SerendipityMuse

Just received my green card.
PD was August 29, 2017.
Interview was April 3, 2019. We had two officers interviewing us. Basically, we just went over i-130 and i-485 information and they just asked where we met, when as well as when and where we got married and why. That's it. They did not ask for any additional documents, except for renewed i-693 medical. They did not even ask for any new financial information i-864. We were recommended for approval and they congratulated us.
I did not receive any texts after the interview, but I did check online status of the application. April 3 - card is being produced. April 4 - status updated as "application is approved." April 8 - card was sent out. April 9 - tracking number became available and we received official the approval notices. April 10 - card delivered. 
Good luck to everyone who is still undergoing this process.

We got the card, and it is indeed the conditional two-year one. I think this is a legal requirement, not a discretionary decision. I'm so glad we're done for now!! I hope everybody else got their interviews as well! Thank you for all the support. 🤗

We got the card, and it is indeed the conditional two-year one. I think this is a legal requirement, not a discretionary decision. I'm so glad we're done for now!! I hope everybody else got their interviews as well! Thank you for all the support. 🤗

We just had the interview today! It went well. Detailed account below (long), in the hope that it may help those still waiting prepare for the interview and reduce their nervousness. TL;DR - standard interview, approval to follow shortly. 
 
We got to the USCIS office in San Francisco, went through security similar to the airport (show ID, put your shoes, belt, and everything in your pockets in a bin, metal detector, etc.), then got checked in.
 
An officer called for us about 15-20 mins past our scheduled time. She was a senior officer, very buttoned up and professional, very stoic. She took us to her office, swore us in, then started with my husband, the US citizen. She verified his name, date and place of birth, parents, current address, occupation (he's a student so was asked the name of his school, his major, and year of graduation). She then asked questions about his ex-wife - her name, whether she was a US citizen, and why they split up. 
 
When it came to me, she asked very similar questions plus others related to the visa on which I entered the US and when was my last entry, and we updated some employment information in the form. My current organization's name is a mouthful so we had a laugh about that, and the officer started to warm up. Then she asked me all the yes / no questions one by one (long list), and complained about how the list is getting longer and longer and she has to repeat it multiple times a day, so we had another laugh. Once that was done, she gave the forms to our lawyer to review and then we signed them.
 
She then asked questions about relationships. She started by asking my husband "so, tell me about your wife" to which he responded with a total deer-in-the-headlights look, lol. She helped him by asking how we met, so he ended up telling the story of our first year together. She asked him whether he met my parents, who attended our wedding, and whether we had a honeymoon. She asked me if I met his parents, then she asked if we had common assets so I gave her copies of our joint tax return, joint bank accounts, life and medical insurance, print-outs showing we are each other's emergency contacts at work, and joint bills. 
 
Finally, she said that she will verify all the evidence, but if all checks out she will recommend us for approval. So we got out of there smiling widely and went for a celebratory lunch! I hope the official approval comes soon. 
 
A few learnings -
- Remember to bring the interview invitation letter, our lawyer said that some people forget to bring it and can't get to their appointment!
- Be focused but relaxed, most officers are professional and positive, not adversarial. If you can help warm up and lighten up the atmosphere, do it!
- The interview lasts about 20-25 mins.
- If you have new information, disclose it so it can be included in the form. 
- Be over-prepared. I had a beautiful binder with copies of basically all our life organized by sections, which came in handy when she asked us for evidence of common assets. The common assets seem to be the most important pieces of evidence you can bring - she didn't even glance at the photo album I had spent hours lovingly putting together!
- Bring originals of your ID, EAD, and passport.
- Our lawyer said that generally officers pass the file with their interview notes to their supervisor who makes the final decision, but senior officers don't have to do that, they can approve it themselves. 
 
If you're still with me, and especially if you're still waiting for your interview - I hope you get the invitation soon and I hope this long entry is a bit helpful. Thanks for reading. Good luck!!
 

We just had the interview today! It went well. Detailed account below (long), in the hope that it may help those still waiting prepare for the interview and reduce their nervousness. TL;DR - standard interview, approval to follow shortly. 
 
We got to the USCIS office in San Francisco, went through security similar to the airport (show ID, put your shoes, belt, and everything in your pockets in a bin, metal detector, etc.), then got checked in.
 
An officer called for us about 15-20 mins past our scheduled time. She was a senior officer, very buttoned up and professional, very stoic. She took us to her office, swore us in, then started with my husband, the US citizen. She verified his name, date and place of birth, parents, current address, occupation (he's a student so was asked the name of his school, his major, and year of graduation). She then asked questions about his ex-wife - her name, whether she was a US citizen, and why they split up. 
 
When it came to me, she asked very similar questions plus others related to the visa on which I entered the US and when was my last entry, and we updated some employment information in the form. My current organization's name is a mouthful so we had a laugh about that, and the officer started to warm up. Then she asked me all the yes / no questions one by one (long list), and complained about how the list is getting longer and longer and she has to repeat it multiple times a day, so we had another laugh. Once that was done, she gave the forms to our lawyer to review and then we signed them.
 
She then asked questions about relationships. She started by asking my husband "so, tell me about your wife" to which he responded with a total deer-in-the-headlights look, lol. She helped him by asking how we met, so he ended up telling the story of our first year together. She asked him whether he met my parents, who attended our wedding, and whether we had a honeymoon. She asked me if I met his parents, then she asked if we had common assets so I gave her copies of our joint tax return, joint bank accounts, life and medical insurance, print-outs showing we are each other's emergency contacts at work, and joint bills. 
 
