I-751 August 2016 Filers

[AustinCanada 681]

8 minutes ago, Nikkosan said:

Never had any issue, either with my husband or by myself. I have heard that lately, some people have been sent to secondary; that's most certainly a nuisance, however, unless you have a tight connecting flight, it is hardly an issue and will not cause any problems if all else is the way it should be. So by any means, do enjoy Canada!

I'm visiting Canada by bus (I live in Seattle) so I don't need to worry about missing a connecting flight!  

 

4 minutes ago, GreatDane said:

Seriously - don't bother with Express. I sent on 7/22, it arrived next business day 7/24, payment processed 7/26 (but took forever to clear?), and still no NOA/confirmation despite the e-confirmation form. 

It took only two days from Seattle to Phoenix by priority mail?  

[Nikkosan 127]

Just now, AustinCanada said:

I'm visiting Canada by bus (I live in Seattle) so I don't need to worry about missing a connecting flight!  

A modern day Marco Polo, I see...   

[Zombie69 363]

8 minutes ago, AustinCanada said:

I'm visiting Canada by bus (I live in Seattle) so I don't need to worry about missing a connecting flight!  

 

It took only two days from Seattle to Phoenix by priority mail?  

I asked my lawyer a year ago what kind of evidence I needed to be prepared for 400, i told her that i thought we only had to follow the check list from USCIS' instruction page, here is how she responded.

 

"You will need the same documents that you needed for the I-130 and the I-751. We will maintain the copies from the I-751, although we probably will not submit them given that they will already be in your file. Thank you."

[AustinCanada 681]

4 minutes ago, Zombie69 said:

I asked my lawyer a year ago what kind of evidence I needed to be prepared for 400, i told her that i thought we only had to follow the check list from USCIS' instruction page, here is how she responded.

 

"You will need the same documents that you needed for the I-130 and the I-751. We will maintain the copies from the I-751, although we probably will not submit them given that they will already be in your file. Thank you."

I may be wrong, but I have a feeling that your attorney is playing on the safe side so their clients don't complain (or ask for a refund) if they get an ROE.  

 

I'm a bit concerned about including too many documents since the application itself is a 20-page application.    If it turns out to be unnecessary (since it doesn't state on the checklist), it could confuse my citizenship officer and delay my application.    I'll just add some "hard" evidence (like condo ownership and bank statement documents) since they're just one page each.  

[Zombie69 363]

4 minutes ago, AustinCanada said:

I may be wrong, but I have a feeling that your attorney is playing on the safe side so their clients don't complain (or ask for a refund) if they get an ROE.  

 

I'm a bit concerned about including too many documents since the application itself is a 20-page application.    If it turns out to be unnecessary (since it doesn't state on the checklist), it could confuse my citizenship officer and delay my application.    I'll just add some "hard" evidence (like condo ownership and bank statement documents) since they're just one page each.  

I basically collected as much evidence as i could and gave the whole folder to my lawyer so she can sort it out, but, yes, you do not want to submit too much, but also, you kind of want to prove the ongoing evidence of your bona fide marriage. My lawyer has 15 years of experience and she obviously got my everything approved so far, including a complicated 601 waiver based on my past 2 misdemeanors (I take plenty of credit for my the success,hee). Yes, she is playing safe, so should be too. 

[rerto 32]

I guess there's nothing wrong in loading the application like I did. I supplied all statements for all joint accounts from when I had my AOS until now. Also suppled titles for our properties as well as insurrance paperwork, for all the years since AOS and birth certs for our children. All in all about 800 pages - some front and back. It was slightly thicker than the I-751, as there was another year of statements in there.

 

Yes, I could have gotten away with less, but I like being thorough. It's not like they will reject it because of too much information.

 

I'll keep you guys updates. I got myself added to the N400 July filers thread as well. 

[DD1 2]

As of now I am not eligible for filing 400 form:

 

As per M-477 if you submit only 3 years of tax transcript that is also enough but I think i would submit only following for safer side.

- 3 years tax transcripts

- Marriage certificate

- Child birth certificate (if any)

- 1 or 2 Bank statements

- 1 Lease/mortgage statement

 

I would not submit more because of following reasons:

- If you provide more things then officer needs to dig in to all documents to find what he/she wants to see (Or may be he/she needs to go through all of them) and may get irritated to go through bunch of stuff.

- More details you provide the more is the chances of asking deep question from different documents.

 

This my thinking only.

[AustinCanada 681]

1 hour ago, rerto said:

I guess there's nothing wrong in loading the application like I did. I supplied all statements for all joint accounts from when I had my AOS until now. Also suppled titles for our properties as well as insurrance paperwork, for all the years since AOS and birth certs for our children. All in all about 800 pages - some front and back. It was slightly thicker than the I-751, as there was another year of statements in there.

