sanmi

I got my 2-year greencard through my husband (US citizen).

We were both living in TX for 5 years and we got married in 2014 in TX. Then I moved to NY for a new job. We applied for GC in 2015 while we were living apart and I was holding H1B at that time... Anyways, I got my 2-year GC in Sept 2015.


tips:
Ask people to write affidavits EARLY!!
You never know how long it will take a person to polish or to write an affidavit for you Diversified affidavits
I think it is important to have more than 2 affidavits, and they should not be all from families or friends. Diversified affidavits could be more convincing.
We have one from a close family, one from a colleague, one from a very closed friend and one from our landlord  Save airplane tickets and keep track of trips you took together. Also, remember to take photos!! 
My husband and I don't like taking photos... But we did take a lot of them because I know we need them for immigration reasons... File I-751: who is the petitioner?!
Different from the first time we applied GC. I (the conditional resident) is the petitioner.
This can be deduced from I-751:
In Part 8 of I-751: "Part 8. Spouse's or Individual Listed in Part 4.'s Statement" where "Part 4. Information About the U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident Spouse"; (Note: 2-year gc holder are NOT lawful permanent resident yet)
This implies that Part 8 is US citizen signature, and Part 7, is where I (conditional resident) need to sign!!
Then, in the instruction of I-751, it says that
"Part 7. Petitioner’s Statement, Contact Information, Acknowledgement of Appointment at USCIS Application Support Center, Certi cation, and Signature."
So the conditional resident is indeed the petitioner... If you are not sure about whether USCIS needs something, then assume they do... Don't forget to sign!! Make sure you send the materials to the right address!!
In the past, we sent our material to Chicago. But this time it's different (depending on which state you live) how much we need to pay
We paid 680, filling fee+biometric. But if you have kids or someone extra, you need to pay more biometric. So double check how much you need to pay!! Prepare binders of photos and trip details
It took me very long to compile a binder of photo and trip details.
Basically, for each trip, I made pages of photos with stickers stating location, time period, and people in them; followed by a holder of documents including flight tickets, hotel reservation, train tickets, museum entrance (if booked online), border stamps (if international travel) etc. 
eg. we went to France together for 7 days. I also wrote a detailed list of our trip (if you took pictures on your phone it actually shows location and time, very easy to trace )
day 0, we left from JFK to Paris
day 1 -3 Paris, we were staying at Airbnb (mr. meow). We went to museum, shopping and blabla
day 4- 6 Lyon, we were staying at Airbnb (Mr. woaf). We walked around the city, blabla
day 7, we left from Paris to JFK

If you went on a short trip, you may just have a few photos and a sticker saying that when, where you went to this place.
If people visited your place, you may also provide details of the person's flight and photos of the person's visit.
Timeline:  my GC will expire on 09/15/2017

05/01/2017: ask for affidavits from my mother in law, my colleague, our common friends in TX, our landlord

It took me one week to prepare everything and then I mailed my materials (10 pounds!) through UPS 2nd day air...


Cover letter: (xxx is me, the conditional resident; uuu is the US citizen)

To: 
USCIS wherever you need to send your material

RE: Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence for xxx


Dear USCIS Officer:

Enclosed please find a Form I-751 petition for removal of conditions of permanent resident status regarding my wife, xxx. Please find enclosed the following required and supporting documents.

• Original Form I-751 filled and signed by myself, US citizen, uuu; and my wife, the conditional resident, xxx
• Personal Check, in the amount of $680.00 for payment of Form I-751 petition and biometric fee
• Copy of xxx's Permanent Resident Card front and back
• Two passport-style color photos of xxx


A binder of documentation in support of our marriage and ongoing relationship:
1. Copy of our marriage certificate
2. Copies of our driver’s licenses, showing our current address
3. Copies of our passports, showing travel abroad together
4. Copies of IRS transcript of our joint tax return and wages for 2014
5. Copies of IRS transcript of our joint tax return and wages for 2015
6. Copies of IRS transcript of our joint tax return and wages for 2016
7. Copy of our joint checking account statements (past 18 months)
8. Copy of our joint savings account statements (past 18 months)
9. Copy of xxx's  retirement statements, listing uuu as the primary beneficiary since 2014
10. Copy of joint credit cards. Also statements for joint credit card ending 1234, with uuu as primary card holder, credit card ending 4567, with xxx as the primary card holder, costco credit card, with uuu as the primary card holder
11. Original affidavits affirmed by uuu's mother
12. Original affidavits affirmed by our landlord
13. Original affidavits affirmed by xxx's colleague
14. Original affidavits affirmed by our friend
15. Copy of our joint vision insurance
16. Copy of our joint travel insurance
17. Copy of our joint dental insurance
18. Copy of our car our car title and insurance cards (since the car was purchased in 2014)
19. Copy of our lease agreements
20. Copies of our AT&T monthly wireless phone statements, with phone calls between us highlighted (past 18 months).
21. A separate binder of photos and details of trips we took in 2013 and 2014, and our wedding photos; and flight tickets/itineraries for visiting each other in 2014 (as we were living apart)
22. A separate binder of photos and details of trips we took in 2015, 2016 and 2017; and flight tickets/itineraries for visiting each other in 2015




If you have any questions or concerns regarding our application, please do not hesitate to contact me: uuu, (123)456-7890, abcd@yahoo.com
or my wife
xxx: (987)654-8888, lkajdf@yahoo.com
or at the address below.  Thank you very much.    Sincerely,     (sign)   uuuuu abc street, Apt 222 wwwwwwwww