loyaboya

What happens if the *petitioner* was arrested for a crime, had a trial by jury, and was found innocent? My husband got arrested for "Assault of a Police Officer" (but he was innocent, I promise!), but he has yet to expunge the record of his arrest from his file. I'm not even sure if he will expunge it, as it's so expensive and these days it's hardly worth the effort because it's so easy to find out anything about anyone even if the record has been wiped clean.

I was just wondering if this will cause a problem for the background checks, or for the interview? Does anyone know? Should my husband bring some proof of the innocent verdict to the interview?

Have you guys gotten his criminal record check yet? Get it and see what it says. It probably summarizes that he was arrested and the verdict was that he was innocent. We sent in a certified copy of hubby's criminal record check with the application package and then got another one for the interview (which we actually didn't even need).

My husband had a DUI on his record and the interviewer didn't really ask us about it. He only asked had my husband ever been arrested, he said yes, then the interviewer looked in our file to see the criminal record report that we'd provided. That was it. He definitely didn't make a big deal about it (maybe because it's been long resolved). Oh he did make a joke about how hubby got it before he met me so now I must be keeping him straight

Anyone with more ideas or suggestions????

I think what you have sounds really good. I'd also try to get some proof that you live at the same address. Anh map had a good suggestion about writing up a lease for your landlord to sign (or at least a letter from them). I think we also brought some mail that had both of our names on it and our drivers licenses (same address on both).

Also- I think it would be a good idea to bring pictures of you with both families even if you had a "confidential" wedding. Who were your witnesses? If they were friends you could also bring letters from them.

Good luck!

It sounds like you guys are in the same situation that my husband and I were in. We just had our interview and got approved last week Everything was fine and we were never asked any questions about his overstay. I think the most important thing is to provide as much documentation as you can about your relationship and be honest in everything.

We were married less than a month before his F1 expired. I wasn't worried about it looking rushed because we had a traditional wedding (over 1 year of engagement and several months of planning, just like many couples). I don't see any reason to be worried if there is nothing to hide. Good luck! Enjoy your wedding!

How can you get a drivers licence if your not a permanent resident??

MJHawk it depends on the state... States usually let you get a driver license or ID card if you have a valid visa... Usually can't be in the last month or two of it though. But it varies... Then some states will only issue it for the length of the visa others will issue it for standard length. Ask at your DMV, to see if you're eligible. The worst they can do is say no.

Yup, we live in North Carolina. I'm not sure if he needed to show his visa but he had a social security card and probably took that (F1 student). I can ask him for the exact details.

I was going to say the same thing as pinayangelus - can you guys open a new joint bank account? My husband and I did this after we got married. There was barely any money in it but we still used it as documentation. Also, once we opened it, the bank sent us mail with both our names on the account. We were able to take that to the interview.

We also used our "family plan" cell phone bill. The account itself was only in my name but the bill clearly listed both phone numbers.

Also, what address is on your drivers licenses? Even though we didn't have a joint lease/mortgage, we used our drivers licenses to show proof of our same address. We also have a credit card together.

You mentioned the insurance and cable bills- I think those are good too. Send in whatever you have. Even vet bills or papers for your pets- my interviewer specifically mentioned that we could have used those.

Get whatever you can (think outside the box) and then don't stress about the rest. Everyone's situation is unique. Good luck!

oh- one more thing. I'm not sure if it helped but I also included info on my name change. If I hadn't had a bonafide relationship then I certainly would not have gone through all that trouble , so to me that was evidence of our marriage. So I included copies of my old and new drivers licenses and social security card. Like I said, I'm not sure how helpful it was but I figured it couldn't hurt.

So am i suppose to send these in with my AOS forms or i am suppose to save this all for my interview? I don't have a drivers license never have i just have a canadian ID. In our state i am not allowed to get a drivers license or ID until i have an alien registration number which i don't have yet. My name is on the vet bills not both .

