Our interview today

[Jay1234 2]

I thought I would share our experience today (and the events running up to it). The good news first, our application was approved after the interview today!

By way of background, we made it through the K-1 process with hardly any problems. We submitted the application for conditional permanent residency, got that approved and...I pretty much did not give much thought to anything else to do with immigration for the roughly 18 months after that. My wife reminded me that we had to file the I-751 in December, so I did. Now, what happened with us may have been just pure luck and I am not offering this to suggest that others should not be more diligent or will have the pretty easy experience we had. But, we did not submit very much evidence in support of our I-751. There were a number of odd or unusual circumstances in our life that caused this. First, my wife has not worked since coming to the US. After the housing meltdown and taking a beating on the sale of my home, being unemployed for a little while and having a hit to my credit rating, I have tried to pay for things upfront and not take or open any additional credit. My personal bank is in another state (where I lived right before my wife came to the US), so we don't have any joint bank accounts. We rented under a lease for a year, and then, for the last 15 months or so, we have been month to month in our current apartment. Due to there not being any tax advantage and the timing of things, we did not file joint taxes. So, as a result, I did not have joint tax returns, nor a lease.

With all of that said, what I submitted was two letters (one from a friend, one from my mother) attesting to the bona fide nature of our marriage. I submitted pictures of vacations, car insurance documents showing both of us covered under the policy, and a letter from the landlady saying we have been renters together for the past 2 years.

Even though some friends had their interview waived, we did not, and received a letter about a month ago telling us our interview was scheduled for today. I did not worry too much, because, well, we live together as husband and wife, and, factually we clearly have a bona fide marriage. I tried hard to think of what additional evidence I might be able to produce, but there really was not much. I printed out the itinerary for our vacation (tomorrow!!), and a lawsuit we filed in a civil matter drafted by our attorney and naming my wife and I as the Plaintiffs. That was all I had.

I dressed in a business suit and tie, my wife in conservative pants and shirt. I had a briefcase with our (few) documents that I carried.

Our interview was in Hartford, CT and we showed up at the office in the Federal Courthouse at 9:30 am (the time of our appointment). We sat down, but less than 2 minutes later, our names were called. A gentleman introduced himself as Agent _______, and escorted us back to his office. He told us he needed to see our ID's and would administer an oath to us. When I started to translate in Spanish (my wife's native language) he then asked her if she understood him and if she preferred to have an interpreter. She was a little nervous, but said, in halting English, that she could understand better than she speaks English, but it would be best if there was an interpreter so there was no errors. He then picked up his phone, called a number and requested an interpreter. Surprisingly (to me, anyway), someone called and he put her on speakerphone. The interpreter introduced herself and that was how the interview was conducted as to my wife (with over the phone translation). He then administered an oath to both of us.

The tone was professional/friendly. He asked me if I spoke Spanish, I said, "si." (Not trying to be a wiseass, I answered in Spanish because of slight nerves). He chuckled and then asked me where I learned Spanish. I explained that I was in the Army and worked in South and Central America for a few years and picked up much there. He asked me some questions about the Army, some of the places that I served, my jobs, etc. It felt conversational, but that could have just been an interview technique. He then switched to my wife, asking her (through the translator) if I was the same person she came here on the K-1 Visa to marry, where she lived, her address, he place of birth, her name, her maiden name, her date of birth and some other background questions. He was checking off blocks on a form when she answered. He then switched back to me, asked me some similar questions (full name, current address, previous marriages, occupation, where I went to school). He asked some questions about the Army, my unit (I asked him if he was in the military, he said "no," but it seemed odd, because he seemed to know more about the military than someone who was not a veteran would know...maybe he was a veteran, but said "no" to put me at ease in case I was lying and would not be so open with details...or maybe he was just thorough in preparation for the interview and had looked up some of the information he was asking me about, like matching up units and locations where I served). Then he went back to my wife, asked her, somewhat sharply, if she was married before, wasn't it "normal" to be married younger in Colombia (we married when she was 28, she is 31 now)? , then asked her some questions in a more rapid fire way (address again, where she was living when we met, date of our marriage, was she married before in Colombia, her age when we got married). It is hard to remember everything, but, the overall sense I got was that a part of what he was trying to ascertain was if we were the same people who filed the application and if we were telling the truth on the application (by checking minor facts). He then looked through the file again and said, "to be honest, most applicants have more evidence...why don't you have tax returns, did you not file jointly?" (No, we didn't). "She has not worked since coming to the US?" (No, she hasn't). "How does she get money to put in her account?" (I tried not to laugh, the answer was, "with the money I give her"). He asked if I had any other evidence of the "bona fide nature of the marriage." I was a little more nervous at this point...I said, "well, I have photos of Christmas on my iPhone, if you want to see that." He replied, "yeah, anything to help me rule in your favor....nah, hold on...let me ask some more questions." He said something like, if you do well or answer these well, I will approve the application.

