Jish&Abt

Hey guys, I had my interview a couple of days ago and wanted to share how it went. We had to wait only a few minutes before the officer called our name, we were sworn in, he asked for my driver's license, passport and work permit. The interview started with the officer asking questions from pages 1-16 from the I-485 to me (beneficiary). He didn't ask all of the questions, but a lot of them at least 25 including date of birth, place of birth, current address, my parents names and dates of birth, and other general questions like "Have you ever received any type of military training?". Then he gave me back pages 1-16 to go over them and make sure he marked everything correctly, and then had me sign on page 17. The officer then started the second part of the interview with questions to me and to my wife, such as "What's something he/she does that annoys you the most?", "What does your home look like?", "How many sibling does he have, and do you talk to them?", "Where do you work?", "Have you ever been out of status or entered the country without being inspected at a port of entry?", "(from one of my pictures with a sandwich on) Where do they make these huge sandwiches?", "Where do you plan on living in the next 5 years? Do you plan on having kids?", then he saw my folders of documents and asked if I had additional relationship proof I would like to give to him, so I gave him tax returns, more pictures, more text messages and he looked very satisfied with the stack of papers I placed on his desk. The last question he asked me was "Do you have any questions for me?", so I asked if the application will be approved, he said "Oh yea I'm approving you, I'll get it done in half hour; I don't know what's happening in the world right now so I'm guessing it should take about 2-3 weeks, up to a month for to get the card in the mail. The interview lasted exactly half hour, and it was not the scary terrifying interview I was expecting to have. Half hour after leaving the building I received a case status update email saying my card was being produced. Good luck everyone I hope this helps you to get an idea of what the interview is like, and to the ones who already finished this journey, congratulations and best of luck in your life!

Received update last night that case was scheduled for an interview. Chicago FO.  Letter with date coming.
 
Nice way to start the weekend!

Hi all, wanted to share our experience for the GC interview this Tuesday.
 
We arrived at USCIS early morning for the 8:15AM interview (in Albany NY field office). The check-in process was very smooth although I worries that they won't let me get in with her together (the notice mentioned that they are limiting who can enter because of COVID). The security officer asked if we both are being interviewed and I said I'm here with her since her English is not very good. They didn't give us a hard time. We got in around 8AM and was out in my car at 8:18 LOL.
 
The officer who interviewed her was very nice - went through the whole i485 form and asked all the situational questions on the form. My mom got very nervous at some point and she accidentally said YES to one of the "No" questions. The officer looked at her and asked one more time nicely and she realized that she didn't mean to say yes. I sat there with her but didn't really translate anything for her, just for emotional support mainly. At the end of the interview, the officer opened the i693 package and went though it. He then told us that we will get a mail in 2-3 weeks which will either be the approval notice or a notice to request more information. He also made a couple of changes to her i485 during the interview and asked her to sign the form in the end. Then he walked us out and we got back to my car.
 
I was checking the USCIS status for a whole day on Tuesday and finally by Tuesday night the status changed to "APPROVED". Wanted to thank everyone here for your emotional support throughout this journey. Best of luck to you all!
 
Here is our timeline for your reference: 
01/31/2020 Submitted i-130 online
02/12/2020 Submitted i-485 and i-765, i-131 forms and supporting documents to local post office (didn't submit i-693 but prepared it)
02/21/2020 Case was received at Chicago lockbox
03/12/2020 Fingerprints were taken in local USCIS office
03/31/2020 Received yellow courtesy letter to submit i-693 with the interview notice
04/06/2020 Case Status for i-485 changed to: Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for An Interview
04/27/2020 Received i-797: i-130 was approved
07/09/2020: Case Status for i-131 and i-765 changed to: Case was approved
07/29/2020: Received combo EAD and AP card
08/13/2020: Received SSN card (requested in the i-765 form)
03/02/2021: i485 interview scheduled 
04/06/2021: i485 interview - status changed to APPROVED same night

379 days after filing our AOS, we finally have a green card in hand!
 
Good luck to everyone who is still on their journey.

I have finally received the awesome notification that my interview has finally been scheduled for April 28th. I am so excited to finally be heading to the finish line and now I need to prepare all the info.
 
