i-130, i-485 and i-765 packet

[danleehvac 0]

Hi everyone,

Let me first give my story so people can best know how to help.

I am a US citizen and recently married a chinese student on a F1 visa. We are in the process of compiling our packet that will consist of 130, 485 and 765 and relevant documents. Our field office is indianapolis if anyone has any tips about what to expect there it would be great.

I notice there are not a lot of good checklists for sending the 130 and 485 together. one thing that I find confusing is how many copies of the g-325a do you have to send? Is it one for each person for both I-130 and I-485? Or do you just send one each for the whole packet? Also I am confused as to whether there is a fee for sending the i-765. I read that it is waived if you send it with the i-485. If so my understanding is to send one check for 420+1070=$1490. We will not send an i-131.

Since we are mailing it all in one packet I think it has to go to the Chicago Lock box. Neither of us has any previous marriages. Since we were recently married we don't have much. I have ordered credit cards in her name on all of my accounts that we can show. I am also having my family members write affidavits and have changed her to my beneficiary on my ira and 401k. I don't have health insurance so I cannot add her to such a policy. we don't have a common lease since she is still in school we don't live at the same address however i do go visit her every weekend and can provide financial records showing I travel there every weekend.

I have bought her gifts over the past few years and can show receipts of that. neither of us own any property of any kind nor children. this leaves us in the gray area of "any other relevant documentation to establish there is an ongoing marital union." its kind of strange thing to request of someone that was just married 2 months ago. we could send print outs of text messages and so on but I really don't want to waste too much time gathering stuff that we can just bring to the interview. I guess the real question is did you have a similar situation and what was your experience. what evidence did you send with the i-130 packet and what evidence did you bring to the interview. what were they impressed with and what did they not care about.

I have seen a few checklists but it seems that everyone's situation is so unique it is difficult to decipher what parts of certain checklists don't apply to our situation.

I'm not sure what help to expect but maybe someone can provide some good insight. Be gentle with me I never thought I would be going through this process and I am kind of amazed at how complicated it is.

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

**** Moving from AOS from Family Visa to AOS from Student Visa forum ****

[LilyR 7]

Your situation of trying to prove that your marriage is bona fide while living apart is something many of us have had to face. This thread has a list of evidence that some of us have sent:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/409975-i-130-petition-for-my-husband/page__gopid__5936975#entry5936975

i am sorry I cant help with your other questions.

[Little_My 464]

Even though the forms are all sent together to Chicago Lockbox (and yes, that is the correct place to send them to), you have to treat each form as if they were sent independently, meaning that when the same document is required for multiple forms, you have to duplicate it separately for each form. Therefore, you will need altogether three G-325A forms:

- One for the petitioner (US spouse) for the I-130

- One for the beneficiary (foreign spouse) for the I-130

- One for the petitioner (foreign spouse) for the I-485

There is no fee for the I-765 when filed together with the AOS package, and also no fee for the I-131, which is why I always think everyone should file for it. Your wife may not have any plans to travel while your AOS is pending now, but what if something happens in China? Maybe a family member falls sick, or,even worse, dies? This has happened to many people, and if they didn't get the Advance Parole travel document, the process of getting an emergency one expedited isn't always easy - and leaving the US without one while AOS is pending renders the application abandoned, and the foreign spouse is essentially stuck abroad - not to mention you've just lost around $1,500-$2,000 in filing fees and other fees. The form for I-131 is very simple and fast to fill out, and won't cost you anything extra - so why not apply for the AP, just in case? Just my two cents.

In terms of the evidence of a bonafide marriage, there is no one list of must-include documents. The most common ones are 1) evidence of co-habitation (which you won't have), and 2) evidence of co-mingling of finances. Adding your wife as the beneficiary to your 401K, IRA, and adding her as a holder on your bank accounts are substantial things. The fact that you don't currently live together is a negative thing, but nothing that unusual and nothing that can't be overcome, especially since you can show proof of regular and frequent visits to see eachother. Even better, if you can show that the arrangement is temporary (if it is for example due to one of you being in school and the other one working in different cities).

In addition to those, you can always add a few photos (we included about 5-7 I think) as more "softer" evidence, and then bring more to the interview. We added a few flight tickets as proof of trips we took together and as proof of him having visited my home country several times, and we had a couple of affidavits.

[bigdog 376]

Agree file for EAD and AP, you never can tell if you need to travel. Then they come as one plastic card. Good Luck with your filing.

[Darnell 8,479]

here's what i could generate for the I-130, a month after the marriage trip

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=218775&st=0&p=3324240&hl=Rusticentry3324240

if I can get the utilities shifted, wei - so can you !

Remember, it's quite likely the two of you will have an interview -

so if you want to send it off quickly - you'll have another chance (at the interview) to show more evidence.

Which means you have more time to generate more evidence.

Good Luck !