August 2020 - AOS Filers

[INF 96]

On 7/25/2021 at 7:53 AM, Fenja said:

I am pretty sure that, if you filed the application within a year of the medical, you should not have to redo the medical for the interview.

 

 

I finally received my Green Card in the mail yesterday! Took only 63 days after the approval 😅

Wow! Why did it take so long? Congrats by the way!!

[INF 96]

Hi guys,

Approved on the spot!! Married to UScitizen. Status has changed to card is being produced. Detroit, MI office. PD Aug 25, 2020. 

Quick summary:

1. Officer brought us in and told us we did a great job on the application and he was going to approve it today if everything else looked good. 
2. He looked through my passport and said there’s no stamp. I said I came in using a nexus and not my passport. He asked for everything financial and the medical form. We gave him so much stuff and he didn’t even look through it just put it into the folder. 
3. He said the i130 was already approved so he was only going to go through i485.
4. We started going through i485  line by line. He asked my husband my name my birthdate and where I was born
5. He asked me where I worked I told him DTE but I did work remotely for my Canadian employer before. He said yea that’s fine
6. He asked me allllll the questions from the I485. If I had ever been illegally entering the US etc. 
7. He said congrats you’re approved sign this.
8. I asked him to change my last name he said we can’t do that since we already approved it. 
9. We walked out. Status changed already!

[Fenja 208]

7 hours ago, INF said:

Wow! Why did it take so long? Congrats by the way!!

Thank you! Someone just forgot to press the “produce” button 😭

[A Polite Parrot 41]

On 7/27/2021 at 1:14 PM, INF said:

Hi guys,

Approved on the spot!! Married to UScitizen. Status has changed to card is being produced. Detroit, MI office. PD Aug 25, 2020. 

Quick summary:

1. Officer brought us in and told us we did a great job on the application and he was going to approve it today if everything else looked good. 
2. He looked through my passport and said there’s no stamp. I said I came in using a nexus and not my passport. He asked for everything financial and the medical form. We gave him so much stuff and he didn’t even look through it just put it into the folder. 
3. He said the i130 was already approved so he was only going to go through i485.
4. We started going through i485  line by line. He asked my husband my name my birthdate and where I was born
5. He asked me where I worked I told him DTE but I did work remotely for my Canadian employer before. He said yea that’s fine
6. He asked me allllll the questions from the I485. If I had ever been illegally entering the US etc. 
7. He said congrats you’re approved sign this.
8. I asked him to change my last name he said we can’t do that since we already approved it. 
9. We walked out. Status changed already!

For a second that sounded like the interviewer we had but looking at your location it must be his twin brother. Little to no questions besides the legal ones from I-485. I swear the interviewer was reading them from heart and seemed more interested in keeping his paperwork the bare minimum. He said to us, you were interviewed at the consulate so I don't need to go over all those [extra papers and evidence we brought such to be safe], these are enough. He only kept 3 or 5 photos and gave us the rest back. He seemed more interested in asking about one bank's checking account benefits. 😅 At the end he said everything looks good, and that as long as I passed the final background check it would be approved and mailed in two weeks.

 

Congrats on your approval!

Edited August 5, 2021 by A Polite Parrot

[1985dobie 16]