I do have one question regarding the I693. My wife completed the DS3025 during the K1 Visa process and we applied for the I-485 well before the expiration of the DS3025. The DS3025 expired in Oct of 2020 does this mean she now needs a I693 or is that requirement not pertinent because we already made it this far.

So excited to see all the approvals here!! Congratulations to everybody -- this is a gruelling process, but you made it!! ❤️ 
 
Our case is just an endless source of issues... apparently having a separate mailing and physical address is very difficult for USCIS, and so our case has been seriously delayed. Pittsburgh is now interviewing applicants from September 2020, and we still don't have an interview date.
 
After our interview was "scheduled" in February, I received a call from a tier two officer the next day (coincidentally, as I requested a call back a few weeks prior) confirming it was incorrectly scheduled in Hartford (despite me calling basically weekly since our biometrics in October and speaking to 2-3 tier two officers to try to correct the address), and he submitted an interview reschedule request to the Pittsburgh field office. This request was answered later that week via snail mail by the Hartford office (how is beyond me, the service request clearly said PIT in it), and simply stated that my address was updated in the system, making no mention of cancelling/rescheduling the interview.
 
I requested another tier two callback (3 weeks prior to the interview now), and received the callback the week prior to the interview. The tier two officer said he would call the Pittsburgh field office directly and call me back shortly afterwards. When he did call back, he said he spoke to the Philadelphia office and they were now aware of my case -- hold up, Philadelphia? "Yes" he answered, to which I reminded him that I needed the Pittsburgh office. He said "oops!, let me call you back". Second call back was to confirm the Pittsburgh office was aware of my case. I was then contacted directly by the director of the Pittsburgh field office who confirmed that they were now aware of my case. They cancelled the interview (thank goodness, because we were really dreading the 8 hour drive for an interview that we knew we would not be having, due to Hartford being the wrong field office). 
 
Get this: despite ALL of this, the cancellation notice was sent to .. drumroll please.. the wrong address. 
 
So I called again and requested another tier two callback, because if my case is in an automated scheduling queue, the system still thinks my address is in Hartford (never was...), so I'll just be rescheduled at the wrong field office. Again. The best part is, I didn't move. I filled out the forms correctly (I have triple checked), the source of this due to someone not reading my form closely enough to realize I had a different mailing and physical address and entering my address incorrectly at the beginning (correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this happens at the lockbox?).
 
As of today, its been 2.5 weeks since our interview was cancelled, and our status still sits at "Interview Cancelled and Notice Ordered". At this point, this is negligence at best and malice at worst. Unfortunately, I don't think applicants have much recourse (not that I've really looked in to it), but I'm really starting to get tired of the incompetence.
 

My status changed to new card being produced - woo!!! Looking forward to hearing your updates!

I had my interview today and it went really well from what I believe! No indication on whether or not we were approved -- she just said if she needs anything else from us we will get a letter in the mail.
 
She asked for IDs (passports, drivers license), my EAD, birth certificates, marriage license. She took all of my documentation for proof of relationship (financial documents, photos, beneficiary documents, cat adoption forms, lease + lease amendment, phone bill, insurance documents). 
 
While she was organizing our paperwork, she told us to prepare for a few questions: when we met, how we met, how we got engaged, how we got married. She didn't actually end up asking us the about our engagement and marriage, just about how and when we met online, met in person and how we maintained our relationship prior to meeting in person. She asked me how many times I've been to the US, if I've ever applied for a US Visa (since I'm from Canada we discussed how I didn't need a Visa to enter the US), if I had parents and what they thought about me moving to a new country and getting married to an American citizen. She also asked where we worked, where we were both born, typical Yes/No questions from the i485 form.
 
It went by pretty quickly and hoping to see an approval soon!!!

Our interview was completed today and we were approved on the spot. Thanks to all of you for your advice. Our officer was extremely nice and friendly . So happy. Next stop : removal of conditions lol

We finally made it to the end and our case was approved! I'm sending all my left over positive vibes to those still waiting. Hold on to hope, there is a finish line to this all!

After our interview notice being lost in the mail twice and missing return phone calls from Tier 2 agents twice—we finally had our interview yesterday in Los Angeles.

