Basia F
Nov 2, 2021
Green card approved (new card is being produced) - (not the best) interview experience
Hi guys, sharing our experience because I know reading this forum helped me (if only mentally😅). Me and my husband have been married 2 years, we had a church wedding, no previous marriages and our lawyer said it’s a straight-forward case and he expects us to call him after 15 min after the interview saying that everything went perfect (spoiler alert: it didn’t). We had the interview yesterday at the Queens office, NY and.. it wasn’t pretty.🙃 To start we waited 2 HOURS passed the scheduled time (I literally went up to the check-in desk and asked if anyone is going to see us today) so I was already tired and annoyed (my husband, thank God, never gets annoyed😅😇). The officer started by saying he did “a lot of research on the case” and that we’d start by “clearing up several problems in our application”. He said our i130 should’ve never been approved because there was no bona fide attached to it (we did it thru a lawyer and he never asked us to provide any proofs for i130..). He was kind of harsh when I looked at my husband when answering his 1st question (I didn’t realize I’m being interrogated and I can’t look at my co-conspirator😆). He only let up when I showed him the 60 pictures we brought showing us traveling the world, visiting each other families and a lavish wedding.😅 He literally said: “pictures are great”.😂😂 We also gave him the electric/gas bill where both of our names are on it and also 3 months worth of our joint bank account statements. He also asked twice for paperwork related to my work (I had it all at home - my contract, even a physical check, I didn’t bring it because the lawyer I asked about it before specifically said my job is irrelevant and they wouldn’t ask about it..🙄🙄 Are you getting the theme of #FireTheLawyer ?🤨😆) and the latest i94 (we traveled between when we first applied and the interview). Beside that standard: both passports, my husbands driving license, my EAD, his naturalization certificate, our marriage certificate. The questions were:
- when did you start living with your husband?
- why did you do consular processing and then switched to AOS?
- What does your husband do?
- Where do you live?
- Did you travel together abroad?
- He showed me a picture with his family and asked me to name everyone
He also asked my husband (and told him not to look at home when he answers🙃🙂):
- how did we meet?
- What do I do? What is my role exactly?
That’s it. At the end he said something about being confused about my address on the i130 being different from the one on AOS (we did consular processing so the initial application has my Polish address on it). He finally said that we’re approved and will get the card in the mail soon. The takeaway: bring EVERYTHING and be prepared for any question. Also #FireTheLawyer.😅😅
I’m only going to say: thank God it’s over.🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌 Good luck everyone! 😃
IR-1/CR-1
U.S. citizen filing for a spouse
Total Days: 333 days
Case
2020-12-10
2021-11-08
I-485
333 Days
I-131
198 Days
I-765
203 Days
National Benefits Center: I-485, I-131, I-765
Timeline Map
2020-12-10
I-485
Submission to USCIS
2020-12-22
I-131
I-765
D+12
Submission to USCIS
2021-03-29
I-485
I-131
I-765
D+109
Request for Evidence(RFE) from USCIS
2021-04-05
I-131
I-765
D+116
Response to RFE
2021-05-05
I-485
D+146
Response to RFE
2021-06-29
I-485
I-765
D+201
Biometrics, i.e. fingerprint and photo
2021-07-08
I-131
D+210
Decision (Approval or Denial)
2021-07-13
I-765
D+215
Decision (Approval or Denial)
2021-09-30
I-485
D+294
Interview
2021-11-08
I-485
D+333
Decision (Approval or Denial)
This timeline was created with the Lawfully App. Download the Lawfully App now.
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tototo cNov 2, 2021
Congrats!!!! I also had my interview yesterday (Brooklyn field office) it was also not the easiest interview I imagined lol but thankful we both made it ❤️
Basia FNov 2, 2021
@tototo c Congrats! The main thing is: it’s over! 😃👍
Jackson UNov 2, 2021
congratulations!
Waiting PatientlyNov 2, 2021
omg that sounds harsh! we only got asked how we met
Basia FNov 2, 2021
@Jackson U thank you! @Waiting Patiently it did feel harsh but I guess they’re only doing their job (and our lawyer didn’t do his too well..)
Waiting PatientlyNov 2, 2021
I guess so, happy you guys are approved:-) have great lives to together. cheers
O JNov 2, 2021
congratulation the interview looks harsh
Basia FNov 2, 2021
@Waiting Patiently thank you 😊 @O J thanks!
O JNov 2, 2021
@Basia F you’re welcome. I have my interview next week seeing the way yours when down makes me tense 😬
B AkinNov 2, 2021
Congratulations! Post also made my day 😂
Basia FNov 2, 2021
@B Akin hehe thanks!😁 @O J the takeaway is also.. we got approved!😁 But my point was kind of be patient because it might be longer than 5 min wait and truly if in doubt, bring everything with you (and have it organized, in a folder(s)) because it might be needed. Don’t worry and good luck! 🤞🤞
O JNov 2, 2021
@Basia F thanks and congrats again
Basia FNov 4, 2021
@p . thanks and like I said we got approved eventually so just be prepared and bring everything with you.
Lola KNov 8, 2021
congratulations ✨ my interview is coming up too in queens. Did you get the card yet? I am worried that I won’t get my card on time for my Christmas travel. (if approved on spot). Was the officer friendly at least? I am nervous.
Basia FNov 8, 2021
@Lola K thanks! I got the tracking number and it says it would arrive tomorrow (so a week from the interview)! I also asked the officer and he confirmed if I didn’t get it in time, I can travel on my advance parole (not sure if you got that). Eventually he was friendly, it just he wanted to scare us a little bit in the beginning..😉 update: I received the mail - it’s only approval notice (even tho USCIS update says: “card delivered to me” and the notice says I would get the card in the next 3 weeks..
Beau ZMar 9, 2022
Hey there. I am kinda of in the same boat. Can I ask when you switch from consular processing to AOS, other than just filing 485, do you have to do other special things to make the switch? thank you!
