mochimasala

Hey everyone, I can happily and finally announce that I just received this e-mail later this afternoon.

Application Type: I485 , APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Current Status: Card production ordered.

Yuppiieee :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:

Anxiety is finally over.

Thank you guys so much for the positive feedback and support in this wait period.

CONGRATS IstanBulls!!! I'm so glad you got to hear good news!! Now it's time to enjoy the next year and nine months without any unnecessary worries.

Congrats on the successful interview Marie!! I'm sure you're glad to be done with the USCIS. For now.

My wife commented on how funny it was that you mentioned someone with the cocktail dress. We have been wondering what we want to wear when we attend our interview since we want to present a professional, more mature impression than one of the jeans and t-shirts that we normally wear!! Not that there's anything wrong with a nice pair of jeans and a cool t-shirt, mind you. But how often is it that one attends an immigration interview?

So, as promise, here is my review.

We booked a room downtown close to the office for Tuesday night. Considering Chicago weather and traffic, we did not wanted to take any chances. And since the day after was my husband's birthday, we went out and had a really nice diner for the occasion. Made sure we would wake up.. I had my phone alarm set up at 8:00, the "TV" alarm set up at 8:15, and a wake-up call set up for 8:30... lol

We took a cab to downtown Chicago office around 9:45. Appointment was at 10:28.

First, we went through airport security (metal detector), took the escalator and when to the reception. Talking briefly with the reception lady, she told us to wait for our lawyer and he would give her the letter.

The waiting room had about 50 people waiting in it, which kind of made me nervous and worried about how long we would stay there...

Our lawyer got there at 10:10, gave the letter, and we got one of those "restaurant" beeper.

Around 10:30, we got "beeped" in. A nice lady met us at the door and asked us to join her in her office. She introduced herself and told us she would be our officer for the interview.

First we stood, and were placed under oath. Asked to see our identification, my husband drivers license, and my passport and I-94. I also showed her my Illinois drivers license.

Then she verified the information in our files, asked the YES/NO questions again. I was asked if I was registered to vote or already voted in the USA (which I answered No).

Got some issue with my middle name. I wanted to use a middle name my maiden name, but they said it could not be done, so I decided to forget the middle name for now (I can figure what to do when it's time to renew the 10 year GC).

Then she asked for our proof of common life. We had our lease (she already had it on file), our common insurance (car, renters, health), one join saving account, one credit card account. She asked to see my original birth certificate, the translation, our original wedding license. She asked for pictures. We showed her our shower/rehearsal diner/Wedding album. She commented how nice it was, and asked questions about the location. She asked if we had any copies. We did had a bunch of loose pictures we gave her.

We had a new affidavit of support, with my husband paystub for the last 2 months. I offered to give her that, but she mentioned we were already cleared for that.

Then she said that she would review our file and we should have a letter about the decision in about 1-3 months, and that if we did not have any news by then to do an InfoPass appointment. Her and our lawyer mentioned about the condition and that everything should be explained with our green card at reception.

As we were leaving, our lawyer asked if we cleared FBI already, and she said yes.

We were out of there by 11:00. Went out to Frontera Grill (excellent Mexican restaurant by the way...) to celebrate being through the interview and my husband birthday :-)

I must say the experience (other than the airport security) was rather pleasant (considering what we were doing). Everybody (reception, security guards, officer) was friendly and helpful. I was really nervous considering reviews I've read, but I must say it went pretty smoothly and painless....

And at 5 o'clock, I got a text message saying our case status had changed:

Application Type: I485 , APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Current Status: Card production ordered.

:-) :-)

Congrats Mestis!!

Glad to hear that your interview went well!! And I'm sure you're glad to receive news of the decision that quickly!! I hope we're as lucky!!

Hello all,

We are all done, appointment was for 9am and thats about when we were taken in for the interview. The lady was vey nice, didnt need to see photos. Only asked the "how did you meet question" and the "are you a terrorist? do you want to over throw the government" questions. Asked to see financial co-mingling and the said your approved and said to make sure I reapply for ROC before the certain date. She took my 1-94 and the stamped my passport with a 1 year temp green card and said I would receive the plastic one in 2 weeks.

Was pretty fast, we were done in less than 10 mins. It was super relaxed and nice and I was nervous for nothing

Good luck to everyone, especially Marie and her Husband who are having their big day today!

~Bevan~

Congrats Bevan!!

That's gotta be the easiest and most smoothest interview anyone has ever had!!

Congrats Mestis!!! You don't have to deal with the USCIS for another 2 years !!

Looking forward to reading your interview review.

And good luck to marie09 on your interview!!

Good Luck Mestis!! And good thinking on getting the hotel room so that you can avoid any delays. I hope your interview goes well tomorrow and please let us know how you did and how it was.

Thanks! Please keep in mind that my interview was unusually rigorous (based on what I've heard). The preparation session was with an attorney. She reviewed our documents and told us what to bring and how to prepare docs and then went over the questions we will likely be asked and the three possible interview outcomes with us (approval, denial, or pending further investigation). She expected we would be approved as long as we had all the necessary documentation at the interview (because we didn't have any of the "red flags" - multiple marriages, arrests, etc.). They cannot just issue a denial without grounds. She said that IOs do find it problematic if people have separate bank accounts, although that is becoming more common. At the interview the IO asked me why I kept my name and seemed pleased with my answer. I wouldn't be too concerned about that as it is unlikely your wife will be asked that, and even if she is asked, she has a legitimate reason. The attorney told us that the two crucial documents they look at for bonafide marriage are joint bank accounts and joint residence (house, rental lease, etc. in both names). I was worried we didn't have enough proof because we are newly married and living together, but we had those two documents so she said we should be fine.