We arrived 15 minutes early as we were asked, we checked in and waited in a waiting room for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. They told us that they were several agents short that day and so that's what was taking so long.
 
Once we were called back, my wife (the applicant) and I went together. The officer was nice, she swore us in under oath and asked basic questions (name, address, where we work, how did we meet, any kids, etc). She looked through our application and confirmed a couple details (phone numbers, wife's employer, etc) She asked for copies of birth certificate for my wife and then asked her all of the (yes/no) questions about whether she was a terrorist or a criminal, etc. She asked if we had any additional documents to add to our file, so I handed over info regarding a shared credit card, renters insurance, and lease with both our names as well as a few new photos of our life together since we submitted the I-485 last February. She commented on our travels together and then told us that we were approved. She handed us a paper that she said would work the same as a Green Card if my wife had to travel outside the country before the actual card arrived. And that was it. Asked us if we had questions and wished us on our way.

In total we were in the interview office for about 15-20 minutes. The most difficult question she asked was "how many times have you entered the U.S." since neither of us could answer off the top of our heads and we hadn't memorized the answer.
 

Hello everybody, we had interview few days ago, so I want to share my experience. First she asked for my birth certificate, original and copy and for my ssn, passport and marriage certificate. She also took my husbands passport. She asked us for our financial situation, is everything same, we said yes. Then she asked us to tell her our love story, how we met, and get married. My husband said (and it was so funny to me) So I went to Serbia and we had mutual friend and she was there and we talked and I stayed there for 3 weeks and we hang out and she was awesome... and then I came back after two months, we went to vacation and I went back to Chicago, and then we had another vacation, and then I came again and then I asked her to come. She was denied for tourist visa and I told her that I want her to come here and be my wife... end of the story She said oook. Then she took my fingerprints and photo and asked those question about criminal history and then she told us that we are approved but she gave us a letter saying that case is on hold. I was confused, she said I just need  few more hours to fill up some documentation and by the end of the day you should see change in case status. And that how it was, my case status changed around 6 pm new card is being produced. And morning after, case was approved. 

Hi, it is my understanding that processing times differ in every field offices. Mine is in Chicago, IL(Chicago has slower processing times in everything). I filed February 2020 and they updated my I-485 to “case ready to be scheduled for an interview” on April 7, 2020, then they finally scheduled me for an interview which was on February 10, 2021. I hope this helps!

Just got the update that our interview was scheduled!! ❤️ 

We had our AOS interview in Nashville today. We arrived about 20 minutes early for interview and was able to go right inside. We went through security and the officer sent us right to window #1. The lady ask for the interview notice and for our ID's and once she verified our ID's she gave us a number and ask us to have a seat. in about 10 minutes our number was called and the officer met us at the door, introduced herself and guided us to a room where an Ipad was set up and she said this was going to be a "Virtual" interview! She went into another room and soon appeared on screen on the Ipad set up in front of us. She ask a few questions about our relationship and ask my wife every  question  on the back of the I-485 form (all NO answers). The officer was very nice and made us feel comfortable. She told us that she didn't need ANY of the documents/Evidence nor pictures that our Interview letter stated that we bring other than our ID's and my wife's passport, EAD, SS#, Drivers license. The officer informed us that the green card would be a 2 year card since we have not been married 2 years yet. She informed us that all the documentation that we brought (bank statements, pictures, shared accounts etc..) with us wasn't important at this point but would be in 2 years when we come back.  I said "So you are telling us that you need absolutely Nothing that we brought with us today?" She said no and then told us to start saving all the same things that we brought with us with dates starting AFTER today! I told her to at least take a look at our pictures and she seemed to enjoy looking and commenting on our album and even made suggestions on some pictures that we should have enlarged and displayed in our home....lol All in all the interview went very smoothly and took about 10 minutes total. Green card approved and should receive it in about 5-10 days. I must say this entire interview could and should have been done from the comforts and Safety of our computer room/office! We do have Ipads.......LOL

Hi all!
 
