what documents to keep after getting Visa?

[D&T01 1]

My wife just received her Visa and we will be moving to America shortly.  We have a big stack of documents and are trying to figure out what we need to keep.

 

I know marriage and birth certificates are always needed, but what about other stuff like the I-130, or I-864?

 

here is what I am assuming

 

Keep

• marriage certificates
• birth certificates
• medical exam records

 

shred (destroy)

• I-130
• I-864

 

Not sure

• police certificates
• letters mailed by USCIS. (I have not received any physical letters from NVC)

[OldUser 6,650]

22 minutes ago, D&T01 said:

shred (destroy)

• I-130
• I-864

Hi I'd highly advice keeping copies of these indefinitely. You can scan them and keep as files. I hope few megabytes of storage is not an issue in this day and age? You never know when you'll need them again.

 

 

22 minutes ago, D&T01 said:

Not sure

• police certificates
• letters mailed by USCIS. (I have not received any physical letters from NVC)

Likewise. Keep copies, at least digital.

 

Remember, you're never fully "done" with USCIS. Filing another petition in the future or USCIS revisiting your immigration may require information at any point.

 

 

For I-864, I hope the US citizen realizes they're the sponsor until immigrant becomes a citizen or earns 40 quarters of Social Security contributions?

Edited November 24, 2023 by OldUser

[D&T01 1]

1 hour ago, OldUser said:

Hi I'd highly advice keeping copies of these indefinitely. You can scan them and keep as files. I hope few megabytes of storage is not an issue in this day and age? You never know when you'll need them again.

 

 

Likewise. Keep copies, at least digital.

 

Remember, you're never fully "done" with USCIS. Filing another petition in the future or USCIS revisiting your immigration may require information at any point.

 

 

For I-864, I hope the US citizen realizes they're the sponsor until immigrant becomes a citizen or earns 40 quarters of Social Security contributions?

 

I already have digital copies of everything, with backups.  Even digital storage has its downsides, and the less I need to store the better. 

 

trying to figure out what physical documents I need to keep besides the usual birth and marriage certificates with translations.   

 

For I-864,  both the Joint sponsor and I know, just wondering if i need to keep the original I-864 since my fiances will change over the next couple of years.   

[pushbrk 12,882]

I can't think of a reason not to keep it all.

[OldUser 6,650]

2 hours ago, D&T01 said:

 

I already have digital copies of everything, with backups.  Even digital storage has its downsides, and the less I need to store the better. 

The thing is, in case if something happens and you need to reprove everything to USCIS, it's gonna be hard without copies of what you already filed. Great that you already have digital copies. I personally keep originals too just in case, but you may not need those if you have scans.

Personally, important paperwork like this is the last thing I would be shredding. I'd get rid of many other things before it comes to these papers.

Edited November 24, 2023 by OldUser

[D&T01 1]

7 hours ago, pushbrk said:

I can't think of a reason not to keep it all.

the main reason is for security reasons.  a lot of the paperwork has personal information that can cause a lot of problems. 

the stack of paperwork already takes up a good portion of my carry on, and I cant put it in my check bags.

 

the less I have to keep track of and properly store the better. 

 

5 hours ago, OldUser said:

The thing is, in case if something happens and you need to reprove everything to USCIS, it's gonna be hard without copies of what you already filed. Great that you already have digital copies. I personally keep originals too just in case, but you may not need those if you have scans.

Personally, important paperwork like this is the last thing I would be shredding. I'd get rid of many other things before it comes to these papers.

why would I need to re-prove something to USCIS?  Im genuinely curious.

 

What things can I get rid of now that my wife has her visa? 

would there be any issue if I just print and sign the paperwork again? 

 

I want to keep the amount of paperwork I have to keep track of to a minimum, especially during our move back to the US.  If any of it is lost or stolen then it can cause a lot of problems. 

 

Im not sure what documents are still needed so I thought I would ask and find out here.

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

5 hours ago, D&T01 said:

why would I need to re-prove something to USCIS?  Im genuinely curious.

Why?  Because USCIS can (and does) look back at EVERYTHING at every stage thru obtaining citizenship.  

Solution to your problem:  Digitize your paperwork (not on your keep list) and store electronically.  

[OldUser 6,650]

9 hours ago, D&T01 said:

why would I need to re-prove something to USCIS?  Im genuinely curious.

USCIS can revisit immigration history for anybody at any stage of their immigration. If USCIS thinks visa was granted in mistake, they can put the immigrant in removal. At that stage it may be useful to back up any claims you have with documentation. Have you heard about denaturalization? It's rare and it also occurs.

 

But the most common use case when you need to reprove stuff is when you ask for a new immigration benefit.

 

Imagine your wife wants to become a US citizen. She may be asked about her entire immigration history.

 

Imagine your wife becomes a citizen and wants to sponsor her parents? She may need to show how she became a citizen, from start to finish.

 

Or imagine you marry to somebody else from overseas in 20 years. There will be questions about you sponsoring ex wife.

Edited November 24, 2023 by OldUser

[pushbrk 12,882]

10 hours ago, D&T01 said:

the main reason is for security reasons.  a lot of the paperwork has personal information that can cause a lot of problems. 

the stack of paperwork already takes up a good portion of my carry on, and I cant put it in my check bags.

 

the less I have to keep track of and properly store the better. 

 

why would I need to re-prove something to USCIS?  Im genuinely curious.

 

What things can I get rid of now that my wife has her visa? 

would there be any issue if I just print and sign the paperwork again? 

 

I want to keep the amount of paperwork I have to keep track of to a minimum, especially during our move back to the US.  If any of it is lost or stolen then it can cause a lot of problems. 

 

Im not sure what documents are still needed so I thought I would ask and find out here.

You have a point.  Sounds like you did overkill on evidence.  Definitely keep originals of government issued "documents" like birth and marriage certificates.  Anything else you stored digitally and backed up, can be reproduced, if needed.

[D&T01 1]

2 hours ago, OldUser said:

USCIS can revisit immigration history for anybody at any stage of their immigration. If USCIS thinks visa was granted in mistake, they can put the immigrant in removal. At that stage it may be useful to back up any claims you have with documentation. Have you heard about denaturalization? It's rare and it also occurs.

 

But the most common use case when you need to reprove stuff is when you ask for a new immigration benefit.

 

Imagine your wife wants to become a US citizen. She may be asked about her entire immigration history.

 

Imagine your wife becomes a citizen and wants to sponsor her parents? She may need to show how she became a citizen, from start to finish.

 

Or imagine you marry to somebody else from overseas in 20 years. There will be questions about you sponsoring ex wife.

 

Thank you,  I did not know about denaturalization.

 

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

You have a point.  Sounds like you did overkill on evidence.  Definitely keep originals of government issued "documents" like birth and marriage certificates.  Anything else you stored digitally and backed up, can be reproduced, if needed.

 

I probably did do overkill with evidence. right now we are planning on keeping all government issued documents, and medical records along with the police certificates. we will also get a 2nd copy of birth and marriage certificates.  I have everything that has been submitted to immigration on a secure USB with several backups. 

[OldUser 6,650]

10 minutes ago, D&T01 said:

I have everything that has been submitted to immigration on a secure USB with several backups. 

Awesome, I think you're solid