Removing Conditions for 5 Years

[DoodlesLife 19]

Hi All!

 

Although I just registered on this site, I have been reading it for a very long time and wanted to share my extremely long path to citizenship, in hopes that someone will benefit from it. Thank you everyone who shared their stories and comments, and I want to give specifics thanks to @mindthegap for your contribution: your situation is very similar to mine, and as your posts kept me going, I sincerely hope this post will raise your spirits as well.

 

I came to this country with J1 visa in 2009, met my ex-husband, fell in love, and we decided to start our life together here. I was able to get a tourist visa while in the country, extended it couple of times, till we got married in 2011. And so I applied for residency in the beginning of 2012. This step was very straightforward, the interview was very nice and quick, so I was set with my conditional green card by May 2012 (very fast, right?). That is when the honeymoon phase of my relationship with immigration ended.

 

We filed out a joint petition to remove conditions 2 months before the green card expired, in the beginning on 2014. At the end of 2014, we got RFE, and then we had an interview in May 2015. That was the worst day of my life. And I've had some pretty bad days in my past, believe me.
I have never felt that way, so threatened as my privacy was being violated in such a rude way. Don't get me wrong, I understand that the officer is supposed to know all you private paperwork stuff. I understand they are supposed to make you feel scared of them. But the way I was treated felt like something out of a horror movie (for lack of a better comparison).
The interview was in NJ. While they do not have stokes interview like NY does (officially), they do separate couples without notice. The only difference is that you are not being recorded, so they can "tah-dam" do it wouthout notifying you. They did not let our lawyer stay in the room with my ex (as the lawyer represented just me on G-28 form, not us together), and threatened him with jail and fines to sign a paper that our marriage was fake. He didn't do it, so they questioned him, then brought me in, questioned me, and commented on the results.
All the questions were pretty standard, although I found it very odd that the officer asked us to draw the bedroom, but with her hands - I was not allowed to even touch the paper. Needless to say, it was like drawing though a glass wall - no matter what I say, she would draw it completely differently (I have to admit I am a perfectionist, but how hard could it be to draw a bed that takes up most of the room in the middle? no, she would draw it in the corner taking up 1/8 of the room. then move it to the other side. then when I said it is in the middle, she would give me a look like I have two heads and like no one in this world can access their bed from both sides). My ex told me he had the same issues with drawing. To this day I can't understand why I couldn't draw it myself.
Then at the end she asked us when was the last time we were intimate. Yes, she did. And my lawyer didn't say anything. I did realize by the end of the interview that this specific lawyer was useless, but the whole reason you take them with you is for them to object these types of questions, right? Oh well, I guess the officer got everybody scared in the room, not just me.
I would say we got about 95% of our questions matching. So I am not sure what was the issue (still don't know, after all these years), however that's when everything went silent. The issues I had to deal with while getting the stamps every half a year (and you know, renewing the driver's license every time too)... They probably deserve a different post.

 

I filed for divorce in 2017. It was supposed to be easy, we agreed on everything, he even signed the paper to waive 30-day "waiting for his response" period. Then after waiting for a month, my lawyer calls me to say that the clerk lost my paperwork (after stamps and signatures provided by them that they received it). At exactly the same time, I receive a letter that we are invited for an interview in two weeks. Do you think that was a coincidence? Doesn't look like one to me. The officer held my case for 3 years, and suddenly, the same month we file for divorce, I get that invitation. If I went to that interview, I would have been denied on the spot as we were not officially divorced yet. To me this looks like a set up, and after reading hundreds of similar posts, it looks like it's a very common practice that makes the immigrant look very bad. Would love to hear other people's thoughts on this.
This is the point of my story when I got extremely lucky. I was actually in the middle of moving to NY. Yes, it is a different state, a different jurisdiction, so they HAD TO move my case to NY. So I made sure I went to NJ office to hand them my new NY address and ID, as well as a letter from a new lawyer that he has a hearing in a different state on that day (although the letter itself would have probably been useless in that situation). I was very worried about not showing up for the interview, and I am not sure how, but it worked. They moved the case away from NJ!!

 

The wait didn't end though. I actually started seeing a psychologist around that time because of my anxiety over immigration. So... I got fed up with all of that, and in February 2019 (five(!) years after I filed I-751) I filed for citizenship based on the 5-year rule. That's when everything changed. They scheduled I-751 waiver interview for May, it was very long and detailed, but the officer was very respectful and did not make me feel threatened at all. I received my green card, and ironically, before I got time to enjoy it, I was called for the 440 interview I think in October. I cried when I got my certificate - literally a little over 10 years after I came to the country.

 

Damn, this turned out very long, and I didn't even included all the details I wanted to. Enjoy the shortened version

At the end, I just want to say that there's always hope, and I hope all of you who are waiting (for whatever immigration owes to them), will get it resolved very soon. I hope you will meet all the great people of this country who are nice, helpful, and who genuinely care about others. Believe me, especially important in this day and age, there are a lot of people like that. 

