I-130 + I-485 application, question about cover letter and I-864

[sl0w 1]

Hello all! First let me say sorry for the long post! I'll try to put as many details as I can.

I've been lurking for some time now but decided to post a few questions for you people to give me a hand if you can and have the time... I'm having a hard time understanding a few things so here it goes:

Me and my wife got married a few weeks ago, I"m currently an F1 student (I've been here for over a year and in good academic standing), she's American and also a student (no income), we've been living together for the past 4 years so no problem to demonstrate it is a legit marriage. We are currently filling all the forms and hopefully submitting everything soon.

First question: the cover letter, this is what I got so far after reading different posts and other forums/sites, does it looks ok to you or is there any vital detail I'm missing? In the letter the "petitioner" will be my wife and the "beneficiary" will be myself?

==========start cover letter===========

USCIS Chicago Lockbox
P.O. Box 805887
Chicago, IL 60680-4120

IMMEDIATE RELATIVE (SPOUSE) FAMILY BASED ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS APPLICATION

To whom it may concern:

Enclosed you will find the forms: I-130, G-325A, I-485, I-765, I-864A, I-864, I-693, I-94, and G-1145, as well as two (2) identical passport photos, copies of passports, and supporting documentation.

Content includes:

I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

･ Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative

･ Form G-325A, Biographic Information of Petitioner

･ Form G-325A, Biographic Information of Alien Spouse

･ Copy of Petitioner’s Birth Certificate

･ Copy of Petitioner’s Identification Card

･ Copy of Beneficiary’s Translated Birth Certificate

･ Copy of Beneficiary’s Passport (Biographical page)

･ Copy of Beneficiary’s Passport (Visa and stamped passport page)

･ Copy of Marriage Certificate

･ Two Passport Style Photographs of the Petitioner (Placed in a plastic bag, attached to a paper)

･ Two passport Style Photographs of the beneficiary (Placed in a plastic bag, labeled with full name, attached to a paper)

･ Evidence Of Bona fide Marriage

･ Evidence here, joined bank account, rent, etc

I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status

･ Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status

･ Copy of passport page with non-immigrant F1 visa, I-94 Form, and entry stamps

･ Copy of passport's biographical page

･ Copy of Marriage Certificate

･ Copy of Birth Certificate translated to English

･ G325A signed by the beneficiary

･ Two passport Style Photographs of the beneficiary

･ I-693 Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record in a sealed envelop

･ I-864 Affidavit Of Support, filed by the petitioner

･ I-864 Affidavit Of Support, filled by the join petitioner

･ I-864A Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member, filled by petitioner and join petitioner

===============end cover letter============

Second question: Do I need duplicates of forms such as G325A and support documentation such as marriage certificate or with one copy for the whole package is enough? I've just put together all the documents required for both forms, I-130 and I485, and copies of passports, photos, and other document are required for both forms but do they really need to be duplicated inside the whole package since I'm sending both forms together?

Third question: I-864 and I-864a, so my wife has no income so she'll fill out an I-864 to support me, I have no significant income (student employee at school so at the most $3k in total), my wife's father will the join sponsor and fill out another I-864 (he makes above poverty level for the household of 4 including me), we all live in the same house. Now the question about the I-864A, will that need to be filled out by my wife and her father? or by all of us? something like this (?):

I-864 - wife

I-864 - wife's father

I-864A - Wife and father

Anyway sorry again for the long post and thank you very much for spending your time reading and helping out in this forum, I would definitely return the favor as I get a little "wiser" with this whole process.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

1) It looks fine, but most people list each form and its supporting documents separately, so the I-864, I-765 and I-131 would be listed as well with each of its supporting docs, like you did for the I-130 and I-485.

2) You need to provide a copy for whatever is required for each form. For example, you will need a G-325A from the USC petitioner and one from the immigrant for the I-130, then you also need another one from the immigrant for the I-485. Sometimes you will need duplicates of things like passport photos, copies of visa, I-94, etc.

3) Does the father claim your wife as a dependent? If not, then she is not counted in his household count. It is not based on who you live with.

USC wife petitioner/sponsor = I-864

Father = own separate I-864

Father's spouse = I-864A, if he is married and they file jointly. Their incomes will be combined together on the father's I-864.

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

[sl0w 1]

Awesome! Thanks very much KayDeeCee for your reply and for moving the post to the right place.