So I wouldn't be too worried as long as you bring all of the documents with you. A lot of it is behavioral observation. Obviously, some people are not approved at interview and need to submit more evidence or undergo further investigation. That's not the best outcome, but you can still stay in the US with your spouse and continue working with valid authorization while the case is pending.

I wish you and your wife the best of luck!!

Thank you flypri. I think I will sleep a little easier now that I've read this.

We didn't think we'd need a preparation session, but I can see now that it was completely helpful in your case. I will look around our area and find out if anyone is offering it. And I'm very surprised to hear that they used to be suspicious about maintaining your separate accounts. We didn't think twice about that when we decided to open our joint account. I suppose if it does come up we will explain why.

We got the approval notices for I-130 and I-485 on Monday, and I got my GC in the mail today

I can't believe I am done until Oct 22nd 2011!

Do I need to go to the SSA to get an unrestricted card or can I just keep using the restricted one?

I tried calling their 1-800 number, but after listening to the auto attendant read the same recording about Medicaid for the fifth time I gave up.

Congrats evilmonkee!! And I think that as long as you show that you have the proper authorization to work, your SSC shouldn't be an issue.

Congrats on the successful interview flypri!! Just reading your interview experience gave me the butterflies in my stomach (not in the good way!!), as yours is the first review I've read where someone underwent such rigorous questioning. So congrats again on completing the interview successfully!! :dance:

You mentioned attending a "preparation session". What is this and how do my wife and I go about attending one of these? The reason I ask is because she hasn't changed her name yet and for completely legit reasons. But I'm worried that the IO may not think so. And the fact that I'm the beneficiary and she's the USC has me worried that they will treat us more sternly as opposed to the marriage of male USC with a foreign wife. Am I being paranoid? Possibly. But that's why I'm hoping the preparation will help us face any unexpected or tricky questions. So any info or tips you could give us would be much appreciated.

I know - I am thankful it did.

I also just remembered that he also asked me for the last time I entered the US (which was just recently on Jan 2nd 2010) and if I used my AP to enter back (I did). He also asked me for my old expired passport (which I didn't have because my parents lost it!) and I told him I only had copies.

I also want to mention that I do think we had an unusually thorough interview. Thinking back I am curious if the fact that we were engaged for less than a month (although together almost 2 1/2 years) and we said we still had separate bank accounts (in addition to our joint accounts) made him grill us more. Not sure, just a guess... He was also relatively young and I have heard rumors that younger officers are usually more detailed because they have to prove their abilities and build a good record with the agency... but who knows. We went to a preparation session held in a local office a week before and I asked if they might ask about me changing my name and if we had enough evidence and everyone told us it was fine. In the end it was... but he still asked.

So I was preparing the documents for our upcoming interview and found the Fedex receipt containing the tracking number of my AOS packet. A quick search of it on the Fedex website showed that it was signed for by a 'SPARNELL'. Anyone else have their AOS packet signed for by the same? If so, how has your timeline been?

I'm sure it makes no difference but I'm just looking for clues or any differences as to why my EAD hasn't been approved or ordered yet. Interestingly enough, received the appointment letter for the interview even though nothing has been updated on the website. And I see that this has happened to others as well. I guess I'm just looking for some kind of understandable 'pattern', if any.

Good Luck MJhawk & marie09!!

We're planning on sending ours in next week as well, so let's hope we all have a safe and smooth ride!!

Btw, for Question 21; If filing for your husband/wife, give last address at which you lived together. (Include street, city, province, if any,country): Do we put the dates of the period when we were living together but were not married? We lived together in 2007 but then I had to move due to work and we have only recently started living together again.

Any ideas?

I had the same concern as I was getting the documents ready. But decided that the original I-130 would be evidence enough. Glad to see that the collective thinking is the same!

On the other hand, do I need to include anything else to be "eligible for the classification." Page 5 of the Instructions. I figured an extra copy of the marriage certificate couldn't hurt. Anything else that I could add?

Thank you RebeccaAndPhil & marie09 for your answers. I am getting ready to mail the forms soon and had already decided I would just include copies of the approved application and a copy of the EAD card I had.

RebeccaAndPhil: Yes, the only other time I've applied for the EAD was when I was a student on the F1. And they did approve and send me the EAD card.

marie09: Yes, I did apply for the EAD card with a USCIS office. And they did approve and send me the EAD card.

If there's anything else that they need, I'm sure they'll send me an RFE and let me know.

Anyone?

I could use some advice on this matter. And if I'm in the wrong category, then please let me know.

Thanks.

Hello Everyone,

For those who did an AOS from a H1B visa, how do we answer Question 11 on the I-765? Currently, I'm on a H1B visa. I had applied and was approved for the H1B when I converted it from my F1 (student) status. As a student, I had also applied for the EAD after my graduation(OPT).

Do I enter the information and attach documentation from the OPT process for Question 11 OR do I enter information and documentation of my H1B status? OR do I just add both?

Any ideas, thoughts, advice would be appreciated.

Congratulations!!