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Our interview was at the Chicago Field office. We have been married for 14 months at this point and I am the US Citizen. I was previously married and got divorced and remarried in less than 9 months. My Husband came here on a visa that expired 5 years ago so he has been out of status since. Our interview was 1 year and 1 week after our PD.
We front loaded our application with what we had, joint checking account statements, USPS change of address from when he moved in with me and when we moved together, copies of ring purchases, we had taken 3 vacations before we got married so pictures and flight confirmations, letters from my family who had met him, text messages, ect
We showed up at 10:45 for our 11:15 interview and finally got called in at 12:30. The officer was really nice and apologized for the long wait. She took us in her office and asked for our driver?s licenses, we did an oath and took his fingerprints. She pulled out our file and had not seemed to review it beforehand. She flipped though a bunch of pages and was marking things as she asked random questions. She asked us where we lived and how long we lived there, and a handful of questions from the 485 for my husband (randomly went through the 4-5 pages of yes/no and picked a few). She asked what we did for a living, and my profession is closely related to her husband?s so we chatted about that. She asked how long I was married for the first time, if he was a US Citizen, when I got divorced, and how the timelines seemed to overlap. I explained that my divorce was final just before I met my new husband but we had been separated for awhile and had already agreed upon the terms of our divorce months before we actually got to court and it was finalized. She asked how we met and we chatted casually about things going on in our city, hobbies, ect as she flipped through the file.
I had a 1.5 inch binder with a table of contents in front of me. She asked for the most recent I-94 and when my husband last entered the country. Then she opened the pictures we had initially sent in and would ask questions about where it was or who was in the picture, and handed back out 90% of them. Then she looked at my big binder and asked what else we wanted to submit. I asked her what she wanted, because I have pretty much anything she needs. She said just tax returns. So I handed her the whole section we had on joint finances and cohabitation. She did not want any originals, affidavits, additional pictures, updated medical, ect. She really asked nothing about our personal life, schedule, home, family, ect.
She asked if we had any questions about the next step, to remove conditions. I asked if what we had submitted would be part of our file already, and she said yes. We only need to submit updated documents from now until we file the I-751 like tax returns.
The whole thing took about 20 minutes of which 5 minutes was her finding a document, 5 minutes chatting about non-related things, and 10 minutes asking us questions. She said she had one more case before lunch and then would update our file. We were out of the building by 1 pm.
For reference, here are the documents I had brought in the binder:
Section A - Proof of Petitioner?s (Wife) US Citizenship and Identity
? Original and Copy of Birth Certificate
? Original and Copy of US Citizen Passport
? Original and Copy of US Global Entry Card
? Original and Copy of Illinois Driver?s License
Section B - Proof of Petitioner?s (Wife) Proof of Income
? Updated I-864 document
? Three most recent Personal Checking account statements
? Three most recent Savings account statements
? Summary of all Personal and Business accounts showing current assets
? YTD Deposits for Primary Business account showing source of income
? Wife?s most recent credit score and report
Section C - Proof of Spouse Beneficiary Identity
? Updated Medical Exam (in back pocket of binder)
? Original and Copy of Birth Certificate with Translation
? Original and Copy of Passport
? Original and Copy of Employment Authorization and Advanced Parole Card
? Original and Copy of Illinois Driver?s License
? Copy of most recent I-94
? Husband?s most recent credit score and report
Section D - Proof of Family Relationship between Petitioner and Spouse Beneficiary
? Original and Copy of Marriage Certificate
? Copy of Divorce Decree for Wife and previous husband
Section E - Joint Finances and Cohabitation
? Financial Affidavit for Wife
o Mortgage Statement for Address
o Receipts and credit card statements for big purchases paid for by Wife
o Deposits made YTD by Wife into their Joint Checking account
o Three most recent Joint Checking account statements
o Joint Auto Insurance Bill and Receipt paid for by Wife
? IRS 2017 Transcript
? 2017 Form 1040
? Original and Copy of Medical and Financial power of attorneys for Wife and Husband
? Comcast Internet bill in Husband?s name
? Wife and Husband?s Car registration at the home address
Section F ? Trips Taken
? Went to Phoenix to see Wife?s family for Christmas on 12/21/17 and they stayed with Wife?s parents for a few days and then spent a few days with her cousins and the whole family spent Christmas Day together before they returned to Chicago 12/26/17.
