August Interviewees

[paase]

Hello!

I am starting a new thread for folks with interviews scheduled soon to gather, commiserate, and support each other.

My timeline has been a complete surprise. Not that I am complaining. But, I do feel a bit rushed.

I am F-1 student. So the vaccines, titer test, and TB test are free at the university healthcenter, thankfully. I will go for a physical in the next week or two. The challenge for me is to compile an evidence package that would avert any doubts about our relationship that may come from 1. No real proposal 2. Small wedding (7 people) w/o my parents 3. wedding date 100 days after last reentry on F-1.

How is everyone else feeling/doing? I have found links to older posts collected by @USCitizenSpouse very helpful.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Hello!

I am starting a new thread for folks with interviews scheduled soon to gather, commiserate, and support each other.

My timeline has been a complete surprise. Not that I am complaining. But, I do feel a bit rushed.

I am F-1 student. So the vaccines, titer test, and TB test are free at the university healthcenter, thankfully. I will go for a physical in the next week or two. The challenge for me is to compile an evidence package that would avert any doubts about our relationship that may come from 1. No real proposal 2. Small wedding (7 people) w/o my parents 3. wedding date 100 days after last reentry on F-1.

How is everyone else feeling/doing? I have found links to older posts collected by @USCitizenSpouse very helpful.

I?m glad you?ve found those posts helpful. I wouldn?t be too worried about not having a proposal to talk about. Neither do we. We just talked about it and went to city hall and got married. We didn?t have a reception or honeymoon. None of those items are concrete evidence of bona fide marriage.

Focus on solid and concrete evidence of bona fide marriage. I strongly recommend getting an advanced health care directive and an affidavit of residence. List your evidence and a brief explanation of what the evidence is proof of.

There?s no such thing as going overboard in this policial climate.

[Nitaardzf]

My interview is on the 9th and I?m so nervous lol. I feel like I?m prepared and have enough evidence and all, but I can?t shake the feeling of my stomach dropping every time I think about the interview.🤦🏻*♀️

Hello!

I am starting a new thread for folks with interviews scheduled soon to gather, commiserate, and support each other.

My timeline has been a complete surprise. Not that I am complaining. But, I do feel a bit rushed.

I am F-1 student. So the vaccines, titer test, and TB test are free at the university healthcenter, thankfully. I will go for a physical in the next week or two. The challenge for me is to compile an evidence package that would avert any doubts about our relationship that may come from 1. No real proposal 2. Small wedding (7 people) w/o my parents 3. wedding date 100 days after last reentry on F-1.

How is everyone else feeling/doing? I have found links to older posts collected by @USCitizenSpouse very helpful.

[paase]

Focus on solid and concrete evidence of bona fide marriage. I strongly recommend getting an advanced health care directive and an affidavit of residence. List your evidence and a brief explanation of what the evidence is proof of.

We are going to do the AHD. I heard about it here, but it seems like a good thing to talk about and have. We have a 2-year lease and a letter from our landlord saying we lived there together for three years (without a lease) before then. And amazon receipts and a few old bank statements with the address Think we still need to notarize a letter about our residence?

There?s no such thing as going overboard in this policial climate.

Hear that!

[paase]

Hah totally understand. I have definitely gone down the road often of imagining that there is something suspicious about getting an interview within two months. That perhaps they have a significant concern about my case, esp. that I got married soon after entering the country the last time.
Although we have also been having fun trying to make sure we would have the same answer for things like "how many windows are there in your house"? My husband was counting a door we don't use as a window. ?\_(ツ)_/?
Do people do that - make sure they are on the same page about mundane stuff?

My interview is on the 9th and I?m so nervous lol. I feel like I?m prepared and have enough evidence and all, but I can?t shake the feeling of my stomach dropping every time I think about the interview.🤦🏻*♀️

[krypton9591]

Hello!

I am starting a new thread for folks with interviews scheduled soon to gather, commiserate, and support each other.

My timeline has been a complete surprise. Not that I am complaining. But, I do feel a bit rushed.

I am F-1 student. So the vaccines, titer test, and TB test are free at the university healthcenter, thankfully. I will go for a physical in the next week or two. The challenge for me is to compile an evidence package that would avert any doubts about our relationship that may come from 1. No real proposal 2. Small wedding (7 people) w/o my parents 3. wedding date 100 days after last reentry on F-1.

