Is it possible to give too much explanation about the ROC packet?

[October21 0]

I'm hoping it's still okay to ask some questions here even though I don't post often because all that time in between USCIS events is nice, immigration-free time spent being a normal married couple . My husband's 90 day window for ROC begins on August 31st so I've been doing a lot of research on here for the past couple of months, just making sure I iron out the kinks of our paperwork *before* that window even opens. I was hoping to send in his packet the first week of September so that it's nowhere close to when his green card expires.

We've been collecting paperwork since he moved here in 2013 so I have most of the necessary forms/paperwork already taken care of and organized: I-751 form filled out and signed, front and back copies of the green card, joint bank statements going back to September 2013, wills (witnessed and notarized), powers of attorney (notarized), drivers licenses showing we live at the same address, 2013 and 2014 IRS tax transcripts - married filing jointly, joint health insurance documentation through my workplace since 2013 with quarterly statements of usage, him listing me as the beneficiary on his AD&D insurance through his workplace, him listing me as his emergency contact at work, car insurance information, our cell phone and house phone bills listed in his name and registered to our address, and some of my monthly student loan payments in my name registered to our address. With that all out of the way, my questions are related to what we DON'T have because of the circumstances we're (still) in.

We live with my dad in his house and have lived there continuously since my husband moved here with his K-1 visa. Neither of us is really earning enough money to move out on our own, though our financial situation is improving considerably. My dad isn't exactly pushing us out the door either so we're all kind of content to just keep things the way they are for now. BUT! Living with my dad means that we have no mortgage/renters agreement/lease, etc. Dad doesn't expect us to pay rent and most of the bills for our household are listed in his name only. He even owns the 2 cars that my husband and I drive (the three of us are on a joint car insurance plan with my dad as the main policyholder, though, so I'm including that information in the packet as well).

I understand that it would be best for us to include an affidavit from my dad in our packet so that he can confirm that we have been living with him from the beginning, rent-free, and that his name is on most of the bills in our house, so he was nice enough to write a letter and he is going to get it notarized at work next week. Should I include *another* letter to further explain our living situation in addition to the one my dad puts in? I've seen on here quite often that people's third-party affidavits are usually very brief so I'm not sure if my dad should keep his note short and sweet and then maybe I could add my longer letter (because yes I already wrote it out) explaining in detail how we have the household finances divided among the three of us. I feel like the devil is in the details with this and if I'm going to be helpful for the adjudicator and include a short list in my cover letter, I'm worried that including *another* piece of explanation might just annoy them. It's like, the information is too detailed to just slip a few sentences into the cover letter but I also think maybe it's too much to include a separate letter. It's important to explain to them why we don't have some of the most important things - joint utilities in our names, home-owning/renting information, no loans or car titles - before they have a reason to send us an RFE for that stuff, right? We'd just have to send them a letter to explain why we don't have it then anyway.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do? I know this isn't a unique situation by any means but I feel like I'm too ready to just explain the ####### out of everything in the packet and I know that's probably not the best way to go about doing this. Ideally, I'd like to organize packet into color-coded sections for easy reference and maybe put an explanation page before each new section (if necessary). Is that too much?

[TBoneTX 45,285]

You have plenty of solid evidence -- smart and prepared of you to have collected this all along, and especially to have thought of wills and medical POAs.

Your dad's brief affidavit should suffice.

Don't bother color-coding sections of things. Just use paper clips and binder clips as makes sense. The USCIS mailroom people will rip the package apart and assemble it to their preference anyway.

[October21 0]

You have plenty of solid evidence -- smart and prepared of you to have collected this all along, and especially to have thought of wills and medical POAs.

Your dad's brief affidavit should suffice.

Don't bother color-coding sections of things. Just use paper clips and binder clips as makes sense. The USCIS mailroom people will rip the package apart and assemble it to their preference anyway.

Thank you very much, TBone! I'll tell you: I've seen your name come up *so often* in the old threads I've been reading and I think I have you to thank personally for emphasizing how important the wills/POAs are for marriage in general and this specifically. We're in our late 20s and don't own any property or have any kids so we weren't really even considering it because what do we even have to give away but then I saw how often you say how useful they are and you're absolutely right. So thank you!

Should I maybe keep my explanation letter off to the side in case we do get an RFE later on? It feels kind of naked to not include it but I really don't want to weigh them down with stuff because I've seen enough warnings from people advising against throwing every last piece of anything at the adjudicator who might be having a bad day the day they get to our packet. At the same time, I do want them to be aware of what our life/marriage is like and a very important part of that is living with my dad while we're getting on our feet. That means having most bills *not* in our names, and the few that are are only in one name or the other, not both together. I appreciate your guidance and it's very reassuring, our evidence just doesn't feel like it's *as* substantial as other people's so I feel like I should supplement it.

[TBoneTX 45,285]

You have plenty of stuff, the individual addresses match, and your dad's affidavit ties it all together. Submit your package without worries.

[October21 0]

You have plenty of stuff, the individual addresses match, and your dad's affidavit ties it all together. Submit your package without worries.

That's really good to know. I can do that, with the exception of the worrying because I'll do that no matter what. Thank you!

[Pitaya 2,577]

You have plenty of solid evidence -- smart and prepared of you to have collected this all along, and especially to have thought of wills and medical POAs.

Your dad's brief affidavit should suffice.

Don't bother color-coding sections of things. Just use paper clips and binder clips as makes sense. The USCIS mailroom people will rip the package apart and assemble it to their preference anyway.

What TBone said. ^^^ si, man.

http://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-and-fees/general-tips-assembling-applications-mailing