Petition and Adjustment from B2

[Boiler 45,442]

Tax obligation and income requirements are separate issues

 

Lets say somebody graduated from MIT and is now on $200k but previously was earning nothing as they were a student - awesome.They still need to have showed they filed taxes or did not have to, usually easier just to have filed.

[Family 3,988]

39 minutes ago, OldUser said:

misunderstood

As it stands , only 1 year of showing Tax Return is required, other 2 are optional , no matter what the internet says. Additionally, yes the most current Tax Return can be $5k or $200k..it will have not qualify unless the Paycheck ( current income) makes the cut. 
 

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Family

[chancecody 125]

On 11/4/2022 at 10:33 PM, fjlmt said:

Hello,

 

I am a USC my wife is not. All our children are USC. We have been married for 15 years.

 

I was offered a job in the USA with a start date in March 2022. I then moved back to the USA this year I am working and have a residence we pay for.

 

My wife currently uses her tourist visa to go in and out of the country.

 

She is currently here and since the situation has changed we have decided to start the petition process here and adjust her status. Based on what i was reading i would need to file a i-130 and i-485 at the same time.

 

1. Can I file this a few weeks after she arrived in the USA?

 

2. While we are waiting for her green card can she leave the USA and come back?

 

3.  What other forms do I need to fill out and send along with the I-485 and I-130

 

4. She has a 6 month visa what will happen if we don't hear back from immigration before it expires

 

5. Do we send all the forms at the same time?

 

6. We are currently in California Los Angeles where do we send the forms?

 

7. Can we file everything online or just better to mail it all in?

 

Any other questions I forgot to ask or anything I should know?

 

Thanks.

 

1. Yes and do not let her leave the US until the AP is approved. My AP took 4 months. Ignore the other user above who said something about immigrant intent. She can file now.

2. She can only leave after AP approval (check USCIS processing times....mine took 4 months)

3. Concurrently file I-485, 130, 131 & 765

4. Once you adjust status, B2 is irrelevant

5. Yes

6. You can go to USCIS. Google will be your best friend in all of these. There are others who will give their opinion and often incorrect ones. Validate and do not rely solely on VJ or reddit. Go straight to the source. Read the USCIS Policy Manual.

7. See #6. Go to USCIS as your main source.

 

My biggest advice to you is be self-sufficient and google information online instead of asking here. It is quicker. For example, you can go directly to California DMV online and it will tell you all the requirements.

 

Also, go and read USCIS Policy Manual (again you can find this by googling) and read it end to end.

 

Source: From a person who successfully adjusted from B2 who went through all the steps above. Interview was waived.

Edited December 16, 2022 by chancecody
spelling

[chancecody 125]

23 minutes ago, chancecody said:

 

1. Yes and do not let her leave the US until the AP is approved. My AP took 4 months. Ignore the other user above who said something about immigrant intent. She can file now.

2. She can only leave after AP approval (check USCIS processing times....mine took 4 months)

3. Concurrently file I-485, 130, 131 & 765

4. Once you adjust status, B2 is irrelevant

5. Yes

6. You can go to USCIS. Google will be your best friend in all of these. There are others who will give their opinion and often incorrect ones. Validate and do not rely solely on VJ or reddit. Go straight to the source. Read the USCIS Policy Manual.

7. See #6. Go to USCIS as your main source.

 

My biggest advice to you is be self-sufficient and google information online instead of asking here. It is quicker. For example, you can go directly to California DMV online and it will tell you all the requirements.

 

Also, go and read USCIS Policy Manual (again you can find this by googling) and read it end to end.

 

Source: From a person who successfully adjusted from B2 who went through all the steps above. Interview was waived.

 

I also would like to let you know that once your wife has AP and she tries to re-enter the US after brief travel, tell her everything will be OK and always remain calm. Every case is different so she may not experience what I experienced:

 

When I tried to re-enter the US with an AP last Summer, the CBP agent accused me of cutting the line by adjusting from B2 inside the US (AOS) instead of waiting back home in Canada (CP). I remained calm throughout and answered his many questions. He was just doing his job to see if there were irregularities. I knew that I had nothing to hide and everything was done by the book. He tried to see if "he can catch" something. Poor guy- there was nothing to catch LOL. He was disappointed that I was very calm and did not bite and sent me to Secondary.

