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Hi All!

This whole process really is a roller coaster in that every experience
is mostly distinct from all the others.

For reference, our (me-the alien, my wife-the USC) timeline is:
27Oct04 - filed with NYC field office
14Dec04 - fingerprinted in Brooklyn support center
09Feb05 - interview!!!

My first question concerns form I-864, Affidavit of Support. Do we have
to bring an updated version to the interview? Since only about 4 months
have passed from the date we sent in the first one, my wife says it's
ridiculous to bring a new one, and I keep reading about people who were
asked for an updated I-864 at the interview. So what's the popular
opinion on this issue?

My second question is about all the evidence that we might be asked to
produce. So far we have (in no particular order):

(*) Joint apartment lease
(*) Joint bank account, joint credit card
(*) Keyspan(gas) utility bills in both our names (Coned and Cablevision
show only my name, WHY?!?!)
(*) Tons of pictures, absolutely overwhelming amount of them.
(*) Amtrak ticket stubs from a vacation we've taken this past fall.
(*) Pictures from a european vacation from a couple of years ago.
(*) Joint dental, etc plan.
(*) A huge pile of mail my wife has gotten from the IRS regarding her
taxes, plus her federal and state tax returns showing our address.
(*) Cell phone logs showing thousands of calls we have made to each
other (since we've gotten our cell phones, anyway).
(*) My wife's state ID showing our address.

Are we going too far? Are we being short of something? I keep reading
about "huge piles of stuff" that other couples bring to their
interviews, and looking at the little stackie of our evidence, I don't
see much of a pile!! This gives me a persistent feeling that something
is absent, and hugely undermines our confidence.

We HUGELY appreciate any and all feedback that we get here. I can't
imagine what we would do without the TONS of knowledge, experience, and
guidance that you people provide. Thank you so much!
Best regards,
SUNW Geek

Rete

Wow another superfast from NYC. Sorry to all of you in NYC who file in 2002 and 2003 and are still waiting for an interview date.

No new one needed. Just bring current paystubs.

It is Con Ed (two words) and they will only put utilities in one name not joint. Not an issue as it is standard and known to CIS. Pictures from years ago before you were married should not be brought. You need to prove your marriage not your courtship.

Mail addressed to your wife is not required either. She does not need to prove where she lives. She has to prove the commingling of your social and financial lives.

You DO NOT NEED a huge pile of stuff. You need to clearly, concisely and organizationally prove you are married and live together. You do that with your financial records and articles showing your social lives. Also NYC wants to see tax transcripts for the I-864 so your wife can order them now. NYC also wants to see letters from your employers showing how you claim yourself for tax purposes, who is the emergency contact, who is beneficiary of life insurance, health plans, 401K, etc.

They will not be looking for a volume because your marriage is only a few months old. Take what you have and what I outlined NYC wanted when we AOS there and you should be fine.

Rete

andrea874

Not true, Rete... Con Ed put both our names on our electricity bill... no problem at all. The only thing was they couldnt ADD my name to the account, we had to close it and re-open it right away under both names. Totally a non-issue for them though.

Rete

Ahhhh there is the rub. We didn't want to close an account and open a new one. Why? Because according to Con Ed the lease had to be in both names and ours is only in mine as I have held the lease for 29 years and it is rent stablized.

andrea874

Ahh.. weird! They didnt even ask us anything. Electricity was in Chris's name and I called to change it over, all they wanted from me was his SS# and birthdate. No further questions were asked. I guess it all depends on who ya talk to and just how much of a stickler for the rules they are

Rete

Actually when I changed it to my maiden name I asked again and was told not unless his name was on the lease and even then they preferred bills in one person's name only. In fact I had to fax them a copy of my marriage certificate in order to change my last name.

Telephone company was the same.

andrea874

Seriously?
Wow. We changed our telephone, cable, and electricity bills to be in both names in a matter of about 10 minutes total. One of them needed to speak with my husband directly, everyone else just did what I said because I knew his SS# and birthdate.
Apparently I was very lucky

Rete

Yes you were or I have been unlucky. All utilities are still only in my name alone. And that is after 6 years of marriage. But I don't have a problem with that and neither did USCIS. And yes, that goes for cablevision and our cell phones as well. Nothing comes in Jim's name other than his one credit card and his auto loan. The only thing with joint names is our car insurance.

jgbreton

Funny... Con Ed was one of the earliest places for me to add my wife's name - much easier than my bank account, phone company and lease.