AOS questions(Sponsorship etc)

[Myopia 93]

I have a few questions before I send off my I-130/I-485/I-765 packet.

In 2009 my husband did not make enough to sponsor me(16k) but in 2010 he did($35k). I have a co sponsor who makes more than enough($100k) to sponsor me so that isn't a problem.

My question is do I really need a co sponsor seeing that in 2010 my husband made enough to sponsor me.Would USCIS be able to take my husbands current salary into account or not?

If not is it possible to remove the co sponsor at some later date if and when I am approved for AOS?

I rather not use a co sponsor if I don't have to use one.

My other question is should I frontload the application or not? For the I-130 I have proof of marriage such as our marriage certificate, insurance, a letter for the business that my husband has, letter from the IRS addressed to both of us( They owed us money) and such like.

Is this necessary?

I was told that I should send a copy of my husbands ID and Social security card. I don't see where to put that.

I changed my name back in 1995. I have included the statement of statutory declaration attached to the copies of my birth certificate Is that correct?

And lastly how many photos do we both need. I can only see one photo for my husband and four for me.

Sorry for the multiple questions but I really want this thing sent by next week Insha Allah.

I have searched (oh have i searched) but my head is spinning!

Thanks in advance.

[katgrl 14]

I have a few questions before I send off my I-130/I-485/I-765 packet.

In 2009 my husband did not make enough to sponsor me(16k) but in 2010 he did($35k). I have a co sponsor who makes more than enough($100k) to sponsor me so that isn't a problem.

My question is do I really need a co sponsor seeing that in 2010 my husband made enough to sponsor me.Would USCIS be able to take my husbands current salary into account or not?

If not is it possible to remove the co sponsor at some later date if and when I am approved for AOS?

I rather not use a co sponsor if I don't have to use one.

Hello, they should go off your husband's current salary (2010) for sponsorship. I would send in the packet without the co-sponsor and if they think you need one, they will send you an RFE for it. But I doubt this will happen. A sponsor (co-sponsor) cannot be removed at a later date. They are essentially responsible for you financially.

My other question is should I frontload the application or not? For the I-130 I have proof of marriage such as our marriage certificate, insurance, a letter for the business that my husband has, letter from the IRS addressed to both of us( They owed us money) and such like.

Is this necessary?

Send as much evidence NOW in support of a bonafide marriage rather than either get an RFE for something or potentially be delayed or deeply questioned at an interview. You want to go into the interview well-prepared and with plenty of evidence of your true marriage.

I was told that I should send a copy of my husbands ID and Social security card. I don't see where to put that.

Your husband only has to send in either birth certificate copy or passport copy for proof of US citizenship. Copy of id and ss card are not necessary.

I changed my name back in 1995. I have included the statement of statutory declaration attached to the copies of my birth certificate Is that correct?

I am unsure if this is necessary, but if it were me, I'd include it. Did you change it for marriage-based (divorce) reasons? If so, make sure to include all divorce decrees, if any.

And lastly how many photos do we both need. I can only see one photo for my husband and four for me.

Your husband needs 1 photo with his G325A. You need 7 photos-- 1 for G325A (with I-130), 2 for I-765, and 2 for I-131, and 2 for I-485.

Sorry for the multiple questions but I really want this thing sent by next week Insha Allah.

I have searched (oh have i searched) but my head is spinning!

Good luck!!

Thanks in advance.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Yep, confirming everything Katgrl said. I just want to further add, that the I-130 specifically asks for evidence of a bona fide marriage. Therefore, "front-loading," which is sending evidence at the beginning which is not specifically required at the beginning, doesn't really exist in this case. The IO won't have too much time to review any new evidence you bring to the interview, so best to send your evidence now, so the IO can have time to review it beforehand, and hopefully then your interview will be more a matter of policy and the IO will be prepared to approve before you even walk in the door. Good luck.

