littlechewy

Okay so my dad was granted permission to immigrate to the US in 1994 (if I remember right) and he was allowed to bring his entire family as well (mom, my brother and I). It's because he worked for a US company during the Vietnam war and from what I was told, the company sponsored him or something like that to come to the US after the war was over.

At the time he did not want to go. Now almost 20 years later, can he and his family still move to the US? Is it way too late?

This might be a long shot but I'm looking for advice from people who have been in similar situations.

I'm having my brother to look for the paperwork (that he received in 1994 when dad got approved) and will consult with an attorney. In the meantime, if anyone on here has any input, I would be happy to hear!

Thanks!

So I spoke to a USCIS rep today on the phone. I told her what happened. She checked and said she found records of my I-130 and I-485, but not I-765. She put in a request for me, the request is look for my I-765 application and within 15 days I will get a mail regarding the result of this request.

I got a feeling they somehow did manage to lose my I-765 application package (how is that even possible?). Anyways, I am thinking not to wait 15 days for that letter because I have a really good feeling they lost it. I am thinking of refiling form I-765 tomorrow so I can get my EAD without further delay. I have copies of my stuff so to reprint them is easy. I'm thinking to send the entire I-765 package along with the NOA of I-130 and I-485 and a letter of explanation as to why I am refiling the I-765.

Good/bad idea? Any advice?

Wait for your Monday mail, maybe it just got separated in another batch of mails.

Plus, they have 30 days to send you your NOA, so this is too early to contact them.

So it's Monday and still no NOA for I-765. I'm sort of frustrated. I understand this is kind of too early but I really want to call USCIS tomorrow to ask if they can look me up in their computer and let me know if it's received and has been assigned a case number. It just does not make sense how USCIS could overlook/lose my I-765 application while they got the I-130 and I-485 (each was in its own envelope and all 3envelopes were in one big package).

I have been reading similar instances like mine and some people ended up re-sending their applications after waiting a month or two. That wasted a lot of their time. I am trying to avoid this at all cost.

If I call them tomorrow, they might tell me to wait 30 days or whatever so what should I say to get them to help me? Don't they have the ability to simply enter my info or my case number from the other applications and easily find out if they have received my I-765?

So I filed for I-130, I-485 and I-765 on September 15. USCIS received it on September 18. I received NOA for my I-130 and I-485 in the mail today; however not the I-765. Am I supposed to get NOA for I-765 or not? If this is not right, how should I contact USCIS about this to make sure they don't somehow forgot about my I-765? What is the best approach? I see a number on receipt 800-375-5283, is this the number to call? Any advice is appreciated.

The question asks for the date shown on the I-94, not on the I-20 (otherwise that would have been stated). Simply follow what it says, the USCIS knows what D/S means.

That's also the most popular answer found by doing a Google search on this question (lots of different topics found on the net)...

D/S means the duration of your status. The OP is a F-1 student, so the duration of their status is the duration of their study. As in the law cited above, "Some students, exchange program participants, and temporary workers (e.g., foreign diplomats) will be admitted for D/S. If you have D/S on your Form I-94, you may remain in the U.S. as long as you continue your course of studies, remain in your exchange program, or qualifying employment." --> the date on your I-20 is a proof of your authorized stay.

They don't put a specific date on I-94 for F-1 because F-1 are allowed to stay for as long as they need to in order to complete their study. Say two people study the same program but the one who takes summer courses will graduate sooner than the one who doesn't.

I have D/S on my I-94 (F-1 OPT), the date I put on question 14 of I-130 is the expiration date of my OPT I-20.

I think your I-20 expiration date would be the correct answer but say if you put D/S, USCIS probably knows to look at your I-20 to figure out the duration of your authorized stay.

Hi everyone!

I am a little confused about what to answer at question 14 (I-130). I arrived as a student and as an expiration date on my I-94 they wrote D/S. My visa expires in December 2013 in my passport, but in my I-20 it already expired in January 2012.

What would be the correct answer for this? D/S,

December 2013,

or January 2012 ?

Thank you so much!

I don't think you put DS there. What is your current status? You said your I-20 expired I assume you are no longer enrolled in school, because if you are currently enrolled in school, you are supposed to have a new I-20 (school issues a new I-20 every time the old one expires for as long as you are in school). DS means Duration of Status, which refers to the duration of your study so your authorized stay ended when you I-20 expired. I would put the date on your expired I-20.

If you are still a F1 or F1 on OPT, you should have a valid I-20 unless you fell out of status.

I think you are fine. If you are worried about the fact that she was working illegally, then you have nothing to worry about really. The illegal work is generally forgiven upon marriage to a USC. Just be sure to be honest about it on the forms and during the interview if asked.

Sounds good and also bank statements to show bank balances.

Bank statements from his business account or personal account? Is this crucially required or just "optional"?

I'm asking because his balances (personal and business) are pretty low (he met income requirement though), it's kinda embarrassing to show or I'm afraid it might raise doubts, doesn't it?

Is it really needed or just something optional?

