Edward and Jaycel

Police Certificates are not accepted by the Embassy in Pakistan as they are unreliable. The embassy does its own background checks on applicants which is why Administrative Processing takes so long for cases there.

P.S. - @William & Judi you can return the favor by filling out your VJ timeline. That helps all members by adding to the stats and helping form more accurate processing time estimates

I don't know how that would work for your step-daughter. The name change for your wife is supported on the form because you will be attaching your marriage certificate which is what allows for a legal name change via the application. My guess is that for your step-daughter, it would have to be a name change later done via a court process. And you are very welcome! Jaycel and I have received so much help from this forum that we are happy to share our experiences with our fellow travelers through this immigration process By the way, if you want to see what we included for the I-485 and I-765 filings, I started a thread for November AOS Filier here and listed the contents from our cover letters:

If you and your wife married withing the 90 days, then she just has to file the I-485 (and I-765 if she wants employment authorization prior to receiving her green card and I-131 if she wants advanced parole - travel authorization). On the I-485 (and the other two, if filed) she will put the new married name she wants to take (on the I-485 this goes in the "Your Current Legal Name" spot and her maiden name will go in the "Other Names You Have Used Since Birth" spot). She can then request a SSN via the I-485 form, Part 1, Questions 14-17. If she files the I-765 there is also a spot on there to request a social security number. If you file both forms, you should request a SSN on both forms as generally the I-765 is adjudicated faster and she will get the SS card faster with her married name. Then when they approve her I-485 the SSA will issue her a new card, still with her married name but this one will have the employment restriction verbiage removed

For Jaycel's address info on the I-129F, her DS-160 and now her AOS package applications, we put her barangay after her street number and name in that box. She did not have a district or anything so we didn't have to worry about that. Just fit it in the best that you can. We had no problems. The biggest thing is street number an name if she has one, city, province, country and postal code

Today we received the USCIS Account Access Notice and now we can see our case info online

Woo Hoo!! Congrats!! 🎉

Sending prayers your way!

I just filled this out for Jaycel's AOS package.... Letter from the employer and paystubs will help establish current income. If your joint sponsor includes tax transcripts, do not include W-2s or 1099s unless they filed jointly with their spouse and are using only their income to qualify. From the "Instructions for Form I-864": "Item Number 7. Current Individual Annual Income. Type or print your current, individual, earned or retirement, annual income that you are using to meet the requirements of this affidavit and indicate the total in the space provided.You may include evidence supporting your claim about your expected income for the current year if you believe that submitting this evidence will help you establish ability to maintain sufficient income. You are not required to submit this evidence, however, unless specifically instructed to do so by a U.S. Government official. For example, you may include a recent letter from your employer, showing your employer’s address and telephone number, and indicating your annual salary. You may also provide pay stubs showing your income for the previous six months. If your claimed income includes alimony, child support, dividend or interest income, or income from any other source, you may also include evidence of that income." Item Numbers 23.a. - 25. Federal Income Tax Return Information. You must provide either an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) transcript or a photocopy from your own records of your Federal individual income tax return for the most recent tax year. If you believe additional returns may help you to establish your ability to maintain sufficient income, you may submit transcripts or photocopies of your Federal individual income tax returns for the three most recent years. You are not required to have the IRS certify the transcript or photocopy unless specifically instructed to do so by a Government official; a plain transcript or photocopy is acceptable. ...... If you provide a photocopy of your Federal individual income tax returns, you must include a copy of each and every Form W-2 and Form 1099 that relates to your returns. Do not include copies of these forms if you provide an IRS transcript of your Federal individual income tax returns rather than a photocopy unless you filed a joint income tax return with your spouse and are qualifying using only your income."

Is there any hurry to get the name changed on your SS card? You can have it done via the AOS process. We put Jaycel’s new married name as her “Legal Name” on the I-485 and I-765, checked yes that she had been issued a SSN, and checked yes that she wants the SSA to issue her a new card on both forms. Once they approve her I-765, the new card should come in her new married name and when the new card comes after they approve her I-485 it will come with the “Valid for employment only with DHS approval” restriction notice removed

Yes it officially registers your marriage overseas with the Philippine Statistics Authority. If your wife wants to change her Philippine passport to her married name it will be required. Also if you ever want a spousal visa to the Philippines it will make that process easier. A "Report of Marriage" with the Philippine consulate is necessary if you are a Filipino citizen who got married abroad, as it officially registers your marriage with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), ensuring your marriage is recognized and recorded in the Philippines, even if the wedding took place overseas; essentially, it serves as a legal declaration that your marriage occurred and allows for proper documentation in your home country. Key points about the Report of Marriage: Legal requirement: Under Philippine law, Filipinos who marry abroad are required to report their marriage to the nearest Philippine consulate to have it officially registered. Proof of marriage: The Report of Marriage acts as a document proving your marital status in the Philippines, even if you have a marriage certificate from the country where you were married. Access to benefits: Registering your marriage through a Report of Marriage can be crucial for accessing certain benefits or services in the Philippines that require proof of marital status.

