Question before sending AOS package

[Jack88 15]

Hi community I really admire the labor your are carrying out you've been of great help so far for me and I give you my deepest appreciation.

Now, I have a couple of question before sending in my AOS package. a little bit of background first, I'm from Venezuela and currently on the OPT phase of a current student visa and will be readjusting my status to permanent resident as the spouse of an American citizen.

Anyway I've spent quite some time gathering bona fide marriage proof and other pertaining documents I want to submit a file as thorough as possible so it has taken time.

I have some doubts though, the first one is how did you guys organize your package meaning in what way did you submitted it, what type of folders did you use, or binder? You see like I said above I'll be submitting a good amount of paperwork to support my application and in light of this I want to do it as organized as possible so the immigration officer handling the case feels comfortable handling such volume of info.

I was wondering if I could open holes in the documents so I can put them on a big binder carefully labeled and divided by form and type of application, for I am submitting I-485 I-130 simultaneously along with I-765 supporting I-864 how would you advise me to organize this, in different folders the same folder and in what way, what type of folder and the like? that's for that question.

Also, in regard to the I-864 form I assume this one is supportive of I-130 since this one is filed by an American citizen on behalf of his/her family member so the I-864 is proof that you assume financial responsibility of the immigrant and he won't become a public charge, am I correct in this one?

Now in terms of the I-864 I'll be using a joint sponsor as well aside from my main sponsor for the main one do not meet the requirements of minimum poverty guidelines, she is a student so she do not perceive any income, what should I put in her form in light of this, 0 $ income? She just has assets which I'm gonna number in the form, but not enough to meet the guidelines hence the joint sponsor. Now in regard to the latter I have his 1040 forms copies from the last 3 years tax returns would this be enough? He has enough income to meet the guidelines, but I understand that tax returns could entail additional forms such as W-2 from employer income and 1099 from other sources do those need to accompany the application as well?

Finally I'll be attaching naturally my spouse's birth certificate as proof of her citizenship, she's got certified copies from the office of vital records in TX but could I just attach a copy that I make of this certified copy? The thing is that In the certified copy it says that it is ilegal to duplicate it so that's what concerns me a bit. What do you think?

I'd deeply appreciate your help in the matters concerning this post, and again congrats for what you've done for so many people during all this time.

Kind regards.

[Jack88 15]

Anybody

[Bjl73 12]

Following as I'm in the same boat. I've currently everything in a binder using sheet protectors as I didn't want to put holes in the documents. I've put $0 for the income of sponsor as sponsor is currently unemployed and a cosponsor is being used. Good luck.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Hi community I really admire the labor your are carrying out you've been of great help so far for me and I give you my deepest appreciation.

Now, I have a couple of question before sending in my AOS package. a little bit of background first, I'm from Venezuela and currently on the OPT phase of a current student visa and will be readjusting my status to permanent resident as the spouse of an American citizen.

Anyway I've spent quite some time gathering bona fide marriage proof and other pertaining documents I want to submit a file as thorough as possible so it has taken time.

I have some doubts though, the first one is how did you guys organize your package meaning in what way did you submitted it, what type of folders did you use, or binder? You see like I said above I'll be submitting a good amount of paperwork to support my application and in light of this I want to do it as organized as possible so the immigration officer handling the case feels comfortable handling such volume of info.

I was wondering if I could open holes in the documents so I can put them on a big binder carefully labeled and divided by form and type of application, for I am submitting I-485 I-130 simultaneously along with I-765 supporting I-864 how would you advise me to organize this, in different folders the same folder and in what way, what type of folder and the like? that's for that question.

Don't put extra holes and use binders. It will all be taken apart and 2-hole punched at the top to put in their own standard files in the order they want them. See this for assembly tips > http://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-and-fees/general-tips-assembling-applications-mailing

Also, in regard to the I-864 form I assume this one is supportive of I-130 since this one is filed by an American citizen on behalf of his/her family member so the I-864 is proof that you assume financial responsibility of the immigrant and he won't become a public charge, am I correct in this one?

I-864 is required for the I-485. Yes, it is to say you are sponsoring them so they will not become a public charge.

