Some Good News and Some Bad News...

I have some good news and some bad news. I guess I will start with the bad news.
The bad news is, we are still waiting on the USCIS to process our application and we have no idea how long it will take for them to approve or disapprove our application.
The good news is that Anna finally received a package from Russia that we had been waiting on for nearly 2 months.
Her friend Larisa mailed the package on October 12 and we were able to track the package in the beginning but was unable to track it beyond the postal facility in Moscow. For over a month and a half the US Postal Service indicated that it was still in Moscow preparing for shipment. I went as far as contacting the US Postal Service and spent nearly 30 minutes on hold only to hear that it was still in the hands of the Russian Postal Service. Anna received a similar response from the Russian Postal Service. They indicated to Anna that it had been transferred to the U.S. Postal Service. The only thing these government agencies could do was point their fingers at each other. In essence the US Postal Service said "It's Russia's Fault" while the Russian Postal Service said "It's America's Fault".
Needless to say, Anna and I had nearly given up hope in ever receiving the package. But finally I was able to check the status on the USPS.gov website and it indicated that the package had been moved from the processing center in Moscow and was transferred directly to the local processing center in Meridian. Literally this happened overnight. One day I checked and it was still in Moscow and the next morning I check and it is in Meridian. We don't know how it happened but by some miracle it was transferred overnight.
No matter how it happened, Anna and I were relieved to finally get the package.
We can only hope the USCIS will work as "efficiently" as the US Postal Service.

Living in America...

It has been about 4 and a half months since Anna arrived in America on her 90 day K-1 Fiance Visa. Her visa expired on October 20th thus removing her legal status at that time. Given her current status she would be considered to be an illegal alien or undocumented citizen until she is issued a Green Card.

We are legally married now and we filed the required paperwork with the USCIS (US Department of Homeland Security) within the required amount of time but we are still at the mercy of the government while we wait for the USCIS to approve her Green Card. Obviously without a green card she has no legal residence in the United States.

But while we wait, life goes on. The children are attending school every day. In fact they state the "Pledge of Allegiance" first thing every morning in school. Both of them are doing very well in school and we are receiving good reports from both their teachers.

Meanwhile, Ivan celebrated his 9th birthday here and Anna made him a very nice cake for his birthday. It was delicious.

The children also had their first Halloween experience in America. I took the children trick-or-treating on Halloween and they had a wonderful time and came home with a mountain of candy.

We also had a wonderful dinner with my family on Thanksgiving, although the language barrier still makes it difficult for Anna to communicate with my family. Even though Anna is attending English classes twice a week, Anna and I still rely strongly on Google Translator to communicate.

So while we continue to wait for the approval for Green Cards for Anna and the children, Anna and the children are assimilating well to life in America.

Request for Evidence Response Review

Today Anna and I received a message indicating the USCIS Received our paperwork and now our case is back under review. Here is the notice we received.

On November 20, 2013, we received your response to our request for evidence. This case is being processed at our NATIONAL BENEFITS CENTER location. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283. We will notify you by mail when we make a decision or if we need something from you. You should expect to receive a written decision or written update within 60 days of the date we received your response unless fingerprint processing or an interview are standard parts of case processing and have not yet been completed, in which case you can use the processing time information on our website to estimate when this case will be done. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

Once a timely response to the request for evidence is received by USCIS, we review the evidence or information you submitted. If you submitted the requested evidence, we continue with the adjudication of your application or petition in light of the new evidence.

We are crossing our fingers and hope that we don't run into any other obstacles so Anna and the children will be able to receive their green cards soon. Anna can't look for employment until she has her green card or work permit. Generally the work permit is issued first but we won't know for certain until it arrives. So now we just wait....

Show me the money!

After receiving the Request for Evidence(RFE) from the USCIS, Anna and I were able to gather the requested documents and get them ready to send to the USCIS. 

I was able to make copies of their original birth certificates as well as make a copy of my 2012 Tax return that I filed with the IRS last year.

We did however have a difficult time trying to figure out what we needed to do to provide the additional financial information to them as I really had no idea what income I am supposed to have before the USCIS can approve Anna's Green Card. 

The RFE was vague and all it stated was "Based on the documents submitted with Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the petitioner/sponsor, the income did not meet 125% (100% if military) of the federal poverty line for the petitioner/sponsor's household size.". 

On a side note, this is the same income I reported on the original Affidavit of support when we submitted the I-129f Petition for Alien Fiance while Anna was still in Russia. Obviously the USCIS considered my income sufficient enough to approve the petition and allow her to purchase the visa to come here and marry me. But now it is not enough for them to allow her to stay here with me. I am not sure where the logic is in that.

According to the RFE, I am required to provide evidence that I make 125% of the "federal poverty line". It didn't indicate any particular number I could use as a baseline so it left it up to me to try to figure it out. 
After some research I was able to find a website with the 2013 Poverty Guidelines that showed me some numbers I could work with. 

According to information on the site, I was able to conclude that my income exceeded the amount listed but after a simple calculation I discovered my income was just a little bit less than 125% of the suggested amount for a family of 6. 

The RFE also indicated that I could include assets to make up the difference but my assets must "equal three times the difference for a spouse or child of a United States Citizen".
Fortunately, I was able to make up the difference by including a copy of my retirement fund as an asset on the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support. 

So we sent the package off to the Department of Homeland security with the hope that this will resolve the problems. We hope this will be adequate and they will approve the Green Cards for Anna and the children. Otherwise we may have to employ the services of and immigration Attorney and that could prove costly and to be honest we cannot afford that expense right now. We just spent $2340.00 for this "Service" and it is non-refundable.

Request for Initial Evidence...

Today was not an easy day for Anna and I. It all started out well as we prepared Anna and the children for their appointment with the USCIS. I had taken a vacation day to prepare for their appointments with the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services). We originally had hoped that it was the appointment for their interview to obtain their green cards, but we were wrong. After we arrived for the appointment we discovered that the appointment was only to get their fingerprints and photos taken for their green cards.

It did not take very long and we were finished in about 35 minutes. We tried to take some pictures of Anna and the Children there for the blog but we were told we were not allowed to take pictures in front of the USCIS Office. We were able to sneak off with one photo of Ivan in front of the local office though.

Things quickly went south for us after we returned home to discover 3 letters in the mailbox addressed from the US Department of Homeland Security (USCIS). Upon opening the letters we discovered a yellow paper in each envelope titled "Request for Initial Evidence (I-485)".

The letter stated the following:

This office is unable to complete the processing of your Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, (Form I-485) without initial information. Submit ALL the information requested below at one time. Failure to do so will result in a denial. You must Submit the information within 87 (eighty-seven) days to the following Address: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, PO Box 648004, Lee's Summit, MO 64002. Include this letter with your response.

The Service will process your Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (if submitted) within 90 days of the receipt of your missing initial evidence. This is pursuant to Title 8 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 103.2(b)(10)(ii).

All copies must be clear and legible. If you submit a document in any language other than English, it must be submitted with a full English translation. The translator must certify that the translation is complete and accurate, and that he or she is competent to translate. You must submit both the foreign language document and the English Translation.

If you have any question about immigration procedures, or need clarification, please call our National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833). This toll-free call center has additional information and, during their specified office hours, can connect you to live assistance in English and Spanish.

At the end of the letter it listed 3 things that they needed to complete processing of the Adjustment of status.
They are listed as follows:

(1)

Submit a complete Federal Income Tax Return submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from the petitioner/sponsor on Form I-864, Affidavit of Support for the most recent tax year.

If you were not required to file a Federal income tax return under U.S. tax law, attach a written explanation if applicable, evidence of the exemption and why you are subject to it.
For more specific information, see Form I-864 instructions, page 8, 'Federal Income Tax Information' For the most current version of Form I-864 including the instructions, go to 'Immigration Forms' at http://www.uscis.gov or call (800)870-3676.

I already submitted this information to them but I will be happy to send it again.

