Interview already

[Chicago1978]

Just to give a bit of info on what has transpired.
Filed for AOS in January 2018 (married to an American Citizen)
I had my biometrics done Feb. 22, 2018.
A week ago, I couldn't access my receipt number about my fingerprint. It kept saying validation error.
Anyway, wife & I are waiting for the EAD & travel document.
But instead got a mail from the USCIS today (April 5, 2018) that I am scheduled for my initial interview on May 2, 2018 (It says I need to appear for the interview appointment for the completion of my application to register as a permanent resident).

Should I be worried? Is this for the Green Card already? Why is it too soon? I haven't even received my EAD.

Thanks!

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Just to give a bit of info on what has transpired.
Filed for AOS in January 2018 (married to an American Citizen)
I had my biometrics done Feb. 22, 2018.
A week ago, I couldn't access my receipt number about my fingerprint. It kept saying validation error.
Anyway, wife & I are waiting for the EAD & travel document.
But instead got a mail from the USCIS today (April 5, 2018) that I am scheduled for my initial interview on May 2, 2018 (It says I need to appear for the interview appointment for the completion of my application to register as a permanent resident).

Should I be worried? Is this for the Green Card already? Why is it too soon? I haven't even received my EAD.

Thanks!

Congrats! Yes, getting your AOS interview (for your green card) before getting EAD/AP happens. Several people have reported that in states with processing times of 5 months or less for family based adjustment of status. You also filed an error free AOS package and they likely pushed it through a tad faster since they messed up by sending you that RFE.
May I ask,
1. Did you front-load a lot of evidence of bona fide marriage with your AOS package? Or just the minimum?
2. What's your field office?

These are the 10 fastest ones, per the new processing times.

OHIO, Cleveland 4.5 12.0
INDIANA, Indianapolis 5.0 16.0
KENTUCKY, Louisville 5.0 15.0
MAINE, Portland 5.5 17.0
CALIFORNIA, Chula Vista 6.0 19.0
CALIFORNIA, San Diego 6.0 18.5
MISSOURI, Kansas City 6.0 16.5
NEW HA, Manchester 6.0 15.5
NEW YORK, Buffalo 6.0 18.0
OHIO, Columbus 6.0 15.5

Congrats!

[olarjacobs]

Default interview completed, case must be reviewed
hi forum, I had my interview here in New York on feb 21 2018, we were delayed for about two hours and we finally called and welcome in by a black office who was accompany by a white guy..
after we sworn, the white guy asked for all original documents while the lady was asking my wife how we met, where we met, who proposed to who, when did he proposed....
the white guy was busy looking at the documents and same time cheeping in few questions like, did u guy just wake up in the morning and decided to get to court to get married? my wife said we didn't have an elaborate wedding so we didn't have a long time plan, I also supported by saying it was just like a two weeks plan after we last visited my mother inlay and she asked us what else are we waiting for...
the white guy asked for utilities, he checked our credit card, bank debit card, he also check our life insurance and asked where is my wife name writing , I pointed it to him bellow...he asked about my wife parent, how often I visited them, he also ask about what I do how much we pay for rent, where my wife works... I presented 2017 joint tax to him after checking he was asking for 2016 and we said we didn't come with it... the black lady asked my wife about my parent and if she has met them.. after all they asked my wife to say my name, date of birth, my parents name..
she was also asked if she knew I was previously married , she answered yes and mention my daughter and her name and age...
the white guy asked us if we receive our pay cheque in our joint account , we said NO, we only put money in our joint account for future purpose.. then he took a picture and pointed at my wife mother that who is she, I told her thats my wife mother, he asked who was the man standing beside he I said it was her uncle..
later he said we should put down 5 pictures of our choice excluding wedding pictures because they already have it...
finally the last run through yes or no question and the next thing I saw was printed paper that stated ( interview was completed, your case must be reviewed, we Weill mail you a notice if we make a decision or take further action....

please anyone with similar case should Kindly share with me.. it about 45days thereabout and am yet to here nothing.. there is no change in my status online... still remain case must be reviewed

[Chicago1978]

Congrats! Yes, getting your AOS interview (for your green card) before getting EAD/AP happens. Several people have reported that in states with processing times of 5 months or less for family based adjustment of status. You also filed an error free AOS package and they likely pushed it through a tad faster since they messed up by sending you that RFE.
May I ask,
1. Did you front-load a lot of evidence of bona fide marriage with your AOS package? Or just the minimum?
2. What's your field office?

These are the 10 fastest ones, per the new processing times.

