tuesday03

can anyone help ?

Hello !

Well I am so surprised, yesterday 6/04 we received our INTERVIEW notice (to be held in Garden City, NY on 7/18) ... that's only 5 months after we filed ... hooray !

So this is my question ... do they still do the temporary greencard stamp ? This is why I ask:

My wife is from Israel. We were planning a wedding ceremony in Tel Aviv on July 21st ... we really want to do it then because her sister is going into the army for two years just a week after that ... but we did not file the application or Advance Parole in enough time !!!! BIG MISTAKE ... but ...

Now that our interview is on 7/18 ... and let's say with pass our interview (we have tons of evidence, i know we shouldn't count our chickens before they hatch but ... for the purposes of our dilemma ...) .... will my wife be given a temporary greencard stamp ?? Which means she could legally travel on 7/19 with me to Israel and we could keep our date of 7/21 for our wedding ??

Is this a dangerous plan ?? I have heard horror stories of people not getting their greencard for up to 8 months after the interview ....

But if there is a stamp ... ? I read a post from RJ5254 about his interview on 2/13/07 and how they stamped his wife's passport ... and they are going to the SAME OFFICE as us (Garden City, NY) ...

Is it safe to assume that they will still be stamping passports in July of the same year ? Do you think it is okay (i know its risky, but is it technically possible) to go ahead and book our tickets ???

I'm so excited but so nervous at the same time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated !!!

-Kris

blehhhhhhhhhh sucks ... its not really a vacation ... her sister is going into the army for 2 years, she needs to see her before she goes in.

we also were planning a ceremony for late july for her family (they couldn't come to the one we had in the US) ... and now i guess we're looking at late august at the earliest, which isn't good for anyone . . . .

its our fault we didn't apply with our AOS ... we thought we had to have SPECIFIC dates and we weren't 100% sure ... and we had no idea it would take 2-3 months ... definitely our bad for not researching more thoroughly .... but still really sucks !!!!!

We are trying to make it to Israel by mid-July but didn't realize it would take so long to process the Advance Parole document. We made an InfoPass appointment here in New York City and the officer was VERY rude and said we weren't eligible for an emergency advance parole (we didn't think we were, we were just trying to get information on how long it would take and if we could do a non-emergency expedite request) ........

Anyway I'm wondering: is there a website for NYC processing times ? He told us 4 months but I don't trust this officer, he was really an evil evil man.

I saw this site:

http://yooandlee.com/en_updatedupt/waitingtimes.htm

and it says it is only a 1 day processing time in Boston ! We are willing to go to Boston to get this processed in a day ! Can we file in a city other than where we are currently living ???

Any help would be greatly appreciated !!

Thanks

-Kris

what a nightmare ...

any tips on expediting the process ourselves ? i guess we can overnight the form tomorrow ...

where can we check on processing times ?? if we can get it back in exactly 2 months we might be okay ... but i've read on here it usually takes 2-3 months . . . . . .

What constitutes an emergency ?? My wife's best friend is getting married on July 21 ... which is only about 2 months away ... I think it is too late to file the form the regular way ... we are thinking of requesting an InfoPass appointment, but will this excuse be acceptable ? What type of evidence should we bring in ? What a mess !! We should have filed one with the I-485 application ......... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

GREAT -- thank you both, thats a big help.

Hello --

We sent in our AOS packet in mid-Febrary. In early March, we received an RFE Initial Evidence Required notice, stating we had to send in more proof of my income (letter from boss, official IRS tax return copy, W2s, paystubs). I sent it all in last week.

What I am wondering is ... first of all:

*I made a stupid mistake and didn't get any delivery confirmation. How can I make sure they received all of it ? I have nightmares that it never gets delivered, we go over our authorized time period to submit the RFE, and we are denied.

*Let's say they have received the papers. Where do we go from here. How can I tell when we are 'touched' as so many of you post about ... ?

Thanks,

Kris

Hello !

We are dealing with the same issue. My wife and I married at the end of 2006. So we are eligible for filing a joint tax return, even though she did not earn money in the USA during 2006. Correct ?

