Little_My

Finally, after an immigration journey that started originally in 2009 with a student visa and has since continued through AOS, ROC and eventually naturalization, I will be taking the Oath of Allegiance in Brooklyn tomorrow. We had a few hiccups along the way with the N-400, so I thought I'd share my experience - and also had a few logistical questions.

Questions first: We have a 5-month old baby, and him and my husband will be coming to the ceremony with me. My understanding however is that the whole process takes quite a long time, as the first part will include all the paperwork, handing over our greencards etc - would you advice my husband and baby to come a bit later? I need to report at the Court house at 8:30am, and according to some experiences I've been reading online, the whole thing could take even 4-5 hours.. does anyone have a recent experience from Brooklyn to share?

Then about my experience. I had my interview in NYC on 3 November, and traveled abroad from 13 December to 12 January. I hadn't received any correspondence from USCIS by our trip, so I had my neighbor (whom I trust and am close with) check our mail and she had agreed to open any letters from USCIS and email me about their contents. On 19 December, as an early Christmas gift, she emailed me with a scanned copy of the acceptance letter with a request to appear at the Oath ceremony on 9 January - which was before we were going to return to US from Finland, where we were for the holidays. I wrote a letter, according to the instructions, explaining our situation with a copy of our e-ticket, and my neighbor mailed it back with the Oath letter. USCIS received the letter a couple of days later.

Come January 26, I received a letter stating that I failed to appear at my "interview on your application for Naturalization on 29 September 2014" and that I have 30 days to explain why.. so clearly a totally wrong letter, given that I had my interview on 3 November, had appeared, and had been approved.. I called the customer service, and was connected to a second tier agent. She seemed to be extremely impatient and annoyed, and at first thought I was just not understanding the letter - and it took me a while to get her to realize that they had sent me the wrong letter template. She ended up saying "Well, mistakes happen, we'll send you a new one - goodbye" - and hung up. Lovely customer service.

All's well that ends well I guess - 1.5 weeks later I received a new notice to appear for the Oath Ceremony, this time on Friday 20 February. I cannot wait for tomorrow - not only will it be amazing to finally become a US citizen (I'm maintaining my Finnish citizenship too, so I will be dual) but I am also SO HAPPY to be done with USCIS once and for all!

Good luck to all of you still in the midst of the process - it's a long road, but well worth it once you reach the end!

Just to give an update and for information for others in a similar situation, this is what we ended up doing in NYC:

We went to the interview with me, my parents (they are visiting from Finland) and my 6-week old baby, who is exclusively breastfed. Just for emergency, I had pumped breast milk and we had fed him from a bottle a couple of days earlier to make sure he takes the bottle without problems. My appointment was at 11:30am, we got there around 11 or so - as we arrived in the waiting area, he started to get fussy in his stroller so I took him our and breastfed him in the waiting area. He fell asleep shortly after that, and my mom held him as he slept. By 12:30 I still had not been called in - apparently, 2-3 hour wait is considered "normal", and I should have told them when I arrived that I was there with a baby and they could have called me sooner (did not know this, so just FYI in case you find yourself in a similar situation!). Right as I was asking about how long the wait would be, I was called in, around 12:40pm. Baby was sleeping and stayed with my mom and dad in waiting area. My interview took about 30-40 min, and he had slept the whole time.

If you have a calm baby, I don't see why bringing him to the actual interview would be an issue - unless you are very nervous about the test, either civics or english portion. I really was not nervous about the test or interview, just my baby! Do what feels right for you, your baby and your situation as a whole. For me, leaving the baby at home was never an option - I would have been 100 times more nervous and not concentrated if he had been home and not close to me, but everyone should evaluate their own particular situation and make a decision that seems best for them.

Interview went well, passed the test, but I was asked to provide proof of a short three month sublet I lived in while my husband was abroad for a work assignment and we were looking for a new apt for us. Once I submit the proof, everything else should be in order - fingers crossed!

Hello!

It's been a while since I've been around these forums, but I could use your opinions and experience again..

My N400 interview was originally scheduled for late September, but I ended up missing the interview because our firstborn baby who was due on 10 October decided to arrive three weeks early, just a week before the scheduled interview. The interview has now been rescheduled for 3 November, and I am facing a bit of a challenge in terms of what to do with the baby.

