WTF? Are you serious??!!!!

[Angela Murray 4]

Wow i am really at a loss for words on this.. You filed the day before me! What a completely useless lawyer to not even know this stuff off the top of her head never mind fail to research it and get it wrong.

Nich-Nicks second option was the one i was describing via PM. I assumed you would not be on her tax return as a dependant since you have only just got back to the US yourself. There was a mistake on my husbands parents tax return. They listed him as a dependant when he wasnt even there! It wasnt an issue at the interview and they have yet to hear from the IRS about it.

Also there is no need to FedEx your moms original documents. They only need to be photocopies. Did she ever refund your last FedEx expenses?!

I hope you get some good news soon.

I've already fedexed the originals a few hours ago. They're due to arrive on Friday. That's another $60 on top of the last one for the missing signature. She never reimbursed us for the costs. It's a total nightmare situation. When I called the visa center today they said all they can tell me is that the RFE on my joint sponsors proof of status went into the system in late October. It's literally all they said was needed. She said she'd been calling daily but after today's phone call to the visa center and the revelation that followed I don't know. Morale is down big time.

Stuart and I decided that we'll let her do whatever she does to try and amend this but we're not putting our faith in her and definitely not putting all our eggs in one basket. Not after the damage she's caused. He's calling the embassy courier first thing tomorrow to pick up the photocopies of my mothers passport and birth certificate. I went to the library this afternoon and made some really high res scans of them both. We're both remaining proactive and calling the visa hotline in the states daily to make sure nothing else arises. As it stands they don't require ANYTHING else. The only thing they required in the first place was the signed I-864A and since the proof of status is meant to go with it I suppose it's part of the same deal.

We have no idea why we were never contacted about the need for additional information but since our lawyer filed on our behalf the notification went to her. She swears she never received contact from them and neither call center can confirm if notification WAS sent out, only that she is the contact. I want him here for Thanksgiving

[Angela Murray 4]

Sorry, I didn't mean husband employed but rather you the sponsor.

So you show $10k on 2011 taxes and because it's self employment, there's not a way to show current income like an employer letter or pay stubs. So all they have to go by is the 10K.

There's a couple of ways that are correct. If you would print an I-864 and follow along, it would make more sense.

FIRST WAY--

You the sponsor/wife

• I-864
  
• 2011 tax return
  

On #21g you add 1 to your household size (Mom) in order to count Mom's money.

On #24b you list Mom and her income.

On #24c you total you+Mom $$

On #24d you put a check mark

Joint sponsor Mom

• I-864A (that's like a permission slip for you to use her income)
  
• 2011 tax return
  
• Another proof of her income is always good
  
• Proof of her US citizenship (birth certificate or passport)
  

In addition to that, you must prove:

• You and Mom reside at the same address, ie household members (photocopies of both driver licenses is good proof)
  
• You and Mom are related as stated in the instructions (photocopy of your birth certificate would show her name as mother)
  

A BETTER WAY if Mom makes enough on her own to cover her household size plus 1 (immigrant). If you aren't a listed dependent on income tax, then you don't have to be counted in household size.

You the sponsor/wife

• I-864
  
• 2011 tax return
  

Joint sponsor Mom

• I-864 (note--no A on that)
  
• 2011 tax return
  
• Another proof of her income is always good
  
• Proof of her US citizenship (birth certificate or passport)
  

The second way is easier because no residence to prove or kinship. And I'm wondering if you included the extra bits on #21 and #24 on your form for the first way to be accurate. The only reason anybody needs to do the first way is if you didn't make enough and Mom didn't either. It's a way family members can pool their money into one pot to get over the threshhold.

And I can't believe I've just spent all that time explaining something your paid attorney should have known and done for you.

Buy me a Starbucks please, next time you're in town

You're on! What state are you in?

Everything's been submitted. They have TONS of tax returns, w2's, letter from my mothers employer saying she's been there for 10 years. From me they have a letter from the website I sell on on official company letterhead (etsy) stating my earnings for this year and a graph provided on their site to show earnings. Even though they only accepted my 2011, when added to my mothers it was still enough. The only ####### up was my missing the signature in the middle of the 1-864A just above where my mother was meant to sign...And now as we're coming to find the proof of status.

[ndu26 114]

follow up and make sure you ask for the originals back so they dn't hang unto it. I wish you all the best.

[Angela Murray 4]

We have both color copies of her birth certificate and her passport biographical data page and the embassy courier is booked for tomorrow. My husband is having real issues with sending her birth certificate because her maiden name is on the birth certificate vs her married name on her passport. He feels (and I completely understand given the circumstances) that 2 different names may cause further RFE's. Is the passport enough or should we include the birth certificate for good measure?

[Holly2234 66]

Its not actually necessary to send both. You only need one or the other. So i would just go with the passport because it has her current name on it which has been written on the I-864a. I used my father in laws birth certificate. It was a horrendous copy (i didnt make it, they did and mailed it to me) with the edge cut off. But it showed the name, place of birth and the registrars signature so it worked fine.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

We have both color copies of her birth certificate and her passport biographical data page and the embassy courier is booked for tomorrow. My husband is having real issues with sending her birth certificate because her maiden name is on the birth certificate vs her married name on her passport. He feels (and I completely understand given the circumstances) that 2 different names may cause further RFE's. Is the passport enough or should we include the birth certificate for good measure?

