kevinsu

I apologize in advance for the nature of this post, but I am having a lot of trouble finding information specific to my case.

My (now) wife entered the U.S. on an F1 visa. We got engaged while visiting her parents in India and recently married. We now want to file an AOS based on the recent marriage. I'm a natural US citizen.

Considering that the large bulk of information is on K1/K3 AOS, I hope someone can either post me a link to a thread or help me with dotting my i's and crossing my t's. I'm very nervous to do anything wrong.

Since she's on an F1 I believe I need to file:

I-330 and I-485 concurrently.

I-765 since she has an MS in Engineering and has a standing job offer from a great firm.

G-325a for herself and I

I-131 because we plan to travel to India together and get married according to her custom (hence why we had the legal marriage here)

I-864

Am I missing anything?

Thank you dearly in advance.

We're in the same situation - F-1 to AOS. Many people do it, and it's perfectly fine.

Your list is correct, except it's the I-130, not the I-330.

Note your wife can't start work until she gets her EAD.

I just want to make sure I have this right...

I go on expedia or whatever, and book my tickets in my maiden name (so it matches my passport), right? And bring my marriage certificate to prove to US customs that the last name on the green card is my married one?

Seems more logical to me that you would book your tickets in the name on your green card, seeing as it is a government issued ID. Bring marriage cert to support your name change.

Meanwhile, it is possible to get your passport updated at Canadian consulate?

I am sure this has been asked and answered but I searched and can't see it.

Can it go UPS or FEDEX? I only see a P.O. box so I assume not. Can you get delivery confirmation with USPS? I know we did with the I129F and it went to a P.O. box.

I think people on here have used UPS or FedEx, but I'm not sure if they sent it to the PO BOX or the other Chicago address for private couriers.

Since I wasn't sure, I used USPS Express mail which guaranteed overnight delivery to the PO Box. That comes with tracking.

USPS can put delivery confirmation/tracking on other types of mail. Depending on the service, there could be an extra charge (very nominal).

http://www.visalaw.com/99oct/20oct99.html

A commonly held but mistaken assumption is that a visit every year to the US will preserve LPR status. While an LPR needs only the green card to reenter the US after an absence of less than one year, this is not enough to indicate the intent to remain a resident of the US. The LPR must take additional action to preserve their status.

------------

Read the linked article to learn more about abandonment of status.

Thanks for the link

My wife will have a year and a half of nursing school left in the Philippines after she comes to the United States. The plan is for her to come here, get a green card, then finish up school over there. My questions are:

How long does she need to stay in the United States before going back to complete school.

Also, If she is over there, I heard that she must return to the USA within a year and a day. Is that true. Could this requirement be fulfilled by her or us visiting the USA on her breaks.

I assume you guys are already married. So is that year and a half taking in consideration the time it'll take to get the K visa? Just food for thought.

In any event, your wife will need to stay until she gets her green card before she goes back to study. I don't know how the gov't feels about extended leaves on AP. You should be able to fulfill the return requirement on visits to the US on breaks, but this will affect her residency requirement for naturalization, if that matters to you.

thanks for your reply.

but i guess i'm still wondery why the officer couldn't say why she still needed to do a review if it's the pending FBI namecheck. i thought officers usually say something like i can't approve your case yet because your name hasnt' been cleared...

i'm worried it's something else. right now, i'm thinking maybe it has something to do with my bday because when i went for my fingerprinting, my bday came up as my entry date to the US instead of my actual bday when they scanned the letter from USCIS.

i had called my lawyer and asked her about this but she said this isn't something to worry about and that they wrote the correct bday so maybe INS typed it in wrong. but now, i'm overthinking everything and i remembered being asked what my bday was 2x at the interview yesterday and the officer wanted to see an ORIGINAL AND COPY of my birth certificate, both of which i showed her...

oh so very confused,

JM

Since you probably paid for that phone call to your lawyer, there's no reason to not take her word for it, right?

thanks for your reply.

but i guess i'm still wondery why the officer couldn't say why she still needed to do a review if it's the pending FBI namecheck. i thought officers usually say something like i can't approve your case yet because your name hasnt' been cleared...

i'm worried it's something else. right now, i'm thinking maybe it has something to do with my bday because when i went for my fingerprinting, my bday came up as my entry date to the US instead of my actual bday when they scanned the letter from USCIS.

i had called my lawyer and asked her about this but she said this isn't something to worry about and that they wrote the correct bday so maybe INS typed it in wrong. but now, i'm overthinking everything and i remembered being asked what my bday was 2x at the interview yesterday and the officer wanted to see an ORIGINAL AND COPY of my birth certificate, both of which i showed her...

oh so very confused,

JM

Since you probably paid for that phone call to your lawyer, there's no reason to not take her word for it, right?