He will be about 6 weeks old at that point, and he is exclusively breastfed. My husband is not here when the interview takes place, but luckily my parents will be visiting from Finland. I have called the customer service number, and was told that my parents would be allowed to come with me to the waiting area and wait there with the baby while I go for the interview - does anyone have experience about this, are people who are not related to the petition allowed into the general waiting area? I have previously only gone with my husband for GC related appointments, for which he was obviously also required to come in any case.. Our interview is in NYC, Manhattan office.

The other issue is the possibility of having to bring the baby into the interview room with me. Has anyone done this? If the interview goes quickly, then chances are he will be okay in the waiting area with my parents - but if he has a meltdown and needs to be fed, there isn't much else that can be done besides bringing him to me. How long do N-400 interviews usually take? my understanding is that they are fairly quick, 30 min or less?

Any thoughts, experiences and opinions are warmly welcomed! Leaving him at home is not an option - we live in Brooklyn, and just the commute takes 45 min one way, it would be way too long for him to be away from me and his food source.

Also, just to share my experience with anyone else who might have a similar situation - after he was born, I sent a letter asking to reschedule the original interview. Because he was born about a week before the original interview was scheduled, the letter was only mailed about 4 days before the interview date, and did not make it to them in time (or wasn't processed in time), so I got a "failure to show" letter in the mail, which said I had 30 days to explain why I missed the original interview. I send another letter, with a copy of the original request to reschedule letter, explaining the situation and also stating that I had in fact sent the reschedule request, but it just didn't make it to them in time. I also sent proof of our baby's birth. In a week, I was sent a new appointment, and the time between the original and the new one is just over a month, so missing the first barely delayed my interview.

Thanks in advance!

Received my NOA today. No checks cashed for us, as we sent a money order.

======================================
USCIS Dallas/Lewisville, Texas Lockbox
======================================
UserName............|Sent.....|ChkCashd.|NOA......|Fprints..|Int Ltr..|Intview..|Oath.....|FieldOffice
ADTOE1105...........|05/02/14.|05/08/14.|05/12/14.|06/10/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|RALEIGH-DURHAM
Io_.................|05/06/14.|05/14/14.|05/19/14.|06/12/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Charleston, SC
Keweul..............|05/07/14.|05/16/14.|05/14/14.|06/12/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Mount Laurel, NJ
MoveAndy............|05/08/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|------------
Jamali84............|05/09/14.|05/15/14.|05/20/14.|06/04/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Syracuse, NY
Kikapoo.............|05/09/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|------------
JayT80..............|05/11/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|------------
vip1................|05/13/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Miami, FL
Little_My...........|05/14/14.|NA/NA/NA.|05/27/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|New York, NY
houstonking.........|05/15/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|------------
TX1000647527........|05/15/14.|05/19/14.|05/24/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Dallas, TX
Deluphilo.......... |05/15/14.|05/19/14.|05/23/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Houston, TX
Chris & Cat.........|05/17/14.|05/22/14.|05/21/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Jacksonville, FL

An absence of 6 to 12 months breaks the continuous residence, but it doesn't necessarily make the applicant ineligible for citizenship. As is explained in the guide, if you have been abroad for 6 months or more consecutively, you will have to provide additional documentation to prove that you maintained ties to the United States during that time and that you did not break continuous residence. The Document Checklist at the end of the Guide has examples of such documentation - it could be proof of filing taxes in the US while abroad (which you should have done in any case), maintaining an apartment/house here, maintaining bank accounts and credit cards, pay stubs, etc.

Received email and text notification yesterday that our application was received - now just waiting for the NOA. We sent a money order, so no check cashed for us. Glad to know the package made it there and things are moving along!

Thank you Io_! I tried the Quote function but it wasn't working, but it seems to have been a browser issue - nice to see another Finn here

For some reason I always have this same problem - I can't see an option to "Reply" to a particular post, just to the thread itself, which doesn't give me the previous post's content..

If anyone has an idea s to what I am doing wrong, I welcome your advice! In the meantime, if someone can add me to the list, I filed my N-400 today and as a resident of New York, mailed it to the Dallas address. Many thanks!

