Dory

Just submit the noa receipt for i485 when you resubmit the i765 to avoid paying the filing fee. The filing category is correct just resubmit the supporting documents for the form.

Judge Issues Two Nationwide Injunctions Blocking “Public Charge” Immigration Rules Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
New injunctions will allow immigrant communities across the U.S. to safely access critical health care and public assistance during health crisis
NEW YORK, NY — Today, a Manhattan federal court issued two nationwide injunctions temporarily blocking the Trump administration’s “public charge” rules. An injunction issued against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) prevents DHS from enforcing, applying, implementing, or treating as effective the “public charge” rule for any period during which there is a declared national health emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The ruling came after immigrant rights attorneys successfully argued that the COVID-19 pandemic has made the DHS public charge rule lethal to immigrant communities by chilling the use of health care and other benefits. The court also enjoined the U.S. State Department from applying its parallel “public charge” rules, including the president’s Health Care Proclamation, to applicants for visas at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
 
“Since the Trump administration announced the public charge rules, it has caused immense harm to our communities — harm that intensified, as our country is in the midst of a health crisis,” said Javier H. Valdés, Co-Executive Director at Make the Road New York. “The public charge rules by both DHS and DOS attacked our loved ones by imposing a racist wealth test on the immigration system, leaving working immigrants to choose between vital services or remaining together with their families. At Make the Road, we have seen the devastating effect this rule has on families scared to seek out healthcare and basic forms of assistance from food pantries and even their children’s schools. We applaud the court’s decision and will continue to fight to stop the Trump administration’s reckless and inhumane attacks on immigrants.”
 
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the same New York court’s October 2019 decision to block DHS’s “public charge” rule. As a result, DHS began enforcing the rule on February 24, 2020, just before the coronavirus outbreak became a nationwide pandemic. The new injunction against DHS was issued in response to a joint motion filed by lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights, The Legal Aid Society, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, who joined New York State Attorney General Letitia James, representing the states of New York, Connecticut, and Vermont and the City of New York in arguing that immigrants should not be deterred from accessing health care and government benefits and services, especially during this unprecedented health crisis.
The second nationwide injunction was issued in a separate case challenging the State Department’s public charge rule as well as the president’s Health Care Proclamation requiring visa applicants to show proof of private health insurance. Because of the ruling, immigrants seeking to go through consular processing will not be subject to the public charge test utilized by the State Department. That case was brought on behalf of individual and organizational plaintiffs by the Center for Constitutional Rights, The Legal Aid Society, the National Immigration Law Center, and Paul Weiss. Today’s ruling is the first decision fully addressing these policies, and it enjoined those policies indefinitely.
 
In his decision today, Judge George B. Daniels wrote: “Much has significantly changed since January 27. Today, the world is in the throes of a devastating pandemic, triggered by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In six months, approximately 16.5 million people around the globe have been afflicted by the disease caused by this virus. That disease (COVID-19) has claimed over 650,000 lives worldwide. In the United States alone, COVID-19 has spread rapidly, infecting over four million people. Close to 150,000 American residents have died. All of these staggering numbers continue to climb on a daily basis…. Thousands continue to die indiscriminately. Attempting to effectively combat this plague has immediately come in conflict with the federal government’s new ‘public charge’ policy, a policy which is intended to discourage immigrants from utilizing government benefits and penalizes them for receipt of financial and medical assistance.”
 
 
https://www.nilc.org/2020/07/29/injunctions-block-public-charge-rules-amid-pandemic/

I sent copies of the filed tax returns and not the transcripts as access was still not available. I sent a cover letter explaining why the transcripts were not send and explained that I would continue to make attempts to obtain the transcripts. 

My applications were all accepted an an i-797 was received for them yesterday. I will take my transcripts to the interview once I get to that point. 

I basically had a cover letter for almost everything and, to be honest, a cover letter can be a great help as you have humans reviewing the items for accuracy. If they see an explanation as to why something is missing then there is a better chance that they will accept instead of reject. 

Well you should realize by now that some of those check-in/airport agents make themselves out to be tin gods and arrogate to themselves powers they don't possess and interpret laws they don't understand. That is why one must be over prepared with an abundance of references (preferably printed out from official sources) and evidence.
 
I feel your pain.

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!

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!

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!

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.

okay thank you all so much for the responses!! i wish everyone luck on your journey! 😶

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. 

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. 

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

But probably not in the same direction depending on who wins. Remember to vote.

Hey Juan, I don't think anybody can tell you the "correct" thing to do, but I can tell you what we did. We provided anything related to the tax transcript that we could provice AND and explanation AND proofs of how the transcript is not obtainable (ex. screen shots from IRS website stating that they can't provide it through mail, etc.). We provided most recent tax return copy, W2's, and a written letter of why we don't have it. We just filed last week and I am hoping that will work. 

Hey Juancarlos,

I had a similar issue in that I paper filed the most recent return and it is still not processed. This may work for your situation.

I simply mailed the IRS forms I filed, attached W2 and income statements, and attached paystubs.

On top of the return, I put a signed cover letter explaining why I was unable to obtain transcripts. No response yet but I assume they will understand that the current situation is not making it easy to obtain some items. 

 

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.

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.

My AoS without the I-944 is 293 pages and with it 388. I found out about I-944 when I was finishing all the other forms, I almost go crazy 😂 it was 95 pages more than I was expecting

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.

This is actually incorrect and disastrous information from the USCIS helpline.   You cannot leave the country and AOS.  Adjustment of Status allows a person to stay in the US while their immigration petition is adjudicated.  It is not valid for someone outside the US, and leaving the US while it is in process is deemed as abandoning the petition.
 

For reference, here is the worksheet USCIS put out: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/policymanual/resources/Appendix-TotalityoftheCircumstancesFramework.pdf
Basically, look at the positive and negative factors and you can get a good idea of what to expect.
Covering all bases is good so I think you'll be fine. But in reality, I would not expect most of those items to be an issue if the sponsor has "significant" income (at least 250% of the FPL) and without a derogatory history.

1. 125% of the federal poverty limits is poor under most definitions.
 
2. In most cases the immigrant will not have a Credit Score, I did not.
 
3. Many people with Health Insurance who have major health issues sadly go bankrupt, it is not a panacea.
 
4. You can use assets instead of income, is that what you mean?
 
5. Not aware of any such requirement, now that would seriously impact family immigration.
 
6. Ditto.

And that's how USCIS requires documents: one-sided. 👌

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

Are you even sure that she has overstayed? There is a 60 day grace period at the end of the OPT period. If she is within that grace period then she has not overstayed.
 
Anyway, as someone else already pointed out, a person who has overstayed their lawful admission or parole is still eligible for AOS as an immediate relative of a US citizen.
 
She can submit the I-485 separately, but you need the I-130 receipt number in order to do so. Ideally she should try to file the I-485 before her lawful admission actually runs out, although it's not strictly required. When a person files an I-485 non-frivolously, they are allowed to remain in the US while waiting for it to be processed. Filing the I-130 alone does not offer this protection.