Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Infopass for stamp?	Oops - sorry, just re-read that you don't have your green card anymore. It looks like the I-551 stamp is your only alternative now unless you can find your green card. You may run into some problem with USCIS as well if you haven't filed to replace the card officially - not just filing to remove conditions. It will be up to the officer with whom you speak on your Infopass appointment. Re: all of your photo ID expiring next month . . . it looks like they may all be tied in to your official immigration status date - which also expires next month. The receipt letter is valid for all work and travel purposes but it is supposed to be used in conjunction with the expired/expiring green card. Good luck. Edited by Kathryn41, 09 September 2011 - 07:32 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-09-09 19:25:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Extending 2-year GC after I-751?	Go to the USCIS website at http://www.uscis.gov and on the upper left hand side below where you would check your case status you will see 'INFOPASS'.. Click on the link below that to make your appointment and follow the instructions. It should give you the option of where and some dates to choose from, at least it used to . When you go to the appointment, bring all of the evidence that you have (including your biometrics letter) with you to the appointment along with your unexpired passport. If your passport is expired, you will also have to bring 2 passport type photos and they will make an I-94 type document that they will staple into your expired passport that will verify your legal status in the US. If you ever need to prove your status in the US - and depending on some States that could involve just a random traffic stop - you would need the extension letter or some proof of your continuing legal presence. In some states, Driver's Licenses and State ID also expire on the same date that the green card expires - and they can be renewed or extended for the same amount of time authorized by the extension letter. While you are not planning on travelling, if there is some sort of a family emergency overseas and you need to get there quickly, you will not have proof of your legal status in the US for your return and will create a lot of hassle for yourself coming 'home'. It is always a good idea to have ready access to proof that you are legally present in the US and have legal status in the US. You are actually required by US law to do so, but practically speaking it is also wise. You don't want to have to 'scramble' for it when you find out that you need to produce it 'in a hurry'. Hopefully the letter will arrive in time, but if not, it isn't a big deal to make an Infopass appointment, although it can be a nuisance, especially if you have to travel a distance to attend. Edited by Kathryn41, 09 September 2011 - 09:12 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-09-09 21:08:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Extending 2-year GC after I-751?	If you have not received the NOA1 after 30 days of submitting your application (and it sounds like you have not) then you will probably need to make an Infopass appointment to go in and have your passport stamped with the I-551 stamp, valid for one year. I had to do that as I too never received the NOA1 Extension letter, even though I got the biometrics letter without a problem. There was no problem getting the stamp.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-09-09 19:34:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Form I-751 Denied for my Wife! WTF!?	Topic has been closed at the OP's request.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-09-16 15:46:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	worried about RFE letter	Rika wrote: As far as RFE goes, you must reply to USCIS by the date they have given you, and I suggest you write a letter of explanation and ask them to replace your old petition with a waiver petition (include a new, waiver petition). USCIS will issue a new RFE asking for divorce papers, but you will have some time to obtain them. This is excellent advice for the immediate course action. You need to respond to the RFE before the deadline date. Do this as Rika suggests - with a letter of explanation and a new I-751 petition with the waiver option selected (at the bottom of the form). Ask to have the on form already on file replaced with this form instead. It will generate another RFE, this time for the divorce document, but hopefully you will have it by then. If you have initiated divorce proceedings already (by the time you send off the replacement form for the RFE), then you can state you are still waiting for the divorce decree. It will depend on how long everything takes at both ends - USCIS and yours. Good luck. Edited by Kathryn41, 07 July 2011 - 06:48 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-07-07 18:47:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	CR1 remove of conditions	and merged with existing thread already in Removing Conditions forum	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-02-16 19:47:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Filing I-131 re-entry permit oversea possible?	Topic has been moved from 'Bringing Family Members of US Citizens to America" forum as it concerns questions about Removal of Conditional status	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-09-07 20:14:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Changing last name after marrying / getting green card	Topic has been moved to Removal of Conditions forum from K-1 forum as it appears the OP is referring to the 10 year card as the 'permanent' green card, obtained after Removal of Conditions. Also, one post has been split off to start its own thread as it asks about a different situation. Edited by Kathryn41, 25 September 2011 - 04:43 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-09-25 16:41:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	I-751 late filing, huge mess!	