[CashCrew]

I have found different agenies view paper ready differently. Some say it's homestudy complete and I600A filed. Some say it's homestudy complete, 171H in hand, but the dossier doesn't have to be complete. Some want everything done. Officially I think paper ready means that you have your 171H in hand, dossier completed (certified and authenticated as well), and homestudy completed. You do not have to sign with an agency to become paper ready. It's more difficult to do your dossier without an agency because they all have different requirements, but it's possible. We just signed with an agency and we were nearly paper ready beforehand. We found we may need to redo part of our dossier because our agency requires it a slightly different way. That's no biggie though because it won't take us long.