DCFers: Please Post Your Cover Letters

[wortu 1]

Here's mine:

August 2, 2013

American Consulate General

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

Giessener Str. 30

60435 Frankfurt

Subject: I-130 petition from ME on behalf of spouse HER.

To whom it may concern:

Please find enclosed my I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on behalf of my German citizen wife. In support of my petition please find included:

1. Full contact information for my wife and me

2. Completed and signed form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative

3. Filing fee of $420.00 in the form of a completed and signed credit card payment authorization form

4. Completed form G-1145, e-Notification of Acceptance

5. One copy of my US passport photo page

6. One copy of my most current German residence permit and supplement sheet (front & back)

7. One copy of our German marriage certificate with one copy of the German/French/English multi-lingual version (as issued directly by the Civil Registry Office of Munich)

8. Completed and signed form G-325A, Biographic Information for my wife, including one attachment detailing prior employment that would not fit on the form

9. Completed and signed form G-325A, Biographic Information for me, including one attachment detailing prior addresses that would not fit on the form

10. One color passport-style photograph of my wife, taken on 28 July 2013

11. One color passport-style photograph of me, taken on 28 July 2013

12. Evidence of the genuineness of our relationship in the form of:

a. One copy of a signed affidavit from our friend, Jane Doe (Spanish citizen)

b. One copy of a signed affidavit from our friend, John Doe (US citizen)

c. Recent (~last 16 months) Skype chat/call history between us (4 pages)

d. Photographs from our life and travels as a couple (15 pages)

Copies of documents submitted are unaltered and I understand that I may be required to submit original documents to an Immigration or Consular officer at a later date. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any reason. I have attached to this letter full contact information for my wife and me.

I hope that you find this petition clear and complete so as to facilitate a straightforward review and decision process.

Sincerely,

ME

[Lucy_Nani 0]

Is it really necessary to do a cover letter????

[lost_at_sea 995]

Is it really necessary to do a cover letter????

No. Only if instructed to do so by the embassy you apply with. Many ask for a cover letter to accompany the DS-2001 form, but if they never asked for one, you have nothing to worry about.

[Lucy_Nani 0]

Ok thanks because I definitely didn't prepare one!!

[himher 634]

We actually didn't attach a cover letter. Close call. Glad we were approved anyway.

[RishyElann 0]

Hi

My wife is a US Citizen and moved to India in May 2016 for our wedding. She is also a OCI(Overseas citizen of India card) holder and does not need a resident permit and can stay for any period of time in India. She can also work India and she is currently working for the past 1month. We would like to file for my immigration through the USCIS office in New Delhi. And we would like to take the DCF route. She was staying in my company provided appartment till december 2016. From jan 2017 we have rented an apartment in our joint name as she had to move to another location for her job.

Are we eligible to file through DCF?

What proofs would we have to furnish for proving our eligibility?

[RishyElann 0]

Hi

My wife is a US Citizen and moved to India in May 2016 for our wedding. She is also a OCI(Overseas citizen of India card) holder and does not need a resident permit and can stay for any period of time in India. She can also work India and she is currently working for the past 1month. We would like to file for my immigration through the USCIS office in New Delhi. And we would like to take the DCF route. She was staying in my company provided appartment till december 2016. From jan 2017 we have rented an apartment in our joint name as she had to move to another location for her job.

Are we eligible to file through DCF?

What proofs would we have to furnish for proving our eligibility?

[patriot10 11]

Following is the cover letter that i had put together....which was eventually not required or even looked at (just particular documents were asked for one by one and upon providing, i was told - that would be it.

 

here goes ...

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

 

Please find the following documents as required to be filed with an I-130 petition.

 

 

Demand Draft for Rs.29400/- ($420 in INR @ $1=Rs.70) no.xxxxxx dated xx-xx-2016 made out to ‘American Embassy, New Delhi’ payable at New Delhi.

Form I-130 signed by petitioner

Form G-325A signed by petitioner

Form G-325A signed by spouse

Passport Size photograph of petitioner

Passport Size photograph of spouse

 

 

Documents to prove US citizenship of petitioner

 

 

 

U.S Passport

Birth certificate

U.S Driving Licence

 

 

Documents to prove Residence in India of Petitioner

 

 

 

OCI Card of petitioner

Relevant pages of passport of petitioner showing entry into India

Residential permit of petitioner (now rendered irrelevant since petitioner got OCI card)

School Report of first child attending school in India 

School Report of second child attending school in India 

 

 

Documents to prove relation between petitioner and spouse

 

 

 

Marriage Certificate

Family photographs

U.S Passport of first common child 

OCI Card of first child

Consular Report of Birth abroad of first Child

Birth certificate of first child

Translation of birth certificate of first child

U.S Passport of second common child 

OCI Card of second child

Birth Certificate of second child

Statement of bank account where petitioner is nominee (co-mingling of financial assets)

Statement of provident fund of spouse where petitioner is nominee (co-mingling of financial assets)

Insurance policy 1 of spouse where petitioner is nominee (co-mingling of financial assets)

Insurance policy 2 of spouse where petitioner is nominee (co-mingling of financial assets)

 

 

Identification of Spouse

 

 

 

Indian Passport

Birth Certificate

Matriculation certificate since no name on birth certificate

 

 

Hope you will find that all is in order. I shall remain on standby if I am required to submit any further document/s. Thank you very much for your time and kind consideration.

