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Sukie

Should evidence be US-centric?

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Australia
Timeline

My spouse and I maintain homes both in the US and in her home country, Australia, as we have strong family ties to both countries. I have been a Permanent Resident of Australia longer than she has been a Permanent Resident of the US.

We have evidence in both countries - we own property together in Australia, but only I own the house in the US. We have cars and insurance in both countries. We have Australian wills and US wills, plus Australian medical insurance and US medical insurance. We have joint bank accounts and credit cards in both countries. We will have two years of Married, Filing Jointly in the US.

Question 1: Should I-751 evidence be US-centric? That is, should I just send in US-based evidence?

Question 2: Because I owned the house in the US since 2002, long before I met my spouse, should I preempt any questions about why only *I* own the house in the US with a cover letter?

Thanks for any advice.

Sukie in NY

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Our Prior Journey

N-400 Naturalization

18-Feb-2018 - submitted N-400 online, credit card charged

18-Feb-2018 - NOA1

12-Mar-2018 - Biometrics 

18-June-2018 - Notice of interview received

26-July-2018 - Interview  - APPROVED!!!

26-July-2018 - Oath Ceremony Scheduled

17-Aug-2018 - Oath Ceremony

 

 

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1. I've never heard of it being an issue. I would submit everything you have, the more, the better.

2. It is not uncommon. Our house mortgage is in my name only and I still sent the joint deed as evidence of joint residence.

I don't think you'd have any issues. Good luck!

 

 

AOS

03/24/11 - Got married in the Boogie-Down Bronx, NYC!
04/21/11 - Mailed I-130,I-765, I-485, I-864 and I-693 - Day 00

04/23/11 - Application delivered - Day 02
04/28/11 - NOA (most forms) - Day 07
05/03/11 - Checks cashed - Day 12
05/31/11 - Biometrics completed in the Bronx, NYC - Day 40
06/24/11 - Received someone else's employment authorization card!!! What the...? - Day 64
07/01/11 - Mailed the poor lady's card back after calling USCIS - Day 71
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07/15/11 - Received my own EAD card - Day 85
08/12/11 - Interview. Approved on the spot! - Day 113
08/18/11 - Received card in the mail - Day 119

ROC
05/28/13 - Mailed I-751 - Day 00

05/30/13 - Application delivered - Day 02

05/31/13 - NOA I-797 - Day 03
06/04/13 - Check cashed - Day 07

06/06/13 - NOA delivered to my home/Biometrics letter generated - Day 09

06/10/13 - Received Biometrics letter in the mail - Day 13

06/27/13 - Biometrics completed in Milwaukee, WI - Day 30

09/10/13 - Application approved! - Day 105

09/14/13 - 10 year Green Card received! - Day 109

Citizenship

05/10/16 - Mailed N-400 - Day 00

05/12/16 - Application delivered - Day 02

05/13/16 - Credit card payment accepted - Day 03

05/17/16 - Received text & email update - Day 07

05/20/16 - Received 1st NOA (dated 05/13/16) & created ELIS acct - Day 10

05/21/16 - Received 2nd NOA (dated 05/16/16) confirming my DOB and address - Day 11

05/22/06 - Biometrics scheduled (online update) and appt letter was mailed on 05/20/16 - Day 12

05/24/06 - Biometrics letter became viewable online (appt scheduled for 06/07/16) - Day 14

05/27/16 - Received Biometrics letter in mail - Day 17

05/31/16 - Was denied walk-in fingerprints with just 1 person left in line. Milwaukee office, boo! - Day 21

06/07/16 - Biometrics completed in Milwaukee, WI - Day 28

12/21/16 - Passed Citizenship test/Interview was successful! - Day 197

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Filed: Citizen (pnd) Country: France
Timeline

1. Use evidence from both countries, but be certain your U.S. evidence is in there. My wife and I submitted our French family book with our I-751. This shows that our marriage is registered in France. The point of showing the foreign evidence is that if the couple has indicia of marriage in foreign country, then it reduces the likelihood that the marriage was not entered into in good faith. In other words, if you were trying to scam the system, then why bother acting like you are married in another country?

2. I would explain why only I owned the house in a letter to USCIS. It cannot hurt, might reduce the odds of an RFE, and might make the agent's job a little easier. And we all like it when our jobs are a little easier.

