Have Interview on Friday - Help Please !!

nbk10081

Registered Users (C)
Hello everyone.
Me and my wife have interview at Mt laurel DO (NJ) this friday. We got the letter last week some time wed or thursday. It was a very short notice. But is fine.
So, obviously the letter says..just a GC and PP for the interview. I have read posts here and now kind of mulling what to take.
I heard from a few of my freinds who went to same DO with what have been asked and are now citizens.

I am trying to be safe and gathering what I have within the short period I have. I have some q's and appreciate any i/p's in advance.

1) I am a self-employed (Me and Wife work for the company). We indicated the same on N-400.

2) I have my last few year Biz tax returns - Should I carry them ?

3) NO IRS BIZ Tax transcripts..but have tax returns. Is that okay ?

4) I have BC and Affidavits (used for GC), but my wife sent to India sometime back and now she has only copies. Is that okay ?

5) Marraige Certificate - we gave only one original, are copies okay ?

6) My wife understands how the company works and some of the admin tasks but may not be aware of some of the tax related things etc. Any thing she needs to know specifically ?

7) Being self employed..we have no Pay stubs, employment letter etc ? What would be the repurcussions ?

Anyone in the same boat or went through similar situation please let me know. Once again Thanks in advance.

VSC / Mt Laurel DO
MD - 02/29/08
RD - 03/04/08
FD - 03/25/08
IL - 05/01/08
I - 05/09/08
 
2) Yes take copies of your tax returns with you. Never hurts to have that handy.
3) You can have the IRS fax you transcripts - given the short notice for your interview, this is acceptable. Or you can go to your IRS office and get the transcripts free of charge right away.
4) I guess you have no choice even if the copies are unacceptable. You should not have sent the originals to India. They may ask to see the originals, so be prepared to give an explanation. However, take the copies with you.
5) If you gave USCIS your original marriage certificate, they should have it in one of your A-Files. Make sure you fill out a form after your oath to get the original back. Take the copy be sure you let them know that they have the original. I do not think they ask for marriage certificates when filing based on the 5 year residency rule.
6) If she doesn't handle the tax elements, then she should state so. Have her stick to her role and job duties and she will be fine. There is nothing wrong with saying "That isn't my job function, so I do not know the answer."
7) Take your business bank statements showing income/financial movement from the business. There must be some paper trail tracking expenses and revenue generated. Take some of these documents with you as an example.
 
The IRS tax transcripts are not needed for most of us, it is for people who have long absences. So relax and take your tax returns and what ever docs you have. Don't fret over getting copies or originals at this time. Pay stubs etc are really not needed for straightforward cases. But be prepared to answer any questions they might ask.
We just took our marrg and birth certf, and copies of those where only 1 original was available. We kept the tax returns in the car and were never asked for it. Make sure you take the SSN card also.
 
keep it simple and don't go into explanations until officer asks.

if you didn't have long trips abroad - then employment or income by itself isn't a requirement for citizenship eligibility.
 
Thank You Lolali, aabbcc11 and Feliz-LA for qk response

My case is very st.forward. Employer based GC (EB2) approved in 2003 for me and wife.
Then started my own consulting biz and been working for my company since then. No long trips outside US.
Not a single tkt for my wife in last 5 years, I have a couple but fines <500 (BTW..never informed on N400).

So over all a simple case. Only thing is since I had only a week for the interview, scrambling for the doc and at the same time preparing for civic exam.

Once again. Thanks.
 
Overall your case is pretty straightforward to I wouldn't sweat it.

I would also take to your interview.

* Some mortgage/utility bills from your present home/business place to show proof of residence (Drivers license will probably suffice).
* If you need tax transcripts, most local IRS offices provide them for free if you just walk in and request it (at least for the last 3 yrs), I got tax transcripts and tax returns and the officer didn't want to see any of it.
* Make sure you get a status information letter (SIL) from the US Selective Service if you were under 26 yrs of age when you became a permanent resident and didn't register for selective service. Otherwise, just take your selective service registration card.
* Copies of BC are fine. I had copies too, and the officer didn't even ask to see them. As for your marriage certificate, copies should be fine again, but have the original with one of the two at the time of the interview.
 
Most people get into paperwork overload when preparing for the interview. There is nothing wrong with this approach, so long as you understand that 99.5% of the time you won't be asked for anything beyond what the official notice states. The remaining .5% of cases require supporting docs to cover absences, marriage questions or something similar. Trouble is, its hard to predict in advance, hence the "take everything" approach.
 
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