Transcript "copies"

[LA80 3]

I asked this before and got two opposite answers, so before I finally send my package, I would like to ask one more time, just to make sure.

Did you send:

a) tax transcript photocopies or

b) tax transcript "originals"?

I know that it is easy to order again, but I do not want any RFE surprises.

Thanks!

Edited July 14, 2012 by LA80

[X Factor 1,112]

You can always order more tax transcripts - so send the originals.

[UMUC 3]

Originals from IRS are just good.

[LA80 3]

Ok, I'm gonna order another batch of IRS transcripts right now and warn my hubby not to get a heart attack when he finds another three IRS envelopes.

Thanks again and sorry for asking dumb questions, but better safe than sorry.

[Cloudy9 11]

Ok, I'm gonna order another batch of IRS transcripts right now and warn my hubby not to get a heart attack when he finds another three IRS envelopes.

Thanks again and sorry for asking dumb questions, but better safe than sorry.

LMAO I forgot to tell my hubby that I ordered them from the IRS. I thought he was gunna pass out when he saw the 5 envelopes in the mailbox!!!!

[UMUC 3]

Ok, I'm gonna order another batch of IRS transcripts right now and warn my hubby not to get a heart attack when he finds another three IRS envelopes.

Thanks again and sorry for asking dumb questions, but better safe than sorry.

Dealing with USCIS involves asking all kinds of questions...they are not dumb trust me..you should see the ones I have asked lol

LMAO I forgot to tell my hubby that I ordered them from the IRS. I thought he was gunna pass out when he saw the 5 envelopes in the mailbox!!!!

Lol really?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

there is absolutely no way to tell whether what you're sending is an "original" or a photocopy so it doesn't matter either way. I couldn't tell you if I sent copies or originals because they look the same.

[NickD 202]

Why limit yourself to tax transcripts, why don't you send your very difficult to replace foreign divorce papers, birth certificates, or other difficult to replace original documents like your original green card or foreign passport?

Whatever you send in, you will never see again. USCIS clearly states to only send only in copies of these documents, but to bring all the originals in with your for your interview. And you leave with all those original documents. If you do bring in an original document, you can make a copy of it so they can look at both, or even make a copy of it them selves. But you still leave with all of your original documents.

One original document you are forced to send in, is your certificate of naturalization when applying for a US passport. I gather the reason for this is that the DOS trusts their 9,000 agents in everything else, including that photo on your certificate is you, they don't know that. But they don't trust them in making a copy of your certificate.

SS also wants to see that original certificate, but that you can walk into with the thousands of SS offices, they will make a copy of it, not trusting even your own full colored copy, and give your certificate back to you. But if you are extremely trustworthy, can also mail your certificate in with the form. But risk never seeing it again.

Our DMV and voters registration wasn't nearly as critical, just to a quick glance and it and even said, you didn't have to bring it in, we will trust you, but this varies not only with the state, but the exact agent you are dealing with. Some are more trustworthy than others.

Wife's IO at the USCIS wanted to compare her originals with our copies, but for the most part, just a quick glance to make sure we didn't forge the copies. Some IO's don't even go that far from what I understand. For whatever reason, her IO wanted to keep her original divorce papers, wife said no, would cost her a small fortune to get a duplicate. Her IO than said, okay, but did compare her original with our verbatim copies. Guess her IO never question on how my wife got her green card in the first place.

And I gather lately they don't even trust their own green card, but also want an additional state driver's license or state ID card. Now how to they suppose you get that? In our state, by showing your green card, but ironically, they never made a copy of it, just glanced at it. Look at the photo and say, yep, that is you, are they even trained to do this?

[LA80 3]

I think they ask for the driver's license because the common practice is to ask for two forms of identification. I do understand your reasoning NickD, and I am freaked out by the idea of sending my original naturalization certificate once I get it, my one and only, anywhere, but... I am also culturally preconditioned to be emotionally attached to my documents, my IDs, my little plast-icky cards that have my picture on it, and I get really really paranoid and ####### when it comes to sending documents. My head is full of "what if" questions (what if my pic is not good enough, what if there is not enough of white space to sign it, is the broken taillight going to have any effect on my good moral character, what if my N-400 package gets lost in the mail, is my hyphenated last name going to be a problem because there is no hyphen on my GC, etc., etc.). The instructions may say "send copies," but the transcripts that you get from the IRS are also "copies," and if you are a paranoid perfectionist (which can be very, very burdensome ), you want to be covered and prepared to answer every single question.

