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Marriage Based AOS Interview, Approved on the Spot! Tampa Field Office
Hi everyone! This is long, but I just wanted to share my experience in case it helps anyone in the future.
We had our interview yesterday at the Tampa Field Office and were approved on the spot! Just some background information: my husband came to the US on an F1 visa from India in January of 2016. We met, and started dating in May of 2016, and were married in March of 2017. As I was the only one able to work and support us at the time, it took us exactly a year to fill out and complete the forms and save up the money for all the fees. We did the process completely by ourselves, as we could not afford a lawyer. However, through some connections we were able to speak to an immigration lawyer who told us our case was very straight forward and by the book (close in age, never previously married, no prior children, same religion, my husband entered the country legally, and I?m a US Citizen) and said we could get along doing things on our own as long as we were thorough and careful.
Here's our timeline:
Filed I-130, I-485 (+ I-864 and I-693), and I-765 concurrently
3/21/18 - sent application through USPS certified mail, Chicago Lockbox
3/23 - Application accepted by USCIS
4/9 - Receive notice that I-765 is outdated, send in updated form and payment (they did not send any of the documents or the passport pics we had sent in back with the notice. We also called the hotline to confirm that no fee was needed since it was filed with the I-485. The agent told us on both parts that USCIS made a mistake.)
4/9 - Receive biometrics appointment for 4/27
4/13 - I-765 accepted by USCIS
4/21 - attempt early walk-in for biometrics - our facility does not accept walk-ins and tells us to come back on 4/27
4/27 - biometrics are taken
4/30 - 5/19 - a whole lot of drama with my husbands EAD which he needed to start his new job in Florida. We are originally from NH and were moving for his job that was set to start at the end of may and got pushed back to beginning of June. To see that whole timeline check out this post: https://www.immihelp.com/forum/showt...279#post567279
5/7 - Ready to Schedule Interview
6/1 - Move to Florida, stay in an AirBnb while trying to find housing
6/9 - Address Change request sent via uscis website
6/11 - Interview has been scheduled... In NH
6/14 - Address change request accepted
Call USCIS and see if, even though we moved, we can still attend the interview in NH so we don't have to go to the end of the waiting list for Tampa. Tier 1 Officer said it should be fine. Weeks later we find out from a lawyer we called to possibly come with us to the interview that the IO would most likely not conduct the interview if we came back to NH, because it's no longer in their jurisdiction....
7/2 - Call USCIS hotline and confirmed that we should cancel and reschedule interview. Send a request to cancel and reschedule.
7/6 - Interview is rescheduled for Tampa Bay on 8/23
8/1 - Receive a letter from the Tampa Bay FO saying our interview is on 9/7...
8/20 - Confirmed that the interview is for 8/23 (every time we called we couldn't be transferred to Tier 2 officer)
8/23 - Interview completed, approved of the spot, and 15 minutes after leaving we get the text message saying the card has been ordered and case approved. Oh, and we spoke to someone at the Tampa Office check in desk. The reason we got two interview dates is because USCIS HQ rescheduled our interview from our request, as well as the Tampa office. He told us there was a special note on our case that if we didn't show up for the 8/23 interview then to keep our file open until 9/7
Just a few notes on our interview...
We got there about 45 minutes early, and waited about 20-30 minutes after our actual interview time to be seen.
Evidence submitted when we originally sent in the form was:
-verification of deposit showing owners of account and dates accounts were opened
-voided check showing both our names
-car insurance showing both names
-car registrations showing co-ownership of car/truck
-affidavit from my mom (we were living with her and she didn't charge us rent and all utilities were in her name)
-affidavit from our church leader who knew us both before we started dating and attended wedding and has had us over his family's home multiple times
-affidavit from a mutual friend who has visited us multiple times at our house
-and about 50 pictures (dating, holidays with family, wedding, misc. life photos)
Evidence we brought to the interview:
-life insurance policy and start date
-copy of health insurance card
-copy of dental insurance card
-copy of rental insurance
-copy of lease documents (including payment receipts)
-renewal of car insurance
-updated verification of deposit form
-letter from our church releasing us from a calling we held together as a couple
-cell phone bills (had to wait til my contract was up to be added to my husband's)
-internet bill with both names (our electric and water companies don't do co-owners for some reason... you just need to know your spouse's social to access account)
-updated pictures from my husband's graduation, our going away party, and our roadtrip to FL
-cards we gave each other on special occasions
-a couple of pieces of mail addressed to both of us
-cards from our wedding and going away party
-screenshots of all my calls on ******** (I only use the app to talk to his parents, but we also would use it to call each other. So it was basically a record of every call between me and him and me and his parents)
-I also searched my messages for the phrase (you and "husband's name") and printed out screenshots of all the times people invited us somewhere or asked about us as a couple.
