visavis

hi did you receive it yet?

I'm waiting for mine and it's almost been 4 weeks

Hey guys!

We received it about two weeks after POE, I wanted to be prepared in case it never did! Thankfully she's in the country and working, nothing to worry about until we change her away from conditional status.

In regards to the timeline, from what I gathered and what's been stated by other users in this thread, go to your nearest SSA office if you don't receive it after 2-3 weeks if you checked the box (and make sure you didn't use any additional addresses in the application process, or else it could go there!). Your spouse should be in their system by then and you can request to apply for a SSN, which gets there fast. Make sure your address is correct!

Go in now!

Thanks everyone! I used my tuition credit on my federal taxes so I'm a little leary to touch it...my wife's income was essentially nothing over the table last year, as she was a student, so I guess it won't have a big impact.

It's not weird to file an amended return as a conditional/permanent resident for a year in which she was an NRA? Seems funny but I'll give it a shot!

Hey all,

This is a complicated question but it seems like it would be a common occurrence, so I'm hoping someone can help.

I applied during 2015 for my wife's CR1, and after 12 months of waiting, she came through POE 08/2016! We got her SSN 2-3 weeks later and things have been going smoothly.

For tax year 2015, through a CPA, we filed "Married Filing Jointly" but the CPA decided to put "NRA" into the SSN number for her, which worked well on federal forms. However, I received a notice from the State of MA saying they didn't have my wife's SSN and that I would need to submit her SSN and W-7 (which doesn't really make sense, I would think it would be one or the other).

She does have her SSN currently, but didn't have it for the taxes for which this is relevant, so I would assume the state is asking for the W-7 for that year. However, the information they are requesting is odd to fill out now, since she is now a conditional resident, has a SSN, and lives in the US. It seems silly for me to submit this now. What should I do? File an amended return with the state but not the federal government? Both governments? Just submit the ITIN form and hope it doesn't screw things up? Just submit the SSN?

Hey everyone,

My wife is on a CR-1 and just entered the country on August 8th (yaaay!) with a POE in Providence, RI. The officer suggested we go immediately to the SSA to file for a number, but since we checked off the box in the DS-260 for it to be done automatically, we were skeptical that he knew what he was talking about, and secretly worried that he could be messing something up and not putting our paperwork through correctly.

We went to the SSA anyways after a few days and she was not in the system, which I guess is totally expected. It's been 8 days and we are desperately waiting for the SSN to arrive in the mail, since she has been hired for a job but the only thing that is holding her back is the arrival of this social security number. We know it should arrive sometime in the next week, but we are nervous.

OUR QUESTIONS ARE:

1. Is there any protocol for what to do if the immigration officer screwed up and didn't process her information? She has the I-551 and all he added was a silly CR-1 stamp after flying through her medical paperwork and customs form. It took her 5 minutes to get through, and she saw the officer leave for the day almost immediately after letting her through.

2. Is there a step-by-step rundown as to how we should proceed? Everyone suggests wildly different things as to how long we should wait before going again to the SSA to check for her name in the system.

3. If her name appears in the system, is there a way for them just to tell us her SSN? We just need the number, not the card, to proceed.

ANY resources or help would be greatly appreciated, there are tons of posts but I can't find a straightforward timeline/step-by-step for CR1.

Thank you!

Here's where it gets complicated. Since she's overseas and I'm here in the U.S., I assume my tax filing status is "married,separate," and filing for her as an NRA would require the W7 form to be filled out. This requires original documents to be submitted or "certified" copies and her actual signature on the document. We are looking at weeks of delay in making this happen, by using mail between our two countries to get original copies (2-3 weeks in mail).

Can I just file as single?

If not, I'm leaning towards photocopying my W2 and including it in with my joint sponsor application without filling out assets, listing years 2012-2014 as the past three returns. Any idea if this is worth it?

I can't stand this stuff.

I can certainly do that! With only one tax return as a history and other two tax years as "none," would it still be wise to include a joint sponsor or would there be no need if I can show being above the threshold for only the past year?

I can certainly do that! With only one tax return as a history and other two tax years as "none," would it still be wise to include a joint sponsor or would there be no need if I can show being above the threshold for only the past year?

My question is concerning if I need to use assets to meet the affadavit of support requirements, since it seems like they are citing 2 different methods of determining if I would need to show assets; if it's question 15 (I-864 Instructions Document), concerning money I'm making now, I'm good. If it's question 19a-c (I-864 Application instructions directly under question 19), concerning tax return totals, then it seems like I would need to use it.

