How to Prepare a U.S. Immigration Chronology

1. Introduction

Are you interested in scheduling a consultation with our law firm? A “U.S. Immigration Chronology” is like a personal immigration history or timeline. It can be a helpful way to share with our firm information about past events such as:

• U.S. entries and exits
• Visa applications at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad
• Petitions and applications filed with USCIS
• Interviews by and other encounters with immigration officials
• Immigration court proceedings

A clear chronology can save you and our firm hours trying to understand your history. That way, a future immigration plan can be devised more quickly and precisely.

The chronology should be accompanied by copies of the related immigration documents. Of course, we understand that some old immigration documents may no longer be available. You may be able to get copies from a law firm that previously represented you. If necessary, our law firm can later request copies from U.S. immigration authorities through Freedom of Information Act / Privacy Act requests.

After you hire our law firm, we will keep your chronology up to date. Later, when you are interviewed by immigration officials, referring to your chronology can be helpful to refresh your memory about your immigration history.

2. Sample

3. What to Include in Your Chronology

What follows is a list of the most common types of events and related documents. Include any additional events and documents you have.

A. Passports

Tip: List your current passport(s), plus any previous passports used to apply for U.S. visas or to travel to the United States.

B. Entries and Exits

Tips:

• Entries to the U.S.: You may be able to download a history of arrivals and departures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), unless you are a lawful permanent resident (LPR).
  • Port of Entry: This is the place where you were inspected by CBP, such as an international airport (usually in the U.S., but sometimes abroad, such as Toronto or Dublin), land-border crossing, or seaport.
  • Primary inspection: Arriving travelers queue up for this initial inspection by a CBP officer, usually involving a brief review of identity, travel documents, and admissibility.
  • Secondary inspection: Additional inspection in a separate room.
• Form I-94, Arrival Record: This is issued to each foreign national arriving in the U.S. who is not a lawful permanent resident. Download your most recent Form I-94 from the CBP website.
  • Class:
    • For a person admitted with a nonimmigrant visa, the class is based on the class listed in the visa (e.g., F1, J2, or L1).
    • For a person admitted under the Visa Waiver Program, their class is WB (waiver business) or WT (waiver tourism/pleasure)
    • For a person admitted with advance parole, their class is DA.

C. Applications for Nonimmigrant Visas

Other common nonimmigrant visa application-related documents:

• Form I‑20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status (for admission in (F-1, F-2, M-1, or M-2 status)
• Form DS-2019, Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor (J-1) Status (formerly known as Form IAP-66)
• Supporting documents shown to the consular officer during the interview:
  • Resume
  • Invitation letter
  • Employment verification letter
  • Recent payslip (aka earnings statement)
  • Proof of assets
  • Proof of home ownership
  • Marriage certificate
  • School transcripts
  • U.S. tax return or transcripts
  • U.S. Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement
  • USCIS Form I-129S, Nonimmigrant Petition Based on Blanket L Petition (for intracompany transferee if no petition filed with USCIS)
• Visa refusal notice

D. Applications for Immigrant Visas

E. Applications and Petitions Filed with USCIS

Other common documents related to USCIS applications and petitions include, for example:

• Adverse actions by USCIS:
  • Request for evidence / Response to request for evidence
  • Notice of intent to deny / Response to notice of intent to deny
  • Notice of Decision
• Motion to reopen / Motion to reconsider
• Form N-445, Notice of Naturalization Oath Ceremony
• Examples of documents produced by USCIS:
  • Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card
  • Employment Authorization Document
  • Advance Parole
  • Reentry Permit
  • Refugee Travel Document
  • Naturalization Certificate
  • Citizenship Certificate
• USCIS Form I-797D (notice accompanying a benefit card)

F. Miscellaneous

Other events and documents to include in your chronology include:

• Immigration Court: Notices to Appear (NTA), Master Calendar hearings, Judge orders, appeals, etc.
• ICE / Border Patrol Encounters: arrests, expedited removals, voluntary departures, etc.
• Applications for enrollment in the CBP’s Electronic Visa Update System. If your last enrollment is unexpired, you can retrieve it at www.evus.gov by clicking on “Check Existing Enrollment.”
• Applications for enrollment in the CBP’s Electronic System for Travel Authorization. To retrieve your most recent application, go to Official ESTA Application Website, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (dhs.gov).

4. Writing the Dialogue of Your Interview with an Immigration Officer

Include in your chronology each dialogue with an immigration officer, whether at the port of entry, during a consular appointment, during a USCIS interview, during an encounter with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, etc.

Write the dialogue to the best of your memory. Include in the dialogue:

• Each time you showed the officer a document.
• Each action by the officer. For example, that the officer left his desk to discuss something with a colleague; or that the officer spent a couple minutes looking at her computer screen.
• Whether the officer handed you a refusal notice or other notice.

Sample dialogue:

5. Providing Your Chronology and Immigration Documents to Our Firm

See Tips for Submitting Documents to Our Firm – Chodorow Law Offices.