f2a485

MY INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE

Hi guys since I am the first F2A AOS here to go for an interview, I thought I should share my interview experience as promised (you can see my timeline on the signature line below).

Background: Marriage bonafide documents submitted with the I-485 application were:
1-Deed of our house
2-Lease for our former apartment
3-BC of our biological child
4-Copy of water bill showing name of husband and wife
5-Joint credit card statement

Our interview was scheduled for 2:30 pm but we arrived at 1:35 pm and took 10 mins to go through security. By 1:45 pm we had checked in and were seated in the waiting lounge. It was kind of a semi-circular room and IO were coming out from every angle and calling the names of applicants. The waiting was the toughest part of the interview, it was 2:30 pm and our name was not called. We gave another 10-15 mins, nothing........
My confidence sank and nervousness sets in. My thinking was that the reason they are taking too long is that they may be taking time in grilling the applicants and therefore running behind schedule. I couldn't believe how relax my wife who was the beneficiary was.
At 3:20 pm, a gorgeous and sweet African American IO in her mid-to-late 20s called my wife by the first name.
We walked up to her, as we were approaching, I gave her the usual American smile and she smiled back and greeted us. She told us to come with her to her office. And this is how the interview went once we were in her office:

IO: I am officer xxxxxx and I will be conducting your interview today. I need you guys to remain standing so that can swear you guys under oath. Do you plan to tell the truth blah blah blah

Petitioner and Beneficiary: Yes we do

IO: You may now take your seat.
IO: (to my wife) when are you due?

Wife: In December.

IO: Congratulations! Do you know what you are having?

Wife: (smiled) no we want this to be a surprise.

IO: (smiled)

Petitioner: You guys seem to be very busy today, is that how it is for you guys every day?

IO: (smiled) actually not quite, it is just that we just moved to this new location 2 weeks ago and applicants have been going to the old location before driving all across town to this new location, that has been causing a lot of applicants to arrive late for their interview thereby making us to be running behind schedule.

Petitioner: Yes our interview notice was showing the old address but we were fortunate to find out from a friend last week that you guys are now in this new location. (Actually I found out from this forum. lol)

IO: I see that your I-130 has been approved, do you have a copy, because all I can see in your file is the 130 receipt notice.

Petitioner: (after looking in my binder) Oh no, I did not bring a copy but yes the 130 was approved on August 27th.

IO: Yes you are right, that is what I see in the system. Do not worry about not having the approval notice. May I see your LPR card sir?

Petitioner: There you go.

IO: Thanks. (she looked at it and returned it)
IO: (to the beneficiary) May I your passport?

Wife: Here it is.

IO: Thanks. (Glanced through it) can you confirm your last date and port of entry into the US?

Wife: Yes it was mm/dd/yyyy and port of entry was JFK.

IO: Have you left the country since then?

Wife: No.

IO: Do you guys have any kids?

Wife: Yes

IO: How many?

Petitioner: We have one 4-Y-O and a baby due in December, so will it be mathematically right to say we have one and a half kids?

IO: (smiled) I guess so. Do you have any other kids anywhere in the world?

Wife: No (IO then wrote it in CAPs with a red pen on the I-485 application that "NO OTHER KIDS ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD" )
IO: Do you have any document prove of your student status?

Wife: yes, here is an updated copy of my I-20.

IO: What do you go to school for?

Wife: xxxxxxxx

IO: Do you have any prove that you are enrolled in classes this semester?

Wife: No, I don't but I have my student ID

IO: That's ok. I will now confirm the information on your 485 application with you. (after confirmation all the information like names, DOB, names of parents and DOB etc, she asked the yes or no questions)

IO: (she then pulled the I-94 from wife's passport and stapled it to her file) OK guys you are all set, you should be receiving your permanent resident card between 2 and 6 weeks, do you guys have any questions for me.

Petitioner: We had a planned trip out of the US in a week's time, is it at all possible to get my wife's passport stamped?

IO: uuhhhh, I do not have any problem stamping your passport but let me check first with my supervisor. (she made a quick phone call). OK you guys will have to bear with me because I will have to complete your paperwork right now, submit your case for approval into the system before I can stamp your passport.

