Adjustment of Status - I-485

Marriage based green card
Spouse of US Citizen

Field office : Philadelphia

Hi everyone,

I would like to share my interview experience as well as the processing time of my case. The whole process took exactly six months.

Timeline:

[09/05/2019] Package was sent {I-485, I-130 & I-765}
[09/06/2019] Package was received
[10/01/2019] Biometrics appointment day
[10/02/2019] Fingerprints review was completed
[01/27/2020] Case Ready to Be Scheduled for Interview
[01/28/2020] Interview scheduled
[02/05/2020] Employment authorization was approved
[03/04/2020] Interview day

Interview experience :

The interview was scheduled for today March 4th at 9am. My spouse and I arrived to the USCIS building 25 minutes prior the designated time. We passed through a medal detector door similar to the security doors at airports, checked in with the receptionist and had my biometrics done. After that we checked back in at the reception desk and walked up to the second floor to wait for the interview. We sat in the waiting room for 10 minutes, then an officer came out from door number (1) and called my name. I walked towards him and informed him that my attorney is parking her car across the street, I politely asked if we can wait for her. He nodded and said “ Ok, I’ll give you few minutes, meanwhile I can have a quick look at your file”, I thanked him and went back to wait for the attorney. By the time I got back to my seat, she was there talking to my spouse. Couple minutes later the officer called me once again and walked us to his office.
The officer was very friendly and made us feel comfortable by making couple jokes which really broke the ice. He stated his name and sworn us in and preceded to ask my spouse (Petitioner) questions from form I-130 ; full name, address, phone number, Job, proof of citizenship, any children or any previous marriages. Then he directed the same questions to me (Beneficiary) in addition to the security check questions (Yes/No).
After that was done he then started to ask questions about our relationship.
- How did you two meet?
- When did your relationship become official?
- Who proposed to whom?
- Did you bring any photos with you?

He went through the photo album page by page ( 200 photos) and he randomly pointed out someone in a picture and asked who it was. He really liked the album and went through all pictures including a mini photo book. He asked if we have any joint documents, then my attorney handed him our pre organized file that contains:

* Health care insurance confirmation letter shows the policy holder and the dependent for 2019 & 2020
* Health care insurance card
* Dental insurance
* Joint Bank account statements
* Medical bills, show my spouse & I are the policy holder and the dependent
* My spouse and I are listing each other as beneficiaries of our retirement plans
* Copy of a cashed check with both names paid out for medical bill
* Affidavit of domestic partnership ( before we got married)
* Four notarized letters of support
* Hotel reservation
* Septa key card account
* Two Bus reservations to NYC made under my name and forwarded to my husband’s email on 2017 & 2018
* Photo book ( trips, outing, friends, holidays, birthdays, wedding ceremony )
* Photo album
* Four Nike gift receipts show my name as the sender and my husband is the recipient.
* SHEN YUN show tickets
* Calls log; randomly picked from 2017,2018,2019
* Texts log, three short conversations
* Netflix account with both names

We couldn’t provide Joint tax because my spouse and I haven’t filed taxes yet, also we did not have a lease nor utilities together because the house was bought before we got married. The officer did ask for these two and we explained why we couldn’t provide them which he understood, however, our IDs have the same address as proof of cohabitation.
The officer ended the interview by asking if we’d like to amend any information in the forms or if we have any questions. He also said that he has more than enough evidence to make a decision.

After we got home, I received an update regarding form I-485 “ New card is being produced” I was extremely happy and cried out of joy. I guess I have to expect the actual green card in mail by next week.

Thanks and wish you all best of luck