rushter

Your interview was AWESOME! (At least your officer actually 'talked').

You passed. Mark is right.

Check mine out today...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32698

You got no problems.

Congratulations to you both.

Can I trade interviews with you? I'll give ya a hundred bucks.

Man that sounds like a fifth avenue block party compared to mine!

Cheers and thanks for your insight!

(I know Bob from Enzyte! That's me when I'm not being interviewed by the USCIS - ROTFLMAO! I love your write up!).

Thanks a lot. I'll tell you, based on what I saw in this officer's cubicle, she was in AOS hell (I really felt for this situation trying to put myself in her shoes).

I really can't fault her. She was doing her job. Even my wife said she was very 'official', like people in Russia would be and that she thought everything was fine.

It was just me that had this really crummy gut feeling about the whole mess.. My wife's been in a good mood ever since we left there... but of course I'm translating body language in politically correct tones too. Considering the expense of filing for this voluntary suicidal-rectal examination, I too would like to think that there would be some reasonable response and at least some kind of 'feel good' about yourself someplace.

Guess that mr feel good wasn't to be had today.

All in all, I cannot fault uscis, the consulate in moscow, the office in atlanta... none of it. Everything has gone amazingly fast even though we filed for AOS a year late.

On a more personal note, getting to this point is the one thing I have been dreading ever since June 2002 after I came back from Russia the first time to find out my business had virtually burned down in less than 10 days. Got it all built back - almost, but it's taken a long time... The one constant that I've found I could trust was open and honest opinions from folks here at vj.

Prayer worked too.

Thanks so much.

You know what....

There may be no correct answer to this question since you had pending I129 and 130 apps pending simultaneously, and then ended up with a K3.

I'd submit your NOA2 that you got with your K1, and attach a cover letter to it explaining that you didn't get a NOA2 for your I-130 due to the circumstances and timeline.

If they won't buy it, then they'll just rfe the thing. In which case you'll have to go barking up a different tree.

(I'd chase down that package that went to your wife in the Cameroon though... that's where it's probably at).

Just my two cents.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32724

Somebody knows what's going on in that thread there.

Take'em all.

Better yet, have dupes made of everything and leave the formal albums at home. Photos seemed to be the most important part of the evidence at our interview today - they looked at almost 5 years worth and I think they made photocopies of an inch thick stack of them.

LOL...

Talk about immediate differing opinions!

Denver does not stamp, I do not know about Atlanta.

Sounded an OK interview to me.

You're right. It was an OK interview.

Easy actually. But dang it.... no feedback is a killer. I guess they know that too.

Which is why I feel like that's the house on haunted hill.

rotflmao.

Yeah you know I didn't even think about checking our status after the interview by using the online thingy. Works for me!

Thanks for the support and feedback all. It's much appreciated!

I'll tell ya, I would really like to know who pulls the straws in that place to determine who gets to interview who. All I've seen about Atlanta are 'nice young man', or 'very nice lady'... and 'so kind' and gag me, man that makes me sick now.

I saw a couple of 'nice young men', but a LOT more warlocks and witches than nice people. I'll bet they have those funky symbols painted on the floor in a back office somewhere and sacrifice an application or two every week.

So my advice would be, take your crosses and wear garlic around your neck before you go into that office for an interview.

She was the third on the left from the left door.

Yeah well, the only thing I've been able to figure out is...

No bad news means good news. She didn't say anything about any problems or 'you need something' or anything.

Just something something letter or mail or blah...

effective as of today.

Of course, she could've said 'you will receive official certification in the mail that you are a complete idiot, effective today' ; and I wouldn't have known the difference!

Back to holding breath mode. Lol.

Relax. I'd give it at least two weeks before getting concerned. We never even received our registered mail receipts back either. I think we had noa's in about 3 weeks.

Thanks for the responses. I have spent many many hours combing the internet and this site for interview experiences and I've yet to find anything coming out of the Atlanta (Dunwoody) office that resembles this.

And that's what I was thinking as I'd heard of that before... no 551 stamp after a successful interview.

