Interview Experience Thread

[laaaabiii]

Hi guys,

Since we have a thread for evidence, I think it will nice if we have a thread just for interview experience too, so people can easily read about it instead of searching every single thread to look for the information When you post your experience, please try to provide as much details as possible please make sure you tell us where your interview is located too! Thank you guys!

[monkey123]

Interview experience - approved on same day! Thankful!

This website forum has helped me a lot, so now it's time to pay it forward and share our experience!!

Field Office: Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Marriage date: June 7, 2018
Application Submitted: July 15, 2018
Priority Date: July 23, 2018
EAD/Advance Parole Received: November 15, 2018
Interview Scheduled: February 2, 2019
Interview Date: March 13, 2019 (1:30 PM)
Green Card Approved: 5:30 PM on same day as interview
Petitioner: wife (Naturalized US citizen, originally from India)
Beneficiary: husband (F1 student visa, working on F1 OPT, originally from India)

We did NOT hire an attorney. We have been married for less than one year, we have no kids, no previous marriages or divorces, no criminal record, no illegal stay in USA. I would highly advise that if you don't have any complications, then SAVE your money and don't hire an attorney. We are both young and managed to do the entire application and interview process on our own!

1) Parking at Mount Laurel field office is free and easily available right outside the office. Keep your Appointment Letter that you received in mail handy because we had to show it to security office at the front door, and submit that letter at the Check In Window The security check is similar to airport security checks (remove shoes, no food or drink, etc.). There was a long waiting line, about 25 people in waiting room. We arrived at 12:50 PM, our appt was at 1:30 PM, our name didn't get called until 2 PM, interview lasted 40 minutes, when we were leaving at 2:40 PM, there were almost 50 people in waiting room, and people waiting in a line outside the front door. It seemed extremely busy, not sure if it is always this busy! Everyone seemed to be there for either naturalization test or couples like us for green card.

2) The officer was serious and intimidating the first 15 minutes, but after that he opened up and was friendly. My husband had to do fingerprint and get his photo taken. We both had to take oaths.

3) First he asked us for ORIGINAL documents for BOTH of us: drivers license, passport, my naturalization US Citizen certificate, marriage certificate, birth certificate. He did notice that my original birth certificate that I submitted at interview was slightly differently format than the copy birth certificate that was in the application last year. I explained why and he just nodded and said he will need to make a photocopy of this new original. He returned all original documents back to us. (I wasn't aware that an ORIGINAL birth certificate would be needed until 5 weeks before interview when we got appointment letter, I anxiously went through process of getting original from my hospital in India, and it luckily came in mail 1 week before interview).

4) He asked us if we brought any additional evidence of marriage, we had brought a lot, out of which he kept the following in the file (he reviewed them all thoroughly):

- Joint taxes filed together for 2019
- Joint lease for our apartment
- Joint bank account statements for 2 different banks
- Joint renters insurance
- Joint car insurance
- Joint medical health insurance
- Joint dental health insurance
- My husband's 401K where I am listed beneficiary
- Our flight tickets together for 3 different trips he kept 2 of them
- He kept 3 photos out of 50+ that we brought; he did respectfully go through most of the photos, asked us a question about where one was taken, and a comment about another

5) Simultaneously while reviewing documents we had following questions that turned into friendly conversations:
- Both of us were asked: Full name, date of birth, birth place, current address, if we ever had any kids, or divorces, or previous marriages
- My husband was asked all the questions listed on I-485 form (ever committed a crime? Part of any terrorist affiliation? Etc.) ? he did look very directly into my husband's eyes when asking those questions
- Our previous addresses and how long we lived there; when did we move to current address, who else lives with us, how we like the new city that we have moved to
- Why my husband went to the university he did on his student visa and how was his experience there, talked about how he has two OPT (F1 OPT and I-485 OPT)
- He asked me what I do for work right now, my career, had detailed friendly convo about different cities I lived in
- He looked straight at my husband and asked him Tell me about your relationship which turned into a detailed funny convo about how we met story
- He looked straight at me and asked me Were you surprised at the proposal? Did you guys pick out the ring together?
- Last question he asked Is there anything else about your relationship that you would like to tell me?

6) He walked us out of the interview and we asked when we would find out, he said he will review, see if he needs any other documents, if not, then we will know by end of the day. At 5:30 PM on the same day as interview, we got the notification that New card is being produced AKA green card approved!

We are so thankful and relieved!!! Thank you to everyone that has contributed on this forum, I never wrote a thread post before this, but read sooo many of them, and today I felt like sharing! Hang in there, be patient through the process, do all your homework research thoroughly (this website is a great resource), and everything will go smoothly! GOOD LUCK!

