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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment