I mean I am pretty comfortable with the whole thing, I have all my paperwork in order, I am not from a country where marriage fraud is prevailant, or from a country which someone would be desperate to flee...when you think about it...canada is a pretty darn good country to live in....who would be suspect of our relationship ...right?
this is what makes me nervous!!! My husband seem s to think its no big deal, he knows we are married, I know we are married, they shoudl just take our word for it (grrr).
Here is my problem...we have a huge wedding album, dvd honeymoon pics honeymoon dvd etc...but what we dont have is stuff people seem to make sure thy have...
we dont have joint bank accounts...neither of us believe in them...we have each our own and we both know the others PIN number for the cards.
utilities are in his name as they were before I moved down....
no deed/mortgage or lease agreement...we live in an apartment owned by his parents, so there dis no need for that...
cars are in his name, both of them, at the time I bought my car here I wasnt living here yet (i knedw i wasnt going to import my other car so I bought aa new one and left it here but since no Ohio licence when i bought it, it had to go in his name) my name is on the insurance tho.
we have NOTHING in both our names except the marriage certificate...which he feels should be enough (should be and is are 2 different things he doesnt seem to understand!!!!)
argh
i dunno what else to bring other than wedding album and honey moon pics!
Im just wondering if anyone else did thier AOS recently and how intense was it.
thnx

Hi there, my AOS is this week and we don't have any utility bills in our names, but we are bringing a cell phone bill in both our names.
We have 2 joint accounts we are using.
I have posted a list of what I'm bringing in the AOS forum. You should definitely go here as there are many many otheres who have their AOS interview this week too.

If you can't get things with both your names on them, I would suggest doing something similar to what we did:
Get some letters of endorsement. From new friends, old friends there whatever. Just a simple letter stating they have known you since such and such and that you moved to get married. You were married and have been in communication with these people as friends.
The friends can say something along the lines of..having known you were going through immigration and had shared some of the process with them.

Whether or not they want this, I feel it's a credible way to reinterate (sp?) your marriage.
I have 2 of these letters. One from a place I volunteered at before I could work, and another from my now current employer.

Get your husbands parents to draft up a formal letter stating that you live at such and such an address for no rent and that you have lived there since moving from Canada.

Since there's no "proper" way to write up these letters just do it. Make them professional but to the point. You'll have that to take with you.
I had all my contacts put their address and phone number at the bottom of the letter too. It can't hurt. I'd say go that route if you are concerned.

And defintely check out the AOS forum. Good Luck!

How about mailed envelopes showing names and the same address; contract for services done for that address (ie. lawn or landscape company, plumbing bill, etc.). Showing a joint address shows that you live together. Other ideas are health insurance listing your spouse as a co-insured; life insurance with each other as beneficiary; retirement plans listing each other as co-beneficiary; car insurance showing both drivers listed on the same insurance; your wills listing each other as spouse and beneficiaries - other type of legal documents of this nature that a married couple would usually have. And of course, your most recen taxes - even if you filed married, separate, it still lists the other spouse and SIN on the form. Good luck.

greaaaaaaaaaat We got nothin LOL
maybe I'll bring the reciept for the engagement ring...no one spends that kinda money for nothin'
hehehe
I have mail in my name at this addres (from tax canada)....
i'll just bring everything I can think of, mail between us, love letters LOL gawd my husband will die of embarassment he is such a private person even this interview he finds invasive. sheesh
maybe i'll get my matron of honour to write a letter or something....which is eawkward because we told no one about the fiance visa and the immigration process we wre taking, we didnt want anyone thinking we were getting married just so I could live here, which people would think of before they would think we were getting married because we love eachother, but we also have to take certain steps due to being from differnt countries :/ blah
i think im getting myself nervous because i have been telling myself tehre is nothing to be nervous about

Take a deep breath and relax. If you don't have those things, fine. Get together what you do have and get it all nice and organized and copied. All you can present is the truth. You just have to be honest and be willing to answer their questions even if you think your answers are inadequate.
They deal with this all the time, and we only do it once, so don't worry.

Get some letters if you can. Mail works..you will be fine.

I dunno what the interviews are like in Cleveland, but James and I *never* got asked for any of that stuff at our interview in Charlotte.

She asked to see our IDs, looked thru the file, asked us our wedding date (there was a typo on one of the forms ) and that was about it.

I had lugged along a huge briefcase full of stuff and I didn't have to get any of it out.

Just wanted to wish you... Good luck!

they like to see things with BOTH names on it. The girl I had in Charlotte NC was great but she told me pointers for my sister who was a few steps behind me.... she said "Bring things (ANYTHING) that has both names on it, it proves so MUCH more....she didnt ask for or even want to see all the pics we brought LOL

this is what they asked us for in Bloomington:
bills and mail showing that we lived together
I had letters from my friends and my family addressed to mr and mrs (us) at our address...
lease and utility bills and house insurance in our names
and she asked me a lot of questions regarding our relationship...where we met, when we visited, etc
Asked me his birthdate and how many kids he has, how old they are, and where they live, etc.
she did not ask for marriage certificate, birth certificate, taxes, photos, etc....which surprised me...I think the main purpose is to prove that you actually live together and have some history to prove your marriage is the real thing...but as you can see every office is different....good luck, keep us posted.

if you click on the link to my interview report in my signature, you'll see all the stuff I was asked to show.

My friend who went through Dallas was initially rejected because she did not show enough evidence that her and her hubby shared the same domicile. So one of the things she did was she went around and got notarized letters from the mayor of the town she worked in (it's a small town!), her employers, other friends that knew the two of them, and the piece de resistance, one from her mail delivery person that verified yes, he delivered mail to both of them and have seen both of them at their residence. She was approved soon after that!

The key is showing that you share the same domicile and have a valid ongoing relationship. Definitely get a notarized letter from his parents indicating the living arrangement. bring the insurance documents with your name on it. have you joined a club yet or got a library card? bring evidence of that. There are lots more suggestions here already in this thread, so I won't restate them. Just bring what you have.