notacrime

I'm gathering together everything I need to file my I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, and I have a few questions.

. My wife (USC) is pregnant, due at the end of January, after my conditional GC expires. So obviously we can't include a birth certificate, but should we include other 'proof' that there is a child that will be born to the marriage? One of the affidavits that a friend of ours wrote mentions the pregnancy, so hopefully that will help. Should I include a picture of us and the bump?

. We married in 2005, but had been living in our apartment since 2003. So we have a least, but it's from back in 2003. Should I include that? We have a couple of leases from the past year in Scotland which I will also include.

. We paid for an accountant to prepare an estimated tax return for 2008, because we were concerned about US tax liability when working outside of the US (we live in Scotland just now.) Should this be included? I will be including returns from 2005, 2006 and 2007.

. I have had two friends provide affidavits. In the I-751 filing instructions it states that "Affidavits must be supported by other types of evidence listed above." Does this mean we have to provide evidence of our relationship with those who provided the affidavits? If so, what would that consist of?

. Should I include a cover letter? It might help to explain some of the above.

Gregor

AlanR

I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
The key word in the above is actually 'residence'.
On first reading of your posting it seems you're resident in Scotland and not in the US - how do you propose to deal with that issue? Is this only temporary (e.g. for the Holiday season). Will you be back in the US for the birth of the baby? What if you're called for interview? Have you a US address to which all the documentation will go or is going? Maybe I've misread your posting and you're returning to the US shortly, but if you're working outside of the US and submitting an accountant's statement for tax-year 2008 (due April 15th 2009) then it may raise red flags for a USCIS official.

There are a number of views on affidavits on the forum - seems the consensus is that they may be irrelevant. However, I do believe that they need to be signed by a USC - or at least their SSN needs to be stated (along with DOB - at least that was on our 2 affidvaits when we did I-751). Someone will correct me if I'm wrong on that one.

notacrime

Sorry, I should have explained this. I'm submitting the I-751 based on advice from people on this forum, see my previous post: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=570225

I was also under the impression that I'd have to be in the US in order to file this, but apparently that's not the case, and if you look at the form there's a space for country in the address section. I expect that I will have to fly back to the US for my biometrics appointment, which is fine, as long as I have an extension letter for my GC.

The affidavits are signed by the USCs, they mailed them to me last week. Both are close friends of ours that we knew before our marriage and have spent a lot of time with since.

Rete

Are you listing an address in the US for the mail from the USCIS to be sent to? I don't know if they will mail your letter and bio appointment to an address outside of the country.

notacrime

Yes, my brother lives in New Jersey, and I am using his address.

Noorah101

Be aware that your extention letter may come to you AFTER your biometrics appointment. Make sure you have a way to get into the USA for your biometrics appointment if you do not yet have the extension letter in hand.

Rene

notacrime

Thanks Rene - good point on having a way to get in to the US for my biometrics appointment. Based on the experience of hobbes79 it sounds like I can ask to reschedule the biometrics appointment. (See here: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=570225&page=3) So if the extension letter hasn't arrived a few weeks before the appointment then I'll do that.

Out of curiosity, would entering on VWP for the biometrics appointment be OK or not? (I would assume it's not OK.)

I've got all the documentation together now, preparing to send next week. Anyone have advice on which service I should use to send it? Should I use FedEx, or just plain old Airmail from the post office?

Noorah101

I would not do that, as entering on the VWP could show you had intent to abandon your PR status (by entering only as a visitor, not as a PR).

Whatever method you use, make sure it's a trackable one!

Rene

notacrime

That makes sense, thanks.

Will do. I could have my brother and sister in law take it back with them to NJ after they visit at Christmas, and mail it from there. But maybe that's just the crazy in me talking.

Noorah101

Even if you do that, make sure THEY mail it with a trackable method.

Rene

hobbes79

You certainly can, but just be aware you can't tell them WHEN you want it. All you can basically ask for is another date, not necessarily the ideal one for you.

Just giving you a heads up... remain flexible

notacrime

Yeah, that's what I was expecting. It's just a way to buy some time, in case I need it.