[laaaabiii]

Congratulations!!

This website forum has helped me a lot, so now it's time to pay it forward and share our experience!!

Field Office: Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Marriage date: June 7, 2018
Application Submitted: July 15, 2018
Priority Date: July 23, 2018
EAD/Advance Parole Received: November 15, 2018
Interview Scheduled: February 2, 2019
Interview Date: March 13, 2019 (1:30 PM)
Green Card Approved: 5:30 PM on same day as interview
Petitioner: wife (Naturalized US citizen, originally from India)
Beneficiary: husband (F1 student visa, working on F1 OPT, originally from India)

We did NOT hire an attorney. We have been married for less than one year, we have no kids, no previous marriages or divorces, no criminal record, no illegal stay in USA. I would highly advise that if you don't have any complications, then SAVE your money and don't hire an attorney. We are both young and managed to do the entire application and interview process on our own!

1) Parking at Mount Laurel field office is free and easily available right outside the office. Keep your Appointment Letter that you received in mail handy because we had to show it to security office at the front door, and submit that letter at the Check In Window The security check is similar to airport security checks (remove shoes, no food or drink, etc.). There was a long waiting line, about 25 people in waiting room. We arrived at 12:50 PM, our appt was at 1:30 PM, our name didn't get called until 2 PM, interview lasted 40 minutes, when we were leaving at 2:40 PM, there were almost 50 people in waiting room, and people waiting in a line outside the front door. It seemed extremely busy, not sure if it is always this busy! Everyone seemed to be there for either naturalization test or couples like us for green card.

2) The officer was serious and intimidating the first 15 minutes, but after that he opened up and was friendly. My husband had to do fingerprint and get his photo taken. We both had to take oaths.

3) First he asked us for ORIGINAL documents for BOTH of us: drivers license, passport, my naturalization US Citizen certificate, marriage certificate, birth certificate. He did notice that my original birth certificate that I submitted at interview was slightly differently format than the copy birth certificate that was in the application last year. I explained why and he just nodded and said he will need to make a photocopy of this new original. He returned all original documents back to us. (I wasn't aware that an ORIGINAL birth certificate would be needed until 5 weeks before interview when we got appointment letter, I anxiously went through process of getting original from my hospital in India, and it luckily came in mail 1 week before interview).

4) He asked us if we brought any additional evidence of marriage, we had brought a lot, out of which he kept the following in the file (he reviewed them all thoroughly):

- Joint taxes filed together for 2019
- Joint lease for our apartment
- Joint bank account statements for 2 different banks
- Joint renters insurance
- Joint car insurance
- Joint medical health insurance
- Joint dental health insurance
- My husband's 401K where I am listed beneficiary
- Our flight tickets together for 3 different trips he kept 2 of them
- He kept 3 photos out of 50+ that we brought; he did respectfully go through most of the photos, asked us a question about where one was taken, and a comment about another

5) Simultaneously while reviewing documents we had following questions that turned into friendly conversations:
- Both of us were asked: Full name, date of birth, birth place, current address, if we ever had any kids, or divorces, or previous marriages
- My husband was asked all the questions listed on I-485 form (ever committed a crime? Part of any terrorist affiliation? Etc.) ? he did look very directly into my husband's eyes when asking those questions
- Our previous addresses and how long we lived there; when did we move to current address, who else lives with us, how we like the new city that we have moved to
- Why my husband went to the university he did on his student visa and how was his experience there, talked about how he has two OPT (F1 OPT and I-485 OPT)
- He asked me what I do for work right now, my career, had detailed friendly convo about different cities I lived in
- He looked straight at my husband and asked him Tell me about your relationship which turned into a detailed funny convo about how we met story
- He looked straight at me and asked me Were you surprised at the proposal? Did you guys pick out the ring together?
- Last question he asked Is there anything else about your relationship that you would like to tell me?

6) He walked us out of the interview and we asked when we would find out, he said he will review, see if he needs any other documents, if not, then we will know by end of the day. At 5:30 PM on the same day as interview, we got the notification that New card is being produced AKA green card approved!

We are so thankful and relieved!!! Thank you to everyone that has contributed on this forum, I never wrote a thread post before this, but read sooo many of them, and today I felt like sharing! Hang in there, be patient through the process, do all your homework research thoroughly (this website is a great resource), and everything will go smoothly! GOOD LUCK!

