Marriage based AOS - taxes, living situation, Country of Origin, broken family ties etc.....

[Oshun 3]

Hello All,

This is my first post and I wanted to put it all out there. I am on a H1B visa; have been in the US for 9 years (F1 for 4 years then H1B for 5 years - H1 expires early 2012). I have been very happily married to a USC for a little over two years and we are now looking to apply for my green card as it does not look like my job will process it.

Here are ALL my questions so please bare with me:

1. I lived in another state for the first year of marriage and moved to NJ last year to be with him. I have a signed, notarized affidavit from my old boss detailing my request for a transfer to be with my husband. Will this be enough to dispell any issues regarding living apart for half of our marriage?

2. The lease is in my husbands name and I am listed as a resident. Although my husband pays most of the bills, I have the electric bill in my name and pay that. Will this suffice as proof of cohabitation? Every document, piece of mail, drivers license etc has our address on it but I'm concerned about the lease issue.

3. How many years of taxes wil they need from my husband? Some places I hear 1 and other places I hear 3? Which is it? Does filing taxes separatly raise any flags? 2010 is the only year we have lived together so we will be filing jointly but not the previous years. What are taxes used for and are they heavily scrutinized (besides the affidavid of support) and why do they need so many years of his returns (not a problem just curious)?

4. We had a very very small wedding... The two of us, the officiant a maid of honor and a best man. Will this affect the outcome? Additionally we eventually had a BEAUTIFUL formal beachside/beachhouse dinner with 15 close friends as a way to celebrate our union..... Lovely pictures to show for that.

5. Does the fact that I come from a poor country affect how I will be treated in the interview?

6. With the exception of my sister, I do not have much of a relationship with my family (although my sister visited with us recently - I had her write,notarize and sign a letter detailing her trip to see us). Will this be a poroblem since they have not met my hubby?

7. Although we have some pictures, we generally do not have that many (not picture people). I have some images with his kids but only on 1 occation. I could come up with about 70 that would be useful to submit with the application. Will this be an issue?

8. Since we have been married for over 2 years, will the interview be tougher, since there will be an expectation to provide more proof?

9. Although we have our separate checking accounts, we have a joint checking and savings with some but not a ton of activity. Does proof of the account suffice, or are they looking to see a thoroughly used account?

10. Should we bother with submitting mail addressed to us both and separately (to our home address) when submitting the innitial application and at the interview?

11. Lastly, we will be filing in Newark NJ. What should I know about this office and is there anything to be worried about?

I know that this is a VERY lenghtly list of questions, but I wanted to give as much background and sometimes that background sprouts question and things that have been on my mind...

Any help on my situation will be GREATLY appreciated!

Thank you VJ!!

[milimelo 4,500]

Moving to AOS from work, student and tourist visa as OP has H1B visa.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

1. Your letter will help to explain why you lived apart. We can't know what the outcome will be, and although living apart is unusual, it is something you can overcome. You were here on a valid visa long-term, and didn't need to get married to remain here, which will also be in your favor.

2. Seems to me listed as resident on a lease is just as good as a co-lease.

3. If you read the I-864, it states you have a choice to submit just last year's tax return, or the previous 3 years. Even if you were living apart, you should NOT have been filing taxes as single if you were married. You could have filed married filing separately, or married filing jointly.

4. Not at all.

5. No.

6. They may ask you about it (just like the living apart). It is a somewhat negative factor, but not something you cannot overcome. There is no law that says you must stay in contact with your parents.

7. No. If you look, photos are not even listed as suggested evidence in the I-130. Photos are suggested as evidence to bring to the interview. Quality is more important than quantity.

8. Somewhat. You will be interviewing for a 10-year greencard, and they will expect that you would have more proof of co-mingling than newlyweds. Doesn't mean that you won't be successful, however.

9. Depends. An account with $5 in it is not very good proof, for instance, I saw a report of a Vegas millionaire poker player type guy who married someone and had a joint account with $5 in it. The IO asked why so little was in their joint account when he had so much money. I think that was a fair question. I would think that amount in the account would mean more than activity. They want to see that you trust your spouse to give them access to your money. (You don't have to be rich, just not hiding all your cash from them).

10. Judgement call. I wouldn't.

11. Newark is backlogged, but we had a lovely experience once we got there.

I would say this process is pretty fair when it comes down to the decisions made. They will look at an overall picture of your life together. They are not there to decide if your marriage will last, or anything else except that you did not enter the marriage only for the purpose of obtaining immigration benefit, and that you are qualified (no crimes etc).

Relax, and good luck

[Oshun 3]

Thank you so much! This is the first time I have had the guts to reach out and I think all in all we will be ok but having as many opinions as possible is great! Thanks for taking the time to help me out!

[Oshun 3]

This is what it says about taxes:

You must provide either an IRS transcript or a photocopy from your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year. If you believe additional returns may help you to establish your ability to maintain sufficient income, you may submit transcripts or photocopies of your Federal individual income tax returns for the three most recent years

Why would submitting 3 years show something that the latest year does not?

[juliava 80]

This is what it says about taxes:

You must provide either an IRS transcript or a photocopy from your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year. If you believe additional returns may help you to establish your ability to maintain sufficient income, you may submit transcripts or photocopies of your Federal individual income tax returns for the three most recent years

Why would submitting 3 years show something that the latest year does not?

Let's say for the past year your husband was in the hospital and he was paid for only half a year. In this case it would be wise to submit tax transcripts from previous years to establish his eligibility as a sole sponsor and figure out his real anual income.

[Anh map 2,098]

This is what it says about taxes:

You must provide either an IRS transcript or a photocopy from your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year. If you believe additional returns may help you to establish your ability to maintain sufficient income, you may submit transcripts or photocopies of your Federal individual income tax returns for the three most recent years

Why would submitting 3 years show something that the latest year does not?

1 - it would show that a person has complied with the requirement to have filed for the most recent 3 years

2- it could show continuity of income.