Preparing Our ROC Application

[sunshinestate2013 136]

Hello everyone,

My husband and I will be filing for ROC early next year. We would like to know what documents should we send with our application? Also, if my GC expires on June 19 of 2016, when should we send the package? Any information you can provide is appreciated. Thanks!

Edited July 29, 2015 by sunshinestate2013

[Dave&Roza 748]

Hello everyone,

My husband and I will be filing for ROC early next year. We would like to know what documents should we send with our application? Also, if my GC expires on June 19 of 2016, when should we send the package? Any information you can provide is appreciated. Thanks!

You should file no sooner than March 21, 2016 and of course no later than June 19, 2016.

You need to include whatever evidence you have from the date of marriage to the date of filing that shows the two of you have comingled your lives. Joint bank accounts, joint credit cards, joint lease or deed for place of residence, living in the same residence, wills, power of attorney, other spouse listed as beneficiary on retirement or investment accounts if not joint, other spouse listed on employer's benefits as beneficiary and as emergency contact, joint ownership of cars, and of course joint tax returns. Just cover the entire marriage period as that is where most of the RFEs seen here on VJ are seen as most people just submit evidence from AOS on. We submitted quarterly statements of all financial type evidence, a copy of her learner's permit and my DL to show common address, employers benefits and joint tax returns. She was not on the mortgage nor was she on the deed.

Dave

[arken 4,197]

You can apply up to 90 days before the expiration date on your conditional GC, so probably you can file starting 4th week of March 2016.

Apart from the copy of your GC, evidence of relationship is what you need to submit with the application.

You might wanna include anything that shows you two living together like following

joint back accounts

joint tax returns

joint insurance or showing one as beneficiary

joint utility bills

lease/mortgage contracts showing joint occupancy

affidavits from people who have good knowledge of your relationship

anything that shows joint stuffs

any trips taken together

[TBoneTX 43,019]

You might read the staggering number of recent threads in this forum on this same topic.

[Cheezees 1,514]

Or click on Advanced Search at the top right of the page and type in "i751 evidence". Then read through the posts. There are very very many of them.

[sunshinestate2013 136]

This is all great information, guys. Thank you so much for sharing. I will be active on the boards reading and sharing the progress of our application process.

By the way, do you guys think using an attorney is necessary? We are thinking to file without an attorney, but I have heard of other couples who use attorneys for the process. What do you think?

[Dave&Roza 748]

This is all great information, guys. Thank you so much for sharing. I will be active on the boards reading and sharing the progress of our application process.

By the way, do you guys think using an attorney is necessary? We are thinking to file without an attorney, but I have heard of other couples who use attorneys for the process. What do you think?

Depends on how YOU feel about paying someone to collect all your data, assemble it, and submit it to the USCIS with the possibility of making the same mistakes you might make. I would save the money and go out to dinner a few times and then buy yourself something very nice. There it no benefit as I see it to hiring an attorney and only the loss of money. We did the ROC all by ourselves with the help of VJ and all went well.

Dave

[raven52 233]

If you follow the information on this site, on what to do filing a ROC, you should have no problem.

The information under the guides section, top of the home page is excellent!

We will file Oct 3 of this year, and we are ready to start putting our information gathered, using this information on this site, together.

Good luck when you file.

[sunshinestate2013 136]

Depends on how YOU feel about paying someone to collect all your data, assemble it, and submit it to the USCIS with the possibility of making the same mistakes you might make. I would save the money and go out to dinner a few times and then buy yourself something very nice. There it no benefit as I see it to hiring an attorney and only the loss of money. We did the ROC all by ourselves with the help of VJ and all went well.

Dave

The only 2 times I'd suggest hiring an attorney is 1) if there is a big problem/complication with your case such as criminal issues or 2) you have no clue about how to fill in the paperwork due to language difficulties or you just don't want to deal with the subject of immigration. However #2 can be resolved by just regularly reading the vast material that Visa Journey provides which it sounds like you're doing. Other than that I agree with Dave&Roza, you can easily do the work that an attorney does of compiling paperwork from the time of your marriage. In fact you will be far better versed in the details of your and your spouse's life than an attorney.

Good points, guys. We are deciding not to use an attorney for the ROC process. I have one more question. When we submit copies of our joint accounts, do we submit every single one that we have received since marriage? Or just a random few?

[tuckin14 58]

I think that unless there are complications to your case, I-751 is very suitable for do-it-yourself. Remember that well over 90% of applications are approved. In a straightforward case, there may be advantages to DIY. No lawyer will ever care about your case as much as you do.

[sunshinestate2013 136]

Some people here are of the opinion that sending quarterly statements beginning from the time of your marriage is enough. Others think that sending every monthly statement is more reassuring. You pick. I will only suggest that if you think you lack in your overall forms of evidence, then it would be wise to send every statement of joint accounts that you already have. Hope I make sense!

I think that unless there are complications to your case, I-751 is very suitable for do-it-yourself. Remember that well over 90% of applications are approved. In a straightforward case, there may be advantages to DIY. No lawyer will ever care about your case as much as you do.

Great points, everyone. Thank you!

[Pitaya 2,576]

You might read the staggering number of recent threads in this forum on this same topic.

What TBone said. ^^^ Si, man.