need some expert advice

[doc h 0]

Hi everyone,

before i continue, i just want to say that this forum and its members are a great asset to the public such as me, i have never posted here before but have gained invaluable information from you guys, much appreciated.

i am in a bit of a dilemma, i know my timeline isnt updated but here it goes: i am a uk citizen and i met my wife initially here in california in january 2005 during my travels here to see my family, we started our relationship i proposed, she accepted, i went back to the uk and we applied for the fiance visa. the visa took 12months for me to receive after an rfe, confussion with medical forms etc, during this time my wife who is originally from washington state, went back to stay with her father, she got a part-time job there also. during our time apart, we saved up money and i flew her to london to visit me and my family. when i received my visa, i came to the u.s and we got married within the 90day timeframe. we submitted the i485 and employment authorization in september and i just received my employment card in april 2008, i was unable to work before then and finances were very difficult. my wife is family orientated, and due to personal reasons, she has spent alot of time in washington back and forth from california, our plans initially were that my employment authorization would have been approved alot earlier, and we would have bought a house in california, but due to the prolonged time factor, and noticing that my wife needs to be close to her family, i am thinking of moving to washington state. i have only been working here now for 2months, i have to pay back some debt built up (credit cards etc), then we can make a more stable foundation for our new lives together.

during all this, obviously knowing our luck, we get called up for the i-485 interview, this was end of may last month, we had all evidence, tenancy agreement, pictures, bank statments, assetts. we were both very nervous, she focussed the interview after askking the basic questions that she believed i live in califronia,but doesnt believe my wife lives here. we tried explaining our situation but she rfe'd us for 3 items. firstly, they need the joint sponsors business licence, thats the easiest. secondly, she wanted flight itinierys showing that my wife has travelled to and from washington,i have found 3 flight itinierys to submit from my email archive, but the other occasions were driving and these are difficult to establish. thirdly the immigration officer wants proof that my wife has been a californian resident since may 2007, #######? im not even sure if she is a californian resident, she keeps travelling from washington to califronia, she hasnt worked in the last 12 months.

we can not afford an attorney and was hopeing that we could get some valuable advice as to the rfe's. i have prepared a cover letter to attach to the rfe to better explain our situation, i have attached the word document to this post, so any constructive feedback would be awesome, they only give 30days to response to rfe so were getting quite anxious.

thanking you in advance and want to emphasise again what a magnificent job you guys are doing.

..letter.doc

[zqt3344 21]

To prove your wife is California resident, maybe she has some utility bills or phone bills or cable bills or satellite bills or insurance bills or loan bills or credit card bills showing her California residence since 2007 as you mention. Usually any and all types of US mail that is addressed to your residence will help establish residency, also what about copy of her California driver license? Also mortgage loan, title or deed to property in California, if renting then copy of rental lease contract, and if staying with friends or renting from relative you could get a sworn statement from them testifying to that fact or get a notarized statement saying your wife had such and such residence, also you might try letters of reference from friends or family or whoever might be able to state that your wife was resident of California back when the RFE asked for it and try to get them notarized. Also what about copies of your wife's California state income tax returns from 2007 or federal tax returns, they should list her current address back in 2007 in California to help show residency. As far as driving records back and forth from Washington, maybe odometer readings on the car or any receipts from trip expenses would work. Hope this maybe helps out.

Hi everyone,

before i continue, i just want to say that this forum and its members are a great asset to the public such as me, i have never posted here before but have gained invaluable information from you guys, much appreciated.

i am in a bit of a dilemma, i know my timeline isnt updated but here it goes: i am a uk citizen and i met my wife initially here in california in january 2005 during my travels here to see my family, we started our relationship i proposed, she accepted, i went back to the uk and we applied for the fiance visa. the visa took 12months for me to receive after an rfe, confussion with medical forms etc, during this time my wife who is originally from washington state, went back to stay with her father, she got a part-time job there also. during our time apart, we saved up money and i flew her to london to visit me and my family. when i received my visa, i came to the u.s and we got married within the 90day timeframe. we submitted the i485 and employment authorization in september and i just received my employment card in april 2008, i was unable to work before then and finances were very difficult. my wife is family orientated, and due to personal reasons, she has spent alot of time in washington back and forth from california, our plans initially were that my employment authorization would have been approved alot earlier, and we would have bought a house in california, but due to the prolonged time factor, and noticing that my wife needs to be close to her family, i am thinking of moving to washington state. i have only been working here now for 2months, i have to pay back some debt built up (credit cards etc), then we can make a more stable foundation for our new lives together.