We weren't even in the least bit nervous - the second we entered her cubicle, all I could think was "damn, your office looks just like mine with all the folders and ####### on the floor!". I even tried to make small talk but it was totally ignored. It was if I was being interviewed by a computer. Then again the HAL2000 would've given a more enlightening interview.

This lady's office was STACKED with thick immigration files from many different people. Hey if you wanna know where your case is... just go digging through the piles of folders in this place!

I just don't know. I'm not depressed or frustrated or anything, but I am kind-of in an 'alert mode'....

I figured this thing was going like clockwork as we got no rfe's for anything previously. Even got ead within a couple of months, then ssn, no problems.

Today was our interview. Wife's scheduled at 1 son's at 1:30.

We got Ms Attilla the Hun.

Straight to business. Felt like we were being interviewed by LCDR Data on Star Trek NG.

State your name... have you been or have you ever:

Questions from the application - terrorism, prostitute, communist, etc.

When is your birthday? When were you married? Where were you born? All to my wife.

To me:

How did you meet?

She asks if we got updated medicals, handed over two sealed envelopes with the latest.

Not one inference to our son at all. Not even a glance. Then (quote):

"Proof of life together."

Scramble scramble for bank statement, IRS letters (indisputable proof eh?) in both our names, Tons of photos (she looked at all of them, going back to when we first met in 2002 in Russia), and our lease. That was it. While she was asking the questions she was going through our 1+ inch think file and browsed thru everything, made a few initials here and there... it was like there was nothing wrong. (I kept waiting for her to pull out a blowtorch and set it on fire at any second though - the silence was un-nerving).

Then she told us to wait outside while she kept our id's, wife's passport, photos and ahem... `proof of life together`. I picked up our box full of now useless documentation and wife and son followed me outside.

Thirty minutes later she reappeared at the door and motioned us to come and then called another couple at the same time. Now this is where it gets weird and I get confused. While she's guiding in the other couple she hands me our stuff back (without I94 and EAD) and says words to the effect of "something" or "letter "... in the mail effective today.

Swoosh... the door closes. I hardly had a chance to say thank you. But yet I don't know what I was thanking her for?

There is NO stamp in the passport. Hmm. Either we were approved or deportation proceedings are in effect as of today.

Any thoughts?

PS: I'm not going to identify the interviewer, but I will say that it's right off the top of my _____ in a manner of speaking.

I just filed late... way late... No problems so far. Just don't leave the country until your aos is complete.

2/14/05 Arrived USA

3/08/05 Married.

5/14/05 K1 expired.

5/30/06 AOS and EAD Apps Received by USCIS. (Had tax issues and what not so it took a year before I could file for the AOS).

6/29/06 AOS Touched.

8/03/06 EAD Touched.

8/04/06 AOS Interview Letter Received by Mail.

8/09/06 EAD Approval received in Email.

Do single sided.

If you do anything else it's likely they'll invoke the Murphy's Law Clause.

All we sent in I think was two photos. Still got approved. Don't know what the meaning of these things really is anymore since it's all done digitally with the biometrics thing.

I wouldn't sweat it.

A little suprised by the 'system'.

Submitted AOS and EAD docs a couple of months ago.

AOS was touched once. We received interview date letter (sept 18) in the mail about 8 days ago. Online case status still hasn't been changed.

EAD was touched on 8/3, and tonight just got an email saying the EAD was approved and notice is in the mail.

I figured the nbc would just let the ead sit on the shelf until our interview date so they could just keep the money for the application like they've done everyone else.

I'm really suprised that all of this has been processed so stinking fast.

Timeline:

2/14/05 Arrived USA

3/08/05 Married.

5/14/05 K1 expired.

5/30/06 AOS and EAD Apps Received by USCIS. (Had tax issues and what not so it took a year before I could file for the AOS).

6/29/06 AOS Touched.

8/03/06 EAD Touched.

8/04/06 AOS Interview Letter Received by Mail.

8/09/06 EAD Approval received in Email.

That's it for now, everyone have a good night and good luck with your cases.

