Passed K3/K4 AOS Interview!!

[hankster]

We left Knoxville on Monday Sept 24 and arrived in Memphis that afternoon. Stayed in a ¡°Dreary¡± Inn close to the USCIS Building in East Memphis. We had an 8am appointment on Tuesday so we arrived about 7:40 and were taken in to the interview room by the IO soon after arriving. He was a caucasian man with a mid-western accent about 40 years old.

He asked Lily if she spoke English and she said ¡°some¡± (she¡¯s too modest). He then asked my stepson, James, if he spoke English. James spoke right up and said, ¡°YES¡±. The IO told James to interpret for his mom. He swore us in and asked James to interpret. James started speaking English to his mom, and the IO said, ¡°tell her in Chinese¡±, which James did.

The IO was stern but professional. First thing he said was, ¡°You have a lawyer, right?¡± I replied no. He said, ¡°but you have a G-28 in your package¡±I explained that I filled the G-28 so that I would be able to receive correspondence or speak to the USCIS on behalf of my my wife and stepson. At this point he became somewhat animated and said, ¡°This form is only for lawyers¡±

I was sure he was wrong, but I apologized for my stupidity and thought to myself, ¡°This ain¡¯t a good start¡±

After I stopped crying and grovelling the interview continued.

 

IO to me:

How do you communicate with your wife?

 

IO to Lily and James individually:

 

1. Where were you born?

2. When were you born?

3. What is your father¡¯s name? (by now he¡¯s aware he can trust Lily¡¯s English)

4. What is your present address?

5. Are you a member of the communist party?

6. Have you ever used illegal drugs?

7. Have you ever been arrested in China or USA?

8. Have you ever been stopped from entering the USA?

9. Have you ever received assistance such as food stamps from the USA?

 

IO to Lily:

1. how many times have you been married?

2. Is James your only child?

3. What is your mother¡¯s name?

4. Do you have a job in USA?

5. Do you have a SS#?

 

 

IO to me:

 

1. where do you work?

2. What is your position?

 

He asked me for my birth certificate. That¡¯s one thing I forgot, but he let this slide.

Then he wanted to see proof of residence. I showed him a utility bill with Lily¡¯s name, James¡¯ school schedule, A letter from High School selling yearbooks, Lily and James¡¯s Insurance card and Lily¡¯s TN certificate of driving.

At this point he said he was approving the petition.

I asked if he could put Lily¡¯s married last name on the GC and took a shot (After reading Jim Julian¡¯s post the night before) at getting James last name changed to mine. He said no problem with Lily, but no go for James. He entered my last name on Lily¡¯s I-485 and also entered it in the computer.

I told him Lily would be travelling to China before she could get her GC in the mail. Would it be possible to put an I-551 stamp in her passport. He said they don¡¯t do that anymore since the GC¡¯s arrive so soon, but he¡¯d do it if I could show him a plane ticket or itinerary. I told him I didn¡¯t have one with me. He stamped the passport anyway.

 

Hope this helps someone

Hank

 

Below is a copy of the letter he have Lily and James and the I-551 stamp in her passport. Thanks, tywy_99

 

Lily will go to her AOS interview on Tuesday. On Saturday she and I will go to China and return on October 25.

My question is: Will she have any problem at POE when she presents her K3 and I-94 for re-entry?

If her Green Card is issued and mailed while she is in China, would the POE official have a computer record of this and ask, "where is your Green Card?"

Thanks,

Hank

If all goes well at the AOS appointment, the IO will stamp her passport with a temporary I-551, good for a year or until she gets her GC. In any case, she will be eligble to travel abroad since the K3 visa is good for 24 months with multiple exits and entries. The temporary I-551 will make it that much better! Be sure she gets it or at least ask about it if the IO doesn't stamp her passport!

Have a good trip to China!

Edited September 26, 2007 by hankster (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

Glad to see another successful AOS interview! Good going my friend!

 

[SirLancelot]

The IO was stern but professional. First thing he said was, ¡°You have a lawyer, right?¡± I replied no. He said, ¡°but you have a G-28 in your package¡±I explained that I filled the G-28 so that I would be able to receive correspondence or speak to the USCIS on behalf of my my wife and stepson. At this point he became somewhat animated and said, ¡°This form is only for lawyers¡±

I was sure he was wrong, but I apologized for my stupidity and thought to myself, ¡°This ain¡¯t a good start¡±

 

Smart move Hank. Playing the doting idiot yourself rather than confront his lack of knowledge.

 

Congrats on your wife passing! Nicely done!

 

 

How sweet that letter and stamp look! Awesome!

[dnoblett]

Now time to deal with the bone heads at Tennessee DMV about a drivers license.

 

RE:

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...c=26510&hl=

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...c=82419&hl=

[tywy_99]

Congratulations, Hank!

 

The IO was right about the G-28. There was a thread going around a couple of weeks ago about the G-28. Some people have submitted the form but I was told a long time ago that they are usesd in a professional capacity, like an attorney used for representation. I never needed one to talk to a USCIS rep about my wife's or stepdaugher's case. As for my wife, she only needed to be present whenever I talked to them. A G-28 is not needed in a marriage based visa case unless it involves certain circumstances. Anyways, there's my take on it. Congratulations again!...

[SirLancelot]

Congratulations, Hank!

