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I-485 Approved at Los Angeles
Here's the timeline:
04/2005 Marriage USC and H1B holder (UK Citizen)
02/16/07 I-130/I-485 and I-765 mailed to Chicago Lockbox
02/19/07 Priority date
02/26/07 I-797C Notices sent from MSC
03/01/07 I-797C Fingerprint notice sent for I-485 and I-765
03/15/07 I-797C Initial Interview Notice sent (I-485)
03/17-07 Fingerprint appointment
03/20/07 I-797C Fingerprint notice received (so I missed the appointment)
03/23/07 Interview notice received for I-485
03/30/07 Infopass Appointment with local USCIS office to reschedule biometric appointment
03/30/07 Fingerprint appointment at local ASC
05/02/07 I-485 Interview and approved
The interview process was very relaxed and the immigration officer who interviewed us was very pleasant and professional and even smiled and joked with us. A little different from the stern and straight experience we'd been expecting based on what we'd read on here from other posters - I guess we we're lucky!
After swearing us in, he asked us for our passports, birth certificates, driver's licenses and the original copies of our divorce papers and marriage certificate and license. There was no warning about marriage fraud that some of the other posters have referenced. He just said he needed us to answer a few questions honestly, some of which may or may not apply to us.
He asked us if we'd prepared the forms ourselves and we said we hadn't used a lawyer. He seemed pleased there was no lawyer involved and we joked that they're expensive and that the forms are quite straightforward to complete, if a little time consuming.
He took my I-94 and cancelled (without prejudice) the brand new H1-B that I just got in London last week. I didn't apply for Advanced Parole (I-131) as I had a valid H1-B through April 08 but if I now need to travel abroad before the Green Card arrives in the mail, I have to use Infopass to make an appointment and obtain temporary evidence of my approved change of status to permanent resident (according to the letter we were given).
The questions we're very straightforward and we're pretty much as follows:
My full name
My spouse's relationship with me
How long we've been married (just over two years)
He ran through most of the answers questions on the I-485 application and just checked them off - if I'd been introuble with the law, been involved in acts or terrorism etc.
He then asked me about some minor issues I'd had on my entry into the US when I'd been referred for additional inspection at the airport and whether this was because I'd ever come in on a private plane without inspection. I explained that the issues were apparently due to a mistake by an immigration officer who'd incorrectly marked me down as a visa waiver entry on the computer system when I was infact in H1-B status and that this had happened a couple of times when I'd been coming in from Japan and Australia. I also explained that we couldn't afford to travel on a private jet (I wish) which is where he smiled at the answer.
His mobile rang with a country music ring tone during the interview and we chatted about how I'd learned about country music while rebuilding the boat we'd bought back in 2002 as it was the only radio station I could get at our rural house where we keep the boat. The whole conversation was very friendly and pleasant.
After this, he asked if we had any questions or whether we had anything else for him. I wasn't quite expecting to be the one asking the questions so I just offered up our 2006 tax return and the W2s, employer letters and payslips that the interview letter required us to bring and that was pretty much that. We'd also bought a classic car for our wedding anniversary and had brought a copy of the registration for this, but he said he didn't need it as we had already submitted enough evidence of joint property with our home and boat and he didn't want any more paper to make the file any thicker
.
He then asked us to go and sit in the waiting room again while he checked one of two things out on his computer. After about 10-15 minutes he reappeared with the approval letter and explained that we should have the card within the next 4-8 weeks.
I have to say that it was quite an anticlimax after all the paperwork we'd assembled which is no bad thing. We sat back down in the waiting room and looked at each other and pretty much said 'is that it?'. When we'd made the original submission, we'd included about 20 or so photographs of vacations and family holidays and he'd obviously taken a look at these since he remembered that one of our pictures was taken in downtown LA close to the USCIS office which he brought up during the discussion.
We didn't have to show any pictures or birthday/holiday cards we'd brought or any of the original title/registration/property documents. I was quite disappointed in this since I'd spent about a day pulling it all together and creating the copies and we pretty much left with the thick file of documents we went in with!
All I can say is that if you provide the information they ask for with the applications, it all seems to go quite smoothly. I'd recommend preparing the paperwork yourself rather than using a lawyer if you have a straightforward case like ours was. It really was a very efficient and well organised process despite the couple of wrinkles with the fingerprints we had along the way.