 

Yes, I could have gotten away with less, but I like being thorough. It's not like they will reject it because of too much information.

 

I'll keep you guys updates. I got myself added to the N400 July filers thread as well. 

800 pages!!??  

 

2 minutes ago, DD1 said:

As of now I am not eligible for filing 400 form:

 

As per M-477 if you submit only 3 years of tax transcript that is also enough but I think i would submit only following for safer side.

- 3 years tax transcripts

- Marriage certificate

- Child birth certificate (if any)

- 1 or 2 Bank statements

- 1 Lease/mortgage statement

 

I would not submit more because of following reasons:

- If you provide more things then officer needs to dig in to all documents to find what he/she wants to see (Or may be he/she needs to go through all of them) and may get irritated to go through bunch of stuff.

- More details you provide the more is the chances of asking deep question from different documents.

 

This my thinking only.

I agree with you!   I believe the officer must check every document you submit so they may get confused (and have more questions) if you include too many documents!   That may delay your application process.  

 

I'm including additional "hard" evidence of our condo ownership document and the most recent bank statement (in addition to the marriage certificate and tax transcripts).   That's it!  

[rerto 32]

DD1: I submitted more with my N400 than my I751, because it's been another year so another year of docs. I am not too worried about them asking things from my documents as I have been there for it all, and have the answers.

[4444510 33]

8 hours ago, Zombie69 said:

Directly from USCIS' check list: 

If you are applying for naturalization on the basis of marriage to a U.S. citizen, send the following 4 items:
1. □ Evidence that your spouse has been a U.S. citizen for the last 3 years:
a. Birth certificate (if your spouse never lost citizenship since birth); or
b. Certificate of Naturalization; or
c. Certificate of Citizenship; or
d. The inside of the front cover and signature page of your spouse’s current U.S. passport; or
e. Form FS-240, Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America; and
2.□ Your current marriage certificate; and
3.□Proof of termination of all prior marriages of your spouse (divorce decree(s), annulment(s), or death certificate(s)); and
4.□ Documents referring to you and your spouse:
a. Tax returns, bank accounts, leases, mortgages, or birth certificates of children; or
b. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-certified copies of the income tax forms that you both filed for the past 3 years; or
c. An IRS tax return transcript for the last 3 years.

If you look at the check list, it is still very similar to 751 evidence except it does not say photos and trips, there is a reason why lawyers all say you still need to submit the same kind of evidence because it is still very similar to what 751 requires unless you think all lawyers are bad and full of ,lol

That's exactly what I think about lawyers, not all of them but majority. I filed all my forms by myself.

[Zombie69 363]

10 minutes ago, 4444510 said:

That's exactly what I think about lawyers, not all of them but majority. I filed all my forms by myself.

I would not say the majority of them are terrible. I had to because I have two misdemeanors and I had to apply for a 601 waiver, and I was approved, my lawyer obviously helped. Too much at stake for me, I did not have the luxury to save money, and since we could afford, so we did it, and here I am. Everyone's situation is different, but I have seen plenty of applicants get approved without lawyers and plenty get RFE because they simple did not do it correctly or submit the wrong kind of evidence. Lawyers are helpful if one finds the right one. 

Edited July 31, 2017 by Zombie69

[rerto 32]

Btw, I was trying to file online a couple of weeks back but couldn't get my uscis online account setup because it was asking me for A# and DOS case ID. Didn't know where to find the second out.. I've never had a DOS case id as far as I know.. Anyone have insight here?

 

R

[Pinkrlion 2,724]

I just submitted evidence from the past year with the three years of tax transcripts, and the other required documents.  So I uploaded bank statements, car insurance, continued medical coverage, and quarterly utility bills.

[Zombie69 363]

7 hours ago, Pinkrlion said:

I just submitted evidence from the past year with the three years of tax transcripts, and the other required documents.  So I uploaded bank statements, car insurance, continued medical coverage, and quarterly utility bills.

That's about right.

[Zombie69 363]

16 hours ago, DD1 said:

As of now I am not eligible for filing 400 form:

 

As per M-477 if you submit only 3 years of tax transcript that is also enough but I think i would submit only following for safer side.

- 3 years tax transcripts

- Marriage certificate

- Child birth certificate (if any)

- 1 or 2 Bank statements

- 1 Lease/mortgage statement

 

I would not submit more because of following reasons:

- If you provide more things then officer needs to dig in to all documents to find what he/she wants to see (Or may be he/she needs to go through all of them) and may get irritated to go through bunch of stuff.

- More details you provide the more is the chances of asking deep question from different documents.

 

This my thinking only.

We will never know whether an officer will get irritated and become suspicious by the amount of evidence one submits