jmood

Sorry for the unclear title.
So for those of you who don't know my story - in short I am in the US on an (app. 60 day expired) VW, and about the submit the I-130, 485, 864, 765 package. i've already received counsel from SEVERAL attorneys plus very useful advice from this forum.

After having completed my entire paperwork for submission, I decided today to go see one of the lawyers again (someone that was recommended to me by someone who used him successfuly) to have him check over all of the details of the paperwork. He said SEVERAL things that came as a surprise, doesn't make 100% sense, and also he hadn't brought these up in our initial consult although I provided ALL of the details at that time as well. I would actually LOVE to share the whole thing with you, as the forum has great collective wisdom, most of it requires lenghty background and context. So I'll try to keep it to the ones I can write about shorter/faster.

1)A racial & religious issue:
This is the one that frustrated the hell out of me. One of us is black and the other is white, and we come from different religious backgrounds. Lawyer said that this would open up our case to intense scrutiny and that immig. would literally be looking for reasons to deny us. And that since they couldn't openly question us on race and religion, that being politically incorrect, they would try to dig holes in things that they might otherwise have left alone. We're both professionals and the same age. We've both had interracial relationships before. But of course, as the lawyer said as well, you can't talk about the past and you can't prove something that hasn't been brought up. Meaning, our past inclinations towards who we have relations with is completely irrelevant in this instance and will have no bearing on the attitude of the immig. officer. Does anyone have any experience with this kind of issue?


2)The "residence" question.
I had gotten advice on this topic from the forum before. Here's the background:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=606835

The lawyer brought up 2 things that I'm still debating in my head:

a)That I should put my residence address as the residence I now have (the lease I have held for the last 1.5 years) starting from the date I last entered the US - December 08. Collective wisdom on the forum had been that my residence was the UK untill I decided to get married here. I personally think that makes sense as well because when I entered the US back in December 08, I thought I was going to return home to the UK.
The lawyer's logic is that the "clerks" reviewing the package aren't there to think, but to check off boxes. When I enter the US, I must be living somewhere, so I should put that address in the form. Thoughts?

b)Date that my husband and I moved in together:
We got married end February and even before and after that we practically spent most of our time together staying at either his or my apartment. But due to lease obligations and roommate situations he "formally" moved in April 1. The lawyer thinks putting these dates (married Feb, started living together April) will just be a red flag and will open up questioning - logic being "what kind of a relationship is it that they don't want to live together right away". I understand this, but in my mind, honesty is best and easiest. If we got pushed on that question, it might make it even worse not to have given the "formal" version... I'm not sure. Thoughts?

3)I-864, letter from employer
Lawyer insists that we should have a letter from my husband's employer as an attachment even though the instructions to the forms doesn't necessarily require it. The reason this is an issue for us is that my husband was laid off from his previous job in March and then started a new job in April and in the new job technically he's a contractor and commission based so we're not even sure what kind of letter we could get. He has a solid W-2 for 08 and we have his solid last 3 years tax returns. So if not really really needed, we'd rather not get involved with letter from current employer stuff at the moment. By the time of the interview we would have more solid income evidence etc from the current job becuase as I said it's solely commission based. The lawyer didn't seem to understand this - or he was fixated on the absolute need to have a letter from them now.



Thanks so much. All for now.

Noorah101

I've never seen race be an issue. The only time I've seen religion be an issue is with immigrants from India, where they marry outside their religion. Evidently that is so uncommon in their culture, that it raises *some* suspicion that the officer might investigate further. But that in and of itself cannot be a basis for denial.

Just be honest on all the forms. If it asks for your current address, use your US address, since that IS where you currently live. If it asks for previous addresses, list them honestly, with the dates to the best of your recollection. I don't recall offhand where it specifically asks for "residence", rather than "address".

Can you list the actual Form and Question you are referring to, so we can see exactly how it's worded? I never filled out an I-130, but does it ask for this exact information? Also, it's not uncommon for a couple to get married and not start living together right away. One might work or go to school in a different city or state, for example.