Explain the circumstances including who told you what and the fact that you had used a lawyer as well, and file the I-751 late. USCIS does sometimes allow a 90 day window when you have a valid reason that they accept, so you may get lucky. If the worse case happens and they refuse to accept the I-751 for late filing or deny it for late filing, you then basically go back to square one and apply for a new green card as you are still eligible to have one. Your spouse needs to file an I-130 petition and you file an I-485 along with the I-765 for a new EAD. Don't bother refiling another I-751 - that green card would be dead in the water and you would just be wasting your money. In the new green card application, you would explain what happened to the first green card and then submit the necessary evidence as requested. You should have no trouble getting a new one, although you might have an interview. As you would have been married more than 2 years when that one is approved (or you wouldn't have been filing an I-751 ) this green card would be a permanent 10 year card so there would be no future removal of conditions necessary. The down sides would be it would cost you the refiling fees, the new medical fees, the new Affidavit of Support and you would re-set your clock for citizenship, along with the high nuisance factor, but you should be able to do it and get a new green card. Let's hope you get a sympathetic officer and they accept the I-751. You may wish to start preparing an I-485 package just in case so that if the I-751 is denied you can submit the I-485 package by return mail, thus only having a few additional days out of status. Good luck. Edited by Kathryn41, 06 October 2011 - 10:17 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-10-06 22:16:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	i-485 & i751	Getting a permanent green card is a two stage process if you are newly married. For marriages less than 2 years old when the AOS application is approved you get a 2 year conditional green card. The condition is that after 2 years you need to re-apply for a permanent green card by submitting an I-751 application verifying your marriage is/was valid and not entered into for immigration purposes. The I-751 requests a lot more details about your married life, but in many cases the application is approved based solely on the documents presented and no interview is needed. Your current green card will expire 2 years after the date it was issued. You need to have filed the I-751 within the 90 day window before the green card expiry date. It is important that you file BEFORE the green card expires as filing late can lead to your application being denied due to late filling. When the I-751 is approved you will be an unconditional permanent resident and receive a green card that is valid for 10 years. You will have to renew the green card in 10 years if you don't become a citizen, but your permanent resident status is permanent. It doesn't expire in 10 years - only the card . Unfortunately, yes there is another fee to be paid - the application fee and the biometrics fee - and you will have to do biometrics once again. You can download the forms and instructions from the USCIS website and you will get the most up to date forms and information: http://www.uscis.gov Edited by Kathryn41, 08 October 2011 - 09:43 AM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-10-08 09:39:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	October filers	I would just like to remind everyone that the purpose of this thread is not to discuss a member's individual situation regarding his wife and child, rather it is to keep track of October filers as they progress through the Removal of Conditions process. Please do not make judgmental comments about the individual journey of others in this forum nor derail this thread from its original purpose.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-01-29 00:27:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	My Pregnant wife's petition considered abandoned	Definitely request your congressman to get involved. They need to get USCIS to accept that you never received the RFE and should not have to file to re-open the case, that they should re-issue the RFE and give you the opportunity to respond. USCIS should show in their files that your wife did visit them and have a tracking of all of the 'contact' you have made with them to keep on top of the situation. Do you have anything on the online status update? If that does not show that you have been issued an RFE, then again it is proof that you had no way of knowing one had been issued. You should also respond to the letter of denial stating that you never received the RFE and that the online Status does not show any updates to indicate that an RFE was sent. Reiterate that your wife visited them a month ago for an Infopass and was not told anything about an RFE, and was only told to continue waiting. Since they have your correct address and you never received notice for the RFE the error may be at their end - it may never have been sent. Advise them that you are also contacting your congressman to investigate on your behalf and ask them to check their records to see if the RFE was ever issued since there appears to be no record of it anywhere. At the very least, the Infopass appointment should have revealed that they were waiting for a response to the RFE and your wife then could have asked 'What RFE?'