So yeah, I ordered more "original" transcripts last night and warned my husband that they gonna come.

The good side of my perfectionism is that, once I am done with my "OMG OMG OMG, now what, what if, aaaaahhhhh, OMG," I really do not have many problems with the science of paperology and the art of bureaucracy.

They ask: I provide.

[Anh map 2,098]

I asked this before and got two opposite answers, so before I finally send my package, I would like to ask one more time, just to make sure.

Did you send:

a) tax transcript photocopies or

b) tax transcript "originals"?

I know that it is easy to order again, but I do not want any RFE surprises.

Thanks!

FWIW: I submitted copies at every stage and it was never an issue.

As Vanessa said, it's awfully hard to distinguish a transcript copy from an original. Not exactly crisp, clear laser printing to begin with.

[tieungao35 0]

I think only passport application requires original certificate. The rest can accept copy one.

Edited July 15, 2012 by tieungao35

[NickD 202]

I think they ask for the driver's license because the common practice is to ask for two forms of identification. I do understand your reasoning NickD, and I am freaked out by the idea of sending my original naturalization certificate once I get it, my one and only, anywhere, but... I am also culturally preconditioned to be emotionally attached to my documents, my IDs, my little plast-icky cards that have my picture on it, and I get really really paranoid and ####### when it comes to sending documents. My head is full of "what if" questions (what if my pic is not good enough, what if there is not enough of white space to sign it, is the broken taillight going to have any effect on my good moral character, what if my N-400 package gets lost in the mail, is my hyphenated last name going to be a problem because there is no hyphen on my GC, etc., etc.). The instructions may say "send copies," but the transcripts that you get from the IRS are also "copies," and if you are a paranoid perfectionist (which can be very, very burdensome ), you want to be covered and prepared to answer every single question.

So yeah, I ordered more "original" transcripts last night and warned my husband that they gonna come.

The good side of my perfectionism is that, once I am done with my "OMG OMG OMG, now what, what if, aaaaahhhhh, OMG," I really do not have many problems with the science of paperology and the art of bureaucracy.

They ask: I provide.

Ha, to me its a question of dollars and cents, the numbers I have to spend in a salt mine with a hand pick deep under ground to earn those dollars and cents. Driver's license is only a four minute drive and 14 bucks for a new one, my birth certificate is five bucks. But having to pay a huge fortune and fill out long forms for a new certificate or a green card, well that is equivalent to them sticking me in jail for three months for what I have to do to earn that kind of money.

As far as being both careful and frugal, just about everything legal document here is now letter size, all of my wife's and stepdaughter documents are the legal size. I just shrunk those down to letter size and got away with it. Least I have a legal size scanner that can do that. Also have a commercial HP printer will real brass gears in it where I can add toner to the cartridge to get a lot more life out of it. Does a very neat job compared to these new all plastic ones. To save on paper and postage, printed everything double sided, so for my wife with the three year, instead of a 2" high stack, was only an inch high stack. Also when printed, selected two copies so made a complete duplicate just in case the first one mailed in got lost.

Always paid by personal check, printing out both the front and the rear of the check, gives proof the USCIS received and cashed it, that goes in the N-400 file. Scanned the biometrics, interview, and oath letters when they came in, marking the calendar and filing those documents in the N-400 file.

Feel because I made backup copies, USCIS knew that, so never lost the copies we sent in, but if I didn't, they would lose those for sure. Can you imagine all the work you would have to go through to duplicate that? Also figure since the USCIS always sends us very important documents first class mail, the cheapest, that is how I sent in all of our applications. Feel if you send overnight and make one of their guys sign for it, tees them off and tosses your application in a corner someplace.

First job having serving our military was working for the federal government as a civilian, entirely different. If you worked hard, took viable risk in the military, would get both honors and promotions. Did that the same working civil service, but when a promotion came around, promoted a lazy idiot ahead of me, the reason they gave me, was I could do the job, he couldn't, so got angry and quit going into the private sector where hard diligent work is still honored. Recently was talking with guys from the FAA, same story, the good guys get nothing, the idiots get promoted because they cannot do the work. USCIS seems the same exact way from observations. Some think the way to get ahead is to be a hardass, certainly met several of those, but you always have to be nice, that alone can kill you. Being nice to an idiot.

