Community Post
I-485 Interview in New Jersey (with previous DUI and removal proceedings)
Good morning all,
I wanted to share my experience after my I-485 Interview in New Jersey Central Field Office. This will be a long and detailed description since I’m sure it will be useful to many people that is going through this process, my case had a lot of situations like previous asylum/removal proceeding and DUI in record, so I hope this can bring some light to other people out there.
My I-130 was approved back in 2023, however the interview letter requested proof of Bonafide marriage plus all the regular documentation from me and my husband (Birth certificates, passport, visa, I-94, IDs). My attorney attended to the interview with us, as soon as we were called, we walked into the office, the officer was very welcoming and did the oath. After that she requested passports and licenses from the both of us, she mentioned that our I-130 was already approved and continued revising the information in the computer. She took me a picture and fingerprints, she also asked for the medical exams, since the originals were already expired, I had to redo all my medical and brought a new package. After that, she claimed that the questionnaire was not loading on her system, so she started doing the admissibility questions off the top of her head. Since my previous preparer did some mistakes in the questions in the I-485 form my current attorney printed the old form and did the correction on hand, once she started with the admissibility questionnaire we handed the form with the attorney’s corrections, she said it was great and thanks the attorney for that. The mistakes were basically the following questions:
• Question 16: Have you ever worked in the United States without authorization? It was marked No but the answer was Yes.
• Question 17: Have you ever violated the term or condition of your nonimmigrant status? It was marked no, but I overstayed my tourist visa, so the answer was Yes.
• Question 18: Are you presently or have you ever been in removal, exclusion, rescission, or deportation proceedings? It was marked no, but I was in removal proceedings because of a pending Asylum application so the answer is Yes. My proceedings were terminated by the Immigration Judge previously based on my adjustment of status trough marriage, so I provided the copy of the dismissal.
• Question 23: Have you ever applied for any kind of relief or protection from removal, exclusion, or deportation? It was marked No, but I applied for asylum when I came here back in 2018, so the answer was Yes.
• Questions 25, 27 and 28 related to criminal act and violations they were all marked No, but I had a DUI back in 2023, so I answered Yes to those three questions. The officer asked me to explain what happened and requested the court disposition document, unfortunately I did not have that document, however I brought all the receipts of the payments, IDRC course certificate, MVC documents and proof of the Interlock compliance term. She made a copy of all those documents and said that she knows everything was ok since I have my license back without restrictions, but she needs the court disposition document, so she issues a RFE notice for this document. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT THING IF YOU HAD A VIOLATION OR CRIMINAL RECORS, this document must be requested in court, cost $10 and you can get it like in 10 minutes from the violations window of the court where your case was handed.
• Question 61: Are you subject to the public charge ground of inadmissibility under INA section 212(a)(4)? It was marked No, but the answer is Yes. Most individuals applying for immigration benefits, including adjustment of status, are considered subject to the public charge ground of inadmissibility under INA section 212(a)(4) unless they qualify for an exemption. Exception can be found in section C of this link https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-8-part-g-chapter-3
• Question 62: What is the size of your household? It was marked as N/A, but we corrected for “2”.
• Question 63: Indicate your annual household income. This question was not answered so we marked the correct range according to the gross income declared in taxes.
• Question 65: Identify the total value of your household liabilities. This question was not answered so we put $1 – $10.100 basically credit card debt, since we don’t have house mortgage or any related.
• Question 66: What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed? This question was not answered, I marked bachelor’s degree.
• Those were all the question that had to be corrected, all the other question were marked as No.
After we finished with this revision, she printed the final section of the form and had me sign again. Then, she asked me for the updated Bonafide marriage proofs, I handed to her the folder with all the documents that I prepared but she just kept the following:
• 2024 tax returns
• Joint account bank statement, I printed the last 6 months, but the attorney told me 3 months is fine.
• Car insurance declaration pages from 2023 up to date, listing both of our cars and names.
• Rental insurance from 2023 up to date.
• Life insurance with our names listed ad beneficiaries.
• Rental agreements from 2023 to now.
• Gas, electricity and water bills. I printed like a year of each, but the attorney said 3 months is good.
• I also prepared an album with all our pictures, but this was not requested.
After all this she said that that was it, she mentioned that she was ready to approve my application but due to the missing court disposition document I will have to wait. She said that I can mail it to the office or just upload it to the website which will be faster. She thanks to the attorney and me for being so organized with the documents, and says we are good to go, just get the document and should be approved.
I submitted the documents like 30 minutes after the interview since I went straight from USCIS office to the court and they gave me the disposition right away, I scanned it and uploaded to my USCIS account under the Response to RFE category, immediately the status of the application change to “Response To USCIS' Request For Evidence Was Received” and a green check mark. Now I just have to wait until it is revised, she said that they have until June 10 to receive the document and review it, I hope it does not take that long, and I get the approval soon. #Interview #DUI #I485 #NewJersey #NJ #RFE #AOS
