mwfiler

I'm glad everything worked out for you Kitty! I just got my interview date for April. I wish it was like..tomorrow lol. Cant wait till its over! Enjoy AMERICA!

just received interview date for April 19th.

It's not moving that quickly in Fairfax either. Most of us that are having our interviews this week all sent in our applications in August. My hubby's and I have lived together for almost six years so we actually have quite a bit of evidence showing we've been together for a while. Other than photos, things like a copy of a lease, letters/cards that have both of your names on them and items like that are useful to take along. Best of luck to you! Hopefully you will see more progress on your case soon.

I will update on how our interview goes once it's finished.

ooooo... yeh I guess its the DMV area in general.

Thanks, just trying to stay patient!! Sounds good... best of luck to you tomorrow too!!

Interview today at Fairfax. Appointment was at 11:15, didn't get called in until 1:15-ish (the officer was apologetic). We felt really bad for a couple we saw come in a few minutes after us who were taken in one at a time, with each person staying for 30-40 minutes (at least - we didn't see the female come out). Looked like a stressful situation.

The officer went over our paperwork, asked a bunch of questions, which were mostly along the lines of "do you have the receipt for _____" (to which I had to respond no... things I didn't have receipts for: engagement ring, wedding band, reception venue rental, etc).

Finally, he asked me, "hypothetically, if your application is denied, what will you do?" I explained that we probably would consider moving to the Czech Republic, but that my lack of profiency in the language, coupled with the relative scarcity of IT work in/around her town, we'd also consider other options, including Canada, England, or other places where English may be more useful.

After all of that, he told us "well, I'm going to approve you. I'm putting in the order for the green card right now..." (and he seemed to do just that while we were sitting there, from his computer). He also gave us a reminder to file for ROC in 1 year and 9 months.

Among the stranger (IMO) questions he asked was "So, given your salary, why did you buy the diamond for her ring online?" What on earth is the right answer to that? I found a vendor (based on a recommendation) that I trusted, and worked through them. That's what I told him, but he didn't seem to really care either way. Odd. We should have the card within a week or so!

Looks like things are moving fast in Fairfax. Pretty slow in Baltimore. Seeing as you have only been married months, what evidence did you show as proof asides from photos?

Getting closer... I have updated my timeline. Walk-in biometrics done today!!!

Hope things are going well for everyone!

Hey I did the same thing I could not make my allotted appointment time and waited and waited for a new letter it never came. We also did a walk-in in Atlanta thought pppfff what the heck and it was so quiet they took me too. Mind you when the guy at the door checked they could not find my original appointment anywhere on the system so thank goodness I went for a walk-in. They were great to me in and out in 30 mins.

Awesome!!! I heard things are good in Atl... I used to live there. Fill out a timeline!

Heyyy!!!

I was a little iffy about doing a walk-in but as I had a day off today I decided to try. Got there and asked if I could and the supervisor asked me why I can't come on the appointed date. I explained I have the day off and decided to check if it was possible. He responded, "Ma'am since we are slow right now I'll let you do it, but in future make sure you come on the appointed date." I said ok and smiled They were only 2 people ahead of me lol. Some that worked there later explained he has to say that but they actually do like walk-ins because if the center doesn't seem busy they could cut jobs.

So... if you live close, try a walk-in, you lose NOTHING!!!! Oh and if it helps, I read on here thats its better to go towards the end of the week. Today is thursday, I went at 1.25p and was out of there in 20mins.

Hope this helps, good luck to everyone on the the rest of their journey!!! Myself included

Hey... check out my time line... it was a month and 10days before I got my letter.

Hi All,

Thank you so much for all your help throughout my journey. We had our interview on Wednesday, November 3, 2010, and were APPROVED!

I would like to give back something to this wonderful community of VJ members, so here is our interview experience:

Quick background: came to the US in 2006 on J1, changed J1 to B2 status in September 2006(for 6 months), tried to extend B2 - never worked, in the end - overstayed by 4 years. Met my hubby in 2006, got married in 2010, mailed the paperwork in July 2010.

Our interview was scheduled for 8:45am at Los Angeles USCIS local field office, 300 North Los Angeles Street.

We left our house in Santa Barbara around 5:30am, arrived to Downtown Los Angeles around 7:00am. Found parking (which i had previously google mapped and even knew how the sign looked like just in case!). The parking is located at 225 North Los Angeles St, right across from USCIS building, there is a big blue sign saying "Public Parking", you wont miss it, and it is a very good deal - $8 for the whole day.

Parked the car and went to look for the restrooms. The signs were so confusing that we just ended up asking the gardener and he directed us to the city hall building that had public restrooms on the first floor on your left.