Hi folks, I'm looking for a simple answer here. My husband is self-employed and so he doesn't have W-2, 1099, pay stubs, or anything that you would normally get when you work for someone else.

We are planning on sending his tax return for 2011 and form 1040 Schedule C (Profit or Loss from business) and I believe we ought to be okay.

I have been researching this and I myself believe we are good but I am still a bit paranoid lol. So are we good? Yes or No?

If no, what else are we missing?

We are going to concurrently file I-130 and I-485 (marriage-based green card with a USC). We are almost ready to mail the package. Just have a few more questions. Any clarification is appreciated.

I am working legally under OPT and I'm planning on keeping this job while filing for AOS. My OPT is good until end of Oct. Today, however, I read on this forum that if I filed for AOS, that will invalidate my status which is F1, which means my OPT will also become invalid and that also means I cannot continue working. Is this true?

The info I read was this thread: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/367051-can-i-continue-work-on-f1-opt-while-aos-is-in-process/

There is no definite answer on that topic, so I am not sure what to do. I am bringing this up once again to see if anyone has any more input and/or advice. I want to make sure I do everything right.

She can volunteer. However there are limitations because she is not authorize to work.

She can not volunteer for work that is normally paid work or a position where she receives a benefit or anticipate a benefit. The prospect of future employment once the person is authorized to work is an anticipated benefit.

For example, she can be a hospital volunteer if she does not get a benefit. If she anticipate a job from the hospital after she is work authorized, then she cannot volunteer for the hospital.

She cannot volunteer for a future employer because her current status does not allow her to do that. If she was a US citizen, LPR, or on a visa authorizing her to work, she could volunteer for an unpaid position with a future employer. Essentially, different volunteering rules for different legal status.

Here is a scenario: What if her employer truly is looking for volunteer/(unpaid) intern only and they have no intention of offering her a job to begin with. She feels okay with that plus she's probably bored, so she might as well do something useful with her time. So she volunteers for 2 months. Then after it is over, she's back to doing nothing and waiting. Then her EAD arrives. A month or two later the company has an opening and it's paid. She feels she is qualified for the job so she applies for the position and she got the job.

I'm just saying all this could be a total coincidence. She and her company did not plan this. How does USCIS look at this? They'll have no proof that proves that they company carefully planned this out and that the company already had the intention of giving her the paid position after she gets her EAD.

Are you saying that USCIS doesn't care and it's simply do not volunteer if you plan to work (a paid job) for a company, or if you already volunteered for a company then you can't apply for a paid position for that same company??? If this is true, just sounds unreasonable to me. Then again, rules are stupid sometimes.

As a new member, I understand that you are trying to help. However, it is not helpful to give out information that encourages illegal activities. Please make sure that you are giving advice that is legal.

Ok my apology. Truth is that's what people do all the time, even legal USC/PR do that (talking about working under the table). I won't say it here, somebody else will tell them. You need money to pay bills. What else are you gonna do? Living on the streets, selling your organs?

Just because something is illegal doesn't mean it's wrong.

Just because something is legal doesn't mean it's right.

Don't mean to offend anyone. I'm sure some people will disagree. Oh well...

About working unpaid and some people say it's illegal. I have a question. I have seen company offer unpaid internships all the time. It's considered legal so I assume her employer can just make her an intern. Just saying. Correct me if this is also "illegal" and why.

Hey guys, I am the foreign spouse. My husband is USC. We are in the process of concurrently filing for I-485 and I-130.

I have a question regarding the household income on the form I-864, Affidavit of Support. Per instruction, it is stated that if we count the intending immigrant's income towards the household income, that income must continue from the same source after becoming a lawful permanent resident. So that means I must be employed by the same company before and after immigration.

So my question is if we do put down my income on the form, so then HOW LONG do I have to stay employed with that company after I become a permanent resident? Is it like FOREVER? Or more like until I gain citizenship? Or until my condition is removed? Anybody has an idea?

My husband met the income requirement for 2 years but one of the years he made just a little bit under. My income is above the poverty line so I thought it is helpful to include it as an evidence that I can support myself financially. I've been with this company for about 6 months FYI.

Reason I ask because I might change the job after I get the green card as I can get a different job which possibly makes 2x or 3x my income right now. I just don't know if I will get into trouble for that. If I do include my income on the form, then after I get my green card, then what if 6 months or a year later I do change job, will my green card be revoked or something like that??

I quite don't understand why they require that. As long as I am making money legally, that's all that should matter in my opinion but who knows.

Please any input is appreciated.

She cannot work without EAD once her OPT expires. EAD can take up to 3 months to arrive in the mail, even longer if your application is missing some stuff then in that case you will get REF's in the mail. So hopefully your application is all good so your wife can get her EAD without a delay.

What you can do is if she needs the money, she can work under the table for a while until she gets her EAD. There are places that do that (small restaurants, beauty salons, etc...) if you just talk to the owner honestly. They will understand and pay her cash.

Or if she isn't stressed about money, she can go talk to her employer who like you said might offer her a paid job that she can work unpaid for say 2-3 months then once she got her EAD they can start paying her. That way she can keep the position to herself; otherwise her employer might just go ahead and look for another person to fill the position, they simply might not wait 2-3 months for her.

