After first applying back in February 2008 and after several hiccups (lawyer's fault), our GC application is finally moving forward and we finally have an interview date. Because of all the damage our lawyer did to our case in the past, I have decided to ditch the lawyer and go it alone for the remainder of the process. I could use some feedback on a couple of questions I have...
I also want to discuss the "checklist" of items needed for the interview, but first I will start with the nitty-gritty question/issue:
This is the big one which is causing me some uncertainty. The financial circumstances surrounding my wife's sponsorship have changed, but I have not done anything to notify USCIS. I am unsure if I need to notify them ahead of the interview. See below:
When the application was first filed: I was a full-time student just completing my bachelor's degree. I did not work during my final year, so I could not support my wife financially to the degree that the USCIS wanted. During that time, my wife and I lived with my parents, who had no shortage of income. The application was filed on the basis that we were a household of 4 (my parents, my wife, and I) and that the household income for the 4 of us was easily enough to meet the threshold required. The application was approved on these grounds.
Today: My wife and I now live together (just the 2 of us) in a new apartment which we started renting approximately 3 months ago. I finished my degree back in June (midway through the application process) and immediately got a nice job with Boeing. My income is $57k. This is our total household income for 2, as my wife is now a student.
So as I see it, we are still living together and still meet the financial requirements. It's just that my parents were included as the financial backing in the original application, whereas I am now the sole provider of financial support. The 3 years of tax returns which we provided reflect the income of my parents' household. I do not yet have any tax returns which reflect my new job. I can certainly provide paychecks from my new job as proof of income, and we filed the appropriate "Change of Address" forms when we first moved. Is any additional action needed? All documentation which we will be using as proof of our marriage shows our new address, including my wife's driver's license and all our bills.
So with that question out of the way, I want to ask for some feedback on the list of items which we currently have as evidence. Our date is in mid-January, so we still have time to obtain more documents if necessary.
Misc stuff:
- Wife's driver's license showing our new joint address
- Wife's Social Security card
- Wife's work permit
- Wife's birth certificate
- Wife's passport + visa
Proof of marriage:
- Marriage license
- Joint apartment lease (wife just added yesterday)
- Joint bank account (originally my account, open since 2002 but my wife was just added yesterday)
- At least 3 months of joint cell phone bills naming us both
- At least 3 months of joint cable bills naming us both
- Statement from my job listing my wife as beneficiary to my company-provided life insurance
- Statement listing my wife as being covered by my company-provided health and dental insurance
- A lot of photographs and a couple of scrapbooks from our many trips together around California and the western US.
- Wedding photo album - we were legally married in a courthouse in 2006, but decided to have a "white wedding" in a church in mid-2008, so we have lots of pics.
- Wedding rings with each other's names engraved
- 2-year old tattoo of wife's name on my arm - admissible as evidence?
- No utility bills (as these are included in the monthly rent)
I know this was a long post, but I wanted to get all my concerns down. I would really appreciate as much feedback as possible.
Thanks!
I also want to discuss the "checklist" of items needed for the interview, but first I will start with the nitty-gritty question/issue:
This is the big one which is causing me some uncertainty. The financial circumstances surrounding my wife's sponsorship have changed, but I have not done anything to notify USCIS. I am unsure if I need to notify them ahead of the interview. See below:
When the application was first filed: I was a full-time student just completing my bachelor's degree. I did not work during my final year, so I could not support my wife financially to the degree that the USCIS wanted. During that time, my wife and I lived with my parents, who had no shortage of income. The application was filed on the basis that we were a household of 4 (my parents, my wife, and I) and that the household income for the 4 of us was easily enough to meet the threshold required. The application was approved on these grounds.
Today: My wife and I now live together (just the 2 of us) in a new apartment which we started renting approximately 3 months ago. I finished my degree back in June (midway through the application process) and immediately got a nice job with Boeing. My income is $57k. This is our total household income for 2, as my wife is now a student.
So as I see it, we are still living together and still meet the financial requirements. It's just that my parents were included as the financial backing in the original application, whereas I am now the sole provider of financial support. The 3 years of tax returns which we provided reflect the income of my parents' household. I do not yet have any tax returns which reflect my new job. I can certainly provide paychecks from my new job as proof of income, and we filed the appropriate "Change of Address" forms when we first moved. Is any additional action needed? All documentation which we will be using as proof of our marriage shows our new address, including my wife's driver's license and all our bills.
So with that question out of the way, I want to ask for some feedback on the list of items which we currently have as evidence. Our date is in mid-January, so we still have time to obtain more documents if necessary.
Misc stuff:
- Wife's driver's license showing our new joint address
- Wife's Social Security card
- Wife's work permit
- Wife's birth certificate
- Wife's passport + visa
Proof of marriage:
- Marriage license
- Joint apartment lease (wife just added yesterday)
- Joint bank account (originally my account, open since 2002 but my wife was just added yesterday)
- At least 3 months of joint cell phone bills naming us both
- At least 3 months of joint cable bills naming us both
- Statement from my job listing my wife as beneficiary to my company-provided life insurance
- Statement listing my wife as being covered by my company-provided health and dental insurance
- A lot of photographs and a couple of scrapbooks from our many trips together around California and the western US.
- Wedding photo album - we were legally married in a courthouse in 2006, but decided to have a "white wedding" in a church in mid-2008, so we have lots of pics.
- Wedding rings with each other's names engraved
- 2-year old tattoo of wife's name on my arm - admissible as evidence?
- No utility bills (as these are included in the monthly rent)
I know this was a long post, but I wanted to get all my concerns down. I would really appreciate as much feedback as possible.
Thanks!
Last edited by a moderator: