Club Colombia AOS!

[HAL 9000 96]

Out of a couple of messages in the Colombia Club K1/K3 thread, it came to a general suggestion that we spill over some of that bandwidth this way to help clarify issues particularly special to the AOS involving Colombian fiancee's, spouses, and family member beneficiaries. Colombia Club has a good track record of visa approvals and this thread is intended to help those visa approvals become bona fide US Permanent Residents and beyond.

Of personal interest will be, once the fee increase for July 30 kicks into effect, how the Advance Parole and EAD process is handled by this "so called" streamlined and "speedier" process.

RFEs could also be discussed in order to avoid any delays in Permanent Residence achievement.

Hope to continue interacting with those very helpful folks I met in the Colombia Club thread.

[lucho562 0]

Good idea bro.

First question.

Do I have to submit evidence with the I485? OR Is the evidence taken to the interview?

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Lucho, we meet again.

If you have not already, read the guide on this web site for the I-485. Also read the instructions with the I-485. The long and the short of it is that you must submit the necessary evidence, just like you did with the I-130 and the I-129F.

Good idea bro.

First question.

Do I have to submit evidence with the I485? OR Is the evidence taken to the interview?

[lucho562 0]

Lucho, we meet again.

If you have not already, read the guide on this web site for the I-485. Also read the instructions with the I-485. The long and the short of it is that you must submit the necessary evidence, just like you did with the I-130 and the I-129F.

Good idea bro.

First question.

Do I have to submit evidence with the I485? OR Is the evidence taken to the interview?

Hey bro,

As you know my interview is first week of July. I believe USCIS has price increases effective July 31st or August 1st. I obviously wont have enought evidence. Only the marriage certificate and maybe add her on to my bank account. I would only have 3 weeks to submit I485 before the price hike. I am having thoughts of still submitting it with hardly any evidence, and beat the the deadline. However I know I will get an RFE, better an RFE I think than $$$. Not wise thinking?

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Lucho:

No, no, no....you do not submit any "proof of relationship" with the application...only things like marriage certificate, her birth certificate, her passport (copy), her K-3 visa, her I-94.

So, as soon as she gets here, you can file the AOS (once you get married, I assume). Check out my timeline. I filed for her in February and our interview is only scheduled for June 28. You will have plenty of time to gather additional evidence, although I am not certain that too much is really necessary.

Of course, it depends on whether you will marry her before the change in fees.

Mike

Hey bro,

As you know my interview is first week of July. I believe USCIS has price increases effective July 31st or August 1st. I obviously wont have enought evidence. Only the marriage certificate and maybe add her on to my bank account. I would only have 3 weeks to submit I485 before the price hike. I am having thoughts of still submitting it with hardly any evidence, and beat the the deadline. However I know I will get an RFE, better an RFE I think than $$$. Not wise thinking?

[HAL 9000 96]

An AOS RFE is not the end of the world, so I hear.

Nevertheless, I am beginning to accept the increase in the AOS fees, justifying the fact that we would have spent almost as much as the increase with the additional Advance Parole and EAD document applications anyway.

Lucho, focus on the interview at this point but its obvious you want to be ready for AOS so it doesn't drag for ever. Just go to the BCIS website and download the forms much like you've done for the Visa interview and then practice filling them in so it takes one day or less to do the entire AOS paperwork. In the Colombia Club forum Mike posted an awesome letter that I will definitely use as a template to see if we can avoid the whole medical visit fiasco and spend even more mula.

One ancillary question I have for those of you already in AOS... are these expenses in any way deductible on your tax forms?

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Maviwaro:

I am not a tax CPA, so use caution. However, I do not know of any way to deduct these expenses legitimatly. Perhaps you already know this, but one can file a joint return with a spouse, even if that spouse were still living in Colombia. I filed jointly with my wife last year, even though she did not arrive here until January, 2007. However, I could not claim my step-daughter as a dependent, because she was not physically in the U.S.

Mike

One ancillary question I have for those of you already in AOS... are these expenses in any way deductible on your tax forms?

Edited June 15, 2007 by Mike and Adriana

[HAL 9000 96]

Thanks Mike,

Up til this point, I haven't heard of any way to deduct those expenses legitimately on a Schedule A... except, of course, medical expenses and the like. Since I have quite a few large purchases here in the states this year I am experimenting to see if the sum of any potential itemizations will be greater than the married filing jointly standard deduction (it could hypothetically happen!). One potential clue: the EAD application in itself could be a clue since its required documentation to secure employment in my fiancee's case, and most job-hunting expenses (like this one?) could be deducted. Of course, if the EAD fee will be waived as part of the new fee structure pending July 30, then it could also be just a waste of time. I'll see with a tax pro and try to find out what they say sometime soon.

