Green Card Interview (Approved) - October 2018, SF

[snowcat 58]

I had my green card interview at the San Francisco USCIS Field Office (Sansome St.) at the end of October 2018. Just sharing my experience here.

 

Our interview was at 9:45AM on a Tuesday, and my USC husband and I arrived at 9:30AM. Please don't bring sharp objects including nail clippers - my husband's nail clippers were not permitted inside, so we had to leave it outside (good thing it was still there when we exited the building lol). The entrance has these x-ray machines for your belongings, as well as for you to walk through; it's basically like being at an airport. We went to the 2nd floor afterwards, where we were checked in by the receptionist and told to wait. There were not a lot of people that day, and many chairs to choose from. We waited for around 20-30 minutes before my name was finally called. We were met by our interviewer, a middle aged woman who seemed to be in her 60s, and led to an office in the back. She asked us to raise our right hands and swear that we tell the truth, then we all sat down. 

 

She asked for our IDs. My husband gave his CA driver's license. I unfortunately had my wallet stolen which had my EAD/AP card and driver's license, so all I had was my passport. She seemed to have wanted me to give more than one photo ID, and better yet a photo ID with my married name on it (my passport is still in my maiden name), but I explained my situation and she seemed content with it.

 

She asked basic questions: when we got married, how many times we've been married (to different people), if we have kids, etc. She went through the I-485 form and asked us all the questions from there, so it was basically just like filling up the I-485 form but orally and in person.

 

Then, she asked if we were living together, and I said yes, and she asked for our apartment's lease. I told her we didn't bring it, because my name isn't on the lease yet, since we are just renting and are will be moving to another home in the future. She said that that was fine, and asked for other documents to prove that we live together, like utility bills and such. I gave her all that we had: a utility bill from PG&E, auto insurance cards, health insurance cards, and bank statements from our joint bank accounts, all of which had both our names on them. She took all of that.

 

Then she asked me for my EAD/AP, had to remind her again that I lost my card, but I did have a new AP that was just a piece of paper. She took a copy of that.

 

She asked also for my vaccination records, and I just gave another copy of my DS-260. She made a comment about it being expired, and I explained that to my understanding as long as I file my I-485 application before its expiry date it is still valid. She told me she will double-check that with her supervisor and let me know if they need anything else from me. (They ended up not needing anything else so just your DS-260 should be sufficient.)

 

After getting all these documents from me, she asked us to tell her how my husband and I met. This was our favorite part because we love sharing our story! My husband excitedly told our story, with such great detail, that our interviewer had to stop him in the middle and tell him to quickly summarize it because we didn't have much time left lol! She seemed to be happy about my husband's enthusiasm in telling our story though! And she was smiling the entire time he was telling it. 

 

After we told our story, she asked to see pictures - mostly of our wedding days (we've had 2 weddings so far, a civil wedding at City Hall and a second celebration in my husband's hometown in Ohio - I told her that we will be having a third wedding celebration in my hometown in the Philippines in Feb 2019, and she seemed quite pleased about us celebrating with all our family and friends in our hometowns). I also showed her a picture from the day my husband and I met (which was way back in 2012) and several pictures of us traveling around the world with our families. I was also very excited about showing her our pictures that she asked me to calm down and just give her one picture from each event haha. She kept around 5 pictures.

 

After all that, she said "okay, so far so good," which helped me relax a little bit. She then went to photocopy a bunch of my documents then came back to tell us that she will be talking to her supervisor about our case, but that it seemed good so far. If there is a problem at all with our case, we will be notified ASAP via mail. Otherwise, I will be receiving my green card in several weeks. 

 

Overall, the interview lasted around 30 minutes. It wasn't as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be! Our interviewer also was quite nice and not too intimidating.

 

2 weeks later, I receive an NOA stating my application for permanent residency has been approved! Then around 5 days after I received that NOA, I got my green card in the mail!

[Aupair3 1]

Thank you for sharing your story. Good for you! Congratulations! We applied May 25th and called USCIS to ask about processing times, the lady said it's about 15 months so we have a long way to go... 

[snowcat 58]

20 minutes ago, Aupair3 said:

Thank you for sharing your story. Good for you! Congratulations! We applied May 25th and called USCIS to ask about processing times, the lady said it's about 15 months so we have a long way to go... 

We got married May 1, 2017 and applied for AOS May 10, 2017. Only got our green card interview scheduled on August 6, 2018 (which we had to reschedule because I was out of the country, so we got another schedule which was last October 23, 2018). So it took more than 1 year before we even got an interview scheduled. Once you get your interview though, you get your GC pretty quickly. Hang in there!

[Aupair3 1]

11 minutes ago, snowcat said:

We got married May 1, 2017 and applied for AOS May 10, 2017. Only got our green card interview scheduled on August 6, 2018 (which we had to reschedule because I was out of the country, so we got another schedule which was last October 23, 2018). So it took more than 1 year before we even got an interview scheduled. Once you get your interview though, you get your GC pretty quickly. Hang in there!

I see. Did you leave the country with advance parole or did you have a valid visa? I haven't been home for some time now and really . want to visit.

[ajay007 43]

congratulations to you.i got notification for my interview is scheduled waiting for notice. i hope will get that within 2 days.i our interview will gonna be good as well.

