Butch Reyes

WE are in the same situation. I am a USC and planned to petition my unmarried sister but it will take 23 years waiting time. I have petitioned for my parents and they will be joining us this year and I will ask them to petition my sister (their daughter) as "unmarried child above 21 of LPR" and her petition will only take 11 years. That is more than half time saved to wait!

Right you are. My wife just petitioned her sister as USC. The priority date for F4 in Philippines is 1988 and that's 23 years of waiting.

Ok, then you're looking at an F1 if you're a US citizen, or an F2B if you're an LPR. The Philippines is currently the only country where an F2B is faster than an F1 - 11 years instead of 15.

Thanks for your input. So I guess the conclusion is: Weigh the consequences first if you are planning to apply for U.S. citizenship when it is better to hold on as LPR when applying for a son or daughter. USC is faster route if applying for a spouse or parent. I hope my analysis is right but don't use this thread as basis. The best is to consult an immigration lawyer who is not more interested in slapping you around and ripping you off than sincerely helping you out.

how old the son

he is 26 years old now.

Does it take longer to petition a son or daughter of a USC. I noticed that the cut-off dates as of June 2011 for Philippines F1 is 22 Feb 96, while F2A is 22 Aug 07. Maybe I should hold off applying for US citizenship if it will take longer to petition my son.

Hi Everybody, I am a LPR and filed I-130 for my son who is in the Philippines. He was going 21 yrs old when I filled the petition last year. This year, I got 2 separate letters from USCIS to pay the affidavit of support fee and the visa processing fee. What does these all mean? Will my son be able to join me sooner than later?

Appreciate your feedback....

Hi,

I arrived in US in Jun 2010 and due to personality conflicts couldnt save my marriage for long.I received the welcome notice letter for the green card but havent received the greencard copy.I called USCIS only to be told my card was lost in mail.I will be getting my divorce decree in another 2 months.So I need to apply for removal of conditions as my marriage was entered in absolutely good faith.However,since i dont have the copy of green card yet,do you think i can apply for removal of conditions with my passport stamp and other evidence? I just want to avoid going through I-90(for replacement) because this card will be shortlived as I need to soon apply for removal of conditions.

Any help is greatly appreciated...

Thanks,

if i am correct, the removal of condition or i-751 applies when you are 2 years through your marriage. the i-751 is submitted a few months before the 2 year expiration of the green card. as you mentioned you only arrived in u.s. on jun. 2010, so the 2 years will be up by 2012. my advise is for you to consult a good immigration lawyer. maybe this website has a list for you to look at. good luck.

hmmmm u are kidding me !!! do you think this is possible i mean deportation if my case is dragging this long!!!please answer or u r just kidding!!!thanks

sorry to have gotten you worried. what i meant was if you failed your second interview and you did not abjudicate your case, then the next step would be deportation. i guess in your case,the i.o. said you are approved, so all you gotta do now is just to make a follow up rather than seat and wait.

oh my friend im waiting 1 year and5 months and i went to a second interview for my roc!!!they are something special !!!uscis!!!

i guess if you have not receive any notice of deportation, you are still in good shape

Strongly suggest you and your USC Spouse file AMENDED TAX RETURN for TY 2007, using yer new ssn.

Dig up a 1040X from the IRS web site, fill it out on Sunday - send it in to IRS, make copy of entire packet to send it as evidence.

ON ALL bank accounts that USC SPOUSE used prior to you having a SSN - were there POD (Payable upon death) instructions listing YOU as the beneficiary?

re: Joint Bank Account Stuff - get all of the monthly statements, from the first month you were added, to current date. ALL OF THEM. I assume March 2008 to current date, yes?

Utility BILLS NOT IN BOTH names is huge issue. Bad Form. Not a Major Ding, though - but still a big deal to NOT have it.

re: The Lease. Ouch. Sorry. Did you try for 'amendment to lease - covering authorized occupants', at least? No ? Ouch.

Going backwards in time, one of the major failures that I see, is that you did not apply for SSN 15 days past yer original POE

date. If you had applied between Day 15 to Day 74 from the POE date, you would have had a SSN. With a SSN, you could have gotten all that other evidence, from Day 2 of the marriage. I know it sucks, but it is what it is.

I guess in the grander scheme of things, you are WAY LUCKY that USCIS hasn't dinged you for getting married outside of the 90 day window.

