Emily894

Hello All,

Thank you in advance, everyone on here really helped us with our last question of whether to get married in the US or the UK. After discussing on here, we got married in March of this year, with the plan to go back and have our 'wedding' in England in September (I'm British, husband is American, both living here in California).

We filed for my permanent resident status and have our interview coming up on August 10th. We've paid extortionate fees for our lawyer to file all the relevant paperwork and they've been brilliant in getting us this far. They just called this morning to ask if we wanted an attorney present at our interview. Is this normal? Do you think it's necessary? We're pretty maxed out as it is financially, but obviously if it's going to make the process a lot easier, then that's what we'll do.

Thanks

Emily

Holliver

I'm not far behind you in the process and haven't had my interview but I would guess that if you have a straightforward case there is no need to have a lawyer present. I think that most people don't attend with a lawyer. I'm sure some other BE members will be along shortly with more advice.

Emily894

Thank you. That's what I thought. Yes, ours is very straightforward (as international marriages and dealing with immigration goes!).
Thanks for your response

jeffreyhy

Don't know enough about your situation, despite having re-read all of your posts, to know if it might be a good idea for you to have an attorney with you at your adjustment interview. The devil is in the details.

One observation, though - you are risk averse enough to have hired an attorney, despite the "extortionate" fees.

Up to you to decide if the reason you have gotten this far is because there are few or no adverse factors in your case or becasue of the "brilliant" assistance of the attornies. If the former, don't have one attend. If the latter, have one come along.

Regards, JEff

Rete

Something that you have not touched on and not sure if your attorney has but your interview is August 10th. If approved, you might not have your green card in time to leave and return to the US and your advance parole will no longer be active. My advice to you is if you are approved at the time of the interview on August 10th, you ask the AO for the I-551 stamp in your passport so that you can enter the US upon your return without a hassel.

HisBetterHalf

We had our attorney present at our interview - but didn't pay an extra fee as it was included in his base fee. It helped provide peace of mind, but he really didn't do anything except listen to our nervous joking. The whole thing lasted not even 10 minutes.

We also had our/my husband's interview just days before we left for a visit back to the UK. My husband's passport was stamped - we didn't even ask for it - and while he was able to travel without his greencard (which was waiting in our mailbox when we returned 3 weeks later), agents in both the US and in the UK gave him a bit of grief over it all.

In the UK they drilled him with questions about his birthplace and what hospital he was born in (when we were LEAVING the country no less - very strange) and in the US he was pulled into secondary questioning. The agents there said they had never seen his I-551 stamp and weren't familiar with it. Eventually they figured things out, but it wasn't quite as quick and easy as we expected it should be.

Whatever the case, do NOT take your advance parole paperwork with you once you are approved for the GC. That will just confuse matters more and could cause more trouble!

Good luck!

Rete

In today's USCIS world you need to ask for the stamp. It is no longer freely given, unless the employee has not read the memorandum which was distributed a few years back.

I do not understand your caution about the advance parole paperwork. It is useless to the beneficiary after an approved interview and by rights belongs to the USCIS.

HisBetterHalf

Exactly - it is useless and can cause undue confusion and frustration if USCIS comes across it. I'm just repeating what our immigration attorney told us when I asked (because we were leaving the country without my husband's GC).

My husband's passport got the stamp 6 years ago and I believe at the time they said they were transitioning either out of or into using it (it all happened so fast, I don't recall exactly what was said). Whatever the case, the USCIS agents upon our return from the UK didn't intially recognize it and kept my husband for questioning.

Rete

What they did is combine it with the EAD. No more paper.

jeffreyhy

Transitioning out of using it. Too easily forged. I believe you're talking about the advance parole document, not the I-551 stamp. Regards, JEff