ilikepotatoes

Thank you for your response. Yes, I forgot to add that we will also be submitting scans of both our drivers licenses showing both the same address as well as my name change (changed to his last name). My father owns the property. He doesn’t charge us rent, but we pay utilities and do a lot of upkeep on the property for him. He was my husband’s sponsor, and the visa officer knew we were going to be living with him at time of interview.

Hubby and I are getting ready to file I-751, and I’m getting a bit nervous about everything cause I am a massive worrier lol. I am wondering how you organize the documents and package them up. Do you organize the paperwork into various folders? Should you staple the documents if there are numerous pages or do you just leave them loose? This sounds so silly, but I don’t know how to even start lol. Last time, we filed with a lawyer who did everything for us (and was our absolute hero), but he told us this process is fairly simple, and so we thought we would try filing on our own. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, I was wondering if anyone would be able to give some feedback on the evidence we will be submitting. So far, our file will include: • Two years of jointly filed taxes • Two years of bank statements • About a year and a half of joint utilities (just electric bill cause gas company wouldn’t let me add him) • Travel itineraries for this and last year’s anniversary trip • Hubby’s pension with me listed as beneficiary • Pictures • Two affidavits, one from my dad and one from my aunt • Christmas cards from family addressed to both of us • Joint credit card accounts • Joint auto insurance We don’t own or rent any property, because we live in the apartment upstairs from my father while I finish my degree and hubby works/studies for licensing exams. So no evidence there. Does everything else seem pretty solid though?? I’m so anxious. Lol. I am the US citizen, btw.

Okay! Thank you. 😊

We just got a letter in the mail, reminding us that we will soon need to file I-751. I noticed on the envelope that it was addressed to both my husband and I - but with my maiden name, not my married name. Was I supposed to notify USCIS about the name change (changed to my married name in early 2023). It hadn’t even occurred to me to notify them. But now I’m starting to worry that when we file and I fill out the form, there’s going to be an issue. Please help! Lol

Every relationship is different, and some people just know that they’re with the right person early on. That’s completely okay, and the visa officer is aware that these things happen. The fact that you’ve already spent 3 1/2 months together is certainly in your favor. Evidence of time spent together is really one of the most important elements in these cases, so if you can arrange another visit, that would also help. As a side note, my hubby and I did the CR1 route, and I let anxiety absolutely consume me about various aspects of our own case (we married on our first meeting), and nothing that I fretted about actually happened. We did have lots of evidence of time spent together, as we lived together, after marriage, for more than a year before his interview. But even so, I was consumed by irrational worries. So basically, I said all this to say….dont fret too much! If your relationship is genuine, and it sounds like it is, you will produce more than enough quality evidence when the time comes. Best of luck to you both!

Well thank you for taking the time to respond and also look at that post on Reddit. I have an overactive imagination that had me thinking my husband would somehow be made to leave the country or something horrible like that lol. Feeling so much better now. I appreciate it!

https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/comments/m1q3ya/am_i_still_allowed_to_staywork_in_the_us_while/ The part that worried me was: “Yes, she can work while an I-751 is pending. Just because a green card is expired doesn't mean you aren't a permanent resident. However, the tricky part of this is that you can't start new employment (this was told to me by my husband's immigration lawyer) but you can continue employment if you're already employed somewhere when it expires. I hope that makes sense. I believe you can't start employment once the green card has expired and while the I-751 is pending because you have no proof that you have work authorization. The I-797 receipt you get of course says it extends your status but I don't believe it satisfies I-9 requirements for an employer when you start.” idk if I was just misunderstanding what the user meant, but there it is lol.

The Reddit post?? Everyone seemed to agree with the user which just scared me more 😂

Thank you so much! That’s great to hear!

