I-751 January 2019 Filers

[hana2 2]

5 hours ago, H-M said:

Here are a few pictures of our final package. We 2-hole punched the top, used printable sticky tabs and one ACCO fastener (3.5 inch capacity) to hold the entire package.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IBYX/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_nrunCb7300SBT

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GXDWQ4/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_YrunCbHG56MQJ

 

Wow so neatly organized!! I wish I did mine neatly like yours I literally used post-it sticky notes as tabs..... 😕 regretting it now but too late!
I couldnt get the tax transcript from IRS website, it was giving me errors or pages not working... so I had to print out all pages for the last two years of tax returns and my package came out to be 7lbs haha...

[hana2 2]

On 1/7/2019 at 6:17 PM, carlamariec said:

Anyone here who’s GC is expiring on March 31 2019? Did you already submit your i-751?

Mine expires on March 24th and I submitted mine on 5th!

[MariaR323 199]

Hello everyone!

 

I'm late to the filing game since current conditional status resident cards expire on Jan. 29th but kicking it into high gear this weekend and hopefully will be ready with my wife's and 2 stepsons packet for Monday mailing!

 

I have a lot of catching up to do here on VJ.

 

Maria  

[Cryssiekins 976]

8 hours ago, ilovepho said:

can you show us the thread please?

There’s actually a number of threads that discuss the amount of items sent, because everyone has an opinion on it.

 

There is no right or wrong amount.  Just keep in mind the quality of evidence is more important than the quantity, and since everyone’s situation is unique to them, this will cause a variance in the amount of evidence sent.

 

This filing is more subjective than the K1 or AoS process in that, you get to choose which evidence best supports your petition.

 

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with sending everything you can think of, if that’s what you feel is best.

 

For my husband and I, we simply do not have such a high quantity of evidence for varying reasons, but I do believe what we do have is sufficient to meet the expectation.  

 

Don’t underestimate the power of the covering letter either, that’s an opportunity to verbally explain things.  I will use it to explain why we don’t have certain things included (for instance, our car titles are in both names, but insurance is not, simply because my husband has a less than stellar driving record, and his insurance company has not changed his rate [even though he should be paying astronomical rates] but if he moved to the company I use [I get a steep discount from work] it was going to cost us a ridiculous amount, so we kept it separate.

 

Another example, our current apartment includes our utilities so we don’t even have accounts with gas/electric, and our previous apartment that did not, I could not get those companies to add a second name.  Same with our cell phones.  Those are in his name, and although I’m an authorized user, my name does not appear on statements.  

 

I’d like to think some common sense would prevail when an officer reviews our packets.  They are normal people with normal lives.  

 

I work in legal services so for the last decade it has been ingrained into me, that you only ever provide the minimum necessary to establish the point you’re making.  The thought being, do not give someone an opportunity to ask deeper questions. Though this sounds right in theory, I have seen examples at work where attorneys miss key items, again because they’re human.

 

TL; DR -  don’t concern yourself too much with what anyone else is sending or not sending.  Present what you feel strongly makes your case. 

[valefercrs 21]

8 hours ago, Cryssiekins said:

There’s actually a number of threads that discuss the amount of items sent, because everyone has an opinion on it.

 

There is no right or wrong amount.  Just keep in mind the quality of evidence is more important than the quantity, and since everyone’s situation is unique to them, this will cause a variance in the amount of evidence sent.

 

This filing is more subjective than the K1 or AoS process in that, you get to choose which evidence best supports your petition.

 

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with sending everything you can think of, if that’s what you feel is best.

 

For my husband and I, we simply do not have such a high quantity of evidence for varying reasons, but I do believe what we do have is sufficient to meet the expectation.  

 

Don’t underestimate the power of the covering letter either, that’s an opportunity to verbally explain things.  I will use it to explain why we don’t have certain things included (for instance, our car titles are in both names, but insurance is not, simply because my husband has a less than stellar driving record, and his insurance company has not changed his rate [even though he should be paying astronomical rates] but if he moved to the company I use [I get a steep discount from work] it was going to cost us a ridiculous amount, so we kept it separate.

 

Another example, our current apartment includes our utilities so we don’t even have accounts with gas/electric, and our previous apartment that did not, I could not get those companies to add a second name.  Same with our cell phones.  Those are in his name, and although I’m an authorized user, my name does not appear on statements.  

 

I’d like to think some common sense would prevail when an officer reviews our packets.  They are normal people with normal lives.  

 

I work in legal services so for the last decade it has been ingrained into me, that you only ever provide the minimum necessary to establish the point you’re making.  The thought being, do not give someone an opportunity to ask deeper questions. Though this sounds right in theory, I have seen examples at work where attorneys miss key items, again because they’re human.

 

TL; DR -  don’t concern yourself too much with what anyone else is sending or not sending.  Present what you feel strongly makes your case. 

