kumakun

...and our 5 lb 9 oz baby (aka I-751 Petition) left Hawai‘i this morning for Phoenix, expected to arrive on Wednesday 08/28/2019. Think we may have gone a little overboard with the evidence. 😂

49 minutes ago, Ugne said:

How I wish we stumbled on this post sooner! We just filed in August as well and did not include some of the stuff you guys included even though we had it. We used a lawyer as well, so felt confident. 

Does anyone know if we’d receive an extension NOA first or RFE?

From what I understand, the extension letters always come before any RFEs. They generate the extension letters pretty quickly; I think they mainly check that the I-751 is filled out properly and isn't missing signatures. They usually don't review the full submissions until months later, and the full reviews happen at service centers rather than in Phoenix or Dallas.

As far as our evidence, we're overachievers. We included everything we could think of because our financial co-mingling doesn't look as solid on the surface as most couples. We don't have a joint lease or mortgage/deed (I bought the house we live in before we met) and we both maintain separate bank accounts (although both of our names are on both). We account for shared expenses (bills, food, entertainment, travel, etc.) in spreadsheets...it's just a system that works for us. Financial co-mingling is the best evidence one can provide, so we felt we needed to provide as much secondary and tertiary evidence as we could to make up for not having much co-mingled activity in bank statements. If you used a (good) lawyer you likely have nothing to worry about.

3 hours ago, JJ and JJ said:

Guys how many months or years of bank statements have you attached on your package? By reading other threads I noticed some people putting years of bank statements while we only attached the latest statement that we had available (june or July) for each of the accounts we have. Now i’m getting scared this is a huge risk for an rfe ;(

We're planning to send as many as possible, dating back to when we opened the account. That said we're "paperless" and our bank only allows us to access monthly statements online for the past 24 months. They will print copies of older statements for a fee, so rather than pay $80 for a bunch of older monthly statements we're providing one monthly statement per quarter from Feb 2016 to June 2017, then monthly statements from July 2017 on. (Yeah we should have been thinking about this sooner!) We also got a letter from the bank showing both of our names and stating when the account was opened. From what I've read, the more the better when it comes to proving financial co-mingling. Probably wouldn't hurt to gather as much as you can now so you can respond to an RFE quickly. Sounds pretty certain you will get one, but no need to panic! Just be ready to respond as quickly and thoroughly as possible to reduce delay in processing your case.

16 hours ago, Becci391 said:

Do we now have two August 2019 filer groups?

I already created a group on Wednesday...

This thread is the only one that shows up on page 1 when doing a search for "I-751 August 2019"...so I suspect this thread is the one people are most likely to click on. What's the link to the thread you created?

Aloha! We are filing our I-751 this month as well. My husband's conditional GC expires in early November. Since we're in Hawai‘i we will be sending our petition to Phoenix. Although we could technically file this week, we will be waiting until the end of August, as my husband is traveling home for a visit the second half of September and we are concerned his biometrics appointment could be scheduled during that time.

Anyway here is our Table of Contents!

EXHIBIT A : Payment of Fees, USCIS Forms, Copy of Permanent Resident Card

• Personal check for $680.00
• USCIS Form G-1145, “e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance”
• USCIS Form I-751, “Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence”
• Copy of Husband’s Permanent Resident Card (front and back)

EXHIBIT B : Driver Licenses Showing Cohabitation

• Copies of our Hawaii driver licenses with same physical address

EXHIBIT C : Tax Returns

• Explanation of documents in Exhibit C (explains first two items and why we filed MFS for tax year 2016)
• Email exchange between USC and CPA
• Cover and excerpt from Internal Revenue Service Publication 17
• 2016 IRS Tax Return Transcript and corresponding W-2 and 1099-G
• State of Hawaii Department of Taxation Form N-11 “Individual Tax Return–RESIDENT” for Calendar Year 2016
• 2017 IRS Tax Return Transcript and corresponding W-2, 1099-G, and 1099-MISC
• State of Hawaii Department of Taxation Form N-11 “Individual Tax Return–RESIDENT” for Calendar Year 2017
• 2018 IRS Tax Return Transcript and corresponding W-2s, 1099-G, and 1099-MISC
• State of Hawaii Department of Taxation Form N-11 “Individual Tax Return–RESIDENT” for Calendar Year 2018