How is everyone else feeling/doing? I have found links to older posts collected by @USCitizenSpouse very helpful.

I wish you the best of luck with your interview, however in hindsight, I would've recommended waiting to file until you were ready and had evidence, espcially since you have/had an active F1 visa. either way you've got this!

[YuliPG]

Hi! I'm also F1 student adjusting status (married to GC holder). And I'm also worried about my interview but for completely opposite reason than you (extremely long timeline, I filed in end of 2017 and lost any hope to get GC in 2018). We also did not really have an engagement, got married 3 weeks after my husband got GC (in courthouse with only 2 witnesses) and I dropped out of PhD program soon after I filed for GC. Plus my husband is >20 years older than me and comes from different background. Good thing - we'd been living together for 2 years prior to marriage.
I think USCIS wants proofs of day-to-day life since the beginning of the relationships. If you are worried about family members not being present at wedding, include evidences of their interactions with you/your spouse (emails, messages, cards, pictures etc). I have never even spoken to my husband's mom, he on the other hand occasionally exchanges emails with my mom/grandma.

[paase]

I wish you the best of luck with your interview, however in hindsight, I would've recommended waiting to file until you were ready and had evidence, espcially since you have/had an active F1 visa. either way you've got this!

Thanks for wishing us luck @krypton9591!
Finding employment on F-1 OPT is challenging and traveling is a bit risky - one of the reasons we decided to file as soon as we could. I also thought greencard/EAD was going to take at least five months.
While I worry about how the things we mentioned might influence a stranger's perception, we have been together for 6 years and lived together for 5 of those. So, I do have evidence of co-habitation and general relationship stuff - emails, trips, photos with friends and family in the US. And a few emails, chats with my family in India. It would have been nice to have a longer joint account and more evidence of communication with my family in India though.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Thanks for wishing us luck @krypton9591!
Finding employment on F-1 OPT is challenging and traveling is a bit risky - one of the reasons we decided to file as soon as we could. I also thought greencard/EAD was going to take at least five months.
While I worry about how the things we mentioned might influence a stranger's perception, we have been together for 6 years and lived together for 5 of those. So, I do have evidence of co-habitation and general relationship stuff - emails, trips, photos with friends and family in the US. And a few emails, chats with my family in India. It would have been nice to have a longer joint account and more evidence of communication with my family in India though.

Here is my advice to you. I would gather evidence as if you were applying for a K-1 visa. Why? Because that's probably how your case should have been handled. However, since you are already in the US on F-1, it generally makes sense to adjust status.
You shouldn't just focus on evidence of your marriage. I would focus on showing how long you have been together. That's what you would do for a k-1 case. K-1 applicants have to show that they have met each other in person within the two years immediately before you filed the I-129F.

Since you do not have a whole lot of commingling of finances, it makes sense to focus on longevity of your relationship. You've been together for 6 years. Pairing -receipts + pictures + credit card image + bank statement- should not be an issue.
I would definitely do the Advanced health care directive, as well as a notarized affidavit of residence.

Do not waste time wondering why your interview is happening so quickly. It might be a new workflow they're implementing. It might just be luck. Who knows? Just make sure you are prepared for every curve ball.

All the best,

USCFFS

[tamarack]

Hah totally understand. I have definitely gone down the road often of imagining that there is something suspicious about getting an interview within two months.

Other August interviewee here, and also on an incredibly fast timeline. And I do worry! Too much, I know (I always worry). I just logged into the USICS online account, and our online status hasn't been updated to "interview scheduled" even though we received the NoA form letter and the interview appointment. Others here have remarked that the online updates can be inconsistent, so as long as we have the appointment letter in hand, I hope that's nothing to worry about.

In our case, I expect some grilling about my time in the US on non-immigrant visas. I'm adjusting from F1-OPT too (I graduated from my doctoral program in December), and before that arrived on a J-1 visa with a job offer at the same university. (I decided to go for the PhD and get my own scientific credentials after a year and a half in the job.) So I've been in the US since 2011, and we got married in 2013, after DOMA fell and the federal government decided to recognize same-sex marriages. But even afterwards it was by no means clear we wanted to stay in the US: we could always go back to the EU, or actually to Canada as my wife has dual citizenship. It depended on whether I wanted to live here, had job prospects etc, as my wife's job allows her to work from pretty much anywhere with an internet connection. I kept in status and deferred decisions to when they needed to be made. OTOH, we've known each other for a long time from a 90s era online discussion forum, left sight of each other for 10 years, found the old friends group again on ******** in the late 2000s, became friends etc... so not really the typical "meet, date, courtship, proposal, marriage" route. We'll see.