I just mailed out my N-400 today! Here's a copy of our cover letter, in case it is helpful to others:

To Whom it May Concern,

I am hereby submitting the N-400 form, Application for Naturalization, after having been a Permanent Resident of the United States for 3 years (filing under the 90-day rule) and having been married to a US citizen for the duration of that time.

I am enclosing the following documents for your review:

· Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, filled out and signed by the applicant

· Form G-1145, e-notification of application

· Money order payable to Department of Homeland Security, for the amount of $680 (filing fee of $595 and biometrics fee of $85)

· Two identical color passport photos of the applicant

· Copy of the applicant’s marriage certificate

· Copy of our current lease, stating myself and my husband as the tenants

· Letter attesting to our former lease, stating myself and my husband as the tenants

· 2011, 2012 and 2013 tax documents showing myself and my husband having filed taxes in the United States as married, filing jointly

· Two bank statements showing proof of joint bank account and finances

· Copy of my husband's birth certificate and passport as proof of US citizenship

· Copy of my expired greencard, front and back, and copy of Confirmation Receipt of I-90 form, application to replace permanent resident card; and receipt notice of I-90 form (My 10-year greencard was lost in the mail after Removal of Conditions was approved)

· Copy of an ultrasound image of our baby, due to arrive 10/10/2014

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.

What I meant was that I was never out of the country for more than 180 days consecutively - and, in total, spent about 11 months in India, meaning that I meet both the continuous residence and the physical presence requirements. I have made other short (2-3 week) trips abroad, mainly to see my family in Finland, in the three year period I have been a GC holder, but have made sure that the total time I have been outside the US is not over 18 months - I think in total it will come to around 12-13 months, with all trips included.

Many thanks for the advice!

Haven't been here in a while, but it's time to turn to the knowledgeable VJ community for some info and advice again!

It's time for us to start the N-400 journey! I am applying as a spouse of a US citizen, based on the 90-day rule applied to 3 years as a permanent resident. I have a couple of questions about the N-400 form:

1. Part 4 - Information about your residence

During my three years as a permanent resident, my husband and I temporarily lived in India due to his job for about 11 months in total. We kept an address in the US (at his parents house), maintained our bank accounts and filed taxes, and my absences were always less than 180 days at a time. Should I still list our address in India here - or just the address at his parent's house which was our mailing address in the US during that time, and which I also notified to USCIS via the address change form?

2. Part 8 - Time outside the US

This asks me to list my time outside the US during the past 5 years - but I have only been a resident for 3 years. It seems that some people still list their time outside the US for the whole five years, others cross over the "5 years" and write "3 years" and then list time outside the US for the applicable three - so which should I do? I personally am leaning towards just listing it for the past three years since I became a resident, as that is the time they care about and that way the total numbers of days outside will be correct - but what's the general consensus about this among VJ peeps?

Many thanks!

So, here's the story: In November, my I-751 for removal of conditions was approved. My approval notice arrived, and a week later, USCIS mailed my greencard with a USPS tracking number. According to the tracking number, the card was delivered - but I never received it. I have talked with the local USPS office, placed posters around the apartment building in case it was delivered to someone else, called USCIS to make sure it wasn't returned, but so far there is no sign of the card.

I made an infopass appointment just to make sure that my understanding of the situation and my options was correct. I am eligible for citizenship application in April 2014, and I am traveling to my home country in February for a couple of weeks - and I was under the impression that 1) I will need to file the I-90 for replacement card (and pay the damn $450 for that joy) to get the I-551 stamp so that I can travel in Feb, and 2) I will need the receipt from the I-90 when I file the N-400, since I won't be able to provide a copy of my greencard (as I don't have it).

However, this is what I was told at the Infopass:

1. I don't need the I-551 stamp for my travel in Feb. Since I have the letter that extended my expired greencard by a year (until July 2014), I can travel with my expired greencard, that letter, and the letter that states that my ROC has been approved. They told me ( I was talking with two immigration officers) that when I return to the US, at immigration they will be able to see from the system that I have been approved for ROC and that I am a permanent resident, and that is really all they need. The expired card, extension letter and my approval letter will be enough to grant me entry.