The champagne is now in the fridge for a little celebration later this evening.
04/2005 Marriage USC and H1B holder (UK Citizen)
02/16/07 I-130/I-485 and I-765 mailed to Chicago Lockbox
02/19/07 Priority date
02/26/07 I-797C Notices sent from MSC
03/01/07 I-797C Fingerprint notice sent for I-485 and I-765
03/15/07 I-797C Initial Interview Notice sent (I-485)
03/17-07 Fingerprint appointment
03/20/07 I-797C Fingerprint notice received (so I missed the appointment)
03/23/07 Interview notice received for I-485
03/30/07 Infopass Appointment with local USCIS office to reschedule biometric appointment
03/30/07 Fingerprint appointment at local ASC
05/02/07 I-485 Interview and approved
The interview process was very relaxed and the immigration officer who interviewed us was very pleasant and professional and even smiled and joked with us. A little different from the stern and straight experience we'd been expecting based on what we'd read on here from other posters - I guess we we're lucky!
After swearing us in, he asked us for our passports, birth certificates, driver's licenses and the original copies of our divorce papers and marriage certificate and license. There was no warning about marriage fraud that some of the other posters have referenced. He just said he needed us to answer a few questions honestly, some of which may or may not apply to us.
He asked us if we'd prepared the forms ourselves and we said we hadn't used a lawyer. He seemed pleased there was no lawyer involved and we joked that they're expensive and that the forms are quite straightforward to complete, if a little time consuming.
He took my I-94 and cancelled (without prejudice) the brand new H1-B that I just got in London last week. I didn't apply for Advanced Parole (I-131) as I had a valid H1-B through April 08 but if I now need to travel abroad before the Green Card arrives in the mail, I have to use Infopass to make an appointment and obtain temporary evidence of my approved change of status to permanent resident (according to the letter we were given).
The questions we're very straightforward and we're pretty much as follows:
My full name
My spouse's relationship with me
How long we've been married (just over two years)
He ran through most of the answers questions on the I-485 application and just checked them off - if I'd been introuble with the law, been involved in acts or terrorism etc.
He then asked me about some minor issues I'd had on my entry into the US when I'd been referred for additional inspection at the airport and whether this was because I'd ever come in on a private plane without inspection. I explained that the issues were apparently due to a mistake by an immigration officer who'd incorrectly marked me down as a visa waiver entry on the computer system when I was infact in H1-B status and that this had happened a couple of times when I'd been coming in from Japan and Australia. I also explained that we couldn't afford to travel on a private jet (I wish) which is where he smiled at the answer.
His mobile rang with a country music ring tone during the interview and we chatted about how I'd learned about country music while rebuilding the boat we'd bought back in 2002 as it was the only radio station I could get at our rural house where we keep the boat. The whole conversation was very friendly and pleasant.
After this, he asked if we had any questions or whether we had anything else for him. I wasn't quite expecting to be the one asking the questions so I just offered up our 2006 tax return and the W2s, employer letters and payslips that the interview letter required us to bring and that was pretty much that. We'd also bought a classic car for our wedding anniversary and had brought a copy of the registration for this, but he said he didn't need it as we had already submitted enough evidence of joint property with our home and boat and he didn't want any more paper to make the file any thicker
.He then asked us to go and sit in the waiting room again while he checked one of two things out on his computer. After about 10-15 minutes he reappeared with the approval letter and explained that we should have the card within the next 4-8 weeks.
I have to say that it was quite an anticlimax after all the paperwork we'd assembled which is no bad thing. We sat back down in the waiting room and looked at each other and pretty much said 'is that it?'. When we'd made the original submission, we'd included about 20 or so photographs of vacations and family holidays and he'd obviously taken a look at these since he remembered that one of our pictures was taken in downtown LA close to the USCIS office which he brought up during the discussion.
We didn't have to show any pictures or birthday/holiday cards we'd brought or any of the original title/registration/property documents. I was quite disappointed in this since I'd spent about a day pulling it all together and creating the copies and we pretty much left with the thick file of documents we went in with!
All I can say is that if you provide the information they ask for with the applications, it all seems to go quite smoothly. I'd recommend preparing the paperwork yourself rather than using a lawyer if you have a straightforward case like ours was. It really was a very efficient and well organised process despite the couple of wrinkles with the fingerprints we had along the way.
The champagne is now in the fridge for a little celebration later this evening.
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