Adjustment of Status - I-485

One of the things I promised myself is to write a full detail of my experience rather than just writing green card approved. So, sit tight use your seat belt while I walk you through my journey.

AOS from H1B to Green Card through Marriage.
Field office -Lawrence Ma
Came into US with F1 visa. I went to school and graduated.
Married in 2017 but I did not know that my husband could petition for me. So, I searched for a job and the company filed H1B (work visa for me). So, I was on this status till we found out that when you are married to a US citizen then you are entitled to green card
PD – September 16th, 2019
Bio – October 7th, 2019 (did a walk-in a week earlier for my Bio)
Fingerprint review completed – October 7th, 2019
RFE – Nov 8th (i-864 and Long form of Birth certificate). Although I tried to use myself as a co-sponsor but USCIS said No.
RFE sent – Nov 19th, 2019
RFE received and we begin working on your case – Nov 21st, 2019
Case ready to be scheduled for interview – December 8th, 2019
Interview scheduled – December 18th, 2019
Interview – January 22nd, 2020

Interview Experience:
In my field office, the norm is for couples to be separated. US citizen gets called first while the beneficiary waits outside then after few minutes, they call the beneficiary while the petitioner stays outside. We got there early; we used an attorney, so she came with us for the interview. As usual, husband got called first, he took all the evidences and went in with attorney. He was there for 30minutes. The interviewer went through the forms with him and he asked for additional evidences, so my husband gave him all the evidences and then he went ahead and asked about what we enjoy doing together as a couple, how many bedrooms we have, who stay in the other room, do we have cable, do we stream movies, who is the best cook, why are we in Massachusetts (we relocated from another state).Then I went in and he asked me same questions after going through my i-485 form with additional questions like what do you do on weekends, what are your plans for kids, how many kids do you want to have. We were very close with our response. He almost forgot to ask for my medical, so I reminded him, and he was glad because he said he would have sent RFE. He commended my attorney for doing a great job and at the end he said he would check our file again and approve either that day or the next day.
This morning January 23rd my app updated to New Card been produced. It was a long stressful journey.I will be getting the 10years green card because marriage is more than 2 years.

Joint Evidences Submitted:

Lease, Our mails coming to same address, 3 affidavits from friends and family, paystubs showing same address, drivers license showing same address, Credit card showing petitioner as authorized user(he was happy when he saw this he said “this is the deal breaker”), one year bank statement, 401k, life insurance, health insurance, electricity bill, internet bill, 2 years of joint filled taxes, dental insurance, flight tickets, screen shot showing husband as emergency contact at work, screen shot of messages and call logs, car insurance, vision insurance, and pictures.

Things I was scared about but was not even as issue:

1) I worked when I was in F1 (student status) for about 6months out of campus. So, I answered yes to unauthorized work and violation of status. The interviewer just asked me to explain if I was paid cash or check.
2) My Husband and I were long distance for few months due to our jobs before we got a job in same state.
3) My husband (the petitioner) had an arrest record in the past that was dismissed

Key Takeaways:

1) Each case is different, do not compare your case with other people
2) Each field office is different. Some are fast and some are slow
3) Officers are different, some are mean, and some are nice. Some hold cases for long. Pray you get a nice officer.
4) If you can afford it. Get a lawyer, because you never know what can happen during the process. Even though you have a lawyer, still be involved in your case.
5) Be proactive with your case. Start gathering documents from the day you get married and don’t wait till last minutes.

I know this process is very stressful. So just be hopeful. Delay is not Denial. And for those who are lucky to have a smooth process please do not look down on those still waiting. I wish you all the best. Thank you to all those who answered my questions. I drop my pen.