new comer, very confused, deep thanks in advance

[lily124]

Dear friends,
This form seems to be very friendly and helpful. I'm a new comer.I've just started the process. All the documents are very confusing. Very frustrated now. I would really appreciate it if you could answer the following questions.

This is probably a stupid question. I live in North Carolina. Do I have to submit the forms to Chicago office or Texas office, or I can submit all the forms together to local office such as Charlotte, NC office?

Should I submit medical exam form, financial support form, and advanced parole together with I-130, I-131, and I-485 or I wait for notification and then send out medical exam form?

I noticed for financial support form, the sponsor has to submit w-2 forms in the last 3 years? Do they have to be original or copies will work?

Have you guys all submited I-468 or it's not required?

What's A#? is it the red number on the visa stamp? (sorry, this sounds such a stupid question)

Thanks for your reply in advance.

 

[Brenglen]

Dear friends,
This form seems to be very friendly and helpful. I'm a new comer.I've just started the process. All the documents are very confusing. Very frustrated now. I would really appreciate it if you could answer the following questions.

This is probably a stupid question. I live in North Carolina. Do I have to submit the forms to Chicago office or Texas office, or I can submit all the forms together to local office such as Charlotte, NC office?

Should I submit medical exam form, financial support form, and advanced parole together with I-130, I-131, and I-485 or I wait for notification and then send out medical exam form?

I noticed for financial support form, the sponsor has to submit w-2 forms in the last 3 years? Do they have to be original or copies will work?

Have you guys all submited I-468 or it's not required?

What's A#? is it the red number on the visa stamp? (sorry, this sounds such a stupid question)

Thanks for your reply in advance.

Not sure on where to file, Im from michigan and I sent mine at the Chicago Lockbox. No I don't believe you send the forms to your local office. On the I-485 you will see a list of States that is required to send the form to the Chicago Lockbox.

YES! your file your Medical Exam, Advance Parole and Work Permit Aut. all together with your papers, DON'T listen to USCIS about waiting for a letter to come in the mail for your Medical exam request...I tried that and well right now im in a mess with USCIS.

A# you put N/A (I dont believe you have one), USCIS will give you on your Receipt that you will receive in the mail in the next 2-3 weeks after sending the forms in.

For the financial support forms, yes you give your recent 3 years but they should be Copies, Not orignals.

I-468??? after looking it up on USCIS.gov there is no such thing

Good luck and Welcome

 

[NeShawn]

You will need to send applications/petitions to the Chicago Lockbox

You need to send everything at once or you will get a RFE (Request for Evidence) which you might get anyway. If you don't send it all at once, your notice date will begin not when they first received your applications but when they receive the RFE information back so don't delay if you don't have to.

You will receive an A# when you get the NOA (Notice of Actions). This is a receipt for your applications.

??? 468 - Did you mean something else?

For your Affidavit of Support, the sponsor can call the toll-free number to request tax transcripts. It usually take up to 10 days to get back. Free of charge.
Call this number.
1-800-829-1040
Request Form 4506-T (tax transcripts)

Copies of w-2 forms are ok.

Make sure you get sponsor to get proof of current employment, recent paycheck stub, etc. (also. I mean the letter from employer cause even if you have other stuff they may request more so get it all together now so you won't get an RFE)

Never send original documents unless it is requested. USCIS will keep them and you will have to go through a long process to get them back.

Once your application has been received, then you will get an biometric FP Fingerprint notice ( You get your fingerprints done in Charlotte, NC)

I also live in NC. Please post your timelines as you progress in this journey and good luck!

 

[Anahit]

For the financial support forms, yes you give your recent 3 years but they should be Copies, Not orignals.

That's changed! Now they require tax return for the most recent year only.
Lily, I know it could be frustrated sometimes. But if you read the instructions on each form, you would get answers to most of your questions. You can start here: http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-485.htm#fba.
And, please, don't repeat the same question 3 times...
Good luck!

 

[NeShawn]

Yea the 3 year of financial info has changed but I still would request the 3 years when I call IRS since info is free and they may request more info in certain cases so it pays to be prepared, prepaired, PREPAIRED

 

[stranger26]

Yea the 3 year of financial info has changed but I still would request the 3 years when I call IRS since info is free and they may request more info in certain cases so it pays to be prepared, prepaired, PREPAIRED

Well, that's the thing. On my I-864 instructions it said 3, so I sent in MY OWN copies for the past 3 years. Now I got a Yellow slip "Request for initial Evidence" that asks me to submit tax records for the past year. 3 years is better than one, no? Or does it have to be a Certified IRS copies for sure?????

 

[Anahit]

Well, that's the thing. On my I-864 instructions it said 3, so I sent in MY OWN copies for the past 3 years. Now I got a Yellow slip "Request for initial Evidence" that asks me to submit tax records for the past year. 3 years is better than one, no? Or does it have to be a Certified IRS copies for sure?????

No, it doesn't have to be IRS certified copies. Just resubmit the tax records for the past year only.

