A little worried- I-797e

[hps2013 0]

My wife and I are in the process of 'removing conditions' from her green card. A few weeks ago we had her biometrics taken. Yesterday we received an I-797E form. Until this point in the green card process it has been fairly smooth sailing. We moved across the country right before it was time to apply to remove the conditions. When we sent in the evidence of a bonafide relationship we included a copy of our latest rental agreement, voided checks from our previous and new joint bank accounts, copies of our drivers lisc. and several pictures from various occasions.

Before the move we lived with my parents for 18 months while I was back in school. Since the move I have been in a in professional program, (and really don't need this added stress, hah) and the utilities on our apt is included in our rent. Also the apt where we live is in an area with no mail service, so we have to receive all of our mail 'general delivery'. When I submitted the application, I assumed the Driver's lis. were simply for identification. My wife had already changed hers to the new address, where I was waiting for my SS card so that I could change mine.(which, in retrospect was probably a huge mistake)

This time we plan to send- affidavits from 4 people (3 family, 1 friend) affirming the validity.

A separate affidavit from my parents affirming that we lived with them from the time we moved to the U.S. until my academic program began.

Old joint bank statements from when we lived with my parents.

A bill with my parents name on it at the same address as my bank statement.

Another copy of our rental agreement that lists her as a tenant.

A car insurance bill with both of our names/current address on it.

Old car insurance bill with previous address/our names/parents names on it.

Old health insurance bill with previous address on it.

New health insurance bill with current address on it.

Hospital bill with her name as pt. and mine as the payer.

Car accident settlement to my father where my wife's property was damaged in the accident.

Letter to me from Uni where I was taking classes 2008-2009.

Letter to me from Uni where I began my doctorate program in 2009.

Certified tax returns from 2007-08.

The tax returns I'm a little worried about, I know I filed jointly in 2008, but in 2007 I might have filed married filed sep. as we were in the country for ~5 weeks in 2007, and I don't know if she had recieved her SSN when I filed. I needed to file quickly in order to apply for financial aid.

I'm planning on sending in all this evidence because I have not worked since returning to the U.S. We have been living off of our savings, student financial aid, and some support from my parents. I'm trying to show that we have indeed been together for the past 2 years+ while living in the U.S., even though neither of us have been working. (in order to begin the doctorate program when I did, I had to fit ~3 years of science/math classes into 3 semesters, and I simply did not have time to work.)

Is the evidence still too light? Too much? If I listed my 2007 tax return as married, filing sep. will that create a problem? How should I explain it? Also, even though the evidence request does not list pictures as a source of evidence should we send additional pictures?

If the evidence is too light, any idea on more creative sources of evidence? This is literally a cross section of every document we could think of that has both of our names on it and an address. Would a cover letter explaining that we live where there is no mail service, and that we can only receive mail via 'general delivery' be accepted? Few of the documents we have have the physical address on it, due to this, and I'm worried that we will get in trouble because the addresses do not match exactly.

Thanks for reading this long post and any helpful advice.

[v333k 59]

My wife and I are in the process of 'removing conditions' from her green card. A few weeks ago we had her biometrics taken. Yesterday we received an I-797E form. Until this point in the green card process it has been fairly smooth sailing. We moved across the country right before it was time to apply to remove the conditions. When we sent in the evidence of a bonafide relationship we included a copy of our latest rental agreement, voided checks from our previous and new joint bank accounts, copies of our drivers lisc. and several pictures from various occasions.

Before the move we lived with my parents for 18 months while I was back in school. Since the move I have been in a in professional program, (and really don't need this added stress, hah) and the utilities on our apt is included in our rent. Also the apt where we live is in an area with no mail service, so we have to receive all of our mail 'general delivery'. When I submitted the application, I assumed the Driver's lis. were simply for identification. My wife had already changed hers to the new address, where I was waiting for my SS card so that I could change mine.(which, in retrospect was probably a huge mistake)

This time we plan to send- affidavits from 4 people (3 family, 1 friend) affirming the validity.

A separate affidavit from my parents affirming that we lived with them from the time we moved to the U.S. until my academic program began.

Old joint bank statements from when we lived with my parents.

A bill with my parents name on it at the same address as my bank statement.

Another copy of our rental agreement that lists her as a tenant.

A car insurance bill with both of our names/current address on it.

Old car insurance bill with previous address/our names/parents names on it.

Old health insurance bill with previous address on it.

New health insurance bill with current address on it.

Hospital bill with her name as pt. and mine as the payer.

Car accident settlement to my father where my wife's property was damaged in the accident.

Letter to me from Uni where I was taking classes 2008-2009.

Letter to me from Uni where I began my doctorate program in 2009.

Certified tax returns from 2007-08.

The tax returns I'm a little worried about, I know I filed jointly in 2008, but in 2007 I might have filed married filed sep. as we were in the country for ~5 weeks in 2007, and I don't know if she had recieved her SSN when I filed. I needed to file quickly in order to apply for financial aid.

I'm planning on sending in all this evidence because I have not worked since returning to the U.S. We have been living off of our savings, student financial aid, and some support from my parents. I'm trying to show that we have indeed been together for the past 2 years+ while living in the U.S., even though neither of us have been working. (in order to begin the doctorate program when I did, I had to fit ~3 years of science/math classes into 3 semesters, and I simply did not have time to work.)

Is the evidence still too light? Too much? If I listed my 2007 tax return as married, filing sep. will that create a problem? How should I explain it? Also, even though the evidence request does not list pictures as a source of evidence should we send additional pictures?

If the evidence is too light, any idea on more creative sources of evidence? This is literally a cross section of every document we could think of that has both of our names on it and an address. Would a cover letter explaining that we live where there is no mail service, and that we can only receive mail via 'general delivery' be accepted? Few of the documents we have have the physical address on it, due to this, and I'm worried that we will get in trouble because the addresses do not match exactly.

Thanks for reading this long post and any helpful advice.

Hi,

First of all - don't worry.

Second,

It seems like you didn't provide enough evidence the first time to show the your relationship in the past 2 years.

Yes - do send affidavits, and the most important ones here are from your parents. They can attest to you and your wife living with them which is a very good plus. Not sure if you should send 3 more affidavits - maybe some other VJer could shed some light on it, but I think you should send one more from a friend. Although USCIS doesn't require them, but they seem to be stuck on 2 affidavits and not many.

Yes - do send copies of the list you mentioned above, the is critical to show evidence in the past two years. If something shows both your names, then make sure to send a copy of it. If it doesn't and you feel like you want to send it, then make sure the address shows.

About your taxes for 2007, if you filed as married filing separate, there is nothing wrong with that. Many people do that since it may fit them better than filing jointly. Even though you sent it in married filing separate, both names should appear on the return and if your wife also filed a return make sure to send both copies to show the return address on them. Many people do send in a cover letter (make sure to keep it short) explaining the history and the type of evidence included.

Finally, many people do send in pictures as long as you feel they could be helpful to support your marriage.

Feel free to ask additional questions, there is are many very experienced people on this site and could give you much more advice.

Good luck!

[hps2013 0]

As for taxes, should I send the expensive certified copies or would the free transcripts suffice?

[crysethu 0]

As for taxes, should I send the expensive certified copies or would the free transcripts suffice?

I sent the free copies of the IRS transcripts in my package. So I guess free copies of the IRS transcripts would do.

Also send as much evidence as you possibly can. It wouldn't hurt your case. I had around 30 different supporting documents. More the merrier.

Hope everything goes well. Good luck to you.