EXHIBIT D : Financial Accounts and Household Accounting

• Explanation of documents in Exhibit D (explains our rather unique way of managing our bank accounts and household finances)
• Explanation of absence of joint home mortgage or lease (explains that we did not wish to refinance home I owned before meeting my husband and that we hope to purchase a home together when housing market and interest rates are more favorable)
• “Verification of Account Information Notice” from Bank #1
• Bank statements from Bank #1 checking account since February 2016 (joint account but primarily used by my husband)
• Copy of completed “Signature Card Amendment” form from Bank #2 (added my husband to be a co-account holder of my checking account in May 2019...oops shoulda done that sooner!)
• Bank statements from Bank #2 checking account: June and July 2019
• Monthly household accounting spreadsheets since July 2016

EXHIBIT E : Vehicles

• Copies of current automobile titles showing joint ownership/responsibility
• Copies of current automobile registrations showing joint ownership/responsibility 
• Copies of current and previous automobile insurance cards showing joint ownership/responsibility
• Copies of current and previous automobile policies showing joint ownership/responsibility, primary driver, and other household driver

EXHIBIT F : Other Joint Accounts

• Printout of Costco Account Details (generated on Costco.com; our local Costco could not provide us with a letter or statement)
• Copies of AAA Hawaii Premier Membership cards (2018 and 2019 renewal)
• Select monthly mobile phone statements showing both of our names (one per quarter)
• Select monthly electricity statements showing both of our names (one per quarter)
• Select monthly internet service statements showing both of our names (one per quarter)

EXHIBIT G : Beneficiaries

• Explanation of documents in Exhibit G
• Letter from director of human resources at my employer (explains medical/dental insurance history, 403(b) beneficiary status, emergency contact status
• Copy of signed Beneficiary Designation form
• Printout of personal profile from my employer’s employee management portal 
• Copies of old medical insurance cards
• Printout from Bank #2 showing beneficiary status for my life insurance and brokerage accounts
• Printout of personal profile from my husband's employer's employee management portal

EXHIBIT H : Travel

• Copy of flight itineraries to/from Kahului, Maui, Hawaii (January 2017, airline we flew does not issue boarding passes)
• Email correspondence between me and hotel on Maui
• Copy of flight itineraries to/from Tokyo-Haneda, Japan (May-June 2017)
• Passport stamps showing arrival to and departure from Tokyo, Japan (we can't find my husband's boarding passes from this trip, so we thought entry/exit stamps were next best thing to prove we traveled together)
• Email confirmations of reservations at hotel in Tokyo
• Copies of boarding passes to/from Osaka, Japan (October-November 2018)
• Email correspondences between me and Osaka hotel to arrange anniversary surprise for my husband
• Copies of boarding passes to/from Tokyo, Japan (April 2019)

EXHIBIT I : Communications

• Sample screenshots of some of my Facebook posts related to our marriage with reactions from friends (7 examples)
• Sample screenshots of text messages between the two of us since being married (16 examples)

EXHIBIT J : Photographs

• Images of us together on vacations and at social events with friends (28 images)

EXHIBIT K : Cards

• Copies of cards and envelopes to and between us (18 samples)

EXHIBIT L : Affidavits

• Included four affidavits: from my mother (husband's mother-in-law), our next-door neighbors, and two friends. Based on research on VJ and plenty of people stating their petitions were approved without notarized affidavits, we did not get them notarized but are including originals with wet signatures.

Whew! Best wishes to all fellow August filers for no RFE's and speedy approvals.

Thanks @afrocraft! This is very helpful (and comforting). 😀 Yes I am an overthinker! 😂

Hello VisaJourneyers! We are getting ready to file our I-751 petition and supporting evidence in mid-August. In reading (and reading, and reading) the forums here, I'm starting to get a little jittery about our financial co-mingling situation. I am the USC, my husband is the immigrant spouse.

