Adjustment of Status - Advice/Support Needed

[rubyred1979 0]

So my wife (US Citizen) and I (Australian) got some horrible, unexpected mail from USCIS yesterday - a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). The details leading up to this point have left us incredibly confused. I haven't had my AOS interview so the NOID is not for the reasons I have discovered online that others have received a NOID for such as not having a bona-fide relationship etc. They request:

• Proof of citizenship of our joint sponsor (my father-in-law)
• Copies of his tax returns and W-2's for 2011 and 2012
• Evidence that I am current for ager spefiic immunization (Please submit a properly completed Form I-693)

I had my full visa medical by a doctor on the certified list in Australia in November of last year. I received my K-1 Visa at the end of January and arrived in the US in the middle of February. We were wed on April 5 and filed my I-485 (Adjustment of Status) and I-765 (Employment Authorization) several weeks later. On May 5 of this year, we received an RFE requesting proof that our joint sponsor was a US Citizen, US National or Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States. We returned a photocopy of his US Birth Certificate and on May 30 we were advised that the USCIS had received our response to their RFE. Also in May I received my biometrics appointment notice and attended it as scheduled in the notice.

Fast forward to the start of July and I receive my Employment Authorization card in the mail. And then on August 2 I received another letter from USCIS: "Notice of Potential Interview Waiver Case" implying that they may not need to schedule me for an interview to complete my application. After receiving these two letters I had assumed that we had satisifed all of the requirements until yesterday when we got the NOID.

We are so confused as we sent in his birth certificate when we got the RFE and they acknowledged receipt of it. There may have been some issues with what we submitted initially in terms of his tax returns and W-2's (and we are addressing that now, thankfully we kept a copy of the packet we sent) but why would something like this pop up after an initial RFE?

As per the instructions on the I-485, I realized that as I was filing within one year of having my overseas medical, I did not require another medical in the US. As my packet was surrendered at POE, I did not have any copies of my medical forms and so I requested a copy of my DS-3025 from the Sydney Consulate which they were able to supply. I included this in the original AOS packet. As per the post http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/428381-i-693-report-of-medical-examination-and-vaccination-report/?p=6206232 my DS-3025 is filled out in it's entirety.

We are both very distraught and upset and not 100% on what to do. We are in the process of getting the information they requested together but unfortunately there is no address indicated as to where to send it to. My wife is going to call USCIS tomorrow morning to see if we can find out anything additional.

Also, I was able to get a job about 2.5 months ago which felt great after a month of searching. I assume that my income cannot be included for the I-864? At what point is the sponsor relieved of that responsibility?

Has anyone experienced anything like this? Dare I ask what happens in the event of a denial? Is it uncommon to receive employment authorization, a notice of potential interview waiver and then to receive a NOID?

Edited November 17, 2013 by rubyred1979

[Hypnos 6,576]

This is likely one of the "glorified RFE" versions of a NOID rather than a real NOID. In saying that, it's still serious.

Submit a copy of everything they ask for, even if you have already submitted it.

- Proof of citizenship of joint sponsor (send in another photocopy of his birth certificate, or a photocopy of his naturalisation certificate (if a naturalised citizen) or the bio page of his US passport.

- Copies of his tax returns (have the joint sponsor call the IRS at 1-800-908-9946 and request tax transcripts of whichever years you need. These transcripts are accepted by USCIS, and are even preferred since they're single documents that give all details of the tax filing for that particular year).

- Evidence you are current for immunisations (contact some civil-surgeons near your location and ask them if they will transcribe the immunisation information from your DS-3025 to an I-693. Some will insist you need to have a full medical performed (you don't), but shop around until you find one that will perform this simple service. Expect to pay around $50 for it. You can find a list of civil-surgeons near your location by putting your zip code into https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=CIV).

Your income can be included on your wife's I-864 if it will continue from the same source once the green card is issued. If this is the case then your income can be listed on your wife's I-864 under Part 6.

A sponsor no longer has responsibility for an alien if any of the following happen: (i) the alien dies, (ii) the alien permanently leaves the US, (iii) the alien becomes a US citizen, (iv) the alien works lawfully for 40 quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act (so ten years for most people).

There should be an address listed on the NOID which states where to return all of the requested information to. If there is no such address (check the front and back of every page) then which office sent the notice? Was it your local office or a service centre?

Edited November 17, 2013 by Hypnos

[rubyred1979 0]

Hi Hypnos - thank you so much for you detailed and helful response; it means a lot to us at this time. If you have a chance, I have some follow-up questions just for some further confirmation before we proceed:

- Proof of citizenship of joint sponsor (send in another photocopy of his birth certificate, or a photocopy of his naturalisation certificate (if a naturalised citizen) or the bio page of his US passport.

- Copies of his tax returns (have the joint sponsor call the IRS at 1-800-908-9946 and request tax transcripts of whichever years you need. These transcripts are accepted by USCIS, and are even preferred since they're single documents that give all details of the tax filing for that particular year).

Your income can be included on your wife's I-864 if it will continue from the same source once the green card is issued. If this is the case then your income can be listed on your wife's I-864 under Part 6.

In response to the above, if I can include my income on my wife's I-864 under Part 6, we would no longer need joint sponsorship as we would be well above the minimum with our combined incomes. The NOID states "You may submit a complete new I-864 with support evidence from a different joint sponsor if you choose". However, it doesn't mention anything about my wife re-submitting a new I-864. Would this be acceptable? This would negate the need to get my Father-in-law's information and having him as the joint sponsor. My only concern with this route is, from the I-864 Instructions "evidence that his/her income will continue from the current source after obtaining lawful permanent resident status must be provided." Does source mean the same employer, or is it referring to the source of the income such as employment in general versus either sources of income? Given that I don't know when I would obtain lawful permanent residence, I am not sure I can provide such evidence but I will talk to my employer at work tomorrow to see if anything can be arranged.

Edited November 17, 2013 by rubyred1979

[Hypnos 6,576]

It's your choice as to how you approach things with the I-864. If you believe that your combined income would be sufficient then yes, you can forget about the joint sponsor and just submit a new I-864 completed by your wife with your income "piggybacking" on top of it. Since you won't have any tax returns filed with this new job then you will need pay stubs and / or a letter from your employer giving your wages / salary. Since this is for a NOID I would actually include both if possible, and it would help matters if you could have the company provide a paragraph on that letter stating they expect you to continue in your employment once your green card is issued, since that would satisfy the other requirement.

In this circumstance "source" does mean "same employer".

If you are not able to obtain any such proof then it might be wise to stick with the joint sponsor.

Edited November 17, 2013 by Hypnos

[rubyred1979 0]

Thank you once again for your helpful response Hypnos. Given that my employment won't be a little more straight forward until early next year, we're just going to stick with using my father-in-law as the joint sponsor. Now just have to wait until we hear back from the Civil Surgeon about transcribing from my DS-3025.

[rubyred1979 0]

Just a quick follow-up question. I have my appointment with the Civil Surgeon tomorrow to transcribe from my DS-3025 so we will be posting everything off after that. The reason we can't use my income as currently I am employed by Company A and contracting for Company B. However, Company B has already let me know that they will be taking me on full-time early next year. What this means though is even though I will be working for the same company, the income which now comes from Company A (which they obviously get from Company B) will be coming from Company B.

My question: is it worth even mentioning in a cover letter that I have been employed since September and what the current situation is with it or is extraneous information like this just disregarded?

Many thanks.

[noinoi 0]

If you can effort it, get a reputable immigration attorney. Don't try to mess around with the NOID.