I know many of us Feb filers from this thread have moved on with the process, but I just wanted to wish everyone still waiting a very happy Monday. Hopefully it's a good week and we hear some news! ❤️ 

This is the continuation thread for
https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/730651-february-2020-aos-filers/
which was closed because of its large size.
-------
Everyone who is still waiting can take heart that approval will eventually come.
Those of us who've been through this definitely support you.

I got an update today that the "interview was scheduled". No update on EAD/AP after fingerprints were taken. 

Hello to all. Thank you so much for your advice, encouragement, help and compassion. We had our interview in the morning at the Boston, MA office.
 
I'm going to try and keep this detailed for anyone looking for tips/guide. Please feel free to ask any questions.
 
TLDR:
Our PD: Feb 21, 2020. Package sent without I693.
Mid march: Received notices.
June RFE: For Birth Certificate. Received in early June. Responded within a week. We were able to get my BC online and sent supplementary evidence like school marksheet.
July I693 Deficiency Notice
Early August: Reached out to Congressman's office in August and coincidentally/thanks to inquiry by CM office we got our i485/i765 bio for Aug 11.
Aug 11: 4hrs after bio I765 updated to show fingerprints were taken. 12 hrs after bio I485 updated to show fingerprints were taken.
Aug 17: I485 updated to 'Ready to schedule interview.
Nov 1: Received 2 mails (no online status update). 1 for bio appt for i131 set for nov 10. 2 for interview notice set for nov 18.
Nov 10: 1 hour after bio I131 updated to show Fingerprints were taken.
Nov 18: 1 hour after interview I485 changed to 'New card being produced'. I130 changed to 'Interview was completed and case sent for initial review.
 
Tips for Boston office:
Dress business casual. Prefer not to wear a suit. Try taking public transport.  If driving in, prepare for $$$ parking. Multiple garages near building but bad sign directions. Typically takes us 30 mins to reach office but today all routes had accidents so it took us 1 hour 40 mins. Always account for the unknown. Or get a new yorker partner like me. You will most likely be separately interviewed. Typically, the petitioner goes in first with all docs and evidences. Boston officers are generally very friendly. If you have an attorney, the officer can offer you to go in with your spouse instead of going in with your attorney. Our attorney recommended going in with them instead. Entrance foe visitors is on Cambridge street so try looking for signs or park at Boston food market garage. When you enter the building, you will be asked to remove belt, shoes and jacket like at an airport TSA. Account time for that. When you enter the interview waiting hall you will be asked 'have you been outside mass in the last 14 days?' Package preparation:
The interview notice comes with a list of items to be brought. Just focus on that. We hired an attorney so he gave us a run through of the same and did a 'prep interview'. We made one folder to keep documents in the series mentioned as per the interview letter: Interview letter & Passports, I693, I864, BC and so on. Try getting tax transcripts from IRS website right away Try getting a letter from your bank/cc company sharing that you own joint cards and accounts. We made another folder for the 'thick materials' like 12 months of bank statements, 12 months of CC statements, 12 months of phone bills and since we don't have a lease as proof of living together we had collected mail over the year. We also made 3 photo albums. 1 depicting our story on how we met and all. 1 of our small wedding ceremony. 1 of our rescue animals (my wife runs a rescue so we have saved about 150 animals. Try making a similar album for hobbies/things that you and your partner do together (it will help, can even just be an album of your messages etc.) We had also printed out all our air/bus/hotel/Airbnb reservations and tickets. Receipts for gifts we got each other. We also asked our friends to write letters stating how long they knew us, when they met us last and all. Backpacks/luggage are not allowed. Try preparing to have a transparent bag or hand carry docs with you. Questions asked (overall interview time 45 mins). Very conversational:
 
