Keep calm and carry on

[usresident2018]

Dear Immi users,

I have dipped in and out of this site for a number of months in order to see about the progress of AOS applicants. While I feel that most people write in the forums with words of encouragement, there are those that sow seeds of doubt by casting out mis-information and hear say. As a reader of the forums, I began to feel some paranoia that I was going to be denied because I didn't have a written testimony from everyone who attended my wedding, vouching for the legitimacy of our wedding (I am being sarcastic here, but I have seen people advise doing similar things.) In short, I stopped coming to this site, and I followed the instructions given to me by the only body who can actually approve my application, USCIS!

I will not go into the details surrounding my case, as they are not relevant to this post.

What I do want to draw your attention to is the tone in which some users post. It is not okay to tell someone that their case will raise 'red flags', as I have seen a number of you do. As far as most of us are aware, users of this forum are not IOs, and even if they are, it is unlikely that you are reviewing another user's case.

Stop telling people to 'front load' their applications. Only send to USCIS what they have requested!

When you receive a RFE, follow the instructions carefully. Sending data that has not been asked from you will not 'speed up' your case, as I have seen a number of users tell others.

If you get congress involved for any reason, follow their lead, not the lead of another user. Congress are extremely experienced in dealing with immigration matters.

When your interview is scheduled, bring to the interview exactly what has been asked. Again, there is not a need to front load the application by bringing every single text message that you and your partner ever sent to each other when you have utility bills, bank accounts, a lease or mortgage payments, plenty of photos, flights and other evidence that you prove that you are a married couple. If you do choose to bring text messages or emails, bring ones that you feel are meaningful, and explaining to the IO why you brought that particular item to the interview will speak volumes.

Remember that, just like human beings, each AOS case is different and, therefore, what happened to Person A is not necessarily going to be the same for Person D or E. Take it or leave it, but my advice is to do exactly what USCIS have asked you to do and no more.

I will finish by saying that if your marriage is genuine, you will be approved. It is as simple as that.

Good luck to those applications still pending. Stay positive, especially in the current political climate. Know your rights and hang in there!

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Dear Immi users,

I have dipped in and out of this site for a number of months in order to see about the progress of AOS applicants. While I feel that most people write in the forums with words of encouragement, there are those that sow seeds of doubt by casting out mis-information and hear say. As a reader of the forums, I began to feel some paranoia that I was going to be denied because I didn't have a written testimony from everyone who attended my wedding, vouching for the legitimacy of our wedding (I am being sarcastic here, but I have seen people advise doing similar things.) In short, I stopped coming to this site, and I followed the instructions given to me by the only body who can actually approve my application, USCIS!

I will not go into the details surrounding my case, as they are not relevant to this post.

What I do want to draw your attention to is the tone in which some users post. It is not okay to tell someone that their case will raise 'red flags', as I have seen a number of you do. As far as most of us are aware, users of this forum are not IOs, and even if they are, it is unlikely that you are reviewing another user's case.

Stop telling people to 'front load' their applications. Only send to USCIS what they have requested!

When you receive a RFE, follow the instructions carefully. Sending data that has not been asked from you will not 'speed up' your case, as I have seen a number of users tell others.

If you get congress involved for any reason, follow their lead, not the lead of another user. Congress are extremely experienced in dealing with immigration matters.

When your interview is scheduled, bring to the interview exactly what has been asked. Again, there is not a need to front load the application by bringing every single text message that you and your partner ever sent to each other when you have utility bills, bank accounts, a lease or mortgage payments, plenty of photos, flights and other evidence that you prove that you are a married couple. If you do choose to bring text messages or emails, bring ones that you feel are meaningful, and explaining to the IO why you brought that particular item to the interview will speak volumes.

Remember that, just like human beings, each AOS case is different and, therefore, what happened to Person A is not necessarily going to be the same for Person D or E. Take it or leave it, but my advice is to do exactly what USCIS have asked you to do and no more.

I will finish by saying that if your marriage is genuine, you will be approved. It is as simple as that.

Good luck to those applications still pending. Stay positive, especially in the current political climate. Know your rights and hang in there!

I feel the need to address your post because it does not help those who do not have a joint lease, mortgage, joint utility bills, joint health insurance, 401k to show that you are each other's beneficiary's. Those are the items that the I-130 instructions list specifically. The majority of people do not have those items. Lucky for you, you did. So what about those who don't? Everyone should know that there are plenty of alternate way to show evidence of bona fide marriage.

Per I-130 instructions, "at the time of filing, you must submit ALL evidence and supporting documentation (...) USCIS may issue a Notice of Intent to Deny or Denial Notice for petitions filed without the required supporting evidence" see for yourself. For the longest time, attorneys have been telling people to only submit marriage certificates and divorce decrees. Now we know that does not meet USCIS' expectations. If not take a look at the unfortunate situation user helpmylife had to navigate through.