I'll preface this by stating we do have the following evidence:

• Tax transcripts from IRS for 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as copies of state returns for the same years. In 2017 and 2018 we filed MFJ; in 2016 we were advised by my CPA that it would be more financially advantageous to file MFS because (1) my husband hadn't been in the USA long enough to justify legal presence, and (2) he had zero income in the US that year, and thus was not required to file a return. We have emails from the CPA with this guidance and the transcript does state at the top "Married filing separate return and spouse is not required to file a return."
• Driver licenses showing same physical address
• Two vehicles registered to both of us with joint insurance on both
• Designations as beneficiaries on retirement plans and life insurance
• Listings as each other's emergency contacts with our employers
• A letter from my employer stating that my husband was on my medical and dental insurance from the time we were married to the time he started working (and started receiving these benefits from his employer)
• Mobile phone, electric, and cable bills in my name but addressed to both of us; phone bills show both of our phone numbers/lines (one in my name, one in his)
• Accounts with AAA and Costco showing both of our names
• Boarding passes and photos from two vacations taken since AOS interview (and emails with a hotel to arrange a surprise on our anniversary)
• Photos from social events and with friends (21 total); screenshots of a few relevant social media posts and text message conversations
• Cards exchanged between us and from my mom and a couple of friends
• Affidavits (we'll have 4 or 5 total)

What we don't have:

• Wills or MPOAs
• Kids

So now about our financial and living situation:

• We did open a joint checking account about eight months before we were married, but it is pretty much exclusively my spouse's. We've been able to download the last two years' worth of statements that show both of our names, but all activity on the account is his. We requested and obtained a letter from the bank stating the opening date of the account.
• I did add his name to my checking account at a separate bank (which I've had for more than 20 years) just 6 weeks ago, but all activity on that account is mine.
• For us we're both just more comfortable managing our own money! That's really what it boils down to. We like to spend and invest in different things, and we virtually never end up arguing about money (yay). We obviously do share some expenses (like utility and insurance bills), and sometimes we buy things for each other (like if I'm at Target and he needs something), so we do have a pretty elaborate household accounting system where we track expenses on spreadsheets. Most months he ends up writing me a check; some months I end up writing him one. We do have all of these monthly spreadsheets dating back to when he moved here on his K-1 in 2016. (Yes, we're sort of crazy.)
• I purchased the home we live in three years before we met, and there are several reasons we did not add him to the mortgage and deed. (1) I didn't want to lose (part of my) investment in the house in the event the marriage didn't work out; (2) he didn't want to have any financial responsibility for the house (other than typical household expenses); (3) doing so is very messy!; (4) because we see joint ownership of property and a serious financial commitment, we figured we'd wait a few years to ensure we're on solid ground before considering buying a place together, not to mention housing prices are still crazy-high and we'd rather wait to take advantage of better prices and interest rates (because what goes up, must come down eventually, yeah?). He does share in our housing costs by contributing about 20% of the monthly mortgage/taxes/insurance on the house.

So, are we in red flag territory? Or will we likely be ok if we simply provide explanations of our banking, accounting, and housing situations as I did above?

Appreciate any advice and, if worthy, encouragement!

Although we interviewed in November 2017 and were told at our interview that our case was approved, we never received any sort of notice that my husband's green card was produced or shipped...UNTIL TODAY (May 25, 2018)! We did receive the green card about a week after the interview; we just never got a notice that it had been produced and shipped. It's worth checking your mailbox daily...the case-tracking system is not particularly reliable or consistent.

4 minutes ago, Roberttran said:

Hi can you give me a follow up on your entry into the US? Me, my fiancé and daughter will be flying out in a few weeks and her petition has expired months ago but she does have a valid k1. I'm just really worried cause all of these threads talking about their bad experiences. 

We ended up being fine. My fiance (now husband) arrived in Honolulu with a valid K-1, although his I-129F had expired the month before. It wasn't even an issue at POE. In fact he had a very pleasant entry experience, with the agent offering congratulations and best wishes for a happy marriage and life in the US. That said, it all depends on the agent. And remember, once the K-1 is issued the validity of the I-129F is irrelevant.

It is good that you are entering together so you can help explain anything if questions/problems arise (as long as you are not separated at entry...it's ok to explain you are a USC and you are accompanying your fiance, who is entering on a K-1). And remember, don't say any more than you need to! Good luck!