When finally got to the immigration building itself there was already a long line of people waiting to get in. Surprisingly, the lined moved quickly and we passed through security check in about 20 min. Be sure to take everything out of your pockets, also no belts, watches and etc. My hubby had something metallic in his shoes, they made him take those off as well. Cellphones are ok as long as they do not have cameras, the ones with built in cameras are absolute no-no. One of the girls in front of us in a line was not allowed to enter the building because of that. The security guys were not too friendly not to stern , just like they are supposed to be - very reserved.

After passing the security check we went to buy some fruits for hubby because his stomach demanded food. I , personally, did not eat anything because i was so nervous.

Our room was 6532. We had to take an elevator to the 6th floor(elevators will be on your left after you enter the building). The waiting rooms was half empty when we got there with only a few couples, the rest were single individuals maybe those who won the lottery or something. We showed our appointment letter to an officer at the entrance and then had to put it in the tray in the window #2 and ring the bell.

We waited about an hour till we were called at around 9am. The funny thing was that the IO called my hubby's name not mine, because my last name is very long and complicated:)))

The IO's office was very small, disorganized, dusty and with dozens of folders, binders and just loose papers on the floor. He swore us in and the interview started.

First he told us to relax and basically gave us a hint that he had a positive opinion on our case otherwise he would have not be talking in such a nice tone of voice, he said he had reviewed our case and it seemed approvable:)))

So after he said that i hoped for an easy 20 min questions session, but , boy, was i mistaken. We got out of there at 10:20, the interview took an hour and 20 min. The questions were to the point and fair, easy if your marriage is legit and you live together. What took so long was the IO slow typing on the computer and very inefficient way of organizing the paperwork. He got a bit upset about multiple copies of birth certificates, visa, etc. but he did not seem to realize that in his big binder he had the paperwork from all three I-485, I-130 and I-765 combined that's where all the multiple copies of documents came from. He threw the unnecessary copies on the floor and seemed to be pleased with a much thinner binder of our case.

Questions asked ( I am sorry i dont remember all of them because there were so many):

Where on earth did you meet? ( we met through friend on a road trip to Minneapolis)

Where did you live in Minneapolis?

did you have you roommates?

When did relationship turn romantic?

When was the first time you had sex?

Where do you live now?

What is the address?

How much is the rent?

Do you have room mates?(we do have one)

How did you meet your room mate?

How many bedrooms are there? is it a house or apartment?

Where do you work?

What are the hours?

When do we find time to spend time together with such hectic schedules?

Have you ever visited your wife's country(to my hubby)?

Where is Belarus located?

How old are you today?

Have you ever gone to school in the US(question to me, no)

Do you have plans on going to school?

How many kids are you planning on having?(we said four two ours and two adopted, he asked adopted from where? and then told us not to adopt from the US, ii have no idea why)

DO you have a car? (no)

How did you get to LA?(rented one)

How do you get t work(walking bus)

How far is your work places from your house?

When did you arrive to the US for the first time(question to me)?

Have you ever left(no)?

Were you born in Canada(to my hubby, a trick question, cuz his mom is the one who was born there)

Have you met his parents(question to me)?

Why are the addresses on your ID are different(we did change them with DMV but DMV never put new info in the system, apparently their database is connected with USCIS, IO could look the info up from his comp, at the DMV we were given little brown cards with the address change on them to carry with actual ID and save money on new cards, thank God i had those with us!!!! if you want to save yourself a headache , change the address and get actual cards)

And some other questions about info on I-485 and I-130. He also asked all the yes/no questions and made a joke about being a prostitute that we did not get but laughed at just in case.

The documents taken: IDs, my passport, two of my I-94, EAD (at the very beginning of the interview), mine and hubby's birth certificate, hubby's temporal driving license(he just renewed it and is waiting on the card itself), the translation of my Birth certificate.

We had tons of evidence to prove marriage and relationship but he only took some utility bills, bank statements of joint debt and credit accounts(here there was a question what we use the debit account for and we answered to pay the bills and then he asked if we are planning on putting all the money in that account soon, and we answered yes after we learn how to manage finances as a family, now we are just beginners:))

We also had a wedding album and an extra album with pics from different events with family and friends. He just glanced through, not paying very close attention. Only made a comment that we should have printed some pics on regular paper to put in our case folder, would have been more convenient for him

After that he printed the Welcome Letter and explained the removal process and finally released us say "Stay out of trouble" hahaha guess cuz we are young.

Overall positive but very loooooooooooooooong experience.

We are very happy and wish good luck to all of you!

Congratulations!!!!! Yes, seems like a longer interview then most, but atleast it is over and went well. Once again, CONGRATS!! And thanks for the info, I'm sure it will be helpful to many VJ users, including myself

In this case just hope for the best! My packet went out yesterday! YAY us!! I'm excited to because its been a long time coming. And finally, its been sent! Hope time flies by! Good luck, everything should be fine

Best Wishes on your journey!