[UMUC 3]

Ha, to me its a question of dollars and cents, the numbers I have to spend in a salt mine with a hand pick deep under ground to earn those dollars and cents. Driver's license is only a four minute drive and 14 bucks for a new one, my birth certificate is five bucks. But having to pay a huge fortune and fill out long forms for a new certificate or a green card, well that is equivalent to them sticking me in jail for three months for what I have to do to earn that kind of money.

As far as being both careful and frugal, just about everything legal document here is now letter size, all of my wife's and stepdaughter documents are the legal size. I just shrunk those down to letter size and got away with it. Least I have a legal size scanner that can do that. Also have a commercial HP printer will real brass gears in it where I can add toner to the cartridge to get a lot more life out of it. Does a very neat job compared to these new all plastic ones. To save on paper and postage, printed everything double sided, so for my wife with the three year, instead of a 2" high stack, was only an inch high stack. Also when printed, selected two copies so made a complete duplicate just in case the first one mailed in got lost.

Always paid by personal check, printing out both the front and the rear of the check, gives proof the USCIS received and cashed it, that goes in the N-400 file. Scanned the biometrics, interview, and oath letters when they came in, marking the calendar and filing those documents in the N-400 file.

Feel because I made backup copies, USCIS knew that, so never lost the copies we sent in, but if I didn't, they would lose those for sure. Can you imagine all the work you would have to go through to duplicate that? Also figure since the USCIS always sends us very important documents first class mail, the cheapest, that is how I sent in all of our applications. Feel if you send overnight and make one of their guys sign for it, tees them off and tosses your application in a corner someplace.

First job having serving our military was working for the federal government as a civilian, entirely different. If you worked hard, took viable risk in the military, would get both honors and promotions. Did that the same working civil service, but when a promotion came around, promoted a lazy idiot ahead of me, the reason they gave me, was I could do the job, he couldn't, so got angry and quit going into the private sector where hard diligent work is still honored. Recently was talking with guys from the FAA, same story, the good guys get nothing, the idiots get promoted because they cannot do the work. USCIS seems the same exact way from observations. Some think the way to get ahead is to be a hardass, certainly met several of those, but you always have to be nice, that alone can kill you. Being nice to an idiot.

Not related at all to USCIS NickD but reading most of your comments, mostly helpful by the way, makes me laugh everytime :)

[Julie y Pat 67]

When I've gone to the local IRS office for transcripts, they usually are stamped with red and blue date stamp. I made sure to send these to my wife, because she would have flipped out if I sent her something that looked like just a photocopy, and not an original. It saved me the explantation that everything from the IRS looks like a photocopy of a photocopy, even something as important as transcripts.

Edited July 15, 2012 by Julie y Pat

[NickD 202]

Took the effort to get tax and grade transcripts for my stepdaughter. Since she barely turned 18 when her mom became a US citizen, USCIS didn't like my reasoning of the delays they caused due to "misplacing" our applications. She had to wait the full five years. At her interview, her IO didn't even want to see those.

This got me to wondering why we didn't wait those couple of extra years for my wife, would have been so much easier. We didn't know she still had to maintain her foreign passport to visit her mom, the only extra privilege she received was a wasted vote in a primary election where the candidates were already selected before that primary got to Wisconsin. Didn't have any preconditions in health so she could get SS disability benefits, didn't make any difference in her job, had a fresh ten year card. Taxes are the same, driver's license is same, only proof she needed for domestic air travel.

The proof we had to provide was a combination of both the AOS and ROM stages to gain those extra two years, they really didn't amount to much of anything. What pushed me more than anything is maintaining her foreign passport, but she still has to maintain that due to DOS regulations with her home country.

With the luck we had during the ROC biometrics, they did take my stepdaughter that was scheduled for a different date with her mom, saving us an extra 450 miles of driving. Perhaps the same luck we would have had with citizenship by applying at the same time. Could say please again and have their interviews scheduled at the same day to save another 450 miles of driving. Oath ceremony would certainly be on the same day, saving yet another 450 miles in driving. This also included days off without pay for all of us.

Just saying, we really didn't gain much with that 3 year, but sure lost a lot. Your situation could be different. Another reason for applying early is to severe relations with the USCIS, but still couldn't do that with another person in the family.