2. This is the part that I was even more surprised about (and not sure if it is correct): I don't need to file the I-90 for my N-400. They told me that USCIS isn't out for people's money (hah.) and that if I don't need the physical card for anything else between now and April, there is no need for me to file and pay for the replacement. They said that when I file the N-400, I just attach a copy of my expired GC, a copy of my approval letter, and a letter stating that my GC was never delivered to me, and since they can see in their system that I was in fact approved for ROC and that I am eligible for citizenship, that's it.

Now, I don't know what to think - this is totally different that what I have been reading about such a situation. Of course, I am ecstatic if I do not have to file the I-90 and pay the damn $450 just a couple of months before I will be filing the N-400 - but I am a bit confused as to whether this is in fact correct or not... So, any thoughts and advice are warmly welcomed!

Basically, I was just approved for ROC, my new 10 year GC was mailed to me, USPS tracking number claims it was delivered - but I never received it. I have done whatever I could think of to try to figure out where this piece of mail has disappeared to, but so far, no luck. I have also been reading a lot about similar cases online, and the general advice seems to be to wait 30 days before filing for a replacement.

Here is my question: I would be eligible to start my citizenship application in April 2014. However, I was told by USCIS customer service that they are currently processing I-90 applications for replacement cards that were filed in April this year - so the processing time right now for a replacement card is around 8 months. If I file for a replacement card in January, I probably won't receive the damn thing until earliest in June, possibly in August - would this mean that I cannot file my N-400 until AFTER I have received my replacement card?

So - since all of our processes and applications have been going very smoothly up to now, I guess it was only a matter of time when something went wrong.

Basically, my ROC was approved a couple of weeks ago. I received an email notification, and the letter also arrived in the address USCIS has on file shortly after. This is actually and address I moved out of in October, but kept the address with USCIS to avoid any glitches with address change - a good friend of mine lives in this address, so I knew I could trust her to always inform me about any mail coming to me there. And, as mentioned, previous USCIS correspondence has arrived to me there without any glitches.

My greencard was mailed from USCIS last week, and I got an email notification for that. I also got a tracking number - according to which the letter was delivered to the address on Friday, Nov 29th. But, alas, it is not there.

I have called the local USPS office. No luck. Delivery guy tells me that if it says delivered, it should be delivered - and that's it. My friend has searched high and low for the letter, but it is nowhere to be found. I also called USCIS to double check that it has not been returned to them - but it hasn't.. and that is all that they can tell me. For all they are concerned, it was been mailed and delivered, and that is it.

The only remaining thing I can think of is for me to go there and knock on doors to see if it somehow accidentally ended up with someone else in that building.

I know my only option will be to file the I-90 for replacement - but paying the $450 kills me. Just wanted to see if anyone here has faced a similar situation, and found a way around paying that fee. Another question I had is about the possible risks of someone else maybe having my card - should I worry about it being misused, what are the risks I should be aware of? I am also supposed to travel in February, and USCIS customer service told me that NBC is currently processing I-90s mailed in April..... so, slim chances of me having that new card any time soon. However, my understanding is that I can make an infopass and get a stamp that allows me to travel once I have submitted the I-90?

Any tips, tricks, ideas and hail marys are welcomed.

I got an email update today about card production. Our case was transferred on September 9th - original NOA date was June 26th - so, whole process was about 5 months. Not bad at all! I also called the customer service number to update my address with them, which was the most difficult and lengthy part of this entire process..

Vermont has been backlogged for months - some cases are being transferred from Vermont to either Cali or local offices to speed things up and ease the pressure on VSC.

I got a notice today that our case was also transferred from VSC to CSC - does anyone else have the "case type" as "CRI89 Approved Removal of Conditions"? I almost got excited, but online status is still in Initial Review.. Updated the list and the numbers of applicants for both service centers.

California Service Center (34 applicants, 3 approved - 9%)

VJName............Date of I-751....NOA1 Date.....Biometrics......Approved...

BB & MJ.............05/31/13.......06/05/13.......07/02/13.......--/--/--...

RITASEAN............06/02/13.......06/06/13.......07/09/13.......--/--/--...

CBM.................06/03/13.......06/05/13.......07/02/13.......--/--/--...

