Filing 485 yourself?

[kodak57]

Hello,
I filed 485 by myself on Sep 30, 2005 after my labor was approved on the same day at 10am. I had some help from my lawyers office.
Please note that I am not a lawyer and you should use these instructions at your own risk.


485 Checklist

1. Six (6) photographs for applicants over 14 and (4) photographs for under 14 years of age
2. Copy of Marriage Certificate
3. Birth Certificate OR 2 Affidavits and a certificate of non availability for each applicant
4. Filing Fees for each applicant ($325 for I 485; $180 for I 765; $170 for I 131; $70 for Fingerprinting). Please issue separate checks for each applicant for each form. *$ 225 for I 485 for children under 14. All Checks made payable to USCIS.
5. for each applicant (I 485; G 325A and G 28; I 765; I 131) (Please sign using a different ink, other than black for signing official documents)
6. Copies of each applicant's entire passport pages (threes Color Copy of the first page with picture and other pages can be black and white).
7. Copy of each applicant's I 94 (Both the sides)
8. Copy of Status Paperwork (proof of maintained valid status during their stays in the US) H 1 s, H 4s, L 1, L 2 , J 1 and,F 1, I 20 copies(Whatever applicable)
9. Signed & Notarized Affidavit of Support Form 864 (If married and sponsoring your dependents),
   - Bank Statement.
   - Copies Of Main Applicant's W 2 s (for past three years)
   - Copies of recent pay stubs (3 months)
   - Employment Verification Letter
   - Copies of main applicant's Federal Tax Returns 1040 FORM (for past three years) duly signed.
10. Medical examination report for each applicant in a separate envelope.
11. Divorce Decrees (if applicable)
12. A letter of employment upon receiving GC (Original)
13. Copy of previous EAD (If got one)

Please send all the copies on A 4 SIZE paper and DO NOT STAPLE the pages.

Forms for minors

• I485 must be filed
• G325A must be filed
• I765 need not be filed
• I131 must be filed if planning to leave the country

Representing family members (Spouse, child)

• File G28 for each family member above 18 that you will be representing.
• Minors under 18 do not need G28 filed. Any parent can get info on the minors case

Format of the letters that are needed.

Offer Letter


(Company=s Letterhead)


Date

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
USCIS


Re: Permanent Residence of Mr. ___________

Dear Sir or Madam:

This letter is to confirm that Mr. _________ will be employed with us on full time, permanent basis upon receiving approval of his permanent residence application. He will receive an annual salary of no less than $XYZ/annum. His job title will be Software Engineer and he will be performing the following duties:

Function independently with project assignments. Design, develop and test software applications targeted for the healthcare industry. Design and implement well documented, testable and high quality code. Contribute to the overall systems architecture and establish detailed requirements and functional specifications. Participate in program and project team meetings and communicate with customers to better understand their needs and concerns. Design, development and implementation of applications using Oracle, SQL Server, and Unix. Work on repairing defects and maintaining existing products. Produce detailed, accurate and readable documentation of software applications.

This letter serves as an expression of intent and is not intended to abrogate the at-will nature of employment and is not to be construed as a binding contract.

Please feel free to contact us if your office should require any further information.


Sincerely,




By_________________________
Person Signing
Title


Employment Verification Letter


(On the Company letter head with full street address including Zip code & Telephone number)


Date: *mm/date/year

TO WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN:

This letter is being provided to verify that *Mr./Ms.(Name) worked for us from *mm/date/year through *mm/dd/yyyy as a *Job Title working on an average a minimum of 40 hours each week earning *Salary/year.

*Signature

*Name of Signatory
*Title

SAMPLE AFFIDAVIT OF BIRTH

U.S. laws require submission of copies of birth certificate given by the LOCAL GOVERNMENT/municipality of the city, town or village where an applicant was born. Please note, school certificates, baptismal certificates, or certificates from hospital where an applicant was born are not sufficient. The birth certificate must be issued by the local government.

If the local government has no record of the birth, then a Certificate of Non-Availability must be obtained. A Certificate of Non-Availability is a statement from the local government/municipality stating that there is no record of the birth. In addition to the Certificate of Non-Availability, two Affidavits of Birth from persons with knowledge of the birth; parents, relatives or friends who were adults when the applicant was born must be submitted. NOTE: Applicant’s parents may submit the affidavits. An Affidavit is a statement under oath and need NOT be notarized provided the Affidavit contains a signed self-attestation clause.
==================
INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLING OUT THE AFFIDAVIT

1. FILL OUT THE INFORMATION (TYPE OR WRITE IN CAPITAL LETTERS)
2. HAVE THE PERSON PROVIDING THE AFFIDAVIT SIGN AND DATE IN THE PLACES PROVIDED.
3. IT IS NOT REQUIRED TO TAKE THIS AFFIDAVIT FOR NOTARIZATION. THIS AFFIDAVIT CONTAINS A SIGNED "SELF ATTESTATION" CLAUSE.

EXAMPLE OF AN AFFIDAVIT OF BIRTH BY AN UNCLE
I, John S. Smith (Print Full Name), do hereby solemnly state and affirm as follows:

1. I was born on 12 January 1940 (Date), at London, England (City and Country of Birth).
2. I have known Mary Adams (maiden name Mary Smith) since the day she/he was born, because I am her father's brother. (state exact relationship).
   