You would need one if you plan to do a Report of Marriage with the Philippine Consulate. Otherwise, I am not aware of USCIS, NVC or the Embassy requiring an apostille copy of the marriage certificate. Just an official copy should do.

There is a place on the Immigrant Visa Inquiry Form online for attaching documents. Maybe send an inquiry explaining that she forgot to send the 221g form with her passport and CENOMAR and then attach a scan of the completed form to the inquiry? I don't know if that will work but maybe worth a try?

I know it sucks man... Jaycel and I waited 265 days for our NOA2 for the K-1. It ended up being 50 weeks from application date until she arrived here in the US. All I can tell you is that it is worth it and once you guys are reunited, all of the delays getting there just fade into the background. Wish you a speedy approval and interview process!

Believe me I get it... Jaycel and I were worrying the whole time our AOS was in transit to the lockbox and we had a tracking number to follow Then we spent this whole week worrying that our package would just sit in a pile and not get processed until we saw they cashed our checks and we got our eNotification this afternoon. This whole process is full of waiting and wondering and I don't think we will ever get used to it! LOL Hopefully the journey to naturalization goes quickly for all of us

Ok then the UPS store sent it via USPS not UPS because USPS is the only carrier that handles First Class Mail

Did you send it from the UPS Store? They should have given you a receipt for your payment which would have the tracking number on it.

Co-mingling finances is the gold standard for USCIS (from everything I have read) along with proof of co-habitation as spouses. This is what we put in our I-485 that we just sent in: o Photos taken at our Wedding and Celebratory Dinner on October 25th, 2024 – 3 Pages o Copy of our Wedding Invitation o Copy of our Joint Apartment Lease (In my maiden name as we signed it before our marriage) – 24 Pages o Copy of our first Joint Bank Account Statement from XXXXXXX Bank – 6 Pages o Copy of My Husband’s Work Benefits Summary with me Included on his Health Insurance as Spouse and as the sole Beneficiary of his Life and AD&D Insurance Policies (Coverage for the Remainder of 2024) – 2 Pages o Copy of My Husband’s Work Benefits Summary with me Included on his Health Insurance and Life Insurance Plan as Spouse and as the sole Beneficiary of his Life and AD&D Insurance Policies (2025 Enrollment) – 2 Pages o Copy of my husband’s retirement plan beneficiary page listing me as Primary and Sole Beneficiary o Copy of my husband’s Last Will and Testament with me listed as Personal Representative and Sole Beneficiary – 9 Pages o Copy of my husband’s Power of Attorney for Healthcare with me listed as his “Agent” – 4 Pages o Copy of my husband’s Human Resources Portal page with me listed as his Emergency Contact

For divorce decrees/certificates, Embassies usually want a certified copy or the original so that they can feel the raised seal. Make copies of these as well, as the Consular Officer may request copies after examining the original/certified copy. For the I-134, Declaration of Support, scanned copies emailed to the beneficiary and then printed out are generally accepted. Check your embassy's website for any specific requirements.

*** Update *** Jaycel just got the text notification with the case numbers for the I-485 and the I-765! @Mahmoud Kassab @ETM8986 I just noticed you guys aren't following this thread so I tagged you here 😁

I switched jobs right before (Exactly 1 week before) I filed the I-129F for Jaycel and had no issues. We also went through the Embassy in Manila and they didn't even ask for the I-134 at her interview. They have a reputation of not requiring it. That's not to say they won't ask for it when your fiancee goes for her interview so definitely fill it out, sign it and scan it and all the supporting docs to send to her before the interview just in case. You definitely do not file it with the I-129F.

Agree 100% with the other members here that the spousal visa process seems to fit best for you guys based on the info you provided. Might I also add... with the guides and other resources available here on VJ, as well as the wealth of knowledge residing in the brains of the members who are always willing to answer questions... Please avoid any of these "Immigration Services" companies out there that try to tell you that, for a fee, they can do the paperwork and file for you. They are nothing but headaches waiting to happen. Jaycel made friends with another Filipina here that came over on a K-1 visa 3 years ago. They hired a service to "help" them do their AOS and they got the application rejected their first time and got an RFE on their second go-around. Use the resources here for the process and try to do the paperwork yourself. If it proves too overwhelming, then if you're going to spend money anyway, hire an attorney that does nothing but immigration, preferably specializing in family-based immigration. That's my 2 cents 😁 Best of luck to you

Woke up this morning and looked at our bank account and saw that USCIS had cashed both of our checks... the one for $1,440 for the I-485 and the one for $260 for the I-765! 😁 No e-Notification yet. Hopefully that will come today. At least we know it's not sitting in a pile of packages somewhere LOL

Thank you!! We are praying every night for a speedy NOA1 and a fair and kind adjudicating officer 😃

We are hoping to get the e-notification from USCIS today or tomorrow that they accepted our AoS package 🤞