during all this, obviously knowing our luck, we get called up for the i-485 interview, this was end of may last month, we had all evidence, tenancy agreement, pictures, bank statments, assetts. we were both very nervous, she focussed the interview after askking the basic questions that she believed i live in califronia,but doesnt believe my wife lives here. we tried explaining our situation but she rfe'd us for 3 items. firstly, they need the joint sponsors business licence, thats the easiest. secondly, she wanted flight itinierys showing that my wife has travelled to and from washington,i have found 3 flight itinierys to submit from my email archive, but the other occasions were driving and these are difficult to establish. thirdly the immigration officer wants proof that my wife has been a californian resident since may 2007, #######? im not even sure if she is a californian resident, she keeps travelling from washington to califronia, she hasnt worked in the last 12 months.

we can not afford an attorney and was hopeing that we could get some valuable advice as to the rfe's. i have prepared a cover letter to attach to the rfe to better explain our situation, i have attached the word document to this post, so any constructive feedback would be awesome, they only give 30days to response to rfe so were getting quite anxious.

thanking you in advance and want to emphasise again what a magnificent job you guys are doing.

Edited June 11, 2008 by zqt3344

[Arinola 0]

First of all I'm sorry about your family situation and I hope things would get better for you guys. I read through your write up and the attached word document however, you did not mention any legal document that was issued / obtained by your wife from the state of California such as driving license, state id card, income tax papers, apartment lease agreement, employment legal document(offer letter) from an employer in the state of California, W-2, bank account opened, or any other legal document which was obtained through the state of residence. I would think that any of the above items would help to establish her residence in the state of California. I know you said she spent a lot of time back and forth between California and Washington. Did she replace her Washington driving license with a California driving license? Can you document any work history in California? No matter how short it was. Perhaps one or two doctor’s office visit that will show she lived in California at one time or the other while you were married? Hopefully, other vjer’s would come along to provide more help. Good luck!

[motu 6]

What establishes residency - Filing state tax returns (California does impose income taxes - so she should have these); a lease/rental agreement or mortgage; Employment in the state; Attending school in the state; state issued drivers License; Bank accounts opened and operated for a while; Utility bills; health insurance - car insurance at the state address; property tax bills etc. etc.

She should have some of these - if not, then, you may include notarized statements from friends and neighbors as a last resort. And yes, if you have very little evidence, you may want to contact an attorney to see what he could do for you. Good Luck

[doc h 0]

thanks for the replies, i appreciate it.

the drivers license was the problem from the begining, her license is still Washington address, and me in particular I didn't know the significance of having to have it changed immediately, our address is only temporary (6month lease), and we just thought we'l go to the dmv when we have a permanent residence. even my drivers license is californian but the address on it is my brothers when i took the test 3 years ago.

in terms of evidence to show residency, during the interview, the officer took everything i gave with both our names on it; tenancy rental agreement, joint bank statements, phone-bill, car title in both our names, all with our california address. do you think i should send these in again?my wife hasnt worked in the last 12months, and when she was working it was in washington while i was in the uk, that is why i have a joint sponsor.

Is there anything else that we can do to strengthen our case? can it be a reason for denial that she has gone to washington alot, we have tried to be as honest as possible, maybe too honest.?

[Arinola 0]

Basically, her Washington state driving license means she is still a residence of Washington State. Before you send your respond back, is it possible for her to apply for a California state license. Also, are you still residing at the California address you wrote on your AOS application because USCIS might want to do a field investigation before granting any benefits since you were having difficulty in establishing a California residence? Here is my two cents; if your wife gets a California state issued license perhaps USCIS officer will continue to process the application. Albeit, it could take a while before USCIS approves the I-485. I wish all the best. Cheers!!!

[payxibka 10,048]

Basically, her Washington state driving license means she is still a residence of Washington State.

Having or not having a driving license issued by a particular state does not automatically mean you are or are not a resident of that state. It is merely an indication of what the individual perceives as there state of residence. Each state has particular residency rules of what determines if you are a resident or non-resident. Read CA and WA residency criteria and make sure you provide the evidence accordingly.

I lived in IN for almost 4 years, I never changed my MN driving license. If you read IN residency rules, I could have easily been deemed an IN resident by default because of my actions.