What Holly said. Both prove citizenship. What I'm posting about is where did you FedEx her real passport? Where is the lawyer...US or UK? Is the lawyer also sending something to the embassy?

[Angela Murray 4]

What Holly said. Both prove citizenship. What I'm posting about is where did you FedEx her real passport? Where is the lawyer...US or UK? Is the lawyer also sending something to the embassy?

I fedexed the real passport to my husband in the UK. The lawyer is located in London. She's American and has a practice in both London and New York but London is where she's located.

She wanted to send something to the embassy today. She asked me for the scans of my mothers passport and BC yesterday but I didn't send them to her. Should I send them to her as well or would that just complicate things.

I apologize for being so ill informed. My grasp on the matter is not fantastic and I've had to cram as much knowledge in the area as I can over the past few days.

[Angela Murray 4]

Its not actually necessary to send both. You only need one or the other. So i would just go with the passport because it has her current name on it which has been written on the I-864a. I used my father in laws birth certificate. It was a horrendous copy (i didnt make it, they did and mailed it to me) with the edge cut off. But it showed the name, place of birth and the registrars signature so it worked fine.

Passport it is then. Thanks, Holly. The fact that they accepted your copy considering it's appearance makes me feel a bit better. I must have scanned that passport 10 times before I was satisfied. DX is coming tomorrow.

I kept the cover letter simple:

"To whom it may concern,

This message is is reference to Case number LNDXXXXXXXXXX. Enclosed please find a copy of the passport of my joint sponsor, Latoya Jackson. This document has been requested as an accompaniment to the signed I864-A which was requested at my interview which took place on October 11th, 2012. My passport was submitted to you on October 16th."

[himher 634]

We immediately called our immigration lawyer who was baffled by the whole thing. She told us to scan in high def copies of my mothers passport and birth certificate and email them to her tonight so that she could send them to the embassy in the morning.

A "baffled" immigration lawyer who asks for original documents implies that said lawyer probably didnt send in proof of sponsor's status in the beginning.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864instr.pdf

Here are the instructions. They are simple and do not require a lawyer. Please read and see section 19.

Your immigration lawyer should already have a copy of what was submitted and should advise you if the proof of status aka section 19 was met or not. If your lawyer does not (already) have a copy of your co-sponsor's passport or BC then your lawyer screwed up the package.

Either way, we went through the entire immigration process from start to finish twice and we never submitted ORIGINAL documents of ANYTHING so your lawyer (and the embassy) needs scanned or color copies and that is it. Provide those, and you are home free unless your lawyer screwed something else up also.

Lesson learned for all newbies: Lawyers care less about your case than you do. Compare what they ask for to the instructions and make sure that you provide everything the instructions ask for even if the lawyer does not ask for it.

It started with my husbands interview which was at the embassy in London on October 11th. Everything went well and the man conducting the interview said that everything looked good however there was a signature missing on the i864-a form (co-sponsors affidavit of support). He gave him the number of the embassy courier and told him to get that signed form back to him asap and include his passport. The courier picked up the amended i864-a and his passport on the 16th. We were given a tracking number and told it would take around 7-10 working days.

It is now November 7th and we've heard nothing. We've been calling USCIS in the UK and have been consistently been told that the status is 'pending'. We've been stalking the tracking number given to us by the embassy courier but to nothing other than an update confirming that the embassy received it on the 18th. Today I decided to call this number: (202)-663-1225 in the USA from travel.state.gov and got a whole other story--I was told that they've received the signature but are awaiting our joint sponsors (my mothers) 'proof of status' as in proof that she is an American citizen. #######?!

So our case has been sitting in a pile somewhere requiring evidence however neither of us have even been notified! 1: my mother was born in Brooklyn, NY. 2: At no point during the interview did the man ask for proof of our co-sponsors status however he did look at 3 years worth of tax documents and kept the most current for their records along with a letter from my mothers employer at a hospital where she's a certified CNA (apparently this does not constitute proof of status). 3: How can we be expected to act on an RFE we were never even issued? Furthermore have no instructions on how to amend! What documents are required? Where do we send them? It's a damn good thing we're impatient as hell and decided to chase things up another avenue.

When we followed up what we've learned with the embassy in the UK they still had the same lack of information and suggested the only way would be for us to be given a CIU number and an e-mail address for the USCIS.

We immediately called our immigration lawyer who was baffled by the whole thing. She told us to scan in high def copies of my mothers passport and birth certificate and email them to her tonight so that she could send them to the embassy in the morning. In addition I need to expedite via FEDEX the originals to her office. She seems to feel that my husband was rushed through his interview which has now resulted in this massive delay. It's been nearly a month since his interview and we still don't have our answer.

What is going on at the embassy in London? Are things really this disorganized? Has anyone else gone through anything similar or have any insight on the matter? We're losing our minds at this point. Any help would be appreciated.

(sorry about the cross post--Not sure if this would be more an embassy specif related thread or not)

Edited November 17, 2012 by himher