Sending I-751... woohoo!

[hcj 0]

I finally got DH's I-751 packet together, he is taking it to work tomorrow to photocopy and then we are sending it off.

I am about a month "late" -- the 90 days started in mid-Feb. All month long I kept looking over at the pile and procrastinating. Finally today I sat down and got it done.

Here is what I'm sending (modeled after Meauxna's letter):

USC & DH

123 Any Street

City State Zip

March 22, 2006

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

US Citizenship and Immigration Services

Our Service Center

PO Box XXX

City State Zip

I-751 Submission

A# XXX-XXX-XXX

To Whom It May Concern:

Enclosed please find the following documents in support of our I-751 Application to Remove Conditions on Residence:

Payment: $205 check + Form I-751

Identification

• Copy (front and back) Permanent Resident card for DH A# XXX-XXX-XXX

• Copy [state] Drivers License

Joint Financial Ties

• Copy 2003 and 2004 joint federal income tax returns. Please note our 2005 joint tax return has not been completed as of today and therefore is not included with this submission.

• Copy joint bank account statements. Samples from 5/03 to current. Note paychecks for both spouses are direct deposited into this account.

• Copy paystubs from USC and DH showing direct deposit into joint account named above.

• Copy IRA beneficiary designation showing DH as 100% primary beneficiary of USC's retirement account.

• Copy health insurance benefit statements showing DH covered on USC's policy.

• Copy joint account credit cards and statements. Samples from 3/04 to present.

• Copy utility bills, PG&E in DH's name, telephone in USC's name. Samples from 6/03 to present.

Joint Travel / Photos / Miscellaneous

• Originals of social correspondence and Christmas cards addressed to us as a couple. Samples from throughout 2004 and 2005.

• Travel / photos:

o Jan 2006: A trip back to City, State where we were married.

o Sep/Oct 2005: Trip to [place] and reunion in [city] with USC's family; travel tickets for USC and DH enclosed.

o May 2005: Trip to Sweden to visit DH's family and friends.

o Oct 2004: Trip to [city] to attend a friend’s wedding; wedding invitation enclosed.

o Aug 2003: Camping trip in [name of] area.

• Copy gym membership cards at the same gym.

Thank you for your consideration of our petition. We look forward to many more years of happy matrimony!

Sincerely,

[signed USC & DH]

Comments welcomed -- if you see any big gaping holes we should fill, please tell me. (I know someone will ask this so -- We do not own any real estate or vehicles. We do not have a lease either.)

[rebeccajo 14]

What about one, two or three of those infamous notarized letters saying "I know so-and-so and they are a lovely couple".

And just asking (cause we don't have to do this for a couple of years yet and I haven't researched this) is there an Affidavit of Support needed too?

[meauxna 15]

It's a funny thing about those deadlines.. I procrastinated too. I don't think it's a big deal---we're not in a race & you've got plenty of time.

Your list looks great.. I've never been copied before! You've got things we didn't have & vice versa--it all works, and you've got a good balance of items.

Now the big wait. <yawn> CSC seems to be working on something else right now, so don't expect a quick turnaround (someone on BE has been waiting since August, I think?). I used the photcopier to shrink a copy of the NOA and had him carry that with the Green Card. Keep the original safe (you'll take it in if you go for biometrics for the new card).

YAY!

[Antoine 0]

Gosh that looks good! You are making me nervous because I didnt get as much stuff together.

This is what i sent:

• I 751 form with $205 check

• Copy of permanent resident card

• Two letters from family affirming their knowledge of the marital union

• Copies of the certification and license of marriage

• Copy of the shared certificate of automobile title

• Copy of shared membership with A.A.A.

• Copy of car insurance document showing shared coverage

• Copy of shared lease

• Letter from present landlord

• Copy of joint tax return 2004

• Copies of shared savings account statements

• Pictures of bride and groom with family (only 4)

negligences me and my wife have had are things like we never officialized her name to be updated, we dont have a joint health inssurance yet, we are artists (dancer and musicians) and been traveling so much that we basically havent had a 'firm' address from last september until January(although I didnt bother to explain every place we've stayed in between, just put my new address since January and the old one before). I hope it's going to be ebough evidence for them...

