Maggie

We are getting all the documents for the AOS interview together. This came much sooner than we thought so we were a bit unprepared. I need some input on whether I have left anything out. This is what we have so far:
- birth certs, marriage cert, divorce decree for my husband
- Employment letters
- Tax statements with W2 for the last 3 yrs (my husband's)
- Life Insurance stating me as the beneficiary
- Credit card statements (only one has both our names on it although we have 2 cards on the other accounts)
- Rental agreement
- Car insurance so far has only me as the driver. I am waiting for the Insurance company to add my husband....hopefully before the interview
- Our car registrations both show the same address
- Wedding photos (we were the only 2 at the wedding in L. Tahoe) and we didn't have a reception since we couldn't afford it
- Cards from friends and relatives
- Misc. mail addressed to me at our address e.g school records
- Joint bank account statements and ATM cards
- Travel receipts
- letter from phone company stating that I am an authorized user in the account

The utility bills are all in my husband's name since he has lived at the same address for the last 10 yrs. We do not have joint health insurance since both our employers provide that for free. Please let me know what else I could include to prove that our marriage is bonafide.

Thanks,
Maggie

Rete

Maggie

Its a very comprehensive list. Very very similar to ours and we were approved. Don't sweat the car insurance name addition. If you get it fine. If not, it won't break the case ;-) If you came on a K-1, remember to bring the original I-797 and your EAD and Advance Parole if you have it. And you will need driver's licenses and passport.

One suggestion for you as far as putting it all together

Make copies of everything and I do mean everything.

One pile of originals in the order of the checklist you were sent (if sent one). If none was sent then identification first, tax returns, employment letters, lease, and on and on.

Then, make a pile of the copies all in the very same order as the originals.

Two hole punch at the top of the documents and slip it on a two prong ACCO fastener. Do this for both piles.

If you have the time and patience you can fancy it up a little with a checklist as the preface, i.e.

1. Identification
Driver's License - Maggie Smith
Driver's License - John Smith
Passport - Maggie Smith
Passport - John Smith

2. Financial Information
Tax Returns, 2001, 2000, 1999
Letter of Employment Maggie Smith
Letter of Employment John Smith

Get the idea ;-)

Put a divider between each section with the appropriate number.

The reason I say two piles, one original and one copy, is because you will give the copies to the INS and you will retain the original.

If they want to see the original you have it right there in front of you and can turn to it easier to show it to them.

And this set up will help you when it is time apply for the I-751 and you need validity proof from all the years of your marriage. The earlier year is right there, ready for you to grab.

Good luck and looking forward to your report after the interview.

Rete

Maggie

Rete,
Thanks for your fast response. I adjusted status from F1 and not K1. My interview is on Dec. 18. I will definitely start organizing everything now so that I don't have to have a last minute rush. I will keep you posted.
Thanks,
Maggie

Matthew Udall

Hi Maggie,
First, good luck in your upcoming interview.
One of the key things the INS is looking for is that this is a real, bonafide couple, trying to make a go of it as husband and wife, as opposed to one friend who married another friend simply to help that friend get a greencard.

One of the best pieces of evidence of a true marriage is of course, having children together; however please don't get pregnant just to satisfy INS ;-).

Second to children, the commingling of financial aspects is the hallmark of a bonafide marriage (if you married your friend to help that friend get a greencard, would you also give that friend free run of your bank account?).

Your list included some evidence of commingling of financial aspects (the credit cards for example) and that is good.

Do you and your spouse have a joint checking account? If so, do you both write checks from this account? If so, do you get your cancelled checks sent back to you with your monthly bank statements? If not, do you get "small copies" of the cancelled checks as one of the pages of your monthly bank statement (I've seen this from many clients before). What I'm getting at is being able to show the INS that not only do you have a joint checking account, you both actually "use" that account (after all, if one friend married another friend to help that friend get a greencard, these friends just might manufacture evidence by opening up a joint checking account, but the U.S. Citizen friend would probably not let the international friend actually "use" that account [or visa versa]).

There are other tips I could give, that I usually give to my clients before they go in for their AOS interviews (pet peeves of the INS officers, common mistakes and how to avoid them, what a typical interview is like, things to look out for in the interview or things you should expect to have happen in the interview... that sort of thing), but it would take too long to type them all out. My AOS prep call that I do with each of my couples before their interview usually takes 45 minutes to an hour to do, so you can see that I can't possibly type that out here in this short reply.

Again, good luck at the interview.

Regards,
Matthew Udall
Attorney
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall/fiancee.htm

Matthew Udall

Oh, if you are an F-1'er adjusting status, also take your IAP-66 form with you (plus a copy of that form to give the adjudicating officer if he or she wants it). In fact, take everything that INS has ever given you (By the way, did you ever obtained a practical training card?).

