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Hello,
I wanted to share my interview experience because this forum helped me a lot throughout my adjustment of status process. From the beginning to the end, it took us exactly 5 months (feel free to look at the exact timeline below). I was an international student on F-1 visa, then I worked on OPT after graduation. Got married a month before the OPT expired, then we concurrently filed everything on May 31st after the expiration of OPT. Then we had our interview on October 31st, it was approved on the spot; received the green card on November 6th. We did not use a lawyer. The field office is Tampa FL.
I brought 3 separate folders of documents. One folder contained the copies of the Adjustment of Status packet, which was what I sent them initially. The second folder contained all of the civil and immigration documents I have ever received, such as passports, birth certificates, marriage certificate, work permits, etc. The third folder contained the evidence that establishes our relationship, such as pictures up until before the interview, shared health, dental, auto insurance, phone records from all the way back to 2016, licenses with the same address, electricity bills, shared Sam's Club membership, car registrations, etc. My spouse and I decided to keep our assets separated, so we did not have any shared bank accounts, or credit cards.
Our interview was at 9:00 am on October 31st. We checked in at 8:56 am and got a ticket with a number on it. There was already a lot of people waiting, they were calling couples in in the order by the ticket number you received at the door. I think USCIS schedule a lot of people to have the interview at the same time, and it is pretty much first come first serve and then you wait. We waited for around 40 minutes, and finally got called in.
Once we entered the door, there was a big hallway, it was like an office building. There were many offices, some of them were decorated because it was also Halloween. The officer brought us to his office, on the wall there were pictures of his family and his diploma. Before we were seated, we were asked to raise our hands and swear to tell the truth. Once seated, I positioned the 3 folders on the desk, and the officer took my left and right index fingerprints. The officer started by asking us how we were doing and making small talks. Then he asked my spouse for his name, address, and birthday. Then my spouse saw the officer's diploma and noticed that the officer and him went to the same college. So they started talking about the college, and the city, etc. From there, the officer and us just started chatting like friends. The officer even told us the funny things he did when he was in college. We talked and laughed for probably 8 minutes, then the officer asked me to confirm that my address was still the same as my spouse' address. After I said yes, the officer said he is going to approve our case and we should receive the card within 2 weeks. He then asked if we had any questions, we said no. Then he walked us out and we thanked him.
He didn't ask me or my spouse any questions regarding our relationship, he didn't even ask to see anything I brought including more evidence since the filing back in May. I think that we had a strong case, we sent in a lot of evidence in the beginning which showed a strong bona fide marriage.
If you have any questions regarding my or your AOS, please feel free to ask! This forum has helped me so much and I would love to pay it forward by helping other fellow immigrants!
Also, for those who have been checking your case status on the USCIS website: I don't think USCIS is updating them, I already received my green card but my online case status was still from 2 months ago when the interview was scheduled. So do not stress if your case has not been updated online! Just make sure to check your mailbox for mail from the USCIS!
I wanted to share my interview experience because this forum helped me a lot throughout my adjustment of status process. From the beginning to the end, it took us exactly 5 months (feel free to look at the exact timeline below). I was an international student on F-1 visa, then I worked on OPT after graduation. Got married a month before the OPT expired, then we concurrently filed everything on May 31st after the expiration of OPT. Then we had our interview on October 31st, it was approved on the spot; received the green card on November 6th. We did not use a lawyer. The field office is Tampa FL.
I brought 3 separate folders of documents. One folder contained the copies of the Adjustment of Status packet, which was what I sent them initially. The second folder contained all of the civil and immigration documents I have ever received, such as passports, birth certificates, marriage certificate, work permits, etc. The third folder contained the evidence that establishes our relationship, such as pictures up until before the interview, shared health, dental, auto insurance, phone records from all the way back to 2016, licenses with the same address, electricity bills, shared Sam's Club membership, car registrations, etc. My spouse and I decided to keep our assets separated, so we did not have any shared bank accounts, or credit cards.
Our interview was at 9:00 am on October 31st. We checked in at 8:56 am and got a ticket with a number on it. There was already a lot of people waiting, they were calling couples in in the order by the ticket number you received at the door. I think USCIS schedule a lot of people to have the interview at the same time, and it is pretty much first come first serve and then you wait. We waited for around 40 minutes, and finally got called in.
Once we entered the door, there was a big hallway, it was like an office building. There were many offices, some of them were decorated because it was also Halloween. The officer brought us to his office, on the wall there were pictures of his family and his diploma. Before we were seated, we were asked to raise our hands and swear to tell the truth. Once seated, I positioned the 3 folders on the desk, and the officer took my left and right index fingerprints. The officer started by asking us how we were doing and making small talks. Then he asked my spouse for his name, address, and birthday. Then my spouse saw the officer's diploma and noticed that the officer and him went to the same college. So they started talking about the college, and the city, etc. From there, the officer and us just started chatting like friends. The officer even told us the funny things he did when he was in college. We talked and laughed for probably 8 minutes, then the officer asked me to confirm that my address was still the same as my spouse' address. After I said yes, the officer said he is going to approve our case and we should receive the card within 2 weeks. He then asked if we had any questions, we said no. Then he walked us out and we thanked him.
He didn't ask me or my spouse any questions regarding our relationship, he didn't even ask to see anything I brought including more evidence since the filing back in May. I think that we had a strong case, we sent in a lot of evidence in the beginning which showed a strong bona fide marriage.
If you have any questions regarding my or your AOS, please feel free to ask! This forum has helped me so much and I would love to pay it forward by helping other fellow immigrants!
Also, for those who have been checking your case status on the USCIS website: I don't think USCIS is updating them, I already received my green card but my online case status was still from 2 months ago when the interview was scheduled. So do not stress if your case has not been updated online! Just make sure to check your mailbox for mail from the USCIS!
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