I am attaching a separate letter concerning Box 20 (not needing to file tax returns) and asking them to use my joint sponsor if they deem it to be necessary, but I'm wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and what approach was taken.

Thanks for your response!

Hi all,

I am filing my Affadavit of Support (I-864) and am curious about the use of Part 7, "Use of Assets to Supplement Income." I have not filed for 2012-2014 since I was a student relying solely on student loans. I am employed as of June 2015 and have enough income from 2015 to support my wife, but I do not have a 2015 tax return to show for this. Thus, I am attaching an employment letter and pay stubs and even providing a joint sponsor.

My question is this: for Part 7, the I-864 instruction PDF cites Part 6, Question 15 as the qualifying factor if one needs to fill out assets; however, in the application itself, it cites Part 6, Question 19a-c as the qualifying factor, of which I am writing "None" and checking off Box 20.

Any ideas of if I should do for Part 7?

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I know this has been done before but I just want to verify...

My wife lives at her grandmother's apartment, but her "official" address is still at her parent's house. When filling out the I-130, for question 2, 19, and 20 (Hebrew), should I be putting it all for her parent's house?

The thing that worries me is that this doesn't match up with her G-325a for which I put her physical addresses, it would essentially say on the G-325a that she's living in one place while her I-130 says her address is a different one.

Any help is appreciated!

Have a look through this EZ guide. http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/EZGuideSpouse There is a huge list at the bottom of items that VJ members have compiled that can be used as evidence of a genuine relationship.

Woooaaaa. So anything and everything seems to go! The question is where to draw the line, I guess. Thanks for this!

Also, they mention "receipts" constantly. I hope they're not expecting a hard-copy receipt and that any receipt sent via e-mail or a credit card statement would suffice.

No prob man. Yea take a look at that list NLR put down. It pretty much has everything people possibly put in their I-130.

Please remember this is only part 1 of 3. Part 2, the IV/AOS package (that goes to the NVC) deals with money. Assuming your I-130 gets approved, you then need to show you could actually support your wife on your own. Via tax return filings showing income, or assets, or if not, you need to get a US citizen sponsor. This is so that your wife doesn't go on welfare and become a burden to society as soon as she comes. You (and/or your sponsor) will be financially liable if she does receive benefits. Part 3 is the interview which is usually pretty easy and usually a formality (for those that don't have signs of being fraudulent).

But not to confuse you, if you're currently living outside of the US, I think may be eligible to file via DCF (direct counselor filing) which means you file your I-130 directly with the US embassy in the foreign country you're in (versus sending the app to one of the USCIS service centers). Typically this route has been faster (at least when I was doing this) With you having a mailing address in the US, but living elsewhere...not sure if you should/could.

Can somebody smarter than me weigh in on DCF eligiblity?

You two are great. What did you include in your packet(s) to prove your marriage/relationship?

Since I'm a medical student subsisting solely on U.S. loans, I haven't had a tax return above $0 since 2011. Despite the fact that I'll be making a steady paycheck and start to receive pay stubs this June, I assume that without an established history, I should/need to ask a family member to be the sponsor? Or should some sort of statement showing my intended income from my employer be possible?

DCF is only available in a handful of countries that have a USCIS field office. This is the list: http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-immigration-offices

Nyaaah #######. I guess it's better not to do DCF if I'm moving back to my permanent address around the time I submit my i130 anyways.

Wow, thank you so much! This really clarifies these concepts for me. I appreciate the effort you put into helping!

I highly doubt I have the receipts for many of the purchases we've made, particularly travel-related, over the past several years we've been together, but I'm hoping that aside from the joint lease for the apartment we've been renting since January we can send in a barrage of photographs, credit card statements, and trip itineraries (I doubt I still have the boarding passes) to establish our relationship, plus all of the stuff concerning our wedding (i.e. invitations, pictures, video on USB).

Once again, THANK YOU!!

I've been out of the game a while, but hope the below is helpful...

Check out this thread regarding addresses. Ryan H is a long-time poster and very knowledgeable. Mailing address on I-130. Physical addresses on G325a so it seems...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/510492-physical-or-mailing-address-for-i-130g25a/

When you apply for the I-130, you'll submit a bunch of evidence. But you may not get an interview until 9 months later, and built up more "evidence" of your marriage since that time. This is probably saying when you go to your interview, your wife will need to bring not only a copy of the I-130 and all the evidence, but the new stuff also. Don't assume the embassy has all the evidence in your original I-130 as things get lost sometimes.