. That didn't happen so it may not have appeared on the file that an RFE was even sent. I can appreciate that your wife is looking forward to the December visit, but unless you get this sorted out before then she definitely should not leave the country. I would suggest she continue to work for the time being. As with the AOS approval, once the ten year card is approved, any 'out of status' employment is forgiven. See your congressman right away - and if you don't find a satisifactory response from him/her, approach one of your senators. This should be relatively straight forward for them to get sorted out but you do need to act quickly and assertively. Once USCIS agrees to re-consider the situation, then the out of status situation is on hold until there is a decision. At the very worst, file the motion to re-open and ask for a copy of the RFE so you can provide the information that was requested. You can start gathering all sorts of other evidence now while you wait and virtually inundate them with evidence when the time comes. Good luck. Edited by Kathryn41, 15 November 2011 - 12:48 AM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-11-15 00:40:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Got interview notice but also eligible for citizen	Yes, if you are eligible to file for N-400 due to the validity of your green card, you can do so. It won't be adjudicated, however, until you have the results from your I-751 interview. You should plan on making that interview date as re-scheduling immigration benefit interviews is extremely problematic and can often lead to a denial for failure to attend the original date, causing delay as you request the file to be re-opened and then go on to the new interview. If you have a date for an interview, plan on being there even if you have to cancel travel or work plans. This should be your main priority right now. For your interview bring the documents you mention plus all of the originals of the copied documents you submitted with the I-751. Since interviews for I-751s are unusual, you should also add to the information you originally submitted with lots of additional evidence - joint bank statements, joint credit card statements, joint health coverage; any loans together, copy of lease or mortgage documents with both, evidence of bills you have both paid towards the household, drivers' licenses showing the same address; letters from family members addressed to both of you, things like that. Err on the side of having more information that you think you might need rather than less. You may not need it, but if you do, you will have it. Try to bring documents that cover the whole time of your marriage from when you applied for the green card to when you have the interview date as this shows a continuing relationship. Don't try to reschedule the interview. It is not worth the potential hassle. Interviews for I-751s generally happen for three reasons: 1) the need to interview a certain percentage of people to meet a statistical requirement by law. In this case the computer selected your name and they have no reason to suspect you are anything other than a legitimately married couple. The interview will be very straight forward and non-confrontational. The questions will be simple and easily answered. 2) there was a problem with your application - it didn't have enough evidence or enough variety of evidence or there was a technical problem with the completion of the forms (for example you signed it incorrectly.) There is some sort of reason why they cannot say clearly 'yes' or 'no' so they will want to see more evidence, they will ask more detailed questions about your relationship and your living situation. The questions should not be difficult for a couple who do live together and share a life and a home. 3) they suspect that the relationship isn't valid. The questions in this case will be demanding and they will try to make one or both of you confess that you are not living together, or you are only married for immigration purposes. This is usually the least likely scenario but it is possible. The most likely scenario is the first one. So, collect all of the evidence you can that shows you are married and living together in the same home, and take care to know the details about your home and your life together that a married couple would know - names, dates, arrangement of furniture, type of car, personal characteristics, things like that. Good luck and don't worry too much. You are probably one of the 'statistical' interviews and it will be easy. Plan for the hardest one, expect the best and you should be fine.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-11-19 23:08:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	My mother in Law & her sister ruining our Marriage	One inappropriate post, 2 duplicate posts and 2 off-topic posts have also been removed.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-09-10 11:33:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	My mother in Law & her sister ruining our Marriage	I have merged multiple threads started by the OP into one thread in the ROC forum. Please do not start a new thread on the same situation in another forum. Continue the discussion here. While the family is causing problems, this topic started as and still is primarily about how to remove conditions in this currently hostile situation so this is still the correct forum for the discussion. All of the background information necessary to understand the situation is also contained in this thread.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-09-10 10:11:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	My mother in Law & her sister ruining our Marriage	Two posts continuing the discussion have been removed and this conversation has been taken off-list where it belongs. Please return to the discussion of the OPs concerns. Thank you. Edited by Kathryn41, 09 September 2011 - 08:26 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-09-09 20:25:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	My mother in Law & her sister ruining our Marriage	I just want to clarify this. How can caplock be deemed unethical? and as far as the terms and condition, nothing states there that prohibits the use of such. I think being unethical can be best read and understood based on the context and not on the style of how one writes its post or reply. Here is the terms and condition for further reference. http://www.visajourn...m/content/terms I did not say 'unethical'. The use of Caps is not a TOS violation so will not be found, specifically listed, in the TOS. My comment referred to it being 'universally accepted' that typing in all Caps is considered 'shouting' and interpreted as rude: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_caps. As