o Flight confirmation for both Wife and Husband booked 10/27/17
o Pictures from our trip
? Went to Serbia for Wife to meet Husband?s parents, Husband went on 5/6/18 and Wife had a work event so she left 5/14/18. They spent a few days with his parents and then drove to Greece for a few days just the two of them. They went back to his hometown to spend time with his parents before going to Belgrade for a few days and returning on 5/27/18
o Flight confirmation for both Wife and Husband booked 4/15/18
o Pictures from our trip
? Went to the UK for Wife to meet Husband?s sister, her husband, and new niece on 9/2/2018. They stayed with the family the entire trip and did day trips around England. Their flight home on 9/19/18 was cancelled so they had to book a new flight and rent a car to get to a different airport. Don?t have the flight confirmation for Norwegian
o Invitation letter for Husband?s UK Visa application
o Husband?s UK Visa
o Flight confirmation for both Wife and Husband booked 4/15/18
o Pictures from our trip
? Various ******** posts of things we did or places we went together
Section G - Planning a Future Together
? Wife?s Insurance bill for 8/15/18 ?for doctor visit to remove birth control - IUD
? Wife?s Doctor?s summary to remove birth control and provide preconception counseling
? Receipts for prenatal vitamins shipped monthly since 7/8/18
? Receipt for home ovulation and pregnancy test kit dated 8/30/18
? Receipt for various pregnancy and conception books dated 9/27/18
Section H - Letters from Family
? Letter from Wife?s parents detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Wife?s brother detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Husband?s sister detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Wife?s stepmom detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Wife?s cousins detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
Section I - Cards from Family
? Wedding card from Husband?s parents
? Wedding card from Husband?s sister
? Wedding card from Wife?s parents
? Wedding card from Wife?s friends
? Christmas card from Husband?s parents ? 2017
? Christmas card from Husband?s sister ? 2017
? Christmas card from Wife?s parents ? 2017
? Card from Husband?s sister with her baby?s first photo
? Card from Husband?s parents
? Anniversary card from Wife?s parents
Section J ? Text Messages - Used SMS Backup+ App
? August 21st 2018 through August 30th 2018 - 100 messages
? September 27th 2018 through October 3rd 2018 - 100 messages
? October 31st 2018 through November 5th 2018- 100 messages
We front loaded our application with what we had, joint checking account statements, USPS change of address from when he moved in with me and when we moved together, copies of ring purchases, we had taken 3 vacations before we got married so pictures and flight confirmations, letters from my family who had met him, text messages, ect
We showed up at 10:45 for our 11:15 interview and finally got called in at 12:30. The officer was really nice and apologized for the long wait. She took us in her office and asked for our driver?s licenses, we did an oath and took his fingerprints. She pulled out our file and had not seemed to review it beforehand. She flipped though a bunch of pages and was marking things as she asked random questions. She asked us where we lived and how long we lived there, and a handful of questions from the 485 for my husband (randomly went through the 4-5 pages of yes/no and picked a few). She asked what we did for a living, and my profession is closely related to her husband?s so we chatted about that. She asked how long I was married for the first time, if he was a US Citizen, when I got divorced, and how the timelines seemed to overlap. I explained that my divorce was final just before I met my new husband but we had been separated for awhile and had already agreed upon the terms of our divorce months before we actually got to court and it was finalized. She asked how we met and we chatted casually about things going on in our city, hobbies, ect as she flipped through the file.
I had a 1.5 inch binder with a table of contents in front of me. She asked for the most recent I-94 and when my husband last entered the country. Then she opened the pictures we had initially sent in and would ask questions about where it was or who was in the picture, and handed back out 90% of them. Then she looked at my big binder and asked what else we wanted to submit. I asked her what she wanted, because I have pretty much anything she needs. She said just tax returns. So I handed her the whole section we had on joint finances and cohabitation. She did not want any originals, affidavits, additional pictures, updated medical, ect. She really asked nothing about our personal life, schedule, home, family, ect.
She asked if we had any questions about the next step, to remove conditions. I asked if what we had submitted would be part of our file already, and she said yes. We only need to submit updated documents from now until we file the I-751 like tax returns.
The whole thing took about 20 minutes of which 5 minutes was her finding a document, 5 minutes chatting about non-related things, and 10 minutes asking us questions. She said she had one more case before lunch and then would update our file. We were out of the building by 1 pm.
