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Hi everyone,
Here's my timeline and experience of a marriage-based green card interview in the San Francisco FO.
PD : 04/2018
EAD Approved : 09/2018
I485 Interview Notice : 08/16/2019
I485 Interview : 09/27/2019
The interview was scheduled for early Friday morning. We arrived at the FO at 7am, but they hadn't opened the doors as yet. They opened the doors for appointments at 7:15, and we had to wait for a bit before they called out our appointment time. After the security check, we went to the floor we were directed to and had to wait another 10-15 minutes before being called in.
The FO was very nice, but also serious. It helped that she had a great personality and smiled at times. Here is a list of questions that we were asked:
Me(Beneficiary)
1. ID?
2. DOB?
3. Address?
4. When did you last come into the US?
5. When is your spouse's birthday?
6. What did you like about your spouse's profile (after we told her we met online)? She smiled when I responded because I blushed as I was recalling the moment.
7. Around 15-20 questions directly from the I485 form. The IO was nice enough to smile and let me know that the questions are only for me and that she has to go through them.
Spouse:
1. What are the names of your in-laws?
2. Have you met your in-laws? When did you meet them? Where do they live?
3. When is your spouse's birthday?
4. When did you get married? Who was at your wedding?
Joint:
1. Where and how did the two of you meet?
2. (Since we moved across the country) Was it a tough decision to move across the country?
She asked for proof. We had 2 binders - one with originals and one with copies. We also had an album full of photos. They were all nearly organized. She only asked to see copies of our joint lease, joint bills and photos. She took the lease, the bills and only 3-4 photos from the album and returned the others. She also noticed I had an updated I693 Medical Examination form, since my last one had expired, and asked us to hand it over to her.
She then said she saw no problem with our application, that everything is in place and that she will recommend our case for approval. She hoped to have it approved by the end of the day. She handed us the famous 'white paper' and told us about the processing time, other terms and conditions (120 days/ 4 weeks/ 2 year conditional GC etc.), but also told us there wasn't any reason why it would take our case that long to be approved. She asked us if we had any questions and I asked her if the GC would be mailed to our current address, since we had moved last year. She said yes, and that the USCIS system can be slow to process address changes at times. We stood up and she then walked us out to the waiting room.
The entire process from the start to the end of the interview took roughly 7-8 minutes. We were pleasantly surprised, but had also prepared really well and, of course, are in a legitimate marriage. It was a really great experience, in short.
At 4pm on the same day, I received an email saying my case was processed and my card has been ordered. I'm hoping to receive it later this week.
I will make a post shortly about items you need to collect and how to organize them. This forum helped me a lot, and I would love to share how I prepared in the weeks prior to the big day.
Peace.
Here's my timeline and experience of a marriage-based green card interview in the San Francisco FO.
PD : 04/2018
EAD Approved : 09/2018
I485 Interview Notice : 08/16/2019
I485 Interview : 09/27/2019
The interview was scheduled for early Friday morning. We arrived at the FO at 7am, but they hadn't opened the doors as yet. They opened the doors for appointments at 7:15, and we had to wait for a bit before they called out our appointment time. After the security check, we went to the floor we were directed to and had to wait another 10-15 minutes before being called in.
The FO was very nice, but also serious. It helped that she had a great personality and smiled at times. Here is a list of questions that we were asked:
Me(Beneficiary)
1. ID?
2. DOB?
3. Address?
4. When did you last come into the US?
5. When is your spouse's birthday?
6. What did you like about your spouse's profile (after we told her we met online)? She smiled when I responded because I blushed as I was recalling the moment.
7. Around 15-20 questions directly from the I485 form. The IO was nice enough to smile and let me know that the questions are only for me and that she has to go through them.
Spouse:
1. What are the names of your in-laws?
2. Have you met your in-laws? When did you meet them? Where do they live?
3. When is your spouse's birthday?
4. When did you get married? Who was at your wedding?
Joint:
1. Where and how did the two of you meet?
2. (Since we moved across the country) Was it a tough decision to move across the country?
She asked for proof. We had 2 binders - one with originals and one with copies. We also had an album full of photos. They were all nearly organized. She only asked to see copies of our joint lease, joint bills and photos. She took the lease, the bills and only 3-4 photos from the album and returned the others. She also noticed I had an updated I693 Medical Examination form, since my last one had expired, and asked us to hand it over to her.
She then said she saw no problem with our application, that everything is in place and that she will recommend our case for approval. She hoped to have it approved by the end of the day. She handed us the famous 'white paper' and told us about the processing time, other terms and conditions (120 days/ 4 weeks/ 2 year conditional GC etc.), but also told us there wasn't any reason why it would take our case that long to be approved. She asked us if we had any questions and I asked her if the GC would be mailed to our current address, since we had moved last year. She said yes, and that the USCIS system can be slow to process address changes at times. We stood up and she then walked us out to the waiting room.
The entire process from the start to the end of the interview took roughly 7-8 minutes. We were pleasantly surprised, but had also prepared really well and, of course, are in a legitimate marriage. It was a really great experience, in short.
At 4pm on the same day, I received an email saying my case was processed and my card has been ordered. I'm hoping to receive it later this week.
I will make a post shortly about items you need to collect and how to organize them. This forum helped me a lot, and I would love to share how I prepared in the weeks prior to the big day.
Peace.
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