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Immigration
Employment Based Greencard
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EB2 ROW I-485 Interview Experience in Montgomery, AL (Atlanta, GA Filer))
Hello,
Been a silent reader for several months now. My wife and I finally received our green cards last week. NOTE: We were Atlanta, GA filers but our interview was scheduled to take place in Montgomery, AL (likely due to the fact that Atlanta, GA field office is overloaded with cases so they are sending the surplus interviewees to neighboring states field offices so Atlanta, GA filers be ready for this). Here is our experience and timeline hoping it helps:
Priority Date: 8/22/2017
PERM Approved: 1/12/2018
I-140 Receipt Date: 5/15/2018
I-140 Approved: 7/17/2018 (2 months after receipt, no premium processing)
I-485/I-485J/I-765/I-131 Received by USCIS: 1/4/2019
I-485/I-765/I-131 Receipt Notice: 1/8/2019
I-485J Receipt Notice: 1/28/2019
My Biometrics Appointment: 1/31/2019 (at Atlanta, GA ASC - notice received about 2 weeks before appointment)
My Wife's Biometrics Appointment: 2/13/2019 (at Atlanta, GA ASC - notice received about 2 weeks before appointment)
I-765/I-131 Approval Notices Received: 7/18/2019
RFE (For I-693 Redo) Received: 7/20/2019 (we had sent these in with our original I-485 filings but had it completed by the civil surgeon more than 60 days prior to filing I-485 packages so it was invalidated and my wife and I had to redo this and bring the updated I-693s to the interview with us)
EAD/AP Cards Received For Self & Spouse: 7/31/2019 (cards mailed to attorney's office who then mailed it to us)
Case Ready To Be Scheduled For Interview Status: 7/29/2019
Interview Scheduled Status: 8/20/2019
Interview Notices Received In Mail: 8/23/2019 (interview scheduled in Montgomery, AL field office and NOT Atlanta, GA field office which we were expecting since we live in Atlanta so we were a bit surprised)
Interview Date: 9/24/2019 (exactly 5 weeks after Interview Scheduled Status notification date)
New Cards Being Produced Status: 9/25/2019
Cards Mailed: 9/26/2019
I-485 (self & spouse) & I-485J Case Approval Notices Received: 9/28/2019
Green Cards Received By Attorney's Office: 9/30/2019
Green Cards Finally Received In Hand: 10/3/2019
Interview Day: We basically planned to appear for the interview by spending the night before at a hotel in the city of the interview. The big day finally came and we arrived 45 minutes prior to our scheduled interview time. We checked in by providing our interview notices and IDs (driver licenses) to security officers right at the entrance. Then we went through airport style security. Then we were directed to a check-in booth where a friendly officer asked for out interview notices and IDs again and he took our photo and fingerprints to complete the check-in process. He asked us to take a seat in the waiting where an officer would would come through a door and call our names. We just took a seat and immediately our officer came out and called our names (30 minutes prior to our scheduled interview time so our interview started earlier than we anticipated). The officer was a friendly gentleman (seemed a bit stern at first but changed his demeanor as soon as we entered his office). He asked us for our passports and EADs immediately. The he made my wife & I take the oath of truth. He made us sign the lawyer waiver forms. Then he asked how my wife and I knew each other. The he asked about what my company does. Then it was a pleasant and friendly conversation between the officer, myself and my wife talking about our education and career paths. Then he went through all the YES/NO questions on the I-485 form with me and my wife. He basically went through the I-485 forms verifying all the information (name spellings, birthday, home address, etc.) for accuracy and asked if there was any additional information we have to add. My form was correct with no changes but my wife needed to add her Social Security number which she got her SSN card shortly after receiving her EAD/AP card. I mentioned and provided the redone sealed I-693s for both of us and he added them to our files (be sure to bring this up even if the officer doesn't ask immediately because it will impact approval of your case, ours didn't ask so I had to bring it to his attention). Lastly (and this was tricky), he looked for visa numbers for us. There was some misunderstanding (I am an Indian passport holder but born in ROW eligible country, my wife is a Canadian passport holder but also born in a ROW eligible country). He told me no visas currently available for India (going by my passport) but I informed him I was claiming ROW chargeability based on my country of origin/birth. I had printed the September & October Visa bulletins and they were going by September visa bulletin which had Eb2 priority cutoff date of 1/1/2018 so we should be eligible for visa numbers to be issued since my PD (8/22/2017) is earlier than the cutoff date posted in the September 2019 bulletin. He did some research and confirmed I was correct. His system let him print visa numbers for us (he added them to our individual files) and gave us verbal approval. Whew...that was a close one (we would have had years more worth of waiting if he had charged us to India had I not read and printed the Visa Bulletins prior to the interview). End of our journey finally and we are thrilled!!!
TIPS: Dress professionally, be calm/friendly/focused/truthful with the officer, organize/review your I-485 applications and supporting documents before the interview, get on the same page with your spouse regarding your answers (go over the applications together in preparation for the interview), provide RFE responses (whether or not the officer asks), print & read the current and upcoming months visa bulletins proving that your case is current (especially if you hold a passport from an oversubscribed country but are chargeable to a ROW country of origin/birth like myself), prepare your I-485 packages based on the documents checklist provided in your interview notice, make sure you carry originals and copies of all documents mentioned on the interview checklist.
I hope this helps in preparation for your big day. Thank you for all the helpful insights that helped us in our journey. Best of luck, prayers and wishes for the best outcomes for your journey!!!