06/06 -- Package sent to Chicago lockbox
06/11 -- Package received
06/11 -- PD
06/18 -- 4 email + 4 SMS notifications. Case with National Benefits Center
06/23 -- 3 hardcopy NoA received via mail (Notice date 06/15). I-131 missing
07/06 -- Biometrics notice received. Appointment in Anchorage for 07/12
07/09 -- 800 miles drive, 15 moose, 1 porcupine and 3 eagles later, completed walk-in biometrics in Anchorage
07/17 -- Missing NoA for I-131 showed up in the mail (PO Box). It had originally been sent to the street address (which doesn't have USPS delivery). Online status said "We reviewed your biometrics and are still processing your case"
08/23 -- Interview date, Anchorage field office

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Other August interviewee here, and also on an incredibly fast timeline. And I do worry! Too much, I know (I always worry). I just logged into the USICS online account, and our online status hasn't been updated to "interview scheduled" even though we received the NoA form letter and the interview appointment. Others here have remarked that the online updates can be inconsistent, so as long as we have the appointment letter in hand, I hope that's nothing to worry about.

In our case, I expect some grilling about my time in the US on non-immigrant visas. I'm adjusting from F1-OPT too (I graduated from my doctoral program in December), and before that arrived on a J-1 visa with a job offer at the same university. (I decided to go for the PhD and get my own scientific credentials after a year and a half in the job.) So I've been in the US since 2011, and we got married in 2013, after DOMA fell and the federal government decided to recognize same-sex marriages. But even afterwards it was by no means clear we wanted to stay in the US: we could always go back to the EU, or actually to Canada as my wife has dual citizenship. It depended on whether I wanted to live here, had job prospects etc, as my wife's job allows her to work from pretty much anywhere with an internet connection. I kept in status and deferred decisions to when they needed to be made. OTOH, we've known each other for a long time from a 90s era online discussion forum, left sight of each other for 10 years, found the old friends group again on ******** in the late 2000s, became friends etc... so not really the typical "meet, date, courtship, proposal, marriage" route. We'll see.

06/06 -- Package sent to Chicago lockbox
06/11 -- Package received
06/11 -- PD
06/18 -- 4 email + 4 SMS notifications. Case with National Benefits Center
06/23 -- 3 hardcopy NoA received via mail (Notice date 06/15). I-131 missing
07/06 -- Biometrics notice received. Appointment in Anchorage for 07/12
07/09 -- 800 miles drive, 15 moose, 1 porcupine and 3 eagles later, completed walk-in biometrics in Anchorage
07/17 -- Missing NoA for I-131 showed up in the mail (PO Box). It had originally been sent to the street address (which doesn't have USPS delivery). Online status said "We reviewed your biometrics and are still processing your case"
08/23 -- Interview date, Anchorage field office

Use this Table of contents as a guide. It was put together by Emerald 2020

EXHIBIT 1
EVIDENCES OF COMINGLING :
JOINT TAX RETURN; PAY STUBS; JOINT CHECKING /CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT; FOREIGN PENSION SAVINGS NEXT OF KIN/BENEFICIARY; LIFE AND ACCIDENTAL INSURANCE; LIVING WILL/ADVANCED HEALTHCARE DIRECTIVE; AND BANK STATEMENTS

(1. A). JOINT TAX RETURN
2017 Joint Tax return

(1. B). SPOUSE BENEFICIARY PAY STUBS, W2 AND 1099
Spouse beneficiary?s pay stubs from various employers from July 2017 to July 2018 W2s and 1099.

(1.C). JOINT CHECKING ACCOUNT/ JOINT CREDIT CARD
*Joint Checking Account Agreement
*Joint Checking account with xxxx
*Join Credit Card with xxxx. With both the Petitioner and spouse beneficiary as authorized users.
*Evidence Joint Checking xxxxx registered for online payments.

