Applying for Green Card

[vagabond_123 0]

Hi Everyone!

I am new here and hope someone can help me here. I am a US citizen and going to get married soon. My fiance is on H1B. So after getting married we are planning to file for her green card/permanent residence. Could you please tell what forms we would need to file or what the processing time is? I am in San Jose, CA and thats where it would be submitted. Also, I heard the fees are going up after July, 30th. Could someone tell how much increas it is in case we are not able to file before July 30th and what forms/applications does it affect?

Thanks a lot!

[chinohk 0]

check out this website stating the new fees

http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments...edule052907.pdf

[Silke 1]

As far as the fee increase is concerned, check out the link that chinohk posted.

To answer your other question, you will have to submit packages I-130 and I-485. For more details, take a look here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

If your fiance wants to travel or work before he receives his greencard, he will also have to submit forms I-131 and I-765

Note that your fiance needs to undergo an immigration medical as part of the AOS process. Shop around for a civil surgeon in your area as prices vary greatly.

Good luck!

[vagabond_123 0]

Thanks for your help! Could you also tell whether we should hire a lawyer to prepare the documents or could we do ourselves? Most of the lawyers seem too busy with the current green cards and is very hard to find one who could make it before July 30th. Is it too hard to prepare these documents?

Thanks.

[gogal2020 0]

Thanks for your help! Could you also tell whether we should hire a lawyer to prepare the documents or could we do ourselves? Most of the lawyers seem too busy with the current green cards and is very hard to find one who could make it before July 30th. Is it too hard to prepare these documents?

Thanks.

It's up to you. These documents are not hard to prepare, but if you have a complicated situation with your fiance's current visa, you might wanna discuss it with a lawyer. Otherwise, check out the links posted above, the guides have an excellent explanation in them, and you can always ask questions here, we'll try to help.

Good luck,

Mike.

[Silke 1]

Thanks for your help! Could you also tell whether we should hire a lawyer to prepare the documents or could we do ourselves? Most of the lawyers seem too busy with the current green cards and is very hard to find one who could make it before July 30th. Is it too hard to prepare these documents?

Thanks.

If you have a straightforward case, then there is no need to hire a lawyer. If you do some research and follow the guides here on VJ, it should be fairly easy to prepare the documents yourself. Of course, you can always turn to us if you have any questions. Good luck!

[vagabond_123 0]

Thanks! Ours is a simple case: I am a US citizen, she has H1B until sept. We are getting married in New Jersey in July and it is going to be a court marriage with families around. We both have clean documentation and she even had her labor cleared and everything with her current job but we decided to apply for green card based on marriage rather than employment. So I hope things would not be too complicated for us and we'll definitely keep checking with you all for valuable tips .

[Silke 1]

Thanks! Ours is a simple case: I am a US citizen, she has H1B until sept. We are getting married in New Jersey in July and it is going to be a court marriage with families around. We both have clean documentation and she even had her labor cleared and everything with her current job but we decided to apply for green card based on marriage rather than employment. So I hope things would not be too complicated for us and we'll definitely keep checking with you all for valuable tips .

Sounds like a straightforward case to me Good luck!

[Cécy 44]

Yes, I doubt you need a lawyer. Read the guides, print and study the form start getting all the documents you need (you'll need a birth certificate for your spouse among other things), fill and send the package when you are married.

If you get married in July, I would advise getting everything together now so you will only have to sign, date the forms and add the marriage certificate to it, that way you might be able to beat the fees increase.

[vagabond_123 0]

Hi All!

Could you tell how I could include 'Evidence of a bonafide marriage' in our case? We are getting married on July 21st and planning to send in our documents right after that. It will be too short time to get the joint ownership papers done for that. Even for joint accounts it will take time. What kind of affidavit could we prepare and who should affirm it? Is there any other way to get this Evidence of a bonafide marriage done?

Thanks.

[Silke 1]

With package I-130 you could submit pictures, letters/cards that were addressed to the both of you, or an affidavit.

Proof of joint bank accounts, and a joint lease you can bring to the interview.

Edited July 2, 2007 by silke

[vagabond_123 0]

With package I-130 you could submit pictures, letters/cards that were addressed to the both of you, or an affidavit.

Proof of joint bank accounts, and a joint lease you can bring to the interview.

Thanks! Should wedding pics be sufficient? We are planning both religious (with family) as well as civil weddings. Who should be signing the affidavit? Can someone from family do it or should a family friend do it?

Thanks.

[Silke 1]

With our application we submitted 2 everyday pictures (one that shows me with my husband and his family, one that shows my husband with me and my parents) and 1 wedding picture.

My husband's brother wrote the affidavit for us (we got it notarized by the way).

[vagabond_123 0]

With our application we submitted 2 everyday pictures (one that shows me with my husband and his family, one that shows my husband with me and my parents) and 1 wedding picture.

My husband's brother wrote the affidavit for us (we got it notarized by the way).

Great! So we'll add pics as well as affidavits from the family. There would be cards/letters from the family as well.

Thanks, you are great help .

[Silke 1]

Great! So we'll add pics as well as affidavits from the family. There would be cards/letters from the family as well.

Sounds good! Good luck