(2)

You have submitted an English translation of a foreign birth certificate; please submit a copy of the applicants foreign birth certificate issued by the appropriate civil authority.

See the Department of States Foreign Affairs Manual found online at http://www.state.gov/ for more information on acceptable birth records for people born outside the United States.

For more specific information, see Form I-485 instructions, page 3, "2. Birth certificate." For the most current version of Form I-485 including the instructions, go to "Immigration Forms" at http://www.uscis.gov or call (800)870-3676.

This is easy. I guess if I would have read the instructions more carefully, I would have known to send a copy of the original birth certificates along with the translated documents. This should not be a problem.

But our biggest problem is with the third item on the list.

(3)

Based on the documents submitted with Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the petitioner/sponsor, the income did not meet 125% (100% if military) of the federal poverty line for the petitioner/sponsor's household size.

Submit Evidence of assets that meet the standards listed below or obtain a joint sponsor.
Assets standards must equal the stated difference between the sponsor's household income and 125% (100% if military) of the federal poverty line.

• Assets must equal the difference for applicant's filing as orphans or a spouse or child of an active duty military member.
• Assets must equal three times the difference for a spouse or child of a United States Citizen.
• Assets must equal five time the difference for all others.

Such evidence includes:

• Bank Statements covering the last 12 months or a statement from an officer of the bank or other financial institution in which the sponsor has deposits, including deposit/withdrawal history for the last 12 months, and current balance;
• Evidence of ownership and value of stocks, bonds, and certificates of deposit;
• Evidence of ownership and value/equity of other personal property and dates acquired;
• Evidence of ownership, a recent licensed appraisal or county tax assessment and any mortgage/lien or lien release of any real estate.

If you decide to obtain a joint sponsor they will need to file form I-864 with a revision date of 03/22/13, provide copies of the most recent Federal Income Tax Returns, all supporting tax documents (W-2s, 1099s, and tax schedules) and evidence of their status as a United States citizen, United States National, or Lawful Permanent Resident.

For more specific information, see Form I-864 instructions, page 8, "Use of Assets to Supplement Income". For the most current version of Form I-864 including the instructions, go to "Immigration Forms" at http://www.uscis.gov or call (800)870-3676.

It is rather wordy but to summarize it seems the Federal Government does not think my income is sufficient enough to support our family of 6, so they will not give Anna her green card until either my income increases, I come up with a significant number of assets to make up the difference or I find someone to cosponsor/cosign for us.

Keep in mind this is the same income I reported to them before they approved the petition required for her to obtain the K-1 Fiance visa.

If I am unable to do either of these things, Anna will be required to return back to Russia or she will be an illegal alien aka, undocumented immigrant.

I cannot understand why my income was sufficient enough for her to come over here and marry me, but it is not sufficient enough for her to stay here with me as my wife. My income has neither risen or decreased since we first filed the I-129f Petition for Alien Fiance and now they are trying to deny her Green Card because I have insufficient income according to them. Why did they let her come here to marry me if they planned to reject our application for change of status based on the same income.

I even called the USCIS Customer Service line to ask if we could use some of Anna's monetary assets but apparently we cannot include her assets because she is not a "United States citizen, United States National, or Lawful Permanent Resident". And the way things are going, she may never be. They were happy to take $2,340.00 from us though for this "Service".

I think it may be time to contact Senator Risch' office again because I don't think this is right and after another frustrating experience with the USCIS "Customer Service" (If you can call it that), I think it is time to break out the big guns so to speak.

Notice of Action...

Yesterday we finally received a Notice of Action from the USCIS regarding the change of status for Anna and the children.
The USCIS sent us a notification indicating that they have scheduled the interviews for Anna and the children next week to determine their eligibility for the green cards.
Anna and Ivan are scheduled for Tuesday November 12th and Maria has her interview on Wednesday November 13th.
Hopefully everything will go well in the interview and they will receive their green cards soon. Both Anna and I are very worried because we have heard some horror stories of couples that have still had the Green cards rejected after all the steps we have already taken. 
We are definitely keeping our fingers crossed and we hope that the interviews go well and they all get their green cards. We are looking forward to putting this all behind us soon and we definitely don't want to have Anna and the children to be required to return to Russia.