Our interview was very straight forward. We were called back, and I do want to add that the room you?re interviewed in is more like a personal office rather than just a plain room which is what I imagined. It felt very similar to when you go into a bank to ask for a loan or something. We are sworn in, sit down, and she asks us for all forms of ID (I thought our passports would suffice but she asked for our licenses too, which were not yet switched over to FL and didn't reflect us living at the same address in NH. I thought she would say something about this because my husband's was actually a MA license but she didn't.) She wanted to see our Social Security Cards as well, and luckily I brought those too.
She asked us if we live in a house or apartment. My husband said house. She asked if we own or lease, he said lease, she then asked if we brought a copy of the lease and we said yes. We handed it to her and she asked if it was hers to keep and I said yes. She then asked if we have opened up a bank account together in FL yet. I was a little taken aback because I didn't think we needed to. I explained that we're able to keep the same bank we had in NH so we didn't change. She asked to see bank statements - I explained that I didn't bring any because they don't show both account owners on the statement. It only shows my name, but now thinking back on it I should have brought them so she can see that it?s an active account. However, attached to the letter was my husband?s payment election form, that showed his paycheck is direct deposited into our checking account. I told her that I had a verification of deposit letter with our names and the dates the accounts were opened and she took that.
She asked why we moved to Florida and my husband explained his job offer. She asked where he worked. She then asked me if I was working and I said no, but I'm currently looking (I was nervous about this because of the I-864. Since I was able to support both of us on my salary according to the poverty guidelines we had no joint sponsor. I had prepped for that by bringing my husband's job offer and pay stubs, but she didn't ask about any of that.)
Then she verified information on the forms, and in between the verification she asked us first where we met. We told her at our church. She then asked us when we met. Then she asked how our relationship started. My husband and I looked at each other and then at her like who should answer? And she said either one could answer, so I said I would tell it since my husband always likes when I tell it. Our story involves us getting to know each other over messenger while I was away at school out west and him flying out west to drive with me back home when I left school. She asked when exactly things became romantic. Then she went through all those questions at the end of the I-485 and my husband had to answer yes or no. She then verified our signatures on the forms.
She then turned to her computer and as she was typing said she was going to recommend us for approval. I was shocked. She didn't even ask us any personal questions besides how we met. Actually thinking back she did say, "And you don't have any children, correct?" And my husband said "Not yet, but it's definitely in the future for us." She didn't ask to see any of our other evidence, and to be honest, I thought to myself "what's the point in showing her if we're already approved. There's about 100 other people waiting to be interviewed and I don't want to take any more of her time than we needed to because that was time taken away from them."
She explained that the green card was temporary and explained the whole process of getting the conditions removed in 2 years. She then made us sign 2 copies of the piece of paper about the temporary green card. She explained that in 2 years we'll need to come back and to keep collecting evidence throughout the two years. I told her we had some pictures if she's like to see them, and she said we had already submitted a lot of photos originally but was interested if there were any new ones to add, so I quickly went through and pulled out the new ones.
I did ask her if he would be getting a stamp in his passport but she said they only do that if you've lost your GC and need to travel or if you need to travel before your green card arrives.
Then she walked us out. She was very nice and conversational during the interview, she even asked us what we thought about Florida so far.
I was just surprised because I went in there so ready to go head to head to prove this was legitimate, and it all felt almost? anti-climactic. However, this was just my experience, and I?m thinking that because our case was very straight forward and by the book, that our initial evidence was pretty solid, and the fact that we had moved across the country together, literally away from my entire family who lives in New England, was pretty compelling in and of itself. We also had no red flags ? never been arrested, etc.
But what I?m trying to say is, don?t walk in there thinking it?s going to be breeze ? go in there ready to prove yourself. Even though she didn?t take any of our other evidence, I am so glad I had it in case I needed it, and I have it ready and will continue to add to it when we have to go back in 2 years. I did a lot of research in this forum, and I did make a table of contents for our added evidence like USCitizenFilingforSpouse suggested. I found myself wishing I had kept more receipts of when we did things together or took more pictures of each other in our home. However, because I didn?t have those things it made me think of what else I could show and that?s when I thought of printing out all those screenshots of texts where people referred to us together and I felt like that was a really solid piece of evidence I had in my corner.
