Please help me double-check my wife's I-751 packet !!

[Ryan76 46]

First off...some background. My wife's GC is set to expire 7-23-15 so we are planning shipping Fedex overnight with Signature Confirmation on April 23rd. We are happily married (since 8-28-2012) and have been living in the same apartment since her arrival. We are currently in the process of looking for a home and we just put in our first offer yesterday. We have a joint checking/savings account, a Discover card in my name that she is listed as the other user, a joint renter's insurance policy, and she is on my medical/dental plan. We have no children, and my wife doesn't drive yet (so no driver's license, car loan, etc). We didn't get a joint bank account until she got her first job approximately 5 months after her arrival. So, all things considered we don't have quite the portfolio of evidence as a couple with children, mortgage, car loan, etc.

Now I will list what evidence I do have...and I'm asking for any and all tips/advice/etc on anything else we can include and the best way to organize.

I am planning on sending several different folders with a checklist attached to the front of each folder describing what is in each folder.

Folder #1: Cover letter, I-751 Application with check for $590 (app fee + Biometrics) paper-clipped to front of I-751 App, copy of marriage license, copy of GreenCard (front/back)

Folder #2: Evidence of living status: 2013 & 2014 Joint Tenant / Apartment renewal documents, our pre-approval and current offer sheet for attempted house purchase

Folder #3: Bank Statements: Multiple Savings and Checking Account statements (full statements) for several different months from each year - 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Folder #4: Tax Returns for 2012, 2013, 2014 plus IRS Transcripts from 2013 and 2014.

Folder #5: Certificate of Heath Plan Coverage with 18 month coverage history, 3 "explanation of benefits" letters showing insurance payments for dental/medical charges for my wife

A screen capture of my online health insurance "my account" page, and 2 letters from Progressive showing Renter's Insurance Coverage.

Folder #6: Photos: 15 pics of my wife and I in various locations, vacations, events. 3 paper print outs of photo collages from our wedding, my brothers wedding, and this Easter

Folder #7 "Various other Evidence" : Scans of front/back of joint Discover Card, Copy of wife's 401k beneficiary form, one "earning statement"/paystub from wife, one Electric Bill

in my name with corresponding 18 month payment history, screen capture print from my Verizon showing joint cell phone plane, Travel Itineraries

from 2 trips to Florida and hotel reservations from a trip to Chicago. Christmas Card in envelope addressed to both of us from my grandma. And last but not least

a witness / affadavit sworn statement from my Mom.

So what do you think? Tips? Okay to ship Fedex with Signature Confirmation? Should we black out any info like the middle numbers of Credit Card Scans? Does this all sound good organization-wise? Please let me know what you think. I get super-stressed over this stuff.

Oh, and one other thing that maybe comes later - it's a very real possibility that we will be moving literally days or weeks after shipping all this off. I assume this situation has happened to others in the past....is it something to worry about? I assume we just file our change of address info with USCIS if this happens?

[TBoneTX 45,299]

The USCIS mail-room folks will throw out your folders. Just use clips of various sizes to hold things together.

No need whatsoever to send the stuff overnight. Use first-class mail with a tracking number.

If you're looking for solid ROC evidence, create wills, medical powers of attorney, and similar documents. These are even more valuable to have in "life."

[Ryan76 46]

The USCIS mail-room folks will throw out your folders. Just use clips of various sizes to hold things together.

No need whatsoever to send the stuff overnight. Use first-class mail with a tracking number.

If you're looking for solid ROC evidence, create wills, medical powers of attorney, and similar documents. These are even more valuable to have in "life."

My only thinking with over-nighting the package was just to get it there and in the system as soon as possible. The sooner they get it the sooner it's finished. But yeah, if it's gonna cost us an extra $30 we'll just do first class tracking instead.

As far as the evidence goes - yes, those things you listed are good but we haven't done a will or medical powers of attorney. Heck we don't even have anything to will each other since everything we have is jointly owned and we are already listed as each other's pension/401k beneficiaries. Also right now between a down payment for a house and this $590 for the I751, we really have no extra money at all to be paying attorneys for the creation of a will or any other documentation. I'm really hoping what we have will be good enough.