Yes. As part of the I-864, your USC husband must show proof of *current* income, along with past tax returns. So if he's employed by someone as a contractor, he should get a letter of employment from them. If he's self-employed, it could be a bit harder to prove his current income, but perhaps letters from his clients stating how much he gets per job or per hour, that sort of thing, will be helpful. His past income comes into play when the officer sees he's had his current job for only a short while...but he still needs to prove what his *current* income is, on a predicted annual basis.

Rene

jmood

The residence question and the (b) are from the G-325A. It must be attached to the I-130.

And yes, the question says residence rather than address. I did point this out to the lawyer but he still was taking the position I wrote.

So you see why I feel like my head will explode. Honesty and straight logic vs. what a "20 years experienced good imigration lawyer" tells you.

Noorah101

OK, just so you know, the G-325A is a very antiquated form, which is not scrutinized carefully by USCIS. As long as you answer each question at face value, to the best of your ability, you will be fine. Especially regarding the G-325A, which is not a hugely important form in the grand scheme of things.

Take a break, breathe deeply, and continue.

Rene

md95065

I didn't see anything that indicated that the lawyer was in any way suggesting that you not be completely honest.

You do, however, need to realize that logic has nothing to do with either immigration laws or the forms that you have to complete which, by the way, are not written in English (it just looks like English because it contains some familiar words but, actually, the whole thing is written in an arcane dialect of "legalese" and nothing means what you think it does - that is why you need an attorney to translate it for you)

Noorah101

jmood,

Also, don't forget that all the paperwork is "sort of" preliminary. Meaning that if the Officer who reviews all the dates and details has any questions, she can ask you at the AOS interview, and you can clarify things at that point.

I really wouldn't stress this much over the AOS forms and paperwork. Just answer everything to the best of your ability, and provide what backup they require to the best of your ability. Along the way, if USCIS is missing any document, you'll receive an RFE for it (request for further evidence) and a chance to submit it. At the AOS interview, you'll be given a chance to explain anything that might seem confusing to the officer (i.e., dates of residence and such).

Rene

ian-mstm

It sounds to me like it's the lawyer who has the problem with interracial, interfaith marriages.

Ian

jeffreyhy

jm,

Perhaps, if you run into the case officer 'from hell'. It's true that they always are looking for reasons to deny, the law that they are implementing is written that way. So be prepared to address the issues if they come up.

I agree with the lawyer. You are filling out the form now, not prior to when you decided to remain in the USA as an immigrant, so fill it out accordingly based on what has actually transpired.

I also agree with the lawyer on the function of the clerks, except for the implication that the clerks are going to look at the information on the form and perhaps question it. His logic, as you stated it here, is self-contradictory.

I agree with you on this, and note that your thoughts are in line with Mr.F's 3 rules for interviewing. You and your husband have perfectly valid reasons for your actions, just be prepared to explain if questioned.

I agree with your lawyer and R on this - it's current income that is of the essence. Past income is interesting and may be helpful, or not, but it's today's income that's going to pay today's living expenses so it's today's income that must be well documented

Regards, JEff

jmood

I've looked again at the instructions for the affidavit of support I-864 and as I understood it, it does not make the employer letter mandatory. Neither does it stipulate a document that shows "current" income. Do you folks disagree with this?

My husband will ask for such a letter from his employer tomorrow, but I'm not sure what (since he's a commission only based contractor) we'll get and when. So if we don't get it within the next 2 days I will probably file without it. As it is, I'm already quite a bit overstayed. 72 days now.

Reagrding the dates of starting to live together, I have wrapped my head around being able to write and justifiably so, that we started living together the month we got married. He did spend a lot of time at my place even from before we got married. It's all in the interpretation..

