Hi
I read a lot of topics saying we need to send the proof of bona fida marriage
I sent with my I-130 only marriage certificate since they requested only that
I mean we can't own anything together since we don't live together
did I make mistake by not sending them photos from marriage ceremony, DVD and all receipts
or that is something what she should bring with her to the interview

Other than the marriage certificate, i kept of all the emails, letters from snail mail, pics, receipts, joint bank accounts, medical coverage. You can also ask good friends and family members to write an affidavit sworn to or affirmed having personal knowledge that the marital relatrionship is bona fide. If you share a child together, you can submit the child's birth certificate as well.

I don't think you made a mistake at all. I read somewhere on the instructions and also posted a link on another post in this forum that the NVC DOES NOT WANT UNSOLICITATED DOCUMENTS during the I-130 and DS-230 stages. That means give them what they request and only what they request for each form. Nothing more.

It is because they do lose documents and it slows the processing down if they have extra documents to wade through.

I think you did the right thing. For the I-130 for the spouse it asks you for the marriage certificate, the passport type photos and the G-325A. Which I assume you submitted as well.

That is what they ask for, that is what you sent, so you did the right thing. If they want more proof of your relationship they will ask you for it.

Good luck!

Their negligence is intolerable, therefore, i strongly believe that at this point and stage of the process, whatever we send them should not be considered as "unsolicited". We, the people, sends them original documents and other proofs or evidence to establish that what we write on each questions are valid and true. If we are held accountable for providing them true information, then we should hold them accountable too for making sure they collect and file our documents with extra care. It's not just the process that they are delaying, but peoples lives as well...there's no excuse for that.

Just my 2 cents...

Personally, I think the OP sent enough, because they've never lived together. However, the new I-130 does say the petitioner "Should include one or more..." of a list of additional evidence of bona fides, that the old I-130 did not.

Check it out.

Pushbrk is of course right and I was again looking at the old form, however I have now had a bit more coffee.

Elvis, since you have now sent the form and have a window of time where you can start to accumulate more evidence of your relationship, you should probably take advantage of it - they may not ask for more proof - but they might, if not now then further along in the process.

There is a thread here - if you read down a bit you will see there is discussion of opening a joint bank account with your spouse and having your spouses name put on bills etc - just some things you might want to look at doing.

thank you guys for replying fast

I have enough evidence for later I guess for interview
right now they don't ask for anything and like all of you say don't send until they ask

-I got over 300 pictures
-receipt from marriage party (over 100 people)
-dvd ( 3 hours)
-I went to Bosnia 3 times before we got married ( I saved flying tickets)
-Honey moon in Alanya Turkey ( receipt and flying tickets)
-phone bills, money that I send to her to buy wedding groom
-Renting the car
-I am planning to visit her again for new years eve

With this evidence I guess I am ready for attack hehe

I pulled this from MurthyDotCom. It's another forum.

Do Not Send in Unsolicited Documents Additional documentation should not be sent until requested by the NVC. Because operations at the NVC are highly automated, items (such as fee payment, affidavit of support and other forms) that are received before a request has been issued tend to complicate processing and delay the respective cases. We note that the same appears to be true of processing at USCIS Service Centers – it is generally best to not send additional information until requested.

That's all well and good but the context is USCIS, not NVC. Two completely different agencies of the government.

So true.

This thread seems to be going off the rails a bit - however you might want to review the remarks pushbrk has made.

A few points that I think will clarify this a bit:

- USCIS is not NVC.

- Elvis, you say "I have enough evidence for later I guess for interview right now they don't ask for anything and like all of you say don't send until they ask"

Not true: On the I-130, after it mentions about required proof with marriage certificate etc it states:

NOTE: In addition to the required documentation listed in
1) through 4) above, you should submit one or more of the
following types of documentation that may evidence that
bona fides of your marriage:

1) Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or

2) A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or

3) Documentation showing co-mingling of financial resources; or

4) Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, the petitioner,
and your spouse together; or

5) Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having
personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital
relationship (Each affidavit must contain the full name and
address, date and place of birth of the person making the
affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner of
beneficiary, if any, and complete information and details
explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of
your marriage); or

6) Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an
ongoing marital union.

Now you have already sent in your paperwork, so you will just have to wait and see if USCIS requests more from you - which is why I suggested that you take this processing time to gather some of that evidence, in case they ask for more from you.

I have had 2 cups of coffee now, please disregard my post from earlier this morning as I was looking at the old version of the I-130.

we just got married
how can I have any of evidence that they are asking?

No children no joint property
no common residency ( she is in Bosnia and i am in USA)
but I have plenty of evidence that we got married legally
my parents were present they flow from USA to Bosnia to be at marriage , my brother also

I don't know what they expect from us
to live together for 2 years in Bosnia and then to apply for a visa or what??????????????

These are just suggestions that they are making, however, what you could have - even though you are just married:

- A joint U.S. bank account (= co-mingling of financial resources)
- Her listed as a beneficiary on your insurance or you listed on hers
- Affidavits from other people

They also mention other evidence, which could be secondary evidence like phone bills, pictures etc.

I know to you it might sound unreasonable, but they don't have to be reasonable. The onus is on you to prove the relationship, not on them to make it easy

Should he wait for an RFE (or possible denial since he used an outdated form), or should he go ahead and send in the missing information with a letter asking it to be added to his file?

Yes, he should wait but not hold his breath. He'd be the first reported here, to get an RFE for additional evidence of bona fides from a USCIS service center.

