AOS Interview Experience at Baltimore (Long)
Dec 17th 2003, 7:41 am
#1
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Posts: n/a
AOS Interview Experience at Baltimore (Long)
Apologies to those who have read this thread already on
Britishexpats.com, but I found out my original post wasn't propagated
to usenet, and we want our experience to help as many out there as
possible. Cheers!
Thursday December 11th 2003
Our second trip to the Fallon Federal Building in Baltimore began a
little later than for our previous appointment for fingerprinting and
EAD proceedings. To get to our 10:15 interview we gave ourselves a
couple of hours from our home in Gaithersburg, and chanced our arm at
the back roads seeing as the news reported heavy congestion on
Interstate-270 (like that's any surprise!). In the end, it was a
pleasant drive avoiding most of the traffic, and we pulled into the
underground garage a perfect 30 mins before our appointment.
It was also nice that the queue to get in was much shorter than in
August, seeing as the temperature was many degrees lower this time.
After passing through the checkpoint, we were directed to Room 103,
where it appeared we would have a long wait. We approached the window
to check in at 10am, an inspecting officer came up to the desk and
Clem handed her his appointment letter. She told us that we could be
seen immediately, and we bypassed the queues. She said she could
conduct the interview early, as someone hadn't shown up for their
appointment before us, and the whole experience was much faster than
we expected.
We went to her office, and swore us in under oath. While she was
opening our USCIS file (which we could see was now over an inch thick)
we opened our portfolio. We had arranged it such that all of the items
were in the order that they were asked for in the appointment letter,
and individual groups of items (e.g. official forms, Evidence of Bona
Fide Marriage etc.) were in manila folders inside our portfolio, as
well as all other important pieces of evidence from the copy of the
I-129F onwards. Everything we were asked to bring in original, we made
a copy in case they asked for it. As it turned out, the officer took
all the photocopies we had and put them into the USCIS file. She
complimented us on how organized we were, and commented how she wished
everyone brought as much evidence as we did to make her job easier. It
appeared that she occupied maybe a supervisory role because she said
that she no longer conducted so many interviews herself - Kate seems
to remember seeing a supervisor's plaque on the wall too. If this was
the case, it might explain why she was so thorough in her examination,
more so than we had been expecting.
The first thing she asked for was to see Clem's passport, EAD and both
of our Driver's Licenses. To cut a long story short, she asked us to
confirm the answers to a few questions as she went over Clem's I-485
AoS application form:
-When Clem arrived in the United States, whether this was his last
entry
-When we got married
-Clem's parents' first names
-Whether Clem had applied for a Green Card before
-Where Clem works
-Clem's occupation
-Clem's citizenship
-Whether Clem had been in any trouble with the law, with drugs or had
ever been deported
-How we met
-How many times Kate had been to England (Kate couldn't remember
exactly - she guessed about 5 times, but eventually said she wasn't
sure; in the I-129F petition, we had listed out all the times we'd
seen each other since we first met)
-Whether Kate still worked at the job she had put down on the I-864
Affidavit of Support
-Whether Kate had moved to Maryland for her job
-Whether we had a big wedding reception
-Our address (which they had originally misspelled on the appointment
letter) and whether we were renting together
She asked to see Clem's original birth certificate, but not our
original marriage certificate. We didn't know how much evidence of a
bona fide marriage she would want to see, but she seemed happy enough
to look at everything we'd brought with us, and take the copies that
we had made. This included:
-Wedding photos (she asked Clem to confirm the pictures showed his
parents and sister, and commented on Kate's godparents' restaurant,
where the ceremony was held)
-Wedding cards (she didn't look at these)
-Rental agreement
-Homeowner's/Tenant's insurance
-Joint bank account and credit card statements
-Car purchase and ownership documents
-Car insurance
-Automobile club documents
-Life insurance and medical benefits documents (listing each other as
beneficiaries)
-Joint telephone bill
-Flight tickets and boarding passes from a trip taken together
The sticking point of the interview came when she went over Kate's
I-864 Affidavit of Support. As evidence, Kate had obtained a letter
from her employer stating her salary, and tax transcripts for two
years. She had also obtained a letter from the IRS stating why she was
not required to file a tax return for 2000 (since she was a student,
she didn't earn enough to be required to submit one). The instructions
didn't say that the tax returns were to prove that the sponsor made
125% of the poverty guideline in all of the three preceding years, but
it's probable that the whole reason behind requiring them was to show
proof that Kate could sustain fulfilling the sponsorship requirement.
