I filed my I-751 last November and got a letter today from the VSC that I have not submitted a sufficient demonstration of a bona fide marriage. They want more proof that we share a "variety of joint assets and liabilities".

I am so disappointed We waited so long for this...

The problem is that we don't have a mortgage (my husband owned his house before we even got married), we don't have any loans or leases because we have not debt at all. We also don't have a joint account. We have bills but they are always in either one or the other name, never both. The only thing that is in both names is the house & car insurance policy which I provided.

Here is what I submitted the first time:
• 2005 joint US tax return
• car insurance policy in both names
• Credit Card account info showing that I am an authorized user
• Savings Account statement listing spouse as primary beneficiary
• 401(k) statement listing spouse as primary beneficiary
• Certificate of Plan coverage showing a joint policy from 1/1/2005 to 6/1/2006
• Health insurance cards and letters from Blue Cross showing an active joint policy (since 6/1/2006)
• Copy of both driving licenses with same address
• Copy of electric bill and its payment (my bank account statement and check)
• Picture of us at the Statue of Liberty during August weekend in New York City

The only thing that I could provide is his wills and more bills in his name that I paid. We do live together and our marriage is legit but how do we prove that now?

A joint bank account is a must..... or have a good reason for not having one and strong evidence showing you both pay household bill from each others accounts....

Good Luck

Kez

loli,
first of all don't panic. the USCIS cannot reject u if u have a legit marriage. they will call u guys for an interview if they have somethings to straighten up. there is no way they will outright reject u.
please re send additional evidence such as photos, travel itineraries for vacations together, notarized affidavits from friends and family (may be 4-5 affidavits should suffice), any mails that . did u file the 2006 tax returns (jointly). if so please send them. THEY R VERY IMPORTANT.

any mails that were mailed to both of u with the same address etc. dont worry if there is any redundancy with the materials u send. its just additional evidence.

Yes, they ask for tax returns for 2004, 2005 and 2006. We did file them together.

The reason why we don't have a join account is because we never felt the need to. And currently I am actually paying all the bills because my husband is starting a new business and we are living off my income. Should we open one now? Is it too late?

but loli if u filed ur 751 last november, there is no way u would have sent them 2006 tax return documents (u would have filed taxes this year sometime between feb-april 2007). please send the 2006 joint tax return photocopies as an additional evidence. also, me and my wife never had joint bank accounts. so it is really not a must to have a joint bank accounts. just send any evidence that u think will make a case that will be aiding in ur application. some of them i pointed out already. please read my post "I-751 nebraska approved, husband wife live apart" and it will definitely make u feel better.

none of what you suggest answers the request of evidence of "variety of joint assets/liabilities"

do you own vehicles? Get both of your names on the titles.
has your husband added you to the title of the house?
we received our state tax return cheque in both of our names -- can you provide a copy of something similar like that?
do you have any joint financial investments (savings accounts, Roth IRA, mutual funds, etc)
wills listing each other as beneficiaries could also be helpful.

Good luck!

hi cassie,
sending the joint tax returns for 2006 is extremely important. in addition, she can send additional evidence that i mentioned. it does't matter whether they aks only joint liablity/asset. the point is whether ur marriage is legitimate and how u can prove it. some people dont have much joint financial responsibilities and show other proofs indicating a good marriage. so i would therefore suggest to send any eveidence that u can think of in addition to financial stuff.

No, it's not, IMHO, no more so than having kids is a must. It's only an indication of such a marriage.

But they aren't asking for additional random things, they specifically asked for evidence of joint assets/liabilities. Why bog it down with extranneous stuff not requested in the RFE?

i second that

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But they aren't asking for additional random things, they specifically asked for evidence of joint assets/liabilities. Why bog it down with extranneous stuff not requested in the RFE?
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i dont think it is a extranneous or random stuff. the additional "marriage-related" evidence wouldn't hurt and should supplement ur application if u have "limited" comingled assets.