I am glad that for rest of the August filers the interview was normal and smooth.  Ours was not.  Immediately after we sat down, the interviewer asked if we had anything for her.  My husband and I, both confused, said no.  We were expecting to be interviewed and asked specific questions. There was a long silence, and the woman subsequently asked if we had a joint checking account, to which we replied no, we had separate accounts.  More silence,  We were expecting her to ask questions and/or ask for more evidence of our relationship,  But she sat there silently.  My husband realized this woman was not going to ask any questions, nor ask for evidence, and so he began to show her copies of our joint health insurance, his life insurance showing me as the beneficiary, and his 401K showing me as the beneficiary.  More silence.  Then my husband provided the woman with photos from our wedding, photos with my husbands family, photos of us at my husband's daughter's college graduation with family.  The woman appeared disinterested as my husband explained  who was present in each photo.  My husband then provided her with a certified copy of our marriage certificate, and she replied, "I usually ask for this later as we go along."  From the beginning of the interview, she was not asking questions, nor asking for evidence, so we realized it was incumbent on us to provide evidence, so again we were both confused at her response after providing the marriage certificate.  After more silence, the woman finally asked how and where we met... (we met in Paris in August of 2017.)  How many days were we there...did I travel there on my own or did we travel together....(we obviously traveled separately as I came from Minsk and my Husband traveled from America).  Then she asked my husband if he had been to Minsk, to which he replied no.  The entire application packet is on her desk, including the fiancé visa application with photos and our history of meetings, so she would have know if my husband and I had met in Minsk.  Then, the woman began asking my husband where he and I had traveled in Europe... Not where and when we had traveled together, but where he or I had travelled ever...Then the woman asked if my husband and I planned on living in Europe someday.  My husband replied that yes, we might live for a time in Europe after his retirement.  When was my husband due to retire, and in which country would we live, the woman asked.  My husband and I looked at each other and realized this was not a normal interview, this was some form of counter espionage type of interview... because I am from Minsk, Belarus. After these questions, the woman began asking me questions: where I grew up, where I studied, and all the places I had lived.  How often I talked with my family and did I miss them.  Had I been a member of the communist party or worked for a foreign intelligence service.  My husband and I kept looking at each other in stunned and confusing disbelief.  After about 30 minutes of this, the woman said she would need to review my case and we would be notified.  After we left the building, I told my husband that the woman never asked for my medical packet and so I did not provide the packet.  My husband told me not to worry about the packet, that they are playing spy vs. spy games and they will obviously be asking for more evidence and information in a future notification, and we can provide it at that time.  Up to this point, we have handled our immigration process independently.... now we will retain an immigration attorney.

[Super Heros 12]

53 minutes ago, 1985dobie said:

I am glad that for rest of the August filers the interview was normal and smooth.  Ours was not.  Immediately after we sat down, the interviewer asked if we had anything for her.  My husband and I, both confused, said no.  We were expecting to be interviewed and asked specific questions. There was a long silence, and the woman subsequently asked if we had a joint checking account, to which we replied no, we had separate accounts.  More silence,  We were expecting her to ask questions and/or ask for more evidence of our relationship,  But she sat there silently.  My husband realized this woman was not going to ask any questions, nor ask for evidence, and so he began to show her copies of our joint health insurance, his life insurance showing me as the beneficiary, and his 401K showing me as the beneficiary.  More silence.  Then my husband provided the woman with photos from our wedding, photos with my husbands family, photos of us at my husband's daughter's college graduation with family.  The woman appeared disinterested as my husband explained  who was present in each photo.  My husband then provided her with a certified copy of our marriage certificate, and she replied, "I usually ask for this later as we go along."  From the beginning of the interview, she was not asking questions, nor asking for evidence, so we realized it was incumbent on us to provide evidence, so again we were both confused at her response after providing the marriage certificate.  After more silence, the woman finally asked how and where we met... (we met in Paris in August of 2017.)  How many days were we there...did I travel there on my own or did we travel together....(we obviously traveled separately as I came from Minsk and my Husband traveled from America).  Then she asked my husband if he had been to Minsk, to which he replied no.  The entire application packet is on her desk, including the fiancé visa application with photos and our history of meetings, so she would have know if my husband and I had met in Minsk.  Then, the woman began asking my husband where he and I had traveled in Europe... Not where and when we had traveled together, but where he or I had travelled ever...Then the woman asked if my husband and I planned on living in Europe someday.  My husband replied that yes, we might live for a time in Europe after his retirement.  When was my husband due to retire, and in which country would we live, the woman asked.  My husband and I looked at each other and realized this was not a normal interview, this was some form of counter espionage type of interview... because I am from Minsk, Belarus. After these questions, the woman began asking me questions: where I grew up, where I studied, and all the places I had lived.  How often I talked with my family and did I miss them.  Had I been a member of the communist party or worked for a foreign intelligence service.  My husband and I kept looking at each other in stunned and confusing disbelief.  After about 30 minutes of this, the woman said she would need to review my case and we would be notified.  After we left the building, I told my husband that the woman never asked for my medical packet and so I did not provide the packet.  My husband told me not to worry about the packet, that they are playing spy vs. spy games and they will obviously be asking for more evidence and information in a future notification, and we can provide it at that time.  Up to this point, we have handled our immigration process independently.... now we will retain an immigration attorney.

