I filed and submitted my I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjustment of Status a month after me and my husband got married in year 2008. We organized our forms in one folder and put tabs on each contents so they can be easily found.

The Package contained the following requirements:

·        Cover Page titled “Immediate Relative (Spouse) Family Based Adjustment of Status signed by me stapled in the folder’s front outside cover.

·        Cover Letter titled “Petition for Adjustment of Status” signed by my husband fastened at the folder’s front inside Cover.

·        A check worth $930 for the I-485 fee and another $80 check for Biometrics paid to the “Department of Homeland Security” or “DHS”.

·        I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status filled up online signed by me using my married name.

·        Photocopy of my Philippine Passport (biographical page as well as entry stamps).

·        One  photocopy of my K-1 Visa from my passport.

·        One  photocopy of my NOA2.

·        One  front and back photocopy of my I-94.

·        One  photocopy of my NSO Birth Certificate.

·        One  Original copy of our marriage certificate.

·        Two white background passport type photos of me with my full name on the back. We put them inside a plastic bag labeled with “Photo of  (my name)” and we placed it behind the form G-325a.

·        One  Copy of form G-325a  signed by me.

·        One  Copy of my I-693 Vaccination Sheet.

·        I-864, Affidavit of Support form signed by my husband.

·        Husband’s 2007 Tax Return.

We didn’t file an Application for Employment Authorization because my husband didn’t want me to work back then.  On the other hand, we filed an Application for Travel Document and we actually received the Advanced Parole 2 months after we sent our I-131 application which was good for one year and is now expired and we didn’t even get to use it.

We received a mail from the USCIS for my biometrics appointment around 5 months after filing the I-485 application.

September 2008, we drove three hours all the way to Charleston South Carolina for my Biometrics. The Charleston USCIS office is located at Suite 130, 1 Poston Road, Charleston, SC, 29407.  I brought with me my Notice of Appointment, Passport and  Marriage Certificate (photocopy is ok but bringing an original copy was advised.)

After passing the security check, we went inside and got a number. When my number was called at the counter, they gave me a form (which I unfortunately forgot what type/kind) that I  needed to fill out. After filling it out, I gave it  back to the attending lady at the counter and I waited again for whatever was next to be done since the lady just told me to just sit back down.

When they finally called my name again, this time it was already the guy who called me and asked me to sign something. After that, he assisted me throughout the entire fingerprinting process.  When it was done, he took a picture of me and then that was it.

Meanwhile, for almost six months of waiting, my 2 years Greencard arrived in the mail and that was another big day for me.