OHIO, Cleveland 4.5 12.0
INDIANA, Indianapolis 5.0 16.0
KENTUCKY, Louisville 5.0 15.0
MAINE, Portland 5.5 17.0
CALIFORNIA, Chula Vista 6.0 19.0
CALIFORNIA, San Diego 6.0 18.5
MISSOURI, Kansas City 6.0 16.5
NEW HA, Manchester 6.0 15.5
NEW YORK, Buffalo 6.0 18.0
OHIO, Columbus 6.0 15.5

Congrats!

Thank you that's very encouraging & relieves me from having anxiety attack. lol.

I's say wife & I just sent them what's necessary.
She wanted to include me in the mortgage once SS is received.
I am included in all of her bank accounts (Checking, savings & money market) & all of her credit cards (including best buy credit card, lol)
Wife basically has a good job & pays good amount of taxes. (If that counts).

I'd say we did enough,(proof of income, pay stubs, mortgage bills, bank statements, credit card statements) we couldn't do more since we've only been married a few months.

Field office is Chicago by the way.

Thank you! Thank you! Wishing you the best on your end too.

[Herewecome]

Just to give a bit of info on what has transpired.
Filed for AOS in January 2018 (married to an American Citizen)
I had my biometrics done Feb. 22, 2018.
A week ago, I couldn't access my receipt number about my fingerprint. It kept saying validation error.
Anyway, wife & I are waiting for the EAD & travel document.
But instead got a mail from the USCIS today (April 5, 2018) that I am scheduled for my initial interview on May 2, 2018 (It says I need to appear for the interview appointment for the completion of my application to register as a permanent resident).

Should I be worried? Is this for the Green Card already? Why is it too soon? I haven't even received my EAD.

Thanks!

Congratulations!

My biometrics was Feb 28th and last week got validation error, too.

Hopefully i will get my progress mail by next week or so.

[flyforever85]

So I have this question but I'm not sure I found the answer yet: I got my biometric letter today fro April 18. Shall I consider to do a walk in the next few days? Will I accelerate the process or I just waste my time?

[kaylip]

Just to give a bit of info on what has transpired.
Filed for AOS in January 2018 (married to an American Citizen)
I had my biometrics done Feb. 22, 2018.
A week ago, I couldn't access my receipt number about my fingerprint. It kept saying validation error.
Anyway, wife & I are waiting for the EAD & travel document.
But instead got a mail from the USCIS today (April 5, 2018) that I am scheduled for my initial interview on May 2, 2018 (It says I need to appear for the interview appointment for the completion of my application to register as a permanent resident).

Should I be worried? Is this for the Green Card already? Why is it too soon? I haven't even received my EAD.

Thanks!

Your case is around the same time as mine. Me too am unable to access i485 application and when I called USCIS customer service the level 2 officer said the website is updating & names are being transferred to a interview list, where my name is on it. So maybe that's the situation with u. Your case is ready for interview & they are updating the i485 case status online.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Thank you that's very encouraging & relieves me from having anxiety attack. lol.

I's say wife & I just sent them what's necessary.
She wanted to include me in the mortgage once SS is received.
I am included in all of her bank accounts (Checking, savings & money market) & all of her credit cards (including best buy credit card, lol)
Wife basically has a good job & pays good amount of taxes. (If that counts).

I'd say we did enough,(proof of income, pay stubs, mortgage bills, bank statements, credit card statements) we couldn't do more since we've only been married a few months.

Field office is Chicago by the way.

Thank you! Thank you! Wishing you the best on your end too.

Yup, you front-loaded evidence and focused on proof of commingling of finances. USCIS considers that to be the strongest evidence of bona fide marriage. Providing all of that upfront also avoids being assigned a high fraud level for lack of evidence. No wonder your case moved right through the queue. Chicago does have long processing times listed on the new site; 11.5 months to 32 months. You definitely filed a complete and solid AOS package. However, there might be other powers that be at play. Field offices are starting to get overwhelmed with conducting interviews for employment based AOS cases which up until not too long ago were always waived. Maybe they're skipping the EAD/AP and going straight to interviews. USCIS would be very smart to do so.

For the interview, it helps to have a copy of the forms you sent in. A good portion of the interview is spent verifying the information you provided. Having a copy just makes you feel more in control. Otherwise, it feels like you're being grilled. You can ask the officer what page they're on and you can follow along. That way you also don't have to regurgitate addresses and details from memory. I would also use the evidence you sent as a template/guide and bring the most recent stubs/bills/statements of whatever you sent them.

Congrats again and thank you for sharing your experience!

