ead-gc- (guest from Atlanta, GA, 30338)    •   01/21/2010 21:27:51 PM

0      0

Hello,
I am currently working on EAD not H1-B and am awaiting my GC.

If I get married now will it be possible to add/introduce my spouse in my GC application process now?

xxxxxxxx- (guest from brooklyn, ny, usa)    •   01/20/2010 17:31:12 PM

0      0

i came to american witha a v2 visa was asked to send in medical records sent them but were never received by immigration.my dad is a residentand has his green card .. 5 yrs later i applyed for adjustment of status went to my interview today evrything went well.. got a letter saying i would be answered by mail in 60 days.. I WAS WONDERING DOES ANYONE KNOW WHEN APPROXIMATLY I WILL RECEIVE MY GREEN CARD???? OR WHAT AM I WAITING FOR NOW.. WILL IT BE LONG BEFORE I VISIT MY MOM???

Jake Diaz- (guest from Los Angeles, CA, United States)    •   01/17/2010 00:29:30 AM

0      0

We have been married for 3 years as myself being an immigrant and my wife as a diplomat of her country. I filed I-130 petition immediately after we got married but the processing time for this category is about 2-3 years. We have been advised by many to just wait for my U.S. citizenship to commence before filing the petition because the wait will be shorter but I realized that if we wait and my citizenship get delayed or denied, then we are in bigger trouble. So my advise to some of you out there who are in the same boat as I am, please don't wait for your U.S. citizenship to file adjustment of status for your spouse! Do it upon receipt of your marriage certificate!

With all things happening as planned, I became a U.S citizen on August 29, 2009. I immediately filed an upgrade of my I-130 petition from spouse of a permanent resident to spouse of U.S. citizen. About 3rd week of September my wife was called for fingerprinting. November 17, 2009 she got her I-131 (Advanced Parole) & I-765 (Work Authorization). A week later, we got our notice to appear for final interview scheduled on December 22, 2009.

As the big day approach, so as our excitement. We made sure all our documents are lined up. It is extremely important to be prepared and have all your documents complete. I checked and re-checked our folders to make sure that we have all originals and copies of what they asked for. In our particular case, the adjudicator did not ask for everything in the letter but it is better to be over-prepared than not to have it when being asked for. There may be a need for you to review your life as a couple especially when you are newly married, but in our case, we didn't even bother because we know each other from head-to-toe. Interview lasted for 15 minutes we got hit with straight to the point questions like: how we met, where we met, number of kids etc. I didn't expect it to be a walk in a park, but it was. They handed my wife the approval notice and advised us to wait for 3 weeks for the green card, it actually came earlier than 3 weeks.

The entire process from when I filed the upgrade to receipt of green card is about 4 months. The long and short of this, as long as it's a real bona fide marriage, consider it done.

Good luck!

Jay- (guest from baltimore, md, montgomery)    •   12/23/2009 22:41:30 PM

0      0

Hi everyone, I love this site and it has helped me alot. If you are about to apply to adjust your status, here are a few real advice I can give you.
1.Be VERY ORGANIZED when submitting your application
2.Send everything, the more the better as long as it relates to your application. Nothing unecessary.
3. The most common mistake people make, when submitting your application, They rush and submit the application without much supporting documents and expect to bring their additional documents at the interview. BIG MISTAKE. What you want to do is be sure you have EVERYTHING in order BEFORE submitting your application. The reason why is because if you have a properly prepared pakage, the immigration officer will most likely already have his mind made up about the application. Either they will approve it in their mind or decide that they are not convinced and that they need to be convinced during the interview. The difference here is that with a well prepared pakage, you do not have to prove your case, only show up. Thats how mine was.

Married june 09
i485 mailed and received oct 2nd 2009
Fingerprints done Nov 3rd 2009ee
Interview date Dec 23rd 2009

Interview at 10.30am. We got there 10.20 and checked in with our lawyer. by 10.35 we were called in. The immigration officer made us swear in to tell the truth and then sat us down. The interview was so smooth I was shocked how easy and simple it was. All the officer did was take a look at our file and asked questions such as:
is ..... your name? yes
is ..... your address? yes
you do work at .....? yes
your dad name is .... correct? yes.
She did not ask me any questions about my wife. Or did she ask my wife anything. The only questions we had was, how did you guys meet? THAT WAS IT. And that she informed us that she would go ahead and recommend it for approval.