I finally got DH's I-751 packet together, he is taking it to work tomorrow to photocopy and then we are sending it off.

I am about a month "late" -- the 90 days started in mid-Feb. All month long I kept looking over at the pile and procrastinating. Finally today I sat down and got it done.

Here is what I'm sending (modeled after Meauxna's letter):

USC & DH

123 Any Street

City State Zip

March 22, 2006

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

US Citizenship and Immigration Services

Our Service Center

PO Box XXX

City State Zip

I-751 Submission

A# XXX-XXX-XXX

To Whom It May Concern:

Enclosed please find the following documents in support of our I-751 Application to Remove Conditions on Residence:

Payment: $205 check + Form I-751

Identification

• Copy (front and back) Permanent Resident card for DH A# XXX-XXX-XXX

• Copy [state] Drivers License

Joint Financial Ties

• Copy 2003 and 2004 joint federal income tax returns. Please note our 2005 joint tax return has not been completed as of today and therefore is not included with this submission.

• Copy joint bank account statements. Samples from 5/03 to current. Note paychecks for both spouses are direct deposited into this account.

• Copy paystubs from USC and DH showing direct deposit into joint account named above.

• Copy IRA beneficiary designation showing DH as 100% primary beneficiary of USC's retirement account.

• Copy health insurance benefit statements showing DH covered on USC's policy.

• Copy joint account credit cards and statements. Samples from 3/04 to present.

• Copy utility bills, PG&E in DH's name, telephone in USC's name. Samples from 6/03 to present.

Joint Travel / Photos / Miscellaneous

• Originals of social correspondence and Christmas cards addressed to us as a couple. Samples from throughout 2004 and 2005.

• Travel / photos:

o Jan 2006: A trip back to City, State where we were married.

o Sep/Oct 2005: Trip to [place] and reunion in [city] with USC's family; travel tickets for USC and DH enclosed.

o May 2005: Trip to Sweden to visit DH's family and friends.

o Oct 2004: Trip to [city] to attend a friend’s wedding; wedding invitation enclosed.

o Aug 2003: Camping trip in [name of] area.

• Copy gym membership cards at the same gym.

Thank you for your consideration of our petition. We look forward to many more years of happy matrimony!

Sincerely,

[signed USC & DH]

Comments welcomed -- if you see any big gaping holes we should fill, please tell me. (I know someone will ask this so -- We do not own any real estate or vehicles. We do not have a lease either.)

[meauxna 15]

Antoine,

The only thing I notice is: where is your 2003 tax return?

[hcj 0]

What about one, two or three of those infamous notarized letters saying "I know so-and-so and they are a lovely couple".

And just asking (cause we don't have to do this for a couple of years yet and I haven't researched this) is there an Affidavit of Support needed too?

Hi RebeccaJo ~~

Thanks for the suggestion! I (not "we" b/c DH doesn't pay any attention to his immigration status!) debated that one for a while. I have heard arguments for and arguments against. Arguments for are usually along the lines of "it won't hurt". Arguments against are usually along the lines of "only iffy cases need affidavits" -- just like "only iffy cases need lawyers (at the interview)," the reasoning being that the mere presence of a lawyer/affidavit makes the case more suspicious. I think where I landed is, no affidavits, 1) because I saw a lot of people get approved without them and 2) because I hate asking people for favors. But I haven't sent off the packet yet so I can still reconsider )

And good news -- no affidavit of support this time around, your old one is still in effect.

Now my unsolicited advice to anyone who needs to file I-751 in 2 years is: Save everything, even stuff you don't think you'll need. Put it all in a big bin, then two years from now all you have to do is sort through it and pick out the stuff you want to include. Don't be like me and have to turn the whole house upside down to find a single paystub for myself (I was stupid enough to shred them all because I decided I didn't need them for anything; thankfully I was also disorganized enough to have a loose one hanging around that didn't make it into the shredder).