the purpose of VIsa Journey is to be supportive of those who are undergoing their immigration journeys, we expect people to follow the protocols of netiquette as well, as that is viewed as being 'considerate' btw - you do not need to direct me to the TOS. I am the Lead Moderator on Visa Journey and it was in that capacity that I made my comments. While the use of All Caps - so far - does not violate TOS, it could, however, be 'argued' that for some, 'shouting' at them by typing in Caps after they have asked you to stop would be interpreted as : Make comments in a Post either direct or implied toward another member that are purposely designed to upset, antagonize, make fun of, belittle, or otherwise instigate an argument that takes away from the personal enjoyment of the Service by other users. and thus violate TOS. Now, we will not derail this topic any further with this discussion as that would be a TOS violation. Edited by Kathryn41, 09 September 2011 - 08:22 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-09-09 20:12:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	My mother in Law & her sister ruining our Marriage	The use of non-English is restricted to the Regional forums only so please refrain from using languages other than English in the Immigration forums. I have removed one post totally in a non-English language, and have left the posts with only a little non-English in them this time, but remind everyone please, post only in English so everyone here understands the questions and the answers. Also, just to clarify something - it is universally considered in 'netiquette' - those rules governing how people interact online - that typing in all capital letters is equivalent to shouting and comes across to readers as rude. So, please take off the Caps Lock key, and understand that if you type a word in capital letters people are more likely to see you as being aggressive rather than trying to emphasize something. Edited by Kathryn41, 09 September 2011 - 06:49 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-09-09 18:48:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	ROC outside of marriage	Post violating TOS has been removed. You are not allowed to name call, insult or make personal attacks. Please stop the bickering - it helps no one, least of all the OP - and any continuation of such posts will lead to the poster being thread-banned from participating in this thread. To the OP, would you please let us know the actual date your 2 year green card expires? As a two year conditional green card holder, you are required to file to remove conditions during the 90 day window prior to the 2 year green card expiry, unless you are already divorced, in which case you should apply as soon as the divorce is complete. You can file while separated requesting a waiver from the joint filing condition, but before your petition can be approved you will have to provide USCIS with copies of your divorce documents. Affidavits from your wife and her family will definitely be important in this situation as you appear to have very little documentary evidence to support a valid marriage. How long after you arrived did your wife decide to leave? Were you living together here at any time? Any evidence that you can provide to show you entered into this marriage in good faith will help your position.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-11-29 10:21:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	10 yrs green card	Topic has been moved from AOS forum to Removal of Conditions Forum as it is not an AOS topic.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-11-29 16:18:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	getting u.s. passport.	You're welcome. It should not make a difference. She would need to travel internationally by booking the tickets in the same name that is in her passport but even if she uses her married name elsewhere and it is still her maiden name in her passport, she just needs to carry and have available a copy of your marriage certificate in order to show she is the same person. If she is able to get her married name added without having to get a whole new passport then certainly you can do that - and perhaps someone from the Philippines would be able to advise you on that possibility - but if not, she is fine to continue using her passport with her maiden name in it along with her wedding certificate. If they can't add her married name to her passport without a whole new passport or sending it back to the Philippines, then there shouldn't be any problems waiting until it is ready to expire to renew it in her married name or replace it with her US passport if she has received citizenship by then. I hope this helps. Edited by Kathryn41, 05 December 2011 - 10:18 AM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-12-05 10:17:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	getting u.s. passport.	post containing misplaced humour that could be misconstrued by those not recognizing the sarcasm has been removed. Posts of this nature are more appropriate in the Off Topic forums instead of the immigration forums. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As mentioned above, passports are issued by Governments to the citizens of their country. Your wife is entitled to a Philippines passport as she is a Philippines citizen. When she becomes a US citizen - after application, interview, exam and oath ceremony - she is eligible to apply for a US passport. The earliest she is eligible to submit a petition to the US Government to apply for citizenship is 90 days prior to 3rd anniversary of the date on which her green card was issued as long as you two have also been married at least 3 full years at that time. In order for your wife to reach a 3rd anniversary of her green card, she needs to apply for the Removal of Conditions within the 90 days prior to the 2nd anniversary of her green card. If her Removal of Conditions has not been approved by the time the 3 year anniversary arrives, she is still allowed to apply for citizenship. The citizenship application will 'force' them to make a decision about the ROC before they can start to work on the citizenship petition. Since your wife's 2 year green card expires in May 2013, the earliest your wife would be eligible to file for US citizenship would be sometime in February 2014. It generally takes about 4 to 6 months for the citizenship paperwork and she needs the oath certificate in order to request a US passport so it looks like the earliest she could possibly receive a US passport is the Fall of 2014. She will need to renew her Philippines passport if she wishes to travel between the time it expires in 2013 and the time she is able to receive a US passport in the latter half of 2014. Edited by Kathryn41, 04 December 2011 - 11:59 AM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-12-04 11:56:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	US Postal Service Messed up, now my wife will be deported??	