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Columbus OH USCIS Office Reviews
Average Rating: 4.1
/ 5
33 Review(s)
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| Columbus OH |  Review #7835 on June 28, 2011: |
hobbitofohio
Rating: 
· 1 person found this review helpful
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
Our appointment was for 8AM. We were taken in 20 minutes late. The man questioned our Texas state wedding as not being valid!!!!! We had a legal marrage done in accord with Texas marriage law. We had the proper legal papers to show it. Yet he claimed it was not valid! We had to show him ever small detailed piece of paper from the wedding. I am glad we did not throw out some of the junk papers after the wedding. I am also glad we carried them with to the interview. The questions and comments were at time not professional nor proper. What happened at the interview mades me embarrassed to be an American!
After 35 minutes defending a legal and proper fully documented Texas wedding, they were not happy with the shoot records. So we had to go see a Civil Sur. to get them approved. Only two of the 30+ listed doctors in Columbus area will do only the shoot records. All the rest demanded $300+ for a full physical. After getting the shoot records to the office, we were approved. (A process that ended up taking 2+weeks.)
The only good thing I can say about the Columbus CIS office is the security screening people were polite and professional. As to the rest of the staff, I will simply say they were very unprofessional.
I regret 0 is the lowest rating I can give!
| | | Columbus OH | Review #6971 on December 14, 2010: |
caeremonarius
Rating: 
· 1 person found this review helpful
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
My wife came in on VWP; we were married about two months after her arrival, but weren’t able to send in the AOS paperwork until almost two months later; she was therefore out of status.
Because of everything I'd read on VJ, we decided to lawyer up. We found an excellent attorney here in Ohio (feel free to PM me for his contact info). He confirmed everything the VJ forums say about VWP overstays being deportable. I asked him point-blank whether my wife should just leave and not risk deportation (she was still under the 180 days of overstay to avoid a 3-year ban). He didn’t make any guarantees, but he said that it was unlikely that my wife would be deported and/or taken into custody at the interview (in case of a bad outcome). A few weeks prior, he had a client who successfully adjusted status from a short (about a week) VWP overstay, so he gave us a good chance of success. He noted that, if he were to represent us, he is familiar enough with the USCIS officers and ICE agents in our area that he could convince them that my wife would leave voluntarily (which she would have), so they wouldn't take her into custody. (He noted that all the frequent flyer miles I’d racked up from my trips to and from Europe to see my her would be helpful in proving that we’d get her out of the country in a timely manner.)
We arrived about 20 minutes early and met our attorney on the first floor of the Leveque Tower, Columbus (USCIS is on the 3rd floor). Our attorney wanted to meet us 30 minutes early, but we had a heck of a time finding a parking spot in the garage. Our lawyer recommended that we load up with evidence of our relationship and our marriage, so we walked in with a small crate full of nicely organized papers in three-ring binders (I’ll post a picture eventually) — 40 lbs. of information in all (I weighed it after we got back home). Our attorney laughed and took a picture of the evidence we brought and said that we had brought so much that they’d probably approve us just to avoid going through everything. Kidding aside, he told us the ground rules for the interview (much of this I knew from VJ already, but it was helpful for my wife to hear). He reassured us that most of the IO’s are non-confrontational, and just want to see whether we’re really a couple.
We went up the elevator, and were met by security. We had to show them our ID’s (we both brought our passports) and our interview letter. We had to empty our pockets, take off our coats and go through a metal detector. They had us wait against the wall while they looked through our coats and our pocket contents (and crate of evidence). After we cleared security, we just sat down in the waiting room and chatted with our lawyer for a few minutes. We were called back in less than 5 minutes.
The IO met us in the waiting room and introduced herself. She was very professional and identified me as the USC and my wife as the immigrant. She brought me back first and asked to see my ID. She swore me in, told me I was being video-taped. She went over my application, asking me all the questions contained therein (name, address, birthdate, wife's birthdate, first marriage, children or not, employer, employment, length of time in current residence, etc.). Then she asked how my wife and I. She asked to look at some pictures (we had an album of over 200), quickly flipped through our album, then called my wife in.
