help filing I-485

[steve-phuket 10]

my wife is in the US (on B1/B2) with me (USC) right now and we want to file I-485 adjustment of status so we can stay here to get the green card. 

 

i just called USCIS and the person on the phone said we are eligible to file now. I submitted an I-130 application from Thailand in Dec last year with the intentions of return to Thailand in October this year and doing the green card there. on the I-130 i decarded it was our intent to file in Bangkok. However, now we don't want to return to Thailand because of all the Covid rules and worry getting back to the US next year will be a problem.

 

Q1) so now when i file the I-485 Part 3, section 1, it asks have you ever applied for an immigrant visa at a US consulate or embassy abroad. i said NO because i files the I-130 on line, not at the embassy. i hope this is OK?

 

Q2) on the list of things to submit with the I-485, the checklist includes this "Inspection and admission, or inspection and parole documentation (unless applying for adjustment under INA 245(i))." what is this? do i need it? i think its for people who entered the US illegally right? we are 100% legal in the US so i think that doesn't apply.

 

Q3)  when does my wife need to get the medical check? i don't see it on the application checklist

 

Q4) my wife doesn't have a birth certificate. we had her sister to go to the government office where she was born to get a duplicate but they will not do it unless my wife goes there in person (not possible). So I think its possible to use school records, which we have. But USCIS says we have to show proof that the birth certificate is unavailable. How to get proof of a negative? we'll ask the local government to write something official but i doubt they have a form for that.

 

thanks

 

 

 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,846]

Have you studied this guide?  It might answer some questions:

 

 

[Chancy 6,241]

37 minutes ago, steve-phuket said:

USCIS says we have to show proof that the birth certificate is unavailable.

 

If the DOS Reciprocity page says the document or its alternatives are available, then you must provide it.  Is your wife or her family in Thailand able to obtain the acceptable alternate document -- Birth Certifying Letter “Bai Rub Rong Kan Kerd”?  If your wife is not able to provide either a birth certificate ("Sutibat") or a birth certifying letter (“Bai Rub Rong Kan Kerd”), then she will not be able to proceed with her AOS.

 

DOS Reciprocity page -- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Thailand.html

 

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from IR1/CR1 Process & Procedures to AOS from Work/Student/Tourist Visas ***

 

[steve-phuket 10]

2 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

If the DOS Reciprocity page says the document or its alternatives are available, then you must provide it.  Is your wife or her family in Thailand able to obtain the acceptable alternate document -- Birth Certifying Letter “Bai Rub Rong Kan Kerd”?  If your wife is not able to provide either a birth certificate ("Sutibat") or a birth certifying letter (“Bai Rub Rong Kan Kerd”), then she will not be able to proceed with her AOS.

 

DOS Reciprocity page -- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Thailand.html

 

thanks, the problem is they will not issue a 'Bai Rub Rong Kan Kerd' to anyone other than my wife and she's in the US. however, i think they will accept her school records provided she can get some kind of proof that the 'Bai Rub Rong Kan Kerd is unavailable. maybe i'll cann USCIS again to ask them about that

 

[Chancy 6,241]

2 minutes ago, steve-phuket said:

the problem is they will not issue a 'Bai Rub Rong Kan Kerd' to anyone other than my wife and she's in the US. however, i think they will accept her school records provided she can get some kind of proof that the 'Bai Rub Rong Kan Kerd is unavailable.

 

For USCIS, "unavailable" means impossible to obtain, whether the person is in the US or in their home country.  Any chance your wife is in either of these categories -- born in Bangkok before World War II, or born in other areas of the country up until the 1970s?

 

If not, USCIS will likely not accept any reason why she is not able to provide her birth certificate ("Sutibat") or a birth certifying letter (“Bai Rub Rong Kan Kerd”).  "Not able to get the document because I am abroad" will not cut it, unless the applicant is an asylee or refugee, and therefore does not need to explain why they cannot return to their home country.

