NingNing

When we had our interview, the officer did not look at my (US citizen)'s birth certificate since my citizenship is through naturalization even though I had my birth certificate with me. I don't think it should matter if you are a naturalized citizen but if you are a citizen by birth then that will be a problem....

Good luck!

Hello, following is my cover letter sent to the Chicago office. Hope this helps. Good Luck!!!!!

*************************************************************************

Chicago District Office

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

P.O. Box 805887

Chicago, IL 60680-4120

Case Type: I-485 Application to Register Permanent Resident or Adjust Status

ORIGINAL SUBMISSION

Petitioner: PETITIONER’S NAME

Beneficiary: BENEFICIARY’S NAME

To Whom It May Concern:

Enclosed please find my Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Resident or Adjust Status, and Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and supporting documents in connection to the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative by my spouse. My eligibility is based on marriage to a U.S. citizen.

Contents include:

Personal Check: Payment in the amount of $395 for Form I-485 and Fingerprinting Fee

Personal Check: Payment in the amount of $180 for Form I-765

I-485 Application to Register Permanent Resident or Adjust Status

2 Photographs of Beneficiary

G-325A of Beneficiary

Sealed I-693 Medical Examination of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status

I-864 Affidavit of Support from sponsor XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Proof of Current Employment

Letter from Employer

Recent pay statement

2005 Federal Income Tax Return

2004 Federal Income Tax Return

2003 Federal Income Tax Return

I-765 Application for Employment Authorization

2 photographs of Beneficiary

Photocopies of Beneficiary’s NEW I-94, front and back

Supporting documentation

Photocopy of Petitioner’s’s naturalization certificate

Photocopy of certified marriage certificate

Photocopy of Beneficiary’s Birth Certificate

Photocopy of Beneficiary’s VISA.

Photocopy of Beneficiary’s NEW I-94, front and back

Photocopy of Beneficiary’s OLD I-94, front and back

Photocopy of Beneficiary’s new Philippine passport

Photocopy of Beneficiary’s old Philippine passport

Sincerely,

Beneficiary’s Name

Date of Birth: XX/XX/XXXX

********************************************************************************

**

Patience is the key... You will probably get it this week. Good luck and Congratulations!!!!

CONGRATULATIONs!!!!

My husband came with a tourist visa 4 and half yrs ago, then later became a student visa, then H4 visa, then we got married last year Jan 22 (never had a K visa). I was a bit confused on which box to check on that section too, then we just decided to pich H (not J: sorry) and then indicated that eligibility was marriage to a US citizen. We filled out both I-130 and 485 forms and everything was fine, no RFEs or anything like that.

anca,

wellsdr,

That would be h, not j ? That error in posting aside, it was clear in your situation that you should have checked c, not h, and so the USCIS could confidently correct your error. It was not so clear in anca's situation, in her case it simply appeared that she had applied for adjustment with no basis for the application.

Yodrak

What a pain huh? When we filled out our forms, on the I-485 form, on Part 2 Application type, we checked J: Other basis of eligibility and explained that it is based on marriage to a US citizen (since he did not have an A # yet) and our journey went smoothly, did not get any rejection letter because we checked the wrong box....

Good luck to you and your spouse!!!

Wow.. that's nerve wracking! Hope you hear from them soon and good luck!!!! I wonder what triggered them to interview you seperately?

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

My hysband got his today, too! What a sigh of relief....

Hello. Don't worry, you will probably receive your welcome letter in the next couple of days. We had our interview on April 27th. I thought we were going to wait long for this letter since my husband had his biometrics 2 days prior to the interview but fortunately we received the welcome letter today! We also got an email saying that an interview was conducted in our case and that a decision will be mailed soon on the day they sent the actual welcome letter (May 3). He has not even received his EAD yet... anyways best wishes to you and your spouse and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Best wishes on your interview!!! Don't forget to keep us posted...

CONGRATS!!!

I disagree with you though, noone should pretend anything because there are cameras.

I don't think we will be hugging right before the interview, I will be stressed.

We will be natural.

Anna

Thanks! I did not say pretend. Its just natural if you are a real couple to hug and kiss. I just said that because I know someone who got interviewed separately. They were fighting the night before and was not really speaking to each other. Which MAYBE prompted the officer to interview them separately. I heard it was really nerve racking.

"You will get your green card in the mail in about 2-3 weeks." USCIS officer Munzon said to us.

Yes, we were approved! We had our interview this afternoon at around 12:30pm. We waited for only about 15 minutes after we checked in at the Chula Vista Office. We brought with us 3 big albums, 2 binders of marriage proof and a bag of third party mails (e.i. credit card offers) that have addresses that match. Officer Munzon seemed to be a really nice guy and we felt comfortable right when he called us in to his office.

