ray_and_mally

2 hours ago, acyland said:

So it's just the 1 passport style photo that goes along with YOUR G-325A (the US Citizen or Petitioner) and then a total of 5 for the Beneficiary (your spouse): 1 in the I-130 packet with the G-325A; 2 in the I-485 packet; 2 in the I-765.

 

So yes, 6 total. I actually separated each set out, put them in a small ziplock and labeled the ziplock and then attached it to the relevant doc with a paperclip. Maybe overkill but it helped me stay organized. 

 

For your second question, I believe it would be okay to just send copies and hold onto the originals just in case, but someone else with more experience might want to answer for sure. 

Thank you for the clarification!  Very much appreciated! Ok, next step, get the correct number of photos added and send it to USCIS! So, happy to finally take this step with my wife. 

Cheers!

Hello everyone!

Well, after a long journey to reach this point, we are sending our AOS package this afternoon. I've painstaking put together a comprehensive and detailed package for our case (not too much, not too little on evidence, etc) thanks to all the info found here on Visa Journey so, many thanks to this community!

I happy to report that I only have a couple of things I'd like some clarity with, and I was hoping you guys would pop in with a response. So, here goes:

We are filing the I-485 and I-130 concurrently (along with the usual I-765) and here's what I need clarified:

• How many passport-type photos should be included with our package? So far, our package includes 2 for my alien spouse and 1 for me the U.S. Citizen petitioner. From what I've read here, there should be a total of 6 passport-type photos - could you guys please tell me how many passport-type photos for my alien spouse I will need, and how many passport-type photos for myself (the U.S. Citizen Petitioner)? Is it 2 for the I-485, 2 for the I-130, and 1 for the I-765 and just the one attached to my G-325A?
• Next up, I have some notarized documents and was wondering if I should send copies of these and not the originals. The notarized documents in our specific AOS package are Affidavits of Friendship and my Divorce Decree from my previous marriage. I can easily make copies of these documents and send those if that's the correct way to go, I just want to be absolutely certain I don't essentially give away documents that I might need later for our immigration interview.

Again, thanks to all in this community for everything, and I thank you in advance for your responses to my questions in this post.

Sincerely,

Ray

Hi

Your wife needs to file with her desired married name in all documemts. This is because her green card will have this name, and changing it after it has been produced cost $400. Also in most forms you will have a space to put "others names used" specially on the biographical information one. Please keep in mind that her medical examination will be on her maiden name, as it is showed in her passport. That's fine. Also any supporting documents will be on her original name because she needs the GC to be on her married name to change it on Social Security.

On a side note when i did my fingerprints appointment they couldn't use my married name (despite my notice of action was sent with this name) because i didn't bring my marriage certificate with me. However USCIS has always addressed me by my married mame.

Hi there! Thanks for the response and insight! Ok, well, now I'm in a dilema. See, when my wife and I got married, we put her name on the marriage certificate exactly the same as it is on her passport. So, what can we do now? Does the fact that our marriage certificate has her maiden name on it rather than the name my wife wants to change to? Really hope we didn't screw this up.

What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance!

Ray

Since she has over-stayed her current I-94, it would be a waste of time and money to renew her tourist visa. She needs to wait for her GC before travelling anywhere. If you mean the Columbian Consulate in Atlanta to issue a US tourist visa you really need to understand international travel requirements. First, she has a Columbian passport. Second, she needs a US visa issued by the US department of state (DOS) in her Columbian passport in order to enter the US or she needs an advance parole (AP) card or she need her green card (GC). As there are no US consulates or Embassies inside the US and the US does not extend the validity period of any visas once issued, she must apply for and receive her new tourist visa in another country. Once she leaves without her GC or AP her adjustment of status (AOS) will be considered abandoned. Now she is outside the US with no tourist visa. She can apply, but having a US husband makes it almost impossible for her to get a new tourist visa. So your only option at this point would be to file for a spousal visa and wait the approximately 1 year for her to receive the CR-1/IR-1 visa.

File your AOS and file the I-131 for the AP so she can travel while waiting for the GC. If all goes well she will not need the tourist visa ever again. Whatever she does, she cannot leave the US without the AP or GC without causing a lot of problems for her return to the US.

