Update Green card

[Rocio0010 5,579]

1 hour ago, Sarge2155 said:

Looks like your ROC window will be opening real soon too!

Yayyy!!! We’re both January filers! Mine opens January 29th. I haven’t started organizing the package yet, but I do have all the evidence that I plan on sending in an envelope. So now I just have to sit and put the package together, and fill out the form. It’s just that I was waiting to fill out the forms in case they change something to it.

[Rocio0010 5,579]

3 hours ago, Alekezam said:

 

A couple of hundred pages.....lol. 

 

There are a ton of variables that can play a role in submissions so what one submits is completely unique to their situation. The minimum requirements as stated in the I-751 instructions are what you need to provide. Anything beyond that is at the discretion of each individual. 

I have read tons of cases that sent only the bare minimum and get rejected. A couple of hundred pages is not inaccurate at all, considering that you’ve had two years to collect evidence. If you’re proactive, you’ll end up with a few hundred pages.

[Alekezam 161]

10 minutes ago, ra0010 said:

I have read tons of cases that sent only the bare minimum and get rejected. A couple of hundred pages is not inaccurate at all, considering that you’ve had two years to collect evidence. If you’re proactive, you’ll end up with a few hundred pages.

I never said it was inaccurate. 

 

Some people may have a couple of hundred and some may not. It all depends on the specific circumstances of each individual and how they present their evidence. It is inaccurate to give everyone the impression that "all" people need to provide hundreds of pages. I did not count the exact number of pages our package was but if I were to guess it was either less than or right at 100 pages. We had no issues, our case was accepted and we received our extension notice shortly after submittal without a hitch. Am I saying that everyone will get by with the amount we sent in? No. 

 

I don't think it's fair to subject people to unnecessary fear with what they consider to be facts when it should actually be advice. Just like you say there are tons of cases that are rejected for the bare minimum the same can be said on the flipside. There are also tons of cases that are approved with the bare minimum. Like I said, there are a lot of variables that play a role into what happens and we can't predict what will happen simply because we can't control some of those variables.....i.e. an officer who has a chip on their shoulder or one who is super cool.

 

All we can do is give advice.....it's everyone's choice to do what they want to with that advice. We shouldn't be telling people that they have to do it a certain way  (outside of what is actually stated in the official instructions)  isn't right. That's all I'm saying. 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

48 minutes ago, Alekezam said:

I never said it was inaccurate. 

 

Some people may have a couple of hundred and some may not. It all depends on the specific circumstances of each individual and how they present their evidence. It is inaccurate to give everyone the impression that "all" people need to provide hundreds of pages. I did not count the exact number of pages our package was but if I were to guess it was either less than or right at 100 pages. We had no issues, our case was accepted and we received our extension notice shortly after submittal without a hitch. Am I saying that everyone will get by with the amount we sent in? No. 

 

I don't think it's fair to subject people to unnecessary fear with what they consider to be facts when it should actually be advice. Just like you say there are tons of cases that are rejected for the bare minimum the same can be said on the flipside. There are also tons of cases that are approved with the bare minimum. Like I said, there are a lot of variables that play a role into what happens and we can't predict what will happen simply because we can't control some of those variables.....i.e. an officer who has a chip on their shoulder or one who is super cool.

 

All we can do is give advice.....it's everyone's choice to do what they want to with that advice. We shouldn't be telling people that they have to do it a certain way  (outside of what is actually stated in the official instructions)  isn't right. That's all I'm saying. 

Not being mean, but just because your case was accepted and you got a receipt notice it doesn’t mean you will not end up with a RFE down the road. My point was that if you plan ahead of time, a couple of hundred pages does not seem an exaggeration, if you consider that they want to see all pages of a bank statement. My bank statements are usually around 6 pages long, if not more. And you need to submit at least two quarterly bank statements. If my math is right, just one year of bank statements will be around 40 pages. Two years and you have 80 pages just on bank statements.

Add to that leases/ mortgages, deeds, insurances, retirement plans, utility bills (all for since the moment the gc was approved) and at least I could easily see my package being around 500 pages. 
I would say that for the initial AOS, a smaller package Is completely normal. But for ROC, not so much if you’ve been proactively collecting evidence.

In fact, we still kept our originals of the copies we showed at our interview. We’re planning on using them again as part of our evidence for ROC.

[Alekezam 161]

13 minutes ago, ra0010 said:

Not being mean, but just because your case was accepted and you got a receipt notice it doesn’t mean you will not end up with a RFE down the road. My point was that if you plan ahead of time, a couple of hundred pages does not seem an exaggeration, if you consider that they want to see all pages of a bank statement. My bank statements are usually around 6 pages long, if not more. And you need to submit at least two quarterly bank statements. If my math is right, just one year of bank statements will be around 40 pages. Two years and you have 80 pages just on bank statements.