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Default interview completed, case must be reviewed
hi forum, I had my interview here in New York on feb 21 2018, we were delayed for about two hours and we finally called and welcome in by a black office who was accompany by a white guy..
after we sworn, the white guy asked for all original documents while the lady was asking my wife how we met, where we met, who proposed to who, when did he proposed....
the white guy was busy looking at the documents and same time cheeping in few questions like, did u guy just wake up in the morning and decided to get to court to get married? my wife said we didn't have an elaborate wedding so we didn't have a long time plan, I also supported by saying it was just like a two weeks plan after we last visited my mother inlay and she asked us what else are we waiting for...
the white guy asked for utilities, he checked our credit card, bank debit card, he also check our life insurance and asked where is my wife name writing , I pointed it to him bellow...he asked about my wife parent, how often I visited them, he also ask about what I do how much we pay for rent, where my wife works... I presented 2017 joint tax to him after checking he was asking for 2016 and we said we didn't come with it... the black lady asked my wife about my parent and if she has met them.. after all they asked my wife to say my name, date of birth, my parents name..
she was also asked if she knew I was previously married , she answered yes and mention my daughter and her name and age...
the white guy asked us if we receive our pay cheque in our joint account , we said NO, we only put money in our joint account for future purpose.. then he took a picture and pointed at my wife mother that who is she, I told her thats my wife mother, he asked who was the man standing beside he I said it was her uncle..
later he said we should put down 5 pictures of our choice excluding wedding pictures because they already have it...
finally the last run through yes or no question and the next thing I saw was printed paper that stated ( interview was completed, your case must be reviewed, we Weill mail you a notice if we make a decision or take further action....

please anyone with similar case should Kindly share with me.. it about 45days thereabout and am yet to here nothing.. there is no change in my status online... still remain case must be reviewed

Did you feel ambushed? When I had my AOS interview with my former spouse 20 years ago, it was just one officer. Well, she was intimidating enough to be counted as two persons. May I ask, did you front-load sufficient evidence of bona fide marriage when you sent your AOS package? Did you send sufficient evidence of joint finances?
I am asking because you were asked for utilities, he checked your credit card, bank debit card, life insurance. Typically, when you send all of that and the **** *** sink with your AOS package, they review and verify those documents beforehand. Then, at the interview they may ask for the most current bill or statement but the focus of the interview is not gathering financial evidence from you. And it just sounds like they couldn't put your story together with the materials that you sent in. I think it will ultimately be fine. It just sounded stressful and I feel that front-loading evidence gives you a lot of control over the interview if you cover all your bases.
As you probably know, the jury is out on whether to front-load evidence with your AOS package OR to send the minimum and then bring all your evidence to the interview - which some lawyers recommend, and it blows my mind.
You'll be fine, though. You'll see. You provided everything they asked for.

[flyforever85]

Did you send sufficient evidence of joint finances?

Sorry, the question is not for me but that's what I sent (I hope it's enough because that's all I have)

i. Bank Statement of joint bank account
ii. Copy of health insurance cards
iii. Copy of life insurance for the beneficiary (my husband is my life insurance beneficiary at 50% with my parents)
iv. Copy of the retirement plan?s beneficiary (my husband is my retirement plan beneficiary at 100%)
v. Rental History Verification Form
vi. Home insurance (proof that we live together)
vii. Receipts of travel made together (flights only)

Unfortunately his credit score is not the best so he does not appear on the mortgage and I own both cars we have because he didn't have enough money to purchase one himself.

[kd2008]

Sorry, the question is not for me but that's what I sent (I hope it's enough because that's all I have)

i. Bank Statement of joint bank account
ii. Copy of health insurance cards
iii. Copy of life insurance for the beneficiary (my husband is my life insurance beneficiary at 50% with my parents)
iv. Copy of the retirement plan?s beneficiary (my husband is my retirement plan beneficiary at 100%)
v. Rental History Verification Form
vi. Home insurance (proof that we live together)
vii. Receipts of travel made together (flights only)

Unfortunately his credit score is not the best so he does not appear on the mortgage and I own both cars we have because he didn't have enough money to purchase one himself.

Wow! That is a lot. Good job. Did you send in any pictures?

[olarjacobs]

Did you feel ambushed? When I had my AOS interview with my former spouse 20 years ago, it was just one officer. Well, she was intimidating enough to be counted as two persons. May I ask, did you front-load sufficient evidence of bona fide marriage when you sent your AOS package? Did you send sufficient evidence of joint finances?
I am asking because you were asked for utilities, he checked your credit card, bank debit card, life insurance. Typically, when you send all of that and the **** *** sink with your AOS package, they review and verify those documents beforehand. Then, at the interview they may ask for the most current bill or statement but the focus of the interview is not gathering financial evidence from you. And it just sounds like they couldn't put your story together with the materials that you sent in. I think it will ultimately be fine. It just sounded stressful and I feel that front-loading evidence gives you a lot of control over the interview if you cover all your bases.
As you probably know, the jury is out on whether to front-load evidence with your AOS package OR to send the minimum and then bring all your evidence to the interview - which some lawyers recommend, and it blows my mind.
You'll be fine, though. You'll see. You provided everything they asked for.

