Interview Scheduled - Working on Table of Contents

[ChicagoVB]

Yay! Our PD is 11/21/2017 and we finally got notice for our interview at the end of November 2018

I am working on our table of contents and welcome and advice / feedback. I am the US Citizen and am self employed, so I don't have pay stubs. Also, we do not co-mingle finances so the only thing in both of our names jointly is auto insurance. We front loaded the original application with wedding documents and joint information up about a month after the wedding - so this is new info from the last year

Section A - Proof of Petitioner?s (Wife) US Citizenship and Identity
? Original and Copy of Birth Certificate
? Original and Copy of US Citizen Passport
? Original and Copy of US Global Entry Card
? Original and Copy of Illinois Driver?s License

Section B - Proof of Petitioner?s (Wife) Proof of Income
? Updated I-864 document
? Two most recent Personal Checking account statements
? Two most recent Personal Savings account statements
? Summary of Accounts (Personal and Business) showing current assets
? Deposits YTD into Main Business account showing primary source of income
? Wife?s most recent credit score and report

Section C - Proof of Spouse Beneficiary Identity
? Updated Medical Exam
? Original and Copy of Birth Certificate with Translation
? Original and Copy of Passport
? Original and Copy of Employment Authorization and Advanced Parole Card
? Original and Copy of Illinois Driver?s License
? Copy of most recent I-94

Section D - Proof of Beneficiary Proof of Income
? Two most recent Personal Bank statements
? Husband?s most recent credit score and report

Section E - Proof of Family Relationship between Petitioner and Spouse Beneficiary
? Original and Copy of Marriage Certificate
? Copy of Divorce Decree for Wife from previous marriage

Section F - Joint Finances and Cohabitation
? IRS 2017 Transcript
? 2017 Form 1040
? Joint Auto Insurance
? Comcast Internet bill in Husband?s name for Joint Address
? Wife?s mortgage statement for Joint Address
? Joint Check Account Statements
o September 20th 2018
o October 18th 2018
o November
? Car registration for both cars at our home address

Section G ? Trips Taken
? Went to Phoenix to see Wife?s family for Christmas - 12/21/17 and returned to Chicago 12/26/17. We stayed with Wife?s parents for a few days and then spent a few days with her cousins and the whole family spent Christmas Day together
o Flight confirmation for both Wife and Husband booked 10/27/17
o Pictures from our trip
? Went to Serbia to see Husband?s parents and for Wife to meet them. Husband went on 5/6/18 and Wife had a work event so she left 5/14/18. They spent a few days with his parents and they drove to Greece for a few days just the two of them. They went back for a few days to spend time with his parents before going to Belgrade for a few days and returning on 5/27/18
o Flight confirmation for both Wife and Husband booked 4/15/18
o Pictures from our trip
? Went to the UK on 9/2/18 for Wife to meet Husband?s sister and her husband, and meet our new niece. They stayed with the family the entire trip and did day trips around England. Our flight home was cancelled so we had to book a new flight and rent a car to get there. We can?t find the flight confirmation but it was Norwegian Flight #7151
o Invitation letter for Husband?s UK Visa application and Husband?s UK Visa
o Flight confirmation for both Wife and Husband booked 4/15/18
o Pictures from our trip
o Rental car receipt
o Norwegian Airline receipt for food / drink ordered on the plane
? Various ******** posts of things we did or places we went together
'
Section H - Planning a Future Together
? Wife?s Insurance bill for 8/15/18 ?for doctor visit to remove birth control - IUD
? Wife?s Doctor?s summary to remove birth control and provide preconception counseling
? Receipts for prenatal vitamins shipped monthly since 7/8/18
? Receipt for home ovulation and pregnancy test kit dated 8/30/18
? Receipt for various pregnancy and conception books dated 9/27/18

Section I - Letters from Family
? Letter from Wife?s parents detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Wife?s cousins detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Husband?s sister detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Wife?s stepmom detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband

Section J - Cards from Family
? Christmas card from Husband?s parents ? 2017
? Christmas card from Husband?s sister ? 2017
? Christmas card from Wife?s parents ? 2017
? Card from Husband?s sister with her baby?s first photo
? Card from Husband?s parents
? Anniversary card from Wife?s parents

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Congratulations on your interview! I would make sure to read through this thread. https://www.immihelp.com/forum/showt...011#post586011
Everyone has a different style and a different situation of course. Read through those and find the one that best fits your needs.