Makes sense that I need to format each bullet-point for each separate form, thanks for the tip, same goes for the duplicate documents.

Question 3: Makes more sense now! thanks! I believe my wife is a dependent but I'm not quite sure, either way it'll only affect the household count if she is and therefore affect the amount of money her father needs to have, which is fine as I was considering 4 people with my wife and me, it could be only a household of 2 for him if my wife is independent.

I'll be sure to post some progress and tips as I come across other stuff.

Thanks again!

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

You are welcome.

Yes, if he did not claim her on his taxes, then she would not be added into his household count, just you.

How to count household size >

Your household size includes yourself and the following individuals, no matter where they live: any spouse, any dependent children under the age of 21, any other dependents listed on your most recent Federal income tax return, all persons being sponsored in this affidavit of support, and any immigrants previously sponsored with a Form I-864 or Form I-864 EZ

[sl0w 1]

Sorry to bother with more questions, I'm filling out the I-864 for my wife at the moment and I'm confused with a few things.

- For my wife's I-864 do we need to enter the income of the joint sponsor (father) too? since my wife has no income do I need to add that number or leave it as 0?

- On Part 5, option 7 says to add parents if you're combining the income, since my wife's father will be the joint sponsor I need to add him too but do I need to add her wife as well? They do file taxes together so I'm thinking the total household number for all I-864 forms will be 4 (Me, my wife, her father, and her mother), Am I right on this?

- On that same option 7 says in the instructions "Any relative on this category must sign an I-864A form", does that means we need one I-864A between my wife and her father, and another between her father and her mother? or is it 2 forms between my wife (the sponsor) and her father and mother? I'm a little confused on this one...

I'm also assuming the two forms I-864 will have the same amount on the Income sections, since my wife has 0 income and is combining with her father.

I'm sorry I'm a little confused, if the questions are not clear enough I'll try to put it simpler.

Thank you!

[sl0w 1]

Sorry I forgot to add, we all live in the same household, my wife, her parents and me we all have the same address. After reading some more instructions and filling out the I-864 for my wife I think all I need is:

I-864 filled by my wife

I-864A filled by her father (as he's a household member) (Part 5, Option 7 on the form)

I'm getting mixed results while searching for this, that's why I keep asking. I think there might be two options for this issue, option one: everyone (wife and wife's father) fill out I-864, or options two: my wife fills out I-864 and her father fills out I-864A. I didn't see anywhere in the instructions that anything needs to be filled out by my wife's mother, and since she has no income either whatever is reflected in the father's W2 is going to be his total income.

Sorry to keep posting, as I keep reading stuff and finding examples I keep getting a little bit more confused...

Thank you!

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

The I-864A is used for a qualifying household member to combine their income with the sponsor's that is filling out the I-864. Your wife has no income to combine with, so a better way for you to do it is this>

Wife = her own I-864. She does not count her parents in her household count, unless she claims them on her taxes. Her count will most likely be 2, herself plus you. Her current annual income will be listed as $0. If she has not filed taxes for any of the last 3 years, then she needs to include a statement explaining why she was not legally required to file any of those years she did not.

Father = joint sponsor, fills out his own separate I-864. He does not list your wife in his household count, unless he claims her as a dependent. So, his will be 3 or 4, depending on whether or not she is a tax dependent. He needs to provide most recent tax transcript, plus his W-2 to show his individual income from the joint taxes. He also needs to provide proof of his current income with a letter from employer and/or recent pay stubs. Oh, and provide proof that he is a USC or LPR.

You CAN have him fill out an I-864A to go with your wife's I-864, if you wish to do it that way. He basically needs to provide the same supporting documents. On her I-864 though, the mom would not be listed, which is why it is an 'easier and cleaner' way to just go with the father being the joint sponsor, since he is basically the head of that household and pulling in all the income.

[sl0w 1]

Thanks for the reply! I appreciate the time you put replying to this.

I think I might have to go the I-864 route for both my wife and her father instead of filling out the I-864A. I'll make sure to post any progress, the I-864 forms is the only thing I'm missing for my whole package so hopefully I can get that done and send it this week, and then start the waiting game...

Thank you!

[sl0w 1]

Alright! package sent yesterday, will update with guides and other stuff as it gets processed...or as I get RFEs...hopefully not!

Thanks for your help on this one!