I-751 question and is this sufficient proof? PLEASE!

[N&Wneedadvice 0]

Hello everyone!

I am a conditional resident new to VJ and we need some advice on our I-751. My husband and I are getting ready to file starting June, and here's what we have so far: a joint month-to-month lease agreement that says we've been residing at our current address since July 2012; a copy of both our driver's licenses showing our address; a joint car insurance documentation showing both of us insured since August 2012 and which is still active; joint tax returns and transcripts from IRS for the years 2010-2013; a yearly statement for 2013 of our amex credit card where I am the primary cardholder and he's an authorized user showing activity on both cards (including copies of the cards); joint health insurance and dental insurance ( fairly recent, since January; before that we had separate insurance); a life insurance policy for myself from my place of employment listing my husband as the sole beneficiary; a joint checking account we have been using to pay some bills as well as for groceries,gas etc. (which we have had since 2010) - we're thinking about getting a letter from the bank saying when the account became joint and the average balance as many people on VJ have done and include a few statements, however, they only go back as far as 18 months ago online... Photos of us with friends and family, various occasions.

Question - my husband has a 19 year old son who doesn't live with us, do we have to include him in our application? We don't spend much time together.

Also, can our bank account somehow be accessed, i.e. to verify transaction history or check balance? We are a bit concerned about privacy.

Does it matter that our health and dental became joint fairly recently? Is this some kind of a red flag that may trigger a RFE?

What do you guys think? Do we have a strong case? Any help is greatly appreciated! I am getting more and more nervous the closer it gets to the beginning of our 90 day window Hubby and I have been through a lot with the whole immigration process and we just want this to be over.

[magdasal 19]

Well, it looks pretty good...but forget about privacy where it concerns the government...so include joint bank statements going back to the beginning of the marriage in the package...every other month should be fine. The IRS can get all of this stuff...in fact, any branch of the government can get it with just a few taps of the keyboard...but USCIS expects you to hand it to them on a silver platter, since you are asking them for a favor...to let you stay here as an LPR. Just go ahead and send it in and don't make them work for it, would be my advice. Letter from the bank may be OK...I don't know...I just sent in statements showing that we jointly owned the accounts and they were being used.

Also, any proof of joint ownership of property (car titles, house, etc) will be a big win.

If your husband is the USC, his 19 year old son has nothing to do with anything in this process. You 2 are filing this request and I don't see how he comes into the picture at all.

[N&Wneedadvice 0]

Well, it looks pretty good...but forget about privacy where it concerns the government...so include joint bank statements going back to the beginning of the marriage in the package...every other month should be fine. The IRS can get all of this stuff...in fact, any branch of the government can get it with just a few taps of the keyboard...but USCIS expects you to hand it to them on a silver platter, since you are asking them for a favor...to let you stay here as an LPR. Just go ahead and send it in and don't make them work for it, would be my advice. Letter from the bank may be OK...I don't know...I just sent in statements showing that we jointly owned the accounts and they were being used.

Also, any proof of joint ownership of property (car titles, house, etc) will be a big win.

If your husband is the USC, his 19 year old son has nothing to do with anything in this process. You 2 are filing this request and I don't see how he comes into the picture at all.

[N&Wneedadvice 0]

Thanks for your advice! Unfortunately, we do not own a house yet, we are planning to buy one hopefully in a couple of years, and both of our cars are in our own names... My husband had his since before we met, and when I got mine, we didn't think to do the whole joint ownership thing...

[magdasal 19]

Glad it helped...the joint ownership of property isn't required, BTW...it's just one category that can really help in a big way. Having a lot of financial co-mingling is the biggest (joint taxes are basically required, so I didn't include that one). So...load up with as much evidence of co-mingled finances as possible (including those bank statements going back as far as they can go...and go ahead and throw in that letter from the bank). Also, any official documents showing you living at the same address will help too...as far back as you can get them.

[N&Wneedadvice 0]

I can also provide copies of car registration and title, both show our address on them... Also, maybe employment verification letters that would have our address on them? Other than that... I'm at a loss what else to provide. From what I have read, junk mail and such is useless.

[magdasal 19]

That's all good too. You don't have what you don't have, so no sense worrying about that. I think a cover letter explaining what you have and, more importantly what you don't have that you think they would expect to see and why you don't have it can go a long way in avoiding an RFE. If you don't have something you think they want, just include a blurb about why you don't have it...that, at least, may prevent an RFE asking for something you simply cannot provide. No guarantees about any of this, but I really think that helps.

Edited April 7, 2014 by magdasal