For reference, here are the documents I had brought in the binder:
Section A - Proof of Petitioner?s (Wife) US Citizenship and Identity
? Original and Copy of Birth Certificate
? Original and Copy of US Citizen Passport
? Original and Copy of US Global Entry Card
? Original and Copy of Illinois Driver?s License
Section B - Proof of Petitioner?s (Wife) Proof of Income
? Updated I-864 document
? Three most recent Personal Checking account statements
? Three most recent Savings account statements
? Summary of all Personal and Business accounts showing current assets
? YTD Deposits for Primary Business account showing source of income
? Wife?s most recent credit score and report
Section C - Proof of Spouse Beneficiary Identity
? Updated Medical Exam (in back pocket of binder)
? Original and Copy of Birth Certificate with Translation
? Original and Copy of Passport
? Original and Copy of Employment Authorization and Advanced Parole Card
? Original and Copy of Illinois Driver?s License
? Copy of most recent I-94
? Husband?s most recent credit score and report
Section D - Proof of Family Relationship between Petitioner and Spouse Beneficiary
? Original and Copy of Marriage Certificate
? Copy of Divorce Decree for Wife and previous husband
Section E - Joint Finances and Cohabitation
? Financial Affidavit for Wife
o Mortgage Statement for Address
o Receipts and credit card statements for big purchases paid for by Wife
o Deposits made YTD by Wife into their Joint Checking account
o Three most recent Joint Checking account statements
o Joint Auto Insurance Bill and Receipt paid for by Wife
? IRS 2017 Transcript
? 2017 Form 1040
? Original and Copy of Medical and Financial power of attorneys for Wife and Husband
? Comcast Internet bill in Husband?s name
? Wife and Husband?s Car registration at the home address
Section F ? Trips Taken
? Went to Phoenix to see Wife?s family for Christmas on 12/21/17 and they stayed with Wife?s parents for a few days and then spent a few days with her cousins and the whole family spent Christmas Day together before they returned to Chicago 12/26/17.
o Flight confirmation for both Wife and Husband booked 10/27/17
o Pictures from our trip
? Went to Serbia for Wife to meet Husband?s parents, Husband went on 5/6/18 and Wife had a work event so she left 5/14/18. They spent a few days with his parents and then drove to Greece for a few days just the two of them. They went back to his hometown to spend time with his parents before going to Belgrade for a few days and returning on 5/27/18
o Flight confirmation for both Wife and Husband booked 4/15/18
o Pictures from our trip
? Went to the UK for Wife to meet Husband?s sister, her husband, and new niece on 9/2/2018. They stayed with the family the entire trip and did day trips around England. Their flight home on 9/19/18 was cancelled so they had to book a new flight and rent a car to get to a different airport. Don?t have the flight confirmation for Norwegian
o Invitation letter for Husband?s UK Visa application
o Husband?s UK Visa
o Flight confirmation for both Wife and Husband booked 4/15/18
o Pictures from our trip
? Various ******** posts of things we did or places we went together
Section G - Planning a Future Together
? Wife?s Insurance bill for 8/15/18 ?for doctor visit to remove birth control - IUD
? Wife?s Doctor?s summary to remove birth control and provide preconception counseling
? Receipts for prenatal vitamins shipped monthly since 7/8/18
? Receipt for home ovulation and pregnancy test kit dated 8/30/18
? Receipt for various pregnancy and conception books dated 9/27/18
Section H - Letters from Family
? Letter from Wife?s parents detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Wife?s brother detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Husband?s sister detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Wife?s stepmom detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Wife?s cousins detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
Section I - Cards from Family
? Wedding card from Husband?s parents
? Wedding card from Husband?s sister
? Wedding card from Wife?s parents
? Wedding card from Wife?s friends
? Christmas card from Husband?s parents ? 2017
? Christmas card from Husband?s sister ? 2017
? Christmas card from Wife?s parents ? 2017
? Card from Husband?s sister with her baby?s first photo
? Card from Husband?s parents
? Anniversary card from Wife?s parents
Section J ? Text Messages - Used SMS Backup+ App
? August 21st 2018 through August 30th 2018 - 100 messages
? September 27th 2018 through October 3rd 2018 - 100 messages
? October 31st 2018 through November 5th 2018- 100 messages
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