However, the officer said that, even though she was convinced both of
us made enough money now, either because Kate didn't earn enough to
file a tax return one year or that she only made $3,000 the previous
year, we would have to get a co-sponsor. Clem offered to show her
proof of Kate's assets, which she had obtained for the I-134 Affidavit
of Support for the K-1 Visa. The officer reminded us that it had to be
readily convertible into cash, which most of it was - mutual funds,
IRA, car, engagement and wedding ring valuations - but despite our
evidence, she still said she wanted us to get a co-sponsor. Because of
this, she told us she would mark our case as continuing. Kate said
that her dad would be the co-sponsor, and the officer told us that he
would have to submit an I-864 within 3 months. (She told Kate he would
need to send in his proof of citizenship (e.g. birth certificate) and
was surprised to find out he was a naturalized citizen himself.)
It was frustrating because Kate had considered asking her dad to
co-sponsor, both for the I-134 and the I-864, but despite not doing
so, Clem had no trouble getting his K-1 or getting the AoS interview
scheduled. We knew that some people have been lucky in that the
inspecting officer didn't scrutinize the application so closely, and,
other than us, we only knew of one couple who had the same problem.
It's easy to say now in hindsight that we should have listened to them
instead, but like everything else, the lesson was one we knew all
along - never leave anything to chance.
The officer said when the co-sponsorship documents had been reviewed,
Clem would receive his approval notice and would have to come back to
Baltimore to get the I-551 stamp in his passport - the Green Card
itself would be mailed out later, but she wouldn't say how long. After
2 years from the date of approval for Lawful Permanent Residency, Clem
would be eligible to remove the conditions. In the mean time, she
reminded us, if we needed to travel abroad, Clem would need Advance
Parole. Finally, she took out a large card and got Clem's right index
fingerprint and signature on both sides.
We were disappointed because we hoped we could have had everything
wrapped up that day, but then again, there was nothing more Clem had
to prove to get his Green Card. Kate's dad will fill in the co-sponsor
form and provide us with his employer's letter and tax transcripts,
and we'll pick it up when we visit them for Christmas. At least
there's still the opportunity that we could wrap up the Green Card
within a year of Kate submitting the I-129F. Wow - has it been a year
already? What a year!
__________________
Visit http://k1fun.envy.nu to view our story!
14 Jan 03 - I-129F sent to VSC
21 Jan 03 - NOA1
4 Feb 03 - NOA2
13 Feb 03 - Packet 3 received from USEL
18 Feb 03 - IV-15 + forms sent to USEL
25 Feb 03 - Packet 4 received from USEL
27 Mar 03 - Medical & Visa Interview - K-1 Issued!
23 May 03 - Arrived in U.S. at JFK - Employment Authorization stamped
on I-94!
30 May 03 - Applied for SSN
10 Jun 03 - SSN issued (without BCIS verification)
14 Jun 03 - Finally, we're married!
24 Jun 03 - Submitted AoS and EAD applications to VSC
14 July 03 - NOA1 - 80 days for EAD, 365-540 days for AoS
23 July 03 - NOA Transfer to BCIS Baltimore
6 August 03 - FP letter from Baltimore
8 August 03 - Appointment letter for EAD
13 August 03 - EAD "interview" - EAD issued!
13 August 03 - AoS FP done
13 August 03 - AP application rejected - need specific travel dates
22 August 03 - Appointment letter for AoS interview
11 December 03 - AoS interview - case continuing pending
co-sponsorship
Britishexpats.com, but I found out my original post wasn't propagated
to usenet, and we want our experience to help as many out there as
possible. Cheers!