Aloha! We are trying to make sense of the field office processing times listed on USCIS's website. NOA1 for our I-485 Adjustment of Status application was dated December 7, 2016 (our check was cashed on December 6). Husband had biometrics in Honolulu on January 6, 2017. EAD and AP were approved in mid-March, but we haven't heard a thing about his I-485 ever since he attended his biometrics appointment. We've contacted one of our U.S. senators who, after two months, finally provided this update: "USCIS advised that your husband’s I-485 application is now at the National Benefits Center. I’ll send an inquiry to the NBC and will let you know as soon as I receive their response."

We called USCIS's toll-free number today and were told that if the case is with NBC, it will eventually go to Honolulu, and based on the processing times they haven't gotten to ours yet (weird). But here's where it gets weirder: the agent said that, according to the processing times posted online, "As of June 14, Honolulu was processing I-485s from October 13." I suggested that the page indicates that "As of April 30, Honolulu was processing I-485s from October 13," and that June 14 is simply the day the web page was updated with the April 30 data. She says otherwise, but couldn't explain the relevance of April 30 being listed. (See attachment.)

Does anyone KNOW FOR SURE if the date to go by in this case is April 30, or June 14? Because if it's April 30 it tells us we should be getting very close. If it's June 14 we may be waiting another two months.

I realize we're fortunate to have the EAD/AP combo card; it's just frustrating that so many other AOS couples in Hawai‘i who filed after us have already had their interviews and received their 2-year GCs!  We're just concerned we may not have received an RFE notice or something...

15 minutes ago, geowrian said:

You'll see packages and images for everybody at that same address.

Yay! Very cool feature and service! Congrats on a job well done. 

9 minutes ago, CookieCat said:

I also received my first e-mail today with the scanned letters that were addressed to me and to my husband. We don't share a surname (I kept my maiden name after marriage) yet I saw the scan of a letter addressed to only him. There was also another letter where the letter was incorrectly addressed to me at my name + husband's surname. So basically you should get all names linked to your address. Magazines and junk mail don't show up in the e-mail scans...

OK this makes me hopeful! We still have AOS pending and are hoping to hear about an interview or outright issuance of a 2-year GC soon. Our post office isn't always accurate with mail sorting, and we know USCIS' notification system isn't always reliable, so I am hoping this will give us another layer of information should a notice or RFE be headed our way in his name.

On 5/17/2017 at 2:15 PM, geowrian said:

The data is linked to an address (technically a ZIP11: ZIP5 + ZIP4 + DPV). So if somebody lives at the same address as you, they can signup and will see the exact same data.

 

Nothing with your account will show up on your husband's account, but the packages and mailpiece images will be identical for a given address.

 

Sorry but I am unable to determine the answer to this question from this thread, even though I think you may have tried. I signed up for Informed Delivery and was able to be verified online no problem. Even got my first email notification today! But I am wondering: will I get notifications about mail addressed to my husband automatically as well since we both share the same mailing address? Or will I only receive notifications about mail addressed to ME specifically?

Long story short: we are unable to verify my husband for his own Informed Delivery account because we are unable to produce a secondary form of ID that reconciles his name, our physical address, and our mailing address. (Basically the post office in our town does not deliver mail to our physical address: we have no choice but to use a PO Box, but the state doesn't allow a PO Box to be listed on a driver license or state ID.) So we're hoping I will still receive email alerts when a piece of mail with his name on it is on its way. Any idea?

There are some rare instances where what you describe has happened, and it's always been due to ignorance on the part of CBP agents who don't understand the process. While the I-129F expires four months after issue (to give you enough time to get a medical exam, police certificates, schedule embassy interview, etc.), what matters for entry into the U.S. is when the K-1 VISA expires. You are entering the U.S. on the K-1 visa, not on the I-129F petition.

There are some threads from years ago on this forum about people who ran into CBP agents who didn't understand this and focused on the fact the I-129F was expired and did not allow entry (two were Canadian, I believe). In the unlikely event you encounter this problem, you should calmly and politely explain that your K-1 visa is still valid and that the I-129F petition was just a step toward securing your visa. If you encounter disagreement, you should (calmly and politely!) ask to speak to a supervisor.

My husband was in the exact same situation: his I-129F had expired before he entered the U.S. on a valid K-1 visa, and he didn't have any problems whatsoever. Most CBP agents understand it's the validity of the visa that matters, not the petition earlier in the process of obtaining the visa.

tl;dr – don't worry, you should be fine! 

2 minutes ago, Georgia16 said:

Also your field office is not fast. 