 

[steve-phuket 10]

15 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

For USCIS, "unavailable" means impossible to obtain, whether the person is in the US or in their home country.  Any chance your wife is in either of these categories -- born in Bangkok before World War II, or born in other areas of the country up until the 1970s?

 

If not, USCIS will likely not accept any reason why she is not able to provide her birth certificate ("Sutibat") or a birth certifying letter (“Bai Rub Rong Kan Kerd”).  "Not able to get the document because I am abroad" will not cut it, unless the applicant is an asylee or refugee, and therefore does not need to explain why they cannot return to their home country.

 

she was born in 1969, what do you mean 'born in other areas of the country'

 

oh, i see where you are quoting 'Exceptions: The issuance of birth certificates in Thailand began in Bangkok in 1917. Records of birth are often lacking for people born in Bangkok before World War II and for those born in other areas of the country up until the 1970s.'

 

that probably means up in the remote mountain areas where the local mountain people don't even have thai citizenship

 

maybe we can claim she never had one?

Edited August 11, 2021 by steve-phuket

[Chancy 6,241]

2 minutes ago, steve-phuket said:

what do you mean 'born in other areas of the country'

 

Was she born in Bangkok?

 

[steve-phuket 10]

2 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Was she born in Bangkok?

 

no, in a village in the north, she never remembers having a birth certificate.

 

i'm waiting on hold for USCIS now, i''ll ask them how to prove she never hand one

 

Edited August 11, 2021 by steve-phuket

[Timona 4,207]

17 minutes ago, steve-phuket said:

no, in a village in the north, she never remembers having a birth certificate.

 

i'm waiting on hold for USCIS now, i''ll ask them how to prove she never hand one

 

 

USCIS are not lawyers. You will be talking to Tier 1 agents who are synonymous with giving wrong information.

This is your job to figure out, not USIS''s.

Even if you request TIer 2 , they are not lawyers and that is not their job. Best bet is to start researching.

[steve-phuket 10]

i've noticed they don't seem to know much. by research not sure what else i can do, its sounds like it will be up to the discretion of whoever reviews the application to say if school records are acceptable alternative to a birth cirtificate.

 

according to https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Thailand.html she should be able to claim she never had a birth certificate since she was born outside Bangkok before 1970. what else can i research?

 

i'm still on hold with USCIS, i'll see if i can get a tire 2 agent, thanks

Edited August 11, 2021 by steve-phuket

[steve-phuket 10]

from https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-485instr.pdf i read that 

 

'If this resource shows that birth certificates from your country of birth are generally unavailable or nonexistent, you do not need to do anything to prove that your birth certificate is unavailable or nonexistent.'

 

since she was born outside Bangkok before 1970, then for her 'birth are generally unavailable or nonexistent' so i guess we are ok. i'm actually on the phone with a tire 1 agent right now, he's trying to connect me to a tier 2 agent.

 

so the tier 1 guy said i could talk to a supervisor then the system  hung up on me!

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2021 by steve-phuket

[steve-phuket 10]

so USCIS was no help but as per my last 2 messages, i feel fairly confident that USCIS will accept that her birth certificate is 'unavailable or nonexistent' and therefore, "you do not need to do anything to prove that your birth certificate is unavailable or nonexistent.''

 

the USCIS guy just said to file the application and if they require additional supporting documents, they'll let us know.  

 

it sounds to me like they don't just reject applications outright, right? they always give you time to provide more information.

 

 

[steve-phuket 10]

sorry, one more question, on I-485 instructions "

11. Certified Police and Court Records of Criminal Charges, Arrests, or Convictions You must submit certified police and court records for any criminal charges, arrests, or convictions you may have"

 

she has none, do we need some proof of that?

 

[SalishSea 17,829]

8 minutes ago, steve-phuket said:

sorry, one more question, on I-485 instructions "

11. Certified Police and Court Records of Criminal Charges, Arrests, or Convictions You must submit certified police and court records for any criminal charges, arrests, or convictions you may have"

 

she has none, do we need some proof of that?

 

Yes, she will need the police report from her home country.