Thursday December 11th 2003
Our second trip to the Fallon Federal Building in Baltimore began a
little later than for our previous appointment for fingerprinting and
EAD proceedings. To get to our 10:15 interview we gave ourselves a
couple of hours from our home in Gaithersburg, and chanced our arm at
the back roads seeing as the news reported heavy congestion on
Interstate-270 (like that's any surprise!). In the end, it was a
pleasant drive avoiding most of the traffic, and we pulled into the
underground garage a perfect 30 mins before our appointment.
It was also nice that the queue to get in was much shorter than in
August, seeing as the temperature was many degrees lower this time.
After passing through the checkpoint, we were directed to Room 103,
where it appeared we would have a long wait. We approached the window
to check in at 10am, an inspecting officer came up to the desk and
Clem handed her his appointment letter. She told us that we could be
seen immediately, and we bypassed the queues. She said she could
conduct the interview early, as someone hadn't shown up for their
appointment before us, and the whole experience was much faster than
we expected.
We went to her office, and swore us in under oath. While she was
opening our USCIS file (which we could see was now over an inch thick)
we opened our portfolio. We had arranged it such that all of the items
were in the order that they were asked for in the appointment letter,
and individual groups of items (e.g. official forms, Evidence of Bona
Fide Marriage etc.) were in manila folders inside our portfolio, as
well as all other important pieces of evidence from the copy of the
I-129F onwards. Everything we were asked to bring in original, we made
a copy in case they asked for it. As it turned out, the officer took
all the photocopies we had and put them into the USCIS file. She
complimented us on how organized we were, and commented how she wished
everyone brought as much evidence as we did to make her job easier. It
appeared that she occupied maybe a supervisory role because she said
that she no longer conducted so many interviews herself - Kate seems
to remember seeing a supervisor's plaque on the wall too. If this was
the case, it might explain why she was so thorough in her examination,
more so than we had been expecting.
The first thing she asked for was to see Clem's passport, EAD and both
of our Driver's Licenses. To cut a long story short, she asked us to
confirm the answers to a few questions as she went over Clem's I-485
AoS application form:
-When Clem arrived in the United States, whether this was his last
entry
-When we got married
-Clem's parents' first names
-Whether Clem had applied for a Green Card before
-Where Clem works
-Clem's occupation
-Clem's citizenship
-Whether Clem had been in any trouble with the law, with drugs or had
ever been deported
-How we met
-How many times Kate had been to England (Kate couldn't remember
exactly - she guessed about 5 times, but eventually said she wasn't
sure; in the I-129F petition, we had listed out all the times we'd
seen each other since we first met)
-Whether Kate still worked at the job she had put down on the I-864
Affidavit of Support
-Whether Kate had moved to Maryland for her job
-Whether we had a big wedding reception
-Our address (which they had originally misspelled on the appointment
letter) and whether we were renting together
She asked to see Clem's original birth certificate, but not our
original marriage certificate. We didn't know how much evidence of a
bona fide marriage she would want to see, but she seemed happy enough
to look at everything we'd brought with us, and take the copies that
we had made. This included:
-Wedding photos (she asked Clem to confirm the pictures showed his
parents and sister, and commented on Kate's godparents' restaurant,
where the ceremony was held)
-Wedding cards (she didn't look at these)
-Rental agreement
-Homeowner's/Tenant's insurance
-Joint bank account and credit card statements
-Car purchase and ownership documents
-Car insurance
-Automobile club documents
-Life insurance and medical benefits documents (listing each other as
beneficiaries)
-Joint telephone bill
-Flight tickets and boarding passes from a trip taken together
The sticking point of the interview came when she went over Kate's
I-864 Affidavit of Support. As evidence, Kate had obtained a letter
from her employer stating her salary, and tax transcripts for two
years. She had also obtained a letter from the IRS stating why she was
not required to file a tax return for 2000 (since she was a student,
she didn't earn enough to be required to submit one). The instructions
didn't say that the tax returns were to prove that the sponsor made
125% of the poverty guideline in all of the three preceding years, but
it's probable that the whole reason behind requiring them was to show
proof that Kate could sustain fulfilling the sponsorship requirement.