Now in terms of the I-864 I'll be using a joint sponsor as well aside from my main sponsor for the main one do not meet the requirements of minimum poverty guidelines, she is a student so she do not perceive any income, what should I put in her form in light of this, 0 $ income? She just has assets which I'm gonna number in the form, but not enough to meet the guidelines hence the joint sponsor. Now in regard to the latter I have his 1040 forms copies from the last 3 years tax returns would this be enough? He has enough income to meet the guidelines, but I understand that tax returns could entail additional forms such as W-2 from employer income and 1099 from other sources do those need to accompany the application as well?

If they are currently earning nothing because they are unemployed, then they mark that they are unemployed and put $0 for their current annual income. You need to list the Total Income from the last 3 years of taxes on the form, but you only need to submit the most recent year. You need to submit a complete copy of the tax return with all forms, schedules, W-2s and/or 1099s, or an IRS transcript > http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript

Finally I'll be attaching naturally my spouse's birth certificate as proof of her citizenship, she's got certified copies from the office of vital records in TX but could I just attach a copy that I make of this certified copy? The thing is that In the certified copy it says that it is ilegal to duplicate it so that's what concerns me a bit. What do you think?

Yes, just provide a regular photocopy of the birth certificate. It is ok to so for this purpose.

I'd deeply appreciate your help in the matters concerning this post, and again congrats for what you've done for so many people during all this time.

Kind regards.

~ Moved from AOS from Family Based Visas to AOS from Work, Student & Tourist Visas ~

[Jack88 15]

Hi thanks for your answers mate I see you're from Mexico a Latin American member good seeing you here. Now in light of your answers I have some additional doubts.

First, I intend to apply for an employment authorization card, however I already have one due to my OPT status which is current, this one notwithstanding is limited for it only allows me to work on things related to my major I would like one that has not these limitations. Which category will I fall into when filling out the form for the card will it be renewal? Replacement?

Now in terms of how to organize the AOS package I found this page http://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-and-fees/tips-filing-petitions-and-applications-national-benefits-centerthat apparently gives you organizing tips for the Chicago center specifically. apparently for them fasteners are a no-no it seems like paper clips are the way to go for them, my only concern in using those is that I'm afraid the documents will get lost or something cos it would be a high volume of paperwork.

Also if I record correctly don't the instructions in the forms say that they must be staple after completed, how is this if they dislike staples at the Chicago center what do you make of this?

Finally in that page it says to please submit personal documents like passports and other legal documents copies in letter size white paper, however there are documents that cannot be copied appropriately in letter size paper for they come originally in legal size namely, birth certificates, car titles, marriage certificates etc. what do you think?

Thanks friend for your help so far I appreciate it.

Kind regards

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Well, I am not from Mexico, my husband is.

You will check off that you are applying for 'Permission to accept employment.' on the I-765. New category, so not a replacement or renewal. Your category will be (c )(9 ).

Paperclips work fine. You can use smaller ones to divide small groups of documents, and large ones to hold together and divide larger stacks. Despite what it says, you can also use regular staples sparingly. For instance, if you have a document with several pages that need to stay together, such as a divorce decree or tax transcript, then you can leave a staple in the corner on those. Just try not to use too many of them.

You can use a copier and set it to 'shrink to fit' and have the documents copied onto the correct paper size. It usually does not take much shrinking, and the landscape setting can work well for things such as titles and birth certificates. As long as they are legible, they are good.

Edited November 18, 2014 by KayDeeCee

[CdnRN 40]

People have covered pretty much everything already. One tip I read (here perhaps?) is, as was mentioned, they use two holes at the top to put the file in the folder. It was suggested to me to make it easy and possibly prevent any document loss etc, to pre-punch the holes at the top.

So, we did that when we went to a local kinkos to get a complete copy of the package.

Just use paper clips to hold the package together. We used paper clips with little tabs to designate different sections of the package and they took them off.

The package was re-assembled into the order that USCIS wanted and they served no purpose. The IO actually gave them back to us in one of the ziploc bags that originally contained passport photos.

[rockstar 0]

I agree with others - follow these instructions exactly: http://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-and-fees/general-tips-assembling-applications-mailing

2 hole punch on top all documents and use the ACCO fasteners. Then, when it arrived at the processing center, all they had to do was put the files in the right order in the immigration file, which is a heavy duty folder with very large ACCO fasteners on both the left and right side. By not having to disassemble, hole punch, and reassemble multiple packets, I think they are able to get your applications to processing a lot quicker.