VW - AOS - a few questions

[clolita 0]

hello everyone,

i am new to this forum, but have been here a lot in the past few days.

my husband is a US citizen, i am from germany. we've been together for 2 years. we spend january together in germany, he went home (college) and came back to spend his whole summer with me in germany. on august 26th i flew back to the usa with him, to meet his family. my flight back was scheduled to the end of september to go back to university in germany . well... that was the plan. however, when the day came i just couldn't leave, and we decided to prolong my stay for another month. on October 26, our 2nd anniversary, he surprised me with a proposal. of course i said yes. we got married on October 31 in his town. it was beautiful.

now.. of course we have to get things straight. as i did not intend to stay here when i entered, AOS is legal, right? we started to fill out the files, and i few questions came up. maybe someone could look into this and help.

we followed this guideline. ws that correct?

we are planning to file the following

1. I-130

2. G-325a

2. I-864

2. I-485

2. I-765

2. I-131

1. so.. can i send the I-130 and the I-485 together?

i am confused about when i have to have my medical examination. is this part of the I-485 and should be done soon? my visa waiver expires Nov 23, and we wanted to make sure to send in the package this week. is this possible?

2. about the bonifide marriage.. since we are both only in college and live in his parent's house, what can we send in? we dont have any shared bills (yet!).

3. my husbands mother will be our sponsor, so is it the same fiancial support form (I-864)? this is really confusing us.

4. when sending in I-130 and I-485 together... it will be 355$ and 1010$? is this correct?

thanks in advance for helping out.

c & f

[Jon&Lindsey 0]

Congrats on your marriage! Yes, AOS from VWP is legal IF you did not intend to stay when you were admitted. Since you were at university in Germany, that's good evidence of your intention to return there. Although most people who do this *don't* get asked for proof of intention at interview, I think it's a good idea to be prepared, just in case, so get as much evidence as possible that you did intend to go back to Germany. You only need this for the interview though, so you have a while to prepare. AOS from VWP is not without possible risks (see the 'VWP and marriage' thread), but many people on VJ have done it without any problems at all. Your questions:

1. Yes, you are filing the I-130 and I-485 at the same time. You need to have the medical exam done ASAP if you want to file before the 23rd - they will give you a sealed envelope with the completed form in, which you send with your packet. It takes a few days as you will probably have to get vaccinations, have to have blood tests, and have to have a TB test, which takes a few days to read, then possibly an x-ray/other tests if you are positive. I would get this going immediately so you will have enough time, it's unlikely you will be able to send the packet this week, but should be fine by the 23rd. Look at the USCIS website for a list of civil surgeons in your area and call round to get prices/wait times for an appointment.

2. Joint bank account? (we got me added to husband's before I had an SSN, and used it for the AOS checks) Affidavits from friends? Photos from wedding/with family etc? Could he add you to a credit card/cell phone contract? We only sent our joint lease and the checks, so I don't think you have to have a lot of evidence right now, focus on getting a lot more by the time you have your interview.

3. Yes, I believe this is the form, regardless who the sponsor is

4. Yes, two separate checks.

Edited November 2, 2008 by Jon&Lindsey

[clolita 0]

hello jon & lindsey, thankyou very much for your help and time we appreciate it a lot. im going to call the civil surgeon tomorrow.

if his mother is the joint sponsor and we are living in her house - does that mean we need the I-864 or I-864a?

also... his mother surprised us with plane tickets to florida on november 26, 3 days after my visa expired. is it too risky to take this flight? its only domestic after all.. would i need to bring any proof like a marriage certificate? what would you say?

[Hydey 0]

hello jon & lindsey, thankyou very much for your help and time we appreciate it a lot. im going to call the civil surgeon tomorrow.

if his mother is the joint sponsor and we are living in her house - does that mean we need the I-864 or I-864a?

also... his mother surprised us with plane tickets to florida on november 26, 3 days after my visa expired. is it too risky to take this flight? its only domestic after all.. would i need to bring any proof like a marriage certificate? what would you say?

Yes you will need the I-864 which your Husband must fill in and his mother to fill in the I-864a. I had the same case with my Wife.

Flying domestically you will be fine, just have proof that you are who the name says if asked, drivers license or something. But you might not even need that.

[Jon&Lindsey 0]

hello jon & lindsey, thankyou very much for your help and time we appreciate it a lot. im going to call the civil surgeon tomorrow.

if his mother is the joint sponsor and we are living in her house - does that mean we need the I-864 or I-864a?

also... his mother surprised us with plane tickets to florida on november 26, 3 days after my visa expired. is it too risky to take this flight? its only domestic after all.. would i need to bring any proof like a marriage certificate? what would you say?

Yes you will need the I-864 which your Husband must fill in and his mother to fill in the I-864a. I had the same case with my Wife.

Flying domestically you will be fine, just have proof that you are who the name says if asked, drivers license or something. But you might not even need that.

You're welcome

Did your mother-in-law book the tickets in your married name, or previous name? You ideally need photo ID with the same name as on the ticket, if not then definitely take the marriage certificate to prove you are the same person. You don't need a passport to travel in the US domestically, just some form of official photo ID like a driving licence. I am paranoid so would take proof of mailing the AOS packet when you have done that, and NOA1's (the first receipts that USCIS sends you) if somehow you are lucky enough to get them before that, but I think you should be fine.

[clolita 0]

again, thank you all very much for your help. it makes it so much easier i nearly had a mental breakdown yesterday, filling out all those complicated things. but i think we are ok now. i have my medical tomorrow morning.

about the flight.. the tickets are booked on my maiden name. so i think i will just bring my german photo ID with me, and maybe my NOA or any proof we sent the AOS.

thank you so much everyone