I just saw something on Reddit that I found concerning. Someone stated that while the I-751 is being processed, you can still work at your current place of employment, but you can’t switch jobs because you don’t have any proof of authorization to work in the US? This doesn’t seem reasonable or accurate but I just had to ask, because my husband is a foreign medical graduate working on his licensing exams. If the above is true it would severely delay his ability to apply for residency when the time comes, and he’d just be stuck at his current job for lord knows how long. Anyone have an answer for this? Can he still stay with me here in the US while this is all being processed? I’m a huge worrier and just terrified at the thought of not being together. And googling doesn’t help my worries lol

This doesn’t have to do with the main question, but I wanted to comment and say that your fiancé should bring your passport with her to the interview to prove you are indeed there with her. The day before my husband’s interview, he said to me “I think I should bring your passport with me. They might not take me on my word that you’re here with me.” Turns out his intuition was correct, because they asked to see it. And since the best evidence is of time spent together, it’s a really good idea to bring it along to support your case. Best of luck to you both

I only captioned the pictures my husband brought to the interview. With the I-130, our lawyer sent in about five pictures, and then I wrote a letter to go along with the packet, giving a brief history of our relationship and explaining some of the evidence that was sent in (for example, “pictures with his relatives, pictures during our honeymoon, pictures of holidays spent together” etc). This gives them an overview without having to caption every single picture.

Thank you!

We still have quite some time to go, but my husband and I are wondering what the specific requirements are for removal of conditions on his green card. Do we need to present proof of income like we did when he went to the visa interview, or is that no longer a big issue?

Hubby and I had that same issue when he went to take his permit test. We had already opened up a joint bank account together, but it was too early in the month to have received a statement that had both our names on it. They were super helpful at the DMV, and accepted a letter from the bank stating that we have an account together and we reside at the same address. It ended up not being an issue at all, and he passed the test and got his permit! Definitely start by getting a joint bank account, and then see if your DMV will also accept a letter, confirming her residence. Good luck

The fact that you two have been living together for close to a year greatly strengthens your case. The best evidence you can present is evidence of time spent together and you’ve certainly had that. Definitely a positive thing!

He isn’t.

This website has a TON of naysayers and users with negative attitudes. The majority of advice I received on here was incorrect; one being that “expedites are denied all the time. You can try, but they probably will deny it.” Well, we were approved two days after submitting the request. We contacted our congressman’s office, and they are the ones who requested the expedite on our behalf. I’d highly recommend you do so. Best of luck to you both, and God bless the poor innocent people facing such violence in Iran. I can’t imagine it.

Not to worry. Any required vaccines that my husband hadn’t already gotten were administered to him by the doctor at his appointment. I worried like crazy over this and it turned out to be super simple and a non issue.

Pictures are great supporting evidence, but the best evidence of time spent together is solid proof like boarding passes and passport stamps. Our lawyer said that WhatsApp chat logs aren’t necessary. If you want to add them, you can, but 400 pages would be excessive and just not worth it since it’s not the kind of evidence they’re looking for anyway. Good luck!

Our tip is to just make sure that your husband advocates for himself! In our case, the consular officer didn’t have everything we submitted on file, which might have worked against us if my husband hadn’t politely asked to explain more about our situation and present additional evidence. For example, some of the financial documents didn’t transfer over, and the consular officer started to say that we didn’t qualify. My husband politely said “May I please explain?” And then he presented our documents that proved that we did, in fact, qualify. My husband says to be active and engaging, and be prepared to answer any questions. Above all, just be truthful. I wasn’t allowed to attend the interview due to covid restrictions. If you are currently staying with your husband, I’d have him bring your passport in with him. My husband brought mine because he had a feeling that he’d be asked about it, and don’t ya know, the consular officer did indeed ask if he had it with him. Best of luck to both of you! I’m sure it will be just fine!

Congratulations! Our lawyer actually said that screenshots of chats aren’t necessary. You can definitely include them if you wish to, but they aren’t as important as other kinds of evidence. All we submitted was proof of time spent together, which included my boarding pass and a photocopy of the passport stamp. Our lawyer also only submitted about five pictures. I then wrote a short letter, explaining our relationship history and also giving an overview of what they could expect to see in the packet. We got approved, no issues! Best of luck to you

You’re very welcome! We actually got married while I was visiting him. Couples can still do the ceremony while they are in different countries. However, they do have to make sure to see each other again in person before filing as evidence that the marriage has been consummated. This is an important rule not to forget!

I wouldn’t worry about it. Hubby and I did the Utah County ceremony via zoom last year and they listed our addresses as the same too! They told us it was a non issue….and they were right! Our case was approved, he passed the interview, and we are now ecstatic to finally be living together in the US. Best of luck to you!

That was a very long waiting . My husband had his on July 7 . Hopefully we will hear something today