Good luck with yours, way in advance!

EDITED for clarity

Edited March 21, 2006 by hcj

[hcj 0]

Hey M!

I liked your letter a lot, it wasn't as grovelly as the others. So thanks for posting and letting me copy. Thanks for the feedback too, it's good to get some opinions as a double-check.

Good idea about photocopying the NOA. Although, my husband doesn't carry his GC with him anyway. He finally got a drivers license (after 5 years in the US), which is an improvement. I believe his plan, if he ever got pulled over, was to present his Swedish license and then not speak much English. LOL. They don't seem to be too concerned about who's legal and who's illegal around here, when he got his DL they didn't even ask him for proof of legal presence. They just took his old ID card which we got with his EAD way back when, and that was good enough. She even knew he was a foreigner, he has a noticeable accent and we showed her his Swedish license (we were hoping to trade it in and not have to take the behind the wheel test).

Anyhoo -- now for the wait as you say. We're good at waiting. Procrastinators always are

[meauxna 15]

We opted against the affidavits, after much thought.

When push came to shove, I just didn't like to ask, and I didn't think we needed it. Apparently we didn't. YMMV.

[hcj 0]

Gosh that looks good! You are making me nervous because I didnt get as much stuff together.

This is what i sent:

• I 751 form with $205 check

• Copy of permanent resident card

• Two letters from family affirming their knowledge of the marital union

• Copies of the certification and license of marriage

• Copy of the shared certificate of automobile title

• Copy of shared membership with A.A.A.

• Copy of car insurance document showing shared coverage

• Copy of shared lease

• Letter from present landlord

• Copy of joint tax return 2004

• Copies of shared savings account statements

• Pictures of bride and groom with family (only 4)

negligences me and my wife have had are things like we never officialized her name to be updated, we dont have a joint health inssurance yet, we are artists (dancer and musicians) and been traveling so much that we basically havent had a 'firm' address from last september until January(although I didnt bother to explain every place we've stayed in between, just put my new address since January and the old one before). I hope it's going to be ebough evidence for them...

Oh thanks sweetie! FWIW I think yours looks great too. Everyone will have a different set of evidence, and you have lots of items to show that you live together and have comingled your finances. Good luck to both of us!

Antoine,

The only thing I notice is: where is your 2003 tax return?

If I worked out Antoine's timeline right, they probably interviewed around May/June 2004. In which case, they would have given USCIS their 2003 return already.

In our case we interviewed June 2003, but due to pending background checks were not actually approved until May 2004. That's why we have two tax returns that USCIS doesn't have.

[Angel7422 0]

Ummm, I know I'm a bit lit in response time but in reading your list I didnt see you list 2 passport style pics for your hubby to be attached with the I-751 form. At least thats what I remember the new I-751 instructions requesting with the updated form. If I am wrong please let me know. I wouldnt want to confuse anyone let alone myself.

[hcj 0]

Ummm, I know I'm a bit lit in response time but in reading your list I didnt see you list 2 passport style pics for your hubby to be attached with the I-751 form. At least thats what I remember the new I-751 instructions requesting with the updated form. If I am wrong please let me know. I wouldnt want to confuse anyone let alone myself.

I wish you had read my post earlier! You're totally right, we did forget the 2 passport pics and I realized that after we sent the packet in.

They accepted our filing (we got the one year extension letter) and so far we haven't gotten an RFE. But I'm sure sooner or later they will be asking for the passport pictures. As Meauxna said, at least it wasn't a "fatal" error!

Edited April 15, 2006 by hcj

[meauxna 15]

As Meauxna said, at least it wasn't a "fatal" error!

Well, it *appears* that you're still breathing....

[hcj 0]

As Meauxna said, at least it wasn't a "fatal" error!

Well, it *appears* that you're still breathing....

... for now ...