it was great is better to be prepare than sorry. Thank you guys for all you support and most of Thank you to God to Him be the Glory 🙌🏼😊 I received an update my Green Card is in production, anyone knows how long it takes to receive it ?

Congrats!! It took ours about 2-3 days to receive it. We were shocked how quick it was.

[Canelita 166]

44 minutes ago, MrMizo said:

Congrats!! It took ours about 2-3 days to receive it. We were shocked how quick it was.

Thank you 😊 and Congratulations to you as well !!!

[Hamilton 511]

3 hours ago, Canelita said:

I received an update my Green Card is in production, anyone knows how long it takes to receive it ?

Congrats!!! finally!!

[Canelita 166]

4 hours ago, Hamilton said:

Congrats!!! finally!!

Finally 😆 thank you. Congrats.

[Phoenix Filer 24]

On 3/20/2019 at 1:13 PM, Canelita said:

Hi Guys I went to my interview we got there like 15min before, appointment was 9:05 we waited around 45min then they called us and in the beginning the IO was kind of serious, then he was nicer and everything went smoothly he looked our application asked for id's, social nnumbers, he asked you guys been married ffor 12years what took you so long to aply we said we never been in a hurry but now we how everything is we wanted to apply and also I want to go meet my nieces and nephew, he asked how we meet? How long we dated, if we meet each other parents he did I didn't his mom died when hhe was littlelittle his dad wasn't in his life until yeayears ago, he asked who proposed when, if we have a wedding which we didn't my family didn't wanted me to marry him, he asked where hhe works, what he does?, income tax, rental agreement, he asked me if I work I said no I a housewife,  he got into conversationconversation more with my husband which it was great. He approves us right tthere, I was with a big suit ccase oof everything pics, more evedice, bank statements but he didn't asked for, I gave him the new medical exam he said my was still good after all this time, I told him I called USCIS and they told me to get a new one so I did to be prepared, I was over prepared and it was great is better to be prepare than sorry. Thank you guys for all you support and most of Thank you to God to Him be the Glory 🙌🏼😊 I received an update my Green Card is in production, anyone knows how long it takes to receive it ?

Great news! Congratulations! I will be interviewing as well in less than 2 weeks.
Can you leave a post once you receive your green card? Just wanted to know how long it should take for one to receive it. 

[Canelita 166]

Hi guys i today i received 2 notices actions I-130 approved and I-485 approved one question my Green card suppose to arrived at the same time with this notices? cause i didn't receive it yet 😳, but checking my case status it says they mailed March 22nd. Thank you .

[Phoenix Filer 24]

On 3/25/2019 at 6:16 PM, Canelita said:

Hi guys i today i received 2 notices actions I-130 approved and I-485 approved one question my Green card suppose to arrived at the same time with this notices? cause i didn't receive it yet 😳, but checking my case status it says they mailed March 22nd. Thank you .

I wish I knew the answer to this question. I tried to search online and I see that some people get one anywhere from within a few days after receiving the notices to a few weeks. My guess you should receive it sometime between today and Monday if you haven't already.

[Canelita 166]

1 hour ago, Phoenix Filer said:

I wish I knew the answer to this question. I tried to search online and I see that some people get one anywhere from within a few days after receiving the notices to a few weeks. My guess you should receive it sometime between today and Monday if you haven't already.

Hi thank you,

Interview March 20th IO recommended approve my green card, I hr later text of my card is producing. March 21st text notification I-130 and I-485 approved. 03-22 Card mailed to my address. 03-25 received letter of approval and 03-27-19 at 11:26 my Green Card was delivered to my mail address Glory to God 🙌 I'm free and going to meer my 3 nieces and nephew soon . Best wishes for you my friend.

[SerendipityMuse 24]

On 3/13/2019 at 12:54 PM, Hamilton said:

Congrats!! Can't believe it took so long. Do you think you'll still get the conditional 2 year green card instead of the permanent one?

We got the card, and it is indeed the conditional two-year one. I think this is a legal requirement, not a discretionary decision. I'm so glad we're done for now!! I hope everybody else got their interviews as well! Thank you for all the support. 🤗

[Phoenix Filer 24]

Just received my green card.

PD was August 29, 2017.

Interview was April 3, 2019. We had two officers interviewing us. Basically, we just went over i-130 and i-485 information and they just asked where we met, when as well as when and where we got married and why. That's it. They did not ask for any additional documents, except for renewed i-693 medical. They did not even ask for any new financial information i-864. We were recommended for approval and they congratulated us.
I did not receive any texts after the interview, but I did check online status of the application. April 3 - card is being produced. April 4 - status updated as "application is approved." April 8 - card was sent out. April 9 - tracking number became available and we received official the approval notices. April 10 - card delivered. 

Good luck to everyone who is still undergoing this process.

Edited April 10, 2019 by Phoenix Filer