Question on removal of conditions

[Centenarian 5]

Hello,

I have a question about USCIS procedures. Here's my details. My wife is the USC petitioner. I entered the U.S. on a K-1 in November, 2012. We got married within the 90 day period.

I received my advance parole and EAD in February, 2013. I left for India immediately to complete my final semester in school. I returned to the U.S. in May, 2013.

From November, 2012 to February 2013, we had rented our own apartment but the lease was in my wife's name. For some reason the development would NOT allow us to add my name in the agreement.

After I left in February, 2013, my wife moved back in with her parents as she lost her job. When I came back in May, 2013, we rented a room with an old disabled man and thought we'd stay there until she or I gets a job.

It's been 9 months now and neither of us have been able to get a job. I worked a labor intensive job for a month and got injured. I then worked on a federal government program for 4 months and it ended last month.

My wife's unemployment is going to end in March and at this point, we are living a hand-to-mouth existence.

We are both planning to go back to school for a master's in our respective fields. Since I have no credit history, my wife will be co-signing the part of my loan that requires a co-signor. (If my loan amount exceeds what the feds offer without a co-signor)

We are going to file our joint tax returns this year. We will also be filing it next year.

Needless to say, I do not own a car, have no health insurance or car insurance. I do not even have a driver's license but I can get one just for ID purposes. My wife got on Medicare this month as NJ expanded its Medicare. I am yet to get on any health insurance as I do not yet have my tax returns to prove that I am low income.

We are currently living in another room that we rented in a house. We simply pay the old man who owns the house and he pays for all utilities. My wife is actually not allowed to live with me as the rent we pay is only meant for one person but the old man overlooks it as we're polite, clean and respectful.

As such, we do not have a deed or utility bills or any of those other things.

My wife's parents live very close to us and all of our documentations show her parents address due to the literally makeshift nature of our living arrangements.

When we go back to school, hopefully this August, we could possibly get a loan for living expenses, too to cover the rent for our own apartment.

Considering the amount of evidence we have, I am fairly certain that we will get an RFE when I apply for removal of conditions next year in May, 2014.

If the petition gets denied, I am led to believe that removal proceedings are then initiated against me and the case is transferred to Immigration Court where an IJ will assess the case. I have also gathered that this process will literally take years.

My question is, if the i-751 is denied, will my work status also immediately be rescinded? If yes, how are we to make ends meet during the year or two it will take for us to see an IJ?

Also, is USCIS obligated to afford us an interview before denying our i-751?

Please understand that I am just looking at the worst case scenario.

Week after week, they upwardly revise the QoQ growth numbers and crow about how the economy is 'kicking off' but half the people we know don't even have jobs. The unemployment figure just fell a whopping 0.3 percentage points but of course we know it's because people simply stopped looking for work cause they're sick and tired of applying to jobs.

Apartments around here are criminally expensive and I do not want to take out an insanely large loan from private lenders only to take it to the grave with me. Tuitions for master's programs are expensive enough without having to pay for apartments and the like. If possible we'd just like to maintain our current living situation.

I'd really like to know more about what happens after an RFE in a situation where we simply do not have enough documentation?

Bear in mind though, if we were to be interviewed we have tons of photos. If the interviewer went through our phones, they'll find text messages from May, 2013 for almost everyday with the content having obvious inferences to a life together.

Thank you for taking the time to read through my post.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Centenarian

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Show your filed tax returns. Do you have a joint bank account? What about cars, do you have a car/insurance/driver's licence in both names? Have you taken trips together? Did you send cards to each other? Did other people send cards to both of you (chirstmas, valentines, anniversary). What about medical insurance?

You need to focus on other evidence other than your fianancial situation and your residence. There will likely be an interview so if you do not meet the requirements of the RFE then you may have your chance with the officers.

good luck

[Centenarian 5]

I understand you need evidence but every single one of those evidentiary documents is based on your finances and not ACTUAL living together.

You need finances to buy a car, you need finances to get health insurance, you need finances to fly to SF for your winter vacations, you need finances to become a club member.

We have a joint bank account but we don't have jobs so there are NO deposits in them except for 5 months of MY deposits when I was working. I made very little money so we barely have any withdrawals as I would use the card to just pay for grocery bills and my monthly train passes, et cetera while she is using her savings to pay for the rent.

USCIS is assuming we have jobs to provide those evidences. Well, we don't and it's the government's fault not ours that educated, hardworking individuals cannot break into the job market for months.

We would have just moved to India until things got better here (if it ever will) but that would mean abandoning the entire process and starting from scratch. We just do not have the strength to go through that whole hellish process all over again.

[Dave&Roza 748]

I understand you need evidence but every single one of those evidentiary documents is based on your finances and not ACTUAL living together.

You need finances to buy a car, you need finances to get health insurance, you need finances to fly to SF for your winter vacations, you need finances to become a club member.