However, the officer said that, even though she was convinced both of
us made enough money now, either because Kate didn't earn enough to
file a tax return one year or that she only made $3,000 the previous
year, we would have to get a co-sponsor. Clem offered to show her
proof of Kate's assets, which she had obtained for the I-134 Affidavit
of Support for the K-1 Visa. The officer reminded us that it had to be
readily convertible into cash, which most of it was - mutual funds,
IRA, car, engagement and wedding ring valuations - but despite our
evidence, she still said she wanted us to get a co-sponsor. Because of
this, she told us she would mark our case as continuing. Kate said
that her dad would be the co-sponsor, and the officer told us that he
would have to submit an I-864 within 3 months. (She told Kate he would
need to send in his proof of citizenship (e.g. birth certificate) and
was surprised to find out he was a naturalized citizen himself.)
It was frustrating because Kate had considered asking her dad to
co-sponsor, both for the I-134 and the I-864, but despite not doing
so, Clem had no trouble getting his K-1 or getting the AoS interview
scheduled. We knew that some people have been lucky in that the
inspecting officer didn't scrutinize the application so closely, and,
other than us, we only knew of one couple who had the same problem.
It's easy to say now in hindsight that we should have listened to them
instead, but like everything else, the lesson was one we knew all
along - never leave anything to chance.
The officer said when the co-sponsorship documents had been reviewed,
Clem would receive his approval notice and would have to come back to
Baltimore to get the I-551 stamp in his passport - the Green Card
itself would be mailed out later, but she wouldn't say how long. After
2 years from the date of approval for Lawful Permanent Residency, Clem
would be eligible to remove the conditions. In the mean time, she
reminded us, if we needed to travel abroad, Clem would need Advance
Parole. Finally, she took out a large card and got Clem's right index
fingerprint and signature on both sides.
We were disappointed because we hoped we could have had everything
wrapped up that day, but then again, there was nothing more Clem had
to prove to get his Green Card. Kate's dad will fill in the co-sponsor
form and provide us with his employer's letter and tax transcripts,
and we'll pick it up when we visit them for Christmas. At least
there's still the opportunity that we could wrap up the Green Card
within a year of Kate submitting the I-129F. Wow - has it been a year
already? What a year!
__________________
Visit http://k1fun.envy.nu to view our story!
14 Jan 03 - I-129F sent to VSC
21 Jan 03 - NOA1
4 Feb 03 - NOA2
13 Feb 03 - Packet 3 received from USEL
18 Feb 03 - IV-15 + forms sent to USEL
25 Feb 03 - Packet 4 received from USEL
27 Mar 03 - Medical & Visa Interview - K-1 Issued!
23 May 03 - Arrived in U.S. at JFK - Employment Authorization stamped
on I-94!
30 May 03 - Applied for SSN
10 Jun 03 - SSN issued (without BCIS verification)
14 Jun 03 - Finally, we're married!
24 Jun 03 - Submitted AoS and EAD applications to VSC
14 July 03 - NOA1 - 80 days for EAD, 365-540 days for AoS
23 July 03 - NOA Transfer to BCIS Baltimore
6 August 03 - FP letter from Baltimore
8 August 03 - Appointment letter for EAD
13 August 03 - EAD "interview" - EAD issued!
13 August 03 - AoS FP done
13 August 03 - AP application rejected - need specific travel dates
22 August 03 - Appointment letter for AoS interview
11 December 03 - AoS interview - case continuing pending
co-sponsorship
