lily- (guest from west paterson, nj, USA)    •   03/02/2006 11:21:31 AM

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Intervie was on 23 March 2005.I didn't get the regular stamp, but the stamp with CIA pending.
I am still waiting. Can anyone tell me how long it takes .Did anyone have the same experience? I need help of what to do next.

Thanks !!!

Jeniffer- (guest from California, CA, united states)    •   03/01/2006 19:24:47 PM

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A great site where one can enjoy the thought of a great mind long departed. Cheers for the good work!

ADS- (guest from , CT, USA)    •   02/23/2006 18:26:18 PM

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I had a relatively easy (I think) adjustment of status experience, that I wish everyone else could enjoy. The time line, some relavent facts and details of the interview follow.

First arrived in the US in 1989 on F1
Returned to US on F1 for grad school in '99
switched to H1B in 2001.
Married US citizen (wife) in 2004.

Jan 2005: Applied for adj of status (I-485) thru my lawyer who'd handled H1B process. Also applied for advance parole, since my H1B was expiring within 3 months and I wished to avoid hassle of renewing it.

April 2005: Finger printing for I-485
May 2005: Finger print for Advance parole

June '05: Advance parole document arrives with my wife's picture on it! Go figure. Lawyer sent it back to USCIS asking for a corrected paper, but despite their mistake USCIS wanted a second processing fee. I gave up on the advance parole at that point and, instead, renewed my H1B visa.

Nov '05: Got the lawyer to follow up on my case/file, since I'd not heard anything for montsh. She had filed with the Chicago lock-box but my case/file has since been moved, but she could see where. The response wasn't too reassuring, but she put in a request for an update which takes 30 days.

Dec 05: Received letter from USCIS asking me to come for the adjustment of status interview at end Jan 06. The lawyer canceled her request for an update.

Jan 06: Adjustment of status interview in Hartford CT. We arrived at the Federal building 20 mins before the 10.15am appointment time and it took 20 mins to clear security into the building which also has some federal courts. Arrived at the USCIS interview office at 10.15am and it was packed with people flowing out into the corridor. I immediately feared a long multi-hour wait for our interview, but was pleasantly surprised when we got called in right away. I guess they were going by appointed time, rather than first come first served, thankfully!

THE INTERVIEW
The interviewer was someone temporarily assiged from a regional center to clear a backlog (my lawyer says they are generally far more pleasant to deal with) and was very friednly. He asked us how and when we'd met. He asked for documents to show that were lived together. I showed them insurance docs, mortgage and joint credit card. We DID NOT have a joint back account. He asked for our past tax filing and letter from our current employers to verify income. We were somewhat concerned because my wife (the sponsor) quit her job since she was 5 months pregnant. Even though I was the main earner for the family in theory that meant she now didn't have the minimum $16K/yr that's required as proof of the citizen's ability to support the immigrant. In our case, my annual income (supported by 2005 W-2 and prior taxes) was high enough (several 100K) that the interviewer made the comment "you guys make a good living". I wonder how the interview would have gone had I been making close to minimum wage. The interview lasted 15 mins and it was very informal, friendly and chatty. It was not in Q&A format, by any means. He told me to file another form in 18-20 months since I was getting a temporary greencard as we were married for less than 2 yrs.

Feb '06: Green card arrived in the mail.

merly- (guest from queens, ny, USA)    •   02/15/2006 00:39:27 AM

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We believe hiring a lawyer is the best money anyone can spend. My husband and I had little or no work to do. I recieved my notice to finger print and photograph in 1 month of filing and got and app to do so in a months time. my work permit i got in 4 months and now they are already calling us for our interview in may. this all took 9 months, quick for ny. hopefully it al goes well and we are not drilled to hard. may god be in the hearts and minds of those who holds our future in their hands.

Linna- (guest from Lisle, IL, USA)    •   01/30/2006 21:41:48 PM

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My husband and I had our I-485 Adjusment of status Interview today. It went well. We were questioned about how and where we met, how long we have dated before getting married, how many people live with us in the house and other easy to answer questions if you live together. I had a previous marriage with an American Citizen so I was asked about the date I was married and divorced. We were asked to show wedding pictures and other pictures of our life together. The INS Officer also asked for copies of ID documents-passports, Birth Certifications, previous marriages documents.

After collecting all the paper she needed, she said she needed time to review it and that we would be informed by mail about the decision made. I asked her how long it would take, she said she did not know...She was cold and unfriendly during the whole interview.

Does somebody have similar to our case situation and know more about how long it could take to get an approval?

Linna

confused- (guest from laurel, md, USA)    •   01/16/2006 22:18:49 PM

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I'm on H-4 visa for almost a year until last October my work visa has been approved. Unfortunately, the company who sponsored me is quite unstable at the moment and might even be dissolved in a year. (its a small privately owned company) My husband has been working there for 3 years now and his immigrant petition is still on going. Our lawyer advised us, that if the company will be dissolved then his immigrant petition would be useless and he would have to find another employer who can sponsor him. Are we gonna be out of status if this happens? If any of you had this problem before, i'd appreciate it if you can reply to this. Thank you!