 

I was then sent to Secondary. The agent was very pleasant and just processed my return without any questions.

 

[fjlmt 1]

I filed in 2020 and 2021 but did not file this year. My ITR was usually low because I was earning abroad. But for this year I have been working in the USA.

 

Can i just attach the 2 i filed and then my current paystubs.

[Family 3,988]

32 minutes ago, fjlmt said:

Can i just attach the 2 i filed and then my current paystubs

Yes ..but you need a statement/ letter explaining why you were exempt from filing most recent year ..

 

[fjlmt 1]

The only reason i can think off was i was not in the USA at that time and had no earnings for the whole year of 2021 in the USA.

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by fjlmt

[fjlmt 1]

Do we also need to send the I-693?

 

What also happens if we have some documents missing or some answers are wrong on the form? Do they reject the whole petition and we have to pay everything again or do we just add to the existing petition?

Edited December 28, 2022 by fjlmt

[fjlmt 1]

Our mailing address will not change but our physical address may change after i send the forms. Will that be a problem?

[OldUser 6,604]

14 hours ago, fjlmt said:

Our mailing address will not change but our physical address may change after i send the forms. Will that be a problem?

How soon are you changing your physical address? If it's very soon, and your status permits (enough time on B2), submit forms after moving with new address.

[fjlmt 1]

On 12/30/2022 at 11:53 AM, OldUser said:

How soon are you changing your physical address? If it's very soon, and your status permits (enough time on B2), submit forms after moving with new address.

I doubt we can wait that long. It  will happen within the year and i plan to file this January

[fjlmt 1]

Can we also just attach copies of our documents like marriage certificate and such or do they all need to be original copies?

[chancecody 125]

On 11/4/2022 at 10:45 PM, OldUser said:

 

7. You cannot file this online. Mail only. You can file I-130 online, but it will likely cause delays / confusion. Not worth it.

 

Good luck!

Curious why would filing I-130 online cause delays or confusion. USCIS specifically allows online I-130 online filing and once you get the Receipt, you attach that receipt to the front of your paper I-485/I-765/I-131 filing. This is considered concurrent filing. We filed I-130 online then got receipt within 2 days so in essence you get your foot in the door right away for I-130. Then we attached the I-130 Receipt to the AOS packet and it was accepted. We did not get any RFE....just went from "waiting" to approval so I am not sure where is the "confusion" would be around filing I-130 online.

[Family 3,988]

2 hours ago, chancecody said:

Curious why would filing I-130 online cause delays or confusion. USCIS specifically allows online I-130 online filing and once you get the Receipt, you attach that receipt to the front of your paper I-485/I-765/I-131 filing. This is considered concurrent filing. We filed I-130 online then got receipt within 2 days so in essence you get your foot in the door right away for I-130. Then we attached the I-130 Receipt to the AOS packet and it was accepted. We did not get any RFE....just went from "waiting" to approval so I am not sure where is the "confusion" would be around filing I-130 online.

Not only is online filing allowed, it is encouraged and preferred as USCIS is targeting to go go digital for most apps. New proposed fees make mention paper filing will carry an added cost.
There will always be some resistance to change but they have demonstrated  it can be accomplished when they abruptly switched NVC process to strictly online. 

[OldUser 6,604]

I know this can happen when filing on paper too, but stories like that make me not fully trust the online filing process:

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/USCIS/comments/104fxyu/comment/j37ov9d/

 

I am an IT professional and still prefer paper over that buggy online system. Personal choice though. In addition, my lawyer and several other lawyers suggested doing it on paper (OK, maybe they had conflict of interest).

 

Out of curiosity, @Family can the filer easily download the copy of submitted form? One thing I hated about online filing of DS-160 years back was that I had to take browser page screenshots to have a copy of all entered info for my records.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by OldUser