Hang in there, you CAN prep more evidence, and

GOOD LUCK !

Here's an update of my situation. I got a notice by mail for 2nd interview for removal of conditions. Date: Sept. 13, 2010 at 26 federal plaza, manhattan, NY at 10am. The day finally came. We did not wait long. There were already other people waiting and I was wondering why we were called ahead of the others. Maybe they were starting from the most simple and less complicated cases first. My wife and I took our oath. The immig officer was polite which in a way calmed our nerves. He asked each of us some questions and then looked at his notes. Perhaps he just wanted consistency on our answers. Some questions asked where, where we worked, where we lived and did we live somewhere else. i guess the trick here is just answer questions if he is addressing you and don't say anything if the question is directed to the wife. then he asked for the latest income tax return, car title, insurance, credit cards under our name. then finally he said that you seem to be married and i will approve your green card. i asked him if i will get my present green card and he said no, he will just stamp the i-551 on my passport with a validity of 1 year. that in 2 months or so, i should be expecting the 10 year green card and if the waiting goes up to 4 months, that i should make a follow up. so it's back to the waiting game. and when i get my green card in the mail, i've got to pinch myself somewhere to know this is not a dream.

For those who have responded to this thread, many thanks for your advise and assurances. And my advise to those who will start their i-751, be sure you have all the right evidence submitted. consult an immig lawyer if you can afford it. if you get a notice for insufficient evidence, then be prepared for a long wait and then most likely you will be singled out for a second interview.

At the FBI building? don't you mean immigration?

yeah i stand corrected. 26 federal plaza. thanks.

I have the same issues the 21st of this month, I will be six months, let me know if you receive something ok

tough luck. i was singled out for a second interview. it's for tomorrow, 9-13-10 at the fbi building in manhattan. will post later on what the outcome will be. wish me luck.

I HAVE CONTACTED USCIS BECAUSE MY CASE WASN'T UPDATE FOR MORE THAN 4 MONTHS, NOW ON THE WEBSITE IT SAYS UPDATE ON 6-26-2010, AND THEY SEND ME AN EMAIL THAT CONTAINS THIS:

The status of this service request is: Your case is currently under review. You should receive a decision or notice of other action within 60 days of the date of this letter.

THAT MEANS THAT I WILL RECEIVE A RESPONSE SOON? IM SO WORRIED BECAUSE I SENT MY APPLICATION ON JANUARY.

You are not alone. I applied for my 751 12/30/2009. No word from them yet. At least you got an email response already.

Anyway, good luck! I guess we can always feel confident that are marriages are not fraudulent so what can they do.

Thanks for your feedback. To date, no word yet from Immigration.

Based on the timeline, it looks like biometrics were done back in January.

CIS Office : Vermont Service Center

Date Filed : 2009-12-09

NOA Date : 2009-12-31

Bio. Appt. : 2010-01-29

Comments : It was six months on July 1, 2010 and I have not received my green card yet. Called them up, gave me a reference number and they said they will advice me by post what is going on.

Also, it looks like the OP has already called USCIS and they issued a reference number and will respond back, which was what I was going to suggest.

Best of luck!

Does anybody have the same experience. I filled my 751 in Dec. 31, 2009. As of July 1, 2010, I have not yet received my 10 year green card. Feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

Again - so you sent nothing that has to do with living together? (A lease, mortgage etc?) Is this not something you can do?

Hi friends. who has the burden of proof, us or Immigration? Say if after I sent them additional evidences and they are still not convinced, will that mean I will get deported in spite of the fact that we are a happily married couple, living a normal day to day life? I hope there are some out there in this forum who have experienced that scenario. Thanks everybody!

You can send the photos, but really, photos are just secondary evidence. They really prove nothing in the way of sharing a life and/or a home together. The tax return for the year and auto information are fine too - but if they're specifically looking for info towards the beginning of the marriage, it may not help much in that sense. The driver's licenses do show both your addresses and are a good thing to send too.

Is there a reason you cannot send (or are reluctant to send) the other things folks here have suggested - lease, mortgage information, maybe even some utility bills (we submitted some in both names)?

