On October 29th 2004 Clayton and I had our AOS (Adjustment Of Status) Interview, in Seattle WA. Our Case was approved. I was well prepared with a big folder of all my documents, we brought the following evidence with us...

• Residential lease.

• Our most recent joint savings & checking bank account statements.

• Phone bill with both our names on it.

• Joint account cheque book, including carbon copies of old cheques.

• Letter from the Bank stating that I had changed my name to my married name, as well as added me to a joint account with Clayton.

• Utility bills with both our names on.

• Clayton's passport, incase proof of his citizenship was needed.

• Our state driver's licence/ ID cards - needed to get through security & as proof of our ID in the interview.

• Our petition approval notice - I included this in my I-485.

• My immunisation records & certifcate from the Embassy. I sent these in copy with our I-485.

• A letter from Clayton's employer stating his date of hiring & current wage.

• Clayton's tax returns for the past 3 years.

• Wedding Cards from Clayton's family and mine.

• Letters that have been mailed to me from back home.

• Photos from after we were married.

• Our Wedding Photo Album.

We had to have a Co-Sponser because Clayton wasn't earning 125% over the poverty line. The Co-Sponser had to provide..

• Tax returns for the past 3 years.

• Letter from Employment stating how much Salary, wethier it's full or part time.

• Recent Bank Statements.

None of these Documents were even looked at in the Interview. I had Included a lot of them in the I-485 package though. Here is our Interview Experience...

Clayton and I were up and out of the house by 7am, our appointment was at 10:30am in Seattle. We got there by about 9am, so we headed for some Breakfast which calmed my nerves a little. After that we headed to the Immigration Department, the normal security procedure occurred. Going through the metal detectors and being searched, all the guards were really friendly so it wasn't that bad.

We got to the second floor where we were meant to be, there were many couples waiting. So we waited and waited and waited, and then finally our name was called. We followed the lady who called us, she was very nice and friendly. We walked into her office, and she swore us in. She made a comment about our big Wedding Album and couldn't wait to see it, in front of her was our big folder which must have been about 4inches thick. She asked us both a series of questions regarding our relationship and Wedding. She flicked through our paper work, then asked to see our Wedding Pictures. We all chit chatted about the Wedding for a good 10mins, she was so nice.

After that she said "Well your approved" Just hearing those words was such a relief off my mind, I was so happy. It's funny she never even asked to see my big folder I had prepared for them all week, looks like the wedding pictures were enough. She then took my Index finger print, I assume for the Green Card. She then asked for my passport, she removed my I-94 (arrival/departure record) from my passport. And then she stamped my passport with the I-551 stamp. The I-551 passport stamp is needed if you wish to travel outside of the USA when you are a permanent resident, but you are waiting for your green card in the mail. This stamp is only temporary, but good for a year, as the Green Card can take up to 3mths to arrive in the mail. She stamped my passport with the following words:

After that She welcomed me to US, as we left her office. I'm now a Conditional Permanent Resident of the United States. Yey!!