getting started early?

[Ireentje 0]

Hi all,

After a few months of lurking and a single post a while back, I'm now set to become a regular... I'm a Dutch female, here in the US since 2005 on an F1 visa. I just got engaged to my US citizen boyfriend, and we're getting married in the US in mid February 2012 (not in Hawaii, as I hinted at before, but in upstate NY). Woohoooo!! We'll be applying for my AoS immediately after that (I'll be graduating in May and looking for a job in the US this summer, so I know I'll also have to apply for the EAD).

A few beginner's questions: does it make sense for us to start getting our paperwork together now, so that we can file ASAP after our wedding? Would it be weird to start asking for affidavits of support from a few friends already, for instance? And by the way, who are the best people to ask in this case? We have some friends from way back when we first started dating in 2009, but most of them have been sort of out of touch for the last year or so (blame grad school; everyone's moving out of town once they graduate and start jobs)... or would more recent friends (who didn't necessarily know us well back in 2009) be better? I was also wondering; would a letter from my fiance's mom help? She lives in our home town and we've been quite close ever since me and my fiance started dating...

And one more quick question, something I've been wondering about... Could anyone tell me a bit more about the USCIS service centers? Are cases randomly assigned to either California, Texas, Vermont, or Nebraska? Or does it have to do with where you live? I'm sort of keeping my fingers crossed for the latter, as I've heard Vermont is doing quite well at the moment... Also, the case gets assigned to a local service center after the national service center step, correct? The closest for us would be Syracuse, NY... does that mean that's where we go for the eventual interview?

Thanks so much guys!

Irene

Edited September 26, 2011 by Ireentje

[nastja 0]

I think your case will go to Vermont, but you will have your interview to Syracuse, NY!

Good luck

[Little_My 464]

Hi Irene, and welcome to VJ.

It seems like you can expect a fairly straight forward AOS process, and it's always a good idea to get started early to make sure you have everything you need together and ready to go by the time of your marriage.

You can start accumulating certain documents now, the kinds that won't change between now and your wedding. These would be passport and visa copies, birth certificates, the forms you need to fill out, proof of joint accounts / credit cards / phone plans, proof of mail coming to the both of you to your address, a joint lease.. You can print out some bank statements too, but it's also good to include recent ones once you are ready to mail out your AOS paperwork.

If you have substantial proof of a bonafide marriage, affidavits are not necessarily needed. We included a few just in case, and ours were from both of our fathers and three friends. The friends were people who had been aware of our relationship either from the beginning of it, or at least for the past two years since we moved to NYC. We probably would have been fine without those as well, so I wouldn't stress about it too much. Get affidavits from a few people who know the both of you and know your relationship. I think a letter from your fiance's mom sounds like a good idea as well. Definitely won't hurt.

Keep in mind that since you are now planning to marry a US citizen and apply for a GC, it's not a good idea to plan international travels before the marriage has taken place and you've received your AP document. You now have intent to immigrate to US, and while you are fine as long as you are in the US, leaving and returning might invite some additional challenges, as you'd essentially be returning on a non-immigrant visa with intent to immigrate.

Not sure about the basis of assigning cases to the service centers, but I'm sure someone will answer that soon. Once you have done your biometrics and received your EAD and AP, your case will be directed to your local office, which usually is the one closest to you. You'll have the interview there.

Good luck! Patience, attention to detail and common sense will take you far with this process

Edited September 26, 2011 by Little_My

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

All concurrent I-130/I-485 cases are all adjudicated at the National Benefits Center and then your local office. There is no "Vermont v California" race that occurs in other types of cases, so you can ignore any mention of that.

The speed of your AOS will depend on how busy your local office is and how soon they can get you an appointment for interview.

Edited September 26, 2011 by Harpa Timsah

[Ireentje 0]

Thanks everyone, especially Little_My!

I do realize leaving the country right now could make things more tricky than they need to be, so I have no plans of doing that at all.

Although we informally mingle our finances, we have no joint accounts or anything (yet). We have lived together for a while, but my boyfriend owns the house so I am basically contributing by paying him rent that goes toward the mortgage Because of the lack of a technically joint lease, and lack of joint bank accounts, I was thinking a few affidavits couldn't hurt. We have our credit cards and phone plans all separate, too... We've traveled extensively together and have a lot of proof in that regard... but the "financial" aspect of proving the relationship is legit is really the only thing I'm a little anxious about.

Would my lease with my fiance as the landlord help? Can we open a joint bank account before we're even married? That might be a good idea... I guess I should really start thinking as well about what type of mail we could get that would have both of our names on... Other than wedding invites from other friends Any ideas here?

Also, Harpa, I'm not sure I understand you correctly... would a case of F1 AoS not go through a USCIS service center like CA or VT before going to my local center in Syracuse, NY? What is the National Benefits Center?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

No, it does not go through CA or VT before going to your local office. It is adjudicated at the National Benefits Center, which is located in Missouri. All concurrent cases are processed there, as I said.

USCIS understands that you are newlyweds and don't have a lot of evidence. I would just send what you have, and you can continue to build evidence for your interview, after your initial submission. If you go for affidavits, family is good, and think quality over quantity.

They have built in another check in two years, called "Removal of Conditions." There it is expected you will have more evidence than you would at the beginning.

Good luck.

[Ireentje 0]

Looks like we can easily open a joint account (we're at the same bank) or add each other on our current accounts now... that'll be something easy to do very soon.

Thanks for the clarification, Harpa! It's good to keep in mind that we have to keep building up evidence even after getting the GC, for the removal of conditions in 2 years' time

Edited September 26, 2011 by Ireentje