Immigration Forum / USA Marriage Base / August 2005

So, after almost three years of waiting, today was my wife and I's AOS
interview.  We originally filed with NYC Federal Plaza in October 2002,
and the case was later transferred to MSC.

Time crept by, and we were wondering what was taking so long.  I was
onto my second EAD, and at the time, it looked likely a third would be
in the works by the end of summer.  However, fate smiled on us, and when
we returned from our vacation in Maine in May, a letter from the USCIS
notifying us of our interview date was waiting for us.

We were overjoyed, and more than a little shocked.  I think part of us
both had been conditioned to never hearing anything from USCIS, and for
me to remain in some kind of immigration purgatory for the rest of my
life.  But, it was there, in black and white print.

After a whirlwind collection of documentary evidence, and my walleting
being reduced of the burden of $330 for the medical exam and vaccs, we
were ready.  We reported to the USCIS office in Garden City for our
12:31PM appointment.  Government bureaucracy at it's finest.

We got their a little early - 12:10PM, with my wife's mother tagging
along as emotional support, and also to double as a chauffer.
Instantly, we were both soured by the pretty much rude security staff -
pardon my french, but we both have to say one guy in particular was a
**** for the way he was speaking to some of the people infront of us who
didn't have a strong grasp of english.

Getting past the rent-a-cops, and after they had confiscated my wife's
emory board nail file, we were corraled into a huge waiting pen just to
the left, on the first floor - despite our notice saying to report to
the second floor.  There, we dropped off our interview notice at the
front desk, and duly took a seat when told.  Time is an illusion,
lunchtime doubly so in government offices, and here was no exception.
The place was devoid of USCIS staff until well after 1PM when everyone
rolled back in after their lunches.  At about 1:30PM, someone came and
took the batch of interview notices with 12:30PM time slots, so we knew
we were closed.

All throughout this time, people's names had been faintly getting called
out by DAOs and lawyers.  Whenever someone was called, the entire room
faced them in anticipation they'd be next.  Lawyers wandered around
mumbling names, looking for their lost charges.  People pleaded with the
frontdesk about their situations - interview notices not being received,
but that they received the letter saying their case was abandoned for
non-attendance - that they'd been waiting since 9:00AM - that they'd
lost their green card.

Finally, I heard my name faintly.  If there's one thing they need here,
it's a PA system.  I got up and walked over to the office holding the
notice, to confirm it was indeed me.  I guess she had difficulty with my
last name, because she only called out my first.  I called my wife over,
and the officer led us into an office maze behind the frontdesk area.

We entered her small, 'economical' office - no pictures, no nothing -
and she instantly swore us in.  She was very friendly, explained what
she was doing, or going to do clearly, yet was efficiently fast.  She
took our passports, and driver's licences, noting to herself that we
both has the same address listed on them "Always a good sign", she
pointed out.  She flicked through my passport, asking me about my
travels, the visa I used, etc, then asked us about how we met.  We
explained how we met online, got close, fell in love, and then how I
came to NY to spend my summer vacation together.  Looking at my wife's
passport she said "What a pretty name - Adrienne.  My ex-fiance was
called Adrian."  A curious compliment, but one none the less - in fact,
we kind of felt bad for her.

She then flicked through my passport, removed my old I94, and went
through our forms they had on file.  It felt weird seeing my entire life
in one folder that had done the rounds from NYC to Missouri, back up to
Long Island.  She went over our Affidavit, and we gave her an updated
one.  She then went over the usual questions "Are you a member of the
communist party?", etc, then asked for evidence of our relationship.

We had a decent amount, which we piled on her desk: a wedding photo
album, random vacation photos; medical, dental and life insurance
policies, 401(k) and 403(b) policies, our savings accounts.  We gave her
copies of everything, and let her look through our vacation snaps.  She
was pleased that we gave her a broad spectrum timescale wise, ranging
from when I first arrived in the states, to our latest vacation in Maine
this year.

She then took my medical envelope, and checked on the computer, which I
assume was for my prints.  I originally did my prints in March 2004 for
AOS, but two weeks before this interview, I received a letter informing
me I had to be reprinted - I assume because they expired.  I was
concerned going in that they wouldn't have cleared, but she hinted
otherwise.  She went to make copies of our ID, and photographs, and then
came back, giving us all our originals.

She then took my passport, informed me that I'd be receiving my green
card in the mail in two weeks, and that I'd been approved as IR6,
because we'd been married nearly three years at the time of interview.
She wrote two lines in my passport about it, and then handed it back to
me.  She thanked us for our time, and then escorted us out to the
waiting area.

We were almost bewildered - it had taken nearly three years of waiting,
plus several hundreds of dollars and an extra hour in the waiting area,
for a 15 minute whirlwind interview.

And that's that.  I have to say, the DAOs were very friendly, and
pleasant - professional to a point.  The less said of the security
the better.

My wife never did get her emory board back :D