Adjustment of Status - I-485

I have been following this forum for a while and it has been extremely helpful for us. Now is my turn to share my experience. Hopefully it will be helpful for others that are going through this process.

Marriage based AOS (I-485,I-130,I-131, I765 I-864, Medical examination sealed envelope) (Same sex couple) - Married to USC - H1B visa holder.

We used an attorney to file all the paperwork for us. We are glad we use an attorney since they did an excellent job in submitting everything correctly the first time.

PD date: December 17, 2018
12/24/2018 - Received all 4 notifications
12/29/2018- Biometrics appointment letter received
01/15/2019-Biometrics done
02/19/2019-We are ready to schedule an interview update
02/20/2019-An interview has been scheduled update
02/23/2019-Appointment notification received in the mail
03/29/2019-Appointment completed and approved on the spot.
03/29/2019- Within an hour after the interview received case notification updates:
I-485 -Case has been approved
I-130- Case has been approved
I-131- Case closed Benefit Received by other means
I-765- Case closed Benefit Received by other means
04/02/2019- case update: Card was mailed to me
04/03/2019-case update: Card Was Picked Up By The United States Postal Service
04/04/2019- Card on hand

Time processing from start to finish: 107 days!

Field Office: Greer, SC

The interview was pretty straight forward. We got to the center around 15 minutes before the interview time. We have to wait around 40 minutes. The interview lasted 30 minutes. He asked for our ID, made copies of it. Confirmed my biometrics (photo, fingerprints). Then, the officer made us stand up, raised our right hands and swore to tell the truth. He then went over the I-130 with my husband and then the I-485 with me. He asked a bunch of the security questions in the I-485 form.

He then asked if there is any additional documentation we wanted to submit. We handed him a binder we put together with all the documentation. We made a table of contents and separated our evidence in three parts: Evidence of Cohabitation, Evidence of commingling finances and our relationship and photographic evidence of our relationship. There are pretty good examples of tables of contents in this forum. I used them as a guide to put together our information and our table of contents.

He asked us to select the documentation that we would like to submit. So we went through the binder and select joint accounts statements for several months, a copy of our joint tax return, car insurance with both our names on it, bills with both our names on it for several months, evidence showing each other as emergency contact information with our employers, etc. We had already submitted plenty of other evidence when we submit the application. The officer then went through the evidence and added it to the paper file for our case. He then went through the pictures that we had and took some of them to add them to the file. Finally, he asked questions to create a timeline of our relationship (When and where did we meet, who proposed and when and where, wedding date, who was there, etc).

Then he tells us that he is going to approve the case and I should expect to receive the green card in a few days. He then mentions that it is a conditional green card (we have been married for less than two years) and that we need to apply to remove conditions within 90 days before the card expires.

I know that it is a long (although our case was processed quickly) and stressful process but I think if your marriage is real there is nothing to worry about. My advise is start gathering documentation sooner than later. If you can right after your wedding, collect bills, everything that has both of your names on it (bills, statements, etc) and include several months of it. Pictures with friends and family and/or show both of you at different locations.

If you are prepared, and it is a bonafide marriage it will be okay, do your work and have faith that things will work out.