Overstay and I-130 sent seperately questions

[Jana Banana 0]

Hello my dear ladies and gentlemen,

I am the non-citizen wife of a wonderfull US manchild and I come from a puny country in Europe. I married my love/classmate in the US while on a valid NATO-2 VISA / dependant status, which will

sadly expire really soon as it is linked to the last day of my father working here. Before I go any further I have three severe ''handicaps'':

- My husban is dyslectic and is unable to help me read or write any of these forms

- My first language is obviously not English

- There are no lawyers involved in our process

Basically - loads of pressure on me.

It's okay though, I think I can deal with it.

I.) First of all I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out how to send the I-130 and the I-485 at the same time because they seemed to be very involved and dependent to eachother,

and the longer I read the forms, the less sense it made.

So I just sent the I-130 form in 3 days ago. (Along with all the other required jibberish in the instructions for filing for I-130 ..... that I now see are ALSO required for the I-485). SO..

has anyone else sent the I-130 and I-485 seperately?

And do I really have to re-send all the birth certificates, passport information and the biogeographical form and ''evidence'' again with the I-485? Because a lot of things required for the

I-130 are also in the instructions for the I-485 :/

II.) I have ALSO forgotten to print out and file the email notification thingamajigger. I did however use tracked express mail and seen that it has

been signed for and delivered yesterday, which is cool.. Any idea how long untill I get anything back that will let me start the I-485 process?

III.) Biggest concern: My last ''legal'' visa day in the USA is August 30th 2014 (grace period included in that date) and obviously I won't have my I-485 reciept back by then

enabling me to overstay legally. How does that affect my filing proces? Are there penalties?

If anyone has any idea on what the best way for me to approach the AOE after my few mistakes or has any other pointers and additional info to my questions I will be OH SO grateful.

- Thank you.

Love,

J.

[MUXAGIRL 69]

If your spouse is US citizen, overstay is forgiven and does not affect your green card.

[blueniv 5]

Yes, you have to file the biographical forms and birth certificates etc multiple times, because when everything gets to USCIS they split up the different forms and they're not going to photocopy them for you. Also, you should have just filed everything concurrently because having a I-130 being processed does not grant you any protection from things like deportation, a I-485 does. I don't know if you have to wait for the I-130 to be processed (which can take quite some time) for you to be able to file a I-485 at this time, but I reckon you can contact USCIS and ask them to cancel they one you've already sent and file another one together with a I-485. Only thing is, you will have wasted $420. Also, there are example forms on this website, so if something seems unclear, check how those were filled out.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

~ Moved from AOS from Family Based Visas to AOS from Work, Student & Tourist Visas ~

[kcros 0]

Don't cancel your I-130 and file again! Once you receive your NOA1 in the mail for the 130, you will need to send a copy of that in with your I-485 and they will match up your files. I recommend you read the guides here and it will show you exactly what you need to send with each form.

[Jana Banana 0]

Yeah, I blew it with deciding to send them seperate.. I just really wanted to get in the process ASAP, because I couldn't get a medical exam scheduled

and a translator for my vaccine records yet - although I had everything else done for the I-130 ..so I got panicky and sent it alone... :/

I'll just wait for NOA1 and go forward from there.

- Thank you all so VERY, very, very much for replying.

[kcros 0]

I wouldn't say you blew it. Just get your paperwork ready to send, try to get a medical appointment soon and send in your I-485. If you could send it in by the end of the month, then you'd only have a week or so before you get the NOA for the I-485 and have proof of your authorized stay.

[MUXAGIRL 69]

There is no hard and fast rule that you must file I-130 and I-485 together if you are IR of USC. You can file I-485 after I-130 quite easily.

What the USCIS tell you is that as a spouse of USC you CAN file both forms concurrently because a visa number is always available to you, but it's not a MUST. Because of visa availability, most IRs of USC file it together.

You have not blown anything at all. Take it easy, gather all docs and send over the I-485.

[nathalieg 1]

You can definitely file the I-130 and I-485 separately. You will need to include the I-130 approval notice when you sending

the I-485 and you do need to include copies of these documents mentioned.

If you need any help let me know

[Jana Banana 0]

So... It's been nearly a month now. I sent my I-130 (allong with passport photos, geobiographical infoes, marriage certificate, bank statements, a sworn affidavit, and a check) to Chichago on the 27th of July. They re-mailed it to Vermont and recieved it on the 30th. Nearly a week later, on August 5th I recieved a reciept/notice letter in the mail, that my check that was included with the petition (the 420$) had been cashed.

I've been patient untill today. So I did some snooping around and found a webpage to try and track my petition. ( I was told not to call untill 30 days of waiting for an answer)

So,.. the attached Image below is what came up when I entered my reciept number for the I-130.

Now I'm wondering if this is trully trying to tell me it will take them 5 months to process? And how reliable are these online trackings, if anyone else tried them out?