KEEP IN MIND I LIVE IN Maryland and my wife lives in Michigan due to our work. But our application was properly put together by our lawyer it made so much sense. PERSONALY i only got a lawyer because my wife and I live and commute between 2 different states. I do not think its worth getting a lawyer, its too expensive but just for the way she put the work together, for me its worth it. Just ask any of your friends who has had a lawyer to give you a copy of the package and submit your own.

Some of the docs we had : Because we live in diff states

-joint bank accounts, check card, check books, copies of written checks...
- joint phone bills
- joint car ownership
- Alot of family photos
- both went to the same school DEGREE copies
- Utility bills, appartment lease
- Trips, hotels, flights and anything that shows that you guys spend alot of money for each other

and much more...

Hope this helps,
Good luck to you guys

Zebra- (guest from Newark, NJ, USA)    •   10/26/2009 09:14:39 AM

0      0

Hi all,
I found this wesite extremely helpful so I thought I gave back some....
I was on a valid H1B visa but got married in May 2009. Filed for AOS which was received by USCIS in August 2009. I recieved my Advance Parole and EAD card in early October. but didn't get to use either as I promptly received my interview notice schedule for Oct 20 2009.
I took along an Album,joint bank statements, joint home phone bill, credit/debit cards, rental lease, photo ids with same address, life insurane in addition to the required docs.
My interview was scheduled for 9am. We arrived at 8:15am but did not check in after we got into waiting room as we were waiting for lawyer who was at another interview. Lawyer finaly arrived at 10:30am and we check in. We got called by immigration officer at 11am. Lawyer was again tied up at another deportation case so we decided to proceed without lawyer by signing waiver form.
Entire interview proces lasted about 30mins, first we were interviewed together and then we were separated for further questioning even though we answered all questions correctly. Interviewer was also very stiff and unfriendly and didn't smile the whole time.
Together we were asked...Spouse's full name and bday? Full address with Zipcode? Name of Landlord? Spouse's Salary? Asked me the beneficiary if I had ever been arrested but never asked spouse (petitioner).
Separated we were asked.... Describe Proposal? Names and ages of Spouse's kids? Where kids live? Whether spouse received child support? Where was kids other parent? Our medical Insurance? Where/what we had for dinner evening before? Did we have desert? name of Spouse's boss? (fyi..Spouse did not know name of my boss). What was last gifts we got each other?
Officer then got us back together in the room and ask us how we think we did? We said good and for the first time we saw a smile on his face. He told be that he was going to approve my case and congratulated us.
Hope that helps. Good luck all!!

Maris- (guest from CHARLESTON, SC, USA)    •   10/15/2009 00:48:07 AM

0      0

Immigration received my paperwork on July 29th
Gave my fingerprints Aug. 25th
Received my work permit Sept. 23rd
Green Card Approved Oct 14th
Total 66 days.

I came here on a J1 visa and like a lot of us i overstayed.I got married on Aug 2007,but didn't send any papers out until this year.I decided to stop working because i didn't want to get in trouble.Living off of one salary and paying all that money is not easy :)
We had our interview yesterday.Appointment was 1.30pm,we got there around 1.15pm.Waited about 30 min then we were called in.First she asked for my I-94 card.Then she looked at my visa and the paperwork that came with it.Luckily i had kept it for all these years.She asked for my name,date of birth and country of birth.Then she started flipping through our paperwork.Occasionally stopping and asking a question.We showed pictures of us and my husbands family.We had joint bank account,rental applications,electricity bill,jointly filed taxes.Hy husbands grandmother embroidered us a framed picture with our names and marriage date on it.Although it was framed we took it with us and she loved it :) She actually wants my husbands grandmother to do the same thing for her :) After that she stamped my passport,showed the frame to everyone at the office and we were off!:) She was sooo nice and i was soooo nervous.But i think that as long as your marriage is legit and you have no criminal history there is nothing to worry about!

Joy Fattori- (guest from Axtell, Tx, USA)    •   09/29/2009 04:53:28 AM

0      0

I am the alien spouse of a US citizen and we have been married almost three years. Our papers were filed by our attorney on July 2nd 2009. Biometrics were done on August 8th in Ft Worth. We received an appointment in August to attend for the AOS interview in San Antonio Tx on September 28th 2009 at 1pm. I had already received by temporary permit to travel and work prior. Things seemed to be moving very quickly. We were very well prepared taking all the evidence of bonafide marriage with us. We arrived at the USCIS office around 12.30pm and proceeded to go through security. We were told to wait and we would be called. Our attorney who was not with us, advised us to be prepared for a wait. We were called at 12.40pm and a very pleasant USCIS Officer took us to his office were we were sworn in. He asked me about my last entry into the USA and then asked me about my previous marriages (I had been widowed and divorced). He asked my husband about his current work. He never asked for any pictures of any evidence. He told us it was a very straightforward case and asked for my passport. He noted we had been married for nearly three years so stamped in the passport a permanant green card stamp which he explained gave me the freedom to travel and to work. He advised me to get a SS card but to wait a few days for the information to get into the system before applying. He was a delighful person; we were prepared for anything but in the end we were in and out before even our appointment time arrived! We would advise people to prepare well and if it is not needed then be blessed by that. We were. I saw all the experiences of others online before I went to interview and was helped by not being alone on the process. I wish all out there a safe journey through the AOS process.

