Hi all,
I found this wesite extremely helpful so I thought I gave back some....
I was on a valid H1B visa but got married in May 2009. Filed for AOS which was received by USCIS in August 2009. I recieved my Advance Parole and EAD card in early October. but didn't get to use either as I promptly received my interview notice schedule for Oct 20 2009.
I took along an Album,joint bank statements, joint home phone bill, credit/debit cards, rental lease, photo ids with same address, life insurane in addition to the required docs.
My interview was scheduled for 9am. We arrived at 8:15am but did not check in after we got into waiting room as we were waiting for lawyer who was at another interview. Lawyer finaly arrived at 10:30am and we check in. We got called by immigration officer at 11am. Lawyer was again tied up at another deportation case so we decided to proceed without lawyer by signing waiver form.
Entire interview proces lasted about 30mins, first we were interviewed together and then we were separated for further questioning even though we answered all questions correctly. Interviewer was also very stiff and unfriendly and didn't smile the whole time.
Together we were asked...Spouse's full name and bday? Full address with Zipcode? Name of Landlord? Spouse's Salary? Asked me the beneficiary if I had ever been arrested but never asked spouse (petitioner).
Separated we were asked.... Describe Proposal? Names and ages of Spouse's kids? Where kids live? Whether spouse received child support? Where was kids other parent? Our medical Insurance? Where/what we had for dinner evening before? Did we have desert? name of Spouse's boss? (fyi..Spouse did not know name of my boss). What was last gifts we got each other?
Officer then got us back together in the room and ask us how we think we did? We said good and for the first time we saw a smile on his face. He told be that he was going to approve my case and congratulated us.
Hope that helps. Good luck all!!

Immigration received my paperwork on July 29th
Gave my fingerprints Aug. 25th
Received my work permit Sept. 23rd
Green Card Approved Oct 14th
Total 66 days.

I came here on a J1 visa and like a lot of us i overstayed.I got married on Aug 2007,but didn't send any papers out until this year.I decided to stop working because i didn't want to get in trouble.Living off of one salary and paying all that money is not easy :)
We had our interview yesterday.Appointment was 1.30pm,we got there around 1.15pm.Waited about 30 min then we were called in.First she asked for my I-94 card.Then she looked at my visa and the paperwork that came with it.Luckily i had kept it for all these years.She asked for my name,date of birth and country of birth.Then she started flipping through our paperwork.Occasionally stopping and asking a question.We showed pictures of us and my husbands family.We had joint bank account,rental applications,electricity bill,jointly filed taxes.Hy husbands grandmother embroidered us a framed picture with our names and marriage date on it.Although it was framed we took it with us and she loved it :) She actually wants my husbands grandmother to do the same thing for her :) After that she stamped my passport,showed the frame to everyone at the office and we were off!:) She was sooo nice and i was soooo nervous.But i think that as long as your marriage is legit and you have no criminal history there is nothing to worry about!

I am the alien spouse of a US citizen and we have been married almost three years. Our papers were filed by our attorney on July 2nd 2009. Biometrics were done on August 8th in Ft Worth. We received an appointment in August to attend for the AOS interview in San Antonio Tx on September 28th 2009 at 1pm. I had already received by temporary permit to travel and work prior. Things seemed to be moving very quickly. We were very well prepared taking all the evidence of bonafide marriage with us. We arrived at the USCIS office around 12.30pm and proceeded to go through security. We were told to wait and we would be called. Our attorney who was not with us, advised us to be prepared for a wait. We were called at 12.40pm and a very pleasant USCIS Officer took us to his office were we were sworn in. He asked me about my last entry into the USA and then asked me about my previous marriages (I had been widowed and divorced). He asked my husband about his current work. He never asked for any pictures of any evidence. He told us it was a very straightforward case and asked for my passport. He noted we had been married for nearly three years so stamped in the passport a permanant green card stamp which he explained gave me the freedom to travel and to work. He advised me to get a SS card but to wait a few days for the information to get into the system before applying. He was a delighful person; we were prepared for anything but in the end we were in and out before even our appointment time arrived! We would advise people to prepare well and if it is not needed then be blessed by that. We were. I saw all the experiences of others online before I went to interview and was helped by not being alone on the process. I wish all out there a safe journey through the AOS process.

I wanted to share my interview experience in hopes of helping somebody else.

I've been married for just over 2 years and we decided to apply for the greencard this past June. We hire a great immigration team and they were really thorough. Which is probably why our process went so quick! We applied June 19th. Got our Biometrics done July 21st. Got my AP and EAD August 15th and interview September 16th.

We got to the Federal Plaza in NYC at 7:15 and did not get seen till 9:30! She swore us in and began questioning my husband. Questions like "Where did you guys meet? What is her middle name? When is her birthday? What is her mother's first name? When did you get married?" She asked him about 12 questions and then asked me 3. Then she asked me several questions that I answered "NO" to all of them. She asked for proof of marriage. I gave her several bank statements, amtrak tickets, utility bills, letters to both of us and pictures (10 in total) with me and my husband. I also gave her my wedding album (20 pics max). She asked if we have anything else and she then signed and dated my passport and put "I 485 pending" and the A#...I was completely scared, because she did not say apporved or anything!

After worrying I finally looked online on MOnday and found out my case was approved and card production was ordered for me!

The whole interview process was 15 minutes!

if your marriage is real and you have plenty of evidence (I didn't bring my whole apartment)you will be fine, just be calm and answer the questions, the interview is not that scary.

Documents submitted 6/19/09
Biometrics taken 7/21/09
AP & EAD recieved 8/15/09
I 485 Interview 9/16/09
Card Production ordered! 9/21/09
...waiting for green card!

Good Luck All!

I entered the USA as visitor, changed status to F1 student, failed to maintain status and overstayed, married to a US citizen in may 2008.

