Now the fun begins...

[ryna 132]

My wife received her actual AOS interview appointment letter in the mail today and the list of what to bring is about a mile and a half long, most of which seems very redundant..

The good news is, since we've been married for 9 months, we've had a lot more time to show that our lives are intertwined. The bad news is that we have 9 months of paperwork to gather up to prove that when we thought it would be a rather straight-forward (and small!) stack of paperwork as we had only been married for a little over a month when we filed. On top of that, everything about my job situation has changed since March. Not in a way that affects my ability to be her I-864 sponsor $-wise, but in a way that they may want me to jump through hoops of I-864 paperwork again because they took so long to process her case that March's info is no longer relevant..

Anyhow, here's what her interview letter says to bring to the interview:

• This Interview Notice and your Government issued photo identification. Easy

• A completed medical examination (Form I-693) and vaccination supplement in a sealed envelope (unless already submitted). They kept this at POE and we only submitted the DS-3025(?) vaccination supplement with AOS. We never got an RFE for not submitting a medical (w/AOS), BTW.

• A completed Affidavit(s) of Support (Form I-864) with all required evidence, including the following, for each of your sponsors (unless already submitted).
  • Federal Income Tax Returns and W-2's, or certified IRS printouts, for the most recent tax year (at time of AOS filing or at time of interview?)
  • Letters from each current employer, verifying current rate of pay and average weekly hours, and pay stubs for the past 2 months. We submitted all of this in March (covering the prior 6 months at the time of filing. At the time we filed, 2009 was the latest tax year that had been filed. Do I need my 2010 tax records as well since I have, of course, filed 2010 taxes? Also, I started a new job just one (1) month ago. I may be one week short of the 2 months worth of paystubs that they ask for at interview time. (I need to look at a calendar.)
    
  • Evidence of your sponsor's and/or co-sponsor's United States Citizenship or Lawful Permanent Residence status. Assuming my US Passport is OK

• All documentation establishing your eligibility for Lawful Permanent Resident Status. Huh? What else is there other than everything they have already received or listed here?

• Any immigration-related documentation ever issued to you, including and Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and any Authorization for Advance Parole (Form I-512). Easy, I think. I-129F related USCIS stuff, too? Or, was the I-129f stuff technically issued to me (the USC), so not required by the applicant (my wife)?
  

• All travel documents used to enter the United States, including Passports, Advance Parole documents (I-512) and I-94s (Arrival/Departure Document). Easy

• Your Birth Certificate Easy, I think. In Spanish, but already submitted with translation. Is another, separate translation, necessary for this copy? I'm also assuming they want to see a "certified" copy (that has a seal and stamp directly from the registrar in Colombia) even if we submitted a "certified" copy with the AOS as well...
  

• Your petitioner's Birth Certificate and your petitioner's evidence of United States Citizenship or Lawful Permanent Resident Status. Can be easy, but more inconvenient than using my US Passport, but do they really want both the USC Birth Certificate and a US Passport if the purpose is to establish evidence of United States Citizenship?

• If you have children, bring a Birth Certificate for each of your children. Easy - No kids

• If your eligibility is based on your marriage, in addition to your spouse coming to the interview with you, bring:
  • A certified copy of your Marriage Document issued by the appropriate civil authority; Easy, assuming they just mean another certified copy of the marriage certificate they already have (also sent an original, certified copy with the AOS filing)

• • Your spouse's Birth Certificate and your spouse's evidence of United States Citizenship or Lawful Permanent Resident Status; Again, can be easy, but my passport is easier.

• • If either you or your spouse were ever married before, all divorce decrees/death certificates for each former marriage/former spouse; Easy - neither of us has been married before

• • Birth Certificates for all children of this marriage, and custody papers for your children and for your spouse's children not living with you; Easy - Again, no kids at all

• Supporting evidence of your relationship, such as copies of any documentation regarding joint assets or liabilities you and your spouse may have together. This may include: tax returns, bank statements, insurance documents (car, life, health), property documents (car, house, etc.), rental agreements, utility bills, credit cards, contracts, leases, photos, correspondence and/or any other documents you feel may substantiate your relationship. Only copies of ALL, including our photos, I assume.. Otherwise, the title to our car, insurance policies, stock certificates, etc. may be subject to confiscation as part of our "permanent record"

• Original and copy of each supporting document that you submitted with your application. Otherwise, we may keep your originals for our records. More duplicates of all of the above (most of which was included in the AOS filing from March)??

