AUGUST 2010 FILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sgt. McGee 27]

Same here, and we're at Fairfax, but still Washington, D.C.

We're actually a week ahead of you most of the timeline, so I hope that it means we'll hear before you! (no offense!)

We got our interview appointment! January 10th!

Oddly, our online case status doesn't show any touches on the 485 since November 5 (which is when it first showed up, on the day she did her biometrics). Letter came today.

Now, we just need to figure out if we need to do anything about the fact that she's never filed tax returns. They probably would have sent an RFE is it was a problem, right?

[ceadsearc 515]

We got our interview appointment! January 10th!

Oddly, our online case status doesn't show any touches on the 485 since November 5 (which is when it first showed up, on the day she did her biometrics). Letter came today.

Now, we just need to figure out if we need to do anything about the fact that she's never filed tax returns. They probably would have sent an RFE is it was a problem, right?

Yay!! I hope that means ours is coming soon!!! Not sure about the tax returns, but I would think they'd have sent an RFE. Was she working?

[ceadsearc 515]

We got our interview appointment! January 10th!

Oddly, our online case status doesn't show any touches on the 485 since November 5 (which is when it first showed up, on the day she did her biometrics). Letter came today.

Now, we just need to figure out if we need to do anything about the fact that she's never filed tax returns. They probably would have sent an RFE is it was a problem, right?

Woo hoo! We got our interview notice today! January 13th! Kerryandjosh, I think that means yours should be coming any day now!

[Sgt. McGee 27]

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!

[caeremonarius 26]

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!

Congratulations!

AJ

[hellomms 16]

...

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!

Very interesting interview. That IMO really seem to make his job interesting. I dont know how I would have answered the denial question.

On the diamond question, could have been something he was planning to do in future and may have been interested in knowing the reason between online vs. B&M stores

[Sgt. McGee 27]

Very interesting interview. That IMO really seem to make his job interesting. I dont know how I would have answered the denial question.

On the diamond question, could have been something he was planning to do in future and may have been interested in knowing the reason between online vs. B&M stores

Yeah, I think I gave the "right" answer on the denial one. It was hard to tell which questions were "real" and which were just intended to throw me off my game. I also found myself wondering afterwards, at what point he had made his decision. Were we all-but-approved going in and were just going through the motions, were we 50/50 going in, or did we have to prove ourselves?

WRT the diamond, it was kind of strange - he made a couple of comments that led me to believe that he thought the "carat" was a rating of the diamonds degree of shine. Strange.

In the end, it was a little surprising. He didn't ask for our pictures, my birth certificate, or any of that. I sort of forced pictures on him when explaining our wedding ceremony, but he barely looked at them. He then asked if we had "any other pictures", so I said "well, there are about 40 of them right there, including us at my parents' house for holidays, with her brother when he was here for the wedding, and us on vacations" but he never so much as leafed through them.

He made a photocopy of our drivers' licenses (which we had already submitted in our packet) and our AAA cards, and that was that.

We're still not going to believe it fully until the card shows up, but then we're headed to Niagara Falls as quickly as we can, so she can step foot off of US soil for the first time since 2000!

Edited January 11, 2011 by Sgt. McGee

[kerryandjosh 0]

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!

Congrats!

We also have our interview in Fairfax tomorrow and I'm so looking forward to having it behind us.

[Sgt. McGee 27]

Congrats!

We also have our interview in Fairfax tomorrow and I'm so looking forward to having it behind us.

Thanks! Our IO had a picture of a Navy ship on his bookshelf. If you get him, let me know if he asks the same sorts of odd questions...

Good luck!

[mwfiler 0]

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?

[kerryandjosh 0]

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?

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.

[mwfiler 0]

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!!

[Sgt. McGee 27]

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?

With our packet, I sent a copy of our auto insurance cards, medical insurance "proof of coverage" from my insurer's website, a cell phone bill with phone names/numbers, and driver's licenses showing the same address.

In the interview, I had the originals of what I'd sent in, plus a signed/stamped bank statement showing our joint checking accounts (we added each other to our previously-separate accounts), 2 sets of boarding passes from trips we took together (one from April 2009, when I took her on a surprise trip for her birthday, and one from this past New Year's Eve weekend, when we went to Maine), and a gym contract that had both of our names on it. We also had a wedding invitation, pictures (~40, including 4-5 from the wedding), and some cards that were addressed to both of us.

At the interview, he only looked at the originals of things we sent (and not even all of those), 2 pictures (that I showed, somewhat unprompted), and our wedding invitation.

Our wedding photos (and all of the photos) were all digital photos that we had printed out, and he asked for the "real" photos, but was understanding when I explained that everything was digital, so we didn't have "real" copies.

Things I wish I'd had: receipts from wedding/engagement rings, receipts from our wedding reception venue, a check with both our names on it (we actually don't have any, so I couldn't have brought that if I'd wanted to), a statement from our joint savings account (which I didn't bring because there's very little transactional activity there, and I read somewhere that it would look suspicious) and my medical insurance card (which I somehow left in my car).

Now I just have to start studying for the ROC to make sure we've got the right stuff for that. A friend of mine managed to front-load that application enough that he got no interview, so that's what I'm going to hope for...

