J-1 Visa - AOS and other questions

[Justin73 0]

My girlfriend is here on a J-1 Visa for work. It is not subject to the 2yr return rule. It expires at the end of October 2010. We are planning on getting married soon but I have questions I hope I can get answered here about the whole filing process. I have done so much research I seem to be getting more confused than helping at this point.

1. Even though she has a currently valid J-1 VISA, I still need to file the I-130 to go along with the I-485 (and all docs that go with the I-485), correct ?

2. To continue question 1, is the I-130 submitted along with the I-485 the "proof" needed to substantiate the marking of option A under Part 2 of the I-485 as to why we are filing for an AOS ? If not, what doc are they looking for here. None of the B through J options have any applicability to our situation so it has to be A.

3. I see that this websites guide for I-130/I-485 dual submission says a copy of the I-94 is to be submitted along with the I-485 but when I look at the instructions of the I-485 I see no mention of needing to submit the I-94. I ask only because the doc will be in Bulgarian and need to be translated to be sent. If it is truly not needed I don't want to incur the extra expense of having it translated as I assume sending it in Bulgarian will do no good. I know the Birth certificate has to be translated so I assume this will too if it is actually required afer all.

4. My girlfriend underwent alot of medical tests in Bulgaria when she was given her current Visa. Do we need to get her medical test done again for the I-485 or will the medical tests she had done to receive her current Visa be good enough since they were only 7 months ago. I think I know the answer to this one but it seems odd that if she just had all this done why she would have to get it all done again in less than a year.

Thanks so much. I would be totally lost without this website

Justin

[dracoasa 0]

My girlfriend is here on a J-1 Visa for work. It is not subject to the 2yr return rule. It expires at the end of October 2010. We are planning on getting married soon but I have questions I hope I can get answered here about the whole filing process. I have done so much research I seem to be getting more confused than helping at this point.

1. Even though she has a currently valid J-1 VISA, I still need to file the I-130 to go along with the I-485 (and all docs that go with the I-485), correct ?

Yes

2. To continue question 1, is the I-130 submitted along with the I-485 the "proof" needed to substantiate the marking of option A under Part 2 of the I-485 as to why we are filing for an AOS ? If not, what doc are they looking for here. None of the B through J options have any applicability to our situation so it has to be A.

Yes. As long as you are married you can submit the I-130 the same time with I-485 and the rest of applications ( I 131 - is she did not overstay; if she did is usesless & I 785 ) and on the I 485 application, part 2 you will check "A"

3. I see that this websites guide for I-130/I-485 dual submission says a copy of the I-94 is to be submitted along with the I-485 but when I look at the instructions of the I-485 I see no mention of needing to submit the I-94. I ask only because the doc will be in Bulgarian and need to be translated to be sent. If it is truly not needed I don't want to incur the extra expense of having it translated as I assume sending it in Bulgarian will do no good. I know the Birth certificate has to be translated so I assume this will too if it is actually required afer all.

I -94 is in English. It's the document received at the point of entry in US (that little white card usually stapled to the passport). The birth certificate has to be sent in Bulgarian and translated.

4. My girlfriend underwent alot of medical tests in Bulgaria when she was given her current Visa. Do we need to get her medical test done again for the I-485 or will the medical tests she had done to receive her current Visa be good enough since they were only 7 months ago. I think I know the answer to this one but it seems odd that if she just had all this done why she would have to get it all done again in less than a year.

She will still need to get the sealed envelope for the medical. If you guys have the results for the TB test and the vaccinations/immunization record will save you lots of money. Also if she has a medical insurance 9or you and she is covered) she can get the syphilis test done; the immigration doctor will only charge for the medical examination and he will record all of the results that she'll submit. I suppose that if you guys have the immunization, the tb test and the syphilis should not pay more than $100-150. Make sure that you will get a copy of EVERYTHING is in the sealed envelope. You should get one, but lots of doctors don't give it if you do not requested. Sometimes they even say that they are not supposed to give you one; in the instructions it clearly says you should get one.

Thanks so much. I would be totally lost without this website

Justin

Good luck and happy marriage!

[Justin73 0]

I -94 is in English. It's the document received at the point of entry in US (that little white card usually stapled to the passport). The birth certificate has to be sent in Bulgarian and translated.

So we send the original Bulgarian version of the Birth Certificate and they translate it ? I have always read that anything sent has to be sent in English and I thought I would need to get it translated myself and send that along with the original.

Thanks for all the info. I am very happy to hear about the I-94 being in English

[Justin73 0]

Oops, I think I misunderstood what you wrote. You mean the birth certificate has to be sent in Bulgarian AND in English, right ?

[dracoasa 0]

Oops, I think I misunderstood what you wrote. You mean the birth certificate has to be sent in Bulgarian AND in English, right ?

Right; in Bulgarian and English