Add to that leases/ mortgages, deeds, insurances, retirement plans, utility bills (all for since the moment the gc was approved) and at least I could easily see my package being around 500 pages. 
I would say that for the initial AOS, a smaller package Is completely normal. But for ROC, not so much if you’ve been proactively collecting evidence.

In fact, we still kept our originals of the copies we showed at our interview. We’re planning on using them again as part of our evidence for ROC.

Look, all I was saying is that outside of what is required there is no right or wrong answer. Only advice. 

 

I am not here to argue with you, I tried as best as I could to shed some clarity to my stance but that obviously didn't work. 

 

So to avoid any further conflict I'm just going to agree with you, so to anyone filing their I-751 please be sure to provide no less than hundreds of pages of evidence, otherwise, you run the risk of getting your package rejected. 

 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

52 minutes ago, Alekezam said:

you run the risk of getting your package rejected.

Getting the package rejected wouldn’t be the issue. You’re not going to get the package rejected because the people that receive them are usually not the adjudicating officers. The people that receive them just make sure that the forms are signed and that the payment is there. Period. 
Once your adjudicating officer gets to the package and the evidence, that’s when you’ll know if your Evidence was substantial or not. 
It’s not about showering with evidence either. It’s about being able to tell a narrative of your every day life to an officer that doesn’t know you. So if you present little evidence, you definitely have more chances of getting delays down the road.

 

 

Anyways, back to OP: read through the VJ guide, include as much relevant evidence as possible, and make sure that the evidence covers the span of your marriage up to the moment you submit.

A cover letter is not obligatory, but is highly suggested to make it easier for the IO to follow along. Use under tabs for each document that you are sending. Send only a copy of everything, and keep the original for yourself. And once you send, don’t stop collecting evidence: sometimes, ROC can take a year or two, and the officer might want to see updated evidence. 

[clw654321 159]

On 10/18/2021 at 1:52 PM, CMJuilland said:

As others have said, better more than not enough.  We got our ROC approved this summer (also K1 with AoS and no RoC interview), and we sent quite the pile as well.  Although I don’t think it was literally a couple of 100 pages, the envelope was quite thick:

• deed for our home we had just moved into with both of our names
• leases from two prior places we had lived at with both of our names
• mortgage statements with both of our names (there is nothing that screams comingling of lives louder than joint assets and, even more so, joint debt was what we thought)
• car loan with both of our names
• joint tax returns from two previous years
• benefits (e.g. life insurance) with other spouse as beneficiary
• bank statements of joint accounts (one checking and one savings account, about one statement per quarter)
• insurance (homeowner’s and car) showing both names 
• tickets for a past and upcoming (at the time) trip to Switzerland to see my family

 

Also, I kept a digital copy of everything I sent and started a folder where I collected stuff for my citizenship application the moment we had sent out our RoC application as I knew I was going to apply under the 3 year rule.  

I also scanned everything I sent in the order I put it into the envelope, just in case I would get an RFE.  

 

I hope that helps.  Good luck to both of you, and may your RoC go smoothly! 

Thanks! We basically have the same things. Did you have to have an interview?

[clw654321 159]

Thanks Everyone!

 

Are affidavits really required? I can definitely get them but I have seen so many mixed answers on that.

 

Also, I would assume you only need to send information since your previous interview right?

Edited October 19, 2021 by clw654321

[Rocio0010 5,579]

2 hours ago, clw654321 said:

Thanks Everyone!

 

Are affidavits really required? I can definitely get them but I have seen so many mixed answers on that.

 

Also, I would assume you only need to send information since your previous interview right?

Affidavits are considered weak evidence. They are good to have if your other evidence is not strong enough. Note that the instructions on I-751 say that you MAY submit affidavits -this, they are optional. I’ve seen tons of people approved without an affidavit.

 

And yes, the evidence should cover the whole span of your marriage. So for example for my roc in January I will include some of the evidence that I sent for my AOS, such as tax returns, leases, insurance cards, etc. And I will add that to the newer evidence that we send (mortgage, deed, new insurance cards, etc). Hope it makes sense 

[CMJuilland 485]

5 hours ago, clw654321 said:

Thanks! We basically have the same things. Did you have to have an interview?

No, we had to do AoS, so we had an interview then.  That’s how our RoC interview could be waived.  

[clw654321 159]

On 10/18/2021 at 6:45 PM, ra0010 said:

evidence as possible, and make sure that the evidence covers the span of your marriage up to the moment you submit.

Should we send pictures or not?

