The Green card process and Interview Tips
This is a long post but pairing the process with the interview is essential to understanding the entire process as a whole.
The green card process is a gauntlet and one that should not be taken lightly as this is the hardest step. The following is a link to the Green Card Process through the USCIS website if you are applying through marriage.
You will be asked to fill out the following forms and provide a multitude of evidence to support that your application for a green card through marriage is bona fide and that you have fulfilled your J1 waiver commitment.
The following forms are required to be completed:
1) Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
2) Form 130 Petition for an Alien Relative
-This form is information about your spouse
3) Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization
-This application will allow you to receive an employment authorization card that will take you beyond your H1b visa expiration date so you can continue to work and legally remain in the country while you wait for your green card interview and subsequent card
-I received this card prior to recieving my green card
4) Form I-131 Application for Travel Document
-It is advisable to not travel out of the country once your Green Card applications are filed. Wait until you receive your green card before you make travel plans.
The evidence you must provide include the following:
1) All paystubs from your job(s) for your three years on your H1b visa demonstrating you worked and fulfilled your J1 waiver commitment.
2) Photographs of your marriage, interactions with your spouse and interactions with families labeled with location, month, date, and year (you can have month and year too).
3) Marriage certificate
4) Birth certificate for everyone (you, your spouse, children or step children)
5) Locations of every place you have lived (I moved a lot and kept my leasing agreements for every apartment I had lived in, so I knew the exact date I moved in and out). If you had gaps moving between places, make sure on your application you have no gaps. For example, I left California on June 30 and arrived in NJ July 1st)
6) Taxes for the prior 3 years (you can also do tax transcripts as well to make it a one-page summary); see IRS transcript
7) Joint taxes if you have filed as married versus single
8) Driver’s licenses
9) Social security cards
10) Passport(s)-both current and expired (did you keep your old one(s)??!!)
11) Any visa ever issued to you in the United States [B1/DS2019s/J1 waiver/H1b(s)]
12) J1 waiver
13) Medical licenses
14) Medical degree
15) Board certifications
16) I-94 arrival/departure record (can be accessed through this link: I-94 arrival/departure record )
In addition to filing the applications and supporting evidence, there are two other processes to go through:
1) The medical examination
a. This can only be performed by specific physicians and cannot be paid for through insurance. I paid $300 cash for the physical examination, and you must bring the paperwork with you for the physician to fill out. You can look for a local physician who does the physical examination here: Find a USCIS approved doctor
b. You must bring your vaccination card with you or have it sent to you through Canada. Since I was born in Toronto, I used this website to obtain my vaccination record (Vaccine record). Find your local public health office to help you obtain your vaccination record.
c. Also bring your COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations
i. If you are missing any of the vaccinations (or not), you will have to come back to the medical practice to pick up the completed packet. If you are missing any vaccinations, the medical facility will vaccinate you.
d. In addition to the physical examination (very basic), you will have urine tested and blood drawn for immunity and sexually transmitted diseases as well as tuberculosis to name a few.
e. Once you receive the packet, DO NOT OPEN IT. The interviewer at your green card interview will open and evaluate it. There is no need to either because the place I received my physical examination gave me a copy of my lab results for my records.
a. Form I-797 Notice of Action: This form tells you your appointment time and location for collecting your fingerprints to store in the USCIS database as well as your photograph which is used on your Green Card (dress pretty/handsome, because I was not aware this was the photograph being used!). It also functions to perform background checks via those collected fingerprints.
b. This process takes about 15 minutes to complete and is like an experience at the DMV (but more efficient)
My husband and I submitted our applications for the Green Card in December of 2021, and we received a confirmation for each application from USCIS that they received it and are processing it. They also gave us a website to register and track our status online Track your application status.
Our application was knowingly incomplete as the medical exam, if performed prior to the submission of the application, is only valid for 6 months. If you do not get your Green Card Interview within those 6 months, your medical examination becomes invalid. If you file an incomplete green card application, USCIS will send you a “Request for Evidence (RFE)” which will then request for you to bring your medical examination packet to the interview with you.
THE INTERVIEW PROCESS
ARRIVAL AND PRE-INTERVIEW:
· Arrive 15 minutes before interview (12:30pm). If arriving sooner, wait in parking lot in car
· Enter building and have these two things handy:
1) Interview notice
2) Identification for both you and your spouse (eg. Driver’s License)
· Going through modified airport security (much like court or those tourist attractions in NYC)
· Pass security and go to reception desk where they will physically take Interview notice
· Will be taken to a waiting room. Usually not waiting too long (not like DMV). I sat for about 15 minutes before I was called in by the interviewer.
· Masks are not required anymore in building but bring one in case officer asks to put one on
· Bring a black or blue pen
· Officer will call you when your interviewer is ready
· Verification of Identification will happen first:
o Officer will ask you for your photo ID
o Electronic box on the desk for fingerprint ID to verify prints that were submitted in application
o Sworn in by oath
INTERVIEW:
This interview took 20-30 minutes (average time). There are three main parts to the interview:
1) Biographical data
2) Questions about our relationship, how we met, how long dating prior to proposal and marriage, how is my relationship with the kids, etc.
