Employment Based Greencard

*INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE*

Interview Date & Time: 12/19/2019 2:30 PM
Interview Result: Case under review, awaiting decision.
Field Office: Seattle

BACKGROUND:
My employment based application (EB-2) originally started with India as the country of chargeability and had a priority date of 08/18/17 which was carried over from my previous employer's application. The application was then cross charged to UAE based on my spouse's country of birth.

TIMELINE:
03/27/2019: I-140 Submitted
07/01/2019: I-140 Approved
07/29/2019: I-485, I-765 & I-131 Submitted
09/10/2019: Biometrics Notice
09/24/2019: Biometrics Appointment
10/15/2019: 1-765 & I-131 Approved
10/19/2019: EAD/AP received in hand
11/25/2019: Interview Notice
12/19/2019: Interview Appointment
01/02/2020: New card is being produced
01/03/2020: Case Approved

INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE:
1. Check-In: It was raining on the day of and our interview was scheduled at 2:30 PM. We reached there by 1:45 PM and went through the security check, appointment review and ticket assignment by 2:15 PM. The security check is pretty straight forward and similar to the ones that you would encounter at the airport. After the security check you need to present your appointment notice and a government issued ID proof for the representative to review. The representative then collects your fingerprints (right and left index fingers) and takes a picture before handing you a token number.

2. Interview: After completing the check-in process you are asked to wait in the waiting area, be on the lookout for an officer coming out and announcing you ticket number. We were called in 45 mins after our scheduled appointment time at 3:15 PM. The officer escorted us into his office and made us the take the oath right away. The officer was extremely friendly (He was playing music on spotify all through the interview and made sure we were ok with it) and allowed us to settle in. After settling in the officer collected our I-693s, documents related my employment and our marriage proofs (documents listed below). We then went through the security questions on I-485 and then started getting into the specifics of our background, usual questions on our marriage that focused on how we met, when did we start dating and when did we decide to get married. He requested to see if we had any pictures, we carried a scrapbook with pictures and trips that we took over the last 6 years of knowing each other. He went through the whole book and was pretty satisfied with it, the work we put in here paid off because we were only married for 10 months. After this, the officer then turned his attention towards my employment, again usual questions about my pay, duties and future plans (detailed list of questions below).

3. Check-Out: We were the last interview for the day, the officer walked us through the next steps and escorted us back into the waiting area. In terms of next steps, he gave us the white sheet which said that the case will be reviewed and then the outcome would be communicated. He also mentioned that he expects to complete the review soon (under 2 weeks) and would not take anywhere close to the stipulated 120 days. He then asked us if we had any questions and then made us sign a paper stating that the interview was completed.

DOCUMENTS REQUESTED:
1. Driver's License.
2. EVL and Paystubs
3. I-693s
4. Marriage Proof
a. Marriage Certificate
b. Wedding Card
c. Invoices associated with wedding expenses
d. Joint Bank Accounts
e. Joint Credit Card Statements
f. Apartment Lease Agreement
g. Rental Insurance
h. Costco Membership
i. 401k Beneficiary Information
j. Life Insurance Beneficiary Information
k. Wedding Pictures.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:
1. [Both] Name and D.O.B of spouse.
2. [Husband] How did you guys meet?
3. [Follow up Question] [Wife] What was your husband doing at that event?
4. [Follow up Question] [Husband] What was your wife doing at that event?
5. [Husband] When did you start dating?
6. [Wife] What did you guys find common in each other?
7. [Husband] When did you decide to get married?
8. [Wife] Where was the wedding held at?
9. [Wife] Where did you guys go for your honeymoon?
10. [Both] Where was your spouse born?
11. [Husband] What does your spouse do for work?
12. [Husband] What are your responsibilities at work?
13. [Husband] How much do you make?
14. [Husband] Where do you want to be professionally in the long run?

MY TWO CENTS:
1. Be methodical about your preparation -
a. Carry the originals and copies that you think would help your case and make a table of content that lists the documents in each folder tab for easy identification.
b. My wife and I owned our respective folders so each of us exactly knew where our documents are.
2. For candidates who might get questions about their wedding, Invest in a simple scrapbook that outlines your relationship. A picture certainly can speak a thousand words.
3. Be honest, frank and REAL, at the end of the day there only so much you can control. While we all would like a positive outcome we don't control it, we only influence it.


NOTE:
1. This was MY experience at the Seattle office, the experience might vary based on location and numerous other factors.
2. Unless specifically mentioned, all the listed activities are specific to an individual. For ex: If you are attending an interview with your spouse then the both of you have to individually take the oath.

The forum and it's participants have helped this silent reader (me) a lot through this journey. I hope I am able to pay it back through my experience. Good Luck.