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Hey guys. My husband and I are half way there. We recently got his EAD and SS card so I figured I would share our experiences thus far. Please ask us any questions you want because reading this site was a HUGE help for us.

8/29/2015 - Mailed our AOS Packet to the Chicago Lockbox for packages requiring a signature

8/31/2015 - USPS tracking confirmed Delivery in hindsight I wouldn t of paid extra for faster mailing

9/8/2015 - Email confirmation of package receipt

9/14/15 - Received paper receipts by mail. Priority date Sept. 1st.

9/18/15 - Received Biometrics appointment notification by mail. Date 9/28

9/21/15 - Completed Biometrics Walk In appointment at the Jamaica, Queens Application Support Center. Came at 1:30pm and the place was pretty empty. Security guard was firm but didn t give us any real problem. He had to check with his supervisor to let us go.

For a month we received no news and no updates. We called USCIS and they said that was completely normal not to have any updates in this period and for us to expect the EAD w/i 75 days of our priority date.

10/30/2015 - EAD/ Advanced Parole approved!

11/4/2015 Online update EAD mailed

11/7/2015 - Received EAD in the mail

11/9/2015 - Brought EAD card and Passport to Social Security office in Mineola, NY to apply for SS card Free

11/18/2015 - Received Social Security Card in the mail

11/19/2015 - Took EAD card, Social Security Card, Passport and Bank Cards to DMV to apply for learner s permit. Approved.

Big things we worried about and what we did.

My husband came to the US on a B1/2 visa and he overstayed by 10 years. During that time he did work without authorization, got a Tax Identification number and filed taxes 2 of those years, and actually received a return. haha. On the forms we were truthful and did admit that he worked and did put down where he worked. So far so good and we haven t had any problems. We havent had our interview yet.

FOLDER 1- LABEL I-130 AND WRITE NAMES ON IT

Form I-130 – Petition for Alien Relative

o Attach copy of petitioner s passport me, the wife

o Attach copy of marriage certificate

o Attach 1 passport photo of beneficiary and 1 passport photo of petitioner, write the name in PENCIL on back of photos and place each in a separate sandwich bag. I wrote in black marker the name of the person and what form picture belonged to on the sandwich bag.

o Attach Form G325A for Beneficiary and Form G325A for Petitioner. G325A.A.A.A.A. make sure it ends in A :

o Submit proof of bona fide marriage

We submitted APARTMENT LEASE and I made sure my landlord added my husband to the lease although she was only given financial information about myself. Be firm and just tell them its important. you don t have to explain yourself. Most will comply.

- Photocopy of health insurance card which had my husbands name on it.

-Photocopy of credit cards that had my husbands name on it. Discovercard and JCpenney will send you a second card if you add them as an authorized user. So on the same paper we copied my husbands card and my card which had the same number on it.

- Photocopy of joint bank statement which showed both of our names and address. Wells Fargo will open a bank account for someone without a SSN. I made sure to make deposits in his account from my bank account and pay some of our bills from his account to show a paper trail.

- Photocopy of about 30 pictures of us together in different situations wedding, pictures of him and my mom, pictures of us doing a backyard project, pictures of him and my best friend. if you don t have a lot of pictures just start taking pictures randomly together and write a short blurb describing the pictures.

- Place all supporting documents in a manilla envelope and label Proof of Bona Fide Marriage. Put in i-130 folder

FOLDER 2

Form I-864 – Affidavit of support under section 213A - Make sure to include a photocopy of your ENTIRE tax return for most recent two years INCLUDING all of your W-2 or 1090 s. Since my salary changed drastically from last year to the current year I also included copies of my last 6 months pay stubs.

FOLDER 3

Form I-485 – Adjustment of Status

o Medical examination report must be included in i-485

o Attach copy of birth certificate

o 2 passport size photos of the beneficiary. Follow the same instructions for the previous photos.

o Attach a copy of i-94, passport with all biographical data pages and visa pages copied.

Attach copy of marriage certificate which is the basis of the i-485

Form G-1145 e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance. Put this form as the first page in the i-485 folder.

Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization no additional fee if filed together

Form - 131 Advanced Parole

Include 2 passport style photos of the Beneficiary. label and place in baggy as before

Form I-693 Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record separate fee paid to the civil surgeon. We paid around $130

For the medical examination. Look up all the age appropriate vaccinations that you will need. And then go to a free clinic or community sponsored clinic if you don t have insurance and get all those vaccinations or ask for a TITERS test which will prove that you already received those vaccinations and are immune. If your childhood copy is available bring it. Ask for a printed copy of the lab reports and vaccination record of all vaccinations you get. A copy of the report should be free or minimal cost. Dont say that you need the vaccinations for immigration purposes because insurance and free clinics are not allowed to provide that service just for immigration. Bring all of these records to your medical examination appointment because if you do not have these records they WILL CHARGE YOU EXTRA to do these test. A LOT EXTRA. I recommend starting the vaccination record process about 3 months before you plan to file.

Good luck guys. We are from Long Island so our interview probably won t be for a few months. Will update you about our interview.