Post Green Card Interview

[Tanael Joachim 1]

Hey guys!

 

I hope everybody is doing well.

 

I had my green card interview on March 14th (almost two weeks ago). The interview was in downtown Manhattan. We live in Brooklyn, NY. It's marriage based, my wife is the US citizen. It went pretty well and smooth. We had all the documents needed. The officer was a she. Latina woman. I gave her everything she asked for,  she took  5 photos out of the 14 i brought with me. I don't live with my wife currently, and I explained to her why and she seems to understand it. We had a pleasant conversation. She asked me about my job, found out I'm a comedian, she seemed to like that. Ask for my lease. Took my fingerprints. Then we asked for what's next t the end and she gave me the paper that says "under review" and they will be in touch. Obviously I was disappointed not to get it on the spot. But I later found out that that's very common for people . So i guess I'm waiting because there isn't much else to do.

But I wanted to share here and hear from similar folks, because I've heard stories about people who were under review then got it 2-3 days later, or a week later. I've also heard stories  of people having to wait 8-12 months in limbo. That seems crazy. 

 

If you have some experiences with that, I'll be glad to hear you guys. It will definitely help with the waiting anxiety.

[aliha 6]

is that took fingerprints and photo during interview? 

[Tanael Joachim 1]

Hey Aliha,

 

Yes, they took my fingerprints and photo during interview (i believe for background checks)

[RLA 323]

39 minutes ago, Tanael Joachim said:

Yes, they took my fingerprints and photo during interview (i believe for background checks)

I think it might be for identification purposes, i.e., to make sure that you are not an impersonator.  Typically the background checks seem already finished by the time of the interview.  I got my approval email the morning after the interview, and the card a week later.  

[QueensNY 67]

On 3/27/2019 at 3:07 PM, Tanael Joachim said:

Hey guys!

 

I hope everybody is doing well.

 

I had my green card interview on March 14th (almost two weeks ago). The interview was in downtown Manhattan. We live in Brooklyn, NY. It's marriage based, my wife is the US citizen. It went pretty well and smooth. We had all the documents needed. The officer was a she. Latina woman. I gave her everything she asked for,  she took  5 photos out of the 14 i brought with me. I don't live with my wife currently, and I explained to her why and she seems to understand it. We had a pleasant conversation. She asked me about my job, found out I'm a comedian, she seemed to like that. Ask for my lease. Took my fingerprints. Then we asked for what's next t the end and she gave me the paper that says "under review" and they will be in touch. Obviously I was disappointed not to get it on the spot. But I later found out that that's very common for people . So i guess I'm waiting because there isn't much else to do.

But I wanted to share here and hear from similar folks, because I've heard stories about people who were under review then got it 2-3 days later, or a week later. I've also heard stories  of people having to wait 8-12 months in limbo. That seems crazy. 

 

If you have some experiences with that, I'll be glad to hear you guys. It will definitely help with the waiting anxiety.

Hello. Any update? We’re you approved?

[Tanael Joachim 1]

Hey @QueensNY

 

I'm still waiting. No updates yet. I filed an online inquiry about my status. It said "expect a reply by April 30th"

Still no reply. 

It's really upsetting and anxiety inducing, but there isn't much else I can do. If by the end of this month, I don't have ot, I will do an Infopass.

[Tanael Joachim 1]

Hey Guys!

 

It's been a while since I made this post. There's been a few updates so I wanted to share in them in case it might be helpful to anyone.

 

I had my interview on March 14th, 2019. After more than 6 months, I heard nothing.  I made several requests on the website. Never got an answer. So, I decided to reach out to my Congressman. They contacted USCIS on my behalf and USCIS told them i'm to be scheduled for another interview (Stokes). I was upset. But I figured I had no choice. I immediately knew why: my wife and I don't live together. 

So, a few months passed, and they still didn't give us a date. So I contacted my congressman again, and his office reached out to them. And they finally scheduled us for the Stokes interview on Oct 29th. We prepared for it. We were a bit nervous, but I was pretty confident in terms of my relationship with my wife. The interview went pretty well. Our officer was personable and I spoke to her like a person. I'm a standup comedian, so that helped a lot in terms of chatting people up and making them laugh. She asked us a lot of questions, nothing too crazy. There were instances when I didn't know the answers, so I straight up told her the truth "i'm not sure I know the answer to this" and she was okay with that.

Basically it went like this: she brought us in, made us swear, the asked me to leave. She interviewed my wife for 15-20mn, then called me in and did the same thing: made her leave and interviewed me for roughly the same. And i could see her checking on her notepad when the answers matched and when they didn't. I would say 85% of the time, we matched. Then, she told us to break for lunch. The we reconvened about 30mn after. The two of us went in and we clarified any discrepancies for her. At the end, I was confident she was gonna approve us. But she didn't. She said they need to conduct the final review and give them 120 days before we contact them. So that made me anxious. 

But i was still sure we made a great impression.

The interview was on Oct 29th. Nothing changed on the website for 4-5 days. A little upsetting, but at this point, I knew we were at the end of it. On Nov 4th, I got a letter that said my case was approved. On Nov 5th, I got my green card in the mail for 10 years!!!!

It was a long journey, we did it without a lawyer to save money, but we got through it.

I know Stokes interview are difficult and people like to know as much as possible, so if you want some details, don't hesitate and I will respond to the best of my recollection.

 

Thanks for your support. This is a great community!

[carmel34 3,531]

Thanks for the update, and congratulations on your approval!  Very best to you and your wife!