3) Eligibility for a green card through marriage
The officer can/will make notes during the interview. It is unknown if interview is recorded (audio/visual or both).
You may be asked to sign a waiver of counsel as lawyer is not present with you.
Sometimes officer will chit chat about your jobs. Chit chat back with them as it tends to put them at ease and gives them a sense you are highly educated and know what you are talking about. May make interview go faster as well because you’re a physician and your spouse may be one too.
***Do not volunteer any marital strife/counseling or past issues as it opens more doors for questions or can put doubt in the officer’s mind about this being a bonified marriage***
If you have answered “Yes” to any of the questions on form I485, you may have to explain them. I was asked about my traffic ticket. I also answered that I was a J1 waiver transfer but was not asked about this.
If you have transferred hospital/offices during your waiver time and are asked what that transfer was about, keep it honest but vague: “I was employed initially by [x hospital/office] and it was such a bad work situation that my situation rose to the level of extenuating circumstances whereby I was granted the ability to transfer my return of service commitment [y hospital/office] where that commitment was completed.”
This is where the interview should end, and the Officer can give you an idea of if the green card is going to be approved or they can be coy about it and say they need to check some documents in your file or request for more information. In my case, I was told that I was approved right away.
If you find that you have more documents requested of you, my immigration attorney, stated not to panic and just call or email after the interview is completed to give a heads up of the situation. If the officer becomes aggressive or the interview is going terribly, contact your lawyer immediately.
Once the green card is approved, it should take about 30 days and the immigration firm will get my green card and they will Fedex it to me. The green card is only good for 2 years and 90 days prior to the expiration of that green card is filing an application to remove the conditions on that green card to extend it to the 10 years.
WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU:
1) Employment verification letter for yourself and your spouse
2) Medical packet in the unopened sealed envelope
a. I volunteered this packet to the interviewer near the beginning and stated what I was handing to him. He opened it, scanned it and then handed the packet back to me
3) Original Birth certificates for you and spouse and any kids or step kids
4) Original marriage certificate
5) Updated bank statements, credit cards, anything new that is a large joint purchase (like car)
6) Additional photos that update family time (print off at local pharmacy)
7) Your entire application packet (sectioned off with sticky notes and paper clips to have ease of access if you need to refer to your packet or are requested by the officer to hand him/her a document so you are not scrambling
8) Waiver approval notice
9) All issued H1b visas
10) All issued DS2019’s
11) W2’s from most recent tax year
12) Recent year tax filing (we filed as married in 2021)
I arranged all these documents, plus my application forms into packets based upon each application number and the supporting evidence associated with that application. I purchased paper clips and clamps. Overall, the packet I took in a nice tote bag was about 300 pages. I also printed photographs of my spouse, step kids and pets from the time we prepared the application to the most recent date of interview. I was not asked for any documentation from my organization and was not asked to show any photographs.
Many of the questions were directed to my husband, including our marriage date and his divorce. Much of the interview was about confirming where we lived, and it was very conversationally based and pleasant. The officer did open the whole interview with “Is this a sham marriage?”. My husband and I both laughed and said, “no sir, it’s real” and the conversation went from there.
TIPS and TRICKS from my Immigration Attorney:
· Always tell truth
· If asked if you were prepped by your lawyer for this interview, say yes. If asked what was discussed, say that what was discussed is attorney client privilege; however, she told me to tell the truth
· If you can’t remember, state that you can’t remember, do not guess
· Speak to your spouse when trying to remember (e.g. “What was the last movie you saw in a movie theater?”), body language is key and what officer’s clue in on if you and your spouse know one another
· Be familiar with your application for reference if asked a question you cannot remember. Be sure that if you need to refer to your application, that you kindly ask first before looking (e.g. What was your husband’s father’s birthday?)
· Keep your answers concise and only answer the question that is given. Listen very carefully to the question. Do not elaborate if there is a pregnant pause as it can open the door for more, irrelevant questions. The goal is to keep the officer on task and to answer the main two questions he/she has:
o Are you in a bona fide marriage?
o Are you eligible for a green card?
· If the question seems confusing to you, you can try to rephrase to ask the officer if that is what he/she means to ask
· Do not hand anything to the officer unless asked, with the following exceptions:
o Employment verification letters (updated)
o Medical sealed envelope packet
· Have everything you need to show in an interview PRINTED OUT. Anything you show on the phone is now in the custody of the officer and he/she can scroll through your phone and look through text messages, social media, emails, etc.
The first question that we were asked that broke the ice was “Is this a fake marriage? Because a lot of people try this to come to this country.” We both laughed and responded “no”, and the interview carried on.
WHAT TO WEAR:
This is not a casual affair. Dress for success and as physicians, dress like a professional. For women, wear a dress or blouse and suit pants. For men, a shirt (maybe a tie but you don’t have to) and khaki pants or dress pants. No jeans, t-shirts, flip flops, or casual wear. I wore a long summer dress, wore basic makeup (eyeliner, mascara, and a lightly tinted lip gloss) and my husband wore dress pants, a belt and a long sleeve business shirt (what he usually wears to work).