[kerryandjosh 0]

Our interview started over two hours late but was fairly painless when we finally had it. She simply looked through our photos, wedding guest book and magazine that featured our wedding. Then she just asked simple questions like how we knew we'd met "the one." The interview really seemed like a formality more than anything else and she didn't ask to see anything like receipts. We did bring our reception receipt and a note from the jeweler just in case after your experience, Sgt. McGee. After looking at the photos, etc. she said she'd recommend us for approval! So excited to have that behind us and will hold on to as much as we can as evidence for the ROC in two years.

[ceadsearc 515]

Still waiting for official approval here. We got an IO who asked a million questions (don't think it was just us, the people before and after us were each in there for at least 45 minutes), and afterwards we got the standard "we'll let you know if we need more evidence, otherwise you'll be approved."

Our interview experience:

We waited about half an hour to be seen for our interview (myself, my husband - the applicant - and our 14-month-old daughter). Once we got called back, we went back to the woman's office. My daughter was running everywhere, so the IO brought in a basket of toys for her which kept her entertained for awhile. Then she swore us in and asked my husband for his passports, EAD, license, etc. and asked me for my license. She looked at my husband's passport and took his (expired) I-94 but didn't look at anything else.

Then she asked my husband for his full name, my full name, my date of birth, and where I was born. She then asked me for his date of birth. After that she asked me to tell her how and when we had met. She kept asking the dates and repeating them back as different than what I had told her (trying to throw them off, I guess). I was married to someone else when I met my husband and she kept bringing that up and multiple times said, "So, you were seeing him while you were married?" and I kept telling her no, that was just when I met him, we were friends and nothing more. She asked where we had met (a club), the name of the club, the location of the club, etc. She then asked me a ton of questions about my ex-husband, why we were separated a year before we divorced (because that's the law in Virginia), asked a bunch of insulting questions about whether I was sure of the paternity of my daughter (not even sure where that was coming from, other than I guess in her mind I didn't wait long enough after separating from my ex to see someone new - she brought that up plenty of times, too). I told her I was positive my husband was the father (not to mention she is his spitting image), and then she looked from my daughter to my husband about 5 times and said, "Yeah, I guess she has her fathers eyes." She asked when I had gotten pregnant (beginning of March, 2009) then asked when my daughter was born (end of November, 2009), then told me that didn't add up to 9 months, and I had to explain how pregnancy calculations actually work.

After that she asked about where we had been living previously. She asked if we had both been on the lease of our first apartment together (no, they required a social which he didn't have) and then told us that wasn't good, even though we are both listed as occupants on our current apartment that we've been at for over a year. She said that was good, but didn't want to see the documents from that complex. She asked what else we had together: bank accounts (yes - gave her those statements), health insurance (yes - gave her a print out of our temporary cards because we just switched insurance after the new year), car insurance (yes - gave her a printout listing us both as drivers, haven't received his insurance card yet since we only added him after he got his license last month), credit cards (no - we don't have credit cards).

After that she asked who picked out the rings (he did), and asked if we had receipts. We told her we did, but explained that due to financial reasons we didn't buy the rings until after we had already been married. We should her the receipt for his ring (from Zales) and from mine (from Overstock). She looked at the receipt from mine (which listed my name and address, since we'd had it shipped to me because I was the one who would be home to take the delivery, and it also listed the item, the price, and who had packaged it for shipment). She told us the receipt was no good because it didn't prove that my husband had purchased the ring, and it said it was packaged by Billy, which meant nothing to her. (I don't know what she really wanted to be honest, we had just showed her that all our bank accounts are joint accounts, and had already explained that we bought the rings after the fact.) She took the receipt anyway.

At that point she asked to see our pictures. She started looking at pictures of when were were first dating. First she looked at the dates on the back and told us we had just printed them. (We hadn't, the ones she was looking at had been printed over a year ago.) I told her we had printed them after the fact because they're digital photos and we don't print them every time we take them. (It was pretty obvious they weren't all taken at once though - varying hairstyles, weight, not to mention pregnancy.) She looked at a photo of us at Christmas with a friend of ours and asked who the guy in the picture was. We told her, and she asked why he was in the middle between the two of us (I don't remember why he stood in the middle for the picture, probably because he was tallest). Then she asked if he frequently got in between the two of us. (Uh, no?) She flipped through some more pictures, asked whose birthday it was in one picture (my husband's), asked who the girl in another picture was (a friend's 12-year-old daughter), took a few wedding and newborn pictures, and then stopped looking - she didn't look at any photos beyond a year ago.

Then she told us she'd review our file and request more evidence if she needed it, otherwise it would be approved, and she went on to explain ROC, etc. Hopefully that's a good sign!

Our interview started over two hours late but was fairly painless when we finally had it. She simply looked through our photos, wedding guest book and magazine that featured our wedding. Then she just asked simple questions like how we knew we'd met "the one." The interview really seemed like a formality more than anything else and she didn't ask to see anything like receipts. We did bring our reception receipt and a note from the jeweler just in case after your experience, Sgt. McGee. After looking at the photos, etc. she said she'd recommend us for approval! So excited to have that behind us and will hold on to as much as we can as evidence for the ROC in two years.

Congrats!