We have a joint bank account but we don't have jobs so there are NO deposits in them except for 5 months of MY deposits when I was working. I made very little money so we barely have any withdrawals as I would use the card to just pay for grocery bills and my monthly train passes, et cetera while she is using her savings to pay for the rent.

USCIS is assuming we have jobs to provide those evidences. Well, we don't and it's the government's fault not ours that educated, hardworking individuals cannot break into the job market for months.

We would have just moved to India until things got better here (if it ever will) but that would mean abandoning the entire process and starting from scratch. We just do not have the strength to go through that whole hellish process all over again.

Yes, typically the evidence is financial in nature as that also contains the most risk and people committing immigration fraud would not risk their assets to someone they are only marrying so they can get a GC. There are other things you can do like get the person your are renting the room from to write a nice letter stating your situation. You can get sworn affidavits from people that know you and your wife and that you are married. Spell out your situation in the cover letter. I actually stated that we were two people trying to combine our lives and that we got married to do so and not to circumvent the immigration laws of the US. If I had to, I could impose on the cashier at the local Safeway to write a statement about me and my wife. She has seen us shop together and will sometimes ask me where she is if I am shopping alone. I am sure there are people you meet in your daily lives that recognize that you and your wife are a genuine couple.

The point is that the ROC phase is very case specific. You supply them with evidence that you and your wife are living together as a married couple, whatever that evidence is. You spell out your situation in the cover letter and supply evidence to back that up. IMHO, two people struggling to make ends meet and not giving up on the marriage is more proof that the relationship is bona fide than all the financial documentation most people submit. The burden is really on the USCIS to prove that you do not have a bona fide relationship. Having seen a lot of people here on VJ get their ROC approved after the marriage fails, I think you have a very good chance of your ROC being approved.

I wish you well and good luck,

Dave

[Centenarian 5]

Haha that's funny because I was jokingly telling my wife we should just have the cashier at the grocery store, the fish girl at the pet store and bartender at the local watering hole all subpoenaed so they can testify instead of wading through all this mess.

If push came to shove, I guess they could do that which is why I am not too worried about the ultimate outcome. It's just all the stress we'll be put through in the meantime.

I can estimate that we will have at least the following documents

1) Tax returns for 2013 and 2014 with my in-laws address

2) Joint bank account with my in-laws address

3) Driver's licenses with my in-laws address

4) Loan document with my wife as co-signor.

5) Rental agreement from our first apartment with my wife's name on it

6) Letters from both landlords stating that we lived in their property

7) Affidavits from family and friends

8) Marriage photos with her family

9) More photos of us with her friends and family

I did some more research and it turns out you are granted an interview in most cases after an RFE albeit it might take up to 15 months. I would just hate to be denied without interview.

I know it's the most pessimistic thought but that's not surprising after what the economy has put us through the last year or so.

Thanks for your reply!

[adtoe1105 0]

Hi Centanarian.

I see that your question has been mostly answered...just wanted to share my experience with the job situation...I hope it helps.

Per my experience I can tell you that sometimes it's not the lack of jobs, but the location of where they are...I was very stubborn wanting to live in Miami, but sadly, the numbers are very drastic...for every available job, 9+ persons will apply to get it...competition is fierce. Moreover, the jobs available were non-specialized only requiring high-school in most cases, and most of the time, employers will give higher priority to Veterans...which is good, but when you're on a day to day budget, and savings are running dry...you need to think outside the box.

The solution was to move, at least for me. Do your own research and and see where most of the jobs for your field of expertise are ...you'll be amazed at how much of a difference it makes to be in the right place at the right time....there's a ton of data out there, new studies come out weekly which name the best places to live, find a job, study, etc

I've been where you are before, and being financially stable makes a HUGE difference.

Best of luck!

[victorian221b 12]

Hello! It looks like you're off to a good start, so not too much to worry about. You won't be denied unless they have enough evidence against you. Not having a job should not be the cause for denial. You may have to go through RFEs and an interview but if your marriage is legit there is nothing to worry about.

Good luck!

Haha that's funny because I was jokingly telling my wife we should just have the cashier at the grocery store, the fish girl at the pet store and bartender at the local watering hole all subpoenaed so they can testify instead of wading through all this mess.

If push came to shove, I guess they could do that which is why I am not too worried about the ultimate outcome. It's just all the stress we'll be put through in the meantime.

I can estimate that we will have at least the following documents

1) Tax returns for 2013 and 2014 with my in-laws address

2) Joint bank account with my in-laws address

3) Driver's licenses with my in-laws address

4) Loan document with my wife as co-signor.

5) Rental agreement from our first apartment with my wife's name on it

6) Letters from both landlords stating that we lived in their property

7) Affidavits from family and friends

8) Marriage photos with her family

9) More photos of us with her friends and family

I did some more research and it turns out you are granted an interview in most cases after an RFE albeit it might take up to 15 months. I would just hate to be denied without interview.

I know it's the most pessimistic thought but that's not surprising after what the economy has put us through the last year or so.

Thanks for your reply!