Thank you for sharing your perspective! Our utility and cellphone bills are under my husband's name. He pays for my phone bill and my name does not show up in the statements either.. I guess I should not be sending phone bills since It will not be proof of anything, right?

 

Thanks!!

[flyingmamba 31]

Just mailed the I-751 to PO box in Phoenix with CC form as payment. Our package is definitely on the slimmer side! Good luck to everyone!

[MMteam 72]

1 hour ago, valefercrs said:

Thank you for sharing your perspective! Our utility and cellphone bills are under my husband's name. He pays for my phone bill and my name does not show up in the statements either.. I guess I should not be sending phone bills since It will not be proof of anything, right?

 

Thanks!!

Does the statement of the phone bill show your number that means you both on a joint plan that mean something. I sent our phone bills I have family plan with my wife and in laws and it in my father in law name but each bill shows our numbers so that good I think

[MariaR323 199]

I totally agree with @Cryssiekins!

 

I also work in the legal field and have a tax prep business...and while you do have your "standard" or "average" set of documents, each situation has their own unique circumstances.

 

Just remember, Quality over Quantity 👍

 

Maria 🙂

[Evetorres28 49]

Hello, good evening, I sent my package on December 18, 2018 I got a text message with case number December 31, but I have not received any letters by mail, I have not received the extension. can someone tell me if it's normal or should I wait longer... Thanks!.

[valefercrs 21]

4 hours ago, theossmanfamily said:

Does the statement of the phone bill show your number that means you both on a joint plan that mean something. I sent our phone bills I have family plan with my wife and in laws and it in my father in law name but each bill shows our numbers so that good I think

Hi! Yes, the bills show my phone number but not my name, so I guess we have a family plan as well. Thank you! 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2019 by valefercrs

[Emmylou151 44]

Mine was half an inch and I am not worried at all.

 

They don't need 200 pages of tax report. They don't care ! They need to see it was filed JOINTLY.

 

Bank statements. Do they care where you spend your money? NO. I sent one from every quarter. A single page. 4 pages total. 

 

Couple of photos, some joint medical cards, joint t-mobile account, joint mortgage - boom.

 

I think people worry about this stage. They just need to see you are still married via joint items. Maybe I have just had an easy time of this immigration thing. I remember freaking out SO MUCH about the interview for AOS for no reason. All the paperwork and they looked at all of 2 things. 

 

Anyway - My case was received 01/04/2019 and check cashed today, 01/10/2019. Now I just wait for 18 months i guess!

 

 

 

 

[Cryssiekins 976]

22 minutes ago, Emmylou151 said:

Mine was half an inch and I am not worried at all.

 

They don't need 200 pages of tax report. They don't care ! They need to see it was filed JOINTLY.

 

Bank statements. Do they care where you spend your money? NO. I sent one from every quarter. A single page. 4 pages total. 

 

Couple of photos, some joint medical cards, joint t-mobile account, joint mortgage - boom.

 

I think people worry about this stage. They just need to see you are still married via joint items. Maybe I have just had an easy time of this immigration thing. I remember freaking out SO MUCH about the interview for AOS for no reason. All the paperwork and they looked at all of 2 things. 

 

Anyway - My case was received 01/04/2019 and check cashed today, 01/10/2019. Now I just wait for 18 months i guess!

 

 

 

 

I said to my husband the other day how absolutely not worried I am about this stage, and how weird it feels.  

 

At the K1 stage I was obsessed with it daily, but that’s because we were dying to be with each other.  At the AoS stage, I checked my mailbox every day, but again, that’s because I was bored out of my mind waiting for the ability to work.  

 

Now, we’re two years into forever, and everything is great.  Just this formality of showing it’s legitimate.  We’re good if we have to go for an interview, and they are more than welcome to come visit us at home.  

 

The only worry I do have is I started a new job at a large corporation and because of the shut down, they can’t e-verify my ability to work.  Obviously, I have status, but if this goes on for much longer, I’m concerned I won’t have the extension letter in hand to provide to them.  

[MariaR323 199]

I think it's also somewhat country-specific because, let's face it, some are looked at "harder" than others and you often times have to over-provide to compensate for that.

 

At this rate though, I'm not worried at all about the ROC and I'm already planning my wife's prep studies for citizenship lol Those 15 to 20 month processing times are ridiculous 😂

 

 

[price411 68]

Quick question. Part 5  information about your children. Should.i list my step children aswell. ?

[H-M 169]

5 hours ago, Cryssiekins said:

The only worry I do have is I started a new job at a large corporation and because of the shut down, they can’t e-verify my ability to work.  Obviously, I have status, but if this goes on for much longer, I’m concerned I won’t have the extension letter in hand to provide to them.

If you don't get the extension letter in time, you can also use an unrestricted Social Security Card + Driver License to complete the I-9 form/e-verify requirements.