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by DoodlesLife
Tag user

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am so sorry you were treated like that. I'm glad that you and your now ex-husband stuck with it and didn't allow them to coerce you in to saying something that wasn't true. That does sound like such a terrifying experience. I am glad that you now have your citizenship and that dealings with immigration are now only a thing of the past. 

[DoodlesLife 19]

@Luckycuds, thank you for the kind words. I remember reading stories like that and never thought it would happen to me. I remember during my waiver interview in NY, the officer kept asking me why my case was taking so long. If he couldn't figure it out, how could I? 😅

Good luck with the citizenship!

[spring333 44]

Sounds very similar to my story! They hate us eastern Europeans. 

I am waiting for my ceremony now after applying 2 times for n400 and after 2 rfes

[mindthegap 2,521]

1 hour ago, DoodlesLife said:

Although I just registered on this site, I have been reading it for a very long time and wanted to share my extremely long path to citizenship, in hopes that someone will benefit from it. Thank you everyone who shared their stories and comments, and I want to give specifics thanks to @mindthegap for your contribution: your situation is very similar to mine, and as your posts kept me going, I sincerely hope this post will raise your spirits as well.

 

Thanks 🥰  Means a lot - especially today (I'm having a bit of a tough time right now) 

 

A lot of similarities in your experiences..so I'm glad I was able to help with my rants. Sadly no-one appears to be able to help me.... 

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by mindthegap

[ImmigrantDan 6]

1 hour ago, DoodlesLife said:

Hi All!

 

Although I just registered on this site, I have been reading it for a very long time and wanted to share my extremely long path to citizenship, in hopes that someone will benefit from it. Thank you everyone who shared their stories and comments, and I want to give specifics thanks to @mindthegap for your contribution: your situation is very similar to mine, and as your posts kept me going, I sincerely hope this post will raise your spirits as well.

 

I came to this country with J1 visa in 2009, met my ex-husband, fell in love, and we decided to start our life together here. I was able to get a tourist visa while in the country, extended it couple of times, till we got married in 2011. And so I applied for residency in the beginning of 2012. This step was very straightforward, the interview was very nice and quick, so I was set with my conditional green card by May 2012 (very fast, right?). That is when the honeymoon phase of my relationship with immigration ended.

 

We filed out a joint petition to remove conditions 2 months before the green card expired, in the beginning on 2014. At the end of 2014, we got RFE, and then we had an interview in May 2015. That was the worst day of my life. And I've had some pretty bad days in my past, believe me.
I have never felt that way, so threatened as my privacy was being violated in such a rude way. Don't get me wrong, I understand that the officer is supposed to know all you private paperwork stuff. I understand they are supposed to make you feel scared of them. But the way I was treated felt like something out of a horror movie (for lack of a better comparison).
The interview was in NJ. While they do not have stokes interview like NY does (officially), they do separate couples without notice. The only difference is that you are not being recorded, so they can "tah-dam" do it wouthout notifying you. They did not let our lawyer stay in the room with my ex (as the lawyer represented just me on G-28 form, not us together), and threatened him with jail and fines to sign a paper that our marriage was fake. He didn't do it, so they questioned him, then brought me in, questioned me, and commented on the results.
All the questions were pretty standard, although I found it very odd that the officer asked us to draw the bedroom, but with her hands - I was not allowed to even touch the paper. Needless to say, it was like drawing though a glass wall - no matter what I say, she would draw it completely differently (I have to admit I am a perfectionist, but how hard could it be to draw a bed that takes up most of the room in the middle? no, she would draw it in the corner taking up 1/8 of the room. then move it to the other side. then when I said it is in the middle, she would give me a look like I have two heads and like no one in this world can access their bed from both sides). My ex told me he had the same issues with drawing. To this day I can't understand why I couldn't draw it myself.
Then at the end she asked us when was the last time we were intimate. Yes, she did. And my lawyer didn't say anything. I did realize by the end of the interview that this specific lawyer was useless, but the whole reason you take them with you is for them to object these types of questions, right? Oh well, I guess the officer got everybody scared in the room, not just me.
I would say we got about 95% of our questions matching. So I am not sure what was the issue (still don't know, after all these years), however that's when everything went silent. The issues I had to deal with while getting the stamps every half a year (and you know, renewing the driver's license every time too)... They probably deserve a different post.

