Going to the I 485 interview in March

[pat]

      I don't know if I could marry a woman and not put her name on accounts with me.I don't work for immigration and that seems fishy to me.

[harley]

      I don't know if I could marry a woman and not put her name on accounts with me.I don't work for immigration and that seems fishy to me.

   I agree with you Pat.I see the importance of doing my best to get to know a woman before I marry her.

[af1]

   True Harley, trust is important.That's why you shouldn't marry a stranger.

[raycjs]

FT you are welcome, and good luck, i still think you will be fine and i would not worry to much, as far as AF1,Harley, and pat, i think you are all missing the big picture, when you are established it takes time to make changes and so forth, i am sure in time FT and his wife will get all the important issues taking care..

once again GOOD LUCK FT

ray

[af1]

FT you are welcome, and good luck, i still think you will be fine and i would not worry to much, as far as AF1,Harley, and pat, i think you are all missing the big picture, when you are established it takes time to make changes and so forth, i am sure in time FT and his wife will get all the important issues taking care..

once again GOOD LUCK FT

ray

    I disagree with you raycjs,Capstone, or Fathertime...whoever you REALLY are!

[Bob_S]

I disagree with you raycjs,Capstone, or Fathertime...whoever you REALLY are!

No spreading the flame wars from one topic to another.

That's why you shouldn't marry a stranger.

While you are not marrying a complete stranger (at least, not the guys here who understand the rules of the game and the requirements of the INS er... USCIS), unless you are lucky enough to have an opportunity to live for a while in her country for an extended period of time, you won't know her as well as someone you might court here.  It could all blow up in your face.  But it's a chance we here are willing to take because ultimately the risk is worth the reward.

[Jason1]

   Hey Bob, some guys do marry complete strangers.

[fathertime]

The good news is I’m able to change certain bills into my wife’s name and able to obtain our family gym membership forms.  I’m surprised how easy that was to do online, thanks again Capstone.  Tomorrow we go to the bank and create a joint bank account, since no SSN is needed.   I think all of this will solve any paperwork issues.

   Hey Bob, some guys do marry complete strangers.

Yes it seems the popularity of arranged marriages is once again on the uptick, according to this article. [url]http://chillibreeze.com/articles_various/arranged-marriages.asp/url] I say more power to them, whatever people want to do!

Fathertime!

[Ray]

That sounds like some good moves FT!

Good luck with the interview...

Ray

[robert angel]

It took me over 10 years to realize I'd married a stranger.....

I like the quote I saw in a clip where this old cowboy sort of guy (he'd divorced his white AW and married a Mexican) said (or pretty close to an exact quote) "I was married to a woman who spoke perfect english for sixteen and half years and I still can't understand a word she said"

[Jason1]

  Hey Robert, I think that's similar to what John Wayne Bobbitt said.....

[osteve]

The good news is I’m able to change certain bills into my wife’s name and able to obtain our family gym membership forms.  I’m surprised how easy that was to do online, thanks again Capstone.  Tomorrow we go to the bank and create a joint bank account, since no SSN is needed.   I think all of this will solve any paperwork issues.


Fathertime!

               Its good that you are taking care of these issues but this is MORE than paperwork issues.The adjudicator holds all the cards including your wife's green one that she needs to stay in this country.Whether or not she gets it without a big hassle depends on this interview.Now that the adjudicator can see that you trust your wife enough to have a joint bank account they will feel better about giving her a green card.It's not a paperwork issue so much as a Trust issue.It's alot better than walking in and saying "we just decided it was best to not open a joint bank account and put both our names on bills because it is our choice.Now give my wife a green card."I'm glad you chose to resolve these issues but you might also want to think about dropping the attitude...at least for the interview.

[fathertime]

               Its good that you are taking care of these issues but this is MORE than paperwork issues.The adjudicator holds all the cards including your wife's green one that she needs to stay in this country.Whether or not she gets it without a big hassle depends on this interview.Now that the adjudicator can see that you trust your wife enough to have a joint bank account they will feel better about giving her a green card.It's not a paperwork issue so much as a Trust issue.It's alot better than walking in and saying "we just decided it was best to not open a joint bank account and put both our names on bills because it is our choice.Now give my wife a green card."I'm glad you chose to resolve these issues but you might also want to think about dropping the attitude...at least for the interview.

As far as I'm concerned these are paperwork issues.  They didn't have to do with trust.  I did not see the need to change bills into her name and frankly I still don't, but alas I'll do it for the interview.  Now we have an extra bank out that will sit dormant but there is no harm in that, just a few extra papers each month.

I don't see any reason to have an attitude during the interview.  If I'm asked direct questions I'll give direct answers.  There is nothing to hide and there is no reason not to answer the questions.  I think the collage of family photos over a 8 month period will be overwhelming in and of itself.  We shall see.

Fathertime!

[raycjs]

FT

on this one i agree with you 100%, but you know how the system works, if you do not kiss the systems ass , you will go no where. i have realized that it is best to smile while you kiss there ass and then walk away when it is all over and realize how messed up the system is. but in your life time and your kids life time this will never change.

Once again best of luck to you and your family....

Ray

[robert angel]

You don't have to kiss the USCIS's department's ass, but I'd certainly be nice to them. As said, they do hold all the cards and the days of calling a Senator or Congressman and having them 'fix it' are all but gone. We have some strong political connections and we never even called in any favors, knowing how it's all different since 9/11. I don't like to 'use' politicians any way, there's always something they expect back, one way or another--they're like diapers--they should be changed frequently.

Things actually went according to plan, except for the 'non existent NOA 2' mystery, which when I actually got a real live upper level agency worker, was fixed with grace. Just by dumb luck and not trying to use connections, I got phone numbers that put me into the USCIS beyond the endless phone menu maze stage and even into the embassy abroad. You just have to work the system and being nice definitely helps.
You get more with sugar than with vinegar!