[Myopia 93]

Yep, confirming everything Katgrl said. I just want to further add, that the I-130 specifically asks for evidence of a bona fide marriage. Therefore, "front-loading," which is sending evidence at the beginning which is not specifically required at the beginning, doesn't really exist in this case. The IO won't have too much time to review any new evidence you bring to the interview, so best to send your evidence now, so the IO can have time to review it beforehand, and hopefully then your interview will be more a matter of policy and the IO will be prepared to approve before you even walk in the door. Good luck.

Thank you both of you for your good wishes and answers. I know I should be more nervous than I am but I'm not really. What will be will be so I just want to make sure that my application is sent with everything needed in order to prevent any RFE's.

I may actually just use the co sponsor just in order to make sure I do not get a RFE.

Thanks again

[sciencenerd 56]

They definitely just care about your current income even though you have to send taxes for 3 years. My 2007 income was actually negative and 2008 very low, but my 2009 met the requirement and they just went off of that when we did the AOS.

[Myopia 93]

They definitely just care about your current income even though you have to send taxes for 3 years. My 2007 income was actually negative and 2008 very low, but my 2009 met the requirement and they just went off of that when we did the AOS.

Thanks a lot!

[Myopia 93]

Thanks a lot!

Ok another question! I just checked my husbands W2 for 2010. He made 2 cents less than what is required under the poverty guidelines.

His salary is $33,175 but we have to make sure we meet the requirements for 5 people.

Will I now then DEFINITELY need a co-sponsor?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

No, you will need to make up 3X the difference, so 6 cents Do you have any bank accounts with 6 cents in them?

I believe there is a chance, however small, that even with the 6 cents that they would ask for a co-sponsor because it is so borderline. Since you said you'd prefer not to use a co-sponsor, you could try without it and risk the RFE for co-sponsor. If you had the co-sponsor paperwork all ready just in case, the RFE would only delay things by a few days. I am not sure if the local offices have discretion in evaluating the I-864s or if they stay rigid to the 125% poverty line. In your case, rigidity would be better. Good luck.

[Myopia 93]

No, you will need to make up 3X the difference, so 6 cents Do you have any bank accounts with 6 cents in them?

I believe there is a chance, however small, that even with the 6 cents that they would ask for a co-sponsor because it is so borderline. Since you said you'd prefer not to use a co-sponsor, you could try without it and risk the RFE for co-sponsor. If you had the co-sponsor paperwork all ready just in case, the RFE would only delay things by a few days. I am not sure if the local offices have discretion in evaluating the I-864s or if they stay rigid to the 125% poverty line. In your case, rigidity would be better. Good luck.

Yes I think we can swing a bank account with 6 cents in it! Ok I think I will just file without the additional sponsor and then if I need to use her I can use her. My co sponsor is awesome but I don't want to place an ideological burden on her more than is neccessary. At the end of the day a few days delay isn't the end of the world.

Thanks for your fast responses. It is very appreciated.

[Myopia 93]

Yes I think we can swing a bank account with 6 cents in it! Ok I think I will just file without the additional sponsor and then if I need to use her I can use her. My co sponsor is awesome but I don't want to place an ideological burden on her more than is neccessary. At the end of the day a few days delay isn't the end of the world.

Thanks for your fast responses. It is very appreciated.

Ok so I thought I would have sent this thing in by now but had to wait for the employment letter for my hubby, and had a nasty infection that has me on 2 different types of antibiotics so now finally after the medical on Friday, I am poised to file this baby on Tuesday insha Allah.

I have tried to be organized and not overload the packet but I have a couple of new questions so rather than open a new thread, Ill just resusitate the old one for sake of clarity.

I was married in NYC initially with a religious marriage. We satisfied the criteria for a lawful marriage in NY State even though we did not get a license (I wasnt thinking about adjusting status back in 2009). We were able to file taxes as married in 2010 as married because of this reason. We were audited by the IRS and had to sent proof of marriage in which they accepted.