 

I filed for divorce in 2017. It was supposed to be easy, we agreed on everything, he even signed the paper to waive 30-day "waiting for his response" period. Then after waiting for a month, my lawyer calls me to say that the clerk lost my paperwork (after stamps and signatures provided by them that they received it). At exactly the same time, I receive a letter that we are invited for an interview in two weeks. Do you think that was a coincidence? Doesn't look like one to me. The officer held my case for 3 years, and suddenly, the same month we file for divorce, I get that invitation. If I went to that interview, I would have been denied on the spot as we were not officially divorced yet. To me this looks like a set up, and after reading hundreds of similar posts, it looks like it's a very common practice that makes the immigrant look very bad. Would love to hear other people's thoughts on this.
This is the point of my story when I got extremely lucky. I was actually in the middle of moving to NY. Yes, it is a different state, a different jurisdiction, so they HAD TO move my case to NY. So I made sure I went to NJ office to hand them my new NY address and ID, as well as a letter from a new lawyer that he has a hearing in a different state on that day (although the letter itself would have probably been useless in that situation). I was very worried about not showing up for the interview, and I am not sure how, but it worked. They moved the case away from NJ!!

 

The wait didn't end though. I actually started seeing a psychologist around that time because of my anxiety over immigration. So... I got fed up with all of that, and in February 2019 (five(!) years after I filed I-751) I filed for citizenship based on the 5-year rule. That's when everything changed. They scheduled I-751 waiver interview for May, it was very long and detailed, but the officer was very respectful and did not make me feel threatened at all. I received my green card, and ironically, before I got time to enjoy it, I was called for the 440 interview I think in October. I cried when I got my certificate - literally a little over 10 years after I came to the country.

 

Damn, this turned out very long, and I didn't even included all the details I wanted to. Enjoy the shortened version

At the end, I just want to say that there's always hope, and I hope all of you who are waiting (for whatever immigration owes to them), will get it resolved very soon. I hope you will meet all the great people of this country who are nice, helpful, and who genuinely care about others. Believe me, especially important in this day and age, there are a lot of people like that. 

 

Could i describe more in details on the second interview with the waiver

What kind of questions were u asked as been divorced for so long ?

[DoodlesLife 19]

@spring333 that sounds expensive! it's probably their tactic to just drain us by dragging our cases for years so we give up.

 

@mindthegap I think many times cases end up sitting on the desk of the officer simply because they forgot about it, or it's too complicated so they procrastinate to touch it. I felt so powerless myself for all these years that I had to go looking for help because I couldn't handle it myself. Sometimes it was especially hard when I had issues finding a job and therefore draining my savings account, getting divorced, still being in school, and missing my family that is not in the US... all at once! What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right. I hope someone will get to you case once they go back to work in full force. I thought 440 is considered relatively urgent (compared to I751 at least).

[DoodlesLife 19]

@ImmigrantDan they asked me everything from how we met, up to the point when we separated and got divorced. The officer went through the file page by page (and I had a very big file), asking mostly about dates. I've learnt that they can't ask you about anything that's not in the file as anymore, so it's up to you to prepare and make sure you don't give them any reason to doubt any of your answers. He also repeated the same questions a lot, so my advise would be to answer sincerely if you don't remember, otherwise it can bite you in the butt.

Oh and I wrote a 3-page letter explaining how and when things went wrong and brought it to the interview. Took me some time checking all the documents to make sure I don't mix up the dates. Not sure if it helped the officer to make his decision, but it definitely helped me to prepare better.

[Sarah&Facundo 576]

Can I ask if this was at NJ case was at Newark or Mount Laurel? We were treated very rudely and disrespectfully at Mount Laurel for the AOS interview but thankfully we were approved. But it was an awful experience. I'm sorry you had to encounter a negative experience!

[DoodlesLife 19]

3 hours ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

Can I ask if this was at NJ case was at Newark or Mount Laurel? We were treated very rudely and disrespectfully at Mount Laurel for the AOS interview but thankfully we were approved. But it was an awful experience. I'm sorry you had to encounter a negative experience!

I am sorry you were treated badly too. My interview was in Newark. I did have a very nice lady conducting my AOS interview, but then I know a person who had similar experience on the joint removing conditions interview with separation and all that stuff. Maybe we just got the same officer, who knows.

[Waiting4Godot 11]

Sorry you had to go through all of that. I'm happy for you now that you're out of the woods

[DoodlesLife 19]

1 hour ago, Waiting4Godot said:

Sorry you had to go through all of that. I'm happy for you now that you're out of the woods

Thank you.  Good luck with the removing of conditions!

[Waiting4Godot 11]

49 minutes ago, DoodlesLife said:

Thank you.  Good luck with the removing of conditions!

Thank you

[Narry4u 6]

On 5/29/2020 at 11:58 AM, DoodlesLife said:

"Sometimes it was especially hard when I had issues finding a job" 

Dose that mean you could not convince your continued legal status to employers??

[DoodlesLife 19]

On 6/2/2020 at 3:34 AM, Narry4u said:

Dose that mean you could not convince your continued legal status to employers??

No   that was never really a problem. I just had issues with finding a job in general upon graduation.