(1.D). FOREIGN PENSION NEXT OF KIN/BENEFICIARY
*Spouse beneficiary foreign pension deposit online account listing the Petitioner as the next of kin.
*Notarized "Deed of Gift" of the pension savings of the Spouse beneficiary with the Petitioner as a major beneficiary of the gift. (Notarized document attached)

(1.E). LIFE AND ACCIDENTAL INSURANCE POLICIES
*Spouse beneficiary xxxx Insurance policy with Petitioner as the beneficiary.
*Petitioners? xxxx Insurance policy with the spouse beneficiary as the beneficiary.
*Xxxx Family Accident Life Insurance policy that covers all of us. (Spouse beneficiary, Petitioner and our two daughters)
*Xxxx Insurance policies for Petitioners' daughters bought by the Petitioner and spouse


(1.F). LIVING WILL/ADVANCED HEALTHCARE DIRECTIVE
*The Spouse beneficiary designate and appoint Petitioner as the attorney-in-fact to act as his agent to make health care decision for him.
*The Petitioner designate and appoint spouse beneficiary as the attorney-in-fact to act as his agent to make health care decision for her.

(1.G). BANK STATEMENT BILLS/RENT /PREMIUM PAYMENT HIGHLIGHTS
*xxxx Joint account. **statement from December 2017 to July 2018, with highlight of money spent on family expenses.
*Spouse Beneficiary?s Personal checking account ** , statement highlighting some of the bills paid and insurance premiums from September 2017.
*Spouse Beneficiary?s Personal checking account ** statement highlighting some of the bills paid.



EXHIBIT 2
EVIDENCE OF COHABITATION:
JOINT LEASE; JOINT GAS ACCOUNT; ELECTRIC RESIDENTIAL SERVICE ACCOUNT; JOINT MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION ACCOUNT; EVIDENCES OF RECEIVING MAILS AT THE ADDRESS

(2. A). JOINT LEASE
*Copy of lease agreement listing Spouse Beneficiary & Petitioner as joint tenants at (July 2017 to August 2018)
*Certificate of Rent Paid issued by Leasing Manager to Spouse Beneficiary and Petitioner.
*Copies of rent bills, Money Orders and Cashier?s checks of rent paid between July 2017 to July 2018 with names of Petitioner and spouse beneficiary on it with stamped from the leasing office as receipts of payment.
*Proof of joint Gmail account

(2. B). JOINT GAS ACCOUNT
*Name of Gas Company -xxx
*Account and Bills in the name of Spouse beneficiary and Petitioner.
Account details
*Profile Page
*Copy of Gas bill- Billing date July 2017 to July 2018.Displays Spouse Beneficiary & Petitioner as joint account holders.

(2.C). JOINT ELECTRIC RESIDENTIAL SERVICE ACCOUNT
*Name of Electric Service Provider: xxxx
*Account and Bills in the name of Petitioner
Online account username: xxxxxx @gmail.com
Monthly electric bills: Date July 2017 to July 2018
Bills payment with Spouse Beneficiary's Personal checking account ** . And xxxxx Joint account. ***. (Highlighted in the bank statement attached to Exhibit 1.G)

(2. D). JOINT MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION ACCOUNT
*Name of Service Provider ?
*Account and Bills in the name of Spouse beneficiary.
*Family Account details showing mobile numbers of Petitioners and Spouse beneficiary, in the family account.
Billing & Payment from 12/2017 to 07/2018, with Spouse Beneficiary's Personal checking account **. And xxxx Joint account. **. (Highlighted in bank statement attached to Exhibit 1.G)
*Account Setting showing Petitioner and Spouse beneficiary mobile lines and joint email address: [email protected]

(2.E) EVIDENCE OF RECEIVING MAIL AT SAME ADDRESS AND HAVING UNRESTRICTED ACCESS TO EACH OTHER?S MAIL THROUGH USPS INFORMED DELIVERY ACCOUNT.
*USPS Informed delivery daily digest account with joint email address: [email protected]
*USCIS Form I-797C, Notice of Action addressed to Petitioner and Spouse Beneficiary received at xxxxxxxxx
*Spouse Beneficiary?s Employment Authorization Document and Advance Parole approval notice received at xxxxx
*Copies of several mails delivered to both of us at the same address-xxxx



EXHIBIT 3
EVIDENCE OF RELATIONSHIP:
EMERGENCY CONTACTS INFORMATION; JOINT MEMBERSHIP; AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT, RECEIPTS OF PURCHASE; EMAIL COMMUNICATION EVIDENCES OF RELATIONSHIP

(3.A). EMERGENCY CONTACTS INFORMATION
*Spouse beneficiary listed on the STUDENT REMOVAL/EMERGENCY CARD AND GENERAL RELEASE at xxxxx Unified School District for the Petitioners' two daughters.
*Spouse beneficiary listing the Petitioner as his emergency contact with his employers.