When you go for the Infopass appointment ask the officer with whom you speak to request the actual envelope that was returned. Have them check that the envelope itself was correctly filled out. The reason I am suggesting this is that one of my Advance Parole documents was delivered to me with the address so badly blurred that it was virtually undecipherable. I have the greatest appreciation of my postal delivery person who took the time to look closely enough at the envelope to decipher the address. All that showed was the postal code, half of my name and half of the street name, all very badly blurred and running together as if the ink was wet when printed and then smudged. I would have fully understood if that letter had not been delivered. It was also very obvious that the smudging happened at the originating location while the envelope/label was being printed. I suspect, given the information you have provided, that the same thing might have happened with your envelope, thus requesting someone at USCIS to take a look at the actual envelope that was mailed to you might provide additional evidence that the letter was not delivered because the address is somehow damaged and the mail delivery person could not make it out enough to figure out where it should go. Regardless, you have excellent proof that you have not moved and that the failure to respond to the letter is not yours, as USCIS did receive the letter back. I suspect your case will be re-opened without a problem and I am very confident that if worse came to worse and you had to appear in front of an immigration judge, the ruling would immediately go in your favour for exactly the same reason. If you don't feel you get a good response after the Infopass appointment you could also ask your elected representative (either Congressman or Senator) to investigate for you. You would sign an authorization giving them permission to discuss your case with USCIS, provide them with the information you have provided here, and they would be able to intervene in a situation where it is obviously clear you are not at fault. Good luck. Edited by Kathryn41, 19 November 2011 - 05:53 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2011-11-19 17:52:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	ASC closed on day of biometrics appointment	I can appreciate your frustration! The call center line is actually nicknamed the 'Mis-information Line' and the advice you receive there is not reliable. I have also noticed that the 'real-time' Office closing section of the website is also inaccurate. It will post if an office is closed for a predictable, known in advance reason but doesn't seem to post if the office closes unexpectedly - like for snow. I suspect someone needs to be in the office to post the closure and if no one makes it in, then there is no 'real-time' closure listed. Regardless, you will not be considered to have abandoned the process because they were closed when your wife went to do her biometrics. You have two choices: you can wait until they get around to rescheduling her - I had to reschedule once and it was about a month after the notification that I received the new appointment notice - or she could go and try a walk-in visit. To do a walk in she should go to the ASC, bring along the appointment letter and the necessary documents, and ask if she can do her biometrics now since the facility was closed on the date of the actual appointment. Many facilities will allow unscheduled biometrics to take place if there is a reason the person can't make their appointment. You have one of the best reasons that there is so hopefully they will allow her to do a walk-in for her biometrics. If they say no, then try and see if the guards have any idea of when the snow-cancelled appointments are being rescheduled. You were not the only ones affected so I am sure they have a number of applicants they need to reschedule. Touches on past applications appear to be common when being processed for the I-751. I had the same thing happen so I doubt it is significant. Good luck.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-13 18:04:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Enough Evidence?	Your evidence looks good:). You could state in your cover letter that you still live with your husband's mother so have no mortgage/lease agreements. Heck, living with your mother-n-law itself counts as good evidence you guys are still married and legitimate ! If you have any envelopes or letters addressed to the two of you at your address you could include those but I think you should be fine with what you've got. Good luck!	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-14 10:28:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	I need help please!!!	