As for lucho's evidenciary questions: have them organized in a binder for any potential RFEs later on down the road in the process. Make sure Spanish language documents requested in the AOS instructions are also dutifully translated into English and it was readily suggested that those translations can be done and certified for a lower cost in Colombia than in the States.

I just ran out of time but we can start linking AOS instructions from the AOS guides here as well as to the official US Govt AOS forms.

[lucho562 0]

Thanks Mike and Maviwaro.

I am focusing on the interview right now. However, I am trying to get a feel for what needs to be done for AOS/EAD.

thanks again!

[HAL 9000 96]

I'm making my list of the AOS procedure. Its depressing to watch July 30 come around and my girl arrive on August 6!! Grrr!

No stress, no stress, no stress! I already have many of the documents we need anyway! Duh!

[married2006 0]

Lucho:

No, no, no....you do not submit any "proof of relationship" with the application...only things like marriage certificate, her birth certificate, her passport (copy), her K-3 visa, her I-94.

So, as soon as she gets here, you can file the AOS (once you get married, I assume). Check out my timeline. I filed for her in February and our interview is only scheduled for June 28. You will have plenty of time to gather additional evidence, although I am not certain that too much is really necessary.

Of course, it depends on whether you will marry her before the change in fees.

Mike

Hey bro,

As you know my interview is first week of July. I believe USCIS has price increases effective July 31st or August 1st. I obviously wont have enought evidence. Only the marriage certificate and maybe add her on to my bank account. I would only have 3 weeks to submit I485 before the price hike. I am having thoughts of still submitting it with hardly any evidence, and beat the the deadline. However I know I will get an RFE, better an RFE I think than $$$. Not wise thinking?

Hey Mike. Seems all is going well with you. I have seen on some timelines that there have been approvals of AOS without an interview. Im just wondering if sending additional evidence, might be helpful to those ends. NO one knows how USCIS comes to those determinations. May be just a grab-bag thing,such as,(oh you are a lucky applicant today).Just trying to get a feel of opinions. I just wonder if a little more than they ask for could be detrimental. Maybe extra evidence would just irritate them and cause problems. I know its an individual decision,but then who knows. I think i may try it though,unless i get a lot of differing opinions,or an answer with experience in doing this. Thanks everyone. Things are going well for us to this point also. Jerry and Blanca

[Mike and Adriana 0]

My response to Lucho was based on time.....and the idea of trying to get his AOS in before rates go WAY up. I did not want Lucho to be sitting around for a couple of months gathering additional proof of relationship, only to watch the fee go up. As you said, we have no way of knowing if it would help. But the I-797 you get with your appointment date definitely specifies that proof of relationship is necessary at the interview. So, Lucho can submit the AOS, knowing that it will be 5-6 months until your interview, and collect additional proof of relationship while he and his future wife are waiting.

That said, we DID submit some proof of relationship with our I-130 and our I-129F, even though it was not asked for. The CO reviewed the information we provided during our interview...and he never asked for anything more and never asked my wife a single question. We were approved in less than 1 minute. So, apparently, submitting extra stuff does not necessarily irritate them....at least not the embassy folks.

Mike

Hey Mike. Seems all is going well with you. I have seen on some timelines that there have been approvals of AOS without an interview. Im just wondering if sending additional evidence, might be helpful to those ends. NO one knows how USCIS comes to those determinations. May be just a grab-bag thing,such as,(oh you are a lucky applicant today).Just trying to get a feel of opinions. I just wonder if a little more than they ask for could be detrimental. Maybe extra evidence would just irritate them and cause problems. I know its an individual decision,but then who knows. I think i may try it though,unless i get a lot of differing opinions,or an answer with experience in doing this. Thanks everyone. Things are going well for us to this point also. Jerry and Blanca

[TonyS 0]

Hola All

So my question is, should the G-325A form reflect my wife's name change? Thanks.

Tony

[HAL 9000 96]

Good question TonyS...

Technically there is no legal requirement, honestly... to change the last name... however the little machista bug in my brain is kind of happy my soon to be wife wants to hyphenate her name. So that will be also reflected on the paperwork that asks for maiden vs married names.

[TonyS 0]

I agree...I will makes the changes in the paperwork.

Good question TonyS...

Technically there is no legal requirement, honestly... to change the last name... however the little machista bug in my brain is kind of happy my soon to be wife wants to hyphenate her name. So that will be also reflected on the paperwork that asks for maiden vs married names.