I-130 and I-129F Filed: Now What?

[JOL 19]

Background: I am a native US citizen who met my Norwegian-citizen wife in a fiction websites chat room in August 2008. We soon moved to email, then cell phones, then Skype, and in October 2008, I left the US to meet my wife (and her immediate family) in person during a weeks visit in Norway. Thereafter, we maintained regular (i.e. usually daily) email and Skype contact.

Our 2009 vacations overlapped so, in June 2009, I again traveled to Norway to visit her and her family, after which we flew to Washington state (simultaneously but separately, because I booked flights on ~4 hours sleep.) We spent about a week visiting online friends in Washington and Canada before I drove us to Oregon to visit a friend from high school. We then we flew together to California to visit another friend from high school (and eventual best man at our wedding.) Finally, we flew together to Texas and my wife first met my mom and my moms side of my family (i.e. uncle and two cousins) plus another of my high school friends, during her visit of one week. I proposed and she accepted marriage at this time.

We continued to maintain our relationship via the internet after my wife returned home, and in December 2009 she again visited Texas to spend Christmas with me and my family. During this visit we also drove to the Norwegian consulate in Houston and filed for MY fiance visa so I could immigrate to Norway, receiving approval that summer. In November 2010, I left the US, moved in with my wife and married her in Norway in March 2011. We subsequently lived together in Norway until my return to the US in December 2015, in the interim sharing five different addresses (each duly recorded in government records,) filing for my residence visa once married, and renewing said residence visa twice more before my return to the US. During those five years I was regrettably unable to find more than a few months work, so never earned enough to owe any US income tax, and thus have NO US federal income tax returns for the last 3 years (I believe I last filed US taxes the year of our marriage, because I couldn't transfer my 401(k) to a foreign employer, so had to cash it out on leaving the US.)

In December 2013, our daughter was born (she thus had no idea what was happening on her first birthday OR Christmas, and I left the US a couple weeks before her second birthday and Christmas, so I missed her "real" first birthday and Christmas entirely. ) Since she is a US citizen by birth (through me,) I later flew with her to the US consulate in Oslo to register her birth and obtain her Consular Report of Birth Abroad, US passport and US Social Security Card. SHE could legally move to the US any time we like, but my wife needs a visa.

So I moved back last December, but we thought I'd need a long term earning history to satisfy the AoS, so didn't immediately pursue her visa (a delay I now regret deeply.) After briefly working for the US Postal Service in May and June, I returned to the company I previously worked for until leaving the US, where I have been (re-)employed since July. Accordingly, I finally assembled, prepared and mailed our I-130 petition, though still delayed by the volume of and need to acquire documentary evidence (e.g. my wifes original G-325A, and certified translations of all official Norwegian documents pertaining to our joint household history.) But, at long last, I FedEx overnighted the I-130 packet to the USCIS Phoenix office on 8 September, 2016, USCIS received it on 9 September, email and text confirmation of receipt arrived on 15 September ("within 24 hrs"?!) and on 19 September I got NOA1 (with Notice Date 14 September.)

I mistakenly thought I had everything ready to send the I-129F the moment I got NOA1, but reviewing the packet revealed otherwise; I was unable to FedEx overnight that packet to the USCIS Lewisville office until 27 September, USCIS received it 28 September, email and text confirmation of receipt arrived on 4 October, and that I-797 remains as yet unreceived (based on the I-130s progression, I hope to have it by the end of the weekend.)

After all that, my question: I have NO idea who must do what on what timetable from here. Calling USCIS is an utter waste of time; they as much as say so themselves. Attempts at online research have produced an overload of information, much of it outdated and/or contradictory. I know that if/when we reach that point my wife must get proof of her vaccination history and a medical exam from a doctor certified by the US Dept. of State, as well as make it through an embassy interview (in Sweden, I believe, because Norway evidently does not merit a US embassy, only a consulate.) I also understand we will need an Affidavit of Support, and it looks like I will need a co-sponsor since I have no recent tax returns, only pay stubs beginning 5 months ago. My mother has consented to be our co-sponsor and, while she is retired, from what I have been able to find it looks like she can count her Social Security and pension income toward the income requirement since neither is means-tested. But I also understand we need other things, and am unclear on what they are, much less WHEN they and the other things are required.