Don't know how you do it Kathryn41.....answering the same questions over and over because people are too lazy to use the existing resources on VJ. Much time has been put into GUIDES, FAQs, and SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many posts on all these questions that how you don't get frustrated is beyond me. This rant isn't aimed at this OP in particular, rather just a general statement. Also pretty sure "v333k" & "Yurika & Jim" are seeking a promotion inside VJ. I remember what it was like to feel overwhelmed and frustrated and not having anywhere to turn . Yes, sometimes it is because people are too lazy to read the guides or do the research for themselves, but I suspect a lot of times it is really because they truly don't know where to start. Sometimes you can become so confused by the information overload that having a specific answer for your question provides enough of a starting block for you to stand on that you are able to start making sense of all of the other information. I don't which is which so I just operate on the premise that they are all just looking for that first toe-hold to try and make sense of it all - and go from there. I scoured the forms and instructions when I was still going through the process and even then I had questions and - not being a member of VJ until shortly before my AOS was approved - had nowhere to turn. If I had had someone I could ask for clarification or even just affirmation of what I thought was meant I know that my frustration level would have been significantly less. So, that is how and why I try to answer the questions when they come up again and again . They may be repeats for me, but they are brand new for the person asking them. Hi Kathryn41...Thank you very much for your answer, it was really helpful for me...i really appreciate your time!. Cashel You're welcome . Edited by Kathryn41, 13 March 2010 - 11:24 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-13 23:22:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	I need help please!!!	Hi Everybody The 90 days before the expiration of my conditional residency start this weekend. So I have to send my I-751 to remove my conditional status from my residency. I am feeling stressed with this process and i really need your help!!!!I am navigating this process on my own with no attorneys help. so you guys are my lawyers!.....My questions are........... 1. Is there a special format that I need to use when writing my cover letter? Should the cover letter contain a table of contents? The example listed above is fine. For ours we just made a basic statement that we were submitting the I-751 and the enclosed documents to remove the conditions on my residency, and both of us signed it. I included a separate Table of Contents listing everything in order. I divided the evidence up into obvious categories, eg financial, joint ownership, residence, family, travel, etc. 2. Should I give an explaination in my cover letter of the documentation that I am including. It isn't necessary to give an explanation if you are including some sort of list or table of contents. You could state that you are providing evidence that covers the whole period of your marriage, but if they wish to see more please let you know and you would be happy to provide it or a general statement like that. 3. How many pictures should I include? I want to layout pictures on legal paper and write something about the picture below. Is this a good format? That sounds good to me. There are many different formats. I wrote on each one what it was, when it was, where it was and who was in it and included them in the appropriate category (eg - travel included photographs of us with each of our families at Christmas showing the dates we travelled, etc.) Whatever works best for you should be fine. You don't need a lot of photographs - I think we had 12 or 13 in all. 4. Other formating tips specifically how to bind the documents when sending them in? staples? large clips? I used the ACCO fastener system, punching 2 holes at the top and then putting a divider sheet in front of each section also listing what was in that section. Large clips also work. Basically, they will take your application apart and put it into ACCO type of folders at USCIS (I got to see my file at my citizenship interview and that is what they had done) so if you make it easy to do that it should work. Be sure to write your name and A number on the top of every page just in case the application comes apart at some time. That way they will know with which folder the evidence belongs. Thank you very much for help and ideas I really appreciate your comments Good luck. You have time - your window of opportunity has just opened so don't panic. You'll be fine . Cashel Edited by Kathryn41, 13 March 2010 - 06:16 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-13 18:16:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Can I Travel Before A Decision Is Made?	Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum, so please, be gentle! I finally sent off my I-751 and supporting evidence today (yay!) and now it's the long wait for a decision. I have a couple of questions I hope someone could help me with. 1) Hubby and I had made plans to spend Christmas this year with my family in the UK (by then, it will have been 18 months since I last saw my family, and I am so looking forward to Christmas). But, I am worrying myself sick as to whether I will be allowed to make the trip if no decision on my petition has been made by then. Does anyone know what I should do if I've heard nothing by say, late October (that's when we'd be buying our plane tickets)? 2) Will I receive any kind of confirmation that my petition has been received by the USCIS in Vermont? I've heard something about an NOA1 (sorry if that's incorrect) but I truly don't understand what that is or what to do with it! Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, as this trip to the UK for Christmas is something I am longing for. Thank you so much in advance. Sarah PS, If it helps, I'm British living in San Antonio, TX with my American citizen husband. Hi Sarah, You have just sent off your I-751 so in a week to 10 days after mailing it you should receive back a receipt (known as an Notice of Action - NOA). This will acknowledge the receipt of your I-751 and include a paragraph that says that this receipt also acts as an extension to your green card (I-551) for one year and is good for the purposes of both work and travel. What this does is effectively makes your green card valid for another year by which time there should be a decision on the I-751. Within a month or two after receiving the NOA1 you will receive another notice - this is is the ASC (Application Support Center) Notification also known as the Biometrics letter. In it will be instructions about where and when to go to have your fingerprints done and your picture taken. The NOA1 and the ASC letter will both have case numbers listed on them but you will see that they are different. The one on the NOA1 is an internal number and you won't be able to check your status on line with that number. You need to wait until you get the biometrics letter and use that case number to follow your status online. You carry the NOA1 and your expired green card together when you travel. If you are ever questioned you can point out the paragraph on the letter that states it extends your status for one year, however, you shouldn't have any problems travelling to and from the UK. It is also quite possible that you will have an approval of your 10 year green card before your Christmas travels so this will all be a moot point . Good luck! Most Removal of Condition applications are approved without interviews.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-15 21:10:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Filing I-751 soon but lost green card	I highlighted the information I wanted them to find quickly -names, dates, numbers, etc. - since most of what we were submitting were copies anyway. I wanted to make it as easy for them to find the necessary information and see its relevance as I could so they didn't get frustrated and stop looking . I also included a 'table of contents' listing every document that I sent in order of inclusion in the package so if they were looking for something specific they could locate it easily. Good luck!	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-15 21:27:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	I -751 Returned as it was filed Priori to 90 day period	Moved from AOS forum to I-751 forum as it relates to ROC not AOS	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-16 20:35:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Choking on evidence	In all honesty I did not purposely set out to swamp the poor bastards either, the pile of paperwork just kind of grew exponentially on its own as a function of the stress that is inevitable when someone like me who has zero faith in government agencies is forced to deal with such a bloated non-sensical beaurocracy. It wasnt until I saw the sheer volume of paperwork ammmassed in all its non-eco-friendly glory that I started to have malicious intent towards a bunch of people that couldnt sell condoms at an abortion clinic. I have to laugh at this! If you swamped them, we totally submerged them. My package was over 2 1/2 pounds of paperwork! In our 'defense', however, we had been married nearly 4 years by the time we got to the I-751 - and none of the delays in the process were ours - it was all their's. It took nearly 2 years to get the AOS approved - and it was approved 3 weeks prior to our 2nd anniversary when we would have received the 10 year card instead of going through ROC - all this after a 9 month wait for the K-1. So because of those '3 weeks' I figured if they wanted proof - I would give them proof. I documented each of those 4 years very well and did not feel the slight bit guilty. They made me wait all of those years and still required proof that our marriage was valid and not for immigration purposes, so, I didn't want to leave any potential doubt in their minds! If they had been more effective and timely throughout the rest of our process then they would have saved themselves from having to review so much evidence - but they didn't, so evidence they got! Even so, it took a year to get approval (the average for VSC at the time was 12 to 15 months). I had a lot of satisfaction during my naturalization interview seeing my file on the IO's desk - it took two big folders! I said 'It's a big file" and without looking up, the IO said almost in a voice of awe 'it's huge'. Yep - they earned their paycheque that day ! Edited by Kathryn41, 16 March 2010 - 07:14 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-16 19:10:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Some questions about my rights with the 10 year card...	Brian45876: Now my question is if they want to become a permanent resident again (many years later) what is the procedure for that? To summarize, if someone spends 3 years as permanent resident, then gives up their resident status and lives overseas for 8-10 years, and then wants to become a permanent resident again, how is that situation viewed by USCIS? How would you go about applying? Assuming the person was working, another important consideration is that during that hypothetical 8-10 year period would you be obligated to pay US taxes? If you have given up your US permanent residency then no, you would not be required to file US income tax returns if you were living outside of the US. Your US spouse, however, would still be required to file no matter where she is living. If you take citizenship before you leave to work and live elsewhere, you will always need to file a return with the IRS. That doesn't mean you have to pay taxes as there are tax treaties with many countries that are in place and prevent double taxation, but you would have to declare the information and record the taxes you had paid outside of the US all the same.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-14 16:00:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Some questions about my rights with the 10 year card...	