Good luck,

Dave

Thanks Dave! I just needed clarification that her B2 Visa was dead as soon as she overstayed. We are most definitely not going to travel outside the US until her approval comes. I just wanted to make sure about her Visa is all. Her Colombian passport is still 100% valid, it's just her B2 visa that I was wondering about because it expires in October. Now I understand her B2 is a non-factor and we should worry about that after the AOS is approved. Again, I appreciate you taking time out to guide me along on this. I guess I'm just getting stressed because I want to file everything as 100% correct as possible.

Cheers!

Ray

Another question for you guys. At what point do we indicate/file that my wife wants to change her last name to reflect our marriage? We are about to send out our I-485/AOS package and we're unclear as to when and how we should go about this part of the process. Should we do it in the AOS package or do it after we're (HOPEFULLY!) approved? HELP!

And yes, I'm totally happy to fill out all the I-485/AOS stuff again if need be. We just want to make our package as correct and detailed as possible.

Many thanks!

Ray

Hey everyone!

Just a quick question, well, after I bring you up to speed first! My wife and I are about to send out our I-485/AOS package BUT, before we do it, thought I'd get some input from you guys about one part that's troubling me.

My wife got her Colombian passport renewed back in early 2012 BUT, her US Visa is going to expire in October 2014 which is only a few weeks away. Given that her US Visa will definitely expire while we're waiting for the AOS process to unfold, should we get her US Visa renewed BEFORE we send in the I-485/AOS package and include photocopies of the freshly renewed US Visa in our package rather than photocopies of the one that's about to expire?

Also, if we should renew her US Visa, where should we go to do it? The US Embassy in Atlanta? I say Atlanta because that's the closest one to us.

Please keep in mind that she's in the US on an overstayed/expired I-94 AND she entered on a B2 (if that factors into your responses).

I really appreciate the input of all on this forum. You've helped us make sense of a potentially confusing process. We've front loaded our I-485/AOS package as much as possible, it's just that her expiring US Visa that's nagging me. I'm not sure what to do about this bit.

A thousand thanks in advance!

Ray

Hi everyone!

Like many before me, I've been reading these forums and reading this site hours on end for quite a while. Having said that, I'd like to thank everyone for sharing their knowledge and experiences here on this site.

My wife entered the country back on 11/29/2012 on her Colombian B1/B2 tourist visa. She was supposed to return to Colombia in early Feb 2013 (had her return flight booked too!) but, I threw a wrench in the works and decided to ask her to marry me on Christmas day in front of my whole family! hahaha!!! Talk about nervous! Thankfully she said yes, and we were married on Jan 25, 2013 and she's been here with me ever since. Yes, I know her 1-94 is well expired, but considering our friendship (as well as evidence trail) stems all the way back to 2006, and she had ZERO idea I was gonna propose to her (I didn't know until two days before Christmas myself!) we decided to go this route.

So, having said all that to bring you guys up to speed, my wife and I are about to send our AOS package in the next couple of weeks, and I've got some questions.

Here they go:

1. Do we need to also include a notarized copy of her Civil Registration from Colombia? The document from the Colombian govenment that states she has (never had, actually) no pre-existing marriages or prior marriages and/or divorces? We've got her birth certificate translation sorted out, and we're also going to have her transcripts from university translated as well for future use. Just wondering about the Civil Registration bit.
2. She had a baby several years ago (back in 1998, actually) who, sadly, she lost due to Infant Sudden Death Syndrome. Do we need to get a copy of the baby's death certificate and have that translated as well? Or, should we even bring that up in our AOS case? Do we even HAVE TO bring that up in our AOS case? I'm asking for two reasons, 1. For the obvious legal reasons/requirements of our AOS case, and 2, it's still quite hard for her to talk about/go into discussion-wise in general. Of course, we will go into it if required, but not if we don't have to.
3. We're planning on filing an I-131 (Advanced Parole) along with our AOS package so that we can (MAYBE?) visit her family in Colombia before the process is complete. Is this a good idea considering we only want to use it for visiting and NOT for any sort of emergency? I'm concerned about this because she has overstayed on her B1/B2 Colombian visa. We are happy to wait for the AOS process to run it's course if that's the best way to go (and in my heart I think it probably is).

That's it for me for now! My first post here on Visa journey is done!

A thousand thanks in advance!

Ray