She (the IO) asked for my wife’s ID, then swore her in. She told her that she was being video-taped, and repeated the entire procedure, but included all the "Are you a terrorist?" and "Are you a communist?" type questions. Our lawyer (jokingly) intervened, encouraging my wife (who normally has no trouble speaking up) to talk a little louder (“I know you have a voice: I’ve heard it!”). The IO asked my wife when she first came to the US, which was tough for her to answer, since she came as a tourist when she was 17-years old, then she'd studied here on a student visa in 2000, with numerous visits inbetween and since. The IO asked what year she first came, and my wife stopped, and half-joked, "I'm not good with numbers." The IO asked my wife how she and I met, and was basically already stamping the application at that point. She took my wife’s passport and removed the I-94W. She handed me back my original birth certificate and asked if there was anything else we wanted her to have as evidence. I brought out several affidavits that our lawyer recommended we have. “Didn’t you already send in 2 affidavits from your parents?” she asked. “Well,” I told her, “we had a bunch of friends do these for us, so I’d feel bad if we didn’t use them.” She accepted them, then went on to talk about how she was recommending us for approval. She said that we could expect to receive my wife's green card in 6-8 weeks, although our lawyer piped up and said it would likely be about two weeks, and the IO didn't object. She also explained that this was a 2-year conditional card, then said we could talk to our lawyer about removing conditions.
She asked us if we had any questions, then went on to "talk shop" with our lawyer for a minute or two (it was clear that they had a good professional relationship). We asked her about travel, and she and our lawyer recommended against it till we had the green card in hand. We explained that my wife's grandmother is 93-years old and is living in a senior residence in Spain, so anything could happen to her at any minute. Our lawyer told us that if we had an emergency, then we could get my wife's passport stamped (but we'd have to have the itinerary and proof of necessity to travel in hand). We thanked our IO and shook her hand, and we were on the way.
That's about it. It helps to have a lawyer who knows the system and the USCIS personnel, I think. It certainly kept my wife and me from being too intimidated. Immediately after the interview, I was starved, as I hadn’t been able to eat all day 'cause of nerves (the interview was at 1 p.m.). My wife had an approximately 50-day overstay on VWP, and it wasn’t even mentioned at all. We weren’t asked any questions about her intention on arrival either. The entire atmosphere was very professional, and entirely non-confrontational.
Good luck to everyone!
| | | Columbus OH | Review #5750 on March 2, 2010: |
mofope
Rating:
· 1 person found this review helpful
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
my husband and i got there at about 7:40am for our 8am appointment. My husband got called in at 8:35am and i got called in about 8:50am when he came out. It went relatively nice and the officers and everyone was nice. The IO just asked questions about our married life and families.
I got approved on the spot but my passport wasn't stamped. The IO took a copy of my AP but let me keep my EAD in case i got a job before my card came in the mail. It was overall good experience and i'm happy i got approved.
Thank you VJ
| | | Columbus OH | Review #3797 on January 12, 2009: |
steve&mary
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
Our appointment was set for 9:15 am. We arrived at 9:00 am and there was a very long line to get checked for security. While we were waiting in line, one of the security officers collected our appointment notifications. It was quick. The use of iPods, cell phones, or other electronics is not allowed. Once we cleared security, we sat down and waited for our name to be called. We waited about 5-10 minutes until my name was called.
We walked into an office. The guy was very courteous, introduced himself and a lady that would be sitting in our interview. He explained we could be videotaped. He swore both of us in. He then asked me (the beneficiary) a series of basic questions (what's your name, DOB, SSN, parents' name, etc). Then he asked my husband the same. He asked if we had children (NO), then the lady asked if I had any children of my own (NO). He asked me a series of yes or no questions, like have you ever taken drugs, been a prostitute, a communist, ect (NO). His last question of that series was "have you ever had a J1 visa?" (YES). This prompted the lady to ask more questions about this. I explained I had a J1 4 years ago and that I had completed my required 2 year HRR. They reviewed my old passport with my entry stamps and visa to confirm. The lady then asked if we had any proof of joint assets, and I showed her our savings account/credit card statements. She the asked me if I worked (YES), and my husband (YES). She asked if she could keep the credit card statement (YES).
She then turned to the man and told him it was always a good idea to look through as many pictures as possible. We showed him an album with pictures of all our travels, and an album of our wedding and reception. (She said to him, it will help you feel better about whatever decisions you make regarding a case). (It seemed the guy was being trained by the lady). Then she said everything looked OK, and that we'd hear from them in the next two months. My husband asked if we were approved or not, and she responded that they only have access to the files the day of the interview so they will look through it and then make a decision. But that in our case everything seemed fine. I left regretting not showing them ALL our evidence. But the next day we got an email from CRIS saying we were approved and the card production had been sent! The interview itself took no longer than 5-8 minutes!
Overall, they were very professional, timely, and courteous.
| | | Columbus OH | Review #1877 on August 6, 2007: |
vero
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
It was really fast. I went there with my husband and our daughter (9 months old at the time) The consul called me and I went to her office. She asked me how did Don and I met, when and the date we got married. Then she asked the copy of our baby birth certificate. She also asked if this was our first marriage and if we had other kids. First marriage for both, first kid for both...and that was it. She did not want to see pictures, or even interview my husband. We left and 2 weeks later I received my letter, few days later my greencard!!!! No conditions!!!!
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