Already thinking about the next step

[Laure&Colin 557]

Hi all!

I'm entering the USA next week on my CR1 visa, and I'd like to know if there's any papers I should be taking with me to file for ROC. Yeah, I know it's in 2 years, but obtaining things like a birth certificate or marriage certificate in France while residing in the US might be difficult.

Any hint on things I should bring so I don't have to cross the Atlantic in 2 years time in an emergency trip to retrieve some papers?

[*Snowdrop* 604]

I found that it was useful to have a plastic folder filled with any important documents I could think of plus photocopies of each one, and photocopies of other important documents. It just makes it easier for all sorts of occasions not just ROC.

Think about what you might need to deal with any issues from your home country - bank account stuff, taxes etc, and also any documents to help you with everyday life stuff in the US - id for opening bank accounts etc (I needed my marriage cert to be added to my husbands account)

I used one of those folders with different sections and included things like:

Marriage cert

Birth cert - short and long form

Photocopies of passport page

National Insurance details

Pension plan documents

A copy of at least one statement from each of my bank accounts

Photocopy of driver's licence from home country

[RebeccaAndPhil 5]

You actually don't need the marriage certificate at the ROC stage as they should already have it, but if you want to keep it in your possession then bring it anyway.

You're going to want to show co-mingling assets and housing over the course of the two years so you'll need things that span over that whole time period. Hang on to itineraries of trips you take together, pictures with family, on trips, etc. Keep track of all your leases over the next two years as you'll need copies of those. Any tickets to plays/concerts/shows you go to together that has both of your names on it - throw it in a folder to save for ROC. That's really what I did from our AOS to ROC and it helped so much when it came time to file. I just sorted through the folder of things I'd gathered and it made it a lot easier.

Other examples of things you'll need but may be able to print out much later would be: joint bank statements spanning two years, 401k/IRA accounts showing each other as beneficiary, joint health insurance, life insurance listing each other as beneficiary, children's birth certificates, copies of driver's license with same address..

[Laure&Colin 557]

Thanks! So if I understand you well, it's more about things I'll start collecting when I'm there, is that correct?

I'll make sure I get a couple new certified copies of our marriage certificate plus my birth certificate, just in case I need some.

[HeatDeath 430]

Any "official" paper you ever get that has both your names on it, throw it in a big box marked "Removal of Conditions". Utility bills, bank statements, credit card statements, insurance cards/policies, anything like that. I also included photocopies of benefits forms I filled out at work where I names my wife as a beneficiary. Also any envelopes from family or friends addressed to both of you, and any letters or cards that reference or allude to your married relationship. Keep all of that, and putting together your RoC packet in two years will be a breeze.

[TBoneTX 44,672]

Marriage cert

Birth cert - short and long form

Photocopies of passport page

National Insurance details

Pension plan documents

A copy of at least one statement from each of my bank accounts

Photocopy of driver's licence from home country

In general (and not just for ROC), get at least one official copy (preferably two copies) of any personal or governmental record that would be difficult, expensive, or impossible to procure from afar, si man. If possible, get two copies of your vaccination record from your doctor or clinic -- this can be helpful. Your medical and dental records might be helpful later, purely from a personal standpoint.

You don't have much time to collect things, apparently, no man.

Also, if you can renew your foreign driver's license now for the longest term possible, do it, oui man.

People with time to do so should also renew their passport for the longest term possible, if the visa isn't already in it.

[tokyo.lovers 6]

my man had a copy of our entire packet when he came.

he also renewed his japanese driver's license and got a fresh passport.

i think anything else he really needed we already had.

[Laure&Colin 557]

Ok, thanks for the tips!

For my license: French driver's licenses never expire. My grandpa has one from 1946 and still uses it! So that's a check.

My passport has the visa in it, but I renewed it in November to have my married name in it. It's valid for 10 years minus 5 months now. Check.

I'll go get 2 certified copies of both my birth and marriage certificates today (they're free, it takes 5 min, and I live a 2 min walking distance from the records office).

Bank statement, insurance invoices, tax transcripts, I have all that.

Medical and dental records: hmm that's gonna be tough. I'll have to rely on my memory!

[TBoneTX 44,672]

Sounds like you're in pretty good shape, oui man -- better than most. Don't forget university or other educational transcripts. Anything official at all that could qualify as an "important paper."

[Laure&Colin 557]

Oh yeah, I just found my diplomas yesterday. I'm taking them too.

[DaniG 3]

Oh yeah, I just found my diplomas yesterday. I'm taking them too.

Like the other posters said, the evidence you would need for the ROC in two years would be mostly generated after you get to the US.

However, what I found very useful, because you never know what might come up in the future, was giving a general power of attorney to my parents to represent me in front of all government & non-government institutions in my country - this has saved me from a ton of hassle when I got a letter from the health authorities that I owed [equivalent of social security/medicare tax, which you don't have to pay if you live abroad] and had to file some sort of form with them under a new law to get that waived, getting my university back there to send an official transcript directly to a US university and handling inheritance matters for which I would have had to come back on a very short notice otherwise.

[KevinF 3]

Be sure and register with the French consulate in your region when you get here. They can assist you with all sorts of things and also assist you with voting for the French national elections. And yes, you can vote in the US with assistance from the consulate.

[Laure&Colin 557]

Thanks, I'm aware of the registration with the consulate

I lived abroad before and I voted on the last presidential elections.