I am so sorry your interview didn't go as planned, neither did ours. We had our interview on June 24th and our interviewer was move conversational - he didn't ask for a shred of the evidence we brought with us, not one single document outside of our picture ID's. He asked us to tell the story of how we met, and he asked questions along the way. He didn't seem judgmental about anything and I think he considered our marriage real. However, we had a lot of changes in our circumstances since applying. The biggest barrier was that my husband was pulled over for driving without a VA license; he was driving on his international license, which we have learned he can only do for 30 days in VA. Due to the shutdown we weren't able to go to the DMV and by the time to offices opened for him to get a drivers license his Visa expired. We explained this to the interviewer but he said that the case would have to be reviewed by the supervisor and we may possibly have to provide proof that the issue was resolved. Now we are just waiting, again    

[mogiftney 144]

We finally got our interview notice in the mail today (aug 9), our interview is September 9th. Any tips? We are nervous!

[Gcb1256 3]

Hello, my interview was held in Newark last Wednesday. Everything was really nice overall. First we waited in one floor 14th and after 20 minutes a Lady call us and she took us to a different floor and told us to the she will review our file and then she will call us. She was really nice since the first time we met her, so my wife and I were very calm and confident about everything. After 20 minutes she called us, it was a really nice conversation, she asked me if I have any documentation for her. So I handled her our bank joint account, flight tickets of previous trips, rent lease, car lease contract and taxes transcript. Then she asked me a few question and after 10m she realized that she did not make us swear, so she asked us to stand up and swear. Then she asked me question from the form I 485 and finally she started to ask questions about our relationship

when and how we met

How long after we met we started to date.

How was the proposal

She asked my wife if there was a engagement ring and actually I saw how she looked at my wife’s hand

Where did we get marry and when ?

Then she asked about what we want to achieve as a couple. 

She was really nice since the beginning, and we talked about the places we went together. She took a few pictures from our album and pretty much that was all. The only thing the shocked me was the she only use like 20m to review our file before the interview. 
After an hour my status changed to New Card is being processed. My card arrived today, so I’m so happy I’m done with this long and tedious process

[partyintheUSA 86]

On 8/9/2021 at 11:13 PM, mogiftney said:

We finally got our interview notice in the mail today (aug 9), our interview is September 9th. Any tips? We are nervous!

We were nervous too, but I'm sure it'll go fine. 

 

My only tips would be to be organized with the documents they ask you to bring in and try not to read too much into the interviewer's style or questions (friendly, hostile, indifferent, etc.) People have had very different experiences and still gotten approved!

 

Good luck!

[VA2005 2]

I guys. I had my interview on June, 21st and was Approved on the spot by the immigration officer, but until now I have no response from USCIS. 

MIAMI/FL.

PD: 08/28/2020

 

Anybody in the same boat?

 

thank you

[Tigerlily87 40]

Ok, I got my interview notice today for September 28 I just have a couple of questions.

 

1) do we need to update the i864 or is the one and evidence we sent in sufficient?

