Just got back from the interview! Overall fairly uneventful, but here is how it went for us while the memory is fresh.
- We arrived 30 minutes early (San Francisco office). The guard at the USCIS entrance told us to go around the building to the United States Appraisers Building entrance, and sure enough, there was a line there. A guard was going down the line checking on people's appointment times, so I was not worried about not getting in in time. They waited until it was 15 minutes before our appointment to let us in.
- We were called into the interview room maybe 5 minutes after our appointment time. Our interviewer was a friendly lady who seemed to be in a positive mood throughout the interview.
- After checking our IDs and the appointment letter, our interviewer started with basic relationship questions to my USC husband. Where/how/when we met, how long it took us to transition from the dating app to meeting up in real life, when was the first date, etc. I also confirmed my parents' names, but she didn't ask about my husband's parents' names. Overall, I had the impression that she was doing more confirmation of correct information and less probing to see if we are a genuine couple, but I'm sure it was both.
- She asked how many times I've entered the US, how long I stayed each time, and with which visas. My 2 prior visits were some 22+ years ago, so I told her as much as I remembered but let her know that I don't remember the exact durations (they were less than a month each). For the most recent entry (the visa overstay that resulted in my current lack of status/DACA), she asked me for details on how I came to lose my visa status, which I was able to provide.
- I intend to take my husband's last name as my middle name once the GC proceedings are over, and have listed this as my married name in my marriage license/certificate. She asked about this because it is different from the official/legal name that's listed everywhere else. I explained my reasoning on not changing the name yet: to introduce fewer inconsistencies and opportunities for error across all my documents. The Social Security office already fucked up my name once back in 2012 and didn't respond to my request to have it fixed, and this has caused trouble at every workplace since - I wasn't about to take that chance again. (But I didn't tell her about the Social Security thing, as that might sound like my current official name is wrong.) The interviewer then said "this (name on certificate) IS a legal name for us, because the marriage certificate is a legal document." I explained again that I do intend to change my name in all other documents once the current proceedings are completed. After a few minutes of this, she finally clarified that she's making sure I understand that the name on the marriage certificate was going to be the name on the green card! I said yes, of course, I have zero problems with that. My husband also added that taking his last name as my middle name was our compromise, as I want to keep my last name. This was the only time we got a little worried, but it was not a problem in the end.
- She checked my medical form (i-693) and started with the list of questions that basically ask if I have ever done a bad thing in the US or plan to do so. I think the only 2 questions that I answered "Yes" were: have I ever worked in the US without authorization, and have I ever violated the terms of my stay (I actually accidentally said No, and she corrected me "overstay?" with raised eyebrows). I told her the duration of working without authorization and what I did, and how I got paid.
- Our interviewer was a total Asian auntie and made some light jokes about us not having kids yet. We told her that my MIL is always telling us that babies are easier than puppies (we brought home a puppy in June) - she was like, yes they want grandbabies! lol.
- She kept the smaller photo album of more recent photos (since the time we submitted our application in February 2020), but looked through the album with older photos and remarked on seeing some of them in our application packet before returning it to us. She kept all of the paperwork/evidence we brought today, but let us know that there's no need to re-submit any of the applications. The only form I re-printed for today was the i-864, since the appointment letter mentioned it as a "bring if required" - everything else was supporting documents and evidence as listed in the appointment letter.
That's pretty much it! Going over all the paperwork and photos multiple times in the last couple of days helped me stay calm and positive. I also feel lucky that the interviewer seemed to be in a good mood (she did stay professional the whole time), although my case is pretty straightforward either way.
P.S. After spending about an hour writing this, I just checked myUSCIS and... New Card Is Being Produced!!!!! Damn, that was fast. I want to wait until the card is actually in my hands before actually celebrating, but it's very surreal to think that I'll soon be able to say the sentence: "I have a green card." It's been a long journey. Sending out my best wishes to everyone going through the process!
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Packet prepared by: myself
Packet sent: 9/17/2012 to Phoenix (Express)
Delivered: 9/18/2012
G1145 text and email notification: 9/24/2012 (routed to CA)
I-797C: 9/27/2012
Biometrics scheduled: 10/19/2012
Biometrics walk-in: 9/28/2012
821D Approved: 10/04/2012
EAD card: in production 10/04/2012 Received 10/11/2012
SSN received: 11/12/2012