Text messages aren't, of course, more powerful evidence than a mortgage or a joint lease, or joint utility bills. However, if you lack those items, yes, you can get creative and show text messages. Why wouldn't you? And no, they don't have to be meaningful.

I had someone referred to me by cali2018 from another site. The gentleman showed up to the interview empty handed, and lucky for him his case was not denied on the spot and was placed under review. He followed my advice and looked through the several examples of Table of Contents I always refer people to. By doing that, he found that he had more evidence available to him than he thought he did. So he was able to put together 11 exhibits of evidence. He delivered all that evidence to the field office during an infopass appointment, and the office accepted it. Shortly after his EAD/AP combo card was approved.

At the same token, if you do not have a joint lease, then you can resort to notarized affidavits of residence. Another good option is an advanced health care directive. That's a document that every couple should have.

*Reaching out to congress - case workers are interns. They may new interns OR they may be inexperienced interns. So you have to be specific in what you need.

*Affidavits from people who know you or don't know you, are the last line evidence and carry the least weight.

*To be clear, people who had been misinformed by lawyers and told they did not need to submit evidence of bona fide marriage with their AOS application, came to the forum with the idea of submitting evidence of bona fide marriage well after their initial filing, and in one instance one person said they actually had an RFE and asked if they could submit additional items with that. The consensus here or at least my response was, that you can try. No one said it will speed up your case. You can try but there is no guarantee that the additional items will be added to your file. So if you do try, then it has to be extra clear what you want the mailroom contractor to do with the additional papers. That's what I responded on here. I also said I would not recommend sending extra items without a RFE, but if you do want to do so, then these are your options. You can't all of a sudden twist those words into "Submit evidence of bona fide marriage with RFEs even if you aren't asked for it".

*Text messages can prove the longevity of a relationship. For those who file right after getting married, and do not have joint documents, well, they can show text messages from the day they met until the date they file, so that their application does not trigger fraud alerts. At least they are showing that they did not just meet the day before they got married. That is something that comes up in cases where people commit marriage fraud.

Your post comes right after USCIS issued this https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-rele...ent-priorities Here is the actual memorandum. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/...nce-of-NTA.pdf
Then, panic ensued in this forum. Granted, USCIS just said they're not implementing that guidance just yet; as shown by this link. It's interesting that no one in this forum cared to bring this up.

https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/updated-guidance-implementation-notice-appear-policy-memorandum

That's why I post on this forum. Adjusting status is a serious matter and such be handled as such.

[krypton9591]

Dear Immi users,

I have dipped in and out of this site for a number of months in order to see about the progress of AOS applicants. While I feel that most people write in the forums with words of encouragement, there are those that sow seeds of doubt by casting out mis-information and hear say. As a reader of the forums, I began to feel some paranoia that I was going to be denied because I didn't have a written testimony from everyone who attended my wedding, vouching for the legitimacy of our wedding (I am being sarcastic here, but I have seen people advise doing similar things.) In short, I stopped coming to this site, and I followed the instructions given to me by the only body who can actually approve my application, USCIS!

I will not go into the details surrounding my case, as they are not relevant to this post.

What I do want to draw your attention to is the tone in which some users post. It is not okay to tell someone that their case will raise 'red flags', as I have seen a number of you do. As far as most of us are aware, users of this forum are not IOs, and even if they are, it is unlikely that you are reviewing another user's case.

Stop telling people to 'front load' their applications. Only send to USCIS what they have requested!

When you receive a RFE, follow the instructions carefully. Sending data that has not been asked from you will not 'speed up' your case, as I have seen a number of users tell others.

If you get congress involved for any reason, follow their lead, not the lead of another user. Congress are extremely experienced in dealing with immigration matters.

When your interview is scheduled, bring to the interview exactly what has been asked. Again, there is not a need to front load the application by bringing every single text message that you and your partner ever sent to each other when you have utility bills, bank accounts, a lease or mortgage payments, plenty of photos, flights and other evidence that you prove that you are a married couple. If you do choose to bring text messages or emails, bring ones that you feel are meaningful, and explaining to the IO why you brought that particular item to the interview will speak volumes.

Remember that, just like human beings, each AOS case is different and, therefore, what happened to Person A is not necessarily going to be the same for Person D or E. Take it or leave it, but my advice is to do exactly what USCIS have asked you to do and no more.

I will finish by saying that if your marriage is genuine, you will be approved. It is as simple as that.

Good luck to those applications still pending. Stay positive, especially in the current political climate. Know your rights and hang in there!

I feel the need to address your post because it does not help those who do not have a joint lease, mortgage, joint utility bills, joint health insurance, 401k to show that you are each other's beneficiary's. Those are the items that the I-130 instructions list specifically. The majority of people do not have those items. Lucky for you, you did. So what about those who don't? Everyone should know that there are plenty of alternate way to show evidence of bona fide marriage.

Per I-130 instructions, see for yourself. For the longest time, attorneys have been telling people to only submit marriage certificates and divorce decrees. Now we know that does not meet USCIS

Text messages aren't, of course, more powerful evidence than a mortgage or a joint lease, or joint utility bills. However, if you lack those items, yes, you can get creative and show text messages. Why wouldn't you? And no, they don't have to be meaningful.

I had someone referred to me by cali2018 from another site. The gentleman showed up to the interview empty handed, and lucky for him his case was not denied on the spot and was placed under review. He followed my advice and looked through the several examples of Table of Contents I always refer people to. By doing that, he found that he had more evidence available to him than he thought he did. So he was able to put together 11 exhibits of evidence. He delivered all that evidence to the field office during an infopass appointment, and the office accepted it. Shortly after his EAD/AP combo card was approved.

At the same token, if you do not have a joint lease, then you can resort to notarized affidavits of residence. Another good option is an advanced health care directive. That's a document that every couple should have.

*Reaching out to congress - case workers are interns. They may new interns OR they may be inexperienced interns. So you have to be specific in what you need.

*Affidavits from people who know you or don't know you, are the last line evidence and carry the least weight.

*To be clear, people who had been misinformed by lawyers and told they did not need to submit evidence of bona fide marriage with their AOS application, came to the forum with the idea of submitting evidence of bona fide marriage well after their initial filing, and in one instance one person said they actually had an RFE and asked if they could submit additional items with that. The consensus here or at least my response was, that you can try. No one said it will speed up your case. You can try but there is no guarantee that the additional items will be added to your file. So if you do try, then it has to be extra clear what you want the mailroom contractor to do with the additional papers. That's what I responded on here. I also said I would not recommend sending extra items without a RFE, but if you do want to do so, then these are your options. You can't all of a sudden twist those words into "Submit evidence of bona fide marriage with RFEs even if you aren't asked for it".

*Text messages can prove the longevity of a relationship. For those who file right after getting married, and do not have joint documents, well, they can show text messages from the day they met until the date they file, so that their application does not trigger fraud alerts. At least they are showing that they did not just meet the day before they got married. That is something that comes up in cases where people commit marriage fraud.

Your post comes right after USCIS issued this https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-rele...ent-priorities Here is the actual memorandum. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/...nce-of-NTA.pdf
Then, panic ensued in this forum. Granted, USCIS just said they're not implementing that guidance just yet; as shown by this link. It's interesting that no one in this forum cared to bring this up.

https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/updated-guidance-implementation-notice-appear-policy-memorandum

That's why I post on this forum. Adjusting status is a serious matter and such be handled as such.

to add on to what UScitizenFilingforspouse has already said above, specifically in regards to your comment about it not being OK to tell someone their case could raise a red flag.... all members and posters of this forum are here on their own accord, and when they start a thread they are 1. Usually asking for the advice or other posters knowing full well that it is not legal advice, and 2. by starting said thread or posting a question, they are making their questions public and therein asking for advice from other forum members. all that to be said, if they're asking for advice we're going to give it to them, and it is completely OK to tell someone their case is raising a red flag. especially when some of us work in the immigration field. we may not be IO's but we've definitely been around the block a few times and know what we're talking about when it comes to that sort of thing. OH BTW if they don't front load evidence they've got a better chance of an RFE than if they do. also you claim to have "dipped" in and out of this forum for a few months, yet you're join date was today, so I doubt that's true unless you've been in ghost mode and not commented at all. so my recommendation to you would to be worry about yourself and stop butting in other peoples affairs unless you have more experience about what you're talking about besides getting lucky at your interview.. rant over *drops Mic*.

[outsidebones]

Fight fight fight fight!

If this forum ever needed a meet up its now!

[Randomdude]

I don't think there's necessarily a fight here just a difference in perception and opinion. OP I'm sure you mean well but to be honest with you i rarely see definitive answers on here. Most are usually in the form of suggestions. Of course it should be common knowledge here that this is only a web forum intended to hear other people suggestion and since each case is different one should only take all this as a suggestion nothing more.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

I don't think there's necessarily a fight here just a difference in perception and opinion. OP I'm sure you mean well but to be honest with you i rarely see definitive answers on here. Most are usually in the form of suggestions. Of course it should be common knowledge here that this is only a web forum intended to hear other people suggestion and since each case is different one should only take all this as a suggestion nothing more.

Exactly.