Nelly_M

16 minutes ago, Babu Frik said:

The official instructions are key, in your case no.

Names on the back probably aren't necessary with the online method, but you can create a blank image of the same size with the name typed.

I did that since it mentions it.

To my knowledge digital photo images in jpg format cannot have a second page attachment with handwriting unless we are using some other type of format that allows this. I just uploaded the original jpg file named first name_last name without attaching a handwritten part since I am not scanning the image but providing the original jpg file. 

5 minutes ago, Babu Frik said:

Only the petitioners is needed, the Beneficiaries is needed for NVC.

USCIS phase is mostly about the petitioner

NVC phase is mostly about the beneficiary

You can also provide the passport bio page

I assume you are referring to a part about proving citizenship? In that case they require either US passport, birth certificates (if petitioner became US citizen by birth) or certificate of naturalization for those who were not born as US citizen. 

For some reason, I thought that birth certificates for spouse and I are required for I-130 submission and I had them scanned and ready for upload,  but when I was loading my attachments I didn’t see them on the list of required documents. Is this something that we provide with other civil documents such as police, court or military records at a later phase of process? 

5 hours ago, seekingthetruth said:

Yes.  However, if you use a PDF tool you could just print and sign the signature page.

Thank you. 

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

Leave interpreter blank if Petitioner is preparer.

That’s how I did it. Thanks. 

For submitting I-130A online, do we print the whole application since I need to sign as a preparer and then scan the whole thing for upload? 

2 hours ago, seekingthetruth said:

In my experience scanning does not work well if you want to retain the proper size.  Download a free photo id app on your phone.  I think the one I used was called ID photo but there are others.  Using the app, snap a perfect 2X2 of your Walgreens photo, and you have your digital version.

Thanks for the tips. I will have to try this one. I already tried a few online apps but if I get the sizing right then the file size messes up. I didn’t find one that can do both so that I can meet the criteria of 600x600 pixels and less than 240 kb. 
I am trying to get everything done before I-130A expires (good through 02/28) so I don’t have to redo that one. 

5 hours ago, pushbrk said:

You can leave the interpreter blank.  Who would be the interpreter if you both speak only English???

None, but in that case the beneficiary would select that he/she understands English and he/she would also be the preparer so nobody else has to fill that part. Most of us prepare that form since the spouse is not fluent in English; otherwise, they could just do it themselves. 

16 minutes ago, Troy B said:

It is not necessary to include photos of your spouse if they are not in the USA.

I know but we did it anyways. I just don’t know what to do about mine. 

Did anybody have to scan the hard copy of your passport style photo for upload? If yes, any instructions on how this is to be done? I had digital photos for both husband and I but they are now older than 30 days. I had him retake his and send it to me in a digital format via email in a perfect format that meets all the requirements as that’s how photographer did it. On the other hand, I got two photos at Walgreens as they do not provide digital images and I am not really sure what to do with them since I am applying online. 

On 2/12/2021 at 4:53 PM, pushbrk said:

No.  You are the "preparer" not the interpreter.

In that case, who would be the interpreter? If the foreign spouse who lives overseas is not fluent in English, does he/she need to hire a certified translator in order to u understand the form or can the preparer who usually happens to be a US spouse also be the translator? 

On 2/25/2021 at 11:21 PM, seekingthetruth said:

I made the same mistake and that is why I advise to get the online application started, so you don't do things that are not required.  I thought the online application was very well done, once you get used to it.  You don't have to worry about completing each section in order.  You can toggle the section tabs.  If you have not completed a section, it will warn you, but you can still move out of that section and your partial info is saved.

Thanks. Will do. 

31 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

 

The paper form instructions do no fit exactly with the online instructions and that is a common complaint.  The online form basically walks you through the whole process.

 

For online, you only need to upload one photo.  You don't need to sign the back.  Signing the back of photos is the practice for physical photos that may get misplaced and have to be reunited with their folders.  They can go to your account and download the photo as many times as they like, if they need it.

 

Nelly, you are overthinking this.  Sign up at USCIS and start the application so you can see what is there.  It will make your life so much easier.  There is no obligation.

I probably am because I am trying to avoid making any mistakes and I wanted to have all documentation ready for upload before I start the application process. 

3 hours ago, JKLSemicolon said:

I can't see the upload screen anymore since I already submitted the form, but I would pay attention to the instructions there. I might have written my name by hand because of the paper form instructions, I can't remember.

I will probably have to do the same just in case even though it’s extra work writing the names and scanning them again with pictures. Also, when uploading documents is there a section where we can provide any additional explanation related to attachments or do we have to include like a cover page/letter along with attached providing any explanation related to it?