All the best,

USCFFS

[ChicagoVB]

Yeah I read though that thread and the thread with the list of people's table of contents. All good info

[4EVER]

Yay! Our PD is 11/21/2017 and we finally got notice for our interview at the end of November 2018

Happy to see a fellow Nov 2017 filer about to have an interview! And your evidences look very solid, especially this:

Section H - Planning a Future Together
? Wife?s Insurance bill for 8/15/18 ?for doctor visit to remove birth control - IUD
? Wife?s Doctor?s summary to remove birth control and provide preconception counseling
? Receipts for prenatal vitamins shipped monthly since 7/8/18
? Receipt for home ovulation and pregnancy test kit dated 8/30/18
? Receipt for various pregnancy and conception books dated 9/27/18

All the best!

[ChicagoVB]

Thanks! I feel like we are so much farther behind then all the other November filers. Congrats on already getting your approval!

[nycfiler3]

Happy to see a fellow Nov 2017 filer about to have an interview! And your evidences look very solid, especially this:


All the best!

So I'm chipping in but I think that this section H is actually a bit too much and/or invasive...it's just my opinion though...otherwise it looks great. Wish you all the best!

[ChicagoVB]

Yeah, I understand it is bold to include that but I thought it would be a strong addition since we do not co-mingle finances.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Section E - Proof of Family Relationship between Petitioner and Spouse Beneficiary
? Original and Copy of Marriage Certificate
? Copy of Divorce Decree for Wife from previous marriage

Section F - Joint Finances and Cohabitation
? IRS 2017 Transcript
? 2017 Form 1040
? Joint Auto Insurance
? Comcast Internet bill in Husband?s name for Joint Address
? Wife?s mortgage statement for Joint Address
? Joint Check Account Statements
o September 20th 2018
o October 18th 2018
o November
? Car registration for both cars at our home address

Section H - Planning a Future Together
? Wife?s Insurance bill for 8/15/18 ?for doctor visit to remove birth control - IUD
? Wife?s Doctor?s summary to remove birth control and provide preconception counseling
? Receipts for prenatal vitamins shipped monthly since 7/8/18
? Receipt for home ovulation and pregnancy test kit dated 8/30/18
? Receipt for various pregnancy and conception books dated 9/27/18

Section I - Letters from Family
? Letter from Wife?s parents detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Wife?s cousins detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Husband?s sister detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband
? Letter from Wife?s stepmom detailing their time spent with Wife and Husband

Here is my unsolicited 1 cent feedback:

Section E.
- Original Marriage certificate. If your witnesses were friends or family, then highlight that. Read user helpmylife's story. Maximize the marriage certificate as evidence of bona fide marriage.
- Make sure the copy of the divorce decree is a certified copy. You did not state whether it is or not. If you already sent one, awesome. Otherwise, bring one to the interview.

Section F. This is your bread-n-butter and the section that USCIS pays the most attention to. I would explain in great detail -as redundant as it may feel- how you two pay for joint responsibilities by using your personal accounts. Sure, all your money does not go into one pot. That's fine. If you pay for expenses 50/50, then show that. Explain that. Do not expect the ISO to sift through your bank statements looking for transactions. They don't have to. I explained all that on the thread. It backfired on user helpmylife. They ended up getting a NOID. At the end of the day, they prefer that couples commingle. To USCIS, true marriages commingle. If you choose not to, then that's fine, but go the extra mile.

I would highlight and state that the address on both DLs is your home address.

Section H. This is a first. LOL and I applaud you for your willingness to share this with USCIS. It says "we have nothing to hide. This green card is ours and you know it".

Section I. I would get all those letters notarized. Sworn affidavits are not "best evidence". Notarized affidavits are.

I would also present a notarized power of attorney and notarized Advanced Health Care Directive.

