We are in the comment period for proposed changes to the I-485 form (application for Adjustment of Status), until May 31. You can see the draft of the new version of the main form here. It is very similar to a proposed version that was proposed in March 2015 but which they for some reason didn't adopt. I believe that the changes will be of interest to the VJ community.
Besides being much longer (18 pages instead of 6, though much of it is due to the new, more spread out question format they are using now on all forms), there is a huge section (pages 9-13) asking yes/no questions about basically every single bar or inadmissibility, many of which are not asked about now (right now it is the USCIS's job to figure out which ones apply to you). As many of you know, some of those bars and inadmissibilities, especially the ones on page 13, are very technical and we have long discussions sometimes before we can figure out whether someone has a particular ban or not; an average person filling out this form may not be able to interpret them correctly. Some questions are asked now but changed to be much broader (e.g. Part 8 #27 asks whether you have "ever committed a crime of any kind", instead of just those of moral turpitude). And the questions #14-24 which ask things like have you been denied admission, have you been denied a visa, do you have 2-year home residency requirements, etc. are new questions that are things that they should already have records to, so why do they need you to explain? I have a feeling that the new changes will force many people to say yes and provide "explanation" for things that are not actually relevant to their AOS.
If you have feelings about this, please submit a comment to the government.
If you go ahead and submit the AOS package - you will very likely (at a minimum) get an RFE for the lack of birth certificate (there's a chance an initial inspection of the package will turn up it is missing and the package could get returned to you - but that may not be very likely).
Is it possible for you to obtain a BC at all? (The time between when you submit the AOS package and when you get an RFE would give you time to get the BC.)
What is your country of origin?
The bank statement is not an issue - it's a good thing to have a joint account as evidence. Age gap isn't a problem, either, as long as you have evidence that you have a bonafide marriage. Does she have enough income to meet the requirements?
We are in the process of AOS from F-1. We just got married and we are discussing whether or not my USC wife will keep/change er maiden name to my last name. If she changes to my last name, how will the process go? If she keeps her maiden name, will that be considered a problem by USCIS? Thanks
chimichanga got a reaction from ANWilliams in Preparing for Green Card Interview
chimichanga got a reaction from TylerTrúc in I-864 Part 6 #19
chimichanga got a reaction from Ben + Michelle in Name Change for AOS