I'm getting kind of worried and impatient because I can't really make a move untill I get a hard copy back from them.. But I really have a hard time believing that it would take 5 months... Or am I reading the chart wrong? :/

[Mollie09 1,543]

So... It's been nearly a month now. I sent my I-130 (allong with passport photos, geobiographical infoes, marriage certificate, bank statements, a sworn affidavit, and a check) to Chichago on the 27th of July. They re-mailed it to Vermont and recieved it on the 30th. Nearly a week later, on August 5th I recieved a reciept/notice letter in the mail, that my check that was included with the petition (the 420$) had been cashed.

I've been patient untill today. So I did some snooping around and found a webpage to try and track my petition. ( I was told not to call untill 30 days of waiting for an answer)

So,.. the attached Image below is what came up when I entered my reciept number for the I-130.

Now I'm wondering if this is trully trying to tell me it will take them 5 months to process? And how reliable are these online trackings, if anyone else tried them out?

I'm getting kind of worried and impatient because I can't really make a move untill I get a hard copy back from them.. But I really have a hard time believing that it would take 5 months... Or am I reading the chart wrong? :/

Make a copy of the notice you received and add it to your I-485 application and they'll match them up.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

So... It's been nearly a month now. I sent my I-130 (allong with passport photos, geobiographical infoes, marriage certificate, bank statements, a sworn affidavit, and a check) to Chichago on the 27th of July. They re-mailed it to Vermont and recieved it on the 30th. Nearly a week later, on August 5th I recieved a reciept/notice letter in the mail, that my check that was included with the petition (the 420$) had been cashed.

I've been patient untill today. So I did some snooping around and found a webpage to try and track my petition. ( I was told not to call untill 30 days of waiting for an answer)

So,.. the attached Image below is what came up when I entered my reciept number for the I-130.

Now I'm wondering if this is trully trying to tell me it will take them 5 months to process? And how reliable are these online trackings, if anyone else tried them out?

I'm getting kind of worried and impatient because I can't really make a move untill I get a hard copy back from them.. But I really have a hard time believing that it would take 5 months... Or am I reading the chart wrong? :/

Hi Jana,

You already got a receipt in the mail. It is the first Notice of Action (NOA1), that shows that you have a pending I-130 case.

You can make a copy of that and sent it in with your I-485 package, and they will match up the cases and make it a concurrent case.

You do not need to wait for your I-130 to be approved. That can take 5-7 months; no need to wait for that.

Good luck.

Here is the VJ guide, too. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

Edited August 25, 2014 by Harpa Timsah

[Jana Banana 0]

OOh.. so thats it? That little reciept is the hard copy everyone's been telling me about? I thought it was gonna be like a big ol'note that says APPROVED.

Well.. now I just feel stupid. Wow, thank you so much for replying.

Well then from here on these are the additional issues:

When you send in the I-130 seperately they ask for a lot of the same documents that are also required for the I-485.

Since I was too dumb to even think about making copies (I assumed all the paperwork will end up in the same place anyway), how can I proceed?

In my I-130 I included (because it said so in the instructions), the following:

- copy of non-immigrant NATO2 visa from passport

- copy of marriage certificate

- 2 color passport-style photos each (mine and my husbands) - not a problem to get new ones

- a bank statement with mine and my husbands names - not a problem to get new ones

- copies of both of our birth certificates - not a problem to get new ones

- sworn notarized affidavit - not a problem to get a new one

- mine and my husbands biographical forms (G-325A) - A problem, I have no copies

I can however fill them out again and re-send them.., but then again I'm scared to do so because the dates may not match up.

(The section where they ask where I lived in the past or how long I worked someplace I had to really ball-park the information - because I simply cannot remember on what date I moved from someplace 5 years ago) I'm scared that I will mess up.

Should I just add in to the cover letter for the I-485 that my biographical information was already submitted with my I-130?

ALSO, regarding the medical exams: Another roadblock,.. It's not easy finding someone with the actual proper credentials to translate something from Slovenian to English. So If I am fluent enough in English to translate my medical/vaccine history myself - can I do so?

Or do I really need a certified translator? And how do I prove that I have already had chickenpox?

THANK YOU for all of your answers, I'm really overwhelmed dealing with this by myself and I'm super greatful for all of your input. Seriously.

Love,

-J.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Jana Banana

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Actually, they do not ask for the same things in the different packages. There are only a very few repeats (like you will need another G-325A, and additional photos.) You need to read the instructions, and do exactly what they say. So that means that you ned another G-325A for the I-485, even though you had one for the I-130.

So in the guide I posted, you have done the I-130 part, you need to do the I-485 part.

If your husband is dyslexic you could read the instructions to him aloud and you guys could work together

A Civil Surgeon may accept your verbal translation of the vaccines - or s/he may have international names for them. I would make the first appointment and see what the Civil Surgeon says. The medical exam is done in two appointments anyway, so you can start a dialogue with the actual person doing the exam.

And, if I may, for all of life, it is a good idea to make copies of anything you submit to the government or other official paperwork. That means immigration, taxes, etc. That's just basic best practices for paperwork.

Good luck.

[kcros 0]

It sounds like you sent in originals of your birth certificate and Marriage Certificate. There's no need for that. Just make copies and send those in. You'll need to hold on to the originals to bring in with you to your AOS interview!