Definitely send whatever you have with your package. Then if you are able to get more stuff before your interview, bring that with you because they will look at it too.

Do either you or your husband have a credit card? Marie 09 just said this but if your husband has one (or vice versa) then he can add you as an "authorized user". The company will then send one in your name (and you don't have to give a social or get a credit check). It won't help your credit (because it's still his account, not yours) but it does demonstrate a shared resource. We did this and sent a photocopy of the cards (with all the numbers except the last 4 blacked-out! ) to show that we shared the card.

I was going to say the same thing as pinayangelus - can you guys open a new joint bank account? My husband and I did this after we got married. There was barely any money in it but we still used it as documentation. Also, once we opened it, the bank sent us mail with both our names on the account. We were able to take that to the interview.

We also used our "family plan" cell phone bill. The account itself was only in my name but the bill clearly listed both phone numbers.

Also, what address is on your drivers licenses? Even though we didn't have a joint lease/mortgage, we used our drivers licenses to show proof of our same address. We also have a credit card together.

You mentioned the insurance and cable bills- I think those are good too. Send in whatever you have. Even vet bills or papers for your pets- my interviewer specifically mentioned that we could have used those.

Get whatever you can (think outside the box) and then don't stress about the rest. Everyone's situation is unique. Good luck!

oh- one more thing. I'm not sure if it helped but I also included info on my name change. If I hadn't had a bonafide relationship then I certainly would not have gone through all that trouble , so to me that was evidence of our marriage. So I included copies of my old and new drivers licenses and social security card. Like I said, I'm not sure how helpful it was but I figured it couldn't hurt.

I'm a long time lurker here but my husband's AOS was recently approved and so I wanted to share our experience in hopes that it could help others. Everything went very smoothly from start to finish and it was definitely a result of the good advice I found on this board.

First the background: I'm the USC and met my husband while he was here on an F1 visa. We became a little worried because both his F1 and his passport were due to expire within a month of when we'd planned the wedding. But since everything was already planned (we were engaged for over 1 year) we decided to just keep moving and submit our paperwork ASAP after the wedding. This website was instrumental in helping us understand the risks involved with making that decision, but it was a risk we decided to take.

After the wedding we immediately began doing whatever we could to document our relationship. I got my name changed and we opened a joint checking account. We put together our package following the visajourney guides *to the letter*. The instructions that come with the immigration forms are very confusing and if that was all we'd had to go by then I'm sure we would have messed up. So the visajourney guides were a huge help. We did everything, even if it seemed redundant or necessary. Our package contained:

I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

a. $355 fee (personal check)

b. Copy of US birth certificate (front and back)

c. Copy of foreign birth certificate (front and back)

d. Copy of foreign passport (all pages, front and back)

e. Certified copy of marriage license

f. G-325A for USC (including One passport-type photo of USC)

g. G-325A for petitioner (including One passport-type photo of petitioner)

h. Evidence of bonafide marriage (1. Documentation showing shared bank account and credit card 2. Copies of drivers licenses showing the same address, 3.Proof of name change for USC)

II. I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status

a. personal check for $1010 ($930 I-485 fee plus $80 biometrics fee)

b. Copy of foreign passport (all pages front and back)

c. Copy of foreign birth certificate (front and back)

d. Certified copy of marriage license

e. Two passport-type photos of petitioner

f. G-325A for petitioner

g. Sealed I-693- Medical Examination of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status (BTW- we really would not have understood this if it wasn't for this site)

h. Criminal record check for petitioner

i. I-864- Affidavit of Support from USC (including 1. Copy of 2008 Federal tax return for USC, 2. Copies of 2008 W-2s 3. Six months of paystubs)

j. I-765 Application for employment authorization

I should also mention that we were somewhat concerned because my husband had received a DUI some years ago. So his criminal record check was not "clean".