I hope this isn’t true. Lets say an individual becomes a permanent residents of the US, and then after a few years they stop residing in the US and move to another country. After they give up their permanent resident status I don’t see why they couldn’t apply for a 10 year tourist visa. Now my question is if they want to become a permanent resident again (many years later) what is the procedure for that? To summarize, if someone spends 3 years as permanent resident, then gives up their resident status and lives overseas for 8-10 years, and then wants to become a permanent resident again, how is that situation viewed by USCIS? How would you go about applying? You would start the immigration process all over again from the beginning. Your US spouse would sponsor you with an I-130 petition, and then when that was accepted, move on to the IR-1 visa process. If you are both residing outside of the US and intend to re-establish domicile within the US you may have the option of doing a Direct Consular Filing (DCF) but it would depend in which country you were living - not all of the Consulates do a DCF. If you have the opportunity to get US citizenship before you decide to move to another country, then do so - it will mean you are allowed to return to the US to live and work without having to go through the immigration process once again.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-14 15:54:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	help my husband doesnt want to file taxes!!	I will add my official warning to the comments others have already posted - there is absolutely no need to be condescending and insulting. If you cannot provide information in a courteous manner, then do not say anything at all because it really adds nothing useful to the discussion. Edited by Kathryn41, 25 March 2010 - 05:12 PM.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-25 17:12:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	help my husband doesnt want to file taxes!!	Jupiter07 gives good advice. One way you may help encourage your husband to prepare his tax returns is to remind him that instead of owing taxes, he may actually be getting a refund. If taxes are being deducted by his employer at source they are being submitted to the IRS. It is surprising that they haven't come after him prior to this if he owed taxes. If he is owed a rebate, however, they are not going to hurry up and insist he files his returns. There may be a penalty for late filing for 2007, 2008 returns - and if he doesn't file them soon - 2009, but if he doesn't owe anything and can expect a refund there is double incentive to file - getting his money back and your 'removal of conditions'. Check into seeing how much a tax preparer would charge to do his back taxes. Maybe if you get all the preparation work done ahead of times so that he doesn't really have to do anything except sign a form he might be more willing to file. Regardless, file your own tax return as "Married, filing separately" and include that with your evidence. Do you pay any of the household bills? Do you have a State identification card or Driver's License? Provide copies of bills that you pay and bills that he pays even if they are from separate accounts. The statements will show they are being mailed to the same address. Provide copies of Driver's Licenses, etc. to show both of you at the same address. What about a family cell phone plan? Include envelopes of mail addressed to both of you or to each of you separately but also showing the same address. Try and think of anything you have that show you are living together even if you don't have a lot of co-mingled expenses. Have you listed your husband as beneficiary on any retirement plans or pension plans? As emergency contact at your employment? Things like this also count as evidence. You can also get affidavits from friends, family and neighbours who know you as a married couple. Good luck.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-24 19:34:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	removal of conditions-i751 form	Moved from K-1 forum to Removal of Conditions Forum as it relates to ROC	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-29 12:19:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Death of USC spouse...I'm lost	I am so sorry for your loss . My sincere condolences to you and your family.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2010-03-27 22:38:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	July 2009 I-751 files	The two July 09 ROC filers threads are now merged - good luck, everyone	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2009-07-03 20:52:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Not file I-751 but will get 10 yrs CG	Actually re-filing the I-751 and getting it approved will bring you to exactly the same place as refiling the I-485, but there is a far greater likelihood of the I-485 being accepted than the I-751, especially as it is a year late. There is a grace period of about 60 days when filing the I-751 if there is a good reason that is accepted by the Immigration Officer reviewing the case, but after that the case usually goes into deportation transactions. The friend of the OP really does need to find out if there has been a deportation ruling made against her yet. If she hasn't moved then she should have received any such notices sent out by USCIS to appear at a deportation hearing. If there is no action yet taken against her then she should be fine filing the I-485 and it most likely would be approved.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2009-12-02 23:36:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion	Not file I-751 but will get 10 yrs CG	Yes, this is a possible solution to failing to file the I-751 in a timely way. When the green card expired and she hadn't filed to remove conditions she was out of status. She has been out of status for a year now so it is too late to file to remove conditions on her permanent residency as she is no longer a permanent resident. She is basically 'starting over' by applying to become a permanent resident again. They will probably have an interview as USCIS will want to know the details about why she failed to file the I-751, but if the AOS is approved, then she would receive a 10 year card because the marriage will be more than 2 years old when the green card is approved. It is definitely NOT the best approach - filing the I-751 was that - but it is a legal route to pursue.	Kathryn41	Female	Canada	2009-12-02 17:33:00