Regards,
Matthew Udall
Attorney
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall/fiancee.htm

Maggie

Hi Matt,
Thanks for your advice. I was an F-1 who was still going to school and had not applied for practical training. By the way, what is an IAP-66 form? I only have my I-20 and 1-94. Please let me know.
Yes, we do have a joint checking account and we both write checks so I will remember to bring that with me. I was actually thinking that showing the bank statements would have been enough so I am glad you pointed that out.
Thanks,
Maggie

Rete

The advice is good about the joint checking account but before someone gets all hairy because they don't have a joint account or both members don't sign checks, I wanted to say that our account is joint and Jim has signed all of three checks for that account in four years. He doesn't wish to have anything to do with the household finances and leaves that all to me. Aren't I lucky ;-( Anyway it was not an issue with INS.

Rete

Matthew Udall

Oh, I'm sorry, my mistake. I meant to say I-20, not IAP-66. Sorry.
M.U.

Matthew Udall

I agree with Rita's take about not to worry too much if any given couple don't have this particular piece of evidence. But if a couple does have it, or it they are still in an early enough stage of the AOS process (and thus can change it so they both write checks and can get those cancelled checks sent to them with their monthly bank statements) it is good as it just adds one more solid bit of evidence that they are truly commingling their finances.

So Rita, any chance of meeting you while I'm in NYC? It would be a shame to be that close and not drop by to say hello face to face. But if you would rather not, I understand.

M.U.

Rete

This is the first I've heard of such a proposed meeting. Depends on when you are planning on being here and our availability.

Caro

I have a follow-up question on that even though I don't have my interview date yet . We have been married one year and have dated for 3 years before getting married (we lived within 5 minutes of each other all the time, and moved in together about 6 months before getting married). As a result, we have stacks and stacks of "evidence" [ranging from boarding passes, literally thousands of pictures from our weddings (and also videos) and from us together in the US and in France, bank statement, a zillion letters, French wedding certificate corresponding to our courthouse wedding, church wedding certificate, bills, insurance certificates and so on (without even mentioning the thousands of emails we have sent each other)].

Anyway, here is my question: do you think that it would be a good idea to get some cancelled checks as further evidence [We both get our paycheck in the same account, and we have duplicate (carbon copy) of the checks we write]? This triggers another question. I know that you can never be too prepared with the INS, but I assume that they have a level of saturation. So, we are planning to only bring a couple of each evidence. Do you have any advice as to what is a good "limit"?

Caroline

Matthew Udall

The evidence of your relationship before marriage is good, as that could help to diminish suspicions that this is just one friend who married another friend to help that friend get a greencard.

As stated before, commingling of financials is one of the hallmarks of a true bonafide (for immigration purposes) marriage, so if you can get the cancelled checks, then I say, get them.

As far as "how much to bring", I always say its better to have something and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Use common sense. Obviously if you brought in so much evidence that it would take hours to show it all to an INS officer, I doubt the officer will sit through all of that (They do have a schedule they try to keep, depending on the volume of cases your particular INS office sees in a typical day). Some officers want to see very little, while some will sit back and let you show them what you want to show them. Each officer is different, and you won't know what type of officer you will have until you are sitting across the desk from him or her during your spousal interview.

Good luck.

Matthew Udall
Attorney
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall/fiancee.htm

Caro

Thank you for your answer. I will get the cancelled checks.

We are planning on having something nicely organized for the interviewer, and then a backup first-aid shoe box/backpack with more evidences.

We have already started a little photo album with a couple pictures for each "event" (christmas, thanksgiving, several trips to France, weddings, graduations, birthdays, trips with friends). Then, we have started a binder for the rest of the "evidences", and are planning to put a sampler of all the stuff we have. I am guessing that we still have a while before our interview, but at least, it gives us the impression that something is moving forward...

Caroline

Matthew Udall

I wouldn't recommend being a "binder person". Instead, just make a nice pile of evidence and paper clip a copy of each piece of evidence to the original piece of evidence. Put the evidence that you want to give first on the top of your pile, and work your way through organizing the pile, with your weakest pieces of evidence at the bottom of the pile.

You can then show the INS an original piece of evidence, and if they are interested in having a copy of that evidence, you will have one to give. If they don't want a copy, you will then be throwing that copy away.

The INS will want to put copies of what you give them in "their" file, and they might not be interested in certain pieces of evidence, or the order of your evidence that you placed in the binder. You don't get extra points for presentation and the binder is not necessary. In fact, a well thought out "stack" or pile will likely be easier to move through as you present evidence.

But of course, you should do things the way "you" see fit.

Regards,
Matthew Udall
Attorney
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall/fiancee.htm

Caro

Thanks for the advice about not using a binder. We thought about the binder because we had a lot of odd shaped material (mostly from France... like booklets from the church and our family booklet, letters that we could place in plastic pockets). We will be thinking of something else then to organize our evidence by importance as opposed to by category.

Thanks,
Caroline