Edited by Pete's Dragon
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I owned my house before I ever meet my husband. I just refinanced and I did the streamline . I asked about putting my husband on the mortgage but they told me we would have to do a regular mortgage. We would have to qualify with income and assets. Well, we wouldn't qualify with my husbands on the mortgage because he just entered this past January. He needs 2 year work history which he doesn't have yet plus his new credit rating won't help. So I refinanced alone to lower our payment. The same thing happened when I bought my new car. Honda finance told me his non existing credit rating would give me a higher finance rate, so I bought the car in my name only. We have one bank account together, health insurance together and the addresses on our drivers licenses. We are still working on taking pictures but its usually the two of us when we go out. Its hard to get pics together. And he works 12 hours a day/6 days a week. We are going on vacation at the end of July so we will have travel itinerary. I guess I'll look into getting a will together. I don't think it matters where your houses are, they just want to see co mingling of assets.

Edited by LoveMyTico

Married March 9, 2013
NOA1 I-130 April 12, 2013

Transferred to TSC Nov 27, 2013
APPROVED March 18, 2014 FINALLY ! ! ! !! 11 MONTHS & 6 LONG DAYS FOR MY NOA2
Case shipped from TSC to NVC March 21, 2014
Rec'd NOA2 hard copy March 22, 2014
Case rec'd & Case Number assigned April 1, 2014
AMAZING !!!
PAID IV and AOS fees online April 5, 2014
Fees show paid/DS 260 avail. /DS260 submitted/AOS&IV pkg sent April 9, 2014
FEDEX delivered @ NVC April 11, 2014
Revised AOS pkg delivered April 15, 2014
AOS & IV rec'd& scanned in @ NVC April 15, 2014
Revised AOS scanned April 18, 2014
AOS checklist for income and IV pkg April 30, 2014 (checklist expected due to Lawyers mistakes)
DS260 accepted April 30, 2014
Checklist for Birth cert/police cert May 1, 2014
AOS accepted May 5, 2014

Birth cert scanned MAY 8, 2014

CASE COMPLETE JUNE 4, 2014 CC letter received via email June 11, 2014

INTERVIEW JULY 15, 2014

Waiver finally FedEx'd to Phoenix Lockbox August 21, 2014

WAIVER APPROVED December 17, 2014

Received Instruction Letter via email December 23, 2014

Final Embassy Appointment January 5, 2015 YAY !

Visa ISSUED January 12, 2015

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Australia
Timeline

I owned my house before I ever meet my husband. I just refinanced and I did the streamline . I asked about putting my husband on the mortgage but they told me we would have to do a regular mortgage. We would have to qualify with income and assets. Well, we wouldn't qualify with my husbands on the mortgage because he just entered this past January. He needs 2 year work history which he doesn't have yet plus his new credit rating won't help. So I refinanced alone to lower our payment. The same thing happened when I bought my new car. Honda finance told me his non existing credit rating would give me a higher finance rate, so I bought the car in my name only. We have one bank account together, health insurance together and the addresses on our drivers licenses. We are still working on taking pictures but its usually the two of us when we go out. Its hard to get pics together. And he works 12 hours a day/6 days a week. We are going on vacation at the end of July so we will have travel itinerary. I guess I'll look into getting a will together. I don't think it matters where your houses are, they just want to see co mingling of assets.

Hey L-Girl! How are things going with you?

So...will you write a cover letter about the house and the reason your guy isn't on the loan or the car? Will you do this so you don't get an RFE? That's really my big question - whether to try to "explain" the reason why I haven't added her to the deed.

Sukie in NY

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

Our Prior Journey

N-400 Naturalization

18-Feb-2018 - submitted N-400 online, credit card charged

18-Feb-2018 - NOA1

12-Mar-2018 - Biometrics 

18-June-2018 - Notice of interview received

26-July-2018 - Interview  - APPROVED!!!

26-July-2018 - Oath Ceremony Scheduled

17-Aug-2018 - Oath Ceremony

 

 

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Heyyyyyyyyy...well, Im wondering if its even worth it to mention the house and car. I would think they would understand that its expensive to add someone to a mortgage and it doesn't make sense to take a ridiculous interest rate on a car loan just to have the other person added. I don't know....I guess I need to wait and see what other evidence I can gather. Taxes are a biggy. I hate immigration. Grrrrrrrrr

Married March 9, 2013
NOA1 I-130 April 12, 2013

Transferred to TSC Nov 27, 2013
APPROVED March 18, 2014 FINALLY ! ! ! !! 11 MONTHS & 6 LONG DAYS FOR MY NOA2
Case shipped from TSC to NVC March 21, 2014
Rec'd NOA2 hard copy March 22, 2014
Case rec'd & Case Number assigned April 1, 2014
AMAZING !!!
PAID IV and AOS fees online April 5, 2014
Fees show paid/DS 260 avail. /DS260 submitted/AOS&IV pkg sent April 9, 2014
FEDEX delivered @ NVC April 11, 2014
Revised AOS pkg delivered April 15, 2014
AOS & IV rec'd& scanned in @ NVC April 15, 2014
Revised AOS scanned April 18, 2014
AOS checklist for income and IV pkg April 30, 2014 (checklist expected due to Lawyers mistakes)
DS260 accepted April 30, 2014
Checklist for Birth cert/police cert May 1, 2014
AOS accepted May 5, 2014