If she's not that good in english, put her through english courses. Pay for them. The rewards will be immeasurable.

Regarding driving... That's a good idea from patricks. My wife already had a Russian drivers license anyway but she still had to take the tests here in the states. After she arrived, she spent about two months manually translating the state license manual to Russian. If you want a copy send me a pm.

Having driven a lot in 'mad mad mad mad' Russia, I can tell you it's a great primer for driving here. Dodge ball on wheels

I can't see where anyone has addressed the issue of the husband living alone for a long time.

Believe me, I was one of these slugs and although I loved my fiance, wanted her here, and something more from my life I KNEW it was going to be hard as hell on me to get used to having a full time family again.

I even told her long before she came here that I would need her help and understanding to assist me in adjusting EVERYTHING... to adjust my attitude and stuff just so we could survive my own adjustment phase. She too had been single for a number of years, but she was as ready as I was to commit and live together, and had a whole different attitude about it.

The day we got married, neither one of us were in the mood for it. We were NOT having any fun. But we both agreed that if we were going to make it then we had to make the real commitment to each other, which is a heck of a lot more than a 90 day k1 visa. If we didn't, then we'd just divorce and she would go home.

I don't know of anyone who was 100% ready to get married, and did it without any internal reservations as there are no guarantees.

From my own perspective, I had been a royal pain in the ####### for the first 3-7 months of my wife being here. I did not like having to account for every bit of everything that I used to do without accounting to anyone. But that's the cost of getting a ready made family. There were a number of times when we just could not stand each other, but still, we worked through it.

After all is said and done we've come a heck of a long way. We were always willing to try to make it work, but we were NEVER willing to just throw away 3+ years of a relationship because we were having problems like a couple of pouting children mad at their parents over trivial matters. We are a lot stronger in our love and relationship now because we decided to make the commitment of marriage and work through it.

That's my 2 cents.

For real advice: Pack your bags and get ready to get out of this country BEFORE your 90 days are up. You can always come back on another K1 (to the same person), but I don't think you can if you've overstayed your visa! That risk alone is not worth an overstay imo.

Otherwise, make a real commitment and get married on time. If it doesn't work, get divorced and go home. Either way, you will not run afoul of bcis.

but she left and I have filed for divorce, also within the 90 day time frame before her K-1 visa was up.

You say she left... left as in where? Back to khazakstan or to the friends cousin's brothers house in the next city?

There may be other issues if she's still floating around in the states...

As the crow flies, Charleston is actually closer to Swainsboro than ATL (esp since the center is on the nw side of atl).

Hmmm. Wish they would've made us go to Charleston for the biometrics, would've been a heck of a lot more fun in the summertime than dealing with atl $#%(. Charleston's a nice place to visit if you don't live there. :-)

Once you get your ead, go apply for your ssn.

ymmv.

Not to be a rabble-rouser, but I don't agree with the 'No Big Deal' philosophy.

It really IS, no big deal. The USCIS has made particular exception to those out of status on a K1.

While it is totally 'uncool' with the overall scheme of things, a K1 out of status is specifically brought back into status by filing aos when it's most practicable.

Although my own situation dictated pushing the limits of K1/AOS timeframes, I know that if my wife left the country right now she would not be allowed back in because of it. Which makes it uncool for sure.

Just do it asap. You'll be ok as long as you don't need to go back home in the interim.

jmho.

PS: That said, once you have a problem and need to go home, AND you are actually out of status, then you're screwed. And everything that Mr Anti-"No Big Deal" philosophy said is the real thing. Pray mom don't get sick or mugged or something and you need to go home and you're out of status here. Better safe than sorry. He's right. But so is everyone else. Just don't be on the out of status side when your loved one back home is having a problem where your attendance is needed.

MEN!!!

Thank a man at the uscis for the change in the requirements...

(Sorry couldn't resist!)

(USCIS status & expiration date:)

I'd put:

Previous Dependent of B2 Visa Exp: xx/xx/1998, Out of Status.

Don't know how those other visa things work but the above should work unless someone can come up with something better.

Old way: Housewife

PC way: Unemployed