Individual and joint bank account for removal of conditions

[Pedrro 0]

hi everyone!

 

my wife and i have our own separate accounts, but also a joint account that we both use... is that a problem when I remove the conditions?

in addition to that, i just noticed on our e-statements that the address on our joint bank account isn't the same as our current one (possibly bc she added me to her account which she created back when she lived with her parents), would this be a problem? should I call the bank and try to change the address to that of our current one to prevent any confusion regarding our joint residency? 

[Pedrro 0]

Hi people!

 

so me and my spouse have a joint bank account, but also our own individual account... is that a problem when removing conditions?

[Lavazza_K 9]

Separate accounts are not a problem. As long as you joint account has good activities. But your joint account not showing an address that you both stay ing or stayed at could be an issue. Is it an address that you (or the beneficiary if you are the USC) have lived in and listed on your application? If so then maybe address that in your cover letter.

I would probably also reach out to the bank and get it corrected so at least you will have several statements with the right address, and maybe ask the bank to see if they can produce any document to certify that you hold a joint account and stay at the correct address.

 

Best of luck!

 

Edit: forgot to mention, I had my parents address on ours too for the first 3 statements, but the rest are in the right address, and it wasn't a problem.

Edited May 27, 2017 by Lavazza_K
Adding

[charmander 692]

Nope, we had exactly the same situation. They won't care about your individual bank accounts, credit cards, loans, utility bills, etc. hence no need to use those for evidence. just send your joint account's statements. 

[Pedrro 0]

2 hours ago, Lavazza_K said:

Separate accounts are not a problem. As long as you joint account has good activities. But your joint account not showing an address that you both stay ing or stayed at could be an issue. Is it an address that you (or the beneficiary if you are the USC) have lived in and listed on your application? If so then maybe address that in your cover letter.

I would probably also reach out to the bank and get it corrected so at least you will have several statements with the right address, and maybe ask the bank to see if they can produce any document to certify that you hold a joint account and stay at the correct address.

 

Best of luck!

 

Edit: forgot to mention, I had my parents address on ours too for the first 3 statements, but the rest are in the right address, and it wasn't a problem.

Yea well, my wife added me to her account as soon as I came here with a CR-1 Visa. We forgot to change the address on it (my wife her this account way back when she lived in her parents house, and forgot to change it since then) and I just noticed that on our e-statements. I called the bank and changed it right away though so that both our tax returns and bank statements have the same address. Also, we used our joint account for groceries, lunadry etc... so it is active, just that it's our second account besides our individual ones.

btw, how many bank statements did you send? Some of our bank statements still have the old address, so to avoid the confusion, how many should I send?

[Pedrro 0]

1 hour ago, charmander said:

Nope, we had exactly the same situation. They won't care about your individual bank accounts, credit cards, loans, utility bills, etc. hence no need to use those for evidence. just send your joint account's statements. 

Thanks! We just used the joint account for small things like paying a movie ticket, groceries etc.. my checks are deposited into my individual one just as my wife's, but we transfer money back and forth to our joint account to help each other's pay for stuff. Would that be a problem or they have to see that we actually use the joint account to pay our bills etc?

 

also, when my wife added me to her account (after I came here on a CR-1 visa), we forgot to change the address from the one she had to our current one, I called the bank right away and changed it, do you think it would pose a problem if I send USCIS statements with both our current and the outdated addresses on them?

[Pedrro 0]

3 hours ago, Lavazza_K said:

Separate accounts are not a problem. As long as you joint account has good activities. But your joint account not showing an address that you both stay ing or stayed at could be an issue. Is it an address that you (or the beneficiary if you are the USC) have lived in and listed on your application? If so then maybe address that in your cover letter.

I would probably also reach out to the bank and get it corrected so at least you will have several statements with the right address, and maybe ask the bank to see if they can produce any document to certify that you hold a joint account and stay at the correct address.

 

Best of luck!

 

Edit: forgot to mention, I had my parents address on ours too for the first 3 statements, but the rest are in the right address, and it wasn't a problem.

Forgot to mention, the address shown on our bank statements is that of my wife's parents house. This address is also shown on the G-325A we originally filled with the I-130, as her first place of residence.

[Sukie 1,439]

Just add a note to your submission packet explaining how you and your wife handle your finances.  You might also wish to explain the address thing.

 

Sukie in NY

[Pedrro 0]

3 minutes ago, Sukie said:

Just add a note to your submission packet explaining how you and your wife handle your finances.  You might also wish to explain the address thing.

 

Sukie in NY

Thanks! Is it something common though? Or they actually expect us to have everything together? As for the address, I called the bank and changed the address to our current one... thing is though, we already got like 5 bank statements with the wife's parents house address on, is this an issue even if I've changed the address now (we've got over 1 year left for the removal of conditions)

[Sukie 1,439]

4 hours ago, Pedrro said:

Thanks! Is it something common though? Or they actually expect us to have everything together? As for the address, I called the bank and changed the address to our current one... thing is though, we already got like 5 bank statements with the wife's parents house address on, is this an issue even if I've changed the address now (we've got over 1 year left for the removal of conditions)

Very common.  Just explain how you do it.  And the address change will not be an issue. You do need to explain it though, because you are supposed to keep your address current.

 

Good luck!!!!!

 

Sukie in NY

[Lavazza_K 9]

I sent 2 years of e-statements, since we opened it in 2013. Made a stack of paper I also copied our debit cards so they could see both of the cards are being used on the account.

 

Ok as long as that address is on file, you can address that by briefly explaining the situation, if most of the statements are in that address, up to you.

 

Doesn't matter if the joint is a secondary as long as there are activities in it.

 

Good luck!

[Pedrro 0]

4 hours ago, Lavazza_K said:

I sent 2 years of e-statements, since we opened it in 2013. Made a stack of paper I also copied our debit cards so they could see both of the cards are being used on the account.

 

Ok as long as that address is on file, you can address that by briefly explaining the situation, if most of the statements are in that address, up to you.

 

Doesn't matter if the joint is a secondary as long as there are activities in it.

 

Good luck!

Yea, eve got like 5 bank statements in my spouse's old address.. I contacted the bank like 2 days ago to update the address.. do you think there will be any confusion if I send them all the statements including the ones in the old address?

[Lavazza_K 9]

5 hours ago, Pedrro said:

Yea, eve got like 5 bank statements in my spouse's old address.. I contacted the bank like 2 days ago to update the address.. do you think there will be any confusion if I send them all the statements including the ones in the old address?

No, I would send them all, the longer history this account has the better. 

[Pedrro 0]

1 hour ago, Lavazza_K said:

No, I would send them all, the longer history this account has the better. 

Thanks, do you mean every single statement since the account became a joint one, or one every 3-4 months?

[Lavazza_K 9]

33 minutes ago, Pedrro said:

Thanks, do you mean every single statement since the account became a joint one, or one every 3-4 months?

I sent monthly statements from when our marriage started. We got married in Oct 2013, and I sent from June 2013 to May 2016. They like seeing your account history dated from the beginning of your marriage to present.

 

I think quarterly statements work too. I've seen people sending quarterly and got approved.