Been a silent reader for several months now. My wife and I finally received our green cards last week. NOTE: We were Atlanta, GA filers but our interview was scheduled to take place in Montgomery, AL (likely due to the fact that Atlanta, GA field office is overloaded with cases so they are sending the surplus interviewees to neighboring states field offices so Atlanta, GA filers be ready for this). Here is our experience and timeline hoping it helps:
Priority Date: 8/22/2017
PERM Approved: 1/12/2018
I-140 Receipt Date: 5/15/2018
I-140 Approved: 7/17/2018 (2 months after receipt, no premium processing)
I-485/I-485J/I-765/I-131 Received by USCIS: 1/4/2019
I-485/I-765/I-131 Receipt Notice: 1/8/2019
I-485J Receipt Notice: 1/28/2019
My Biometrics Appointment: 1/31/2019 (at Atlanta, GA ASC - notice received about 2 weeks before appointment)
My Wife's Biometrics Appointment: 2/13/2019 (at Atlanta, GA ASC - notice received about 2 weeks before appointment)
I-765/I-131 Approval Notices Received: 7/18/2019
RFE (For I-693 Redo) Received: 7/20/2019 (we had sent these in with our original I-485 filings but had it completed by the civil surgeon more than 60 days prior to filing I-485 packages so it was invalidated and my wife and I had to redo this and bring the updated I-693s to the interview with us)
EAD/AP Cards Received For Self & Spouse: 7/31/2019 (cards mailed to attorney's office who then mailed it to us)
Case Ready To Be Scheduled For Interview Status: 7/29/2019
Interview Scheduled Status: 8/20/2019
Interview Notices Received In Mail: 8/23/2019 (interview scheduled in Montgomery, AL field office and NOT Atlanta, GA field office which we were expecting since we live in Atlanta so we were a bit surprised)
Interview Date: 9/24/2019 (exactly 5 weeks after Interview Scheduled Status notification date)
New Cards Being Produced Status: 9/25/2019
Cards Mailed: 9/26/2019
I-485 (self & spouse) & I-485J Case Approval Notices Received: 9/28/2019
Green Cards Received By Attorney's Office: 9/30/2019
Green Cards Finally Received In Hand: 10/3/2019
Interview Day: We basically planned to appear for the interview by spending the night before at a hotel in the city of the interview. The big day finally came and we arrived 45 minutes prior to our scheduled interview time. We checked in by providing our interview notices and IDs (driver licenses) to security officers right at the entrance. Then we went through airport style security. Then we were directed to a check-in booth where a friendly officer asked for out interview notices and IDs again and he took our photo and fingerprints to complete the check-in process. He asked us to take a seat in the waiting where an officer would would come through a door and call our names. We just took a seat and immediately our officer came out and called our names (30 minutes prior to our scheduled interview time so our interview started earlier than we anticipated). The officer was a friendly gentleman (seemed a bit stern at first but changed his demeanor as soon as we entered his office). He asked us for our passports and EADs immediately. The he made my wife & I take the oath of truth. He made us sign the lawyer waiver forms. Then he asked how my wife and I knew each other. The he asked about what my company does. Then it was a pleasant and friendly conversation between the officer, myself and my wife talking about our education and career paths. Then he went through all the YES/NO questions on the I-485 form with me and my wife. He basically went through the I-485 forms verifying all the information (name spellings, birthday, home address, etc.) for accuracy and asked if there was any additional information we have to add. My form was correct with no changes but my wife needed to add her Social Security number which she got her SSN card shortly after receiving her EAD/AP card. I mentioned and provided the redone sealed I-693s for both of us and he added them to our files (be sure to bring this up even if the officer doesn't ask immediately because it will impact approval of your case, ours didn't ask so I had to bring it to his attention). Lastly (and this was tricky), he looked for visa numbers for us. There was some misunderstanding (I am an Indian passport holder but born in ROW eligible country, my wife is a Canadian passport holder but also born in a ROW eligible country). He told me no visas currently available for India (going by my passport) but I informed him I was claiming ROW chargeability based on my country of origin/birth. I had printed the September & October Visa bulletins and they were going by September visa bulletin which had Eb2 priority cutoff date of 1/1/2018 so we should be eligible for visa numbers to be issued since my PD (8/22/2017) is earlier than the cutoff date posted in the September 2019 bulletin. He did some research and confirmed I was correct. His system let him print visa numbers for us (he added them to our individual files) and gave us verbal approval. Whew...that was a close one (we would have had years more worth of waiting if he had charged us to India had I not read and printed the Visa Bulletins prior to the interview). End of our journey finally and we are thrilled!!!
TIPS: Dress professionally, be calm/friendly/focused/truthful with the officer, organize/review your I-485 applications and supporting documents before the interview, get on the same page with your spouse regarding your answers (go over the applications together in preparation for the interview), provide RFE responses (whether or not the officer asks), print & read the current and upcoming months visa bulletins proving that your case is current (especially if you hold a passport from an oversubscribed country but are chargeable to a ROW country of origin/birth like myself), prepare your I-485 packages based on the documents checklist provided in your interview notice, make sure you carry originals and copies of all documents mentioned on the interview checklist.
I hope this helps in preparation for your big day. Thank you for all the helpful insights that helped us in our journey. Best of luck, prayers and wishes for the best outcomes for your journey!!!
All Replies (16)
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