(3.B). JOINT MEMBERSHIPS
*Joint Amazon Prime Account - Household Page shows Petitioner & Spouse
*Online account membership summary
Joint Sam?s Club
*Copy of both membership cards

(3.C). AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT
*One from a Minister and 2 Notarized from friends.

(3. D). RECEIPTS OF PURCHASE
*Receipt and email confirmation of flower bought by spouse beneficiary for petitioners? mother's burial (May 2017)
*Receipt of our first piece of furniture - in our names. (July 2017)

(3. E). MAILS & EMAIL COMMUNICATION EVIDENCES OF RELATIONSHIP
*1st year wedding Anniversary goodwill Mails from friends received at our apartment address.
*Copies of email communication between spouse beneficiary on & Leasing Manager confirming the execution of the current lease and notice to enter unit. And other related issues confirming both Petitioner and Spouse beneficiary lives in the apartment
*spouse beneficiary emails exchange with xxxx Pension company requesting the change of next of kin from his ex-wife to his son as of March 2016.
*spouse beneficiary emails exchange with xxxx Pension company requesting the change of next of kin to the Petitioner as of June 2017.
*Spouse beneficiary email exchange with his Attorney, who handled the assignment of preparing "Deed of Gift" with Petitioner as the major beneficiary and documents notarized.
*between spouse beneficiary and insurance broker representing the interest of the family when life insurance policies were purchased in 2017.
*Emails from Spouse beneficiary and his family and friend abroad mentioning the Petitioner.

PICTURES
Pictures: Separate Photo Album

Civil Documents Separate folder.

More examples on this thread https://www.immihelp.com/forum/showt...interview-tips

[rohosafi]

Concurrent Filing (I-485, I-130, I-765, I-864W and I-693)

Family-based AOS - Baltimore

Timeline:
12-12-17 - Priority date.
12-19-17 - 4 Email/Text notifications
12-21-17 - Four I-797 NOA letters - by mail.
01-26-18 - Biometrics App.
01-16-18 - Biometrics Walk-in
01-26-18 - "Case is ready to be scheduled for interview"
04-12-18 - Received EAD
07-24-18 - "Interview was scheduled"
08-28-18 - Interview date

Will update after the interview. I know this is a slow process but be patient and stay focused. Good luck to everyone!!!

[paase]

In our case, I expect some grilling about my time in the US on non-immigrant visas.....

I would think that the facts that you did not rush to get a greencard right after marriage (like I did), that you have been married for almost five years, and that you were never out of status all this time are all an evidence of good faith rather than attracting suspicion. I hope that is how the IO sees it.

I have a question for the group: What do you think about classifying 1) joint renter's insurance and 2) shared grocery bills (i.e., we would split the bill in half) as evidence of financial co-mingling?

[paase]

Good luck to you too!!

Family-based AOS - Baltimore

Timeline:
12-12-17 - Priority date.
12-19-17 - 4 Email/Text notifications
12-21-17 - Four I-797 NOA letters - by mail.
01-26-18 - Biometrics App.
01-16-18 - Biometrics Walk-in
01-26-18 - "Case is ready to be scheduled for interview"
04-12-18 - Received EAD
07-24-18 - "Interview was scheduled"
08-28-18 - Interview date

Will update after the interview. I know this is a slow process but be patient and stay focused. Good luck to everyone!!!

[Hotaru-Grace]

Yes to comingling finance

I would think that the facts that you did not rush to get a greencard right after marriage (like I did), that you have been married for almost five years, and that you were never out of status all this time are all an evidence of good faith rather than attracting suspicion. I hope that is how the IO sees it.

I have a question for the group: What do you think about classifying 1) joint renter's insurance and 2) shared grocery bills (i.e., we would split the bill in half) as evidence of financial co-mingling?

Hello:

Sounds like a great idea. I used joint renter's insurance and our joint bank statement that reflected our purchase of grocery and payment of bills.

All the best.