Tuesday, November 4, 2008

I-130

So far I have posted blogs about us and our story. More about how this situation has affected us personally, mental, spiritually etc. But I also want this blog site to be helpful for those looking for concrete information on the immigration system. So here, I am going to put a list of what all we put together for our I-130. Basically an I-130 is what the U.S. grants to you saying that you and your spouse are legitimately married.
I, Amanda was the u.S. Citgizen Petitioner for Issac my Spouse Beneficiary.
List of Additional Documents in Support of I-130 Petition. This list is in addition to the two four page applications.
1) Copy of Biographical page of U.S. Passport for Petitioner (me)
2) Copy of front and back of Marriage License
3) Copy of letter from Petitioner's (my) gynecologist confirming her pregnancy, dated December 28, 2005
4) Copy of bank account statement, in joint names of Petitioner and Beneficiary, dated March 15, 2005 through April 14, 2005.
5) Copy of Transfer to Tenant Rights, transferring tenancy into joint names of Petitioner (me) and Beneficiary (Issac); with copy of original lease.
6) Copy of bridal registry at Bed Bath & Beyond. (this was to show how "normal" our wedding was)
7) Copy of engagement notice in newspaper (also to prove we were "normal" and excited to share our news with the world)
8) Copy of wedding program (again proving we did the whole shebang)
9)Copies of photographs of Petitioner and Beneficiary together. (This was because I wanted them to see first hand how happy we were together)
10) Documents showing we made a purchase together as a couple on a credit.
Oh and dont forget the check for the fee of $185. Along with a mug shot (passport style) of both of us.

On June 8, 2005 our lawyer turned in this packet along with a letter explaining that Issac was in removal proceedings and we needed a rush on the application. At this time his next hearing for removal proceedings was Ocotober 4, 2005.

On February 15, 2006 our lawyer wrote to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to inquire as to the status of our I-130 because we had heard nothing at this point. She expressed to them that our case had been pending for over 8 months and that we still had not been scheduled for our interview. Our previous hearing in October was delayed to March 7th and our lawyer expressed this also in this letter asking again that we get our interview before this date.

Our Interview was finally scheduled on May 30, 2006 I give specifics of this in another blog. Long story short the lady was very busy and wasn't ashamed to show us we were not her only "thing" to do that day. Some of the things she asked me was when Issac entered, how many children he had (none), where we were married, and if Issacs parents came to the wedding and where and when I met them or his family, also about Issacs work history. They asked Issac our wedding date, my work history, where and when he met my family, when and how he was arrested by INS. They also asked me if I was aware of Issacs status when we married. She wasn't exactly nice and gave us no impression one way or the other what her decision was. She did tell Katie our lawyer that they would try to get our answer to us before Issac had to leave for Mexico.

On June 27, 2006 we received a Notice of Approval of Relative Immigrant visa Petition.
Date petition filed 06-10-2005 date of approval of petition 06-07-2006. This took an entire year.
The letter states;
The visa petition you filed has been approved. The beneficiary for whom you filled has been given the appropriate classification. Note the approval gives no assurance that the beneficiary will automatically be found eligible for visa issuance, admission to the U.S. or adjustment to lawful permanent resident status. Whether the beneficiary gets a visa is decided only when and application is made to a consular office; whether the beneficiary is admitted or adjusts status in the U.S. is decided only when and application is made to an immigration officer.
And the box that was checked was number 8) stating;
The approved I-130 has been sent to the National Visa Center, located at 32 Rochester Avenue, Portsmouth, NH 03801-2909

And so we had proved to the U.S. government that we got married because we loved each other and not because of legal status.

Issacs voluntary departure date was July 3, 2006 and he was in Mexico.

On September 5,2006 our lawyer Katie began corresponding via e-mail with the National Visa Center to be sure our approval arrived. On September 18, 2006 she received and e-mail stating: The National Visa Center has received your inquiry regarding Issac Hernandez. After searching our records, no information was found regarding this case. Please contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to verify the status of this petition.
On September 27th Katie received the letter stating that the National Visa Center had received our immigrant visa case. And so started our journey toward a Visa appointment for the U.S. I will title that post legalities of the Visa appointment.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Amanda,
    This is very useful information for anyone starting the family-based visa petitioning process. My only note would be that the fees have changed since you filed the I-130. All the fees were drastically increased in July 2007. The current fee for Form I-13o is $355.00. To find the current fee for any CIS application, go to www.uscis.gov and click on Immigration Forms. Keep up the good work!!
    -Katie

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  2. Thanks for checking it out Katie, Im glad to have your input. Thanks for putting up the e-mail site Ill post it at the top with the others.

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