Yes if you are changing your name. Start practicing!

My fiancee needs to practice signing in English, She also signs in Chinese.

A person's signature is what it is. Your fiancee can continue signing in Chinese if she wants, and in fact this might be preferable to maintain consistency.

Hey! This is my first time on this forum (coming from the K1 successfully! ). And I have a couple--probably really silly easy to answer questions about these next step forms:

On the "Petition for Alien Relative": question 17--List husband/wife and all children of your relative. I think that means anyone besides me; Keith thinks that I should write myself again. Which??? Then question 21--If filing for your husband/wife, give last address at which you lived together. On paper we've only just started living together since we've gotten to the states. Do I just put that address down?

OK, now the I-864: On Part 4 B--SPONSOR'S HOUSEHOLD SIZE 1. Number of persons (related to you by birth, marriage, or adoption) living in your residence, including yourself... Keith and I are currently living with my Mom and Stepdad (I just got a job and so we are trying to find an apartment, but it's not looking good at the moment). Do I list my Mom and Stepdad? My inclination is no, because I am living in THEIR household, and I don't want the people looking at the form to think I have to support Keith AND 2 other people...

OH! And Keith has some questions too!

So to begin... Your Alien Registration Number is the number that begins with A on your visa right? For example, A987432

On Form 1-485 it asks for "Place of Last Entry into the United States". Is this your Point of Entry into the country? I.e. I came in this time at chicago and my status would be K1 Visa holder?

Also what is the Nonimmigrant visa number? Is this your A#? If not where is it to be found?

Thanks for all your help

I think the guides may be a good visual aid to help answer most of your questions.

For the I-130 petition on behalf of the alien relative, husband/wife of the alien relative would be you. So I did list myself when we filled out the I-130 for my foreign spouse.

I listed our current address as the last address living together

I-864: I think your inclination is correct. Just list yourself.

Keith's questions:

I left A# blank.

Point of Entry - wherever you were last examined by customs. So Chicago sounds right. You are currently AOS pending.

I would never break immigration laws just to avoid the waiting time involved in the normal marriage based visa process, the penalty is too great! My fiance could be bared entry for 5-10 years.

We are doing it the correct way by filing for a K1. What is 8 months waiting compared to a 10 year bar.

I love my girl too much to take that risk!

When folks ask difficult questions, it's fine to suggest to them that they should go see a lawyer, but we shouldn't be offering legal advice, opinion, or conclusions in the same breath.

As an aside, K1/K3 isn't the only way to file for AOS. There are many many people who were legally in the U.S. with no original *intent* on getting married. People fall in love and get married, and then file for AOS. Granted, the OP's situation appears to be more risky. But that's because *intent* will be harder to show in his situation, and *NOT* necessarily because his wife entered on a tourist visa. That is the critical point that I must make.

It's entirely possible that he meant that they've wanted to get married for quite some time, but that it was not their plan to get married on this tourist trip. The wedding could've "happened" for a multitude of reasons. So, let's have him explain what he means before we all jump to conclusions. In fact, we shouldn't be making any conclusions at all.

Very good idea and good luck on your interview.

Peter Miami

Thank You, only a few weeks away!

Pretty fast turnaround - 3 months or so from application to interview. I hope I am as lucky.

I-130 wants one, I-485 seems to want one too. Should I submit two for her? I know I need one 325A for myself on the I-130.

Thanks

Yes, you submit 2 for her and 1 for yourself. You have to treat all the requirements for forms as seperate, even if they end up going in the same envelope.

I am having a hard time understanding your question, what type of visa are you applying for?

Anybody who came to this country on a visa for work/school/visitation and gets married here files I-130 and I-485 together. Not everyone on this site is adjusting through a K-1 or K-3 visa. Note that this also means they can't fill out their timeline on this site, before you ask.

Spouse initially entered as a student. We met here in the US while we were both students. Got married. I thought I needed to sponsor her under I-130, and then she also has to file a I-485?

You are correct. You file I-130, she does I-485 and they both go to Chicago Lockbox in the same envelope, with the supporting forms.

Thanks dr_lha, I'm glad someone on here can offer correct procedural guidelines. To follow up on this, I mailed the 130 and 485 and other supporting docs on Saturday.

I am having a hard time understanding your question, what type of visa are you applying for?

Usually I-130 and I-485 are not used on the same visa track.

Please fill your profile out with more data such as which visa is being considered, marital status, processing center, beneficiaries country.

Spouse initially entered as a student. We met here in the US while we were both students. Got married. I thought I needed to sponsor her under I-130, and then she also has to file a I-485?

I am having a hard time understanding your question, what type of visa are you applying for?

Usually I-130 and I-485 are not used on the same visa track.

Please fill your profile out with more data such as which visa is being considered, marital status, processing center, beneficiaries country.