Petitioner: That's fine.

IO: ( after working on the system for about 2 mins or so) ok guys your application has just been approved. (her supervisor worked in and handed the dry seal to her, and she stamped the passport and embossed the dry seal on it.)
IO: I will make this valid only for 2 weeks since you will have received you GC by then. Here is your passport, do you have any questions?

Wife: No, thank you very much.

IO: Ok guys let me walk you guys out.

At the end of the hallway, I gave a firm handshake to the IO and thanked her again.

We couldn't have asked for a better experience guys. I could tell that IO had approved the application in her mind. You can see that through out the interview it was as if the petioner does not exist.....
It was suprisingly a very painless process.
I will be looking forward to reading everybody's interview experience.

F2A AOS GC approved today 10/9/13!!!!!!! yay
Hi guys, first I wish to thank bokar83 for creating this AOS thread for F2A filers. I apologize I have been away from here for a long time due to work.
Looks like I am the first of the August 2013 F2A AOS filers to go for interview. I guess I was the first guinea pig and a good one to be experimented with the F2A cases:))
The good news is I was approved on the spot. Interview lasted less than 5 mins.
My case has brought good news to the F2A category, hopefully all other F2A cases will follow same.
I will be back with details of the interview shortly.
Hang in there guys

What I have noticed so far is that all the RFE to prove that petitioner is a US citizen has been issued people who filed I-130 and I-485 together.
I have not heard same from those who filled with pending I-130s.
Another trick is your cover letter. It should have stated clearly and bold on the subject line that you are adjusting status under the F2A category.
I clearly mentioned that on my subject line and also attach a copy of the August 2013 visa from the DOS which shows that F2A was current.
What I am saying summatively here is that I did not leave this up to whoever was processing my application to find out whether I am eligible for AOS at this stage or not, I actually made a case in my cover letter.
Well I have not received an RFE, maybe I will, maybe not we will see how it goes.
The only good thing for me going on for me now is that my I-130 was approved yesterday. If I get an RFE like the others, I will just attach copy of my NOA2 approval and send it back to them.
But again all this is very strange, I know and have seen it in countless cases that USCIS will never cash your check until they have determine that you are eligible to claim whatever immigration benefits you are seeking from them. The fact people's checks were cashed was an indication that they were eligible to file. I think someone must have screwed up at the NVC.
You will be fine guys. God bless!!

Hi Bokar83, Now that you have completed FP, did your 485 move from acceptance to initial review yet?

This is fantastic news. I could not wait for this moment to come to dispel the misinformation that some "mr/mrs know all" have been spilling in this forum.
Despite advice from all lawyers that it is perfectly legal for F2A to file while I-130 is pending, there were people in here who constantly argued against that even doing so without any proof.
I guess none of them will surface now as this will make them look very embarrassed.
Sometimes it is good to stay quiet rather than embarrass yourself on things that you have little or no knowledge about.
Good luck with the rest of the F2A filers with pending 130s

These processing times are clearly worthless in my opinion. CSC says their processing time for F2A is 10/2011 but they are approving cases submitted as early as 11/2012. On the other hand VSC says their processing time for F2A is 04/2012, but I do not think they have approved anything close to 12/2012 as CSC has done. So as you can clearly see the processing time is not a representation of what's on the ground.

That's not true! The only reason F2A could not file concurrently was because there was no visa immediately available for this category in the past, therefore you will have to start the I-130 process while waiting for a visa to become available.
Have you ever wondered while people in the employment categories 1 and 2 can file concurrently? Is it because the are immediate relatives of US citizens? No, it is because the have a visa immediately available for their category.

Like bokar83 states, anyone still drowns in this skepticism to file shouldn't, that will mean less applicants in line and maybe our applications will be processed soon:))

If you are doing AOS in the US with a pending I-130 and you are still in doubts, please see the links below. I cannot wait for August 1st
F2A is current for all countries- green card holders- get ready to file!
FB Category - Frequently Asked Questions (Updated)
Again if your lawyer tells you that you cannot adjust status until 130 is approved, fire your lawyer now and get a new one, we still have about 17 more days to go guys