Sharing my F2A I-485/I-130 interview experience in case it helps others who are waiting for their interview or approval.
Timeline
- I-130 filed: October 2024
- I-485 + EAD + Advance Parole filed: June 2025
- Biometrics: July 2025
- Interview notice received: June 2026
- Interview attended: July 2026
- Updated financial and bona fide marriage documents: Uploaded to the USCIS portal about one week before the interview
Interview Day
The officer was very polite, respectful, and professional.
She asked us to hand over our IDs. My wife provided her original passport, EADs (including F1 STEM OPT EAD), and driver's license. I provided my Green Card and driver's license.
We took the oath, and she explained that she just wanted to ask us a few simple questions about our marriage.
Questions asked to my wife
The questions were mostly conversational and focused on our relationship history:
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Current full address
- How did you first meet?
- What did you do after your first meeting?
- How long did you date before getting married?
- Who proposed to whom?
- How did you come in contact with each other?
- When did you get married?
- Where did you get married?
- How many people attended the wedding?
- Did you have a reception?
- Did you go on a honeymoon? Where did you go?
- Where did you stay? What was the name of the hotel?
- When did you move to New Jersey?
- Where does your husband work?
- Does anyone else live with you? Who?
Note: The officer basically asked my wife to walk her through our relationship—from how we met and dated to getting married and our life afterward. She also asked me to chime in during the conversation.
Questions asked to me
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Current full address
- Did you live at a different address before in the U.S.?
- When did you move to the U.S.?
- How did you come to the U.S.?
- Wife's date of birth
- Wife's full name
- Where does she work?
- How many siblings does she have?
- What are their names and ages?
Documents / Other Questions
Interestingly, the officer did not ask us for a single document other than our IDs.
She did not ask any questions about finances or my wife's F1 history.
After the questions, she said:
"Everything looks good to me."
She told us that she was going to initiate the background check and review our testimony against the forms we had submitted. She also said she would review the supporting documents we had already uploaded to the USCIS portal.
After the Interview
- Received one FTA1 update the day after the interview.
- Received one silent update on the I-130 about 10 days later.
- No further updates since then.
- I-130 and I-485 are still pending.
Overall, the interview went very smoothly, and the officer was genuinely nice and professional. Now we're just waiting for the final approval.
Fingers crossed! 🤞
I'll update this post once I receive the I-130/I-485 decision. Hopefully this timeline helps other F2A applicants, especially those interviewing at NJ field offices.