Thanks Mimi!

Count me in with November filers!

Yay!!! Good luck Kitty!!!

Wish you the best!

Thanks!!

Hello!

I sent out my packet today! Now the real wait begins. Goodluck everyone!!!

My OPT just ended last friday. And I have a job interview lined up for next week. I also still have 60days which i can remain in the US and be of legal status. If offered this new job, can the company still sponsor me? Is it too late? Or can I still apply for OPT extenstion (I am an information technology major).

Any advice will be helpful.... thanks!

Hi,

This may be dumb, but I am worried about messing anything up. My passport expired since applying for my AOS. So, what I will be bringing to my interview is my newly issued, different passport than the copies I sent in with my application and it obviously does not have any of my old entry stamps, etc. I DID rip out my i-94 from my old passport though, to bring with me.

Will that cause any problems? I assume the passport is just for ID purposes? ok that the I-94 is not attached?

Thanks!

What did you do with your old passport?

hello,

Do I (the beneficiary) need to submit a copy of my birth certificate or just my husband( US citizen) ? He has one but I do not.

Hi,

When we go for the interview, does it matter if my husband (US Citizen) has a State ID versus a drivers license? Cause when we moved to MD he only got a state ID.

Thanks!!!

your status shows you already filed your AOS (pending)...?

as far as the i-693, you dont fill it out, the dr does that. do you have a copy of a previous one (if you had one)?

you dont have timeline so dont know how you came over

Oh.. sorry, I'm on F-1 ... just got married yesterday and I'm putting my paperwork together which is why there is no timeline.. but I will fill one out as soon as I get the process started

oh yeah don't tell me, I know that part. unfortunately I've read of some (many) AOS applicants received an RFE because they didn't submit the vaccination chart of the i-693.

that's why it's very advisable to do that.

Oh alright, thank you.

Do I have to complete an i-693 medical examination form to send with my AOS application?

Use the F-1 status - since that is what you came in as. The OPT EAD just allows you to work as a student - no status is given with that.

You would use the A# they gave you - that's yours for life.

Oh ok!! THANKSSSS!!!

Hi,

I came as a student and my visa expired in June 2010. However, my OPT expires in Sept 2010. So in the i-485 do I say current USCIS status F-1 visa holder and expires June 2010 or use my OPT end date, Sept 2010?

Also, did you use the A# that is on the OPT EAD on your application or just stick to i-94 and Social Security number when asked?

Thanks!!!

How important is it to have witnesses at the wedding especially if its a state that doesn't require a witness to be there. My fiance and I moved from GA to MD. We are getting married in MD but all our friends and his family live in GA still. Wlll this matter to the IO that its was only us at our ceremony? I have one friend in MD that MIGHT be able to come, due to her work schedule.

Good Luck guys!!! I hope to have my paperwork sent by Monday, 30th!!!

Good luck to us once again

////Hi all, did any of you work while you were waiting for your AOS using your EAD through OPT?

Yes, OPT EAD was used until it expired (12/31) and then there was a short few days where my husband couldn't work until he received his new EAD from the AOS application. Timing is key here.

Hi,

I came as a student and my visa expired in June 2010. However, my OPT expires in Sept 2010. So in the i-485 do I say current USCIS status F-1 visa holder and expires June 2010 or use my OPT end date, Sept 2010?

Also, did you use the A# that is on the OPT EAD on your application or just stick to i-94 and Social Security number when asked?

Thanks!!!

I haven't seen much updates under this topic for sometime now. I figured we all are enjoying the benefits of being greened. Anyway, good luck to you all and God willing we shall meet here again in two years-for those with CR6. It has been a stressful journey but it's worth it. Stay blessed!!!

Hi,

I came as a student and my visa expired in June 2010. However, my OPT expires in Sept 2010. So in the i-485 do I say current USCIS status F-1 visa holder and expires June 2010 or use my OPT end date, Sept 2010?

Also, did you use the A# that is on the OPT EAD on your application or just stick to i-94 and Social Security number when asked?

Thanks!!!

Hi,

I came as a student and my visa expired in June 2010. However, my OPT expires in Sept 2010. So in the i-485 do I say current USCIS status F-1 visa holder and expires June 2010 or use my OPT end date, Sept 2010?

Also, did you use the A# that is on the OPT EAD on your application or just stick to i-94 and Social Security number when asked?

Thanks!!!

Actually I didn't have any proof of financial loss/ harship. I just called and send over some document releasing my privacy to them along with all NOAs regarding the application. I prayed and have Faith that God would make happen and he did.

Hi,

What medical did you have to do May 26? Is this a requirement for everyone and does it have to be sent with the packet? I came as an F-1 student and am applying for AOS through marriage to a USC