thank you for your response, I feel happy reading from you... A ll I needed right now is encouragement and advice from people who has gone through similar or same case... bellow are documents I send with my AOS package....

my wife affidavit of support and owe income tax
my uncle affidavit of support and his income tax
apartment lease agreement ( myself and my wife sign in it )
copy of my divorce letter from previous marriage
copy of my birth certificate and my wife
cable bill that has my name and my wife name on it
About five copies of our wedding pictures
marriage certificate and other forms..... all these are those I submitted in my package... bellow are documents I went with on the interview day


original marriage certificate.
original birth certificate
proof of joint account ( my wife name was not reflecting on it but we have letter from the bank to back it up )
three months statement of account.. joint account
debit cards from joint account
credit card with same name
cable utitlity bill
joint income tax 2017
life insurance
pay slip ( she didn't check or ask for it though )
letter from my present employer


please I need advice from anyone with same or similar case..... I don't understand what is going on with them because I didn't get no update nor text messages ..

[flyforever85]

Wow! That is a lot. Good job. Did you send in any pictures?

I was about to but then I read that some people didn't because you could show them at the wedding so I did not include any pic in order to speed up the shipment. Now I regret it.

[Chicago1978]

Yup, you front-loaded evidence and focused on proof of commingling of finances. USCIS considers that to be the strongest evidence of bona fide marriage. Providing all of that upfront also avoids being assigned a high fraud level for lack of evidence. No wonder your case moved right through the queue. Chicago does have long processing times listed on the new site; 11.5 months to 32 months. You definitely filed a complete and solid AOS package. However, there might be other powers that be at play. Field offices are starting to get overwhelmed with conducting interviews for employment based AOS cases which up until not too long ago were always waived. Maybe they're skipping the EAD/AP and going straight to interviews. USCIS would be very smart to do so.

For the interview, it helps to have a copy of the forms you sent in. A good portion of the interview is spent verifying the information you provided. Having a copy just makes you feel more in control. Otherwise, it feels like you're being grilled. You can ask the officer what page they're on and you can follow along. That way you also don't have to regurgitate addresses and details from memory. I would also use the evidence you sent as a template/guide and bring the most recent stubs/bills/statements of whatever you sent them.

Congrats again and thank you for sharing your experience!

Thank you so much! That?s very kind of you. I will keep that in mind. All the best!

- - - Updated - - -

Congratulations!

My biometrics was Feb 28th and last week got validation error, too.

Hopefully i will get my progress mail by next week or so.

Thank you! I hope you get your letter for an interview too!

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Sorry, the question is not for me but that's what I sent (I hope it's enough because that's all I have)

i. Bank Statement of joint bank account
ii. Copy of health insurance cards
iii. Copy of life insurance for the beneficiary (my husband is my life insurance beneficiary at 50% with my parents)
iv. Copy of the retirement plan?s beneficiary (my husband is my retirement plan beneficiary at 100%)
v. Rental History Verification Form
vi. Home insurance (proof that we live together)
vii. Receipts of travel made together (flights only)

Unfortunately his credit score is not the best so he does not appear on the mortgage and I own both cars we have because he didn't have enough money to purchase one himself.

I think that looks really good. It was very smart to submit the home insurance policy which includes him. In lieu of a joint mortgage, that's a nice way to put to rest any doubts there.
Having him as the ONLY beneficiary on the retirement plan on retirement and 50% on life insurance is huge. For the interview, you may want to have handy documentation that you have continued to pay for those policies. So if it's deducted from your paychecks, have that and note it. With USCIS, you have to connect the dots for them. The burden of proof is on you. That's why if you file under the wrong category, they return your application. They're not there to do anything for you. It helps to state what your evidence is showing. In other words, put the story together for them.
Health insurance - it's great to show that your husband uses your health insurance. You can print claims from your health insurance online account. If you do that, you want to include "headers and footers" on your print settings, that way the URL will show and that will add credibility to the document.

I will post a link to our I-130 table of contents shortly. You'll see what I mean. For example, the oldest financial(if that) document that I have tying us, is my car insurance policy from 09/2016. We met 06/19/2016. So that shows I trusted my spouse with my vehicle pretty early in the relationship. I highlighted the date on the Table of contents. Why? Because I'm sure adjudicators are just flipping through pages and there is nothing in this for them. So they're not going to be looking for the document with the "earliest date" that shows my spouse and I were serious. They're there to rule out fraud. That's a huge part of their job.

Ultimately, it's all of the above + the chemistry of a true marriage. That's my two humble cents.