hokeybutt

Just want to make sure I have all the current rules straight...

When crossing the border back into Canada I need to have my Permanent Resident Card AND my Canadian passport to show? There's no other documentation required, is there?

Do you belong to AAA? You could add that too.

you could tell her you meant shopping for Electronics and Car stuff...

I did! I started going on about how we weren't necessarily shopping for the same things... I would concentrate on the books and CDs and movies... she would concentrate on the clothes and knickknacks. 8)

My American wife and I went to our interview at the USCIS yesterday (a really , dreary, rainy day here in Milwaukee). Luckily Thursday is her day off work so we were quite happy that we got scheduled for a Thursday. We got through security without a problem (nothing at all like the awful 2 hour line-up we had to stand in 3 or 4 years ago). We went up to the second floor, dropped our letter in the slot for appointments and waited.

At some point one of the officers came out and called the name of an Asian couple. They got up to go inside the (locked) interview area and called out to another Asian woman who was on her cellphone on the other side of the room (we weren't sure who she might have been... maybe an interpreter for the couple?). The female officer bellowed, "Ma'am, get off the cellphone. You are not supposed to use cellphones up here." So the woman hangs up and goes over to her seat to get her coat and purse and put her cellphone away and she is taking a bit too much time apparently. "Okay, fine," the officer says rudely, escorts the other two people through the door and quickly pulls it closed to lock the other woman out. She gets to the door a couple of seconds after it shuts and, of course, can't get in. So she sheepishly takes her seat again.

My wife and I look at each other and think, "Wow, I hope we don't get THAT officer for our interview!"

About 20 minutes later... guess who we get as our officer!!???

Well, it didn't turn out so bad after all. We were sworn in (didn't expect that) and then I was asked some pretty basic questions (current address, mother and father's first names, my birthdate). I was asked where and when I first met my wife and I rambled off for a few minutes on that. Then, taking me surprise I got asked "What do you love about your wife?" Well, I just got totally flummoxed. I stammered and said something about her warmth and sense of humor... and then, after some uncomfortable silence I came out with "We share the same interests.... we like movies and we go shopping together..." "Shopping???" the officer gives me a wide-eyed look. "Really???" So now my wife is never going to ever let me forget that I was asked why I loved my wife and my answer was "Shopping!"

We had photocopied a ton of papers (not knowing what they would consider important) and, of course, t5he officer only wanted a few things. She first wanted to see our current lease or mortage statement in both or names (which we didn't have). We rent the top half of a duplex from my wife's best friend and they have nothing on paper. "Well," the officer says, "you'll have to bring me a letter signed by her, saying that." Right away my heart sinks. "Oh, great," I think. "I'm not getting approved today... gonna have to come back." Then we show her some insurance papers where we are listed as each others' beneficiary, our tax returns for last year, a bank statement with our names on it and the certificate of title to our new car (which we just bought last month). Luckily we had both our names on the title because that piece of paper seemed to impress her more than anything else (we almost didn't remember to bring it at all). She even changed her mind and said that we wouldn't be needed a letter explaining our lease arrangements after all. (Whew!)

The officer pried the staple out of my passport and took the I-94, took my EAD card and said that she was approving me and that I'd probably get the Green Card in 2 weeks! (Yee Haw!) She explained we now had 2 years before the next step and said we should be applying in February 2008. We gathered up our big satchel of documents (I brought every piece of paper I *ever* obtained in connection with USCIS) and left smiling.

Yay! We did it!

Now I just need a job...

They aren't giving the I-551 stamp too much anymore because the Green Cards are processed so quickly now.

Thanks a lot! I feel a lot better now! I just found some other posts that say the same thing. Whew!

We just had our interview for AOS yesterday... and I was approved (yay!) but in reading some other posts here today I am a little worried/confused...

The officer took my passport at one point and removed the I-94 record... there was nothing else added to or stamped in my passport. Was something supposed to be stamped in there? What is this stamp I keep readinjg about and when am I supposed to get it?

Thanks a lot for your help everyone!

Wow... just when I think I have this thing all figured out I learn something new.

My AOS is still pending... I haven't got an interview date but they took my prints and photo at the same appointment as my EAD biometrics. So... let me get this clear... when I go for my AOS they will take my EAD card and I will get an AOS card (green card) in its place? So I won't have to be renewing TWO cards at years' end? And once I have the AOS card I will be good for two years until I am able to go apply for citizenship status? Or will I be re-filing and re-paying fees again in the meantime?

I was a tad dismayed to get my EAD card in the mail today to find that it expired on Jan. 9/2007... that's not even 10 months!

So I have to apply AGAIN in about 4 months to insure that I get my renewal card by next January??? (This card took about 5 months from the sending of the form to the arrival of the card.)

Also... is the procedure for the renewal exactly the same as for a first time card? We have to send in the exact same information and fill out the exact same form? I was shocked to see that there is no information whatsoever about the procedure for renewal with my card.

My appointment (for both EAD and AOS, I believe) is on March 10 in the morning. How long do these appointments generally take and what exactly is done? They take my fingerprints... is that it? Do I need to be prepared for anything else?

Never heard about alien reg. card rather it's alien registration number correct me if i'm wrong pls..you can find that number in your K-1 visa on the leftside there is written there annotation, then below the name of your petitioner is your alien reg. number throughout the application.

Goodluck!

I just got my Notice of Action for my biometrics today and it says "naturalization applicants must bring their Alien Registration Card"... so I wondered if this was another card I'd be getting at some point.

What is the Alien Registration Card and when do you get this? After the AOS interview?