I’ve seen some send them. If not required then we aren’t sending those or affidavits but we do have pretty much everything else.

 

My wife’s green card expires 2/14/21 so I believe we send everything off Tuesday which will be the 16th?

[clw654321 159]

On 10/17/2021 at 5:12 PM, Sarge2155 said:

Looks like you'll be in the ROC window on or after November 26, 2021 (not before this date)

 if I am reading your profile correctly. That's 90 days before your wife's green card expires. Better get busy putting things together.

Her green card expires 2/14/21 so that should put us sending everything Tuesday on the 16th right??

[Rocio0010 5,579]

18 minutes ago, clw654321 said:

Should we send pictures or not?

That’s really up to you. I am planning on sending some, but not too many. We simply don’t take too many pictures. Mostly pictures where we are with people. 
Yes, your window opens on the 16th. However, I’ve read cases were (say) they send it on the 14th thinking it will get there on the 16th, but instead it got there a day earlier and package was rejected. So if I were you, I’d have everything ready to send on the 16th, but I wouldn’t actually mail it until the 18th.

[Alekezam 161]

On 10/19/2021 at 4:42 PM, ra0010 said:

Affidavits are considered weak evidence. They are good to have if your other evidence is not strong enough. Note that the instructions on I-751 say that you MAY submit affidavits -this, they are optional. I’ve seen tons of people approved without an affidavit.

 

And yes, the evidence should cover the whole span of your marriage. So for example for my roc in January I will include some of the evidence that I sent for my AOS, such as tax returns, leases, insurance cards, etc. And I will add that to the newer evidence that we send (mortgage, deed, new insurance cards, etc). Hope it makes sense 

 

I'm just curious, where  does it specifically say in the instructions that "affidavits" are optional and that you "may" submit them if your other evidence is not strong enough and that they are weak? As far as I can tell based on what I see in the instructions is that affidavits are one of a number of examples listed. All of the examples (1-5) listed in the instructions are listed fall under the same paragraph that states "documents should include, but are not limited to, the following examples". It doesn't say anything about example 1 being stronger than example 2 or example 5 being weaker than example 4 and so on. 

 

Not disputing that many people have not sent in affidavits and have been approved without them just like the same can be said for those who have included them. That's like saying "I was traveling outside of the US and when I came back no one bothered to check if I was tested for COVID so that means you don't need a test to get back into the US. I met a bunch of other people that had the same experience so yeah, even though the rule states that you do you actually don't!"

 

In my opinion, and I highly stress opinion because a lot of people on here tend to throw around advice like it's law rather than a recommendation, including affidavits is a good thing because whomever is providing an affidavit is on the hook as they are legally bound to testify before an immigration officer if it comes to that. 

 

I've pasted the evidence section within the I-751 Instructions verbatim below. 

 

 

Evidence of the Relationship

Submit copies of documents indicating that the marriage upon which you were granted conditional status was entered
in “good faith” and was not for the purpose of circumventing immigration laws. Submit copies of as many documents
as you can to establish this fact, to demonstrate the circumstances of the relationship from the date of the marriage to
the present date, and to demonstrate any circumstances surrounding the end of the relationship, if it has ended. The
documents should include, but are not limited to, the following examples:

1. Birth certificates of children born during the time of this marriage, if any;
2. Lease or mortgage contracts showing joint occupancy and/or ownership of your communal residence;
3. Financial records showing joint ownership of assets and joint responsibility for liabilities, such as joint savings and
checking accounts with transaction history, complete joint Federal and State tax returns, insurance policies that show
the other spouse as the beneficiary, joint utility bills, or joint installment or other loans. If applicable, submit copies
of military Leave and Earnings Statements showing receipt of Basic Allowance for Quarters (BAQ) with family
members and/or Form DD-1172 for military family member identification cards;
4. Other documents that you consider relevant to establish that your marriage was not entered for the purpose of evading
U.S. immigration laws; and

5. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people who have known both of you since your conditional residence
was granted and have personal knowledge of your marriage and relationship. (Such persons may be required to
testify before an immigration officer as to the information contained in the affidavit.) The original affidavit must be
submitted and also contain the following information regarding the person making the affidavit: his or her full name
and address; date and place of birth; relationship to you or your spouse, if any; and full information and complete
details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge. Affidavits must be supported by other types of
evidence listed above.

[Carpe Vinum 2,327]

On 11/14/2021 at 12:58 PM, clw654321 said:

Should we send pictures or not?

I’ve seen some send them. If not required then we aren’t sending those or affidavits but we do have pretty much everything else.

 

My wife’s green card expires 2/14/21 so I believe we send everything off Tuesday which will be the 16th?

We did not send any pictures...