For the record, the following are the contents of the I-130 and I-129F packets I submitted (each section tabbed at the bottom:)

I-130

1) US Postal money order in the amount of $420.00

2) G-1145 e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (original)

3) Completed and signed Form I-130 (original)

4) Copy of petitioners birth certificate, documenting US citizenship

5) Copy of extract of beneficiarys birth certificate (multi-lingual)

6) Copy of beneficiarys passport

7) Copy of marriage certificate (multi-lingual)

8) Petitioners completed and signed G-325A (original)

9) Petitioners photograph (original, as continuation attachment to petitioners G-325A)

10) Beneficiarys completed and signed G-325A (original)

11) Beneficiarys photograph (original, as continuation attachment to beneficiarys G-325A)

12) Joint federal residency records (multi-lingual copy for last joint foreign address, copies of certified English translations attached to copies of Norwegian originals for previous addresses)

13) Joint funds bank letter (English, notarized)

14) Copies of birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad and US Social Security Card for our US-citizen biological child

15) Copies of our US-citizen childs US passport

16) Copies of e-mailed travel booking confirmations documenting petitioners Norwegian visits to beneficiary and beneficiarys US visits to petitioner

17) Sworn affidavits of petitioners best man and beneficiarys maid of honor regarding both our relationship generally and our marriage specifically (which both signed the legal register as witnesses thereof.)

18) Petitioners sworn affidavit describing our relationship and its history

19) Petitioners mothers sworn affidavit describing those aspects of our relationship and its history that she has personally witnessed [i.e. not "sworn hearsay."]

20) Copies of Wedding Book photographs, documenting our wedding

21) Copies of photos with family and friends, documenting our relationship and its history over the past 8 years.

I-129F

1) G-1145 e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (original)

2) Copy of Form I-797C Notice of Action showing filing of I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

3) Completed and signed Form I-129F Petition for Alien Fiance (original)

4) Petitioners completed and signed G-325A (original)
5) Petitioners photograph (original, as continuation attachment to petitioners G-325A)

6) Beneficiarys completed and signed G-325A (original)

7) Beneficiarys photograph (original, as continuation attachment to beneficiarys G-325A)

8) Copy of petitioners birth certificate, documenting US citizenship

9) Copy of marriage certificate (multi-lingual)

10) Copy of extract of beneficiarys birth certificate (multi-lingual)

11) Copy of beneficiarys passport

12) Joint federal residency records (multi-lingual copy for last joint foreign address, copies of certified English translations attached to copies of Norwegian originals for previous addresses)

13) Joint funds bank letter (English, notarized)

14) Copies of birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad and US Social Security Card for our US-citizen biological child

15) Copies of our US-citizen childs US passport

16) Copies of e-mailed travel booking confirmations documenting petitioners Norwegian visits to beneficiary and beneficiarys US visits to petitioner

17) Sworn affidavits of petitioners best man and beneficiarys maid of honor regarding both our relationship generally and our marriage specifically (which both signed the legal registry as witnesses thereof.)

18) Petitioners sworn affidavit describing our relationship and its history

19) Petitioners mothers sworn affidavit describing those aspects of our relationship and its history that she has personally witnessed [i.e. not "sworn hearsay."]

20) Copies of Wedding Book photographs, documenting our wedding

21) Copies of photos with family and friends, documenting our relationship and its history over the past 8 years.

I realize that is long, but 8 years is a long time, and documenting it is a big packet. In case the questions got lost in the shuffle:

Whence from here, in what order? More to the point, what should all concerned be working on RIGHT NOW, what next, etc. etc?

Edited October 7, 2016 by JOL

[A'n'L 735]

Hi and welcome!

Right now, you sit back and relax for a few months while your paperwork waits in line. Take the time to hang out on this forum, read the guides and join the discussion. Loads of good information and encouragement to be found. Join the Scandinavian sub-forum (or have your wife do, that's where you'll be able to learn about the medical and interview phase).