2) it’s requesting custody papers for children not living in the house. I do not have originals of that only copies.  Will that be okay as I am unable to go back to Canada to get copies of divorce paperwork

[OhWow 83]

My case finally updated to "Interview Was Scheduled" this morning. I'm now waiting for the notice, to see when the interview is going to happen. 🙏

[cariger8989 14]

Received the Green Cards for all the applicants in my family last week.

Employment Based

No interview

Edited August 17, 2021 by cariger8989

[kkmk 47]

My interview has finally happened and I got approved! yay!

I am very thankful to all of you who shared your journey, knowledge and experience with me. 🧡

 

I'm gonna share my experience now hoping that it will be helpful to someone.

 

The waiting room:

While we were waiting for my name to be called, we noticed the couples that got called before us and how they separated two of them. I wonder if that was the infamous Stokes interview? First couple: got inside together, a while after just the guy left and was sitting at the waiting room again. Then he got called back and after a while both of them left together. Second couple: they arrived after us, but got called first. They both stood up to follow the IO, but the IO only let the woman in, told the guy to wait outside. He seemed upset. It lasted for a while, then the woman was back at the waiting room and the guy went inside. And then I got called.

 

The interview:

My IO was very well dressed, polite and kind. His office was nice, decorated. There was a plexiglass on his desk with a hole for documents to be passed through. 

First he made us take an oath, then asked us if we are gonna need an interpreter. He then took our passports, checked them out and handed them back.

He asked for our Marriage Certificate and we handed him the original, he checked it out and handed it back.

He also asked us if we wanted to give him any complementary documents, to which we said yes and handed him the most recent joint tax statements, my husband asked him if he wanted the evidence of joint bank account, health insurance, etc that we submitted with the AOS before and IO said it was not necessary because he already had it. I also volunteered more recent pics (which I just printed in regular paper) where I wrote down the name of the people in the pics, place and date, which he took and said thanks (but didn't look through). He didn't ask for any specific document from us (like the vaccine form, my EAD, birth certificate, form I-94, nothing).

 

The IO was holding our file, the same way we had submitted it, with the page stickers and all.

He was going through that as he asked my husband:

- The date we got married.

- When we met (I'm not quite sure if he asked where and how, but I just remember my husband going through all the story lol the IO was interested/amused and asked followed up questions to that but it seemed to be more out of curiosity)

- How was the proposal.

 

Keep in mind that these questions were directed to my husband (the USC), IO was staring at my husband the entire time, I was wondering  briefly whether or not I should chime in, and decided not to, realizing that if the IO wanted to hear from me specifically he'd have asked me directly.

Besides, if you chime in it may raise suspicion that you're trying to help the person answer a question that s/he was supposed to know already lol

IO was writing down everything my husband was saying. 

 

After that the IO finally turned his attention to me and asked me those weird questions from the 485 form (have i killed someone, have i joined a nazi organization etc).

 

Then he asked us if we had any questions for him, I asked when we should hear back from them about the result of the interview and he said first they'd review our case and that in 3 weeks or so we should know.

 

IO made me sign the form, said we did not need to provide him with any further document and handed us a paper saying in short:

- I have completed my interview. USCIS is unable to complete my case at this time. My case is being continued until a final decision can be made and they will mail you a notice if they make a decision or take further action.

 

Finally, IO actually complimented us and thanked us for how good and helpful it was the way we submitted our AOS documents, how easy it was for him to find stuff in the dossier with the page marker stickers, he seemed really pleased with it lol 

We were happy to know that, we had watched many youtube videos of people giving their advice on how to send the packet, but they're not really IOs so we decided to do our own thing putting ourselves into the IO's shoes, trying to make his/her life as easy as possible lol

IO walked us out in good spirits, we were chatting about travel (he started it) and we gave him some tips and he thanked us.

 

Results:

As soon as I got back home I checked my status and it had already changed to "Card is being produced", the next day it changed to "Your case was approved" and the following day it changed to "Card was mailed to me".

 

I will write an update when I receive my card! 💳

 

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by kkmk

[FattieBanton 35]

I think I belong here and not actually with the September guys