Our Story is told in London...

Alan Dein sent me a message today informing me that our documentary was broadcast in London at 10:30 AM this morning. I was not able to listen to it as it was broadcast in London because it would have been 3:30 AM here in Idaho. But fortunately, it was released on podcast immediately after it was broadcast in London so Anna and I were able to listen to it after we woke up this morning.

I think both Alan and his producer, Laurence did an excellent job producing the show and I think it turned out even better than I expected. Both Anna and I enjoyed listening to it and we hope you will enjoy listening to it as well.

You can listen to it here on our blog or you can listen to it here on the Don't Log Off archive in an episode titled, "Found in Translation". You can also hear my previous conversations with Alan in other episodes as well. One is titled "Escape" and the other is titled "Hopes and Dreams".

We hope you enjoy the show.

Check out my other blog at http://www.whoisbryguy1955.com

Follow me on twitter, facebook, periscope, instagram, etc...:

• https://twitter.com/@privetanna, 
• https://twitter.com/@whoisbryguy1955 
• https://twitter.com/@bryguy1955
• https://twitter.com/#WhoIsBryguy1955
• https://twitter.com/#HelloAnna
• https://twitter.com/#TheNeverEndingLetter

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel here
In fact, I am working to raise money so I can purchase a drone for my YouTube channel.
You can view my GoFundMe campaign here
Last but not least, Check out a copy of my book titled "The Never Ending Letter" on Amazon.
Look for our novel soon.

USCIS Acceptance Confirmation

Finally, almost two weeks after I submitted our paperwork, I received an email notification that the USCIS received our documents and sent them to the National Benefits Center for processing. Here is a copy of the email I received.

USCIS Acceptance Confirmation

Your case has been accepted and routed to the USCIS National Benefits Center for processing. Within 7-10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number *************. With the official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) you may visit www.uscis.gov where you can check the status of your case using My Case Status. We suggest you wait until you have received your Form I-797 before checking My Case Status.

This confirmation provides notification of the date USCIS received your case.  This notice does NOT grant any immigration status or benefit. You MAY NOT present this notice as evidence that you have been granted any immigration status or benefit. Further, this notice does NOT constitute evidence that your case remains pending with USCIS. The current status of your case must be verified with USCIS.

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE

Anna and I were very relieved when we received the message. Now at least we know our good friends at the USCIS are moving forward with our paperwork. Hopefully it won't take them as long to process this paperwork as it took the last time. I would prefer that I don't have to contact my Senator again.

I was able to sign into the USCIS and get a little more information regarding the process. I entered our receipt number and I was immediately greeted with an all too familiar image. We saw this same image with the Initial Review status for almost 6 months last time.

It gave us a little more information about the process.

On October 15, 2013, we received this I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or contact our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

During this step, USCIS initiates the background checks of the applicant/petitioner and identifies issues that may need to be addressed either during an interview or by asking the applicant/petitioner to submit additional information or documentation. USCIS reviews the applicant's/petitioner's criminal history, determines if there are national security concerns that need to be addressed, and reviews the application/petition for fraud indicators.

If you have filed an I-485, I-589, I-751, N-400, I-90, I-821, I-131 or I-765, you can expect to receive an appointment notice to appear at an Application Support Center to have your fingerprints and/or photographs taken. The timing of your appointment is determined by the number of applicants ahead of you that also need a biometric appointment. We try to schedule biometric appointments as quickly as possible and in most cases you will receive your appointment notice within 30 days of submitting your application. We will send your appointment notice approximately 14 days ahead of your scheduled appointment. It is important that you keep this appointment. If absolutely necessary, you can request that your appointment be rescheduled however, please be aware that rescheduling may delay the processing of your application. Please follow the instructions on your appointment notice if you need to reschedule. Occasionally, you may receive an appointment notice to appear at an Application Support Center to have your fingerprints taken when you have filed a form other than those listed above. In these situations, you may receive your appointment notice more than 30 days after submitting your application or petition.