I'm sad to say that you probably wasted your time filing the i129f, as it is considered dead at this point. The i130 is most likely to be processed first, at which point the other petition will be closed

[Georgia16 2,858]

Welcome

Yes it will be in Sweden that the embassy interview will be.

And as A'n'L stated then they don't do K3 anymore so you are going for the IR-1 visa (She get's the 10-year GC when she comes since you have been marriage over 2 years) ..... The process takes about 8-12 months + right now.

Good luck!

[NikLR 13,220]

Background: I am a native US citizen who met my Norwegian-citizen wife in a fiction websites chat room in August 2008. We soon moved to email, then cell phones, then Skype, and in October 2008, I left the US to meet my wife (and her immediate family) in person during a weeks visit in Norway. Thereafter, we maintained regular (i.e. usually daily) email and Skype contact.

Our 2009 vacations overlapped so, in June 2009, I again traveled to Norway to visit her and her family, after which we flew to Washington state (simultaneously but separately, because I booked flights on ~4 hours sleep.) We spent about a week visiting online friends in Washington and Canada before I drove us to Oregon to visit a friend from high school. We then we flew together to California to visit another friend from high school (and eventual best man at our wedding.) Finally, we flew together to Texas and my wife first met my mom and my moms side of my family (i.e. uncle and two cousins) plus another of my high school friends, during her visit of one week. I proposed and she accepted marriage at this time.

We continued to maintain our relationship via the internet after my wife returned home, and in December 2009 she again visited Texas to spend Christmas with me and my family. During this visit we also drove to the Norwegian consulate in Houston and filed for MY fiance visa so I could immigrate to Norway, receiving approval that summer. In November 2010, I left the US, moved in with my wife and married her in Norway in March 2011. We subsequently lived together in Norway until my return to the US in December 2015, in the interim sharing five different addresses (each duly recorded in government records,) filing for my residence visa once married, and renewing said residence visa twice more before my return to the US. During those five years I was regrettably unable to find more than a few months work, so never earned enough to owe any US income tax, and thus have NO US federal income tax returns for the last 3 years (I believe I last filed US taxes the year of our marriage, because I couldn't transfer my 401(k) to a foreign employer, so had to cash it out on leaving the US.)

In December 2013, our daughter was born (she thus had no idea what was happening on her first birthday OR Christmas, and I left the US a couple weeks before her second birthday and Christmas, so I missed her "real" first birthday and Christmas entirely. ) Since she is a US citizen by birth (through me,) I later flew with her to the US consulate in Oslo to register her birth and obtain her Consular Report of Birth Abroad, US passport and US Social Security Card. SHE could legally move to the US any time we like, but my wife needs a visa.

So I moved back last December, but we thought I'd need a long term earning history to satisfy the AoS, so didn't immediately pursue her visa (a delay I now regret deeply.) After briefly working for the US Postal Service in May and June, I returned to the company I previously worked for until leaving the US, where I have been (re-)employed since July. Accordingly, I finally assembled, prepared and mailed our I-130 petition, though still delayed by the volume of and need to acquire documentary evidence (e.g. my wifes original G-325A, and certified translations of all official Norwegian documents pertaining to our joint household history.) But, at long last, I FedEx overnighted the I-130 packet to the USCIS Phoenix office on 8 September, 2016, USCIS received it on 9 September, email and text confirmation of receipt arrived on 15 September ("within 24 hrs"?!) and on 19 September I got NOA1 (with Notice Date 14 September.)

I mistakenly thought I had everything ready to send the I-129F the moment I got NOA1, but reviewing the packet revealed otherwise; I was unable to FedEx overnight that packet to the USCIS Lewisville office until 27 September, USCIS received it 28 September, email and text confirmation of receipt arrived on 4 October, and that I-797 remains as yet unreceived (based on the I-130s progression, I hope to have it by the end of the weekend.)

After all that, my question: I have NO idea who must do what on what timetable from here. Calling USCIS is an utter waste of time; they as much as say so themselves. Attempts at online research have produced an overload of information, much of it outdated and/or contradictory. I know that if/when we reach that point my wife must get proof of her vaccination history and a medical exam from a doctor certified by the US Dept. of State, as well as make it through an embassy interview (in Sweden, I believe, because Norway evidently does not merit a US embassy, only a consulate.) I also understand we will need an Affidavit of Support, and it looks like I will need a co-sponsor since I have no recent tax returns, only pay stubs beginning 5 months ago. My mother has consented to be our co-sponsor and, while she is retired, from what I have been able to find it looks like she can count her Social Security and pension income toward the income requirement since neither is means-tested. But I also understand we need other things, and am unclear on what they are, much less WHEN they and the other things are required.

For the record, the following are the contents of the I-130 and I-129F packets I submitted (each section tabbed at the bottom:)

I-130

1) US Postal money order in the amount of $420.00

2) G-1145 e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (original)

3) Completed and signed Form I-130 (original)

4) Copy of petitioners birth certificate, documenting US citizenship

5) Copy of extract of beneficiarys birth certificate (multi-lingual)

6) Copy of beneficiarys passport

7) Copy of marriage certificate (multi-lingual)

8) Petitioners completed and signed G-325A (original)

9) Petitioners photograph (original, as continuation attachment to petitioners G-325A)

10) Beneficiarys completed and signed G-325A (original)

11) Beneficiarys photograph (original, as continuation attachment to beneficiarys G-325A)

12) Joint federal residency records (multi-lingual copy for last joint foreign address, copies of certified English translations attached to copies of Norwegian originals for previous addresses)

13) Joint funds bank letter (English, notarized)

14) Copies of birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad and US Social Security Card for our US-citizen biological child

15) Copies of our US-citizen childs US passport

16) Copies of e-mailed travel booking confirmations documenting petitioners Norwegian visits to beneficiary and beneficiarys US visits to petitioner

17) Sworn affidavits of petitioners best man and beneficiarys maid of honor regarding both our relationship generally and our marriage specifically (which both signed the legal register as witnesses thereof.)

18) Petitioners sworn affidavit describing our relationship and its history

19) Petitioners mothers sworn affidavit describing those aspects of our relationship and its history that she has personally witnessed [i.e. not "sworn hearsay."]

20) Copies of Wedding Book photographs, documenting our wedding

21) Copies of photos with family and friends, documenting our relationship and its history over the past 8 years.

I-129F

1) G-1145 e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (original)

2) Copy of Form I-797C Notice of Action showing filing of I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

3) Completed and signed Form I-129F Petition for Alien Fiance (original)

4) Petitioners completed and signed G-325A (original)

5) Petitioners photograph (original, as continuation attachment to petitioners G-325A)

6) Beneficiarys completed and signed G-325A (original)

7) Beneficiarys photograph (original, as continuation attachment to beneficiarys G-325A)

8) Copy of petitioners birth certificate, documenting US citizenship

9) Copy of marriage certificate (multi-lingual)

10) Copy of extract of beneficiarys birth certificate (multi-lingual)

11) Copy of beneficiarys passport

12) Joint federal residency records (multi-lingual copy for last joint foreign address, copies of certified English translations attached to copies of Norwegian originals for previous addresses)

13) Joint funds bank letter (English, notarized)

14) Copies of birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad and US Social Security Card for our US-citizen biological child

15) Copies of our US-citizen childs US passport

16) Copies of e-mailed travel booking confirmations documenting petitioners Norwegian visits to beneficiary and beneficiarys US visits to petitioner

17) Sworn affidavits of petitioners best man and beneficiarys maid of honor regarding both our relationship generally and our marriage specifically (which both signed the legal registry as witnesses thereof.)

18) Petitioners sworn affidavit describing our relationship and its history

19) Petitioners mothers sworn affidavit describing those aspects of our relationship and its history that she has personally witnessed [i.e. not "sworn hearsay."]

20) Copies of Wedding Book photographs, documenting our wedding

21) Copies of photos with family and friends, documenting our relationship and its history over the past 8 years.

I realize that is long, but 8 years is a long time, and documenting it is a big packet. In case the questions got lost in the shuffle:

Whence from here, in what order? More to the point, what should all concerned be working on RIGHT NOW, what next, etc. etc?

I-129F was likely a waste of your time. Read up on the NVC process. Yes she will interview in Sweden, not because Norway only has a consulate (in Canada everyone interviews at the Montreal Consulate) but because of the lack of people immigrating from that country.

5, 6, and all the affidavits werent necessary or needed. You should have included all the evidence that you have lived together and been married for 8 years. Bills, leases, mortgages, insurance, wills, etc... make for better evidence than affidavits. Anyhow, it's not like it's a high fraud consulate either for Scandinavians.

[NikLR 13,220]

Now you study the NVC process wiki and wait. Should take 4-6 months for the I-130 to be approved, another 3 months approximately for the NVC, then a medical and interview a month or so later. Since you've been married for 8 years your wife will get an IR1 visa.

[A'n'L 735]

Oh, and - Norway does have a US embassy - they just don't process immigrant visas.

[JOL 19]

Update  

Ya'll were right the I-129F was a waste of time:  I received a kind of "Notice of Inaction" on 24 April (dated 25 April, so evidently USCIS conducts I-129F correspondence via wormhole) stating my I-130 petition had been approved and my I-129F petition therefore terminated; NoA2 confirming approval of my I-130 arrived 28 April.  What the USCIS forwarded to the NVC arrived there 3 May.  The NVC welcome packet dated 16 May arrived here 19 May, containing:

1) Welcome letter, with Case and Invoice ID Numbers,
2) Document Cover Sheet, with Checklist for documents we must submit in our NVC packet,
3) Affidavit of Support Fee Invoice and
4) Contact information for the NVC

My wife filled out the online DS-261 Choice of Agent form 23 May, and I submitted payment for the Affidavit of Support that same day.  Due to overtime at work, 26 May was my first chance to call the NVC for confirmation, at which time their customer service representative "completed" our DS-261 submission over the phone but said their system would not reflect that for about a week, and that my Affidavit of Support fee would also enter their system approximately a week from the date I submitted it.  Since today is Memorial Day, I hope the NVC will record our Affidavit of Support fee either today or tomorrow, and our DS-261 within a few days of that.

 

One thing calling the NVC did confirm is that its customer service operators are no more forthcoming than those at the USCIS.  I appreciate that customer service representatives do not have a case workers knowledge nor experience, and that the NVC understandably will not tell petitioners nor beneficiaries what to ANSWER to their inquiries, but it is difficult to provide any answer when they also refuse to clarify what they are ASKING.  I do not expect them to "give us the answers," but expecting they give us the QUESTIONS is reasonable.  Yet that is also irrelevant, because they are not going to do it, so I'll list OUR questions here in the hope VisaJourney members both more ability and desire to answer them:

1) The DS-260 states (on page 4 of the sample my wife is referencing) that we must "send all the required civil documents, photographs and embassy specific documents to the NVC"   Are passport photos of Petitioner and/or Beneficiary "required"?

 

2) The Document Cover Sheet lists "valid, unexpired passport" under the documents (presumably) required for my wife; is the biometric page sufficient, or do they want every single page?  And does this satisfy the concern in the above question 1)?

3) Will the DS-260 (unlike the I-130) accept "Not Applicable" in each field; if not, how can we designate questions inapplicable?

4) The family information section (page 26 in the sample) asks whether Beneficiary has a child, and whether that child is immigrating with them:  Is our biological child considered an immigrant because she does not yet reside in the US, or a non-immigrant because she is a US citizen by birth (we have her Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the USA, birth certificate, US passport and Social Security Card)?

5) The section on "Previous US Travel" (page 28 in the sample) asks "have you ever been issued a visa," which my wife has not, because all her previous US visits were made under the Visa Waiver Program and she was never present in the US more than a single month, so no visa was ever issued; presumably, that means the answer to "have you ever been issued a visa" is "no," but is that presumption correct?