Filing the returns is what USCIS needs to see. They may accept copies of the late returns, or they could demand transcripts as the I-864 instructions state. (transcripts will take a while to be available after filing) A balance owed may be deducted from the sponsor's income number unless a repayment plan is in place.

Off topic: The IRS will be much more interested in your husband going forward. And will likely communicate with the department of revenue in the state where you live. Don't be surprised by a business or personal tax audit in the future.

Yes he's planning on filing his taxes and like I said he will work out a repayment plan with the IRS and as long as he pays his amount monthly on time, there should be no problem with the IRS. Is that right? I don't see why the IRS would be going after him like Que Saudade mentioned.

My concern is whether or not USCIS will accept this. Are they going to find out from the IRS that he's doing a payment plan and demand that he has to pay the taxes in full? We would pay it all off if we could but we couldn't right now. Hence a payment plan.

I honestly can't answer that. But, I do know that you can't file under your current conditions. And I do know that if IRS comes after you, it is NOT a pretty situation.!

I'm not sure why you keep saying IRS will go after him and it'll be ugly. I meant we are not trying to not pay. Our plan is we are going to find out how much taxes he owes, the penalty, interests and work out a payment plan with the IRS and will pay it monthly and promptly. So why would the IRS go after my husband if he pays his monthly dues diligently?

Thanks for your all fast responses. So okay you meant it's OKAY to file back taxes and do a payment plan with the IRS and Immigration will accept this? Just to clear this up as I'm still unsure.

As long as immigration is okay with this and won't deny our application because he hasn't paid off his taxes. Yes or no?

A brief summary of our situation...

My husband is self-employed. He hasn't filed taxes for the last 2 years 2010 and 2011 (he did file his 2009 taxes). He met the income requirements. He just did not pay his taxes because he already spent most of the money that he made. He did not put aside money to pay taxes in for the last 2 years. If he files taxes for those 2 years now, he is looking at roughly a few thousands dollars in taxes that we both currently don't have.

We have been asking a few friends and family members to be a cosponsor but so far we haven't had any luck. Mostly they said they'd think it over or they are quite skeptical. It's been difficult.

We found out that we could possibly file the taxes now and work out a payment plan with the IRS. As long as the payment is a few hundreds/month, we can handle that. By doing that, on the form I-864 my husband can say "Yes I filed taxes for the 3 most recent tax years". So I assume even though he hasn't paid the taxes in full, technically the form only asks if he filed taxes or not, it does not ask if he filed taxes and paid in full. So it should be ok yes? Am I right about this? Can he get a transcript from IRS if he is doing payment? If not, what does he need to submit if he can't get a transcript? He has 1044 from his business.

If anyone has been in the same situation, please give us some advice. We are kinda running out of ideas of how to make this work. We really hope immigration will accept this.

I'm a foreign student (F-1 status) and currently on OPT, which expires at the end of October this year. My fiancé and I are going to get married very soon; however, after having done much research, I found out that he would need to file I-864, Affidavit of Support. That creates a major obstable for us. I'm looking for some answers.

Our situation is that he's self-employed (has his own business) and has not filed taxes for the last 2 years. I read that he will need to submit IRS transcripts of the most recent tax year (2011) or the 3 most recent years (2009, 2010, 2011). He explained to me that he is unable to do so because he would have to pay in (a lot) and he doesn't have the money to do it. His business has been very slow the last 2.5 years; hence, the reason for not filing taxes. As for myself, I do have a permanent part-time job (that I started in March so I have been at this job for about 4 months). My earnings is around $1,000/mo net. We are thinking about selling the car, getting a 2nd job, maybe borrowing money from family, getting a loan, etc so that we can get the money together for him to file taxes. This is going to take time.

On this page on the USCIS website, Green Card for an Immediate Relative of a U.S. Citizen , it says that we need to file Form I-485 and Form I-130. I don't see it says we have to file I-864.

So my questions are:

1) Can we file Form I-485, I-130 and I-765 WITHOUT the I-864 FOR NOW? By doing so, can I still get a new EAD before my OPT expires? That way I can hopefully keep the job I'm having. How long do they give you? If I can't get it, that means I will be asked to leave when October rolls around since I don't have a new EAD to show my employer. I really hope you guys say YES.

2) If it's okay to submit I-864 (and those tax returns) later, then when will it eventually be required?

Is it going to be like...a few months later we will hear from USCIS saying that our documents were received and the interview is at this time and date and please submit the I-864 before/at the interview?

Is it possible to request an extension if needed?

3) Is it the most recent tax year he needs to file or does it have to be 3 years in a row? Does my income, although not a whole lot, help at all? I do live in the same house with him and I don't have to pay rent so my income is more than enough to cover some bills, food and the necessities. I'm not exactly living comfortably but definitely not struggling.

If they don't accept my application without I-864, can I - being married to a US citizen, having entered the US legally, and currently still in legal status - remain in the US legally (after my OPT expires) until we can sort things out? And how long can I stay?

Please help! Much appreciated!