He then asked some of the same questions as before (to my wife, he asked, it seemed like 3 or 4 times total, our address, and maybe this is where he asked my wife about being married before, which she has not been). He punched some keys on his computer and asked me about having lived in Florida before and then my hometown where I grew up. A few more questions for the both of us, and he said, "Okay, you're all set. I need to do some background checks on you, but if all comes back okay, you'll get your new card in the mail in a few weeks."

That was it! It was probably 20 minutes or so from start to finish. It was a little nerve-wracking (like I said, I was not too worried because of the real nature of our marriage, but, if we were denied, I know it would have made my wife very upset and would have been a pain to go through the removal hearing in front of an immigration judge...I suppose there was the risk that everything could have gone horribly wrong and she could have been ordered out of the country after a removal hearing, but I had faith that with us living together since our marriage and all of the people who know us as husband and wife and the tons of pictures we could produce from every holiday, I was not really worried that there would not be an eventual finding that our marriage is bona fide).

Like I said, we may have been just lucky and I am not saying that people should not prepare (perhaps better than we did). My military background and the fact that I am a professional may have helped. But, my overall sense was that if you have really been married for several years and can honestly answer questions about your lives and life together, they will most likely approve your application. It is probably best/easier if you can provide more evidence than we did, but my point is that it is not strictly necessary. That is, if you don't have a ton of evidence, it is not the end of the world.

I hope this was helpful in relieving anxiety/stress for those going to the interview. I also hope that everyone gets a good outcome. Best of luck!

[OBX 51]

Congratulations on a successful interview!

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm many months away from ROC but it helps to get a sense of what's to come and what is involved.

Edited April 13, 2010 by OBX

[v333k 59]

congratulations!!!

[DanielParul 50]

Congratulations on your successful interview.

[mainyasha 0]

Congratulations on your interview.

Thank you For sharing your Experience ... It may seem small but it can change someone`s future

[edp333 9]

Congrats on getting through the interview.!! I am sure sharing your experience will benefit many VJers.

[vsmtghdy 2]

Congratulations and thanks for sharing your interview experience.

[azoupime 1]

I thought I would share our experience today (and the events running up to it). The good news first, our application was approved after the interview today!

By way of background, we made it through the K-1 process with hardly any problems. We submitted the application for conditional permanent residency, got that approved and...I pretty much did not give much thought to anything else to do with immigration for the roughly 18 months after that. My wife reminded me that we had to file the I-751 in December, so I did. Now, what happened with us may have been just pure luck and I am not offering this to suggest that others should not be more diligent or will have the pretty easy experience we had. But, we did not submit very much evidence in support of our I-751. There were a number of odd or unusual circumstances in our life that caused this. First, my wife has not worked since coming to the US. After the housing meltdown and taking a beating on the sale of my home, being unemployed for a little while and having a hit to my credit rating, I have tried to pay for things upfront and not take or open any additional credit. My personal bank is in another state (where I lived right before my wife came to the US), so we don't have any joint bank accounts. We rented under a lease for a year, and then, for the last 15 months or so, we have been month to month in our current apartment. Due to there not being any tax advantage and the timing of things, we did not file joint taxes. So, as a result, I did not have joint tax returns, nor a lease.

With all of that said, what I submitted was two letters (one from a friend, one from my mother) attesting to the bona fide nature of our marriage. I submitted pictures of vacations, car insurance documents showing both of us covered under the policy, and a letter from the landlady saying we have been renters together for the past 2 years.

Even though some friends had their interview waived, we did not, and received a letter about a month ago telling us our interview was scheduled for today. I did not worry too much, because, well, we live together as husband and wife, and, factually we clearly have a bona fide marriage. I tried hard to think of what additional evidence I might be able to produce, but there really was not much. I printed out the itinerary for our vacation (tomorrow!!), and a lawsuit we filed in a civil matter drafted by our attorney and naming my wife and I as the Plaintiffs. That was all I had.

I dressed in a business suit and tie, my wife in conservative pants and shirt. I had a briefcase with our (few) documents that I carried.

Our interview was in Hartford, CT and we showed up at the office in the Federal Courthouse at 9:30 am (the time of our appointment). We sat down, but less than 2 minutes later, our names were called. A gentleman introduced himself as Agent _______, and escorted us back to his office. He told us he needed to see our ID's and would administer an oath to us. When I started to translate in Spanish (my wife's native language) he then asked her if she understood him and if she preferred to have an interpreter. She was a little nervous, but said, in halting English, that she could understand better than she speaks English, but it would be best if there was an interpreter so there was no errors. He then picked up his phone, called a number and requested an interpreter. Surprisingly (to me, anyway), someone called and he put her on speakerphone. The interpreter introduced herself and that was how the interview was conducted as to my wife (with over the phone translation). He then administered an oath to both of us.