[osteve]

As far as I'm concerned these are paperwork issues.  They didn't have to do with trust.  I did not see the need to change bills into her name and frankly I still don't, but alas I'll do it for the interview.  Now we have an extra bank out that will sit dormant but there is no harm in that, just a few extra papers each month.

I don't see any reason to have an attitude during the interview.  If I'm asked direct questions I'll give direct answers.  There is nothing to hide and there is no reason not to answer the questions.  I think the collage of family photos over a 8 month period will be overwhelming in and of itself.  We shall see.

Fathertime!

         I hope you understand what raycjs, Robert and myself are telling you.And I will put the trust issue another way.It isn't about what YOU think it is how things will appear to the people that decide if your wife gets a green card.Going in to an interview with not enough proof of relationship(the adjudicator will decide what is enough, not YOU) is bad.And going in there with the attitude that YOU think everything is enough is not too smart because YOU don't decide this, THEY do.

         I have a good friend that is an attorney.He has handled some of these denials and most of the time it is something the petitioner did wrong or was just plain stupid about.He is not a paperwork pusher, he is very good and very expensive.That is what it takes if you are denied.

[Ray]

I agree with Robert.

You certainly don’t have to kiss anyone’s ass in this process and I never did.

If you are smart, you will be respectful and polite and don’t volunteer anything more than that which is asked of you.

If for some reason you don’t like something that the adjudicator did or said during the interview, just take notes (names, dates, details, quotes, etc.), and file a formal complaint if you wish AFTER she has her Green Card.

Ray

[fathertime]

         I hope you understand what raycjs, Robert and myself are telling you.And I will put the trust issue another way.It isn't about what YOU think it is how things will appear to the people that decide if your wife gets a green card.Going in to an interview with not enough proof of relationship(the adjudicator will decide what is enough, not YOU) is bad.And going in there with the attitude that YOU think everything is enough is not too smart because YOU don't decide this, THEY do.

         I have a good friend that is an attorney.He has handled some of these denials and most of the time it is something the petitioner did wrong or was just plain stupid about.He is not a paperwork pusher, he is very good and very expensive.That is what it takes if you are denied.

Thank you for your responses on this thread.
Armed with all the useful suggestions I have received here, I am now brimming with confidence! We have made the decision to be prepared and have a good attitude.  If something goes awry and we have to provide more information, then that is just how it is, as there may be a valid reason for this in the interviewer’s eyes.  My goal is to provide him/her with the evidence that leaves him/her doubtless.

Fathertime!

[robert angel]

Just act nice and as though you and the wife have been joined at the hip forever and you'll almost certainly be fine....

[Ray]

My goal is to provide him/her with the evidence that leaves him/her doubtless.

FT, there is only one piece of evidence that I can think of that will leave the adjudicator doubtless.

I can't remember who it was, but one member went to the AOS interview with a newborn baby.

When he entered the interview room, he propped the little baby up on the desk and introduced their new addition to the family, producing a certifed birth certificate.

Then I think he said something like... "sorry, but we have to change this poopy diaper"

"APPROVED! Now get the hell outa here!"

 

Ray

[Jason1]

   Certainly be nice and don't go in with an attitude.As far as filing a complaint afterward if there is a problem, I don't know of anyone who has had any luck with that.The government is a 900 lb gorilla that does whatever he wants.

[fathertime]

FT, there is only one piece of evidence that I can think of that will leave the adjudicator doubtless.

I can't remember who it was, but one member went to the AOS interview with a newborn baby.

When he entered the interview room, he propped the little baby up on the desk and introduced their new addition to the family, producing a certifed birth certificate.

Then I think he said something like... "sorry, but we have to change this poopy diaper"

"APPROVED! Now get the hell outa here!"

 

Ray

Well Ray, If it would help, I'd be willing to let my lady change my poopy diaper on the interviewer's desk but I'm not going to share my pacifier with him.

Fathertime!

[michaelb]

FT, there is only one piece of evidence that I can think of that will leave the adjudicator doubtless.

I can't remember who it was, but one member went to the AOS interview with a newborn baby.

When he entered the interview room, he propped the little baby up on the desk and introduced their new addition to the family, producing a certifed birth certificate.

Then I think he said something like... "sorry, but we have to change this poopy diaper"

"APPROVED! Now get the hell outa here!"

 

Ray

That was I, with my first wife, back in 1982. He didn't quite say "Now get the hell outa here"....He said "Well, guess there's no question that THIS is a legitimate marriage", said we were approved and then proceeded to tell us all about his recent vacation in her home country.

AOS for the second (current) wife was a nightmare due to their incompetence. They denied her AOS because they claim she didn't show up for her fingerprint appointment in FLORIDA. We live in TEXAS and she DID show up at the required appointment in Texas and those fools lost the paperwork.....took a good five or six months and several trips and additional paperwork (and an additional fee, imagine that) to get them to fix their own stupid mistake. Anybody who cares to can look in the archives, I posted about it extensively about five years ago.

[Researcher]

     I hear you michaelb.I posted my AOS experience in the Visa section on this forum.We had a trainee who knew very little about the process.I had to explain what a K3 visa was to her.


    Researcher

[Ray]

That was I, with my first wife, back in 1982. He didn't quite say "Now get the hell outa here"....He said "Well, guess there's no question that THIS is a legitimate marriage", said we were approved and then proceeded to tell us all about his recent vacation in her home country.

Oh, that was you Michael? Thanks for refreshing my feeble memory.

Yours is my favorite AOS interview story, with Jeff S’s coming in second (Sorry Jeff).

I never got to experience an immigration interview because everything (AOS, Removal of Conditions) was approved without an interview.

Ray