BIRDYGIRL85.........06/03/13.......06/05/13.......07/02/13.......08/30/13...(Card received --/--)

OZMA................06/04/13.......06/07/13.......--/--/13.......--/--/--...

ENTRIDIAN...........06/04/13.......06/05/13.......07/02/13.......--/--/--...

CHRIS&ANGELA........06/07/13.......06/10/13.......--/--/13.......--/--/--...

JUAN & NAN..........06/10/13.......06/14/13.......07/12/13.......--/--/--...

UWANW00.............06/10/13.......06/14/13.......07/11/13.......--/--/--...

MISHELLIBELLI.......06/13/13.......06/17/13.......07/12/13.......--/--/--...(Early Bio 07/02)

TATISVANS...........06/14/13.......06/17/13.......07/12/13.......08/28/13...(Card received --/--)

LAURASAUROD.........06/17/13.......06/20/13.......07/15/13.......--/--/--...

RUSHTON50...........06/17/13.......06/20/13.......07/19/13.......--/--/--...

MRS O...............06/19/13.......06/21/13.......07/18/13.......--/--/--...(Early Bio 07/05)

HOBBITOFOHIO........06/20/13.......06/21/13.......07/18/13.......09/03/13...(Card received --/--)

1947 BALJEET........06/24/13.......06/27/13.......07/22/13.......--/--/--...

MANILABOY83.........06/25/13.......06/29/13.......07/29/13.......--/--/--...

OLARU_STEVE.........05/29/13.......06/03/13.......07/09/13.......--/--/--...8/19 xfer from VSC

KIKOLINA092069......06/01/13.......06/06/13.......07/10/13.......--/--/--...8/23 xfer from VSC

CESTLAVIECHERI......06/07/13.......06/11/13.......07/15/13.......--/--/--...8/22 xfer from VSC

THEMERLINS..........06/04/13.......06/12/13.......07/16/13.......--/--/--...8/22 xfer from VSC

YOUS................06/07/13.......06/12/13.......07/12/13.......--/--/--...8/22 xfer from VSC

SACHIN1901..........06/10/13.......06/13/13.......07/11/13.......--/--/--...8/20 xfer from VSC

BESTHOPES...........06/12/13.......06/17/13.......07/11/13.......--/--/--...8/19 xfer from VSC

MAGDASAL............06/15/13.......06/19/13.......07/17/13.......--/--/--...8/19 xfer from VSC

INNSU...............06/15/13.......06/20/13.......07/23/13.......--/--/--...8/22 xfer from VSC

AMERIBRIT...........06/17/13.......06/20/13.......07/18/13.......--/--/--...8/20 xfer from VSC

JCAN2ATLGA..........06/17/13.......06/22/13.......07/22/13.......--/--/--...8/22 xfer from VSC

JURAI...............06/17/13.......06/20/13.......07/24/13.......--/--/--...9/04 xfer from VSC

KARISHA.............06/18/13.......06/24/13.......07/27/13.......--/--/--...8/22 xfer from VSC

SARAH278............06/21/13.......06/24/13.......07/31/13.......--/--/--...(Early Bio 07/15) 8/28 xfer from VSC

SHAWNA AND JAMES....06/21/13.......06/25/13.......07/31/13.......--/--/--...8/23 xfer from VSC

KOUCKI..............06/25/13.......06/28/13.......08/01/13.......--/--/--...8/22 xfer from VSC

LITTLE_MY...........06/25/13.......06/26/13.......07/26/13.......--/--/--... 9/9/2013 xfer from VSC

Vermont Service Center (6 applicants)

VJName............Date of I-751....NOA1 Date.....Biometrics......Approved...

JAHBEAUTY...........06/05/13.......06/07/13.......07/30/13.......--/--/--...

BOSTON_MA...........06/10/13.......06/??/13.......--/--/13.......--/--/--...

RESTONGOD...........06/10/13.......06/17/13.......07/16/13.......--/--/--...

AYOLA...............06/11/13.......06/24/13.......07/30/13.......--/--/--...

YOUNGHAMLET.........06/12/13.......06/14/13.......07/15/13.......--/--/--...

GUMMIBEAR...........06/19/13.......06/21/13.......07/30/13.......--/--/--...(Divorce Waiver) 9/6 xfer notice Local office

IMPORTANT!

* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.

* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.

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* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.

* Please check that you have not deleted anyone's NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application

NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter

Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment

Approved = The Date your case was approved

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list.

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I'm a June ROC filer, and just got an I-797C today stating that our case has been transferred from VSC to CSC. The weird part though is that in the "case type", it says "CRI89 Approved Removal of Conditions (I89)" - our online status however is still "initial review".

I am also struggling to decide whether to inform them of my upcoming address change or not - My husband is returning from abroad and we are moving to a new place on 1st of October, but I am worried that if I do an address change now, it will screw up my entire ROC process. The place I am staying at now is a sublet through a friend, and she would not mind if my USCIS mail kept coming here, and I can trust her to inform me whenever something arrives and get it her immediately.. Any thoughts on this? Really would not want to delay or complicate our ROC at this point because of the address change..

A option states:

"An immigrant petition giving me an immediately available immigrant visa number that has been approved (Attach a copy of the approval notice, or a relative, special immigrant juvenile, or special immigrant military visa petition filed with this application that will give you an immediately available visa number if approved"

Your I-130 is the relative visa petition filed with this (AOS) application that will give you an immediately available visa number, if approved.

The A# issued for OPT is, in fact, a temporary alien number, and expires when the EAD card issued for OPT expires. These numbers usually start with a "1" and have 9 digits. However, entering that A# for the forms won't do any harm - they will issue a new alien number during AOS process, which IS permanent. I don't know whether not entering the OPT-associated A-number does harm or not, but I wouldn't think so.

You should start your own topic instead of posting under someone else's - you'll also get more responses and faster that way, usually.

Affidavits from family members about your marriage and relationship are fine, and you can get a formal letter from your wife's brother about the living situation - but you'll need to come up with more than that. Are there any joint bills, insurance, retirement plan, life insurance? Any credit cards or a joint phone plan?

You'll have to send more than affidavits and photos. The bank account is good, and you should send statements that show you both use it regularly - but it won't be enough on its own.

You guys have barely been in the process for two months since sending out AOS, and you're losing patience now?

It'll be a LOOOOONG wait unless you relax a bit. For most, it takes at least 4-6 months - and for some, up to a year.

It's A.

Next time, put the question in your post as well - most people won't go through the trouble of finding the form, downloading it, and checking what "Part 2 of I-485" asks for.

You should assemble the different packages separately - i.e. put I-130 and accompanying documents together as one package and I-485 and accompanying documents together as another package. I also separated I-131 and I-765 into separate "packages". I put each application with accompanying documents in a separate manila folder with a separate cover letter on top, then everything together into a big envelope with one main cover letter for the whole thing.

I wouldn't advise stapling anything together, as it will most likely make things more difficult for USCIS. Paper clips are fine. If you feel like some pieces of evidence require an additional note/post-it to explain what they are, then attach that, but you don't necessarily have to. I wouldn't go overboard with the receipts of purchases and gifts, i.e. don't send tens of them - you can always bring more evidence to the interview.

You'll need a copy of your current passports bio page, and copies of all passport pages with entry stamps on them, despite which passport they are from. Maybe it's a good idea to also add the bio page of the expires passport, since that is where all your entry stamps are in.

1. ICE will not be knocking on your door the following day if you drop out of school. Yes, being out of status is not advisable, and yes, once you stop being a full time student you are in violation of your F-1 visa requirements and the visa will be invalidated - but you do not need to run to the courthouse tomorrow morning. Don't waste time, but don't panic either. There's no reason for that. While it is true that especially after Boston, student visa overstays are probably under more scrutiny now than before, it's still very unlikely they'd be pulling you out of bed after dropping out of your classes unless you have some other major red flags associated with you.

2. You won't be getting a spousal visa, since you are already in the country on another non-immigrant visa and can adjust your status within the US. You'll be doing the AOS process from F-1 visa holder to a green card holder.

3. Follow this guide - http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2 - you have to get married first before you can file, but you can start gathering the paperwork together now so that you'll be able to file soon after getting married. Once you have filed the paperwork, you enter a new period of authorized stay in the US that will last until you have a decision on your AOS petition.