 

The IO was right about the G-28. There was a thread going around a couple of weeks ago about the G-28. Some people have submitted the form but I was told a long time ago that they are usesd in a professional capacity, like an attorney used for representation. I never needed one to talk to a USCIS rep about my wife's or stepdaugher's case. As for my wife, she only needed to be present whenever I talked to them. A G-28 is not needed in a marriage based visa case unless it involves certain circumstances. Anyways, there's my take on it. Congratulations again!...

 

Hey TY99, I'm not trying to debate against your position above, as in fact I tend to agree with your position, but I have had problems when contacting USCIS over the phone. They've insisted each time to talk to my wife first, and only after asking all the prerequisite questions and asking if she gives permission for her case to be discussed by me then am I allowed to ask the questions to USCIS. Have you encountered that? Or are you able to directly speak to USCIS about your wife's case over the phone, without your wife present to verify her info and give consent?

[tywy_99]

Congratulations, Hank!

 

The IO was right about the G-28. There was a thread going around a couple of weeks ago about the G-28. Some people have submitted the form but I was told a long time ago that they are usesd in a professional capacity, like an attorney used for representation. I never needed one to talk to a USCIS rep about my wife's or stepdaugher's case. As for my wife, she only needed to be present whenever I talked to them. A G-28 is not needed in a marriage based visa case unless it involves certain circumstances. Anyways, there's my take on it. Congratulations again!...

 

Hey TY99, I'm not trying to debate against your position above, as in fact I tend to agree with your position, but I have had problems when contacting USCIS over the phone. They've insisted each time to talk to my wife first, and only after asking all the prerequisite questions and asking if she gives permission for her case to be discussed by me then am I allowed to ask the questions to USCIS. Have you encountered that? Or are you able to directly speak to USCIS about your wife's case over the phone, without your wife present to verify her info and give consent?

You're absolutely right on that point. Lance. I just didn't get into any detail about it but what you say here is exactly what I experienced. Thanks for spelling it out. Sometimes I tend to be a bit lazy

[IllinoisDave]

CONGRATS!

[SirLancelot]

You're absolutely right on that point. Lance. I just didn't get into any detail about it but what you say here is exactly what I experienced. Thanks for spelling it out. Sometimes I tend to be a bit lazy

 

Haha.. too bad. I was hoping you didn't have to do that and that you'd tell me how to get around having to go through this verification process.

 

I had always hoped the filing of a G-28 would negate the need to do this verification with our spouses, but I recall Curt posting one time that even after filing a G-28, his calls to USCIS still required that his wife be verified first.

 

This makes calling from work during business hours practically impossible.

 

Hank, Congrats again! You guys must be so happy now! Cool beans! BTW, I just read about your wife's success on getting her driver's license a while back. I must have missed your second thread. Congrats to her on passing her exam!

[hankster]

Thanks everyone,

Dan: Yes I read those posts back when. They'll be helpful to get her "real" TN driver's license.

 

Sir: I've finally been able to get her to stay out of the left lane when not passing. (not that she ever passes)

 

tywy_99: The post-interview approval document states: Please be advised that you should not travel outside the United States before receiving your new card.

So, if I hadn't asked for the I-551 stamp, she might have had trouble on re-entry.

 

BTW the IO didn't ask for employment letter, tax transcripts/returns, check stubs, or any financials. Of course all of these items were in the I-485 package in front of him.

 

Ironically, Lily's EAD card was in the mail the day after we returned.

[shaffej7070]

Congratulations, Hank!

 

The IO was right about the G-28. There was a thread going around a couple of weeks ago about the G-28. Some people have submitted the form but I was told a long time ago that they are usesd in a professional capacity, like an attorney used for representation. I never needed one to talk to a USCIS rep about my wife's or stepdaugher's case. As for my wife, she only needed to be present whenever I talked to them. A G-28 is not needed in a marriage based visa case unless it involves certain circumstances. Anyways, there's my take on it. Congratulations again!...

 

Hey TY99, I'm not trying to debate against your position above, as in fact I tend to agree with your position, but I have had problems when contacting USCIS over the phone. They've insisted each time to talk to my wife first, and only after asking all the prerequisite questions and asking if she gives permission for her case to be discussed by me then am I allowed to ask the questions to USCIS. Have you encountered that? Or are you able to directly speak to USCIS about your wife's case over the phone, without your wife present to verify her info and give consent?

 

Lance,

I have encountered the same circumstance when inquiring about our case over the phone. I handed the phone over to my wife, in which she answered a couple questions, and then handed the phone back to me. I don't think of it as a hassle, at least I am able to speak to a representative.

 

BTW, good luck with the interview next month.

[SirLancelot]

 

Sir: I've finally been able to get her to stay out of the left lane when not passing. (not that she ever passes)

 

Ironically, Lily's EAD card was in the mail the day after we returned.

 

Yes, her hogging the left lane if she's not going to go fast will surely prompt some roadrage from other drivers. It's definitely better for her own safety to keep to the right lanes if you wants to go slow.

 

Regarding EAD, I think the exact thing happened to LostinBlue.

 

 

Yimi wrote:

I have encountered the same circumstance when inquiring about our case over the phone. I handed the phone over to my wife, in which she answered a couple questions, and then handed the phone back to me. I don't think of it as a hassle, at least I am able to speak to a representative.

 

Yimi, it's not that big of a deal when calling from home, but it gets to be a huge hassle if you need to call from work--when your wife won't be right next to you. But I've also been able to speak with USCIS when my wife is beside me.

 

Good luck to us both!

[Zhen's Tiger]

Congratulations!!