AOS Form questions

[dudejackson 0]

Hi there,

I am a Canadian, recently married to a USC in New York. We are filling out the AOS forms, and had a few questions. Actually, a whole bunch of questions, but they're all just little details that we want to get right. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I entered the states as a visitor, and I don't have an A#, or and I-94. They didn't even stamp my passport.

On form I-485:

1. "Current USCIS Status": do I just write Visitor?

2. "I-94 #" do I just write none?

3. "Expires on" do I just write 6 months from the date of entry?

4. for Part 2 "I am applying for an adjustment to permanent status because:", do I select A? even though I am sending all materials together and don't yet have a visa number?

5. for Part 3c "List present affiliations..." the form no longer says "political", does that mean I should add my BMW club membership? Are they serious?

What proof can I offer of my status in the US, if I didn't get an I-94 or a passport stamp?

Similarly for I-130:

6. Part C14 "If your relative is currently in the US ... He arrived as ", again, should I put "Visitor"?

7. Part C "Information about your relative", should I put my home address in Canada, or my wife's address in New York where we are now living?

8. Part C21 "give the last address where you lived together", do I just put her address and write in that we've been living together for 1.5 months? Or not put anything because we have only now started living together?

9. Part C22 "Your relative is in the United States and will apply for adjustment of status at USCIS office located in", do we put New York, NY there? or the Chicago lockbox?

10. Part D2 "Have you ever filed a petition for this or any other alien?" My wife once started the process for a fiance visa for a boyfriend in London, but they broke up before she finished it. They sent in a package, it was approved but they didn't follow through with it, he did't go to the interview, and they never cancelled it. Should we put Yes, even though it was just for a fiance visa?

Form g-325a:

10: "Applicant's Residences", should I list the New York address as the present address? or the home Canadian address?

11. "Applicant's last address outside the United States of more than one year", for the past 5 years I have moved every year, should I put an address that I lived at for exactly one year, or do they mean 2 or more years?

Thanks you very much for taking the time to help us out!

-JJ

[YuAndDan 153]

I would recommend talking to a good immigration attorney. Doing an AOS from a visitors visa or other method of visiting the USA can be complicated and if not done correctly the chance of it getting refused is high.

The proper approaches are explained here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

Some advice for AOS from visas other than K-1, K-3 can be found here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;page=otheraos

Good luck.

[Peter Miami 0]

I would recommend talking to a good immigration attorney. Doing an AOS from a visitors visa or other method of visiting the USA can be complicated and if not done correctly the chance of it getting refused is high.

The proper approaches are explained here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

Some advice for AOS from visas other than K-1, K-3 can be found here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;page=otheraos

Good luck.

I agree.

Peter Miami

[xjennyinstereox 0]

Woah.. now I'm getting worried... you guys are saying the chance of having it refused if not done properly is high.. I don't think that's really accurate, is it? I mean, I went to see an immigration officer at an info pass appointment and she looked over ALL of my applications and said they were fine.. I didn't hire a lawyer, and I came in as a visitor too...

I'm also a Canadian citizen.. so I had no stamp in my passport, no visa, no I-94 or anything.. I came here, and got married and then filed for AOS. I honestly don't think it's that scary...

So far, everything is going pretty smoothly, as you can see from my timeline. I got one RFE so far and it was for the I-864 and they wanted to know about my non immigrant status since I had no I-94 number filled in on my I-485 or any other document. I was told by the immigration officer herself to write "No I-94/Canadian Citizen" and I wrote the same thing in my letter of explanation for my RFE response.

The officer explained that they are there to help and it's not meant to be as daunting as everyone makes it seem. To the OP, I wouldn't be too scared, the replies got me worried, but honestly, if you fill out everything yourself and then review it with an immigration officer at an infopass interview like I did, I don't think you need to get an attorney. I used tons of info from this forum and wrote to members on this forum who were in a similar situation as myself and we all helped each other out and here I am with a nicely flowing timeline (hope I don't jinx it!) and I think I'll be ok....

but to answer some of your questions, sure, list the BMW club, write that you entered as a visitor, where it asks for an I-94 number, write "NO I-94/Canadian Citizen" and you may want to attach a letter explaining why you didn't get one in detail.. may have saved me the trouble of having to deal with the RFE...

Hi there,

I am a Canadian, recently married to a USC in New York. We are filling out the AOS forms, and had a few questions. Actually, a whole bunch of questions, but they're all just little details that we want to get right. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I entered the states as a visitor, and I don't have an A#, or and I-94. They didn't even stamp my passport.

On form I-485:

1. "Current USCIS Status": do I just write Visitor?

2. "I-94 #" do I just write none?

3. "Expires on" do I just write 6 months from the date of entry?