Sent application to change status on june 29, 2009.
Interview set to sept. 4, 2009. It only took 2 months and 5 days! Wow!

Appointment was at 11:00 am, we arrived at 10:40 am, waited for our lawyer (we hired one because I was arrested twice for driving with suspended license and hiring a lawyer gave me some peace of mind). I was extremely nervous, my wife not as nervous as me. We were called, my heart was beating so hard and fast!! Officer (male) lead us to his office, we swored in and then we asked for our paperwork and proof of us living together. Then he asked her her full name and date of birth, then date of our marriage. He then asked me my full name and date of marriage, then he asked me when's her birthday. Then he asked her my parents' names and if she talks to them regularly, then he asked how many guests we had, why was I arrested then he saw some of the pics we have (wedding, honey moon, trips), he even joked around and was in a very good mood which calmed my altered nerves. He left for a moment to get a supervisor's approval on my arrest records and when he came back he explained he was going to stamp my passport (then I new I was becoming a Permanent Resident, yeaH!!!!), because the place where GCs are made was shut down momentarily during the summer and gcs were taking a little more time than expected to arrive. He advised me to get a SSN as soon as possible and to become a citizen in three years if I wanted to. He then congratulated us and lead us out.

I am so happy!!! It was a very pleasant experience despite all the stress that sorrounds the interview process. I wish everyone has a pleasant experience as well.

My best wishes to you all!

I and my wife had our interview very fair just common questions until I reached to the red flag. I came to US through F1 visa my wife lives in US though. The officer asked me what I told to the embssy in my country when I came to US as to my marrital status. I actually mistakenly said single when I went to my F1 visa interview. So here I admitted the truth and he told me never to lie and said it is a big deal in US and it is called misrepresentation. I was reading his face he seemed to approve me he took away my I-94 from my passport and then put it back again. I realized that he couldn't make a decision. As I thought he said he will inform me the decision through mail and gave a letter which indicated htat my application is under---FURTHER REVIEW. I don't really know what will happen next.If anyone out there with same experience please help me what to expect.

this site is very helpful so i figured i would put my own experience and hope someone can tell me what the think, comments, suggestions or advice.

I am still under a Student visa doing my OPT, which allows me to work fulltime for a yr. It expires Jan 1st,2010.

-married 06/29/2009, to my girlfriend of 2yrs. we both attended the same college in Mi and during our relationship, i ve mostly lived in MI but occasionally moved for my pursuit of my carreer. did an internship in nyc so we were separated for a little while. i graduated in dec08 and moved to DC where i now live and work. However, she still lives in MI and works there too. During that whole time, we ve repeated and constantly saw each other, travel and flight details are abundant. in March,April,May,June,July,August we have tickets receipts of boarding passes coming to spend the weekend with another. Car titles, bank accounts, lease, pass bday cards, passed pictures etc..

I hired a lawyer only because of the distance. i didnt know exactly how to approach the situation n how to apply under these circumstances. the lawyer assure me that it wouldnt be a problem that all we needed to do is show them that the relationship is real. I am not too worried giving the fact that we are in and together for love and nothing can stop that.

I am about to apply Sept 15,2009 and i was wondering if anyone had any comments, recommendations or anything to say

june 07 2009 sent aos pack
june 10 got recipt letter
july 07 had fingerprints done
july 24 got aos interview date for aug 27th
july 31 received work permit and ap
aug 08 received ss card
aug 27 aos interview

81 days from start to finish

This had to be the most nerve racking day of our life. Seeing the place full of people with their lawyers and hearing one say
"oh the one thats interviewing you can be really mean" made my heart start to pound and my husband sat all aggitated. Then we were called through just as i paid a visit to the bathroom, came out and phil said she would be back in 2 mins, and 2 mins it was.
 
THE LADY WHO INTERVIEWED US WAS LOVELY REALLY LOVELY, IT LASTED ABOUT 30 MINUTES ALTOGETHER, SWORE ON OATH TOOK A FEW COPIES OF OUR JOINT BILLS, BANK ACCOUNT, LOOKED AT WHAT FEW PICS WE DID HAVE, ASKED HOW WE MET ( SHE DID SAY IT WAS A FIRST THAT SHE'S INTERVIEWED ANYONE WHO MET ON A POKER SITE LOL ) THEN SHE APPROVED OUR CASE, SAID I WOULD GET GREEN CARD IN POST IN 2 WEEKS, SHOOK OUR HAND AND WE THANK HER. AS WE WALKED OUT ALL THE OTHER PEOPLES HEADS IN THE WAITING ROOM TURNED & FOCUSED ON US AND GUESSED WE'D BEEN APPROVED AS PHIL HUGGED AND KISSED ME, WE WERE ELATED.

from arriving at the door checking in, going up to 2nd floor, sat waiting, having the interview and leaving out the door 60 mins in total and all the adrenaline was released. If anyone has any questions ill be happy to answer them.

I learnt a lot from this site b4 sending in my application..so i thought abt sharing mine so far

Married 12/14/08
Mailed Appl- aos,ead,travel docu- 7/16/09
Recevd Aprove travel docu - 8/06
Biometric - 8/18 (card ordered same day)
Waiting for the next step...

Appointment at 1030 AM
Called in just before 1200 PM
Sat down for the interview, the lady was very nice and asked only few questions such as where and when we met, then asked to see some pictures. Everything went smooth.

After only 15 minutes into the interview She said that we are approved and were good to go. Felt very happy but when i asked for the stamp she said we dont do that anymore only in case of emergency! She said that she would normally give us a paper but her printer is not working. She told us not to worry and that the GC would be mailed within 4 weeks.

Felt good but little worried leaving empty handed. Anyone else have a similar experience?