Let me clarify that she entered on an F-1 visa. We are filing to adjust her status to permanent resident

I-130 wants one, I-485 seems to want one too. Should I submit two for her? I know I need one 325A for myself on the I-130.

Thanks

Can anybody tell me how many originals (or copies) are needed

for the entire AOS process?

In order to validate the wedding at the country of the non US citizen spouse

do you know if it is required the translation of the marriage certificate?

This question is addressed especially to someone that comes from my country: Italy.

Thanks for any replies!!!!!!!

Non-english documents relied upon for AOS need to be translated by a certified translator.

moto, I guess it depends where you live. In PA in the cost of a drivers license is $15.50. I don't consider too badly ripped off even though my current DL is only valid for 1 year, instead of the usual 4, mainly because $15 is peanuts.

A point that I didn't raise earlier is that you'll be in situations when it's not always a great idea to use your passport as ID - if you lose it you're in a huge mess. You're also announcing to anyone who sees it that you're not a US citizen, and perhaps it's just my paranoia, but that has it's risks.

State issued ID is much lower risk and you can use it for all ID purposes, except for international travel.

Thanks for the QUICK replies!!!! My fear of the government-issued ID was that they wanted a US government-issued ID. Thanks now I just have to worry about which of my makeup's I could take on board with me!!

Another idea..

If you have your EAD card, you can file for a social security number and get a state issued ID (non-driver's license) that way. You can fly domestic on a state government issued ID - don't necessarily need a U.S. government issued ID. As far as I know, there are very few U.S. government issued IDs other than passports and military IDs.

Coverletter listing everything that it contains and what is for what package.

The cover letter isn't required.

However one thing you missed of that list was the 2005 1040 (tax return), just W-2 and 1099 is not enogh.

Seems like, from others' posts, that just submitting the most recent tax return is going to trigger an RFE. Best to include the returns from the past three years and also submit copies of the last six paystubs, in addition to the W-2/1099s (that were needed to generate your 1040)

If you read the guides, read the forms and arn't be afraid to ask questions here, you should be able to file for AOS without a lawyer. In fact I would recommend it personally, as friends of mine who have gone through this with lawyers generally had very negative feelings about their lawyer experience.

The forms are really quite simple. Given how much it costs to file, I can't recommend shelling out more on a lawyer unless you have a complicated case.

I am an attorney. While I don't practice immigration law, much of any (successful) legal practice is doing things carefully, and in an organized fashion.

Filling out these forms is no different. These forms may be confusing, but it's not so complicated that you need to hire a lawyer to do it. To be honest - if you do it yourself, you will put in far more effort to make sure everything is complete and correct. Files in a law firm are probably no different than files at the USCIS - papers exchange hands so many times that it's hard to tell if something is lost until it's too late.

If you read the guides, read the forms and arn't be afraid to ask questions here, you should be able to file for AOS without a lawyer. In fact I would recommend it personally, as friends of mine who have gone through this with lawyers generally had very negative feelings about their lawyer experience.

The forms are really quite simple. Given how much it costs to file, I can't recommend shelling out more on a lawyer unless you have a complicated case.

I am an attorney. While I don't practice immigration law, much of any (successful) legal practice is doing things carefully, and in an organized fashion.

Filling out these forms is no different. These forms may be confusing, but it's not so complicated that you need to hire a lawyer to do it. To be honest - if you do it yourself, you will put in far more effort to make sure everything is complete and correct. Files in a law firm are probably no different than files at the USCIS - papers exchange hands so many times that it's hard to tell if something is lost until it's too late.

Hi all:

I stumbled on this site and it looks like the perfect resource for us.

My wife is currently (legally) in the US on her OPT of her F-1 student visa. She has EAD through the OPT, but we're filing another with the AOS. We're just waiting for her to get her civil surgeons exam before we're going to file.

We live in the Boston, MA area.

A couple questions:

1. Although we live in Boston, we're supposed to file everything at the Chicago office, correct?

2. It looks like the general wait time between filing and AOS interview is +- 6 months. Any way to speed this up?

3. I am a licensed attorney, but I don't practice immigration law. As far as I know there is nothing about the legal practice that would prevent me from saying that I could practice immigration law. Should I bother filling out an attorney certification? Will it make the process faster? Or just more complicated?

4. I read somewhere that at the end of a successful AOS interview, the foreign spouse's passport will be stamped with a temporary green card "stamp." Is this true? Will she be able to travel on it, or should we just wait until the actual card comes in the mail?

5. We're applying for Advanced Parole to allow her to, hopefully, go back to her native country and see her parents. Her father recently had open chest surgery. Any tips on what to write to get this approved? Should we do multiple or single visit? Will we have to explain the multiple visit aspect in the letter?

Thanks. This forum is great.

Kevin