[okccanary]

Oklahoma City Interview - Did not use Lawyer - Marriage to USC

Hi Guys

I had my interview yesterday in Oklahoma City and we got really lucky with the IO we had. He put us at ease straight away. As soon as we walked into our office he asked us to remain standing while he swore us in. He then asked me if I got my work authorization card and then asked to see it. He then asked for any new documents with our names on it. We told him we only had a few new things: A deed to our house, a bill with both our names on it, flight itineraries and some snapshots of informed delivery. He told us it didn't matter what it was just something that had both our names on it so we handed them all over. He then only asked us two directed questions at us. One at the start and one at the end of the interview. He first asked us to tell him our love story. During this my wife(U.S citizen) mainly spoke and I chipped in every now and again. The IO didn't seem to mind that it was mainly my wife talking. After talking about how we met, moved in etc he then went through the yes no questions on the application. He then finished the interview by asking us our future plans. We both hesitated and he then elaborated his questions saying do you want kids, where will you live etc. We told him due to the business my wife is in we will be staying in Oklahoma for the foreseeable future. We didn't want any kids just yet as we still have a lot of places we want to tick off and see and kids are expensive. The IO laughed and agreed to that statement and then we just started chatting about the places we have all been to and compared notes. He then told us that he will be approving our application that day.

The whole interview was 15-20 minutes long max. I am glad I followed the suggestions of organizing your folders for the interview because I was a nervous wreck once I was in there and being able to find everything he needed quickly definitely helped the situation. Interestingly the IO told us that he usually already has a good feel on whether he is going to approve someone before the interview. So I would recommend making sure to put strong evidence in your initial application.

I woke up this morning to the email saying that a new card is being produced!!

okc field office -

f1-opt-h1b-gc via marriage USC (been here since Aug 2013 - dated my spouse since Aug 2014, married 3/23/2018)

Did not use Lawyer

4/5/18: sent paper work
4/26/18 : PD
5/07/18 : Received 4 letters.
5/14/18 :Biometrics letter
6/1/18: Biometrics
9/15/18: RFE for tax. (Wanted it from the irs website even though we sent everything they asked for barre the IRS printout./ sent RFE that day - Also no update on either site or notification that RFE was sent just appeared in my letter box
9/26/18: Recieved RFE
10/11/18 : "Ready to be scheduled for interview", Interview scheduled
10/18/18 : Interview scheduled letter arrives
11/9/2018 EAD being produced
11/15/2018 EAD Recieved
11/27/18 : Interview scheduled
11/28/18 New card being produced

[laaaabiii]

Congratulation! Hope everyone and I will have a smooth interview like yours too!

Hi Guys

I had my interview yesterday in Oklahoma City and we got really lucky with the IO we had. He put us at ease straight away. As soon as we walked into our office he asked us to remain standing while he swore us in. He then asked me if I got my work authorization card and then asked to see it. He then asked for any new documents with our names on it. We told him we only had a few new things: A deed to our house, a bill with both our names on it, flight itineraries and some snapshots of informed delivery. He told us it didn't matter what it was just something that had both our names on it so we handed them all over. He then only asked us two directed questions at us. One at the start and one at the end of the interview. He first asked us to tell him our love story. During this my wife(U.S citizen) mainly spoke and I chipped in every now and again. The IO didn't seem to mind that it was mainly my wife talking. After talking about how we met, moved in etc he then went through the yes no questions on the application. He then finished the interview by asking us our future plans. We both hesitated and he then elaborated his questions saying do you want kids, where will you live etc. We told him due to the business my wife is in we will be staying in Oklahoma for the foreseeable future. We didn't want any kids just yet as we still have a lot of places we want to tick off and see and kids are expensive. The IO laughed and agreed to that statement and then we just started chatting about the places we have all been to and compared notes. He then told us that he will be approving our application that day.

The whole interview was 15-20 minutes long max. I am glad I followed the suggestions of organizing your folders for the interview because I was a nervous wreck once I was in there and being able to find everything he needed quickly definitely helped the situation. Interestingly the IO told us that he usually already has a good feel on whether he is going to approve someone before the interview. So I would recommend making sure to put strong evidence in your initial application.

I woke up this morning to the email saying that a new card is being produced!!

okc field office -

f1-opt-h1b-gc via marriage USC (been here since Aug 2013 - dated my spouse since Aug 2014, married 3/23/2018)

Did not use Lawyer

4/5/18: sent paper work
4/26/18 : PD
5/07/18 : Received 4 letters.
5/14/18 :Biometrics letter
6/1/18: Biometrics
9/15/18: RFE for tax. (Wanted it from the irs website even though we sent everything they asked for barre the IRS printout./ sent RFE that day - Also no update on either site or notification that RFE was sent just appeared in my letter box
9/26/18: Recieved RFE
10/11/18 : "Ready to be scheduled for interview", Interview scheduled
10/18/18 : Interview scheduled letter arrives
11/9/2018 EAD being produced
11/15/2018 EAD Recieved
11/27/18 : Interview scheduled
11/28/18 New card being produced

[laaaabiii]

Hi guys,

I just had my interview today in NYC, basically approved on spot the interview started off with asking my husband (USC) questions, and then me. Officer asked how we met, what car he drove and had us told him our love story. And then the YES/NO questions on the application. I was super nervous until the officer asked us about our love story and then it turned into more of a conversation. My suggestion is just be prepared (documents) and be honest. Now i am waiting for the system to get updated and looking forward to receive the GC. Good luck to all of you! Feel free to ask me questions if you have any

just updated: New Card is being Produced!!