Edited November 12, 2018 by ajay007

[snowcat 58]

2 minutes ago, Aupair3 said:

I see. Did you leave the country with advance parole or did you have a valid visa? I haven't been home for some time now and really . want to visit.

 

I had an EAD/AP combo card that enabled me to travel outside of the USA. Did you apply for that along with your I-485 application? Please also take great care of your EAD/AP card while abroad. Mine was stolen along with my wallet and it was a horrendous experience trying to get back into the USA. You can read about that entire ordeal I went through in this thread:  

 

 

1 minute ago, ajay007 said:

congratulations to you.i got notification for my interview is scheduled waiting for notice i hope i will get that within 2 days.i our interview will gonna be good as well.

Thanks! You should get your NOA soon in the mail. The interview is usually around or a little over a month after you get the notification.

[Aupair3 1]

That's horrible! I applied for work permit, I received that already but didn't apply for travel document since I didn't think it would take this long. So I'm thinking to apply now and visit home next summer. 

[Aupair3 1]

@snowcat what reasons did you include when you applied for AP? The instructions say: 

"You have a pending application to adjust status, Form I-485, and you seek to travel abroad temporarily for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or in furtherance of a “significant public benefit,” which may include a personal or family emergency or bona fide business reasons. "

And

"NOTE: Travel for vacation is not a valid purpose. You must NOT file Form I-131 with your deferred action request or your package will be rejected and returned to you. "

[snowcat 58]

Just now, Aupair3 said:

That's horrible! I applied for work permit, I received that already but didn't apply for travel document since I didn't think it would take this long. So I'm thinking to apply now and visit home next summer. 

Yes I do recommend that you apply for AP as well. It took me around 4 months to get my EAD/AP combo card after applying, and also 4 months when I renewed. Take note of when your EAD/AP expires btw. You will most likely have to renew that since I doubt you will get your GC before it expires (it's been the case for many, including me, since processing times are so much slower these days). To renew, you have to apply for renewal 120 days before the expiry date.

[snowcat 58]

1 minute ago, Aupair3 said:

@snowcat what reasons did you include when you applied for AP? The instructions say: 

"You have a pending application to adjust status, Form I-485, and you seek to travel abroad temporarily for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or in furtherance of a “significant public benefit,” which may include a personal or family emergency or bona fide business reasons. "

And

"NOTE: Travel for vacation is not a valid purpose. You must NOT file Form I-131 with your deferred action request or your package will be rejected and returned to you. "

Hmm, that's strange. I don't remember having to give a specific reason to travel. I just submitted an I-131 along with my I-485 application. I just ticked the checkbox that says "I am applying for an Advance Parole Document to allow me to return to the US after temporary foreign travel", and included a supplemental page for Part 7 ("...explain how you qualify for an Advance Parole Document, and what circumstances warrant issuance of advance parole), on which I just stated I am eligible for AP because my AOS is currently pending. That's what I did when I applied the first time and when I renewed and was granted an AP both times.

[Aupair3 1]

15 minutes ago, snowcat said:

Hmm, that's strange. I don't remember having to give a specific reason to travel. I just submitted an I-131 along with my I-485 application. I just ticked the checkbox that says "I am applying for an Advance Parole Document to allow me to return to the US after temporary foreign travel", and included a supplemental page for Part 7 ("...explain how you qualify for an Advance Parole Document, and what circumstances warrant issuance of advance parole), on which I just stated I am eligible for AP because my AOS is currently pending. That's what I did when I applied the first time and when I renewed and was granted an AP both times.

Thank you, it sounds good! Then I'' probably have to do the same.

[Aupair3 1]

@snowcat  on the application they ask for date of intended departure and length of trip. What did you write there? I don't know the dates I'll be traveling yet. 

[snowcat 58]

14 hours ago, Aupair3 said:

@snowcat  on the application they ask for date of intended departure and length of trip. What did you write there? I don't know the dates I'll be traveling yet. 

Just estimate.

[TM92 527]

17 hours ago, Aupair3 said:

@snowcat what reasons did you include when you applied for AP? The instructions say: 

"You have a pending application to adjust status, Form I-485, and you seek to travel abroad temporarily for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or in furtherance of a “significant public benefit,” which may include a personal or family emergency or bona fide business reasons. "

And

"NOTE: Travel for vacation is not a valid purpose. You must NOT file Form I-131 with your deferred action request or your package will be rejected and returned to you. "

16 hours ago, Aupair3 said:

@snowcat  on the application they ask for date of intended departure and length of trip. What did you write there? I don't know the dates I'll be traveling yet. 

@Aupair3, I addressed these concerns on your thread:

16 hours ago, TM92 said:

AOS AP can be used at any time, not just for emergencies. Here is some insight on how I filled Form I-131; e.g. I did not submit a "separate sheet of paper" explaining my request for Advance Parole. For Part 3, I also provided an unreasonable date considering USCIS processing timeline. You can fill Part 3 like this:

1. 12/06/2018

2. 16

3.a. No

4.a. No

5. (Just select this box and you are done with Part 3)

The form explicitly states that only DACA AP applicants need to fill Part 4, and just go straight to Part 7. Nonetheless, there is no negative impact in filling Part 4. You can put a generic statement like "Visit my family". And at least put Hungary (you can add countries if you wish).

Remember to select "More than one trip" for #1 in Part 7.

Edited November 12, 2018 by TM92

[Ontarkie 13,902]

~~Moved to Progress Reports~~