                                                                                                        Yours Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2017 by patriot10
removal of personal detail typed by error

[patriot10 11]

7 minutes ago, patriot10 said:

Following is the cover letter that i had put together....which was eventually not required or even looked at (just particular documents were asked for one by one and upon providing, i was told - that would be it.

 

here goes ...

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

 

Please find the following documents as required to be filed with an I-130 petition.

 

 

Demand Draft for Rs.29400/- ($420 in INR @ $1=Rs.70) no.xxxxxx dated xx-xx-2016 made out to ‘American Embassy, New Delhi’ payable at New Delhi.

Form I-130 signed by petitioner

Form G-325A signed by petitioner

Form G-325A signed by spouse

Passport Size photograph of petitioner

Passport Size photograph of spouse

 

 

Documents to prove US citizenship of petitioner

 

 

 

U.S Passport

Birth certificate

U.S Driving Licence

 

 

Documents to prove Residence in India of Petitioner

 

 

 

OCI Card of petitioner

Relevant pages of passport of petitioner showing entry into India

Residential permit of petitioner (now rendered irrelevant since petitioner got OCI card)

School Report of first child attending school in India 

School Report of second child attending school in India 

 

 

Documents to prove relation between petitioner and spouse

 

 

 

Marriage Certificate

Family photographs

U.S Passport of first common child 

OCI Card of first child

Consular Report of Birth abroad of first Child

Birth certificate of first child

Translation of birth certificate of first child

U.S Passport of second common child 

OCI Card of second child

Birth Certificate of second child

Statement of bank account where petitioner is nominee (co-mingling of financial assets)

Statement of provident fund of spouse where petitioner is nominee (co-mingling of financial assets)

Insurance policy 1 of spouse where petitioner is nominee (co-mingling of financial assets)

Insurance policy 2 of spouse where petitioner is nominee (co-mingling of financial assets)

 

 

Identification of Spouse

 

 

 

Indian Passport

Birth Certificate

Matriculation certificate since no name on birth certificate

 

 

Hope you will find that all is in order. I shall remain on standby if I am required to submit any further document/s. Thank you very much for your time and kind consideration.

                                                                                                        Yours Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

Out of the above, all they took from me was

 

Passport photocopy of spouse

Passport photocopy of petitioner

marriage certificate

some photographs were looked at and one photograph was taken on file

OCI card photocopy of petitioner

birth certificate of child one

birth certificate of child two (report of consular birth abroad)

proof of schooling of children in india

wife's india driving licence

 

That's all...was very quick and simple. Well done to USCIS new delhi on that.

 

[patriot10 11]

7 minutes ago, patriot10 said:

Following is the cover letter that i had put together....which was eventually not required or even looked at (just particular documents were asked for one by one and upon providing, i was told - that would be it.

 

here goes ...

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

 

Please find the following documents as required to be filed with an I-130 petition.

 

 

Demand Draft for Rs.29400/- ($420 in INR @ $1=Rs.70) no.xxxxxx dated xx-xx-2016 made out to ‘American Embassy, New Delhi’ payable at New Delhi.

Form I-130 signed by petitioner

Form G-325A signed by petitioner

Form G-325A signed by spouse

Passport Size photograph of petitioner

Passport Size photograph of spouse

 

 

Documents to prove US citizenship of petitioner

 

 

 

U.S Passport

Birth certificate

U.S Driving Licence

 

 

Documents to prove Residence in India of Petitioner

 

 

 

OCI Card of petitioner

Relevant pages of passport of petitioner showing entry into India

Residential permit of petitioner (now rendered irrelevant since petitioner got OCI card)

School Report of first child attending school in India 

School Report of second child attending school in India 

 

 

Documents to prove relation between petitioner and spouse

 

 

 

Marriage Certificate

Family photographs

U.S Passport of first common child 

%

[wells89 0]

We're planning to file at the UK consulate, and I'm so paranoid after everything we've had to do in the past for a UK visa for me... Can anyone verify what documents we need to submit with the I-130 that have to be originals? For example, do we need to send our actual passports or just photocopies? The guidelines say something like "a copy of..." and I'm being pedantic and anxious questioning whether that means a photocopy or just the actual, original (or certified copy) document.

[Jorge V 195]

1 hour ago, wells89 said:

We're planning to file at the UK consulate, and I'm so paranoid after everything we've had to do in the past for a UK visa for me... Can anyone verify what documents we need to submit with the I-130 that have to be originals? For example, do we need to send our actual passports or just photocopies? The guidelines say something like "a copy of..." and I'm being pedantic and anxious questioning whether that means a photocopy or just the actual, original (or certified copy) document.

The I-130 instructions ( https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-130instr.pdf ) state the following:

 

Copies. You may submit legible photocopies of documents requested, unless the Instructions specifically state that you must submit an original document. USCIS may request an original document at the time of filing or at any time during processing of an application, petition, or request. If you submit original documents when not required, the documents may remain a part of the record, and USCIS will not automatically return them to you

 

Following those instructions, I did not send an original for anything along with the I-130. You'll likely have to provide originals for the embassy phase.

[wells89 0]

Thank you! 

 

One last thing - the guidance asks you to send a pre-stamped and addressed envelope. Is that just a letter size envelope (and they'll pay postage/it's included in the fee to post your documents back to you), or does it need to be a big enough envelope/postage to send everything back to you?