Adjustment of Status (I-485) Update: Initial Interview Completed

Many worlds removed from the warm sun of Dumaguete, Marilyn poses in our snow-covered yard in Cincinnati.

Marilyn had her green card interview this morning. Of course, being the basis of her eligibility for the green card, I was asked to accompany her. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but the "Request for Applicant to Appear for Initial Interview" we received early last month sounded rather threatening. It plainly stated that a failure to bring all items in the included checklist would result in a denial of the application. Well, I was rather sure we had everything we needed, but some of the items were written in rather ambiguous terms. How could I be absolutely positive that we had both the originals and copies of all supporting documents submitted with the application? What exactly is a "supporting document", and how could I know that I was thinking of the same thing they were? Or, what if we didn't have the proper documents that would "substantiate our relationship"? Then, I tried to remind myself that our interview was with a human being, not a robot. There is a certain level of subjectivity to be expected on the part of the interviewer, and that is exactly what we encountered. The officer was friendly in her questioning and there was even time for some casual chatting after the interview was finished...far from the stereotypical robotic or blatanly strict demeanor we seem to attribute to such officials.

Overall, I'd say the interview was no more than 15 minutes, though we were in the waiting room for over an hour. We arrived 25 minutes early for our 10:30am appointment, but weren't called back until about 11:15am.