All the best,

USCFFS

[krypton9591]

'
Section H - Planning a Future Together
? Wife?s Insurance bill for 8/15/18 ?for doctor visit to remove birth control - IUD
? Wife?s Doctor?s summary to remove birth control and provide preconception counseling
? Receipts for prenatal vitamins shipped monthly since 7/8/18
? Receipt for home ovulation and pregnancy test kit dated 8/30/18
? Receipt for various pregnancy and conception books dated 9/27/18

Here is my unsolicited 1 cent feedback:

Section E.
- Original Marriage certificate. If your witnesses were friends or family, then highlight that. Read user helpmylife's story. Maximize the marriage certificate as evidence of bona fide marriage.
- Make sure the copy of the divorce decree is a certified copy. You did not state whether it is or not. If you already sent one, awesome. Otherwise, bring one to the interview.

Section F. This is your bread-n-butter and the section that USCIS pays the most attention to. I would explain in great detail -as redundant as it may feel- how you two pay for joint responsibilities by using your personal accounts. Sure, all your money does not go into one pot. That's fine. If you pay for expenses 50/50, then show that. Explain that. Do not expect the ISO to sift through your bank statements looking for transactions. They don't have to. I explained all that on the thread. It backfired on user helpmylife. They ended up getting a NOID. At the end of the day, they prefer that couples commingle. To USCIS, true marriages commingle. If you choose not to, then that's fine, but go the extra mile.

I would highlight and state that the address on both DLs is your home address.

Section H. This is a first. LOL and I applaud you for your willingness to share this with USCIS. It says "we have nothing to hide. This green card is ours and you know it".

Section I. I would get all those letters notarized. Sworn affidavits are not "best evidence". Notarized affidavits are.

I would also present a notarized power of attorney and notarized Advanced Health Care Directive.

All the best,

USCFFS

I agree with USCFFS, that's definitely a first, and I also applaud you for being willing to share that information with USCIS, I might add that in that case since it's personal health information that you include a form Showing that USCIS has been authorized as a HIPPA approved representative for the duration of the interview and application process seeing as that's personal information that you might not want sent to additional third parties.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

I agree with USCFFS, that's definitely a first, and I also applaud you for being willing to share that information with USCIS, I might add that in that case since it's personal health information that you include a form Showing that USCIS has been authorized as a HIPPA approved representative for the duration of the interview and application process seeing as that's personal information that you might not want sent to additional third parties.

*smacks own forehead* HIPPA! Sweet catch, krypton9591!

[ChicagoVB]

Thanks! I did not think to explain about not commingling, I just assumed they would ask us about it. But I can definitely add further explanation in the table of contents.

I also added the POA's USCFFS after reading that additional link you sent yesterday.

Also did not think of a HIPPA release, I will look into that!

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Thanks! I did not think to explain about not commingling, I just assumed they would ask us about it. But I can definitely add further explanation in the table of contents.

I also added the POA's USCFFS after reading that additional link you sent yesterday.

Also did not think of a HIPPA release, I will look into that!

The issue with that approach is that - what if the officer does not ask you why you don't commingle or how you commingle? Then he/she will just make up their mind based on what they see. You have to tell them what they're looking at. The burden of proof rests upon YOU. They don't have to connect dots for you. Remember that spouses of US citizens are eligible to apply for Adjustment of Status BUT ARE NOT ENTITLED to adjustment of status. For marriage based cases, Adjustment of status is a matter of administrative grace.

[ChicagoVB]

The issue with that approach is that - what if the officer does not ask you why you don't commingle or how you commingle? Then he/she will just make up their mind based on what they see. You have to tell them what they're looking at. The burden of proof rests upon YOU. They don't have to connect dots for you. Remember that spouses of US citizens are eligible to apply for Adjustment of Status BUT ARE NOT ENTITLED to adjustment of status. For marriage based cases, Adjustment of status is a matter of administrative grace.

here is what I wrote, think it would be sufficient?