3. I personally know that Mary Adams was born on 15 February 1960 (Date of birth), at Washington, D.C., U.S.A. (City and Country of Birth) because I was informed by my brother, Mary's Father, Mr. Thoms H. Smith, that he had been blessed with a daughter (State How You Know of the Birth) The full names of Mary's parents are:
   
4. My current address is:
   12 Utopia Place
   London, England
   Phone:

Date: June 18, 2007 (Signature)
(Print Name) John S. Smith
I hereby declare under penalty of perjury pursuant to the laws of the United States of America (28 U.S.C. § 1746) that the foregoing is true and correct.


Executed on June 18, 2007 (Date) at London, England (City and Country where this Affidavit is Signed).
(Signature)
(Print Name) John S. Smith


Package format for I-485

1. Employment Letter (only for primary applicant)
2. I-485 - Staple check for I-485 and fingerprinting
3. G325 (4 pages)
4. Medical examination report
5. Birth Certificate
6. Marriage Certificate
7. I-94/Passport Copies
8. Status Paperwork
9. Form I-864 and supporting documetns
10. I-131 - staple check
    include extra copy of marriage certificate and 1st page of passport if possible
11. I-765 - staple check
    include extra copy of marriage certificate and 1st page of passport if possible

Please use dividers for each section.

Feel free to ask any questions and I will try to answer them to the best of my knowledge.

[greencardfever]

Is the I-20 form of universities attended in the US required to file the I-485? I can't seem to find mine and so I wondering if it is required.

Thanks.

[kodak57]

You should be able to show that you have been in status all the time in the US. If you do not have your I-20, try to find copies of I-94.

Originally Posted by greencardfever

Is the I-20 form of universities attended in the US required to file the I-485? I can't seem to find mine and so I wondering if it is required.

Thanks.

[greencardfever]

I don't have copies of the old I-94's, will the F1 visa on my passport or transcripts from the university be enough?

[deba]

Guys got a question: Copy of status paperwork:

I was an F1 student from 97-99 and then H1 from 99-01.
I left the US for 2 yrs from 01-03 and came back in 03 with a new H1. Passport was renewed outside US in 03 and new visa attached to new passport.

I have the I-20 and old H1B approval and old passport/visa but not I94.

- Do I have to provide proof of status of my stay from 97-99/99-01 too? In that case I do not have old I94. I thought this was for the last 5 years only.

Also I read the form instructions and it mentions that checks are to be payable to: U.S. Department of Homeland Security

[kodak57]

I feel that it is best if you speak to your lawyer regarding this.

Originally Posted by greencardfever

I don't have copies of the old I-94's, will the F1 visa on my passport or transcripts from the university be enough?

[amsgc]

Originally Posted by kodak57

I feel that it is best if you speak to your lawyer regarding this.

Kodak,
Thank you for your post - it is indeed valuable.

I would like to know about the Salary that is mentioned in the letter from the employer - is it the current salary or, the salary mentioned in the labor?

My thought is if the employer says: "..at least <salaray from labor>.." it should be ok.

Any thoughts?
Thanks

Ams

[saurav_4096]

Kodak,
Thanks very much, you have posted very valuable info.
Getting any info from attorney is nightmare for me but your post is very informative.

Regards
Saurav

[royus77]

Guys ,

How much assets /cash you need to put in the documents ...As i ent most of my savings back to india will it affect my 485.

Thanks
royus77

[nixstor]

Do we need to fill form I-864 or form I -134 for affidavit of support? A friend of mine who filed with murthy this month is forwarding his set of documents. The documents he filled in includes 134 and not 864. I am looking at uscis website and I am trying to figure out what is the difference between the two. Does any one have more info on the difference between the two documents?
Which one should EB guys should be doing?

snip from I-134


Purpose of Form :
To show that visa applicants have sponsorship and will not become public charges while in the United States. The sponsor must file a separate affidavit for each applicant.

Snip from Form I-864

To show that the applying immigrant has enough financial support to live without concern of becoming reliant on U.S. government welfare.

[nixstor]

Answering my own Q. It appears that neither 864/134 are needed for most of us. Can some one confirm?

RHS of instructions page 3 (last para)

Looks like the affidavit of support form is form I 864 and the affidavit of support is for applications based on fiance(e), Family based and EB petitions related to a business that is five percent or more owned by applicant's family.

LHS of page 4 (first para)

For Employment based applicants, The letter from the employer stating that job is available and the salary of the position is sufficient.

[miguy]

Isn't there a risk in filing I-485 on your own? Can anyone share their thoughts? What if you get RFE's?

[nixstor]

Originally Posted by miguy

Isn't there a risk in filing I-485 on your own? Can anyone share their thoughts? What if you get RFE's?

This is the million dollar Q I have. I hate to file it myself but looks like I am being denied any plausible options. AFAIK, I have all the documents needed, How ever I will be curious to know what kind of RFE's have people encountered in the past and what is that a lawyer can do better in answering a RFE better than us as most of this is personal. In the worst case, we might have to hire a lawyer in case of RFE for a high fee. But, Will the employer be happy to work with the new lawyer if it is a query some thing related to employment? What if the RFE comes after we used AC21 and moved to a different employer. How do people answer these RFE's if the previous employer and lawyer are unwilling to share information? I have an approved 140 and a US degree. I see that the chances are slim, but I would love to hear from people who got RFE's on 485.

Thanks

[beautifulMind]

I am on h1 but was a student on F1 earlier...I have lost my I-20.
My question is do I need to submit old I-20 along with other documents for I-485

[amsgc]

Originally Posted by beautifulMind

I am on h1 but was a student on F1 earlier...I have lost my I-20.
My question is do I need to submit old I-20 along with other documents for I-485

You know, I read the instructions and it says they want evidence of your admission to the US and current satus. To my mind, you H1 approval notice should be sufficient. But there have been posts on this board that suggest showing evidence of continued legal status.