According to the information, we should be contacted within 30 days to notify us of Anna's appointment to get fingerprinted. It does not give us an estimated time-frame for obtaining the actual green cards, but according to various resources on the internet it may take between 3 months to one year to get the green cards.

Let's hope it doesn't take too long to get them because Anna is getting bored sitting around the house and she has indicated she would like to find a job. 

Stay Tuned and Don't Log Off...

While we continue to wait for our documentary to be broadcast in London, the new series of Don't Log Off has started. Alan Dein sent me a message on Friday to inform me that the new season of Don't Log off was to begin on Saturday, October 19. He told me that our documentary is on the schedule to air in London on Saturday, October 26 at 10:30 AM London Time. That will be at 3:30 AM our time. It will be titled "Found in Translation". You can find it on the schedule for BBC4 Radio here http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/programmes/schedules/fm/2013/10/26.
After it is aired in London it will be available to listen to on the podcast for Don't Log off here http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/dlo.
In the meantime, Alan released the latest episode of Don't Log Off titled "Escape" and it is available on podcast on the website. It also features a good portion of our story. Anna and I listened to it this morning and we enjoyed listening to it. We hope you enjoy listening to it also.
We are looking forward to hearing the full documentary on Saturday, October 26. Who knows, maybe Anna and I will stay up all night to listen to it as it is streamed live in London. If not, we will certainly hear it as soon as it is available on podcast. We will certainly let everyone know when it is available.
In other news, Anna is almost done with her first blog entry. She has spent many hours writing about her trip from Russia to America. We hope it will be done soon. When it is done you will be able to read it here. It will be written in Russian though but you will be able to translate it using the Google translator tool on our website. I have considered writing an English version but it will take a lot of time and a lot will be Lost in Translation I am sure. So we have decided to leave it as is.
I will let everyone know when it is available and ready to read.

Filing for the Green Cards...

Today Anna and I submitted the paperwork to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security aka USCIS(United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) for her "Adjustment of Status"(Green Card).
We had to fill out the form I-145, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Not only did we have to fill one out for her, we also had to fill separate forms for the children.
Along with the I-485, we had to file a form G-325A Biographical form for Anna and I had to submit Form I-130 Affidavit of Support indicating that I will provide financial support for Anna and the children, as if I would not support my wife and children otherwise.
We also had to include in the package a certified copy of our marriage certificate, copies of their passport/visas, their birth certificates, immunization records and 2 passport style photos for each of them along with various other papers required to file.
Along with a mountain of paperwork we are required to include a filing fee for each application. The filing fee for the initial I-145 application is $985.00. Fortunately the government is generous allowing us to pay only $685.00 each for the other applications for the children since we are filing them at the same time. But that is not all of the costs we will incur. We also need to include an $85.00 "biometric" fee which is required for anyone between the ages of 14 and 78. In total it will cost us $2340.00 to submit all three applications.

This will buy us two years of legal status for all of them. I cannot even begin to estimate what it will cost us in two years for the next step in the process. It is not cheap and it is no wonder that many people cannot afford to maintain their legal status and become "illegal aliens" or "undocumented immigrants". The average person can't afford it. In fact we could not afford it if it had not been for the fact that Anna was able to sell some things before leaving Russia and saving her money. She was able to save just enough to cover the filing fees for their green cards.
I only hope the Government shutdown does not affect our application. According to one source the USCIS should not be affected because it is funded through the fees it collects but it may be affected by other agencies that may be closed during the government shutdown.
"USCIS is the main body that handles petitions and applications filed for most immigration cases, accepting filing fees for the majority of these filings.  USCIS can continue to run because it is funded by these fees.  However, USCIS also relies on duties carried out by other parts of the DHS and on other agencies and bodies outside of DHS.  This means that some of the work USCIS does can be slowed down or even stopped because another agency is not running or has reduced capacity."
Hopefully we will receive their Green Cards because Anna is ready to find a job so she can get out of the house. She is getting bored sitting at home all day while I am at work and the kids are in school.