That being said, I just want to thank everyone who conutributes to this forum. Your advice and experiences were crucial and have helped us so much throughout this entire process. Thank you!!!
We had our interview yesterday at the Tampa Field Office and were approved on the spot! Just some background information: my husband came to the US on an F1 visa from India in January of 2016. We met, and started dating in May of 2016, and were married in March of 2017. As I was the only one able to work and support us at the time, it took us exactly a year to fill out and complete the forms and save up the money for all the fees. We did the process completely by ourselves, as we could not afford a lawyer. However, through some connections we were able to speak to an immigration lawyer who told us our case was very straight forward and by the book (close in age, never previously married, no prior children, same religion, my husband entered the country legally, and I?m a US Citizen) and said we could get along doing things on our own as long as we were thorough and careful.
Here's our timeline:
Filed I-130, I-485 (+ I-864 and I-693), and I-765 concurrently
3/21/18 - sent application through USPS certified mail, Chicago Lockbox
3/23 - Application accepted by USCIS
4/9 - Receive notice that I-765 is outdated, send in updated form and payment (they did not send any of the documents or the passport pics we had sent in back with the notice. We also called the hotline to confirm that no fee was needed since it was filed with the I-485. The agent told us on both parts that USCIS made a mistake.)
4/9 - Receive biometrics appointment for 4/27
4/13 - I-765 accepted by USCIS
4/21 - attempt early walk-in for biometrics - our facility does not accept walk-ins and tells us to come back on 4/27
4/27 - biometrics are taken
4/30 - 5/19 - a whole lot of drama with my husbands EAD which he needed to start his new job in Florida. We are originally from NH and were moving for his job that was set to start at the end of may and got pushed back to beginning of June. To see that whole timeline check out this post: https://www.immihelp.com/forum/showt...279#post567279
5/7 - Ready to Schedule Interview
6/1 - Move to Florida, stay in an AirBnb while trying to find housing
6/9 - Address Change request sent via uscis website
6/11 - Interview has been scheduled... In NH
6/14 - Address change request accepted
Call USCIS and see if, even though we moved, we can still attend the interview in NH so we don't have to go to the end of the waiting list for Tampa. Tier 1 Officer said it should be fine. Weeks later we find out from a lawyer we called to possibly come with us to the interview that the IO would most likely not conduct the interview if we came back to NH, because it's no longer in their jurisdiction....
7/2 - Call USCIS hotline and confirmed that we should cancel and reschedule interview. Send a request to cancel and reschedule.
7/6 - Interview is rescheduled for Tampa Bay on 8/23
8/1 - Receive a letter from the Tampa Bay FO saying our interview is on 9/7...
8/20 - Confirmed that the interview is for 8/23 (every time we called we couldn't be transferred to Tier 2 officer)
8/23 - Interview completed, approved of the spot, and 15 minutes after leaving we get the text message saying the card has been ordered and case approved. Oh, and we spoke to someone at the Tampa Office check in desk. The reason we got two interview dates is because USCIS HQ rescheduled our interview from our request, as well as the Tampa office. He told us there was a special note on our case that if we didn't show up for the 8/23 interview then to keep our file open until 9/7
Just a few notes on our interview...
We got there about 45 minutes early, and waited about 20-30 minutes after our actual interview time to be seen.
Evidence submitted when we originally sent in the form was:
-verification of deposit showing owners of account and dates accounts were opened
-voided check showing both our names
-car insurance showing both names
-car registrations showing co-ownership of car/truck
-affidavit from my mom (we were living with her and she didn't charge us rent and all utilities were in her name)
-affidavit from our church leader who knew us both before we started dating and attended wedding and has had us over his family's home multiple times
-affidavit from a mutual friend who has visited us multiple times at our house
-and about 50 pictures (dating, holidays with family, wedding, misc. life photos)
Evidence we brought to the interview:
-life insurance policy and start date
-copy of health insurance card
-copy of dental insurance card
-copy of rental insurance
-copy of lease documents (including payment receipts)
-renewal of car insurance
-updated verification of deposit form
-letter from our church releasing us from a calling we held together as a couple
-cell phone bills (had to wait til my contract was up to be added to my husband's)
-internet bill with both names (our electric and water companies don't do co-owners for some reason... you just need to know your spouse's social to access account)
-updated pictures from my husband's graduation, our going away party, and our roadtrip to FL
-cards we gave each other on special occasions
-a couple of pieces of mail addressed to both of us
-cards from our wedding and going away party
-screenshots of all my calls on ******** (I only use the app to talk to his parents, but we also would use it to call each other. So it was basically a record of every call between me and him and me and his parents)
-I also searched my messages for the phrase (you and "husband's name") and printed out screenshots of all the times people invited us somewhere or asked about us as a couple.