Anyway, we mailed the (receipt requested) package in late July and received our NOAs about 9 days later in early August. We never got any RFEs . Hubby's biometrics appt was scheduled for almost exactly 30 days later (btw he tried to do an early walk-in but they wouldn't let him). I believe it was 30 days after that when we received his employment authorization card.

Our interview was scheduled for November 11th (we just had it this week)! We were shocked that it all happened so quickly- just about 3 months after they received our package. And we'd checked the processing times for our local office (Durham NC) and based on what we saw we thought we wouldn't hear anything until early next year.

For the interview we brought a copy of our original package, our drivers licenses and passports, some wedding pictures (only a few but they included both our families and the wedding party), some nice cards that we received (addressed to both of us), a copy of our cell phone bill (we have a family plan), and my most recent paystubs. We really don't have any joint property at all (only been married a few months) so I was worried that our evidence was a bit skimpy.

But the interview went really well! Our interviewer was professional but also very pleasant. He hardly asked me anything and directed almost all his questions to my hubby. He basically just asked him to verify the info that was in our package. Then he asked the yes/no questions that are on the application and whether or not we'd been previously married or had any kids (no to both). He glanced at our pictures and took the additional 'evidence' that I'd brought. And that was it! He said that he believed us and that we are nice people and then he stamped a big red APPROVED on our package . He said we'll get the green card in a few weeks. Thats it! It took about 30 minutes total and we spent most of the time chatting.

Oh- and he also gave us a bit of advice which was to get as much additional evidence as possible over the next 2 years. That way it'll be easy when we go back to get the conditional status lifted.

Thats it! I know this recap is a little long but I hope someone can get something out of it. The best advice I can give to the next person is to follow the advice on this site and be as thorough as possible. Don't make any assumptions about what you do or don't need. I felt so silly making 2 and 3 copies of the same documents to all be put into the same envelope, but in the end it was worth it because our package was well organized and we didn't get any questions about it. Take the extra time to do it right the first time. Good luck to everyone!

It is not the direct answer to your question, but I am wondering why he has not (or do not want to) applied to renew I-20. I heard people (after being out of status) sometimes ask a school to "reinstate" I-20. I do not know how it works, but I think he could at least consult with the international advisor of his school about the possibility of reinstating his I-20. If he can do that, he could probably apply for OPT which extend his I-20 after his graduation (usually 12 months after OPT starts if he can find a job, or 90 days from unemployment).

Expiration of F-1 visa in June dose not really matter as long as he has valid I-20. If he wants to travel outside of the U.S., he needs to obtain new F-1 visa, but otherwise, his stay in the US is legal if I-20 is current.

Yeah, it was too late for reinstatement but there was a process by which he could apply for a new I-20 (I think). But there was a hefty fee associated with it. Then he was able to re-enroll in classes with no problem and I guess it seemed like there was no point paying all that money to get a new I-20 for one more semester of classes. Basically we just didn't understand the process (or the consequences) and figured that if he was still allowed to stay in school then everything must be okay. It wasn't until we started setting a date for the wedding that we realized that we might have a problem. I feel silly now but the fact is that we still have to figure out a solution for the problem at hand.

So now I'm wondering if we will have a problem adjusting his status (after marriage) because his i-20 is expired.

I guess we thought legal=current visa and the I-20 was just to go to school, but it sounds like the I-20 is what makes you legal and the visa is just for travel?

Hello Everyone!

I've been trying to find an answer to this question and decided to post.

I'm engaged to someone who is here on an F-1 student visa. For financial reasons, he took a semester off from school. Now he is back in school full time even though his I-20 has expired, and he has not applied to renew it. He will graduate this spring and his F-1 visa expires in June. We have been engaged for some time, but unfortunately didn't realize the urgency of this situation. We've decided that our best course of action may be to get married before his F-1 expires. But of course we're scrambling to find out what our options are so that we can make the best decision.

My question is this: will the expired 1-20 have an impact on anything once we get married?

Thanks so much for your help.