[laaaabiii]

Dont forget to share your interview experience guys!!

[svolk]

Field Office: Spokane, Washington
Marriage date: July 7, 2017 in Denmark (Had been dating since 2012)
Application Submitted: September 13, 2018
Priority Date: September 17, 2018
Request for Initial Evidence: October 19, 2018
Bio-metric Appointment: October 30, 2018
EAD/Advance Parole Received: February 25, 2019
Interview Date: March 5, 2019 (8:00 AM)
Green Card Approved: Day of Interview
Green Card Received: March 13, 2019
Petitioner: Wife - That's me! (US citizen)
Beneficiary: Husband (German, entered US with VWP)

I cannot believe how easy our interview went. It felt like hours but it was only about 20 minutes! The officer we had was really nice from the beginning. She asked us if we had any new documents from them and we gave her his EAD and social security card and she updated some of the forms with this info. She then asked me questions directly off the I-130 form. She then asked my husband questions directly off the I-485. Particularly the thousands of yes/no questions from that form. She asked us directly what his intent was when he came to the US because you are not supposed to enter on the VWP with the intention of staying. We said his intention was not to stay then and he did have a return ticket, but that I received a job offer to good to pass up. Of course, we had already sent them my dated job offer and explanation with our original application so this was all easily corroborated. I was really expecting to be grilled on this topic and she didn't question us hard at all. She then asked if we had anything else to submit and we did have a few new things. She took them and put them straight in our file without looking at them and told us we were approved. She didn't ask us one single relationship/personal question or ask to see any of our original documents. I really like to think that means I did an outstanding job with our initial application, even though I thought I did a terrible job at the time. I'm still just so shocked that it turned out to be that easy.

We also did this without any lawyers. It was our first marriage for both of us and we had been together for years and had lived together in Germany and I had the German green card equivalent before we applied and neither one of us had prior criminal or immigration charges. I relied on this site so much through the entire process and I'm so grateful people take the time to share their experiences for the benefit of others. Thank you to all those people!!

[laaaabiii]

Field Office: Spokane, Washington
Marriage date: July 7, 2017 in Denmark (Had been dating since 2012)
Application Submitted: September 13, 2018
Priority Date: September 17, 2018
Request for Initial Evidence: October 19, 2018
Bio-metric Appointment: October 30, 2018
EAD/Advance Parole Received: February 25, 2019
Interview Date: March 5, 2019 (8:00 AM)
Green Card Approved: Day of Interview
Green Card Received: March 13, 2019
Petitioner: Wife - That's me! (US citizen)
Beneficiary: Husband (German, entered US with VWP)

I cannot believe how easy our interview went. It felt like hours but it was only about 20 minutes! The officer we had was really nice from the beginning. She asked us if we had any new documents from them and we gave her his EAD and social security card and she updated some of the forms with this info. She then asked me questions directly off the I-130 form. She then asked my husband questions directly off the I-485. Particularly the thousands of yes/no questions from that form. She asked us directly what his intent was when he came to the US because you are not supposed to enter on the VWP with the intention of staying. We said his intention was not to stay then and he did have a return ticket, but that I received a job offer to good to pass up. Of course, we had already sent them my dated job offer and explanation with our original application so this was all easily corroborated. I was really expecting to be grilled on this topic and she didn't question us hard at all. She then asked if we had anything else to submit and we did have a few new things. She took them and put them straight in our file without looking at them and told us we were approved. She didn't ask us one single relationship/personal question or ask to see any of our original documents. I really like to think that means I did an outstanding job with our initial application, even though I thought I did a terrible job at the time. I'm still just so shocked that it turned out to be that easy.

We also did this without any lawyers. It was our first marriage for both of us and we had been together for years and had lived together in Germany and I had the German green card equivalent before we applied and neither one of us had prior criminal or immigration charges. I relied on this site so much through the entire process and I'm so grateful people take the time to share their experiences for the benefit of others. Thank you to all those people!!

Congratulations!!!