The tone was professional/friendly. He asked me if I spoke Spanish, I said, "si." (Not trying to be a wiseass, I answered in Spanish because of slight nerves). He chuckled and then asked me where I learned Spanish. I explained that I was in the Army and worked in South and Central America for a few years and picked up much there. He asked me some questions about the Army, some of the places that I served, my jobs, etc. It felt conversational, but that could have just been an interview technique. He then switched to my wife, asking her (through the translator) if I was the same person she came here on the K-1 Visa to marry, where she lived, her address, he place of birth, her name, her maiden name, her date of birth and some other background questions. He was checking off blocks on a form when she answered. He then switched back to me, asked me some similar questions (full name, current address, previous marriages, occupation, where I went to school). He asked some questions about the Army, my unit (I asked him if he was in the military, he said "no," but it seemed odd, because he seemed to know more about the military than someone who was not a veteran would know...maybe he was a veteran, but said "no" to put me at ease in case I was lying and would not be so open with details...or maybe he was just thorough in preparation for the interview and had looked up some of the information he was asking me about, like matching up units and locations where I served). Then he went back to my wife, asked her, somewhat sharply, if she was married before, wasn't it "normal" to be married younger in Colombia (we married when she was 28, she is 31 now)? , then asked her some questions in a more rapid fire way (address again, where she was living when we met, date of our marriage, was she married before in Colombia, her age when we got married). It is hard to remember everything, but, the overall sense I got was that a part of what he was trying to ascertain was if we were the same people who filed the application and if we were telling the truth on the application (by checking minor facts). He then looked through the file again and said, "to be honest, most applicants have more evidence...why don't you have tax returns, did you not file jointly?" (No, we didn't). "She has not worked since coming to the US?" (No, she hasn't). "How does she get money to put in her account?" (I tried not to laugh, the answer was, "with the money I give her"). He asked if I had any other evidence of the "bona fide nature of the marriage." I was a little more nervous at this point...I said, "well, I have photos of Christmas on my iPhone, if you want to see that." He replied, "yeah, anything to help me rule in your favor....nah, hold on...let me ask some more questions." He said something like, if you do well or answer these well, I will approve the application.

He then asked some of the same questions as before (to my wife, he asked, it seemed like 3 or 4 times total, our address, and maybe this is where he asked my wife about being married before, which she has not been). He punched some keys on his computer and asked me about having lived in Florida before and then my hometown where I grew up. A few more questions for the both of us, and he said, "Okay, you're all set. I need to do some background checks on you, but if all comes back okay, you'll get your new card in the mail in a few weeks."

That was it! It was probably 20 minutes or so from start to finish. It was a little nerve-wracking (like I said, I was not too worried because of the real nature of our marriage, but, if we were denied, I know it would have made my wife very upset and would have been a pain to go through the removal hearing in front of an immigration judge...I suppose there was the risk that everything could have gone horribly wrong and she could have been ordered out of the country after a removal hearing, but I had faith that with us living together since our marriage and all of the people who know us as husband and wife and the tons of pictures we could produce from every holiday, I was not really worried that there would not be an eventual finding that our marriage is bona fide).

Like I said, we may have been just lucky and I am not saying that people should not prepare (perhaps better than we did). My military background and the fact that I am a professional may have helped. But, my overall sense was that if you have really been married for several years and can honestly answer questions about your lives and life together, they will most likely approve your application. It is probably best/easier if you can provide more evidence than we did, but my point is that it is not strictly necessary. That is, if you don't have a ton of evidence, it is not the end of the world.

I hope this was helpful in relieving anxiety/stress for those going to the interview. I also hope that everyone gets a good outcome. Best of luck!

Congratulations to you....I am on my way to a divorce, but nice to hear from couples who made.....it gives me hope.

[besaangel 17]

Wow, intense reading... all the best and congrats on your interview.

[millina 0]

Jay1234

Thank you for sharing with us details of your interview. Congratulations!!!!!!!!

[David_n_Amber 3]

Thanks for the insight!! it seems very much like the k-1 interview.. but more specific lol

[justashooter 430]

you need to file amended taxes as married filing jointly for the years that you were married. you will get a refund thru this process, for sure. it doesn't matter if she worked or not, or if she had a SS# or not, as long as she has one now. if you were married by Dec 31 in any given year then you should be filing jointly. it will reduce your tax burden significantly.

[RebeccaAndPhil 5]

Congrats on the approval!

[FaithfulandTrue 6]

Congratulations on your successful interview

[Created 6]

Congratulations! I'm happy for you both.