• If you have ever been arrested, bring the related Police Report and the original of certified Final Court Disposition for each arrest, even if the charges have been dismissed or expunged. If no court record exists, bring a letter from the court with jurisdiction indicating this. Applicant only, correct? (I neither want to nor have the time to hunt down official records of a traffic-related incident that I (the USC) had a couple of decades ago which, as of the last time I needed to get records for something else, no longer even existed in the Court's files.)

• A certified English translation for each foreign language document. The translator must certify that s/he is fluent in both languages, and that the translation in its entirety is complete and accurate. The only foreign language document is the Birth Certificate. Is this in addition to the one submitted at time of filing (and the copy of the one submitted at the time of filing from above?)

I guess my main question is: If what they are asking for was included in the original filing (and we bring a copy of the original AOS packet we sent), do they want the separately mentioned copies as well? Seems to be overkill but it is USCIS after all...

Or, should I just print out an exact copy of what was filed back in March? Other than copies of her passport data pages, the visa in it and her I-94, everything sent to them already is an original, "certified" copy so it's not like they need to see the source of what was already submitted.

I know this is a lot and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the timing of it all. We filed when we did based on the stated timelines so that this would all take place during my "easy" time of the year and USCIS went and picked an interview date on Day 2 of my industry's biggest trade show (which means no time off prior to the interview to gather all of this during the workweek, if necessary) and little time to organize what doesn't need to be gathered from outside sources.

I want to but feel like .

[VanessaTony 3,567]

You're WAY overthinking things.

You take a copy of every form and documents ever submitted (which should be easy because you've been keeping a copy). You'll need original documents of copies already submitted (for instance original marriage certificate).

You did NOT leave the I-693 at the POE. The I-693 is done here in the US. The medical forms during the visa process are a different number (DS-3024 from memory).

[Bill and Vicky 25]

My wife received her actual AOS interview appointment letter in the mail today and the list of what to bring is about a mile and a half long, most of which seems very redundant..

It probably is, but look at it this way: do you want to delay the process or give the IO an excuse to deny your application because it was inconvenient to bring a piece of paper that you already sent?

I made a copy of that letter, then assigned an index number to each item...1, 2, 3, and so forth. I then started making copies. I numbered each copy in the upper right-hand corner with the index number it corresponded with. My copy of my I-693 was index number 2, for example.

(If anyone *hasn't* gotten their medical done yet, remember that when you do it, ASK FOR A COPY OF THE I-693 in addition to the sealed copy for CIS.)

I had about a hundred pages of documents when we walked into our interview. I think the IO had the submitted copy of everything that I brought, but I was able to produce a copy of everything she asked for about as fast as she could find it in our file. And we passed our interview on the first try.

You've got too much time, money, and effort invested in this process. Make the copies and bring them with you. It's worth it when you're approved.

Care,

Bill

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

The list on the letter is generic, and that is why it states (unless already submitted). You don't need to go out and get an I-693 now. They would have sent an RFE if they wanted that from you. Just take the original and a copy(if they need to keep one) of all the important docs you submitted, like the marriage certificate, NOA2, birth certificates, any divorce decrees, etc. Also, bring the full backup copy of the AOS package you sent in to begin with. On top of that, bring co-mingling evidence such as joint account docs and photos. I would bring your latest tax transcript and updated financial info as well, just to be on the safe side. Good luck!

[Anh map 2,098]

Adjustment of Status is an entirely separate activity from the visa petition. Your AOS file empty right now. You must submit all the required items regardless of what you may have submitted as part of a visa petition.

Edited October 28, 2011 by Anh map