However, I still haven't wrapped my head around what to write for my residence address from the date I entered the US in December 08. OK, I have to write things as they actually happened. So does that mean that when I entered the US my residence was the UK and the day I made the decision to get married it became the US address? Or what?

Regarding the race/religion issue. Recall I had mentioned seeing several lawyers. Another one we saw back in March, had also alluded to the prejudice and extra scrutiny we would face as a mixed race couple, but he had only said it in one sentence and I didn't make much of it at the time. So, with the one from yesterday insisting on it, I AM really scared about this. Of course the lawyer could also have been trying to scare me into using his services - rather than have him just review the papers. I guess what is really scary is the unknown factor and the fact that we will simply be at the mercy and mood of who happens to be the officer on the day.

The other issue I'm worried above, that may relate to the interracial marriage issue is that we might end up NOT having any photos with his family by the date of the interview. Becuase of a medical condition his mother cannot travel, and his father stays as her full time caregiver, so they can't come here. I would have flown with him last month but I was told NOT to fly and now we have an economic restriction on travelling. And my family is not even in the States...

Noorah101

I have not looked at an I-864 lately, but to my knowledge, he must have SOME kind of proof of his *current* income. Whether that be a letter from his employer, pay stubs showing he got paid a commision, letters from people he's done the work for, I don't know. Whatever he can use that shows what his *current* income is. The tax returns show past income. He needs to show current income as well.

Of course you can submit everything without that letter. If USCIS wants it now, they will send you an RFE to request it. If not, you have a chance at the AOS interview to show something.

I think you are stressing way too much on this one. The G-325A is an old form that even one lawyer on here says USCIS doesn't even read very carefully. They won't go checking dates on the G-325 against passport entries or anything like that. Just use whatever date you feel is the "right" one, and if USCIS has any questions, they'll ask at the interview, and you can explain.

That's true, you're sort of at the mercy of the officer of the day at your interview....but to date I'd never seen anyone denied on the basis of race or religion.

You do not have to show pictures with each other's families.

Rene

Noorah101

Regarding working on a commission basis only, are you sure he's going to earn enough to qualify on the I-864? You say this is a new job, right? How can he accurately predict what his commission will be throughout the year? Is he going by what he earned in commission from Jan to May, and then multiplying that by 3, to get a predicted yearly income?

Of course even someone with a salaried job could get laid off or fired, but in my mind, commission-only work is a bit more precarious. He's not getting a regular bi-weekly or monthly paycheck, you know?

Go ahead and submit your AOS using your husband's I-864, but after that you might want to line up a joint sponsor, just in case. If you get a picky officer who doesn't think commission work is stable enough, you could be faced with having to use a joint sponsor, and it's better to know of one ahead of time, rather than trying to scramble around at the last minute looking for one.

Just my layman's 2 cents.

Rene

jmood

You're right about the commision only work. Our estimate is based on faith that things will work out like we expect. We know for sure several people in his new company who do exactly the same job and have been earning tens of times over what we would need.

It might be a good idea re. a backup sponsor. If at the interview they want more evidence, is it something we can pull out right there and submit? I mean, if we prepare a backup and have the paperwork ready just in case. Or is there also a possibility they may ask for it via RTE (RFE?)?

Noorah101

Yes, and actually you should bring an updated I-864 and backup info to the interview, so it accurately reflects his income on the date he actually becomes a PR. If, at the interview, the officer decides not to accept his I-864 after all, you can simply hand over the joint sponsor's I-864 package.

Yes, this is also a possibility (RFE).

Rene

jeffreyhy

jm,

Yes, I disagree.

Although the instructions say that you may submit evidence of current income, but don't need to do so unless requested, I've seen too many reports by people who did not and subsequently received RFEs.

Regards, JEff

jmood

OK, thanks.
What is a PR?

We are just getting the letter from the new employer. It says ".....earnings are expected to be at least $x per week." Is that language OK? Especially the word "expected" as opposed to having a guaranteed min. Since it's commision based there is no guaranteed min.