Finally, she said that she will verify all the evidence, but if all checks out she will recommend us for approval. So we got out of there smiling widely and went for a celebratory lunch! I hope the official approval comes soon. 
 
A few learnings -
- Remember to bring the interview invitation letter, our lawyer said that some people forget to bring it and can't get to their appointment!
- Be focused but relaxed, most officers are professional and positive, not adversarial. If you can help warm up and lighten up the atmosphere, do it!
- The interview lasts about 20-25 mins.
- If you have new information, disclose it so it can be included in the form. 
- Be over-prepared. I had a beautiful binder with copies of basically all our life organized by sections, which came in handy when she asked us for evidence of common assets. The common assets seem to be the most important pieces of evidence you can bring - she didn't even glance at the photo album I had spent hours lovingly putting together!
- Bring originals of your ID, EAD, and passport.
- Our lawyer said that generally officers pass the file with their interview notes to their supervisor who makes the final decision, but senior officers don't have to do that, they can approve it themselves. 
 
If you're still with me, and especially if you're still waiting for your interview - I hope you get the invitation soon and I hope this long entry is a bit helpful. Thanks for reading. Good luck!!
 

Sorry, I read this message really quickly and missed the congrats - thank you!! I hope everybody waiting will get their interviews soon. 🙂

Priority date August 28, 2017 filed in San Francisco.

Hi All, yesterday I received the email notification that my interview was scheduled!! I'm beyond excited. Time to start preparing. How long did it take from the time you received the email notification to the time you got the letter with the interview date in the mail? 

Hi All, yesterday I received the email notification that my interview was scheduled!! I'm beyond excited. Time to start preparing. How long did it take from the time you received the email notification to the time you got the letter with the interview date in the mail? 

Update (for California) from my lawyer - they're seeing interviews being scheduled now for their clients who filed in May / June 2017. The time is slowly ticking towards us filers in August / September 2017... 
 
Keep the faith! Good thoughts and wishes to us all. 

Update (for California) from my lawyer - they're seeing interviews being scheduled now for their clients who filed in May / June 2017. The time is slowly ticking towards us filers in August / September 2017... 
 
Keep the faith! Good thoughts and wishes to us all. 

Update (for California) from my lawyer - they're seeing interviews being scheduled now for their clients who filed in May / June 2017. The time is slowly ticking towards us filers in August / September 2017... 
 
Keep the faith! Good thoughts and wishes to us all. 

Unreal. I'm so sorry, Spore! But yay to the interview being out of the way. Did they give you an ETA for the corrected card? And regardless of the card itself, do you now have GC status? 

Also in SF, exact same situation down to the "as of" date... For what it's worth, my lawyer says their clients who filed in April 2017 are now being scheduled for interviews. 

I’m been watching this post for months. We filed August 2017 and they have finally scheduled my husband’s interview.  🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

Thank you! I hope so too! 🙂

Spore (and fellow Canuck), I am so happy for you!! 😃 Congratulations and good luck!
 
I logged in today and saw an update saying Case Is Ready To Be Scheduled For An Interview... dated March 16, 2018. I checked the account multiple times since the spring, last time about a month ago, and there was never any update other than Case Received. What does this mean?? Is it possible they're sending the invitation but it's been backdated? Has this happened to anyone else? 

Spore (and fellow Canuck), I am so happy for you!! 😃 Congratulations and good luck!
 
I logged in today and saw an update saying Case Is Ready To Be Scheduled For An Interview... dated March 16, 2018. I checked the account multiple times since the spring, last time about a month ago, and there was never any update other than Case Received. What does this mean?? Is it possible they're sending the invitation but it's been backdated? Has this happened to anyone else? 

You're an angel, thank you for all these resources, just what I was looking for!!

Congratulations, I'm very happy for you! 
 
Second your "being noisy" recommendation. My case didn't move for almost seven months until I contacted my Congressman and the Ombudsman... then the card got approved in two weeks. Good luck to everyone who is still waiting!

Definitely not alone.
I just went through this myself and decided to do paperwork by hand, but I had a fairly straightforward return (married in Sept, but haven't worked in the US yet). Was still a pain in the butt though.  I'll say the Canadian exit return was explained and walked through MUCH better than the US side. 
 
I don't have answers for you, but these resources were helpful to me:
I found this article very good on RRSP's: https://serbinski.com/working-in-usa/rrsp 
The Serbinski accounting forums are great too, esp for cross border questions.
I also found some of my answers on a great facebook group called 'Canadians living in the US.'
and I found this article a great overview of the whole US proceess: https://www.thebalance.com/residents-immigrants-tax-return-3193100
 
If you are still looking at doing it through a firm, these guys popped up as recommended on that facebook group: http://www.traveltax.com/index.html
or Im sure there are lots of others too, just have to look for cross-border/immigrant tax accountants.
Best of luck!
 

Hey all, my uscis.gov account updated to "card has been mailed to you" this morning. I will be dancing all weekend.

I got my letter about GC interview today! 

Congratulations, I'm very happy for you! 
 
Second your "being noisy" recommendation. My case didn't move for almost seven months until I contacted my Congressman and the Ombudsman... then the card got approved in two weeks. Good luck to everyone who is still waiting!

I got a job! Woho!