 

 

Yeah but we know that those tables are generally CYA hogwash.

Just now, Georgia16 said:

Are you sure your case even is transferred? It might still be in Missouri and maybe your in the category for no interview. 

To the best of our knowledge case is still in MO. What's interesting—and I know not every case is the same—is that virtually every K-1 AOS case from HI reported on VJ in the past year or so has been transferred to Honolulu within ~60 days of biometrics and interviews scheduled. It would be lovely if we are an exception, huh?

8 minutes ago, geowrian said:

There is no fixed timeline. That said, your AOS timeline is well within the normal processing times. I'd even go so far as to say it seems to be a little faster than average so far.

Thanks for the responses, all true! (Although they don't answer my actual question.) We're just concerned because VJ timelines affiliated with the Honolulu office seem to move much faster than ours is. I know there's no real rhyme or reason to order or processing speeds, but our case does seem to be an anomaly compared to local data reported here. I-785/I-131 were on par with other timelines; we've had absolutely no RFE's along the way.

Hi, I'm wondering if folks who have contacted their U.S. Rep or Senator to ask for help in checking on the status of their cases could respond. How long did it take you to hear back? We have contacted our U.S. Rep (who was of absolutely no help) and then one of our U.S. Senators (whose office has been much more helpful) to submit an inquiry to USCIS to check on the status of our AOS. It's been two weeks since we submitted the signed inquiry form. We know of a few other couples in our region who filed AOS after us but are being processed faster than we are. We're concerned that our petition may have been knocked out of sequence when our local drivers license office inquired about my husband's legal status while I-485 and I-785/I-131 were being processed. (I-785 and I-131 were approved about six weeks ago.) Thanks!

6 hours ago, mallafri76 said:

Figure out what? You have a SSN that you can use for pretty much anything except working. You'll need an EAD to be allowed to work and that you will apply for once you're married and you file for adjustment of status.

Agreed with Mallafri, nothing really to figure out. Having the SSN already just means one less thing to do after you're married, and will help you open a bank account, sign a lease, etc. faster if you need to. It won't speed up your K-1, AOS, or EAD processes, though.

Once you have an SSN it's yours for life, even if you leave the US. My husband was issued on in the 1990s when he was a student, as he needed one to lease an apartment, open a bank account, etc. When he moved back last year (via K-1) he's been able to use the same one no problem...in fact we were told by our lawyer not to file for a new one. As far as speeding things up, no it hasn't had that effect in any step of this process.

47 minutes ago, SHK1 said:

 

Hi kumakun,

 

Thanks for the reply. You were in fact right, I had just received the appointment letter in the mail today.

 

Because it differs between people to people, I was just getting a little restless since I've heard people receiving it a lot earlier.

 

Thanks for your help.

Oh I get it! We've been on average 1-2 weeks behind other VJ'ers timing throughout this process and it's stressful every step of the way. We haven't heard anything about my husband's GC ever since his biometrics appointment, and pretty much every VJ'er before us being processed through Honolulu in the past year had their GC by now.  Glad you got your appointment letter though!

Looks like they are cranking today! Our AP approval notification trickled in about 30 minutes after EAD this morning. Fingers crossed for others waiting; your time is coming!

39 minutes ago, Craigva said:

Status just updated to "Case Was Approved"... what a relief... This process is TERRIBLE

OMG so was ours! Just got the message about EAD a few minutes ago!  Perhaps the "Thursday-Friday" notification theory is accurate.

Has anyone here received their EAD or AP approval this week? Looking at the timelines looks like no one has received notification of approval in the last three days. We're on Day 92 from the date of our NOA1 and shivering with antici...PATION. 

Might check online or with the main DMV headquarters and see if Delaware has a provisional driver license option. I know every state varies but here in Hawaii we were able to get my husband a provisional, two-month driver license that ONLY allows him to drive—it cannot be used as an official ID for travel, voting (not that he could vote anyway), writing checks, etc. Granted he already has a social security number from when he was a student in Los Angeles 20 years ago, so that helped with the required documentation, but they would not accept NOA1 as a suitable document to establish legal presence as it's merely a receipt. Hopefully he'll receive EAD this week and we can get him the full-privilege license before the provisional one expires. And yes, the DMV office you go to DOES make a difference! Good luck.