What you need to focus on is getting as much supporting documentation to your marriage that you can find. If you search the forums enough you will see all kinds of things people submit. My package was literally 1.5 inches thick out of fear, but most don't need to go that far. Your wife is in a "low fraud" country and wouldn't sweat it too much.

There isn't some set "point system" where document1 + document2 + document3 = minimum point score. It's a holistic review, from an actual person. Most people who are married for a short amount of time, or in particular circumstances will have less (or different) documentation than others, but your goal is to give the reviewer as much info as possible to avoid the dreaded RFE (request for evidence) which isn't so bad, except it adds time (perhaps months) to the process. USCIS places more emphasis on documentation showing the both of you sharing financial type things. I would probably group evidence into these categories (my personal opinion only) from strong to weak...but by all means include everything. Search for "I-130 cover sheet" and you can see what people submit:

Strong

children, lease/mortgage, assets, loans and obligations, bank/stock/equity/etc, health/life/car/whatever insurance...

Credit cards, Cell phone, utility bills, other bills that have relative smaller obligations (maybe bill for expensive durable good, fridge, bike, etc)

Other documentation may include receipts from vacations taken together, hotel receipts, boarding passes (not ticket receipts),

Pictures of you together at various places, various times, with various people.

Affidavits from US citizens (only) attesting to your bona fide marriage

Club cards in both your names

xmas cards, letters addresses in both your names

Weak

I don't think the order is that important, as long as its in some kind of order. Check the application though, they may want the newest first or something. But make sure you don't have any gaps in the dates. You don't want them wondering where you were for 6 months. Also for the G325a I would make sure the dates match up with any visa stamps in your passport.

Not sure on this one.

All you need is in the guides section - http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1and also check the example forms: http://www.visajourney.com/content/examples

After reviewing the two references, I'm not sure that I was able to find an answer to my questions. It seems that the i130 guide does only reference providing evidence of a bonafide marriage in submitting the i130, but then proceeds to say "In general, it is a good idea that your relative bring documentation to prove strong ties and a relationship with you, the petitioner. (i.e. phone bills, letters etc.)."

Is this referencing only the same documents from the i130, or is this additional information since the time of the first packet submission to show that the relationship is continuing?

In addition, I couldn't find any examples in the G325a that is similar to my case. With my permanent address back in Massachusetts but my mailing address being here in Israel, and having been home for a few months, I seem to need a bit more guidance. Should I list my addresses in continuous chronological order, repeating my permanent address if I was there multiple times (i.e. Massachusetts address 02/2010-08/2011;Israel 08/2011-06/2012; Massachusetts address 06/2012-08/2012; new Israeli address 08/2012-06/2014, etc.)?

Lastly, since I traveled numerous times for interviews, living in 3 different cities in 4 months, should I be including these?

Sorry for the multiple questions, I hope someone can help who's been through a similar situation. Thanks!

Hey everyone! Excited to be a part of this highly-recommended community.

I am American with an Israeli fiancee who is soon to be my wife :-). We have been together for 3.5 years while I've been in Israel for medical school, and now that I'm going back we have a one-year delay while she's finishing her degree and we do the green card process.

We want to get all of our USCIS-stage paperwork together so that the moment we receive our marriage certificate, we can get it translated and send the package right in. I have the following questions that I hope you can answer!

1. For the USCIS-stage paperwork, how much material should we send in to prove the bonafide marriage? We have a 4-month lease together, have traveled to 2 countries (not counting all of the travel within Israel), and will have all of the marriage stuff (invitations, pictures, video, etc) by the time the marriage certificate arrives. How much should we stuff in this USCIS envelope vs. how much should we keep for the NVC stage interview?

2. For the addresses in the G325a, should I (American petitioner) include all of the addresses I've lived, despite keeping my permanent address and citizenship in Massachusetts, USA? I have lived in 3 different addresses in Israel and have moved home twice during the past 4 years, once for 3 months for summer break and the other for 7 months while I did rotations and interviews all around the northeast.

ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! I feel like I have a general idea of the timeline but want to make sure I don't screw anything up. I don't think we need to hire a lawyer, but the other classmates of mine who are marrying Israelis did so out of fear and not knowing about this wonderful website.

-Evan