I485 Interview scheduled for 10/31/06!

[egosheep 0]

Hi everyone, I'm putting this here because I might need to file the I601. Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

Case background: I met my wife on the net in 2000, she was a canadian citizen living in toronto, I visted her 4 times there. In 2003 she came to Reno, NV to visit her uncle. She flew in, and her passport was not stamped. I went to reno to meet her uncle and visit her there, and I told her to come back to Atlanta with me to meet my parents. We decided to go ahead and get married and file AOS. We were married June 1st 2003.

I discovered through infopass that we had missed our appointment, because the appointment letter had been "returned as undeliverable", although we were living at the address and had recieved other letters there such as the biometrics notice. Well, I contacted my congressman and thankfully his office had the meeting rescheduled for Oct. 31st. We are excited but understandably nervous.

We haven't left the US or anything since filing. The only thing i was worried about was the criminal record, there was a shoplifting charge, but my wife was underage(14) and was never brought to trial. She was given community service through a canadian program called "alternative measures". Well, we had to say Yes on the i485 arrest question, but we have no court release documents and none can be gotten; all "alternative measures" records are physically destroyed 2 years after the completion of community service, and its as if there was no incedent. I have a legal brief describing this process, what qualifies and when the documents are destroyed, and i will take it to the interview. I also have police clearances from the toronto police for my wife showing no record.

Anyways I had a few questions:

1. Will we be separated during the interview? We are bringing an attorney, if we are separated, can i request that the attorney accompany my wife?

2.Supporting evidence i have right now includes: postmarked correpondance covering almost 2 years, our wedding album with pictures of both our families, our current lease with both names on it, a letter from the bank showing we have a joint account, and the past years tax return which i filed with my wife as a dependant(IRS denied the deduction because she had no SS#). I couldn't get both our names on the utility bills because they required 150.00 deposit on both gas and power which i can't afford right now. Will this be a big problem, or is the stuff i have sufficient evidence of a relationship? is there anything i'm overlooking?

3. Should I take the I601 already prepared in case we are denied based on the criminal record?

Any thoughts/experiences with the I485 interview process would be welcome. We're nervous, but hoping for the best and doing everything we can to be well prepared. I'd be grateful for any general advice or suggestions!

thanks,

Thomas

[Baileyj96 0]

Have a read here

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=319

Go read the link to the Classes of Aliens Ineligible to receive visa.

I don't see why you would need a waiver if your crime was commited before you were 18.

Baileyj

[egosheep 0]

Have a read here

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=319

Go read the link to the Classes of Aliens Ineligible to receive visa.

I don't see why you would need a waiver if your crime was commited before you were 18.

Baileyj

thanks for the help! do you think it will pose any issue about coming in to the country on a visa waiver? are there any other interview links or advice you can give?

[Carlawarla 1]

If she was a Canadian citizen visiting the USA, she was never on a VWP.

Carla

P.S. I'm sure what information you have will suffice. The reason it doesn't show up on her criminal record, is that the "alternative measures" is just that. An alternative to any criminal record. Got to love it when they system works!

Best of luck on the 31st!

[egosheep 0]

If she was a Canadian citizen visiting the USA, she was never on a VWP.

Carla

P.S. I'm sure what information you have will suffice. The reason it doesn't show up on her criminal record, is that the "alternative measures" is just that. An alternative to any criminal record. Got to love it when they system works!

Best of luck on the 31st!

thanks Carla!

one question:

if she was never on a vwp, what happened at the border? do they just not stamp canadians that fly in? I'm only asking because I don't want there to be any problem, I just want to be clear in case i need to phrase it to uscis in any particular way... she flew from toronto to detroit btw.

[Carlawarla 1]

Stamped? You mean something stamped in her passport? I've used my Canadian passport at every Canada/US crossing, and only have one stamp on it. Both Canadian and American Customs people seem to forget or don't bother with it, at least in my case. Actually until the 1st of Jan 2007, we, as Canadians, have always been able to use just our drivers license (photo ID).

You should be okay!

Carla

[egosheep 0]

Stamped? You mean something stamped in her passport? I've used my Canadian passport at every Canada/US crossing, and only have one stamp on it. Both Canadian and American Customs people seem to forget or don't bother with it, at least in my case. Actually until the 1st of Jan 2007, we, as Canadians, have always been able to use just our drivers license (photo ID).

You should be okay!

Carla

one new issue. we went to the bank to get my wife put on the joint account. Well she doesn't have a SS#, but we had 2 forms of ID, her canadian passport and her canadian health card. well, the banker said he would "make up" a ss# and just typed in some numbers. but the passport is now expired(shes been here 3 years) and they said they couldnt put her on the account since it was expired. Any way around this? I need something else with both our names on it, so far i just have the lease. any help would be appreciated!!!

[Carlawarla 1]

What about affidavits from friends? relatives? I'm sure they can say they've known you have been a couple and married for more than two years? Do you have any mail that's been addressed to you as a couple?

Whether or not you've travelled, I think she should probably have her Canadian passport renewed anyway. If the bank is willing to provide her name on bank accounts with just an active passport, I'd get it renewed. Will cost, but certainly not as much as the utility companies are asking just to have her name put on the bill. What about joint credit cards? Her Canadian health card I'm sure is also not current, and can't be renewed since she's not living here.

I certainly don't know all the answers. Maybe someone else will chime in. My only experience is in the criminal justice system, so my original comment was about the alternative measures item.

Hope any or all of this helps regardless!

Best of Luck,

Carla

[egosheep 0]

What about affidavits from friends? relatives? I'm sure they can say they've known you have been a couple and married for more than two years? Do you have any mail that's been addressed to you as a couple?

Whether or not you've travelled, I think she should probably have her Canadian passport renewed anyway. If the bank is willing to provide her name on bank accounts with just an active passport, I'd get it renewed. Will cost, but certainly not as much as the utility companies are asking just to have her name put on the bill. What about joint credit cards? Her Canadian health card I'm sure is also not current, and can't be renewed since she's not living here.

I certainly don't know all the answers. Maybe someone else will chime in. My only experience is in the criminal justice system, so my original comment was about the alternative measures item.

Hope any or all of this helps regardless!

Best of Luck,

Carla

thanks for taking the time to reply, you've been a lot of help!