My wife went first and after taking an oath was asked the following:
Drivers license and Passport to verify her name, address (how long she has lived there) and parents name. Any former names If this was her 2nd marriage and what her ex husbands name is Why first marriage ended and when did he move out How we met Did her ex ever meet me Proof of bonafide marriage: Photo album How many pets and their names/breeds How we first met, what we did on our first date, when I met the pets, how i liked them Took tickets to events we attended and Airbnb reservations. Took CC Letter, tax transcripts My work status, what kind of job i did, work from home or on site, what my company did, what my work status was What visa I had and previously had Whether she had any dietary restrictions (she saw that I got her vegan cake) What was our fav restaurant What we liked to cook at home When I went vegan How her business was going with covid Then I was called in and after oath was asked (conversationally):
Drivers license and Passport to verify my name, address, and parents name. Any former names If this was my or wife's 2nd marriage and what her ex husbands name is When did ex husband move out When did i move in How we met Did her ex ever meet me How many pets and their names/breeds How we first met, what we did on our first date, when I met the pets, how i liked them What things we did together My work status, what kind of job i did, work from home or on site, what my company did, what my work status was What visa I had and previously had Whether I had any dietary restrictions What we liked to cook at home How her business was going with covid Then we went through our I485 questions (whether I'm terrorist, communist etc)
Took photo with webcam.
Took index fingerprints on both hands.
Confirmed 1 change that I was unemployed since we filed and I signed on that
 
Then she said I should be getting a letter soon and it may be my GC for 2 years. Briefly told me about ROC. She was shocked that I had 2 appts for bio.
 
We thanked her and that's all.

Got an update on my i-485 that interview is ready to be scheduled. No EAD, hopefully it gets scheduled fast, at least that.

It took one week for me from case is ready to be scheduled for an interview to interview was scheduled. 
Nov 2 - case is ready to be scheduled for an interview 
Nov 9 - Interview was scheduled. 

Good morning!
 
We just had our interview yesterday at 8:30am and got a case update at 4pm that our case was approved and green card is being produced! Whoo! 
I still cannot believe that this process is over for now, after months of being stressed out. It's kind of insane. 
 
This is how our interview went for everyone getting ready for theirs:
 
 We were called in at around 8:35am, were informed about COVID procedures, and taken to our IO's office. We handed her our IDs and appointment letter and were sworn in. She asked us about our full legal names, each others DOBs, and each others parents names. She asked us where we live, and who lives there, and where we lived before. Next she wanted to know where we met, how long we were seeing each other before we officially started dating, how long we were dating before we got engaged, and who was at our wedding. We did not have a big ceremony, so she asked us if we were still planning on having one after COVID to which we said yes, but that we do not have any specific plans yet. 
Then she went over some of the I-485 questions. Lastly, she read all the changes she made to my application and had me sign for it. (There were like 6 changes/notes, including our new jobs etc.) 
 
We were not really nervous about our interview, but here are the two things I was a little stressed about and how it went, for whoever might have similar worries:
 
1. My family was not at the courthouse wedding. We had decided we wanted to do two small ceremonies, one here and one in Germany, with each of our families. We knew it would be a while before we would have a big celebration (for financial and logistical reasons) and didn't want to make everyone travel. Sadly, due to COVID, we haven't gotten to celebrate with my family yet. We were worried that that might seem weird, but it was no problem.
2. We do not wear wedding rings. We aren't super traditional and wedding rings don't have a deep meaning to us as they do for many other couples. I was worried that might be something they would question us on, especially since we also had such a small wedding celebration, but she didn't even ask us about that. So for anyone who might also be stressing out about wedding rings - it was no big deal at all in our experience. 
 
She then told us she'd run a BG check and make a decision today if possible, but for sure this week. We did not get a piece of paper like I read others got, but she also didn't say we were approved. So while the general impression we got was that we were basically approved, since she also explained to us how removal of conditions would work in 2 years, we didn't actually get a result right away.
 
Oh, and the entire process, from check-in to leaving the building took about 45 mins. And she did not really care about any of the new proof we brought haha. 
 
So we had a very smooth experience. I hope this helps some of you and good luck to everyone still waiting!

Both our EAD and AP got approved today. Status updated around 3pm EST. We had biometrics for EAD on oct 20th and AP on Nov 9th.
I485 - Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for An Interview since nov 6th

Just received my interview date and I'm scheduled on December 1,2020 after waiting since December 31, 2018.
 
Wish me luck.

Both our EAD and AP got approved today. Status updated around 3pm EST. We had biometrics for EAD on oct 20th and AP on Nov 9th.
I485 - Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for An Interview since nov 6th

We had the status "Card being produced" on last friday, today it changed to "Approved"