Our interview was very straight forward. We were called back, and I do want to add that the room you?re interviewed in is more like a personal office rather than just a plain room which is what I imagined. It felt very similar to when you go into a bank to ask for a loan or something. We are sworn in, sit down, and she asks us for all forms of ID (I thought our passports would suffice but she asked for our licenses too, which were not yet switched over to FL and didn't reflect us living at the same address in NH. I thought she would say something about this because my husband's was actually a MA license but she didn't.) She wanted to see our Social Security Cards as well, and luckily I brought those too.
She asked us if we live in a house or apartment. My husband said house. She asked if we own or lease, he said lease, she then asked if we brought a copy of the lease and we said yes. We handed it to her and she asked if it was hers to keep and I said yes. She then asked if we have opened up a bank account together in FL yet. I was a little taken aback because I didn't think we needed to. I explained that we're able to keep the same bank we had in NH so we didn't change. She asked to see bank statements - I explained that I didn't bring any because they don't show both account owners on the statement. It only shows my name, but now thinking back on it I should have brought them so she can see that it?s an active account. However, attached to the letter was my husband?s payment election form, that showed his paycheck is direct deposited into our checking account. I told her that I had a verification of deposit letter with our names and the dates the accounts were opened and she took that.
She asked why we moved to Florida and my husband explained his job offer. She asked where he worked. She then asked me if I was working and I said no, but I'm currently looking (I was nervous about this because of the I-864. Since I was able to support both of us on my salary according to the poverty guidelines we had no joint sponsor. I had prepped for that by bringing my husband's job offer and pay stubs, but she didn't ask about any of that.)
Then she verified information on the forms, and in between the verification she asked us first where we met. We told her at our church. She then asked us when we met. Then she asked how our relationship started. My husband and I looked at each other and then at her like who should answer? And she said either one could answer, so I said I would tell it since my husband always likes when I tell it. Our story involves us getting to know each other over messenger while I was away at school out west and him flying out west to drive with me back home when I left school. She asked when exactly things became romantic. Then she went through all those questions at the end of the I-485 and my husband had to answer yes or no. She then verified our signatures on the forms.
She then turned to her computer and as she was typing said she was going to recommend us for approval. I was shocked. She didn't even ask us any personal questions besides how we met. Actually thinking back she did say, "And you don't have any children, correct?" And my husband said "Not yet, but it's definitely in the future for us." She didn't ask to see any of our other evidence, and to be honest, I thought to myself "what's the point in showing her if we're already approved. There's about 100 other people waiting to be interviewed and I don't want to take any more of her time than we needed to because that was time taken away from them."
She explained that the green card was temporary and explained the whole process of getting the conditions removed in 2 years. She then made us sign 2 copies of the piece of paper about the temporary green card. She explained that in 2 years we'll need to come back and to keep collecting evidence throughout the two years. I told her we had some pictures if she's like to see them, and she said we had already submitted a lot of photos originally but was interested if there were any new ones to add, so I quickly went through and pulled out the new ones.
I did ask her if he would be getting a stamp in his passport but she said they only do that if you've lost your GC and need to travel or if you need to travel before your green card arrives.
Then she walked us out. She was very nice and conversational during the interview, she even asked us what we thought about Florida so far.
I was just surprised because I went in there so ready to go head to head to prove this was legitimate, and it all felt almost? anti-climactic. However, this was just my experience, and I?m thinking that because our case was very straight forward and by the book, that our initial evidence was pretty solid, and the fact that we had moved across the country together, literally away from my entire family who lives in New England, was pretty compelling in and of itself. We also had no red flags ? never been arrested, etc.
But what I?m trying to say is, don?t walk in there thinking it?s going to be breeze ? go in there ready to prove yourself. Even though she didn?t take any of our other evidence, I am so glad I had it in case I needed it, and I have it ready and will continue to add to it when we have to go back in 2 years. I did a lot of research in this forum, and I did make a table of contents for our added evidence like USCitizenFilingforSpouse suggested. I found myself wishing I had kept more receipts of when we did things together or took more pictures of each other in our home. However, because I didn?t have those things it made me think of what else I could show and that?s when I thought of printing out all those screenshots of texts where people referred to us together and I felt like that was a really solid piece of evidence I had in my corner.
That being said, I just want to thank everyone who conutributes to this forum. Your advice and experiences were crucial and have helped us so much throughout this entire process. Thank you!!!
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