[Cheezees 1,514]

A copy of your marriage license is not needed. Omit it.

Like others have pointed out, do away with the folders. Just use paper clips or binder clips (not staples!) to keep your file together. Your classification system has nothing to do with USCIS's system and can be seen as an annoyance, even if it makes sense to you and me.

From what I have read, USCIS does not sign for packages. It seems we are better off using USPS mail with delivery confirmation. For some packages, FedEx and UPS do not deliver if no one is physically there, which leads to the package being returned and other unnecessary delays.

Make sure you are applying 90 days and NOT 3 months before the expiration of the GC. If you apply even a few days early, your application will be rejected, leading to more delays (and undue stress).

Btw, I think the card from your Grandma is kinda cute

Good luck!

[nov14filers 8]

Ryan76: Looks like your package is good. Send out anything and everthing that has joint information. What the heck. It does not hurt to have more stuff.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

I second the double checking of the date. It sounds like you are planning on sending it a bit too early. 3 months don't equal 90 days.

[Ryan76 46]

Okay...the date definitely might not be an issue because I think we're going to end up sending it in about the middle of May. Tell me what you think about this. So, we actually just put in an offer on a house and it was accepted, and the closing date is May 12. We are thinking we should have the packet all finished and ready to go, but then hold off until the moment we have the new house keys in our hands...this would allow us to put the new house address on the I-751 so we don't have to worry about the whole moving / changing addresses situation.

I do realize we also have to send in another separate form to USCIS whenever a change of address takes place (the AR-11, right?). So we would mail that off the same day we mail the I-751.

Also this means we now have a signed offer/purchase agreement to list with our "financial evidence", which is a big plus.

So then the only adjustments that need to be made will be the last minute change of address on the form, and I will ditch all the folders in favor of paper clips. Should I still include cover sheets for each separate clip. One that says "i-751, copy of green card, payment of $590 for I-751", "Financial Co-mingling: joint bank account, pension beneficiaries", so on and so forth? I just hate to give them a huge stack of papers with no direction.

Last but not least I assume the first thing they should see when they open the package is a cover sheet with the payment/ check paper-clipped to it, followed by the I-751? Then after that I assume the order doesn't matter much.

Tell me what you think guys - particularly about the address change and all that. Thanks so much!

Okay...the date definitely might not be an issue because I think we're going to end up sending it in about the middle of May. Tell me what you think about this. So, we actually just put in an offer on a house and it was accepted, and the closing date is May 12. We are thinking we should have the packet all finished and ready to go, but then hold off until the moment we have the new house keys in our hands...this would allow us to put the new house address on the I-751 so we don't have to worry about the whole moving / changing addresses situation.

I do realize we also have to send in another separate form to USCIS whenever a change of address takes place (the AR-11, right?). So we would mail that off the same day we mail the I-751.

Also this means we now have a signed offer/purchase agreement to list with our "financial evidence", which is a big plus.

So then the only adjustments that need to be made will be the last minute change of address on the form, and I will ditch all the folders in favor of paper clips. Should I still include cover sheets for each separate clip. One that says "i-751, copy of green card, payment of $590 for I-751", "Financial Co-mingling: joint bank account, pension beneficiaries", so on and so forth? I just hate to give them a huge stack of papers with no direction.

Last but not least I assume the first thing they should see when they open the package is a cover sheet with the payment/ check paper-clipped to it, followed by the I-751? Then after that I assume the order doesn't matter much.

Tell me what you think guys - particularly about the address change and all that. Thanks so much!

[Ryan76 46]

okay, so my last post was a little long-winded. Let me rephrase and be a little more brief...hopefully get a few responses because i think we are just about finished up here.

1) Our 90 day window begins May 1 or 2nd and the GC Expires July 23. We had planned on sending the i751 app on May1. We are in the process of buying a house and the closing date is May 12th. Do you think it will be fine if we just wait the extra couple weeks until the house closes to send the packet - so we can use our new address. Then I would assume at about the exact same time we would need to send the AR-11 change of address form to USCIS. Does this sound like the best plan?

2)Check fee / payment for $590. I assume 99% of people include the app fee and the biometrics fee when applying. Is there any need to differentiate that part is for biometrics and part is for the app fee, or do we just write the one check for $590 and be done with it?

3)Organization: We are going to go with the paperclip method, and have several different groupings of paperwork. Should each sub-packet have it's own cover letter / checklist, and then have one cover/letter checklist at the very front of the packet that is all-inclusive and lists everything I am sending......or is this overkill? Also I assume the first packet on top they see when opening the package will be coverletter with payment enclosed in envelope and paperclipped to cover letter, followed by application and copy of GC. I assume Packet order after that isn't real important, but i will start with the best evidence first - joint bank accounts, 401k beneficiaries, lease copies, paperwork for ongoing agreement to purchase house, etc.

Anyway, please let me know what you think. Getting all this in order and perfect is super-stressful to do while also going through the stresses of buying our first house and dealing with inspections, negotiations, hoping the loan comes through, etc. We just want to get everything finished and ready so when the time comes we just fill in our new address, sign the app, and send it off.

Please let me know what you think!! Thanks

[Ryan76 46]

Okay...so we are still set to close on our new house next week, and as soon as we have the keys we want to plug in the new address on the I-751 and send it off. Can someone please look over my previous post and give me some feedback. We're super stressed about the house and dealing with mortgage companies....my brain isn't exactly working at full capacity right now, lol. I just want to be sure that everything looks good so we can send this just as soon as possible. Thanks!

[NikLR 13,227]

okay, so my last post was a little long-winded. Let me rephrase and be a little more brief...hopefully get a few responses because i think we are just about finished up here.

1) Our 90 day window begins May 1 or 2nd and the GC Expires July 23. We had planned on sending the i751 app on May1. We are in the process of buying a house and the closing date is May 12th. Do you think it will be fine if we just wait the extra couple weeks until the house closes to send the packet - so we can use our new address. Then I would assume at about the exact same time we would need to send the AR-11 change of address form to USCIS. Does this sound like the best plan?

2)Check fee / payment for $590. I assume 99% of people include the app fee and the biometrics fee when applying. Is there any need to differentiate that part is for biometrics and part is for the app fee, or do we just write the one check for $590 and be done with it?

3)Organization: We are going to go with the paperclip method, and have several different groupings of paperwork. Should each sub-packet have it's own cover letter / checklist, and then have one cover/letter checklist at the very front of the packet that is all-inclusive and lists everything I am sending......or is this overkill? Also I assume the first packet on top they see when opening the package will be coverletter with payment enclosed in envelope and paperclipped to cover letter, followed by application and copy of GC. I assume Packet order after that isn't real important, but i will start with the best evidence first - joint bank accounts, 401k beneficiaries, lease copies, paperwork for ongoing agreement to purchase house, etc.

Anyway, please let me know what you think. Getting all this in order and perfect is super-stressful to do while also going through the stresses of buying our first house and dealing with inspections, negotiations, hoping the loan comes through, etc. We just want to get everything finished and ready so when the time comes we just fill in our new address, sign the app, and send it off.

Please let me know what you think!! Thanks

1)Okay using the calculator provided by the USCIS, your open period started 04/24/2015. http://www.uscis.gov/early-filing-calculator

As long as everything is sent before the expiration of the card you can send any time within those 90 days. My 90 day period started March 12th, but I didn't send until April 27th.

2) Yes you ALWAYS write the check to include the biometrics fee unless you don't have to have that done. You do not write separate checks.

3) one cover letter. paperclip the payment outside the cover letter and the cover letter to the I-751 (keep i mind this is a petition not an application) and copy of green card. I didn't put the payment in an envelope at all. It's right there, on top, just a check. If you want to paperclip or binder clip anything else you can. I did to keep it organized for myself, not them. They will take everything apart anyhow and put it how they want it. The cover letter is letting them know sequentially what you included but in the end they just throw it away. So don't worry about the organization too much.

Since you are closing on a house and I assume your wife's name is at least on the title, you can include a photocopy of the deed or bill of sale if you choose, and if it's on the mortgage papers then a copy of those too. It can take a few days to get those back from closing fyi.