Documentation to send - certified copies or originals

[thunder999]

Hi

I'm currently on an F1 student visa, and am getting married to a US citizen in a couple of weeks time. I'm already up to my eye balls in forms and documents for the application of AOS, but have a question that I've not been able to find the answer to. I feel like I'm going round in circles, there is so much info out there, trying to reconcile it all with my situation is proving tricky, but I will get there.

With regards my visa, birth certificate and other types of documentation like this, do I send copies or originals. If copies are ok, do they need to be certified, and if so, who can certify them? Can this be done by a public notary?

Also, while I'm asking, when I make the application, I send everything together, including my future wife's application for me?

Many thanks for any assistance in advance.

[immihelp]

You send a normal photocopy of the birth certificate.

When you say other documents, I am not sure which ones you are referring to. Look at https://www.immihelp.com/i-485-adjus...s-application/

[thunder999]

Thanks for your reply and the link too. I'm slowly getting back into my paperwork and trying to get back up to speed, I've just spent the last 6 months finally selling my house in France, and that took up a lot of brainwork!

I was mainly referring to documents such as my visa, my wife's tax returns, her birth certificate, evidence that we have a genuine relationship (eg bills showing joint names, joint ownership of assets) and other things like that. I find it amazing that they accept only photocopies and not certified copies, but if that's the case, that saves a lot of extra hassle and time.

I imagine I'd need to send originals of my police certificates though. Or bring the originals to the interview stage?

[wavedom]

Normally you can send regular photocopies of everything unless it specifically says that you need a certified copy. The instructions for I-130 and I-485 state what documents you should submit and if they need to be certified. If the instructions ask for a police certificate, I would send the certificate in original along with an official translation including a certification from the translator.

You can send the I-130 together with the I-485. Just make sure you include everything that is supposed to go with each form.

Regarding the fact that USCIS accepts regular photocopies, a certified copy doesn’t really add that much of security to a document. All that it does is that a public notary (or someone else) makes a photocopy and signs the copy to assure that it’s an actual copy of the original. But it would probably be just as easy to **** a notarized copy as to change a document in Photoshop. When you go to the AOS interview, you can bring original documents showing a genuine relationship (marriage certificate, rental lease, joint bank accounts etc.) along with copies of the documents you bring, in case they want to keep a copy for the record.

[zoom123]

You got a good answer from wavedom.
you should send photocopies only. Take orignals with you at the time of interview. The IO will see the documents to judge the bonafide marriage.

[immihelp]

Let me clarify here what certified copy really means: https://www.immihelp.com/certified-c...s-immigration/