Green Card Interview a Success!
Here is the whole detailed experience....
Hi everyone! Well, Sujeet got the stamp in his passport!! We are both very happy about it, no more worries for awhile!! We woke at 4:35am today. TORTURE!! I couldn't sleep last night and didn't fall asleep til 2:00am....We left the house at about 5:45am. Our appt. letter said to be there at 7am. We arrived around 6:55 (would have been 10 mins earlier but I just had to go #1 on the way there and had to stop at a gas station ). At 7am a security guy came out of the building and told us all to stand in a line. There were about 15 people waiting outside, we managed to get near the front of the line. The office doesn't really start their work until closer to 7:30 but start letting people in around 7am. It was still pitch black outside at that time and it felt so weird, since the sun had not shown itself at all yet!
We walked in, had our stuff put through the conveyer belt scanner and walked through a metal detector, then we only had to walk like 10 feet into the main waiting room and then go to desk #1 to hand in the interview letter. So we handed it over and he told us we would be called by name for our interview shortly. So we sat down, and I looked around the room and it was very nice. Everything was new looking and clean, very impressed. Not what I imagined, because it was actually nicer than I imagined it would be. We were sitting by 7:09. I was nervous while driving there, but after being in the building I felt very calm. At about 7:20 we were called by a man and followed him down a hall and into a room and then to his cubicle. We first raised our right hands, swore to tell the truth, etc. Sat down and he 1st asked about the Medical exam papers. We told him Sujeet had handed those over to his POE in Miami but that we have the vaccination supplement. He said "ok, good, that's what I need". So we gave him the vaccination supplement. He said to me "so you are petitioning for your husband" I said yes. He said "and you were born in New York", I said yes. He then asked how we met originally...we told him online. He then asked me if I visited Sujeet in India, I said yes. He asked if Sujeet had been here before, we said no and told him about Sujeet applying for a tourist visa in India first before me visiting him in India. He said before we could, "oh and he was denied.." kind of in a funny way, like he knew how annoying it is to get denied a tourist visa.
He then asked for a copy of our marriage license. Then asked for Affidavits of support, and I gave him mine and my father's. He also asked for my 2004 tax return and w2 copies, and asked for my fathers 2004 and 2003 tax return and w2 copies, and also employment letters. We hit one small snag but it didn't effect our approval. I hadn't taken any proof with my of my father's US citizenship, though I had sent it in the past with my K1 visa petition and other paperwork. He wanted to see it. He flipped through all our paperwork for about 5 mins straight, but really didn't closely look for it. He said, "I think it's fine." Whew!! That was a scary moment. Otherwise, it felt so calm and quiet during the interview. He asked me if I was employed, I said no. Sujeet said that he was employed and the officer asked Sujeet what work he did, but didn't ask for the employment letter. Then he asked Sujeet the certain questions like were you ever married before, do you have any kids anywhere in the world?(he asked it in a humorous way). Then asked me if I had ever been married before. (neither of us have been). Then he went through the list of immigration questions to Sujeet like have you tried to lie to immigrate, etc etc then threw in another humorous "you sure you don't have any hidden wives back in India that we don't know about?".
He then said he'd check the status of the fingerprints. Then I thought, oh no! Please God let them be done. Well after he punched a bunch of stuff into his computer he didn't say anything about it so we assumed they were done. They were. Then he said "what's that?" because Sujeet was holding his AP papers ready to hand them over. Sujeet gave them, and the man asked if Sujeet had ever used them, Sujeet said no and the man sad, "well you won't ever need to!" So then we really knew it was approved. Then the man flipped around all the paperwork for about 5 mins putting everything back together, hole punching papers, and then finally stamped it "APPROVED" and took Sujeet's passport and stamped the I-551 stamp in it and wrote a bunch of stuff above and below it. He said the Green card would arrive within 6 months (well, it seems it only takes a week or 2 from what ppl have written on VJ!). He then had us sign a paper acknowledging that we had to apply to lift Sujeet's conditions bla bla bla. SO then he stood up with us, Sujeet said thank you, shook the man's hand and the man said "you are welcome and glad you're here!". The interview was about 20mins long. Mostly was silent with the officer going through paperwork and hole punching things.
The officer walked us out to the front and said goodbye. He never asked for proof of joint lives, never asked to see any pictures, neither anything else I didn't mention, didn't take the EAD either. All he asked for:Affidavits, job letters, & tax returns(copies of returns and w2's, not originals),Vaccination Supplement, Marriage Lic. Copy, & Advance Parole.
The man was very courteous, mostly serious, but also had a sense of humor a couple times. He was probably in his early 40's and was Mexican. Well I'm pretty sure of it because he has a big map of Mexico on his cubicle wall and his name is Ricardo Valdez. It was nice to get it done so early in the morning because then you are free the rest of the day. We left the office by 7:45! We then ate breakfast at Denny's, then went to the social security office there in Tampa to order Sujeet a new SSN card without the stuff written on it about only being allowed to work with DHS permission, because he's a greencard man now! Thanks Ricardo! Then after that we drove around a lot and ended up in St Pete then Palm Harbor and ate at our favorite Indian restaurant for lunch! Now its 1:30 and I'm exhausted. It feels like my day should be ending but it's still so early. Now time to rest and maybe nap! Sorry this was so long, but I wanted to be very detailed!
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