Adjustment of Status - I-485

This forum has been super helpful through this journey. Here is my experience hoping it will help people waiting for up coming interviews.

I had my interview at the San Francisco office on Oct 29th 2018.

PD: Mid June 2017
Interview Notice: Sep End 2018
GC Interview: 29th Oct 2018

Beneficiary: Wife
Petitioner: Husband (USC)

Interview Experience:

A quick brief before I dive into my interview experience. I know my husband since 2010. We knew each other for 4 years before we started dating. We dated for 3 years. Been married a year and half. I have known him more than 8 years now. I came here on a K1 (fiancee) visa with an intent to marry after he had proposed and we decided to settle down in the US. I-485 was standard procedure and in most K-1 cases, there are no GC interview scheduled because your relationship is already considered bona fide. However, with the new administration, things have changed.

Our interview lasted 40 minutes. The experience was pretty brutal. Questions never got too personal but our officer was pretty direct and quick to snap if we didn’t answer exactly what she asked and that really terrified us. Questions she asked:

- Verified passport, EAD, social security.
- Name, contact details
- Asked my husband to tell her my parent's first names. He answered in full names and she corrected him and told him she only asked for first names. He then only said the first names again.
- Asked our phone service provider, whether it was a family plan or not (my husband fumbled this question but I corrected him).
- To me: how many times my husband visited me when we were dating.
- If I will take my husband’s name and I said no because it would be too common a name.
- To husband: When, where and how we met and how did those circumstances come about.
- To husband: when we got married, where and how many people were at the wedding. Then she asked me who was at the wedding. I forgot his sister to which she asked my husband if he has siblings and he said yes. She asked if they were at the wedding and I had forgotten to mention her (nerves!!!!!) so I was quick to correct but she looked at me and mentioned I forgot her. :/
- Employer details for both of us.
- To husband: what he was doing when he was outside the US for 4 years.
- Me: She verified all the information on the I-485 including all questions about criminal offenses/citations/illegal activities to which I answered NO for each.
- To me: my husband’s full name and asked me to spell his middle name.
- To husband: Where we will and how long have we lived there. Who lives there.
- To me: For the record she asked me who I live with. My answer was with my husband.
- She asked about health insurance for both of us and when is it valid from.
- To husband: Has he travelled outside the United States in the last year. He had so more questions on when, where, why and with who.
- To me: Have I travelled outside the United States.
- She asked for my medical because it had expired. I had that ready. She opened it and verified it.
- To me: my previous marriage dates, separation date and why it ended, who filed for divorce.
- To husband: Question about affidavit of support.
- To me: If we have children and if we are expecting one.

She asked for joint documents. I gave her lease, annual rent increase proof, medical, car insurance, joint a/c and a couple of more documents. She didn’t look at them but kept them with her. She took our pay stubs and employment verifications. I gave her photos and she asked if they are old or new meaning if I have submitted these before. I said I have both. She didn’t look at them and asked me to put them back in my bag. It was nerve wrecking. I didn’t even get to show her the 3 albums of 300 photos that I had brought with me! I mentioned I have flights and hotel bookings. She didn’t respond.

All in all, we made a few mistakes, answered and fumbled on a few things which probed her to ask us more questions. It was painful but we answered all questions honestly.

At the end she told us that we will have a decision in 3-6 weeks.

We left feeling gutted. It was a very impersonal and unemotional experience. We felt that we messed up on some of the questions and were expecting the case to be under review, perhaps even a second interview. We were miserable!!!

To our surprise, our status changed 3 hours later to ‘New Card being Produced’. We couldn’t believe it to be honest. I really thought we didn’t do well!!

Its true what everyone says. Be honest and true. Make sure you prepare because you might be intimidated and fumble anyway (like we did). I corrected my husband on a few occasions when he answered wrong in nervousness. We had prepared a lot and we still messed up. The officers know how to intimidate. The best you can do is think before you answer and answer confidently.

Good luck! Feel free to ask any questions you may have.