We choose to not co-mingle most of our finances for a few different reasons:
? When we met we were 34 and 36 year?s old and we had already been financially independent and accustomed to paying for our own bills and financial obligations.
? Both Wife and Husband work and make enough money to cover their own personal financial obligations.
? Wife owns 8 companies and has 19 bank accounts, so her finances are complex. Because of the nature of her business being litigious, she has always kept her accounts separate and avoided any commingling as she could be sued and commingling opens her up to liability. Commingling funds could also make Husband's assets at risk in a lawsuit.
? They currently reside at Joint Residence which is a small apartment building Wife acquired in August 2011. The current mortgage on the property is $2,200.34 which includes taxes and insurance. She currently rents the other units in the apartment for $1,100 and $1,350 a month which covers the entire mortgage. Since they live for free Husband does not contribute money to this.
? Big expenses like new furniture or vacations Wife pays for because she makes more money and it will not cause a financial strain to her. Year to date Wife has contributed $14,000 into their joint account for both of them to spend. This covers groceries and day to day spending from the both of them. Husband also uses the account for personal purchases like clothing or entertainment as he pleases.
? If Husband incurs a large expense that he cannot personally pay for, Wife pays for it out of her account. Example, when they combined auto insurance Wife pays her upfront in full, Husband was used to paying his monthly so Wife paid the policy for both cars.
? Husband could take another job and make more money to pay 50% of everything, but that kind of job requires 50-55 hour work weeks and late nights because he works in restaurants/hotels. That would mean working till 2 am and sleeping till 11 am and then getting ready for work at 2pm every day. Wife values time over money and doesn?t want a husband that she only sees 3 hours a day who is always tired from working late nights. She makes enough money to cover the big stuff so that he can work less hours and spend more time with her.

[nycfiler3]

here is what I wrote, think it would be sufficient?

We choose to not co-mingle most of our finances for a few different reasons:
? When we met we were 34 and 36 year?s old and we had already been financially independent and accustomed to paying for our own bills and financial obligations.
? Both Wife and Husband work and make enough money to cover their own personal financial obligations.
? Wife owns 8 companies and has 19 bank accounts, so her finances are complex. Because of the nature of her business being litigious, she has always kept her accounts separate and avoided any commingling as she could be sued and commingling opens her up to liability. Commingling funds could also make Husband's assets at risk in a lawsuit.
? They currently reside at Joint Residence which is a small apartment building Wife acquired in August 2011. The current mortgage on the property is $2,200.34 which includes taxes and insurance. She currently rents the other units in the apartment for $1,100 and $1,350 a month which covers the entire mortgage. Since they live for free Husband does not contribute money to this.
? Big expenses like new furniture or vacations Wife pays for because she makes more money and it will not cause a financial strain to her. Year to date Wife has contributed $14,000 into their joint account for both of them to spend. This covers groceries and day to day spending from the both of them. Husband also uses the account for personal purchases like clothing or entertainment as he pleases.
? If Husband incurs a large expense that he cannot personally pay for, Wife pays for it out of her account. Example, when they combined auto insurance Wife pays her upfront in full, Husband was used to paying his monthly so Wife paid the policy for both cars.
? Husband could take another job and make more money to pay 50% of everything, but that kind of job requires 50-55 hour work weeks and late nights because he works in restaurants/hotels. That would mean working till 2 am and sleeping till 11 am and then getting ready for work at 2pm every day. Wife values time over money and doesn?t want a husband that she only sees 3 hours a day who is always tired from working late nights. She makes enough money to cover the big stuff so that he can work less hours and spend more time with her.

Hey, actually, you do have a shared account and you "kind of" do co-mingle. Based on that, I would personally remove the first 2 "reasons" since wife is actually paying for a lot of things so it goes a bit against the reasoning, maybe? But honestly, if the wife is the USC, I think it shows even more the bona fide since she's caring for the husband who is the immigrant! You'll be fine.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

I think that looks great. I would state "this is HOW we commingle our finances:" Done. Just because you do not pool all the money into one pot (joint bank account), it does not mean that you do not commingle. This is a two income household and you are both jointly responsible for several expenses - joint liabilities. It's very hard to not commingle. If you use your money to cover someone else's expenses or those that you are both jointly liable for - that's commingling right there. It's how you choose to present the information. I would not cloud the Immigration Services Officer judgment by saying "we do not commingle". OVERALL, you do commingle. So to make it simpler - yes, you commingle. I would maybe change the title to "Evidence of joint liabilities/commingling of finances"

*I would definitely add a financial power of attorney and Advance Health care directive.* You two have complex finances. You do not want folks fighting over your assets.

All in all, I think you will likely be approved on the spot or shortly after. Your evidence is solid.