We had one report from the London office and an obscure scenario where a petition was transferred to to a local USCIS office and then denied after submitting more bona fide evidence.

I agree with Pushbrk - THIS is the scenario where you now don't submit anything until they ask for it.

I don't understand how they can expect the petitioner and benifitary to have bills together when they are expected to live apart and run two separate households. Most people filling are living on there own and have their residence established, how does adding someones name to a water bill in the US when they are living else where add any validity to the marriage. I would think that this type to this would be more important when it comes to the AOS.

Hi,

Yes, I don't disagree with you. It doesn't make a lot of common sense. However one of the requests for evidence on the I-130 specifically suggests that co-mingling of assets is one form of proof. Some peoples petitions never get off the ground for lack of evidence at the USCIS stage (see thread here) - so it's never a bad idea to collect all evidence you can think of - just in case they ask for it.

Trailmix, what you say is not entirely true.
Having tried this for MY i-130, you can't get a joint bank account because you can not add your spouse without them 1) being there in person, and 2) havind a social security number.

The affidavits are pretty useless, if your newly married, what are they going to say "we saw them get married"?
"We heard the headboards bang all night"?

The insurance statement you made is true, and should certainly be done.

Remember, the I-130 is used for immigration visa, AND for AOS after you are in the US on a K3 or K1 visa.
For a newly wed, they don't ask much I hear, they will look for more evidence of the relationship like the k1 filers provide.

One thing my wife and I did find, is while she can't be on my bank account we CAN be on a loan together (with power of attorney etc.) We purchased property in her home country, and in the USA, and the loan rules put her on the document easily.

So, you can't own assets together in america, but you can be in debt together!
It is the american way

thank you all
credzba you are right
there is difference between K1 K 3 and cr1 fillers and AOS
Next thing what I am gonna do is change my life insurance policy and have my wife as a beneficiary( I should do it right after we got married shouldn't I? heheh)

Well, as far as the bank account goes, I am not in the U.S. and I have a joint bank account there with my Sister (she opened it for us) - I do however have a SSN. If you follow the link from one of my earlier posts in this thread there is a VJer - novotul who did just that, opened an account with his wife who is overseas and is not a USC. Apparently some banks are more open to this than others a person might have to shop around.

If that is the case, that they don't require too much information for K visas - I'm glad to hear it (truly), I'm not trying to make this harder, was just giving some suggestions of what someone might use if they think they need more evidence, if you, or someone else doesn't think they need more than they have, it's all good

There was a former adjudicator from the NSC who posted here, who said he would rather have too much information than to have to send out an RFE, his post is here http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...dicator-q-and-a

Anyway, I'm not trying to make anyone paranoid - I just think it's a good idea to be prepared with documents - just my opinion.

Good luck to all of you

The linked thread is unique and so far, has made no sense to me. Since many recent filings have included nothing more than a marriage certificate and were approved by the same service center where this case was filed, I'm reasonably certain the denial is not a result of filing too little evidence of bona fide relationship initially.

I suspect one or both of the parties is well aware of the actual reason for denial. I suspect the service thinks they have actual evidence the relationship is not bona fide. They gave the petitioner the opportunity to submit overcome evidence but it was not sufficient. Cases are not routinely transferred to local USCIS offices.

I've seen no evidence that the service centers expect newlyweds who have never lived in the same country, to send anything more than a valid marriage certificate, translated if necessary. The reason is that the documents listed as additional are largely either impossible to obtain or would be meaningless, due to the short time the couple has been together in the same place.

We were in the same boat. We only sent the marriage certificate, and then sworn affidavits by witnesses at our wedding who had known us a long time. We had the affidavits drawn up by a solicitor. Our application is now at the National Visa Center, so those things must have been enough.

Hi Aussiewoife,

What format did you use for the sworn affidavit? Im not sure what it is supposed to look like. Does it need to be signed or attested by a notary public?

I did the same thing. Only my marriage certificate since we just got married and we had nothing else. I called 3 times to USCIS about it and each time they told me that that will be enough.
I am just going to wait and see

Just try to keep those emails, pictures , cards, letters and remittances if you had one they might ask them on your interview... that's when they ask my husband to bring on his interview.

This is my 2nd time through the process. The first time, all I sent was a marriage cert.

This time, same thing.

Both times approved. ( first time, was a HUGE mistake on my part ... long story ... )

But really, unless you're a foreign citizen - how would you co-habitate if you have US residency and domicile? That's stupid. Unless, of course, they were here illegally. USC won't have any bank accounts and such - as:

1: You're not a citizen abroad
2: You're a us citizen/resident
3: Alien spouse has no SSN = no bank accounts in the USA, most likely - and no way to share abroad, possibly.
4: Of course there's always the odd-case-out. It always happens, I know it for a fact. don't bother shooting down my statement - because - I already realize there's always an exception to EVERY rule.

It might be a catch-22 thing - as a prescreening. You never know. CIS - they're pros - they know what they're doing, they have reasons for everything they ask for and do.

The real question - is at the embassy side. That's where you should be ready to prove the relationship.

If there are cultural norms in your locality, be sure to follow them. Because it's more or less given that you're going to have an interviewer who is fluent not only in the local language ... but in the culture.

Don't worry too much - and things will turn out nicely - let things progress naturally - and be sure to keep your records as everyone mentioned a few dozen times above. Of course, don't use that as an excuse to get sloppy with your papers. ( Keep em neat! The government loves well-formatted & clean papers - follow those instructions *TO THE LETTER* When they ask for *documentation* that means verifiable documentation: papers - not pictures & DVDs. )