When we decided to file (My husband insisted even though I was ambivalent) we were going to just use the religious marriage as our proof. But me being now ambivalently nervous felt that we shouldnt give the USCIS any reason to deny because of this, so we got married civilly too. Please note that in NY a couple can marry eachother again and again with a license or without.

We told the city clerk that we were married to eachother in our religion and she said it didnt matter as we werent married legally (with the license).

So I used the date of our courtroom marriage as the basis of our filing date but now I am wondering if I should use the date of our religious marriage.

What do you think?

I was half thinking of sending both certificates.

Edited February 13, 2011 by Myopia

[SunDrop 59]

If you are only considered legally married with the civil wedding having got a license that time, then use that date.

Just a point about income and sponsorship. They're less interested in what you earnt last year and more interested in what you are currently earning. You should be submitting more than just an IRS transcript or tax return copies, but should also include recent pay stubs employment letter for example. So, if you provide let's say 4 months (8 pay periods) of pay stubs, they will calculate the average amount and multiply by 26. We had a significant pay increase for my husband between 2008 and 2009 because he spent nearly 6 months of 2008 in the UK with me on a tourist visa. Again, his pay was significantly different between 2009 and 2010 because he started a new job in August. We need to bring our 2010 return to interview, but his W-2s, the accompanying paystubs and employment letter will prove the reasons behind the changes.

If he's still only a couple of pennies below, then yup, use bank statements of a savings account as an asset.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Ok so I thought I would have sent this thing in by now but had to wait for the employment letter for my hubby, and had a nasty infection that has me on 2 different types of antibiotics so now finally after the medical on Friday, I am poised to file this baby on Tuesday insha Allah.

I have tried to be organized and not overload the packet but I have a couple of new questions so rather than open a new thread, Ill just resusitate the old one for sake of clarity.

I was married in NYC initially with a religious marriage. We satisfied the criteria for a lawful marriage in NY State even though we did not get a license (I wasnt thinking about adjusting status back in 2009). We were able to file taxes as married in 2010 as married because of this reason. We were audited by the IRS and had to sent proof of marriage in which they accepted.

When we decided to file (My husband insisted even though I was ambivalent) we were going to just use the religious marriage as our proof. But me being now ambivalently nervous felt that we shouldnt give the USCIS any reason to deny because of this, so we got married civilly too. Please note that in NY a couple can marry eachother again and again with a license or without.

We told the city clerk that we were married to eachother in our religion and she said it didnt matter as we werent married legally (with the license).

So I used the date of our courtroom marriage as the basis of our filing date but now I am wondering if I should use the date of our religious marriage.

What do you think?

I was half thinking of sending both certificates.

I'd send both certificates, along with an explanation that you did the civil marriage only so you could get the certificate, even though you were already legally married. Otherwise, I'd be worried about that joint tax return raising some questions in the mind of the IO. The more everything is explained up front, the less likely it will be an issue at the interview.

Forget what the court clerk told you. A marriage performed in a religious ceremony in New York is a valid marriage, even without a marriage license. Be sure you explain this in the documents you submit with the petitions.

[Myopia 93]

I'd send both certificates, along with an explanation that you did the civil marriage only so you could get the certificate, even though you were already legally married. Otherwise, I'd be worried about that joint tax return raising some questions in the mind of the IO. The more everything is explained up front, the less likely it will be an issue at the interview.

Forget what the court clerk told you. A marriage performed in a religious ceremony in New York is a valid marriage, even without a marriage license. Be sure you explain this in the documents you submit with the petitions.

It is the fact that we filed jointly that made me think that it could raise a question with the IO, so what I will do is explain that we got married religiously without a license and then got married with a license in order to get the NY certificate (plus my mother really wanted us to get the civil marriage as she doesnt get/want to get the religious marriage). I will use the date of the civil marriage and hope they want to use the religious marriage instead. *If that makes sense.. THanks all.

I just wanted to add. The IRS audited us so we had to send proof of our lives and we sent the Islamic Marriage certificate as proof of marriage which was accepted.

Edited February 14, 2011 by Myopia