Evo

Finally after waiting for 11 months, I got the letter for the AOS interview. Now I am starting to get nervous. Hope anyone of you who already had their interviews can give me some good advice(e.g. any additional documentations I should bring along, questions I need to prepare for etc...) in preparing for the interview.

Also in the letter, it stated that the interview will be video-taped. Is this normal?

Bluejjjj31241266

Hello there,
Make sure you have you appointment letter, copies of all your original
documents you are bringing along as evidence i.e tax documents , photos,
marriage and birth certificates, original approval notices, medical vaccination
supplementary papers, social security cards, medical cards, originals and
copies, house deeds and utility bills in both names, aswell as the originals
and so forth. Try and have it all in order so the officer can remove the papers
they need. Don't forget your adit pics either.
You will be nervous, but just be yourselves. It always seems as though they
just know what is genuine as soon as they see you and they expect a degree of
nervousness. They did not even view my evidence of marriage or letters
supporting this.
As for video taping it, I saw no evidence of that, unless they had hidden
cameras in the waiting room and all that would have shown is all of my family,
half awake at 7.30 am, husbands caffeine not kicked in and me trying not to
jump down my teenage daughters sullen throat. All good family fun.
You will just fine.
All the best of luck for you, keep smiling,
regards,
Jacqueline H

colinlieu

You can find a lot of previous threads on this same subject which will help you know what to bring and/or what to expect. It really depends on your own history. As for what to bring, all the documentation you need to gather should be listed on the letter you received.

You should prepare copies of everything, it's always very appreciated. Make sure to get a letter from your employer and or your spouse's. You can bring along some copies of your pay tubs, that can't hurt. Gather pictures of your wedding if you have some, and pictures of the two of you since then, at your house, at parties with friends, of trips you took, etc...

The important part is evidence of your shared life. Take with you everything you can think of where your two names appear (i.e. lease, car insurance, rent insurance, life insurance, credit card statements, bank statements, tax returns, utility bills...) If your two names don't appear on any of this, take care of it right now. By the time of your interview, you should have enough documentation.

If you have friends and/or family members who are willing to write letters for you, you can ask them now. Give them specific directions so that they'll know exactly what kind of information they're supposed to give. Not every interviewers pay attention to such letters, but they can be very appreciated sometimes.

As for the questions you'll be asked, in most cases, and if everything went smoothly so far, they will be pretty simple. Refer to some of the experiences previously posted. In my case, our interviewer asked me my date of birth, my parent's names, and... that's it!

I don't know anything about the video-taping. Someone else might be able to tell you more about this.

Good luck!

M.

Evo

Thanks for your info.

I have pretty much everything except for the letters from friends. I would like to know what kind of information do I need to include in those letters.

I will make sure I will be well prepared. I am very nervous. hope everything will go smoothly.

colinlieu

In a previous thread, Angela wrote:

"We brought letters from family and friends, signed and notarized.
Although not *required*, our interviewer was glad to accept them
and said so.

Ours were all in the same format. Our letter writer stated their name, how they were acquainted with us or related to us and how long they had known us (if not related).

Then our letter writers stated they knew us to be in a loving and
committed relationship and they gave examples of time spent with us as a couple, i.e. joint birthday parties, trips to sporting events, being with us at the hospital during the birth of our child, movies and dinner out, etc.

They closed by saying that in their opinion, we were a good match for one another and committed to our marriage.

They were all short and sweet letters."

I hope this helps. I'm sure everything will be fine, don't worry too much : ) Let us know how it went and don't forget to post your experience!

By the way, when and where is you interview?

We'll say a little prayer for you

M.

jeffreyhy

Evo,

Take along the original and a photocopy of anything you've submitted in the past - you never know what they might want to verify or what they might have lost.

Regards, JEff

Evo

Thank you everyone for your advice.

My interview will take place in Los Angeles on 3/8. I have less than a month to prepare. I will post my experience after the interview.

esandstr

Hi Evo,

I totally understand how you feel, and I feel for you. I was nervous as hell before the interview, to the point where it was making me physically ill when the whole thing was over.

I shouldn't have been. It went smooth as silk, and was an enjoyable experience!! However, use the time you have carefully and prepare thoroughly with binders and folders and copies and originals and all. You will find calmness and comfort in knowing that you are fully prepared and ready. Don't worry, really - it's going to go just fine!

If you want more details on how we did it, please take a look at my recent post: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hreadid=209098


Best wishes,
Eiolf

Brenda Ballard

Hi
I don't know when we will apply for the aos
one quick question: my husband is from
Canada and he was interviewed in Montreal berfore coming into the states
last March....they
kept all the paper work except what he would need to get his ead ....so
my question is
do we have to get another paper showing his
shots or do we have to go to our family doctor and get another paper



bb

Evo

Just had my medical done last week. I had those shots when I was a kid. I still need to take them again. Anythign that was taken in childhood will not count. So you will have to go to those "approved doctors" to get those shots, TB skin test and blood test done.

ElusiveSongbird

Hi Evo,

A letter from your bank confirming the joint accounts you maintain is one of the best document to have - simply because you can easily get friends to write good letters but not a financial institution. Our interviewer (who has since become a good friend) told us this.

Another good piece is a 2-page thumbnail photographic story of your life together since the day you met. We presented this when he asked us how we met and he appreciated not having to flip through albums or stack of photos. We added meaningful quotes and fun captions to the pictures and these really helped ease the initial tension in the room.

I didn't need to show anything else after giving these two documents!

I am sure you will do well. GOOD LUCK!

Evo

Evo

Evo

Thanks ElusiveSongbird.

My wife is taking care of the photo albums. she is very good at design pages inside the photo albums. In every page, she has different designs on every page. We will also put lcaptions for the photos. So I think the interviewer will be impressed with that.

Yeah we will bring along the bank statments. We have join checking and saving account.