I moved at my wife's place and she says there was no lease contract prior or after our marriage. I am reluctant to ask for a joint lease contract for fear of the landlord having an idea of increasing our rent or imposing new conditions. My wife and I therefore agreed to maintain the status quo. Utility bills are still under my wife's name but our joint account bank statement will show the utility bills were paid. Only our gas bill is under my name because at the time I was still waiting for my SS number, and the gas company was the only one who did not require my ssn. Our auto financing was just recent because it was only now we had a need for a car. Thanks for your time.

Again - so you sent nothing that has to do with living together? (A lease, mortgage etc?) Is this not something you can do?

Can I send them photos of our wedding, and other pictures from the start of marriage. The dates are embossed on the photos. I can send them some of the pictures we showed the IO during our interview for the CR green card. Also I plan to send this year's tax return. I have sent them our auto mortgage in the initial package and I will now send the auto title but the car was only acquired Dec/09.

I sent them my pay slip that shows our place of residence. Maybe I can also send them my driver's license showing the same address, also my wife's. thanks for your comments.

Let me ask you this. What did you send that shows you both live together? (Meaning something like a lease or similar.)

Beyond that curious question - you would need to list exactly what you did send (and exactly what the RFE notice says would be nice).

Hi friends, please see my reply to Just Bob re what I sent. Thanks.

More precisely, what EXACTLY, and I mean EXACTLY, did you sent?

My educated guess is that you missed out on ONE document, and that got them hung up . . .

Hi Bob, this is what I sent on my I-751 package:

1. Copies of the passport and green card. Passport I-551 stamp and Philippine Immigration Arrival/departure stamp as proof of travelling together with my spouse.

2. Two sworn affidavits by U.S. citizen friends, attesting to our relationship and marriage.

3. A partial copy of our 2008 joint US tax return.

4. Letter from insurance companies confirming enrollment on life and accident insurance with myself and spouse as beneficiaries.

5. Copy of sample utility bill under my name and in our place of residence

6. Copy of credit card statements showing bills/expenses paid by me

7. Copy of our cell phone family T-mobile account randomly picked between the periods May 2008 to the present. It even shows our calls to each other.

8. Copy of my most recent pay stub, showing our present address and civil status as married.

9. Copy of our joint bank account statement for 2009

10. A copy of our airline airline itinerary, boarding passes, passport arrival/departure stamps for our vacation last December 2, 2008 thru January 18, 2009.

11. Pictures of our most recent social affairs

12. Car registration of our most recent car purchase together with financing information for the said purchase

If you don't have them, you can't send them, obviously. Just send what you can. They want stuff from the very very beginning of your marriage? Send'em some wedding and honeymoon photos.

Thanks for your reply. But I've shown them photos during my interview on my Adjustment of Status. And the IO took some pictures for their file. Is it not just a carry over to the I-751?

Hi everybody! After you submitted the I-751 and the check, after the biometric, you get so anxious and eager and look at the mail from Immigration. You anxiously feel the envelope and hope that the new 10 year green card has finally arrived. Unfortunately, when you open the envelope, and the letter says you have submitted insufficient evidence showing joint responsibilities and/or ownership. Then is says you must submit documents from the date of marriage to the present date.

How could I submit documents from the date of the marriage when my adjustment of status was only approved in Feb. 12/08. Our marriage was in Nov. 8, 2007. I immediately applied for my SS number and driver's license but you don't get them the next day. I was only first week of March I was able to get my SS number and license. So how could I open a joint account, a joint credit card, apply for auto financing without the SS number? I have submitted bank statements, insurance, auto financing but they were all closer to the present date rather than close to the date of marriage.

Hope you can give me advise. thanks.

for a group of people that show terrible organizational skills (and the lack of essential intelligence) it amazes me how they have been strict about such a rule.

When did you mail it again? I guess some of these dates are needed to get you on the list...

i think i mailed it again after a week just to be sure it was not sent back to me again. Good luck on your 400.

Congrats marlaandalex !! Go VSC Go

Yeah, it looked like almost date order at beggining, but now, back to random again...

so it looks like a longer waiting period of us...

Anyone else sent / sending off the I-751 this month ?

My conditional gc expired 3/17/10. I filed my 751 earlier by 90 days (or 2 days early) and it was sent back to me so the 751 was eventually accepted on 12/9/10. Had my biometrics done 1/29/10 and still waiting. I hope it gets approved for 10 years.