I-751 Evidence for Removal of Conditions

[ghunt2121 1]

My wife and I have been married for over 3 years now and are about to file for her new green card / Removal of Conditions.

I am concerned because we decided from the beginning to keep our income and bank account separate and it appears that that is a critical issue that USCIS looks at for RoC. I also never had her added to my lease in order to save some money.

These are the things that we are going to submit:

• I-751 form & fee
• Copy of residency card for wife
• Copy of residency card for each of her three children
• Sworn affidavits from 3 mutual friends
• Joint Tax Returns for 2012 and 2013
• Copy of most recent automobile insurance policy statement (both names on it)
• Copy of title of car showing joint ownership
• Copy of both of our Capitol One MasterCard credit cards showing a joint account
• Copy of our health insurance cards showing joint coverage
• Copy of both of our Costco membership cards showing a joint account
• Copy of my wife's most recent pay stubs (and a few of mine) showing the same address
• Copy of documentation showing my wife as beneficiary for my 401K fund.

1. Should I explain that we intentionally don't have joint accounts?

2. Is this likely to be enough evidence?

3. Is there anything more that I have forgotten to include that might help?

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

Copy of your driver licenses.

Car registrations along with title.

All older insurance policies, you can call insurance to get everything. Most recent policy only will trigger RFE.

Explain Joint Account on head letter. Don't worry we don't have any banking AT ALL, we explained and no issues at all. Good luck.

[ghunt2121 1]

Ahh!! That is good news!... about the banking I mean... also, thanks for reminding me of the driver's license... she doesn't have one yet, but she does have a learner's permit and it has the same address, of course, as my license.

[ghunt2121 1]

Any body else want to comment on the advisability of explaining to them from the outset that "we don't have joint bank accounts because that was our choice"

[ahalow 1]

I'd add in some color photographs of the two of you as a couple. Although it's not "hard" evidence, I think it helps to humanize couples in a way no other type of evidence can, so it's a good supplement to other, more objective types of evidence. Include between 10 - 20 photos, 2 to a page (5 - 10 pages total), and write a short description beneath each photo giving the rough date, place, and who is in it. If possible, try to have a few photos from the beginning, middle, and current part of your marriage, and include both photos of just the two of you and the two of you with her children and/or other family members.

If you don't have photos, don't worry about it; every couple is different, and it's not required.

As far as the evidence you are including, I think you're in pretty good shape. The main thing is that if possible, you might want to include some "older" records that cover the full range of your marriage, even if they're technically "out of date." For example, if you have any old car or health insurance card or other records that list both of your names, you might want to include them along with the current ones. Hopefully, the tax returns, statements from friends, and copies of photographs (if you include them) will help cover that as well.

There are other things that you could document in theory (for example, wills or other estate planning documents naming each other as beneficiaries, health care powers of attorney naming each other, etc.), but I think what you've got should work, and you can always provide those types of things in response to an RFE if you get one.

On the joint account issue, I actually think you've got enough other evidence that you are doing things jointly that it shouldn't be a problem. For that reason, I probably wouldn't bother to address it in your letter. That being said, I don't think it will do any harm if you do; I just think it's probably a wash either way.

That being said, after you get this submitted, it wouldn't be a bad idea if you two went out and opened up at least a joint savings account, and each put a little money in it from time to time. You might even want to agree to save up for a particular thing, and use it for that purpose. That way, you would be able to document it on the off chance you get an RFE.

Good luck!

[TBoneTX 43,058]

There are other things that you could document in theory (for example, wills or other estate planning documents naming each other as beneficiaries, health care powers of attorney naming each other, etc.)

These items are a great suggestion. If you don't want to pay for a lawyer, some self-help sites are available (such as legalzoom.com and nolo.com) for preparation of wills and ancillary documents with language valid in your state of residence.

These documents are superior evidence, certainly, and they're even more valuable to have in "life." Get them prepared as a priority, and include them.

Edited November 26, 2014 by TBoneTX