DaniG

See this too: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006050325183

I'm sorry for what you're going through, mikelid. I adjusted to F-1 in the US two years ago and I haven't visited my family since then because I was afraid something like that would happen to me too. I've heard that embassies don't like it when you adjust status without going through them.

I am not familiar with 221g but here is what I found online: http://www.***removed***/visas/221grefusal/

It talks about the different kinds of 221g's.

You might want to call the embassy/consulate and ask them if providing further evidence of your intention to adhere to your non-immigrant student status in the US would help your case. Maybe you could get letters from your US professors stating that you have attended classes regularly and are doing well in school, and mentioning that you must return asap to finish your courses.

Best of luck!

Vanessa&Tony, I thank you too! We are sending our package today and your feedback was very helpful in double-checking everything.

Safari: besides the affidavits, there could be lots of other evidence showing a bona-fide marriage. For example, every couple has pictures!

We included about 20 pictures from various periods in our relationship, a video of our wedding (I doubt they are going to watch it but at least the DVD has a nice picture of us on its front and we have too many copies of it already), copies of our drivers licenses that show the same address, joint lease, joint gym membership, an insurance letter from his insurance which paid my medical bill when we were in an accident together in his car, utility bills in both of our names.

You could also give them copies of plane tickets if you traveled together or if the USC went to your country; tickets to events you attended together if you kept any, copies of e-mails you have exchanged, letters you wrote to each other, cards, big purchases one made for the other (i.e. my husband paid my college tuition one semester just before we got married and this is shown on his bank statement, even though I am not including it) ...shows i

Hi Guys,

I've few questions regarding filling out our forms.

Q1: the I-94 no. on the I-94 paper there is number separated with slashes(they are 3 numbers then a dash then 5 numbers) and then there is a 20 written alone beside the number out of the slashes.. is that 20 part of the number or no???!!

Q2: regarding the USCIS office we will apply ofr adjustment of satus..we are Green Bay, WI. which one will you apply for?

Q3: the nonimmigrant visa number? is it what they call on the visa the control number? if yes? in that number there is zeros and salshed zeros I don't know how to type this???!!

Appreciate your help guys.

1. The 20 should be part of the number. Its 11 digits total.

2. Still preparing documents, but if you are filing I-130 and I-485 it should be a Chicago Lockbox - see the address in the instructions for these two forms.

3. The number is the red one in the middle right part of the visa, not the one starting with the year of issuing under Control number.

So it would not be a good idea to include an affidavit from the Petitioner in addition to the ones from our friends and family?

I was looking for sample affidavits from family/friends to include in the I-130 package and encountered a sample for an affidavit by the Petitioner/Beneficiary declaring that the marriage is bona-fide. I had never seen the latter one before, so I am wondering if it is normal to send those.

If yes, does just the Petitioner send one or both of us? Can we send one signed by both? And how detailed does it have to be? I am afraid ours is starting to sound too lovey, but then again I don't want it to be too dry since it is evidence of a loving relationship. Is there anything we need to add or remove? We are also getting 2 or 3 affidavits by friends/family in addition to this (if we end up sending this one).

Here is what our Petitioner's looks like [names removed]:

In re: I-130, Petition of Alien Relative. Evidence in support of a bona fide marriage between P, petitioner, and B, beneficiary (maiden name: BB).

I, P, hereby make this affirmation as evidence of my bona-fide marriage with B and of our loving and sincere relationship.

1. My name is P. I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth herein.

2. I was born in the United States on ... in the town of ....

3. My current address is ...

4. I am a United States Citizen and have submitted an I-130 petition for my spouse, B.

5. The details of our relationship are as follows:

– We first met in October 2007 at ... in Ames, Iowa. I was working as ... and B was working in our ... department. She was unable to drive at the time so I offered to give her driving lessons.

– We officially started dating on November 23rd, 2007. On our first date I tried to take her to the Des Moines Botanical Center; unfortunately it was closed at the time so we drove back to Ames for dinner.

– I introduced B to my immediate family several months after we started dating. Everyone in my family instantly liked her and we have been visiting them regularly on Sundays and spending all major holidays at my parents' house in ..., Iowa.

– During our first two years of dating, some of the places we have visited together include:

# Cincinnati, Ohio (January 2008)

# “The Grotto of the Redemption” in West Bend, Iowa (August 2009)

# several trips to Iowa's Ledges State Park in the spring and summer (2008 and 2009)

# Omaha Zoo, Omaha, Nebraska (July 2009)

# Chicago, Illinois for our two-year anniversary (November 2009).

- We have been living together at ..., Iowa, under a joint lease since August 2008.

– I proposed to B on January 1st, 2010, on a bridge, in the snow. Just as I asked the question, a train went under the bridge and ruined the moment (although it did make the event more memorable).

