Keep each person’s identity and relationship records with the relevant official notices and validity information. An internal family calendar is not a substitute for immigration documents.
Separate estimates from issued permissions
Identify which dates are preferences and which come from an actual notice or document. Ask for instructions on later travel and retain the principal’s residence evidence where relevant. Do not copy one person’s dates into another person’s plan or assume a submitted application gives everyone permission to live or work in the United States.
The current official description with the date retrieved, the older copy for comparison, any material an intermediary has provided, and the documents describing your own background and business — the material an employment-based category would be assessed on. A dated copy of the official terms relied on, complete payment records identifying the payer and the account, and any written arrangement with an employer or intermediary setting out who bears each amount. Gather each child's identity and civil records, and raise anything unusual — a separated parent's consent, an adoption, a guardianship order — with a qualified adviser before filing rather than after.