Adjustment of Status - entire list of questions

[Pooki1990 0]

Hello,

If I violate any rules of this forum by asking too many or the wrong questions, I apologize in advance.

I am in a lot of stress and I cannot afford a lawyer to ask all these questions. Any reference to other sources of information will also be greatly appreciated.

I am filing the I-485 with my wife as petitioner. I have read through all the forms and relating instructions several times and made a list of questions. I have tried contacting USCIS; however, they were not authorized to help me. The only community organization here is mostly for hispanics and cannot help me.

If anyone can answer at least some of the questions I would appreciate it very much.

First of all, my situation: I am a German citizen living in the US now for 2 years on a student visa (F-1). I got married last September and I intend to apply for adjustment of status by sending in all necessary forms in one package. My wife is the petitioner and her father the only joint sponsor.

Here are my questions:

Some general questions:

• Do I have to cut out my photos? I had them made at the post office and they are in the passport format; however, they were printed on a bigger sheet so they are not cut out.
• Does my "only joint sponsor" have to inform USCIS of any address change before and after issuance of green card? For how long?
• We did not officially change our name yet. Do we file under her old name? Do we have to sent in information about name change of my petitioning wife?
• When copying my passport and visum is there a rule if it has to be in color or in black & white?
• Do I have to submit the instructions to each form?
• Do I use accents in my wife's name?
• Is the "Zip Code" and the "Postal Code" the same 5 digit number?
• Is the form I-765 anyhow related to the process of adjustment of status? What is it for?

About the I-485:

• In Part 3c I have to list present and past membership and affiliations. In the column "Location and Nature" is the nature or purpose of the organization or the nature of my membership asked for? For example, if I list a college, is the nature "college" or "student"?
• Also in Part 3c, if I don't know the exact dates of my membership do I simply estimate? Is month and year enough? Is only the year enough?
• In Part 4, if I do not have any disabilities or impairments in the first place, do I leave the whole section blank or do I check "No" at the beginning of the section?

About the I-130:

• Item B.3: My wife is born in Puerto Rico and has a US citizenship. Does she fill out "PR" for state and "USA" for country?
• Item B.8 & C.8: Place of present marriage: Is city and state enough? Do I have to add the country?
• Item C.14: "Date authorized stay will expire, as shown on Form I-94": My I-94 tells me the date of entrance and otherwise just "D/S" Where can I find that date? Do I leave it blank? Do I write "D/S"?
• Item C.15: Name of present employer: Does unpaid volunteering count?
• Item C.16: Does obtaining a F-1 student visa count as having been under immigration proceedings?
• Item C.19: it asks me for my German home phone number: For the code for Germany do I use "0049" or "+49"?
• Item C.21: Date of last residence where we lived together: Is month and year enough or is a precise date required?
• Item C.22: What does the form ask for here (totally confused)?
• Section F: Does my wife leave that blank or fill in "N/A"
• As proof of citizenship is a birth certificate sufficient?

About the I-864:

• Part 2.2g & Part 4.2g: It asks for a province. What is that?
• At the beginning of Part 1 and 8, does my wife include her middle name?
• Part 4.8: Does it ask for a state? Am I supposed to list Puerto Rico as province and as country?
• Part 5: Does my wife list me in item 1 or in item 3?
• Part 6.5: can the petitioner's income be simply estimated? Do we have to enter it? Do we have to show proof?
• Part 6.13/14: If my wife never filed tax returns and I rely on my only joint sponsor, do I state any money at all?
• How many proofs of citizenship does the sponsor have to submit for the I-t864
• When filing at the same time as I-485, doe the petitioner have to send in additional proof of citizenships.

About the G-325A:

• Do I submit the G-325A with my application package, or afterwards?
• If something does not apply do I write "N/A", "n/a", none, or do I leave it blank?
• Is the file number my Alien Registration Number?
• At the section about the applicants residence, do I put numbers or letters for the month? If letters, do I have to write out the month or abbreviate appropriately?
• Do I include my last German address if it falls within the last 5 years?
• At the section about the applicant's employment in the last five years, do I list unpaid volunteering?
• In the same section, do I list employment in Germany?
• In the same section, the fields seem too small to actually put full names and addresses of employers, do I stuff it in one field? If it does not fit, what do I do?

Thank you very much in advance for the time you invest to help me with my issues, I hope I will find a way to make up for it.

Sincerely,

Pooki1990

Edited January 29, 2014 by Pooki1990

[aussie_jason 195]

I was about to start replying to each question and then I scrolled down, that is just too much to try to address so please start by reading the guide here - http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2 and then have a look at the sample forms here http://www.visajourney.com/content/examples and also read the instructions from USCIS for each form, that should address the majority of your questions so you can come back with a more focused list.

[ManCharsey 254]

General Questions -

1. I would recommend you go to a professional and have them printed out on the right dimensions. Walmart and Walgreens are great places to go to. You just have to tell them you want the passport photo sizes and they will get it for you. Cutting it out might not get you the right dimensions

2. If the joint sponsor moves or has an address change they need to file form I-865 sponsors notice of address change and use it to notify USCIS of the address change

3. If your wife used a new name on the marriage certificate, she can use that name. The marriage certificate qualifies as an official document for a name change. If she has her maiden name on the marriage certificate and hasn't changed her name anywhere else, the. She should use her maiden name.

4. It can be in both color or black and white. Both are accepted. I personally prefer to use black and white for official documents.

5. No. Do not submit the instructions.

6. If your wife has accents in her name, use it on the form. Most likely USCIS will exclude the accents and the name will come out as regular alphabets.

7. Yes. Zip code = Postal code, especially when referring to US addresses.

8. The form I-765 is for filing for Employment Authorization when filing for adjustment of status, I-485. It gives you a work permit called an EAD which you can use to work while your AOS is being adjudicated. If you file the I-130 and the I-485 concurrently, you will pay no fees for the I-765 if you file it together also. And YES it goes with the I-485 application.

About I-485

1. Examples (a) Name of organization = German Association of Portland

(B) Nature/Purpose = Association for German residents in Portland to engage in social activities etc

So yeah state the purpose, or briefly explain what the association does or stands for.

2. Yeah estimates are enough. Try to get the months right. The days can be estimates

3. If No, check No..and leave the rest blank

About the I-130

1. Town in Puerto Rico where her birth occurred under Town/City and under the State/Country, you put Puerto Rico

2. City and State is enough

3. You write D/S or for confirmation go to this website and check what is there: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request.html

4. No I don't think it counts. If you are paid, then you have to state it, if you are not paid, then it is not employment.

5. No. Immigration proceedings are proceedings such as removal, deportation proceedings etc.

6. Both are correct and good to use. 0049/+49

7. If you know correct dates, use them. If not, estimate..again try to get the months correct and you can estimate the days.

8. Since you are in the US and will be applying for adjustment of status in the US, fill in the state and the city in the first line and ignore the second line. (The second line is for people adjoins status while living abroad)

9. Leave blank UNLESS someone is filling the application for you. Eg. A lawyer etc.

About the I-864

1. Leave province blank for US addresses. Some countries like china have provinces so they fill in that section.

2. City and state is enough

3. I believe you should use Puerto Rico as province or state and make the country USA. Puerto Rico is not a country but a colony of the US and Puerto Ricans are US citizens by an act of the US Congress in 1917

4. Your wife will list you in 1 only.

5. Usually you should state the exact figure on the employment contract but if it can not be established that way, then you should establish it by way of an estimation based on pay stubs. And you should include the pay stubs or/and employment letter or contract to prove it.

6. If your wife does not file taxes, then you should leave 13 blank and NOT check 14 but you should state her income at 8.C. If she has no income write in $0.00. You should also explain why your wife is exempt from paying income taxes and attach the IRS publication proving your claim. Most of the IRS tax filing requirements are in their publication 501. Search for it online, print out the section that pertains to her exemption and attach it to the forms and the explanation.

7. Just one proof. Either birth certificate, US naturalization certificate or US passport etc.

8. Yes the petitioner sends in proof of citizenship with I-130

About G-325A

1. You submit it with it

2. If it does not apply write N/A and if the answer is none, write None.

3. If you are filing concurrently, I believe you do NOT have an alien registration number. So write none. The file number is NOT your alien registration number. USCIS will issue you an alien registration number.

4. Numbers will suffice. In most cases, numbers are required to be used for dates.

5. Yes, include it, if it falls within the last 5 years.

6. I don't think you should state it, since it does not qualify as employment because you were NOT paid. If you state it though, you have to specify in the occupation section that you were an unpaid volunteer.

7. Yes, you have to list employment in Germany.

8. If it will fit, write in in. If it won't, attach an additional sheet per the requirements. Don't forget to include to write your name, form name and section number of the question you are answering.

Hopefully my answers are helpful. Good luck!

[jdh 103]

ManCharsey - I can't believe you made it through that whole list...

I got bored reading about half way down...good ol' ADD kicking in.

Really need to be sure you read the guide when you have this many questions and look at the example forms.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

A lot of your questions have to do with unfamiliarity with US ways of writing addresses and things. Why doesn't your USC wife help with that?

[ManCharsey 254]

Jdh that's true lol. I figured with him asking these many questions and some of them being very basic things he needed to know, he definitely needed help and I was quite free too..so what a cool way to pass time by helping a brother here :-). But yes, I agree he needs to read the guidelines. It contains a lot of information and sample forms too

[Pooki1990 0]

ManCharsey: Thank you so much for sacrificing your time to help me. Your post will be extremely helpful. I will go through it tonight.

I will read through the guidelines as well.

[ManCharsey 254]

You're welcome Pooki. It's a pleasure to be of help when I can..and this is what the forum is for :-)