– We were married on February 14th, 2010, in .... The ceremony was attended only by my closest family members because we are having a larger ceremony on July 5, 2010.

– On February 18th, 2010 we moved from ... to ..., Iowa.

6. Our marriage is a bona fide marriage and we did not enter into it for any immigration-related purpose.

7. Our marriage was, is, and continues to be viable.

__________________________________ [signature] _______________[date]

Thanks for your help, guys! This forum is priceless!

You would put "D/S" for the date.

Not sure on the answer for the second question I would think the J-1/F-1 were your authorizations to work.

Thanks, Bobby+Umit!

I am still very confused about the work authorization thing. For my J-1, the relevant form is not even from USCIS, but from the Department of State (DS-2019), so I hope someone else can shed some light on this

We will be February filers (barely) too in a couple of days: marriage-based petition. I love this forum! Hope all February filers get their petitions approved soon without too many RFE's

I am not sure what to write for the I-94 expiration date in I-485, because on my I-94 the immigration officer put just D/S [duration of status] and no date. I am on F-1 status and my I-20 expires 12/31/2010 but I actually will graduate in May 2010...

This also brings me to Question 11 on I-765, where they ask if I have ever applied for employment authorization from USCIS. I have been in J-1 work-and-travel programs and under my F-1 I have worked on campus, but I don't know if I was authorized directly from the USCIS because I never petitioned them for employment authorization. If having J-1's and F-1 (no EAD, I never did OPT or CPT) means I have been authorized by the USCIS, how do I answer the next question, where they ask which USCIS office authorized it?

Thanks for your help!

I want to find out on how I approach this issue please help...

My Fiance has 13 months left on her F-1 Visa, and 9 Months left on her Thai passport. She is getting her Thai passport renewed this weekend and I am afraid that if they take her old one when they renew it, it will take 3-6 months to get back and she needs to use it to enroll in class along with her I-20's ? The Visa and Passport are all in the same book and she cannot be without it due to class? What can I do ?

Thanks very much in advance!

Not sure what the Thai embassy would do, but I think normally they take your old passport after your new one is issued, when you come to pick it up. You shouldn't have to surrender it at the time you apply. Also, some countries allow you to keep your old passport as well - you just need to sign a declaration that you have visas in it that you still need.

Your best bet is to give a call to the nearest embassy or consulate, and apply for a new passport ASAP instead of waiting for it to expire.

Part 1

Current Status: F-1

Part 3

Status you last entered: J-1

Obviously you have all that J-1 stuff, so put that in the answers because that's the visa. Also, you may want to head on over to the adjusting from other visas section - after reading the warnings on the guide for adjustment from within the US with concurrent I-130 petition, it seems like you may need to consider a waiver? Did you some how get the 2 year home requirement removed when you adjusted to F-1? Just some questions I think you should make sure you are comfortable with...I don't have the answers, and most of us in this forum are adjusting from family based visas. You'll get better info one forum down.

Thanks, guys! It sounds reasonable to put the current status in Part 1 and the visa in Part 3 and then include copies of all my nonimmigrant-status related documents enclosed to show them more clearly what happened.

I never had the 2-year home requirement (got lucky there!), so I didn't have to get it removed, and I was not ever illegally in the U.S. even for a day, so I don't think I need any kind of waiver.

I am the alien spouce of a U.S. citizen. We're almost done with the application to adjust status to permanent resident but I am unsure about how to fill out Part 3 of I-485 because I came to the U.S. on a J-1 visa in 2007 and then adjusted it to F-1 while in the U.S in 2008. I have never been out of status, but my original visa (the J-1) expired after I switched to F-1. I have not left the U.S. since 2007.

So what do I write for these:

• Place of Last Entry Into the United States(City/State):
  
• In what status did you last enter?
  
• Nonimmigrant visa number
  
• Consulate where visa was issued
  
• Date visa was issued
  

If I just enter the J-1 visa info, it sounds as though I am in the US illegally, even though I have a valid F-1 status until the end of 2010. I would really appreciate help from anyone who had adjusted their nonimmigrant status before "going green"!

Yeah, I got the form number wrong above. But I am still wondering about the year of the tax return I will attach to it!

We wanted to file our petition, along with I-485, right after our wedding on the 14th this month. However, it turns out my fiancé's employer would not give him a document (Schedule K-1) that is needed for the preparation of his tax return until the end of February, possibly even later...

I know that a tax return from the latest tax year must be filed together with I-485. So I am wondering if we absolutely need to submit the 2009 return when we send out petition the 16th of February or if the 2008 return would be fine (together with pay stubs from 2009). On one hand, I don't want to slow down the petition but on the other, I realize that if I don't send everything that is needed, they will probably ask for additional evidence and that would slow things too.

So, should we wait for the schedule and send them the 2009 return or can we go ahead and just give them the 2008 one, since it is still the beginning of the year and most people are not ready with their returns yet?