F-1 filing for AOS and GC - list of our items

[Little_My 464]

Following other people's leads, I thought it might be A) useful for others, and B) useful for us, in case we missed something, to write down our current list of items for our I-130 and I-485 packages that we just put together, and are getting ready to send them out tomorrow.

I-130:

- Cover letter, stating the content of the package, in the order of items

- Check made payable to US Department of Homeland Security for the amount of $420

- Form I-130 filled out and signed by the applicant (my husband, the USC)

- Copy of the USC birth certificate

- Copy of the beneficiary's birth certificate (me) with an English translation (by me) with a signed certification from me, stating my competency in translating the document from Finnish to English (listing my original TOEFL score and noting that I am currently in a Master's program in the U.S.)

- To accompany the beneficiary's birth certificate, a copy of an official, stamped and signed document from the Finnish population registry, in English, stating my place and date of birth, names and DoBs of my parents, my civil status and information on my husband. This is to also show that I have changed my status from single to married also in Finland.

- Form G-325A from petitioner and beneficiary, with one passport size photo of both

- Evidence of bona fide marriage, which includes:

* Copy of marriage certificate

* Proof of joint bank account

* Proof of joint family mobile phone plan

* Proof of joint tenancy

* 5 Affidavits (from both of our fathers and 3 friends)

* Photos

* Copy of my husband's residence permit from when he was living with me in Finland

* copies of E-tickets from trips we have taken together

Form I-485:

- Cover letter stating the content of the package in order of documents

-Check made payable to U.S. Department of Homeland Security for $1070 (filing fee $985 plus biometrics fee $85)

-Form I-485, filled out and signed by applicant (me)

-Copies of my passport, non-immigrant visa (F-1) and most recent I-94, front and back

-Copy of most recent I-20

-Copy of my birth certificate with my translation and the certificate stating my qualification, with a copy of the document from population registry to support the birth certificate

-Copy of marriage certificate

-Two passport size photos of applicant

-Form G-325A filled by applicant (me)

-Form I-693, medical examination, filled out by a civil surgeon with results, in a sealed envelope

-Form I-864, affidavit of support, filled out by my husband, with the following supporting documentation:

* Most recent bank statement of account balance on savings account, showing household savings

* Most recent checking account balance

* Most recent filed federal tax return (2009)

* Paystub from current employer, showing current monthly income

- Form I-765, Employment Authorization, filled out by the applicant (me) with following documents:

* Two passport photos of applicant

* Copy of applicant's passport

* Copy of applicant's non-immigrant visa and I-94, front and back

- Form I-131, application for Advance Parole,filled out by me, with following documents:

* Copy of my passport

* copies of my visa and I-94

* Explanation of why I might need AP

* Two passport size photos of me

Plus the E-notification form and one general cover letter for the whole pile of paper, stating what applications and forms and petitions are in it.

I am pretty sure I got my first gray hairs while putting this together with my husband..

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Looks good!

[Maxximus1074 14]

good luck on the journey !!

...one little question though - and don't worry it doesn't influence your application - you mentioned affidavit from both fathers - is your father a US Citizen? If not, they won't consider it. But again, it doesn't make your application void, plus having 4 other affidavits (if needed at all) is sufficient

Keep us posted

Maxximus

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

They will too consider an affidavit from a non-USC!! There is nowhere that states non-USCs cannot submit affidavits. There are rumors that non-USCs affidavits are "weaker" because the person would have an ulterior motive (ie immigrating themselves), but I think that determination is on an individual basis, not a blanket position.

Example, the best friend of the immigrant, who lives in home country, would possibly be a very reliable source to attest to the validity of a relationship. This person gets no benefit from their friend immigrating. If you want a more extreme example, how about a clergy person from foreign country attesting that immigrant person has discussed the relationship with them? How about a foreign landlord who leased an apartment to the couple while they both lived in foreign country?

I could go on.

[Haarp425 26]

Dont' forget your W-2 very important.

[Little_My 464]

I can definitely add my W-2 - but why is it needed? My husband's income is more than enough to show adequate finances to support both of us, and I am here primarily as a student. As I said, it's no problem to include my W-2 from 2009 and 2010, but I didn't notice it being asked in any of the instructions.

About the affidavits, I've been asking around about this and my understanding as well is that affidavits from non-USCs are also valid and considered, and for example in our case prove on going relationship from 2007, as my father can testify to meeting my husband in July 2007 when he first came to Finland and stayed for 3 months. First 2 years of our relationship were in Finland, because I was still in school, and I feel it is important to show some proof of that time period as well. In addition, in our case it is obvious that no one else from my family is planning to immigrate here - my parents own two businesses in my home town, where we have lived for 26 years. And, I'm also from Finland, which in all honesty makes many things a whole lot easier.

And, as you've all said - it most definitely won't hurt, and I have the affidavit, so no harm in including it.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Ah, yes your husband's W-2s are definitely needed. (Yours are not needed since you aren't using your income to qualify). You will need a complete tax return for 2009 for your husband, and to be complete, it needs W-2s, any 1099s you may have, and any schedules in addition to the 1040. That is what the prior post is referring to.

You understand the other parts. I think an affidavit from your father is great. We submitted an affidavit from my husband's mother. She has absolutely no desire to live here. Good luck.

[Little_My 464]

Ah OK - I thought the post about W2s was in regards to MY W2s. My husband's W2s and 1099s are all there. I am lucky - he has an undergrad degree in accounting So not only does he handle all this financial affidavit stuff very well, he also files my taxes for me

[mizzao 1]

I used this list to help build my application as well. I-130, I-485, I-765, I-131, the whole shebang. I noticed you guys seem to include a lot of extra copies that are not required to be attached to certain forms but I tried to follow the instructions and not just throw documents into the envelope.

Now I will update my signature just like everyone else

[Mike X Man 37]

For I-864, include letter from your husband's employer showing current employment. Everything else looks solid.

[Little_My 464]

I'm glad this list was helpful to someone. I don't believe we included any "extra" copies of anything - remember that though filed jointly, the I-130 and I-485 are still separate applications and need to be able to "stand alone", so to speak - so even though both instructions ask for copies of the same documents, you do have to attach a copy for each form, not just one for the whole package (like passport copies, for example).

Regarding my personal situation, my husband owns a company - so his current employment was clear and obvious from the documents we provided, and a letter from his employer would have essentially been a letter from himself.. But yes, in general, it's good to show proof of ongoing employment, such as a contract or a letter.

[Hduff 0]

Hi there, this is exactly what I was looking for.

Thank you so much, this will be a great help. Did you type out all the affidavits yourself and just have all 5 separate parties sign them? Did they all say the same thing??

[Little_My 464]

I wrote the affidavit texts for everyone, and mailed the letters for them. The people went to get them notarized themselves and then gave them back to me - not sure if the notarization is really necessary, but I guess it didn't hurt. They didn't all say the exact thing, because the content was dependent on the person who the letter was from.. I think it's better to make them personalized for each person signing an affidavit than just write one generic one and have multiple people sign that. Our affidavits just included basic information about how the person in question knew us and of our relationship - so his dad's affidavit detailed when he first heard of me and met me, mentioned different occasions we had spend with him as a couple (Christmases, other holidays, etc.), and so forth. A few friends who were present at our city hall wedding wrote affidavits, stating how and when they had gotten to know us as a couple, and attesting that they were present at the wedding. We kept them formal and yet made sure they were also personal, because I felt that just having a generic one seemed somehow detached.

[Hduff 0]

Also, did you put anything in the space that asks for an A-number??

[Hduff 0]

Thats awesome info on the affidavits btw, thank you so much