They already included "marriage related" evidence with the original submission. Now they are being asked for something very specific that wasn't addressed fully enough to satisfy the person reviewing her file. The OP needs to focus on what evidence could qualify in this area. So they don't have a joint banking account? Ok, show how bills are being paid by both parties, like Kezzie suggested, and include an explanation of why they felt a joint banking account wasn't necessary. Or take a look at other asset/liability possibilities and see if they apply in their situation, such as the list of things I provided. Throwing travel itineraries in the mix isn't what they are looking for, UNLESS it can be shown that the expenses of the trip were shared by the two of them.

I am being so insistent on this point based on experiences both here on VJ and also in the case of a good friend of mine. Her application was held up because of one specific area of her application. Once she brought forth evidence that directly addressed the concerns of the adjudicator, she was approved.

I'd go open a joint checking account, maybe apply for a credit card or loan (even if you don't need it) jointly and ssend in some affidavits from friends/relatives. Can your spouse add you to the deed of the house? That might help too.

good point cassie. thats why travel itineraries are sweet. they show which parties travelled and the cost for the travel. it doesn't have to be shared expenses as long as one party paid for both of them and the person who paid can attach his credit card bill for that period as proof. also hotel bills for any vacations is also helpfull.

They also said that the documents submitted do not reflect the duration of the marriage. I do not have travel itineraries because we drove to wherever we went and hotels we booked were in one name. It doesn't prove that we were both there.

I think that my husband is going to call the USCIS tomorrow to explain the situation and get more info about what we need to submit to be approved. Do you think it is a good idea?

We can also put all the bills in both names, put my name on the car titles, but my only concern is that it will not reflect the duration of the marriage.

One more question: they say that tax forms, alone, are not sufficient evidence that your tax returns were received and processed by the IRS.
So the tax returns are not enough? Should I get transcripts?

[/quote]
They also said that the documents submitted do not reflect the duration of the marriage. I do not have travel itineraries because we drove to wherever we went and hotels we booked were in one name. It doesn't prove that we were both there.

I think that my husband is going to call the USCIS tomorrow to explain the situation and get more info about what we need to submit to be approved. Do you think it is a good idea?

We can also put all the bills in both names, put my name on the car titles, but my only concern is that it will not reflect the duration of the marriage.
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of course he can call USCIS, but i doubt he will get a personalized answer. u may instead consult an attorney just to prepare ur RFE package.
also loli, i just dont understand what do u mean by duration of marriage. of course, u have ur marriage certificate and when u got ur conditional residency. this should show them how long u have been married. may be i am missing something here. get some notarized affidavits from family and friends stating that they are aware of u guys being married for so long etc, which might help u. SEND COPY OF 2006 JOINT TAX RETURNS. also, please submit any updated financial stuff that u previuosly sent with current active dates on them. how about any recent photos with family and friends.

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One more question: they say that tax forms, alone, are not sufficient evidence that your tax returns were received and processed by the IRS.
So the tax returns are not enough? Should I get transcripts?
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people with expertise in IRS on this forum should help u with that. here r my 2 cents. send copies of federal, state and local city (if applicable) tax forms filed along with any acknowledgement from IRS. along with it, if u get a refund, it should have been credited directly to ur bank account or u should have recieved a check from IRS. if u owe the IRS then u should have that particular check cleared from ur bank account. in either case u can get the info from ur bank. send this along with those filed papers. if USCIS wants to investigate ur case further on tax issue, they may contact IRS directly and they should have the info within seconds. llets see what other folks on this forum think.

they want evidence that spans the duration of their marriage -- ie. joint bank account established as soon as possible, bills in both names established as soon as possible, etc. The marriage certificate establishes the date the rest of the evidence has to cover. For example, I was married in November 2004. We were able to have my name added to Jerry's bank accounts in December, so I included copies of our bank statements from December 2004, then one from 2005, 2006, and the most recent in 2007. I included other evidence that also covered the time span.

To the OP: USCIS wants to see tax transcripts, or if you don't have time to order them, show evidence that you filed as joint / received payment, etc. as kkg previously suggested.

Sorry to learn of your situation. Much good advice given. I am not sure if you will be able to get those kids as James suggested.

If they asked for tax returns for 2004, 2005 and 2006, then send them. Also some one suggested letters from people who have known you for the duration of your marriage here in the states. You can even have your husband's parents send a notarized letter. Other people could be your neighbors, banker, employer, clergy, friends...etc.

Good luck. I am sure it will all work out.