newyorklady- (guest from New York, NEW YORK, usa)    •   09/23/2009 14:21:01 PM

0      0

I wanted to share my interview experience in hopes of helping somebody else.

I've been married for just over 2 years and we decided to apply for the greencard this past June. We hire a great immigration team and they were really thorough. Which is probably why our process went so quick! We applied June 19th. Got our Biometrics done July 21st. Got my AP and EAD August 15th and interview September 16th.

We got to the Federal Plaza in NYC at 7:15 and did not get seen till 9:30! She swore us in and began questioning my husband. Questions like "Where did you guys meet? What is her middle name? When is her birthday? What is her mother's first name? When did you get married?" She asked him about 12 questions and then asked me 3. Then she asked me several questions that I answered "NO" to all of them. She asked for proof of marriage. I gave her several bank statements, amtrak tickets, utility bills, letters to both of us and pictures (10 in total) with me and my husband. I also gave her my wedding album (20 pics max). She asked if we have anything else and she then signed and dated my passport and put "I 485 pending" and the A#...I was completely scared, because she did not say apporved or anything!

After worrying I finally looked online on MOnday and found out my case was approved and card production was ordered for me!

The whole interview process was 15 minutes!

if your marriage is real and you have plenty of evidence (I didn't bring my whole apartment)you will be fine, just be calm and answer the questions, the interview is not that scary.

Documents submitted 6/19/09
Biometrics taken 7/21/09
AP & EAD recieved 8/15/09
I 485 Interview 9/16/09
Card Production ordered! 9/21/09
...waiting for green card!

Good Luck All!

Juan- (guest from Houston, TX, USA)    •   09/11/2009 03:25:10 AM

0      0

I entered the USA as visitor, changed status to F1 student, failed to maintain status and overstayed, married to a US citizen in may 2008.

Sent application to change status on june 29, 2009.
Interview set to sept. 4, 2009. It only took 2 months and 5 days! Wow!

Appointment was at 11:00 am, we arrived at 10:40 am, waited for our lawyer (we hired one because I was arrested twice for driving with suspended license and hiring a lawyer gave me some peace of mind). I was extremely nervous, my wife not as nervous as me. We were called, my heart was beating so hard and fast!! Officer (male) lead us to his office, we swored in and then we asked for our paperwork and proof of us living together. Then he asked her her full name and date of birth, then date of our marriage. He then asked me my full name and date of marriage, then he asked me when's her birthday. Then he asked her my parents' names and if she talks to them regularly, then he asked how many guests we had, why was I arrested then he saw some of the pics we have (wedding, honey moon, trips), he even joked around and was in a very good mood which calmed my altered nerves. He left for a moment to get a supervisor's approval on my arrest records and when he came back he explained he was going to stamp my passport (then I new I was becoming a Permanent Resident, yeaH!!!!), because the place where GCs are made was shut down momentarily during the summer and gcs were taking a little more time than expected to arrive. He advised me to get a SSN as soon as possible and to become a citizen in three years if I wanted to. He then congratulated us and lead us out.

I am so happy!!! It was a very pleasant experience despite all the stress that sorrounds the interview process. I wish everyone has a pleasant experience as well.

My best wishes to you all!

Teddy- (guest)    •   09/04/2009 04:30:18 AM

0      0

I and my wife had our interview very fair just common questions until I reached to the red flag. I came to US through F1 visa my wife lives in US though. The officer asked me what I told to the embssy in my country when I came to US as to my marrital status. I actually mistakenly said single when I went to my F1 visa interview. So here I admitted the truth and he told me never to lie and said it is a big deal in US and it is called misrepresentation. I was reading his face he seemed to approve me he took away my I-94 from my passport and then put it back again. I realized that he couldn't make a decision. As I thought he said he will inform me the decision through mail and gave a letter which indicated htat my application is under---FURTHER REVIEW. I don't really know what will happen next.If anyone out there with same experience please help me what to expect.