I think we would like to do this ... I hear it is good to bring a joint tax return for evidence during he interview ....

So with the joint tax return, we will send in the W7 form, and a notorized copy of my wife's passport. Is that it ?

Thanks!

So I was so depressed to see that we received a request for initial evidence ... for the I-485 ....

To explain my situation: I was a student for the 2005 tax year so I got a mutual friend of my wife and I to co-sponsor. We both included our 2005 tax returns, and our co-sponsor made well over the 125% poverty line in 2005. so we thought it would be fine.

Now we get this and they say:

*The sponsor or joint sponsor (if required) on Form I-864 Affidavit of Support must submit the following:

-W-2s, 1099s, and/or all schedules submitted to the IRS -- a copy of his/her Federal income tax return was submitted and/or the sponsor or joint sponsor requested an extension to file his or her Federal income tax return.

-Federael income tax returns for the most recent tax year or certified IRS copies.

-Evidence of current employment including letter from each employer on business stationery ... etc ...

AND then this also:

*The petitioner or joint sponsor's income as reported on the federal tax return submitted with Form I-864 Affidavit of Support does not meet or exceed 125% of the poverty line. The petitioner's or joint sponsor's current income as reported on Form I-864 is sufficient but no evidence has been submitted as proof of the current income. Submit evidence of the sponsor's current income (including letter from employer etc etc etc etc)

So my question is THIS:

*I was a student and did minimal temp work for 2005 ... i do not have my W2 from that temp agency. wish i had a copy of it. i CAN request an official tax return for 2005 from the IRS. i submitted a printout of what i submitted but i guess they want an official tax return ... so can send that in. i can also submit a letter from my current employer.

*My co-sponsor can also submit a letter from her current employer.

So if I send in a letter from both my current employer and our co-sponsor's current employer and my official IRS tax return (we included our co-sponsor's official tax return already), will this be sufficient ???

or will i need to include my old W-2 from 2005 ? surely this isn't so important.

i want to send this all in ASAP ....

i am also worried that the form says:

You are ineligible for interim empployment authorization persuant to Title 8, code of Regulations, Section 103.2(B)(10)(ii) until ninety (90) days after the missing initial evidence is received.

So this request for evidence will affect her application for employment authorization as well ???? i thought it was only supposed to take 4-8 weeks to be approved for interim employment. have we furthered delayed this ??????

any help would be greatly appreciated !!

I know I could probably come up with something on my own, but I want to make sure my cover letters for the AOS application is properly formatted and includes everything it needs to include. Is anyone who is already approved willing to send me examples of their cover letters so I can copy the format ?

I would really appreciate it -- my email address is gettickets@excite.com

Thanks !

great -- thank you all so much for your help. now we just have to find a translator (her birth certificate is in hebrew) ..... hope its not too expensive ... has anyone else had to get a translator for this ?

Hello --

My wife and I are trying to fill out our I-485 and we have a question about the medical exam:

My wife had a medical exam (with blood work & vaccinations) done in the summer for her company in Israel ... we figured we would just use these for the medical (and we had the doctor there mail us the details of the examination, which we have now) , but then we realized the civil surgeon had to be USCIS-approved.

We've called around our area (Los Angeles) and its very expensive (around $250/$300 depending on the surgeon) .....

i'm wondering if we can use the information the doctor in Israel sent us for the examination ... and then just get a civil surgeon to approve it ?? should it really cost this much ? we weren't planning on this !

thanks,

kristopher & shiri

page 2 of the I-485, under the rather large TRANSLATIONS header.

ALso:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

I have read the guides.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

According to that guide,

for the I-130 we need:

7. A copy of the intending immigrant's birth certificate and/or passport along with English translation. (If in any language other than English)

for the I-485:

6. A copy of the intending immigrant's birth certificate and/or passport along with English translation. (If in any language other than English)

both of those say AND/OR ....

is the guide wrong ... or do we only need to make a copy of her passport.

I'd appreciate anyone who can actually help instead of pointing me to the guides without actually reading them.

Are we talking AOS from K-1, K-3? or AOS from another type of visa?

not k-1 or k-3 ... i proposed to my wife while she was over here on a tourist visa and we married.