6) What is required to qualify as a "household member" rather than "joint sponsor" for purposes of form I-484(a)?

The two primary reasons we are moving to the US are that 1) I did not speak Norwegian well enough to get regular work in Norway and 2) we want to be nearby to help my mother now that she has entered her seventies.   I had no income taxable in the US while I lived with my wife in Norway from from the end of 2010 through December 2015.  2013 was the only year my income exceeded the mandatory IRS filing limit (even then it was well below the ~$91,000 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion limit, so I filed an IRS return solely to document that fact.)  Consequently, I have a US tax return only for 2016, and, since my income listed there was not >125% of federal poverty level, we plan to include my mother as a household member because I currently reside with her, and my wife and daughter will also reside with her (and me) when they arrive in the US.  

As follow up to the above question 6), nearly all my mothers 2016 income was from Social Security retirement and her state retiree pension, only the second of which is included in her 2016 Adjusted Gross Income (because Social Security retirement is not taxable) and neither of which generated W-2s we can include with Affidavit of Support submissions.  In lieu of such documentation, what is the best way to substantiate her income?

We will surely think of more questions once the DS-261 unlocks so we can complete it, but that is enough to begin,

 

For the record: Approximately 7 months from the day I express mailed our I-130 Petition (9 September, 2016) to the day we received our welcome packet from the NVC (19 May, 2017.)  Also, though I have not said so previously, I (and my wife) did read and appreciate each response in this thread, and the site generally (we have done a lot of lurking, mainly because we had little more to contribute now except impatience, but recognized we had far more to learn from those who went before us.)

Edited May 30, 2017 by JOL

[MonicaP 4]

On 5/29/2017 at 7:55 PM, JOL said:

Update  

Ya'll were right the I-129F was a waste of time:  I received a kind of "Notice of Inaction" on 24 April (dated 25 April, so evidently USCIS conducts I-129F correspondence via wormhole) stating my I-130 petition had been approved and my I-129F petition therefore terminated; NoA2 confirming approval of my I-130 arrived 28 April.  What the USCIS forwarded to the NVC arrived there 3 May.  The NVC welcome packet dated 16 May arrived here 19 May, containing:

1) Welcome letter, with Case and Invoice ID Numbers,
2) Document Cover Sheet, with Checklist for documents we must submit in our NVC packet,
3) Affidavit of Support Fee Invoice and
4) Contact information for the NVC

My wife filled out the online DS-261 Choice of Agent form 23 May, and I submitted payment for the Affidavit of Support that same day.  Due to overtime at work, 26 May was my first chance to call the NVC for confirmation, at which time their customer service representative "completed" our DS-261 submission over the phone but said their system would not reflect that for about a week, and that my Affidavit of Support fee would also enter their system approximately a week from the date I submitted it.  Since today is Memorial Day, I hope the NVC will record our Affidavit of Support fee either today or tomorrow, and our DS-261 within a few days of that.

 

One thing calling the NVC did confirm is that its customer service operators are no more forthcoming than those at the USCIS.  I appreciate that customer service representatives do not have a case workers knowledge nor experience, and that the NVC understandably will not tell petitioners nor beneficiaries what to ANSWER to their inquiries, but it is difficult to provide any answer when they also refuse to clarify what they are ASKING.  I do not expect them to "give us the answers," but expecting they give us the QUESTIONS is reasonable.  Yet that is also irrelevant, because they are not going to do it, so I'll list OUR questions here in the hope VisaJourney members both more ability and desire to answer them:

1) The DS-260 states (on page 4 of the sample my wife is referencing) that we must "send all the required civil documents, photographs and embassy specific documents to the NVC"   Are passport photos of Petitioner and/or Beneficiary "required"?

 

2) The Document Cover Sheet lists "valid, unexpired passport" under the documents (presumably) required for my wife; is the biometric page sufficient, or do they want every single page?  And does this satisfy the concern in the above question 1)?

3) Will the DS-260 (unlike the I-130) accept "Not Applicable" in each field; if not, how can we designate questions inapplicable?

