I-751 August 2019 Filers

[kumakun 12]

3 hours ago, JJ and JJ said:

Guys how many months or years of bank statements have you attached on your package? By reading other threads I noticed some people putting years of bank statements while we only attached the latest statement that we had available (june or July) for each of the accounts we have. Now i’m getting scared this is a huge risk for an rfe ;(

We're planning to send as many as possible, dating back to when we opened the account. That said we're "paperless" and our bank only allows us to access monthly statements online for the past 24 months. They will print copies of older statements for a fee, so rather than pay $80 for a bunch of older monthly statements we're providing one monthly statement per quarter from Feb 2016 to June 2017, then monthly statements from July 2017 on. (Yeah we should have been thinking about this sooner!) We also got a letter from the bank showing both of our names and stating when the account was opened. From what I've read, the more the better when it comes to proving financial co-mingling. Probably wouldn't hurt to gather as much as you can now so you can respond to an RFE quickly. Sounds pretty certain you will get one, but no need to panic! Just be ready to respond as quickly and thoroughly as possible to reduce delay in processing your case.

Edited August 8, 2019 by kumakun

[Rhea10 2]

Following this thread. Will send mine this Friday. Goodluck to all of us! The waiting game will start soon.

[JJ and JJ 3]

- Packet sent friday 8/02

- Received by uscis 8/05

- Uscis Credit card transaction $680 pending 8/08

[-MDV- 15]

Hi guys, I will be sending my package in 2 weeks. Did you guys send yours thru USPS express or the priority mail is fine? 

[JJ and JJ 3]

1 hour ago, DDH22 said:

Hi guys, I will be sending my package in 2 weeks. Did you guys send yours thru USPS express or the priority mail is fine? 

I sent mine through Fedex, it was weekday delivery I paid $9 I believe but it seems our package was a little light compared to what I’ve been reading since yesterday

[Becci391 339]

1 hour ago, DDH22 said:

Hi guys, I will be sending my package in 2 weeks. Did you guys send yours thru USPS express or the priority mail is fine? 

Priority Mail Express is $25.50.

[cosmonauts 125]

23 hours ago, True_South said:

Does anyone know how long it takes them to charge the card (if you are paying with card)? I didn't include the G-1145 (because I'm dumb and thought it only applied to AOS), so a card charge is my only first sign that something is happening.

 

BTW I wonder if after receiving NOA and adding the case number to my USCIS account I will be able to have notifications come via text. I think so, but AOS is such ancient history now, that I don't remember.

July filer here, my package was delivered on 7/3 and my credit card was charged on 7/9.

 

I added my case to USCIS website and signed up for email and text notifications, but my case hasn't moved yet so I haven't tested it 😛

[JJ and JJ 3]

5 hours ago, JJ and JJ said:

- Packet sent friday 8/02

- Received by uscis 8/05

- Uscis Credit card transaction $680 pending 8/08

And now just received text notification that case was received, SRC #  wait game begin and already expecting an rfe for not being careful enough with our evidence ;(

[Becci391 339]

1 hour ago, JJ and JJ said:

And now just received text notification that case was received, SRC #  wait game begin and already expecting an rfe for not being careful enough with our evidence ;(

Then I should receive a text message from them soon.

Mine was received on the 5th as well.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Becci391

[True_South 10]

10 hours ago, JJ and JJ said:

- Packet sent friday 8/02

- Received by uscis 8/05

- Uscis Credit card transaction $680 pending 8/08

Same timeline, except I dropped if off at FedEx on the 1st, but after the pickup has been made that day... So yeah, delivered and signed for on Monday afternoon. Still no charge on my credit card and I am freaking out!

 

(I mean... I know it's too early to full on freak out, but that has never stopped me.)

[JJ and JJ 3]

22 minutes ago, True_South said:

Same timeline, except I dropped if off at FedEx on the 1st, but after the pickup has been made that day... So yeah, delivered and signed for on Monday afternoon. Still no charge on my credit card and I am freaking out!

 

(I mean... I know it's too early to full on freak out, but that has never stopped me.)

Was it for Dallas as well?

[manilaboy83 9]

Hello. Im just wondering if i can ask for guidance from your guys. Im the usc and i would like to know if i need to include my divorce decree from previous marriage when we submit our i-751. Thank you

[Ugne 1]

On 8/4/2019 at 6:55 PM, kumakun said:

Aloha! We are filing our I-751 this month as well. My husband's conditional GC expires in early November. Since we're in Hawai‘i we will be sending our petition to Phoenix. Although we could technically file this week, we will be waiting until the end of August, as my husband is traveling home for a visit the second half of September and we are concerned his biometrics appointment could be scheduled during that time.

 

Anyway here is our Table of Contents!