2 hours ago, JKLSemicolon said:

I submitted a single photo digital photo for myself (the USC) only since my wife is not in the US. I did not print and scan the photo but I did save it as a PDF, and added a second page to the PDF containing my (handwritten) name for the "back" of the photo.

 

I named the file "FirstName.LastName.2x2.photo.600.PPI.pdf", with my actual first and last name there. 600 PPI was the resolution I used for the digital photo, which I specified since that is the resolution needed in order for it to be 2x2 when printed.

 

Since they presumably can print as many copies as they want, I didn't think it was necessary to include more than one photo in the attachment, although I have seen others here do that. I have also seen people print, scan, and then upload their photos which I did not do either. I felt that a high resolution digital file would produce the best quality printed photo when it came to that step.

 

Just one data point but our case was approved recently with no issues around that.

Yes I would assume that one photo is enough since they can print as many as they want. The only thing I don’t understand why do we have to add a handwritten part to it if we are already naming files by our names. 

When it comes to passport style photos, I received both the printed versions as well as digital file jpgs for my husband and I (one photo for each) which is easier to upload I assume. Has anyone uploaded digital jpgs or scanned versions? I was wondering how this works when I only have one jpg file photo for each of us and they are requiring two?

7 minutes ago, seekingthetruth said:

That should all be fine.  The reason for using PDF is that it can't be easily altered.

 

I put 6 pictures on most of my pages, and they are very clear and easily viewed.  Why are you limited to one?

Because they look too small if I crop them or try to make them look smaller. Maybe that is ok, but to me they just looked weird. 
Did you have to adjust the height and width of your pictures to fit 6 of them on one page? 
 

11 hours ago, seekingthetruth said:

Just to give you an idea of how it worked for me....

 

I created a Word document with 19 high quality photos in it, with text descriptions.  I then converted the Word doc to PDF, and then compressed it.  The final PDF is only 707 kb and the photos are still excellent quality.

 

Some of my larger files were those that contained scans of documents such as marriage certificate, birth certificate, etc.  However, my largest was just 3300 kb, 3.3 mb.

 

It is fine to use multiple uploads to accomplish a task.  I used them for clear organization.  Some places I wanted to have a master document, and in it I referred to other uploads, with logical names, in order.  Then I would upload them in the same order. I tried to make it as easy as possible for a reviewer to understand.

E.g.

Master Document  (includes references to....)

001 Attachment

002 Attachment

003 Attachment

etc.

The way I started working on my timeline is that I would provide description, insert picture and then compress it in a Word document itself so that it changes to “Web (150 ppi): good for webpages and projectors”. I hope this is acceptable for pictures and their quality ad I am really doing something like this for the first time. Once I am done I am planning to save it as a pdf. I am not sure if that is the best way to do it or if I still need pdf to compress it. So far, I managed to stay below 6 MB and I am half way through, so I will probably need to create one more file (timeline part 2). 

The problem that I am having is that I can only fit one picture per page so even if I crop it, I still have the same issue and I don’t want to make the images too small so I am not sure how to go about it. 

On 2/18/2021 at 11:04 AM, Babu Frik said:

adobe has a free online PDF compressor, sometimes it might compress too much and affect the quality though.

 

What is the maximum file size allowed for upload?

17 hours ago, seekingthetruth said:

You have to actually start the application before you can upload anything, and it would not make sense anyway.  You will understand once you get in.  Create your account at USCIS and get started.  No obligation or pressure to do anything.  The I-130 has many sections, and you can jump around and review them.  If you have not completed a section it will warn you but you can still leave that section.  There are various places where you upload, if needed.

Great. Thank you so much! 

27 minutes ago, Babu Frik said:

adobe has a free online PDF compressor, sometimes it might compress too much and affect the quality though.

 

Thank you guys. I was thinking about doing the same. I just hope that the pdf compressor won’t affect the quality of photos inserted. That seems better to me than loading individual photos each as a separate file. Also, if they allow splitting a timeline as two files as part 1 and 2 then that shouldn’t be a problem I assume. As long as it looks neat and easy to follow for USCIS. 
I also wanted to ask if we can load supporting docs files while working on the application, before I start working on the application or once the application is submitted? I am not sure how the system works. 

I am thinking about filing I-130 online as opposed to sending it in the mail, but I am confused about how do I present our timeline of relationship and load it in there. Do I create a word document with explanation and insert photo jpgs and then  save it as pdf? If I do that, I am afraid that the file might exceed the allowed size. On the other hand, if I start loading photos as individual files, they might be confused without any description provided etc. what is the best way to do it so that it looks presentable? Any help with this is greatly appreciated.