Dory

6 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Turkey certainly used to be visa on entry for US citizens

That is unfortunately not the case anymore. E-Visa's are required now.

Edit: Also quick follow-up -- if I DO manage to get an E-Visa using my old passport would it still be valid even if I try to enter the country using my renewed passport?

Hello,

I am in a bit of a bind currently due to my USA passport renewal process taking longer than expected. It is critical that I to travel to Turkey soon but in order to do so I need (1) my renewed USA passport since mine was expiring within 6 months and (2) a Turkey tourism visa (or other visa of some kind which would permit my entry). 

I have a pending expedited passport renewal which has been in the system for some time and I am going to try and contact my US Representative's office to see if they can do anything at all to help speed it up (desperate, I know...). But I also need to obtain a Turkey Tourism Visa -- but I don't know if/how I can do so given the fact that I am currently renewing my passport. I do have scans of my existing passport that I sent in for renewal, which is valid until November 30th, 2021 (note that this expiration is within 6 months of my travel).

Is it possible to apply for the Turkey tourism visa now using my older, but still valid passport's information, or would I really need to wait until if/when I receive my renewed passport to do so?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!!

2 minutes ago, HRQX said:

Contact NVC ASAP so that they can return the I-130 to USCIS.

 

NVC does not handle Adjustment of Status cases.

Maybe I wasn't clear with my phrasing -- but USCIS has already approved my I-130. The Department of State / NVC is asking for us to supply some documents as a precursor to finding an interview date, not as part of approving an I-130. Is there still an issue after this clarification?

Hello!

Quick question. I applied for a marriage-based greencard last summer and thankfully it is finally moving along in the process. USCIS has now forwarded at least part of the process over the the National Visa Center [NVC] who are now asking for the submission of:
 

• An I-864 Affidavit of Support Form
  • Supporting I-864 Doc's
• Completion of a "Online Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application (DS-260)" through their website

I think I know the answer to my question, but wanted to check anyways -- should I create a new I-864 form with fully up-to-date info in it, or should I send the NVC an I-864 form identical to the one I sent to USCIS last summer? 

For example, differences between the two would include a change of address.

Also, one more quick question: would I need to report my 2020 Tax Year income if I haven't filed my 2020 taxes yet? 

Thanks for any help!

Some time ago we submitted a big package of our I-485 + I-131 + I-765 along with the $1225 concurrent filing fee. We are filing for a marriage-based AOS, she entered the country on an F-1, got an OPT, but currently has no visa status and are just waiting for our application to go through.

After months we finally heard back that the I-485 and I-131 were proceeding along, but the I-765 was rejected for (1) "incorrect filing fee" -- which seems wrong to me since but ok, and (2) for "being an outdated I-765 form" -- apparently the form we downloaded was still valid when we started putting our package together, but then stopped being accepted by the time we submitted... *urgh* whatever. 

Now we are going to resubmit the I-765 and were wondering a few things:

• Will we need to include a pile of supporting documents for this submission even though all the relevant supporting docs were in our original I-485 package?

• Will we need to include a $410 check since we are filing this I-765 by itself, or should the original $1225 in our I-485 still cover this re-submission (I know this is wishful thing).

• Our eligibility category is (c)(9) I believe. Does this sound right based on our situation?

Thanks for any help, hope to get this over and done with...

On 8/10/2020 at 11:10 PM, Bayanoparker02 said:

Hey

It should be 3 money orders for the I-485 ( 2 for $500 each and 1 for $225)

And 2 money orders for the I-130( 1 for $500 and 1 for $35)

* the $225 money orders for the I-485, you will put as a memo : " I-485 application+ biometric fees"

* the 2 $500 money order for the I-485 you will write "I-485 application fees"

Don't forget to put your name, address and signature.

 

Good luck 

Is there any particular reason that the $1225.00 for the I-485 bundle needs to be broken into $500 / $500 / $225 money orders rather than $1000 / $225 money orders? 

3 hours ago, PatrycjaEM said:

Hi, this might be a silly question for some but... do we need tax transcript for the Beneficiary or Petitioner? Thank you!

If I am not mistaken, for both(?). The beneficiary needs them for the I-944 and the petitioner needs them for the I-864. Not 100% sure though. 

Again I am not certain though.

13 minutes ago, immquestion said:

can they reject the tax on the basis of this . I have already called the IRS and they said Mid November. 

I mean, they can sort of reject an application based on anything, but they do have guidelines for how they make decisions based on the I-944/I-864 supporting documentation. 

They don't strictly make an acceptance/rejection based on any one item, but they outline there what they want to see and how important each thing is as a part of the whole package. For example, you could probably get accepted without any documentation of income or education if you could provide very, very detailed information about how you have $100,000,000 in your bank account.