4. for Part 2 "I am applying for an adjustment to permanent status because:", do I select A? even though I am sending all materials together and don't yet have a visa number?

5. for Part 3c "List present affiliations..." the form no longer says "political", does that mean I should add my BMW club membership? Are they serious?

What proof can I offer of my status in the US, if I didn't get an I-94 or a passport stamp?

Similarly for I-130:

6. Part C14 "If your relative is currently in the US ... He arrived as ", again, should I put "Visitor"?

7. Part C "Information about your relative", should I put my home address in Canada, or my wife's address in New York where we are now living?

8. Part C21 "give the last address where you lived together", do I just put her address and write in that we've been living together for 1.5 months? Or not put anything because we have only now started living together?

9. Part C22 "Your relative is in the United States and will apply for adjustment of status at USCIS office located in", do we put New York, NY there? or the Chicago lockbox?

10. Part D2 "Have you ever filed a petition for this or any other alien?" My wife once started the process for a fiance visa for a boyfriend in London, but they broke up before she finished it. They sent in a package, it was approved but they didn't follow through with it, he did't go to the interview, and they never cancelled it. Should we put Yes, even though it was just for a fiance visa?

Form g-325a:

10: "Applicant's Residences", should I list the New York address as the present address? or the home Canadian address?

11. "Applicant's last address outside the United States of more than one year", for the past 5 years I have moved every year, should I put an address that I lived at for exactly one year, or do they mean 2 or more years?

Thanks you very much for taking the time to help us out!

-JJ

oh and yes for part 4, select A as you have an I-130 that will be pending approval...for the I-130, yes say he arrived as a visitor.. for the last address where you lived together, put the new york one, do not put the canadian address... for G-325A, put the new york address for most recent/present address, and for number 11, put EVERY address. I lived in Ireland for under a year and I still put it there. I also lived with my sister for a month and put hers too.

BTW, this is exactly what the immigration officer told me to do when I asked the same questions about my own forms. So no, I'm not an attorney or immigration officer, but this is all info that came straight from the USCIS office from the mouth of an immigration officer who was very helpful. But please take the advice at your own discretion.

Lastly, you will get an A number when you file all your paperwork. Once that is done, you get a letter in the mail (NOA) letting you know that your paperwork has been received.. you get a receipt number that allows you to track your case status online as well as your A number. They provide it. Good luck and don't get too overwhelmed...

[dudejackson 0]

Wow, thanks Jenny. That really helps. I was getting a bit worried/overwhelmed with the details. I had read stuff online about delays because the forms weren't filled out perfectly. This Infopass interview you had sounds like a great idea, so you did that before you sent in your package? How does that work exactly? I'd like to bring up a few of these questions with an immigration officer.

What did they suggest in terms of the jobs section of the g-325a? My wife is an actress, so in addition to a part-time regular job, she does lots of short acting gigs. Do you think she should put all of those? that would make a very long list, and take a long time to track down.

-JJ

[xjennyinstereox 0]

Wow, thanks Jenny. That really helps. I was getting a bit worried/overwhelmed with the details. I had read stuff online about delays because the forms weren't filled out perfectly. This Infopass interview you had sounds like a great idea, so you did that before you sent in your package? How does that work exactly? I'd like to bring up a few of these questions with an immigration officer.

What did they suggest in terms of the jobs section of the g-325a? My wife is an actress, so in addition to a part-time regular job, she does lots of short acting gigs. Do you think she should put all of those? that would make a very long list, and take a long time to track down.

-JJ

I forgot to mention that if you really want to be safe, you can fill out form I-102 that will give you an I-94... so that you can have one when you fill in your forms. In the instructions, the form says:

You should use Form I-102 to:

Replace your lost, stolen or mutilated Form I-94, I-94W or I-95;

Receive an initial Form I-94 if you were not issued one when you entered as a nonimmigrant, and you are filing this form with an application for extension of stay or change of status;

Also, yes, I had the info pass interview before I sent out all the paperwork. They are absolutely free, and there for people who need help. You can make an appointment by clicking here:

http://infopass.uscis.gov/

But if you do make the appointment, bring all of your applications with you, make sure they are filled out where they need to be and leave things blank if you don't know what to write, the officer will go over everything with you and help you. I was so so so so glad I made that appointment. She even gave me a list of mailing addresses for all the forms, an updated list of fees (which were the same as the website, but it was still nice of her) and she was more than helpful.

About the G-325A, list ALL jobs in the last 5 years, if there is not enough room on the form, write *See Attachment and then list all others on a separate piece of paper and attach it to the G-325A form with a paperclip and put a tab on the bottom of the attached form, in the center. They don't like having tabs on the side of the sheet. I think that's all you asked... if you need any more help, let me know