A Different Kind Of Busy

I have been busy working on my Mom's immigration paperwork for the past few weeks. I feel like my kids are a bit neglected & watch way too much TV. They definitely spend more time than I would like on their Android tablets. Oh, well... If my Mom makes it here on time for my birth, it will be well worth it. We have not hired an attorney, so I am it. I have to read & re-read various form instructions multiple times to get it just right. I did my own U. S. citizenship paperwork, so I have confidence I can do it. But it sure takes a lot of time.
For example, today I have finally mailed the first required set of documents to the National Visa Center. The documents required included:

1) Employment verification letters for both my husband & I.
2) Copies of our tax return & W-2 forms for 2010.
3) A lengthy I-864 form (Affidavit of Support). I had to research my exact INDIVIDUAL income for the past 3 years (tough to do when you've filed a joint tax return with your spouse).
4) Another slightly shorter, but no less complicated form I-864A (Contract Between Sponsor (me) & Household Member (my husband)) since we are using both of our combined incomes to qualify for sponsorship of my Mom.

Here is some other information I had to get my hands on recently:

- My parents' certificates of marriage & divorce
- My mother's parents' birth & death certificates
- Certificates of birth & death of my deceased brother
- All the places my Mom has lived for at least 6 months starting at age 16
- All the places my Mom has worked for the past 10 years
- All of the educational institutions she has attended (with dates & institutions' addresses)
- All of my Mom's visits to the US (about 7 of them with exact dates)
- All of immunizations my Mom has had up to now & the ones still required (per CDC's recommendations) for her age group
- My Mom's military records & rank achieved

My Mom also has to undergo a lengthy criminal background check (which takes a month to a month-and-a-half). All of the above-mentioned original documents have to be photocopied & then translated from Russian into English. Then they must be certified as legitimate translations.

I am literally burried by the mountain of paperwork! By the way, all of the form instructions mention the Paperwork Reduction Act passed a few years ago, so I can imagine how much more complicated this process used to be.