If you do submit without IRS tax transcripts (I didn't include any as I couldn't get them at the time, my spouse included hers) then try your best to provide every possible document verifying your income as possible and write a letter explaining clearly why you couldn't include IRS tax transcripts. 

...and I'd order the transcripts as soon as they became available in case they wanted them later via an RFE.

1 minute ago, immquestion said:

HI we just filed out 2018 and 2019 tax returns. can we file for AOS with out tax transcripts. 

It probably takes some time for tax transcripts to become "available" from the IRS. I would call an IRS help line and talk to them about how long it might take between the IRS receiving your submitted tax return and the IRS processing it and making the tax transcripts available. 

If it is prohibitively long, them maybe consider submitting as much alternate proof of income as possible instead (Form 1040 tax returns, W2 forms, any official letter from your employers denoting your salary, pay stubs for several months, etc.) along with a letter explaining that you can't produce IRS tax transcripts as you just filed your tax returns for 2018 and 2019. You may get an RFE if you do this though, so be cautious.

If you filed in 2017 you could should probably request tax transcripts from that year (as it is the most recent year in which it is currently possible for you to produce a tax transcript), but its less ideal.

On 7/16/2020 at 1:07 AM, Hang Nguyen said:

Hello, 

 

My husband and I filed for the I-485 with the lawyer on June 15. It showed that it was received at the office 2 days later. I did not receive the receipt notice yet and the check was not deposited yet. I was wondering if there is anything I should do from here or should I keep waiting since it have been 1 month. Is it getting processed slower now due to COVID? 

Thank you everything for answering.

Hi, 

No advice for you except to say that we are in the same exact boat. Package arrived on July 2nd. Still no cashed check or NOA. USCIS help line just says wait until 30 days have passed and then give them a call. Must be sitting in a huge pile in a USCIS office somewhere.

Good luck!

I was super annoyed at how the AOS application asks for this particular form of income-proof, but if you couldn't successfully verify your identity through the IRS website, then you were completely out of luck as the IRS mail & phone order systems were dead due to COVID.

I've been checking the IRS Tax Transcript website every day to see when you can order IRS Tax Transcripts (for I-944 purposes...) through a non-online method and sometime in the last 48 hours it all opened up again! There is less info required to order by phone/mail relative to online orders, so if online isn't working for you, then give these methods a shot.

To order by phone, call the automated system at (800) 908-9946. This is super easy and apparently faster than the mail method.

Estimated time to get transcripts is 5 - 10 days

You'll need the following info to do so:

• Your SSN
• The numbers of your most address on file with the IRS (i.e. if I lived at 123 Main St., I'd need to submit "123")
• The tax years you'd like transcripts from

To order by mail, you can hit the "Get Transcript By Mail" button on this website, or fill out and mail in Form 4506-T-EZ to the appropriate IRS office.

Estimated time to get transcript is a few weeks(?)

You'll need the following info for either method: 

• Your SSN
• Your most recent address on file with the IRS
• Your date of birth (only for the online method?)
• Your phone number (only for the print out version?)

I already submitted my application w/o transcripts (substituting in other documents instead and including a letter explaining the situation) but ordered all my transcripts over the phone just now in case of a future RFE. 

Hope this helps someone stuck in a similar situation!

Pretty sure mail is your only option. I am pretty sure the mailing address would be the same as your I-485 mailing address, but maybe someone else knows more definitively. 

8 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

USCIS offices are not closed (except for in-person appointments, interviews, biometrics, etc.). They may be running on limited staff but they’re certainly processing applications. 

Ok thanks! As a point of reference, my AOS application arrived at a USCIS office on July 2nd, 2020. 13 days later and USCIS hasn't cashed any money orders or given any notice that they've opened it. Its probably sitting in a huge backlog pile of boxes at the moment. 

4 minutes ago, James120383 said:

you get the text when they enter the application into the system. it can take anywhere from 2-3 days to 30-60 days

This is generally the case, but should they expect to get anything from a USCIS office right now due to COVID office closures?

22 hours ago, nendu said:

Do I have to submit copies of all these visa, I797, I20, I140 etc. with my AOS documents? If yes, what form are all these documents relevant to? 

I don't have a definitive answer for you, but in our "big I-485 super-package" we included scans of both my wife's I-20's and her OPT EAD card. 

If I recall correctly, providing her OPT EAD was strictly asked for the work authorization part of the application (I-765), but we weren't completely sure if the I-20 was needed at all. We just included it anyways in the big pile of papers we mailed in just in case. I'd bet if they asked for her OPT EAD for the I-765, they'd definitely want a copy of at least your most recent H1-B visa too.

14 minutes ago, payxibka said:

My i864 package was the form, one year transcripts and a paystub.  Not sur how you can get anywhere near 91 pages

The 91 pages wouldn't just be the I-864, its my entire "I-485 Package" consisting of (among other things):

• Cover Letter
• Money Order
• Form G-1145
• I-130 Recept Notice
• Form I-485
• Passport photos of beneficiary
• Form I-864
• Form I-765
• Form I-131
• Form I-693 (Medical Exam)
• Beneficiary's birth certificate
• Petitioner's birth certificate
• Beneficiary's I-94
• Beneficiary's I-20
• Beneficiary's passport & entry stamps
• Beneficiary's visas
• Marriage Certificate
• etc
• etc
• etc

Also my cheap printer only prints one-sided.

4 minutes ago, payxibka said:

I864 has been required for many many many years

Gotcha, so my pre-public-charge-packet would be 91 pages. I changed that here.

38 minutes ago, geowrian said:

The only major change with paperwork for the new rule revolves around the I-944. 

I am not sure if the I-864 (Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA) was required before the public charge rule, but I was under the impression that it was also a new addition.

Just now, Boiler said:

2. In most cases the immigrant will not have a Credit Score, I did not.

Yes I have heard that this is a particularly annoying issue for many. We are very lucky that my spouse got a credit card when she entered the country on a student visa. 

Just now, Boiler said:

3. Many people with Health Insurance who have major health issues sadly go bankrupt, it is not a panacea.

Very true

Just now, Boiler said:

4. You can use assets instead of income, is that what you mean?

Yes you can but it seems like if you are in that situation there are a lot of hoops to jump through to prove that you have enough assets to subsist. 

Just now, Boiler said:

5. Not aware of any such requirement, now that would seriously impact family immigration.

I imagine it could be a big issue particularly if the household is near the poverty limit.

9 minutes ago, Boiler said:

How did you show you will never require the use of public benefits?

I think it is basically a "prove that you aren't 'poor', and are very unlikely to become 'poor' in the future" kind of test.

You have to show things like (1) you as a household have consistently made >125% of the federal poverty limits and (2) you both have non-crappy credit scores, and (3) you have health insurance so that you won't go bankrupt to unforeseen medical expenses, and/or (4) you as a household have a lot of liquid-ish assets and (5) you as a household have a lot of education and certifications which will allow you to probably get good high paying jobs and (6) the beneficiary speaks English well so that they can get a good high paying job.

Maybe its not mandatory to show everything, but I just follow the guides and instructions and those make it seem like all that is mandatory to me. I ain't taking risks.

10 minutes ago, geowrian said:

What in the I-944 (and its supporting documentation) added over 300 pages?

For both petitioner & beneficiary:

• Tax documents, predominantly IRS tax transcripts which are a pain to get sometimes... (we included 3 years)
• Employment verification letters (may be optional?)
• Full credit report
• 1 year of monthly bank statements from every bank account and investment account (we had to manually translate every bank account statement from each foreign bank into English...)
• Proof of health insurance documents
• Tons of documents on the beneficiary's education & certifications
• Documents showing the beneficiary's knowledge and proficiency with English

And in general, since the rules are a bit confusing / ambiguous at times, if there was every any uncertainty we erred on the side of including extra documentation rather than too little (i.e. we included multiple forms of "birth certificates" since Turkey doesn't really have a single "birth certificate" in the same way that the USA does...)

While I was slogging through putting together my I-485 package, I kept thinking how much I wished I was doing this all back before the "Public Charge" executive order in February. 

So once I finally got everything assembled I decided to take some photos of what my pile of papers would look like if I was submitting it without the "Public Charge" business and then turn them into a nice graphic. 

Maybe this can help people who are just getting started have an idea what their pile of documents might end up looking like -- or could help inform those unfamiliar with the huge inconvenience that the executive order puts into the immigration process.

Just now, HRQX said:

Check back tomorrow or Wednesday. @T&S_MTL filed on a Wednesday and had access to the notice the following day:

Ok, that isn't too bad of a delay, thanks!

13 minutes ago, Quarknase said:

No, this is your payment confirmation - if you filed the I-130 online, check under “documents” tab and you might see a receipt notice PDF.

Alternatively just wait until it gets sent you you via mail, which usually happens within 2-4 weeks (sometimes a bit slower).

By any chance would you know about how long it takes for the electronic version of this document to show up on one's USCIS page?

Thanks again.

2 minutes ago, HRQX said:

No.

 

Log-in with your USCIS account. Then look for USCIS notices:

Ok, I have checked there on my USCIS account, but I unfortunately have not received it yet. Do you know about how long it takes to get an I-130 receipt notice after online filing? 

Thanks.