mike281

I don't get the angry replies I'm getting. I was simply asking for honest advice from someone who had successfully filed this form before.

It's not just income, you have a lot of money ($60K) so of course you should pay the fee yourself...

But it is just income. The way I read the form instructions, a person is eligible if they meet any of the conditions, not all of the conditions.

As I stated, we filed this form based on income (or rather lack of income). According to the USCIS instructions, an applicant is eligible to receive the fee waiver if their income is less than 150% of the federal poverty line. We have zero income so I thought we should qualify based on this.

Not that it is at all relevant but I don't want to pay the fee because we are both unemployed without good job prospects. We both worked in the same industry which is in a major recession at the moment.

Last month we filed form 751 along with the 912 fee waiver, and just heard back that out fee waiver application was rejected. Neither of us are currently working and thus have no income so, in my mind, we should have been eligible based on income alone. We don't receive any public benefits and on the form I listed about 60k usd in liquid assets.

Does anyone have any experience with this if I should appeal this or just shut up and pay the fee?

anyone who filed at Vermont have updates (check cashed, NOA, biometrics etc). Still waiting and no sign. I don't know why even though sent on 4/6, they didn't receive mine till 4/16 (per return receipt from postal svc). Starting to get worried now.

The California center received mine on April 6 and I still haven't gotten a reply. I think it can just take time. I don't really expect any government service to be all that consistent or prompt.

There is also no hurry to get the process started. Once you file your AOS documents, she is legal to stay while the case is pending. It is a pretty straight forward process, and as long as you can read and write English, you can file AOS without the help of an attorney.

Most people prepare all required forms and documents and assemble them into a package, and then send the complete package. This eliminates going back and forth with USCIS requesting more and more information. Do you have a reason to not file all of your forms concurrently? I think most would agree that this is the easiest way to do it and there are some really detailed guides on here about what forms you need and what evidence you should have. Also be sure to read the USCIS instructions pages that go along with each form. It is a lot to fill out but if you just go line by line you will find the instructions are pretty clear.

as for passport copy, just the page with your picture and personal information. You don't need to include every page of your passport. For the petitioner either a US birth certificate or a valid (not expired) US passport will work to prove citizenship.

The form says to put "applicant/petitioner" so that would mean to put your husband on there. I filled in one of these and I received zero texts and one email when they first received my documents.

That is what I did, and we never moved during the process.

I just looked back at how I did this. I put our current address in that box from the date she moved in with me until the date I filled out the form, so it was like from October 10 2013 to January 22 2014. A few weeks had passed from that date by the time I actually sent it all in. I had no problems with it and they never questioned me on it. Though, as always, your experience may be different.

I dont know why they dont have an option to write "present" in that box.

I did my G325a forms with normal capitalization. I had no issues. It should state on the forms if it requires all caps. I also filled out my forms with adobe and printed, signed, then filed.

That is a positive result for TB. Doesn't mean you have it though. Likely as another mentioned, you were vaccinated for TB. Anyway the doctor will figure it out. No way to hide it.

They will all be in an envelope so it won't get lost.

I put all of mine in folders in a binder labeled with tabs and supporting docs on the opposite side of each folder. When I saw my packet at the interview, all my binder stuff had been removed and they hole punch it at the top. I would say just make it as organized and professional looking as possible but do not put any holes or staples into it. just to make it easier for the USCIS employees.

I completely agree with aussie_jason on both points.

We recently completed the process with no complications with only 1 joint credit card and about 10 photos of us together over our 4 year relationship.

In the interview he asked about joint property, but it was fine that we didn't have any since we were newly married. He did say, however, that for the 2 year removal of conditions they will expect more co-mingling of assets since we will have been married longer.

Hi everyone,

.....

How long does it usually take to get the GC in the mail after this point? Do the notice and GC come as separate mailings? It's a little confusing that the status of the i-485 changed two times, but I've read that this is common. Also, do they send the tracking number and everything the same way they did for the EAD?

Thanks again for everyone who posts on this forum and gives helpful information!

I would be happy to answer any questions regarding our process.

Cheers!

Congrats on your successful interview! We just had our interview on April 30th at the office in New Orleans, LA. Unfortunately, I didn't find the office to be as nice as the one you visited. In particular the security guards were quite unprofessional in that they were constantly talking loudly to each other complaining about their jobs. They were friendly enough though, and the officer who interviewed us was great (friendly, professional, patient)

Now, to answer your questions based on our experience. We each received a notice 3 days after our interview. One notice for the 485 and one for the 130 in separate envelopes, the 485 addressed to the beneficiary and the 130 addressed to the petitioner. If you check on your status at the uscis website they will give you a tracking number once your green card has shipped (via USPS). In our case it is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, exactly 1 week after our interview.

