Preparing for the interview

Anna and I finally received the official Notice of Action (Form I-797C) from the USCIS. It was a 'Request for Applicant to Appear for Initial Interview' dated January 3, 2014.

Here is the complete notice we received from them.

REQUEST FOR APPLICANT TO APPEAR FOR INITIAL INTERVIEW

NOTICE DATE
January 03, 2014

CASE TYPE
FORM 1-485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR ADJUST STATUS

You are hereby notified to appear for the interview appointment, as scheduled below, for the
completion of your Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form 1-485) and any supporting applications or petitions. Failure to appear for this interview and/or failure to bring the below listed items will result in the denial of your application. (8 CFR 103.2(b)(13))

Who should come with you?

• If your eligibility is based on your marriage, your husband or wife must come with you to the interview.
• If you do not speak English fluently, you should bring an interpreter.
• Your attorney or authorized representative may come with you to the interview.
• If your eligibility is based on a parent/child relationship and the child is a minor, the petitioning parent and the child must appear for the interview.

*NOTE: Every adult (over 18 years of age) who comes to the interview must bring Government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license or ID card, in order to enter the building and to verify his/her identity at the time of the interview. You do not need to bring your children unless otherwise instructed. Please be on time, but do not arrive more than 30 minutes early. We may record or videotape your interview.

YOU MUST BRING THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WITH YOU: (Please use as a checklist to prepare for your interview)

• This Interview Notice and your Government issued photo identification.
• A completed medical examination (Form 1-693) and vaccination supplement in a sealed envelope (unless already submitted).
• A completed Affidavit(s) of Support (Form 1-864) with all required evidence, Including the following, for each of your sponsors (unless already submitted):

• Federal Income Tax returns and W-2's, or certified IRS printouts, for the most recent tax year
• Letters from each current employer, verifying current rate of pay and average weekly hours, and pay stubs for the past 2 months;
• Evidence of your sponsors and/or co-sponsor's United States Citizenship or Lawful Permanent Resident status.

• All documentation establishing your eligibility for Lawful Permanent Resident status.
• Any immigration-related documentation ever issued to you, including any Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and any Authorization for Advance Parole (Form 1-512).
• All travel documents used to enter the United States, including Passports, Advance Parole documents (1-512) and I-94s (Arrival/Departure Document).
• Your Birth Certificate.
• Your petitioner's Birth Certificate and your petitioner's evidence of United States Citizenship or Lawful Permanent Resident Status.
• If you have children, bring a Birth Certificate for each of your children.
• If your eligibility is based on your marriage, in addition to your spouse coming to the interview with you, bring:

• A certified copy of your Marriage Document issued by the appropriate civil authority.
• Your spouse's Birth Certificate and your spouse's evidence of United States Citizenship or Lawful Permanent Resident status;
• If either you or your spouse were ever married before, all divorce decrees/death certificates for each prior marriage/former spouse;
• Birth Certificates for all children of this marriage, and custody papers for your children and for your spouse's children not living with you;

• Supporting evidence of your relationship, such as copies of any documentation regarding joint assets or liabilities you and your spouse may have together. This may include: tax returns, bank statements, insurance documents (car, life, health), property documents (car, house, etc.), rental agreements, utility bills, credit cards, contracts, leases, photos, correspondence and/or any other documents you feel may substantiate your relationship.
• Original and copy of each supporting document that you submitted with your application. Otherwise, we may keep your originals for our records.
• If you have ever been arrested, bring the related Police Report and the original or certified Final Court Disposition for each arrest, even if the charges have been dismissed or expunged. If no court record is available, bring a letter from the court with jurisdiction indicating this.
• A certified English translation for each foreign language document. The translator must certify that s/he is fluent in both languages, and that the translation in its entirety is complete and accurate.

YOU MUST APPEAR FOR THIS INTERVIEW- If an emergency, such as your own illness or a close relative's hospitalization, prevents you from appearing, call the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 as soon as possible. Please be advised that rescheduling will delay processing of application/petition, and may require some steps to be repeated. It may also affect your eligibility for other immigration benefits while this application is pending.

If you have questions; please call the USCIS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 (hearing impaired TDD service is 1-800-767-1833).

It is definitely asking for a lot but most of the documents we have already sent them. In fact I think we have already sent them everything listed above twice. I don't know why they require us to show them the documents again but we still have copies so it should be easy for us to collect them for the interview.

Unfortunately one of the items they are requiring from us is going to be impossible for us to produce. We don't have a "Government-issued photo identification" for her. That is the whole purpose in applying for the Green Card. The green card will be her "Government-issued photo identification". And I can guarantee, I cannot get her a drivers license without a green card. This Government organization never ceases to amaze me. They may as well be saying "Please bring your green card to your interview for your green card application". I certainly hope this is not a deal breaker. It would definitely be disappointing to find out she can't get a green card because she doesn't already have one.

Needless to say the next few weeks will be very busy for us as we try to gather all the required documents in preparation for the interview. We hope everything goes well during the interview because both Anna and I are ready for this process to be over. I can't say it will be completely over after she gets her green card, but at least it will buy us 2 years before we need to go through this entire process again.

I still think it would have been easier and cheaper for Anna to have met me in Mexico and we could have crossed the border illegally and lived happily ever after. Who knows, she may have already been on welfare by now if we had not followed the rules. ;)