Local US CIS Office Review: Los Angeles CA
Review Topic: cis_topic
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
February 7, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
Our interview was scheduled for 8:00 this morning. We hit a bit more traffic than I had expected and got to Downtown LA a little after 7:30. We circled around looking for parking (I had read about the various lots and prices in the area), but settled for the garage at the Los Angeles Mall, right across the street from the Federal Building. They normally charge $16, but they have an $8 early-bird special before 8:00 am. When we got to the Federal Building, around 7:40ish, there were two lines: one for InfoPass and one for interviews, and they were both quite long. We headed for the interview line, but a security guard made us move to the InfoPass line--not just me and my husband, but several other people as well. I tried to show him my interview letter, but he insisted we should go to other line. We stood in the barely-moving InfoPass line for about 25 minutes--at this point, our interview time had come and gone. Several of us in line went up to a different guard to inquire politely what was going on: turns out, the first guy moved us to the wrong line. So off we went to the correct line, where we waited for another half hour or so, until being let in to the building to go through the metal detectors. I had read enough stories here on VJ to know that it'd probably be OK that we were late, given the fact that the lines were so long, but I was still extra-nervous.
After the metal detectors, my husband and I took the elevator to the sixth floor, where we gave our interview letter to a very polite man sitting at the only open information window. We waited about 25 minutes (several people who got there after us were called before us)--until around 9:25--before being called. Our IO was a younger Latino man with the last name Aguilar. He lead us to a suite of offices down the hall from the waiting room. In his office, he swore us in, asked for our California IDs, passport, birth certificates (I offered to give him the translation for my Mexican certificate, but he declined; I assume he spoke Spanish), and our marriage certificate (he asked for a photocopy of my husband's birth certificate, which he didn't have on file, but I had it with me) . As he looked over these documents, he remarked that my husband had been born in Nevada, asked him when he'd moved to California, and asked him what he did for a living. Then he verified my profession ("you're a graduate student in X, right?") and asked what I want to do after I'm done with my degree. He then asked how long we'd known each other (almost 3 years) and if we'd met at the university where we both work. We told him we'd met online, but that my husband had spotted me on campus after seeing my online profile and he thought our story was funny.
The IO commented on my husband's father birthplace (in the U.S.) and my husband volunteered that he never really knew his father, but that he is/was of Mexican descent (he has a Spanish last name). He asked where I was from in Mexico, verified our marriage location, and asked whether our parents had come to the wedding: we explained my parents and his family came to our U.S. wedding and that we had reception in Mexico later with my whole family. He asked both of us if we'd ever been married before (no), my husband whether he'd ever sponsored someone before (no), and whether either of us had any children (also no). He had a copy of our lease and we showed him the original. He also wanted to see our credit cards on a joint account and proof of our Costco membership. After looking over all of this, he asked me some of the yes/no questions on the I-485 ("have you ever been a member of a terrorist organization?") and commented on my membership in various professional/student organizations.
He looked our file over a couple of times, said we had everything he needed (he specifically referenced the I-693, I-894, and a background check) and said he was approving us. He then welcome me to the United States and congratulated me, and said he'd be printing out a welcome letter and briefly discussed the I-765 and removal of conditions. He said I should expect my green card in the mail in about a week. Then, he got up to photocopy some of our documents (passports, birth certificates, California IDs, credit cards, and Costco letter). When he came back, he was typing some stuff into his computer and asked us if it'd been hard to get into the building, so we briefly explained our experience with the lines and the confusion. He apologized and said that they're having issues with the current construction on the building. He'd already taken my I-94 (it wasn't in my passport when he returned it after photocopying), and he then asked for my EAD card and attached it to my file. He wrote some information in pen on my welcome letter, including "I-765" next to where the letter explains ROC, gave it to me, shook our hands, and sent us on our way. I wasn't looking at the clock when we were done, but we were driving out of the parking garage, after stopping at an ATM, at 10:00, so I assume the whole interview took about 15-20 minutes. I have just checked my status on the USCIS website and it hasn't changed yet, but I have a letter in hand, so it's all good
So, all in all, a very smooth experience, excepting the disorganized and stressful process of entry into the Federal Building. |
| Harassment Level : |
Good |
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ver 5.0