4) The family information section (page 26 in the sample) asks whether Beneficiary has a child, and whether that child is immigrating with them:  Is our biological child considered an immigrant because she does not yet reside in the US, or a non-immigrant because she is a US citizen by birth (we have her Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the USA, birth certificate, US passport and Social Security Card)?

5) The section on "Previous US Travel" (page 28 in the sample) asks "have you ever been issued a visa," which my wife has not, because all her previous US visits were made under the Visa Waiver Program and she was never present in the US more than a single month, so no visa was ever issued; presumably, that means the answer to "have you ever been issued a visa" is "no," but is that presumption correct?

6) What is required to qualify as a "household member" rather than "joint sponsor" for purposes of form I-484(a)?

The two primary reasons we are moving to the US are that 1) I did not speak Norwegian well enough to get regular work in Norway and 2) we want to be nearby to help my mother now that she has entered her seventies.   I had no income taxable in the US while I lived with my wife in Norway from from the end of 2010 through December 2015.  2013 was the only year my income exceeded the mandatory IRS filing limit (even then it was well below the ~$91,000 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion limit, so I filed an IRS return solely to document that fact.)  Consequently, I have a US tax return only for 2016, and, since my income listed there was not >125% of federal poverty level, we plan to include my mother as a household member because I currently reside with her, and my wife and daughter will also reside with her (and me) when they arrive in the US.  

As follow up to the above question 6), nearly all my mothers 2016 income was from Social Security retirement and her state retiree pension, only the second of which is included in her 2016 Adjusted Gross Income (because Social Security retirement is not taxable) and neither of which generated W-2s we can include with Affidavit of Support submissions.  In lieu of such documentation, what is the best way to substantiate her income?

We will surely think of more questions once the DS-261 unlocks so we can complete it, but that is enough to begin,

 

For the record: Approximately 7 months from the day I express mailed our I-130 Petition (9 September, 2016) to the day we received our welcome packet from the NVC (19 May, 2017.)  Also, though I have not said so previously, I (and my wife) did read and appreciate each response in this thread, and the site generally (we have done a lot of lurking, mainly because we had little more to contribute now except impatience, but recognized we had far more to learn from those who went before us.)

When did you apply for the I-130 and how long was it before your approval?

[JOL 19]

On 7/31/2017 at 10:28 AM, MonicaP said:

When did you apply for the I-130 and how long was it before your approval?

NOA2 (i.e. notice of I-130 approval) lists it received 14 September and notice of approval issued 20 April.  I am unsure how much (if any) delay there was between the USCIS registering the I-130 approval in its system and formally issuing the notice.  So UPS "express" mail was not very, since it took five (5) days to arrive at the USCIS.

 

For whatever it is worth, I also believe our I-130 approval took slightly longer than most (at least based on the VisaJourney database) because I sent a relatively large packet, so the many documents may have taken longer to review.  But I prefer copious documentation safeguard approval, even if it delays the process a month or so, than risk Requests for Further Evidence extending it indefinitely.  My understanding is that if the USCIS decides to issue an RFE, it stops reviewing the whole submission right until the filer receives the RFE, obtains the supplementary evidence and that evidence arrives at the USCIS:  Then they begin reviewing the whole submission all over again FROM THE BEGINNING.  Theoretically, the USCIS could issue an RFE for each and every page of an especially flimsy I-130 packet, each requiring however much time it took for the filer to receive the RFE, obtain the additional evidence, submit it, then wait for the USCIS to restart the whole review from the beginning and proceeding until they reached the very next page and issued another RFE, etc. etc.

 

I have always said that there are two ways to do a thing:  Right or twice, and the first one is always faster and easier than the second.  Not to mention that "if at first you don't succeed, maybe bomb disposal was a poor career choice:"  I DEFINITELY do not want to end up having to request an appeal because I did such a poor job on the submission.  From what you have said in your other posts, it sounds like you dotted all your "i"s and crossed all your "t"s, so this is mainly just an alert in case anyone reads this later, and an explanation for why there is a good chance most people will receive I-130 approvals sooner than we did.

Edited August 3, 2017 by JOL