 

[stranger26]

thanks, Anahit

 

[NeShawn]

hey guys, I thought the transcripts have to come from the IRS. Not a copy of your tax return? You said you sent your own. And also, I got a RFE for the most recent year tax transcript also even though I had sent it with original. As a matter of fact, the RFE was for stuff I had sent with the original. They asked for current checkstup (which I sent), employement letter (which i sent), tax transcript (which I sent) so i mean what was that? What I was saying about the 3 years of tax returns or 1 year was since a person would have to call the IRS to request whatever, then I would request all three cause it would assure me that i had everything that COULD be asked for cause sometimes in some cases they want to see more. Just a precaution but if the form says send the most current year only then by all means, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!!

 

[Anahit]

hey guys, I thought the transcripts have to come from the IRS. Not a copy of your tax return? You said you sent your own. And also, I got a RFE for the most recent year tax transcript also even though I had sent it with original. As a matter of fact, the RFE was for stuff I had sent with the original. They asked for current checkstup (which I sent), employement letter (which i sent), tax transcript (which I sent) so i mean what was that? What I was saying about the 3 years of tax returns or 1 year was since a person would have to call the IRS to request whatever, then I would request all three cause it would assure me that i had everything that COULD be asked for cause sometimes in some cases they want to see more. Just a precaution but if the form says send the most current year only then by all means, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!!

You may submit either the IRS transcripts or copies of your own records: http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/I-864EZ.pdf (Part 4, No19).
As for your RFE, a lot of people get RFEs for the stuff they had already sent.
That's how the USCIS works...

 

[NeShawn]

Anah... I need your help. What do they mean by certified transcript? On the I-864's I used, I had to provide the transcripts, they said personal copies were not acceptable. I see that has changed now.

I checked the website you gave me and you were correct. I filed before they had the EZ's but now I see the change.

Thanks for the updated info!!!

 

[Anahit]

Anah... I need your help. What do they mean by certified transcript? On the I-864's I used, I had to provide the transcripts, they said personal copies were not acceptable. I see that has changed now.

I checked the website you gave me and you were correct. I filed before they had the EZ's but now I see the change.

Thanks for the updated info!!!

NeShawn, as fas as I know, personal copies were always accepted. I filed for my parents before these changes, and just sent the copies of my tax returns...
By certified transcripts, I guess they either mean IRS transcripts (assuming that IRS certifies them), or they notarize the IRS transcripts (some people prefer to be overprepared).
Hope this helps.

 

[calzon chino]

As for your RFE, a lot of people get RFEs for the stuff they had already sent.
That's how the USCIS works...

I had the same issue as the above poster.

Should I really just mail the same return again? It seems a little odd to do the same thing and hope for different results.

Here is the exact text of the request I received:

• W-2's 1099s, and/or all schedules submitted to the IRS--a copy of his/her Federal income tax return was submitted and/or the sponsor or joint sponsor requested an extension to file his or her Federal income tax return.
• Federal income tax returns for the most recent tax year or certified Internal Revenue Service (IRS) copies. To obtain return transcripts of your income tax records from the IRS, you may complete Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax return, found on the Internet at http://www.irs.gov/ or call toll-free (800)829-1040 to order a "Return Transcript." The request for a transcript of your tax return must be submitted to the IRS, not this office. If the sponsor was not required to file a federal tax return for the most recent tax year, the sponsor must provide an explanation as to why s/he was not required to file federal income taxes.

First of all, that's some pretty muddled language. The way I'm interpreting it is that the first bullet asks for W-2s ans such, and the second asks for copy of the tax return.

A couple of questions:

1)I didn't 'submit' my W-2s to the IRS, I just used them to prepare my forms, then e-file them. Do I still need to submit a copy of them?

2) I had e-filed my tax return, and the e-file people only give you a copy of the return that doesn't include a signature, as you sign electronically on the IRS's website. Do you think this could be an issue that makes the copy unacceptable?

Oh and Anahit, your link from the post when you were angry at Brenglen is no longer working.

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[Anahit]

1)I didn't 'submit' my W-2s to the IRS, I just used them to prepare my forms, then e-file them. Do I still need to submit a copy of them?

Did you mean CIS? You have to submit W-2s/1099s to CIS with a copy of your tax return.

2) I had e-filed my tax return, and the e-file people only give you a copy of the return that doesn't include a signature, as you sign electronically on the IRS's website. Do you think this could be an issue that makes the copy unacceptable?

I don't think so. A lot of people e-file their tax returns. If that was an issue the CIS wouldn't request a copy of your own records.

Oh and Anahit, your link from the post when you were angry at Brenglen is no longer working.

Why would I be angry at Brenglen?
The link was for Lily, and I wasn't angry at her, either... OK, maybe a little bit...
Anyhow, they have made, and still are making changes the USCIS site. In fact, I am not able to get on www.uscis.gov to post the changed link. So, a lot of links would be obsolete now.