??

any help would be appreciated. thanks

Hello !

Does my wife need to include in her package for Adjustment of Status a copy of her birth certificate TRANSLATED (it is in hebrew) .....

or can we just include a copy of each page of her passport ??

the guide on this site says AND/OR ....

however the forms seem to indicate we need BOTH for sure ...

anyone know ? thanks,

kristopher

Hello --

I'm trying to print out all the forms and I forgot we need help on the I-485 form --

My wife was here on a tourist visa and i proposed to her ... we married in vegas, now we're filling out the I-485 form ...

however, she did not enter on a k-1 visa, so i'm not sure what to check off in 'application type' section on the 1st page ...

should i check 'other' and write what .... ???

please help !

hello --

do we need to have a medical exam done BEFORE we submit the I-485 ? or will they schedule a medical exam date for us ? ? i see in many people signatures that they have a medical exam date around a month before their interview date .....

do we need to submit any medical info with the I-485 ?

thanks !

Hey everyone --

a little help with the G-325A form .... there is a field that asks for FILE NUMBER ... ? it begins with an A ... we have no idea what to put there.

also:

there is a field that says "Husband or Wife (if none, so state)" .... do i actually write WIFE here ? and then put her name in the field beside it. or do i write her full name ? i'm assuming i actually put wife.

thanks!

-kris

Hello ...

Look at field #22 on the I-130 Form . . .

It says

"Your relative is in the United States and will apply for adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident at USCIS office in: ____________. If your relative is not eligible for adjustmenet of status, he or she will apply fo ra visa abroad at the American consular post in ________."

Would I put New York City in the first blank ? But i'm sending the forms to Chicago, correct, so would i put Chicago there ??

Also are we required to fill out the second blank ?? she is Israeli, would she just put 'tel-aviv israel' ... what do they mean if she is not eligible ? she is eligible ...

i'm confused ! any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello --

My wife and I are sitting down to fill out this form ...

And as of now I make significantly more per year than 125% of the poverty requirement (which is $16,000 per year) . . . however I just got this job this year . . .

and i see i have to include my last tax return stating my annual income, and also to write down my annual income reported on my tax return for the last THREE years ...

this worries me because . . . i was a student the last 3 years, and wasn't working (well, at least i didn't report it ... i had a quite a successful ebay business, and didn't report that income since it wasn't required ... and i was a student . . . )

do i have to pick a co-sponsor ? will this look suspicious ?

if i do get a cosponsor (a mutual friend comes to mind who would do this for us both -- she knows theres no way i would not have the money to support my wife), do i have to fill out the sponsor form for myself anyway AND have our friend fill out the form ??

What a mess !!!!!!!!!!! i hope this isn't going to be a strike against us !!!!! is it quite common to have a co-sponsor who is a friend ?

Hi Everyone --

Just trying to get a clearer idea of what my wife and I will be going through over the next few months.

What exactly is the BIOMETRICS appointment ?

Is this something that both my wife (the immigrant) and I (the US citizen) attend ?

What exactly goes on ? If we are on our honeymoon (just by chance) at the time, or have previous engagements out of town, are you able to reschedule, or is it very serious to show up on the date they assign ?

Thanks!

ah i see ...

okay great .... i mean when she purchased her ticket, it was round trip ... i wonder if this is enough evidence ? i also have photos from when i proposed to her (i proposed at a restaurant and had a suprise party afterward with her friends) and photos from the suprise party as well ....

hmmm ... i'm trying to think of other proof ... i don't want this to be an obstacle.

yes reading that is what scared me. specifically this part:

<<If you are already married, and your spouse came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the I-130 (or along with an I-129f for a K-3 Visa) should be filed with the relative outside of the U.S. to avoid denial, deportation, or even being banned from re-entry to the US.>>

Does she really need to return home? or can she stay here & apply ?

oops ... no she never had a J1 ... i was confused. i thought that was the technical term for the Tourist visa! she came over only on a tourist visa.

editing my original post .... wait a sec ... i can edit this post, but not the original?