 

EXHIBIT A : Payment of Fees, USCIS Forms, Copy of Permanent Resident Card

• Personal check for $680.00
• USCIS Form G-1145, “e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance”
• USCIS Form I-751, “Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence”
• Copy of Husband’s Permanent Resident Card (front and back)

EXHIBIT B : Driver Licenses Showing Cohabitation

• Copies of our Hawaii driver licenses with same physical address

EXHIBIT C : Tax Returns

• Explanation of documents in Exhibit C (explains first two items and why we filed MFS for tax year 2016)
• Email exchange between USC and CPA
• Cover and excerpt from Internal Revenue Service Publication 17
• 2016 IRS Tax Return Transcript and corresponding W-2 and 1099-G
• State of Hawaii Department of Taxation Form N-11 “Individual Tax Return–RESIDENT” for Calendar Year 2016
• 2017 IRS Tax Return Transcript and corresponding W-2, 1099-G, and 1099-MISC
• State of Hawaii Department of Taxation Form N-11 “Individual Tax Return–RESIDENT” for Calendar Year 2017
• 2018 IRS Tax Return Transcript and corresponding W-2s, 1099-G, and 1099-MISC
• State of Hawaii Department of Taxation Form N-11 “Individual Tax Return–RESIDENT” for Calendar Year 2018

EXHIBIT D : Financial Accounts and Household Accounting

• Explanation of documents in Exhibit D (explains our rather unique way of managing our bank accounts and household finances)
• Explanation of absence of joint home mortgage or lease (explains that we did not wish to refinance home I owned before meeting my husband and that we hope to purchase a home together when housing market and interest rates are more favorable)
• “Verification of Account Information Notice” from Bank #1
• Bank statements from Bank #1 checking account since February 2016 (joint account but primarily used by my husband)
• Copy of completed “Signature Card Amendment” form from Bank #2 (added my husband to be a co-account holder of my checking account in May 2019...oops shoulda done that sooner!)
• Bank statements from Bank #2 checking account: June and July 2019
• Monthly household accounting spreadsheets since July 2016

EXHIBIT E : Vehicles

• Copies of current automobile titles showing joint ownership/responsibility
• Copies of current automobile registrations showing joint ownership/responsibility 
• Copies of current and previous automobile insurance cards showing joint ownership/responsibility
• Copies of current and previous automobile policies showing joint ownership/responsibility, primary driver, and other household driver

EXHIBIT F : Other Joint Accounts

• Printout of Costco Account Details (generated on Costco.com; our local Costco could not provide us with a letter or statement)
• Copies of AAA Hawaii Premier Membership cards (2018 and 2019 renewal)
• Select monthly mobile phone statements showing both of our names (one per quarter)
• Select monthly electricity statements showing both of our names (one per quarter)
• Select monthly internet service statements showing both of our names (one per quarter)

EXHIBIT G : Beneficiaries

• Explanation of documents in Exhibit G
• Letter from director of human resources at my employer (explains medical/dental insurance history, 403(b) beneficiary status, emergency contact status
• Copy of signed Beneficiary Designation form
• Printout of personal profile from my employer’s employee management portal 
• Copies of old medical insurance cards
• Printout from Bank #2 showing beneficiary status for my life insurance and brokerage accounts
• Printout of personal profile from my husband's employer's employee management portal

EXHIBIT H : Travel

• Copy of flight itineraries to/from Kahului, Maui, Hawaii (January 2017, airline we flew does not issue boarding passes)
• Email correspondence between me and hotel on Maui
• Copy of flight itineraries to/from Tokyo-Haneda, Japan (May-June 2017)
• Passport stamps showing arrival to and departure from Tokyo, Japan (we can't find my husband's boarding passes from this trip, so we thought entry/exit stamps were next best thing to prove we traveled together)
• Email confirmations of reservations at hotel in Tokyo
• Copies of boarding passes to/from Osaka, Japan (October-November 2018)
• Email correspondences between me and Osaka hotel to arrange anniversary surprise for my husband
• Copies of boarding passes to/from Tokyo, Japan (April 2019)

EXHIBIT I : Communications

• Sample screenshots of some of my Facebook posts related to our marriage with reactions from friends (7 examples)
• Sample screenshots of text messages between the two of us since being married (16 examples)

EXHIBIT J : Photographs

• Images of us together on vacations and at social events with friends (28 images)

EXHIBIT K : Cards

• Copies of cards and envelopes to and between us (18 samples)

EXHIBIT L : Affidavits

• Included four affidavits: from my mother (husband's mother-in-law), our next-door neighbors, and two friends. Based on research on VJ and plenty of people stating their petitions were approved without notarized affidavits, we did not get them notarized but are including originals with wet signatures.

Whew! Best wishes to all fellow August filers for no RFE's and speedy approvals.

How I wish we stumbled on this post sooner! We just filed in August as well and did not include some of the stuff you guys included even though we had it. We used a lawyer as well, so felt confident. 

Does anyone know if we’d receive an extension NOA first or RFE?

[kumakun 12]

49 minutes ago, Ugne said:

How I wish we stumbled on this post sooner! We just filed in August as well and did not include some of the stuff you guys included even though we had it. We used a lawyer as well, so felt confident. 

Does anyone know if we’d receive an extension NOA first or RFE?

From what I understand, the extension letters always come before any RFEs. They generate the extension letters pretty quickly; I think they mainly check that the I-751 is filled out properly and isn't missing signatures. They usually don't review the full submissions until months later, and the full reviews happen at service centers rather than in Phoenix or Dallas.

 

As far as our evidence, we're overachievers. We included everything we could think of because our financial co-mingling doesn't look as solid on the surface as most couples. We don't have a joint lease or mortgage/deed (I bought the house we live in before we met) and we both maintain separate bank accounts (although both of our names are on both). We account for shared expenses (bills, food, entertainment, travel, etc.) in spreadsheets...it's just a system that works for us. Financial co-mingling is the best evidence one can provide, so we felt we needed to provide as much secondary and tertiary evidence as we could to make up for not having much co-mingled activity in bank statements. If you used a (good) lawyer you likely have nothing to worry about.

Edited August 10, 2019 by kumakun

[True_South 10]

On 8/8/2019 at 8:22 PM, JJ and JJ said:

Was it for Dallas as well?

I'm in Colorado, so my application went to Phoenix.