Congratulations again on making it through this process!

I was wondering is someone there had completed and was succesful with I864 based solely on assets such as savings, apraised real estate etc?

I went through a similar process as you. She came in on a tourist visa, then we got married. We filed AOS documents a few days before her tourist visa expired.

She had no job here and I had quit work (voluntarily so no unemployment insurance income even) to go back to school. I had prior years tax returns to show but they showed a low income since I was working abroad and qualified for the foreign income exclusion and I didnt make much over the ~90k limit for the exclusion.

I did my affidavit of support based on a monthly statement (not certified or notarized or anything) form an investment account that was mostly in securities with maybe 10-15k in cash, and the value of my house supported by a mortgage statement and a 2 year old appraisal. Although the investment account alone would have satisfied the asset requirement. I also did write a brief letter that I sent with the other supporting documentation explaining why I thought I had a good income potential in case we would need money.

In the AOS interview he asked about how we met, I told him it was when I was in her country for work. He then asked me what kind of work I'm currently doing. I told him "I don't do anything" and that I am in university. He just asked me what I was studying and when I would finish and get a job. I told him about another year or so. That was all fine, he didn't even ask to see an updated account statement in the interview or ask any questions about our finances.

I had been a little worried about doing this with no income too because I couldn't find examples of people doing their affidavit of support with no income and no cosponsors. I hope my experience helps and let me know if you have any questions.

edit: also wanted to add that I checked the box for unemployed and that I had been unemployed for 7 months at the time of filing, and for almost 10 months at the time of interview.

It doesn't need to be notarized but you need to attest to the fact that you are fluent in both languages. My wife did her own and to be honest it didn't look all that professional (but she did translate absolutely everything including all the stamps and seals on it). We received zero questions about it.

We sent off our AOS package last week, and I'm now trying to take care of a few extra bona fide support items that required some extra time/effort (in case they ask in the interview or we get an RFE).

Any opinions/experience on how important it is to have my wife on my house deed/title for USCIS? Did anyone else have success without a rental agreement or joint home title?

I wouldn't be hesitating, except if I'm reading the Florida law correctly, I need to pay a "document stamp" tax based on the balance of my mortgage to add my wife to the title (I was expecting a $50 processing fee, not a significant tax penalty). I might refinance my loan later this year, which would be a better time to add her to all the official documents (once she has an SSN).

I'm going keep looking into the details, and I might call a real estate lawyer, but I thought I would get an opinion from the VJ side in case anyone had a similar situation. Thanks everyone!

Dave

We got approved with no extra bona fide documents doing AOS from tourist visa. Just a few pictures of us together throughout the years and the marriage certificate. The interview was all of 5 minutes and consisted of very few questions of us. The interviewer did say that when we apply for the non conditional green card after 2 years we should have some supporting documents such as a joint bank account or joint ownership of a car, but really I think it won't matter too much. As long as your relationship is legit they will be able to tell. I definitely would not wast the money on getting these docs done.

Thanks for the information. Good to know others experiences so I can hopefully get everything submitted correctly the first time to avoid any additional trouble or delay

So I have checked out quite a few posts on this site and others and have also read the I-130 AOS guide here. I still have a few questions that I hope someone could help me clear up.

First, about my situation. I just married my girlfriend of 4+ years while she is here on a visit visa. She has been in the US for 4 months prior to our marriage and has 2 months left to stay as allowed by her visa. My plan is to do the I-130 adjustment of status and all other required forms. After the 485 has been submitted she will be allowed to stay past her 2 months as long as the decision is pending? Is that correct?

I think I need to submit the following:

I-130 - petition for relative

-> I-864 - affidavit of support

I-485 - Adjustment of status

->G-325A Biographic Information

-> I-693 Medical Exam

-> I-765 employment authorization(optional)

The guide from this website didnt mention that I need to include the i-693 form but the instructions make me think I need it right away. Any advice on this?

Also do I submit them all together in 1 package to my local field office in New Orleans? Do I separate the i130 + i-864 into one package and the i485 + others into a second package?

Thanks so much in advance for your help and letting me know if I missed anything