GC obtained without much hastle- (guest from Minneapolis, MN, USA)    •   01/09/2006 11:58:16 AM

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I am very happy that our (Myself and my wife) I-485 got approved in Sept. 29, and received GC last week.

Here are some important dates, facts, and events in the process

Highest Degree - MSEE
First came to US - 1998, on F-1
Residing in - Minneapolis, MN

Changed to H1 - July, 2001

Feb 2003 - Applied for Labor cert.

July 2003 - Got married

Sept, 2003 - Labor cert approved, applied for EAD, Paroll, I-140, and I-485, wife was included in the papers this time.

Dec, 03 - Received first set of EADs for both of us

Sep. 04 - First EAD expired, applied for renewal, and also for paroll.

Dec, 04 - Second set of EADs and paroll received

March 05 - First Finger print done, No questions asked

June 05 - Inquired about Company and my W-2s, compiled all the docs and sent to INS.

Aug. 05 - I-140 approved

Sep. 05 - I-485 approved

Dec 05 - Appeared for second finger prints, no questions asked

Jan 3, 06 - Went to local INS to get temporary stamp on the pass port as permanent residents, as we are planning on leaving out of country. No questions asked. Booked appointment in Dec.05 on Infopass website.

Jan 6, 06 - Wife obtained GC in the mail

Jan 7, 06 - I obtained GC in the mail.

I thank Immihelp for all the information.

Amit Arora- (guest from Campbell, CA, USA)    •   12/12/2005 18:42:52 PM

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I had applied for an EAD extension and when the card came, it had the wrong validity dates. So I called back the INS and they asked me to send back the approved case along with a letter of explanation which I promptly did so. Its already been 2 months and I haven’t heard anything. Has anyone faced this situation and if so what has been the outcome.
Please share your suggestions or experiences.

Snook- (guest from Atlanta, GA, USA)    •   11/28/2005 18:11:39 PM

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I came to US on F-1 in 1999 and after three years of dating my gf, I married her. She is a USC and today was our AOS interview. To be honest, the wait for interview was much more stressful than the interview itself.

We arrived around 90 minutes early so spent some time at the McDonalds. 45 minutes before the interview we went in the building. Our interview was called about 20 minutes late. A female officer guided us to her office.

She swore us in and asked for our IDs and passports. Then she asked my wife about when, where and how we met. She asked how long we dated before getting married? When did we actually get married?

Then she asked for proof of shared life, which she filed away. We presented her with:

1. Last year tax returns (MFJ)
2. Health and Car Insurance
3. Utility Bills
4. Bank Statement
5. W2/1099
6. Articles of Incorporation (self employed)
7. Photocopies of degrees
8. Voided Check
9. Photocopy of Car/Boat titles

Then she asked if we had any other proof. We showed some family photos. She asked the standard questions (have you ever ....?).

She asked how many people are living with you. If either of us previous marriage/children.

She then stamped our application as approved. She took my I-94 and said its no longer needed. She also took all my employment authorization cards and told me to get a new Social Security Card. She said if my GC doesn't come in six months I should "be alarmed" and make an INFOPASS appointment.

That was it. We thanked her. Overall a very painless interview.

In total we took over 450 pages of documents (photocopied). We were prepared to hand over much more than we actually gave her.

Our tip to those waiting:

1. Make plenty of photocopies of just about everything you can get hold of to prove you are married and have a shared life.
2. Don't get too stressed waiting for the interview. All they want to do is ensure you are together. They are not trying to trick you.
3. If you can wait after marrying a USC for two years, please do so you won't have a conditional GC.

She did stamp my passport with a temporary GC. I read somewhere that they do not stamp anylonger but that was not the case with us.

Thanks to everyone who has shared their input as it really helped us in preparation.

Good Luck!

Belizeangurl19- (guest from Stockton, CA, USA)    •   11/14/2005 16:50:39 PM

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I got married to a United States Citizen on November 3rd, 2005 and from that time, we have been busy doing the medical exams, getting shots and filling out the required forms for USCIS.
What i need to know is what forms can be filed together. We were contemplating filing I-130, I-485, G-325A and I-864. after reading suggestions in this forum, i found out that i need only file 1 G-325A and that is mine. (thanks for that clarification).another thing, me and my husband do not have a lawyer. we have decided that we can handle this on our own and unless things get complicated, we would resort to using one. is that wise? am i right in assuming that it is 2 photographs of me and 2 of my husband? when do we go for fingerprinting? will they let us know what to take for the interview? my husband and i did not have a formal wedding ceremony as we were on a tight budget. he was in between jobs and his daughter had two root canals in one month! we did go before a minister and he signed the marriage certificate. will that come back to haunt us in the interview? :( and my last concern is that my B-2 visa will expire on march 2006. if we file our papers in december, do i become illegal after march 2006? if so, im scared!!! someone with answers please advise,
I am grateful,
Belizeangurl19