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981 days! Your mileage may vary, but it took us 981 days from the date I submitted my AoS paperwork on June 15, 1998 to the date of my scheduled interview on February 20, 2001. I'm still not 100% sure that had I not made an official inquiry in mid-December, 2000 that I still wouldn't have an interview date!

As you've read so far, I was told that AoS interviews were running about 15 months from the date of filing. Well, 15 months stretched into 20 months, then into 25, then into 30. In December, 2000, I called the INS hotline (the number is available on the INS website). I explained that it had been 2.5 years since filing my AoS paperwork, but no interview had yet been scheduled. The woman to whom I spoke took my name, address, phone, SS#, and A# and told me it'd be about four weeks before I received a response from the INS office in Louisville.

Well, it was about 8 weeks, because I received the letter from INS on Feb. 14, 2001 with an interview date only 6 days from then! Sheila and I made a mad dash to get our paperwork in order.

The letter requested the following information: 1) the letter they sent; 2) my passport; 3) the I-94 (stapled in passport); 4) the original I-512 (Advance Parole) document; 5) current letters of employment for both of us; 6) evidence of a common residence and shared life; 7) an updated I-864 Affidavit of Support; and 8) a "marriage evidence" letter which they supplied.

With respect to the shared life stuff, we put together copies of the deed to our house, title to our car, our wills and life insurance policies showing each other as beneficiary, federal and state income tax returns for the past 3 years, affidavits from friends who can attest that our marriage is legitimate, and photos - lots of photos: wedding photos, vacation photos, family photos, etc.

We drove to Louisville the night before because we didn't want to have any problems with traffic prior to our interview at 10:30 the next morning. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the hotel (only 4 blocks from the INS office), and we walked to the INS office and arrived about 45 minutes prior to the interview time.

Let me say this about the Louisville INS office - it is now a real treat to go there! They've moved from the 6th floor to the 3rd floor; it's larger; lots of room for chairs; it's air conditioned - and they now have separate areas depending on your business: fingerprints and green card renewals over here, EAD renewals over there, citizenship and permanent residence applications over here, and general inquiries over there! Very orderly and much improved!

I put my appointment letter in the appropriate box and a few minutes later my name was called. I was asked to sign a form and give a print of my index finger. I assume this was for the actual green card, although the woman behind the window didn't actually say anything specific about it! Still, I've been hanging around INS for so long now, I didn't have much doubt as to its purpose. We then sat down and at 10:35 a.m. - only five minutes after our scheduled appointment - Sheila and I were called into the INS "inner sanctum"! The officer asked Sheila to wait in one room while she interviewed me, and then she'd interview Sheila while I waited.

She introduced herself and asked me for picture ID. I took out my driver's license and, while standing, she asked me to swear that the information which I'd provide was the truth! I told her it would be. She first asked for the updated I-864, which I gave her. Then, she asked for evidence of our marriage and commingling of finances. I gave her a copy of our marriage certificate, copies of the house deed, the car title, and a loan which we took to pay off some of the bills I left in Canada when I moved. She seemed pleased so far. She then asked for proof of our life together, and I provided her with copies of our wills, life insurance policies, and the like. Finally, she asked for copies of our tax returns, which I gave her. She asked, "Are there any other documents you'd like to show me in support of your application?" I said there were, and gave her copies of our employment letters, affidavits from some of our friends, and the stack of photos we brought. She asked me for my original Advance Parole documents and she kept those. She then commented on how nice it was that we were so organized, and that she now had all the information she required.

She said I would need new fingerprints taken since the ones I had done when I applied were more than 15 months old, and until I had new prints taken, she would not be able to say definitely that my I-485 application was approved. She did say that I will receive a letter from INS within two weeks to let me know the status of my application, but generally everything seemed satisfactory. I was able to read between the lines enough to understand that, but for the fingerprints, she'd like to say the application was approved but couldn't! I wasn't too worried.

I asked her about a stamp in my passport and she indicated that unless I had current plans to leave the country I wouldn't need it - and that the green card should come within 3 to 6 months. I asked about whether I would need to renew my work authorization and she indicated that if the green card had not yet arrived, I could bring my approval letter (which I'd get in the mail within two weeks) and my passport, and I could get a stamp at that time to indicate that I was still eligible to work. She gave me a form to complete to get new fingerprints, and, after that, she stood and the interview was over. She showed me to the room where Sheila was, and we switched spots.

Sheila's interview was much shorter than mine, and basically the officer wanted to be sure that she married me of her own free will and without an eye to circumventing any immigration laws. When Sheila returned, we took the fingerprint form across the room and a few minutes later we were done! Oh, for those who have been to the Louisville INS office, they have a new digital fingerprint machine - very cool, very efficient!

To be honest, I didn't feel any sense of closure with this interview. I had hoped that I would find out one way or the other about my application, and that I'd get a stamp in my passport - but, it wasn't to be!

I'll mention here that as of March 1, 2001, I have given up both my job at the prison and at the newspaper, and am now a full-time employee of Marshall University - I finally landed a real job as an Information Technology Specialist at Marshall's School of Medicine! It is really nice not having to work six days a week. I've still got my computer business and things are coming along nicely with it.

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On March 7, I received a letter from INS indicating that my interview had been successful and that my application had been approved. The effective date was March 4, 2001.

On April 16, my green card (well, it's more of a cream color really) arrived in the mail from the Texas Service Center - valid for 10 years!

On May 5, just for the sake of tying up loose ends of information, I received my Master's degree from Marshall University.

So, our immigration journey is over for now. In three years I can make the decision whether or not to apply for US citizenship. For now though, I'm happy to be a permanent resident of the US.