First, he asked us for our govt. issued ids, passports, and naturalization certificate. He asked my husband ( the beneficiary) to state his full name, when and where was he born. Then we were sworn in to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. He asked us what evidence we brought with us, and we gave him a copy of our 2 joint credit cards, insurance cards, and CA id's that have matching addresses. I gave him a copy of all the stuff that we brought, 2 whole punched with tabs. I told him he could just keep everything, but he only took one statement of our savings account and statement of one of our credit cards. While flipping through the papers that I gave him, he asked me what I do for a living. Then he said, "I can see, you already filed for your 2005 income tax." Then I said yes, we filed jointly. He also asked my husband pleasantly what his mom and dad's names are, when and where was his last entry to the US, and if he never left the country ever since, what our address is and what area of San Diego, do we have any children. He also asked how, when and where did we meet then I asked to see a picture of the actual wedding ceremony which he went ahead and made a copy of. I did not even get to show him all the pictures that I gathered dating back from 2002. We also asked if he wanted to see the third party mails that we brought and said that it is not necessary. He then asked the questions that were in the last page of the AOS application, if he was ever a terrorist, etc, etc, which he answered "no" to all.

He then said since you just had your biometrics 2 days ago, the results are not in our system yet but once it gets there which will be in 2 to 3 days and you're clear, you will get you green card in about 2-3 weeks. Then he showed us that his FBI name check has been cleared. He made us sign the removal of condition notice form that we will receive once his biometrics recults get in. He also said, "I will grant you your EAD but once you receive your green card, you don't need that anymore."

Everything went smoothly! He then walked us to the door and shook both of our hands. Then we thanked him sincerely. Below are some tips that I have learned through this experience:

1) You can never have too many evidences. Having a lot of proof just makes your case stronger.

2) Study the application that you sent. 90% of the questions asked was from the application forms that we turned in.

3) While waiting for the interview in the waiting room, show that you do have a relationship. (hug, kiss, caress each other) There are cameras in the waiting room which I am sure they are watching.

4) Walk in to the interview room confidently.

You have nothing to be afraid of if your marriage is bonafide.

Thanks everyone for all your support and prayers!!! Good luck to ya'll!!!!

Best of luck to you too! It looks like you've got more than enough. BOTH of us will get approved Thursday will be a good lucky day...

Thanks!!!

This should be the real interview for your AOS. We are having ours on Thursday. Bring all the stuff that they want you to bring which is listed on the notice. During this interview, if they feel that they need more evidence or anything like that then they will schedule you for another one. Good luck!!!

Wow, this is a very speedy timeline! Seems that things are pretty fast on the west coast.

If you don't have a US passport, that's not a big deal.

Does your husband have EAD and AP? If yes, I'd take these -- you are supposed to turn them in at the interview, if approved on the spot. Does he have driver's license or state issued ID? We were asked for ours (the interviewer wanted to make sure that the addresses match).

Good luck at the interview!

My husband does not have an AP or EAD (applied but has not been given one yet) since he came here as a tourist 5 yrs ago then became an H4 visa holder. We do have driver's licenses with addresses that match. Thank you for reminding me about that. My husband is scheduled for his biometrics tomorrow then interview in 2 days!!!

Thanks again!!!

THANKS EVERYONE for wishing us GOOD Luck!

You have more than what I took with us - but I would add to take the USC passport also (He asked for mine and looked at my arrival, departure dates that were stamped when I went to Colombia to meet her.) Good Luck

Really?! Thanks! As for the USC passport, I don't have one since I am a Naturalized Citizen and have not applied for a passport yet. I met my husband here in the US.

Thanks!!!

Hello everyone! Our interview is on Thursday and we are plenty nervous! Below are the things we have accumulated. Please let me know if I am missing anything or any suggestions that might help us get approved. Thanks!!!

Notice to appear for Interview

Affidavit of Support

My 2003 and 2004 income tax and our 2005 Joint Income Tax

Last 3 month pay stubs

Proof of current employment

Both of our birth certificates

Beneficiary’s Immigration Documents such as

Passport (old and new)

I-94

Visa

Naturalization Certificate

Marriage Certificate

Savings account statements

Macys' Credit Card Statements

Copy of Macys’ credit cards

Copy of Visa credit cards (statements and payments are done online)

Copy of Costco Cards

Proof of Beneficiary Designations from work for life, supplemental, disability, etc

Insurance Cards indicating that he is covered under me

Dental insurance claims and invoices

Wedding Pictures

Tons of Pictures dating back from 2002 with family and friends

Some cards and letters to each other

Cards from other people

Bills and third party mails going to same addresses

Our apartment lease is under my and other roommates names, we did not include him since we do not want our rent to increase. This would not raise a red flag, would it?

Do you think our stuff is enough for us to get approved?

Thanks again! Wish us luck!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. This made me feel so much better! I think we should be fine in terms of our income taxes since we filed jointly this year and that should add to the proof of being a legitimate couple. He is also covered on the insurances provided by my work and I guess I should just make copies of the pictures that we are bringing to the interview so that they do not have to make copies themselves. It is good that he did not separate you guys for individual interrogation! I hope they don't do that to us

We are poor, too. We would not have a ring if it was not for my husband's grandmother! Starting a life all on our own is hard! Plus this added stress of the petition! Gawd!

Congratulations to both of you! I cannot wait for April 27th and share my (hopefully) successful interview with you and everyone!

Thanks again!

Thanks ya'll and good luck to everyone who has not had their interview yet.

Congrats!