Birth cert scanned MAY 8, 2014

CASE COMPLETE JUNE 4, 2014 CC letter received via email June 11, 2014

INTERVIEW JULY 15, 2014

Waiver finally FedEx'd to Phoenix Lockbox August 21, 2014

WAIVER APPROVED December 17, 2014

Received Instruction Letter via email December 23, 2014

Final Embassy Appointment January 5, 2015 YAY !

Visa ISSUED January 12, 2015

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Filed: AOS (pnd) Country: China
Timeline

This may be a little off-topic, but evidence aside it's still a good idea to add your spouse's name to the title of the house. You can do this without adding her to the mortage/refinancing. I believe it costs a few hundred dollars, but the advantage is that if you pass away, she'll get the house automatically without having to go through the courts and pay probate fees on it.

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My husband wants my kids to have the house so that's just a waste. We will eventually have a house in Costa Rica but for now.... I'm not adding him. Its a waste of Money.

Married March 9, 2013
NOA1 I-130 April 12, 2013

Transferred to TSC Nov 27, 2013
APPROVED March 18, 2014 FINALLY ! ! ! !! 11 MONTHS & 6 LONG DAYS FOR MY NOA2
Case shipped from TSC to NVC March 21, 2014
Rec'd NOA2 hard copy March 22, 2014
Case rec'd & Case Number assigned April 1, 2014
AMAZING !!!
PAID IV and AOS fees online April 5, 2014
Fees show paid/DS 260 avail. /DS260 submitted/AOS&IV pkg sent April 9, 2014
FEDEX delivered @ NVC April 11, 2014
Revised AOS pkg delivered April 15, 2014
AOS & IV rec'd& scanned in @ NVC April 15, 2014
Revised AOS scanned April 18, 2014
AOS checklist for income and IV pkg April 30, 2014 (checklist expected due to Lawyers mistakes)
DS260 accepted April 30, 2014
Checklist for Birth cert/police cert May 1, 2014
AOS accepted May 5, 2014

Birth cert scanned MAY 8, 2014

CASE COMPLETE JUNE 4, 2014 CC letter received via email June 11, 2014

INTERVIEW JULY 15, 2014

Waiver finally FedEx'd to Phoenix Lockbox August 21, 2014

WAIVER APPROVED December 17, 2014

Received Instruction Letter via email December 23, 2014

Final Embassy Appointment January 5, 2015 YAY !

Visa ISSUED January 12, 2015

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Australia
Timeline

This may be a little off-topic, but evidence aside it's still a good idea to add your spouse's name to the title of the house. You can do this without adding her to the mortage/refinancing. I believe it costs a few hundred dollars, but the advantage is that if you pass away, she'll get the house automatically without having to go through the courts and pay probate fees on it.

Until your spouse is a US citizen, your spouse has to pass through a tax hurdle with regards to an estate. We were going to wait until she becomes a citizen, and just take care of the title then. I own my house free and clear - so there is no mortgage option. And, I've willed it to her anyway.

Given that we have to pay income tax in two countries, at this point it's in our best interest for her NOT to own real estate in the US.

We'll see.

Sukie in NY

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

Our Prior Journey

N-400 Naturalization

18-Feb-2018 - submitted N-400 online, credit card charged

18-Feb-2018 - NOA1

12-Mar-2018 - Biometrics 

18-June-2018 - Notice of interview received

26-July-2018 - Interview  - APPROVED!!!

26-July-2018 - Oath Ceremony Scheduled

17-Aug-2018 - Oath Ceremony

 

 

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Sukie the wills help with the house issue, so i wouldn't worry about it. Submit everything that is joint or showing each other as beneficiaries, foreign or domestic. :)

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.  - Dr. Seuss

 

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Filed: Citizen (pnd) Country: Australia
Timeline

I think you have plenty of evidence, just submit it all. If anything, bundle up US and Australian evidence separately so it's easier for them to review the US stuff first. If you've traveling been between US/Australia together, include the booking information. Doing the SYD/NYC (or BNE/MEL-NYC) flight repeatedly with the same person can only be love :-)

Package sent to: Chicago Office

Local Office: Saint Paul, MN

Primary Filings: I0-485, I-130, I-765

Date Filed : 11 Sept 2012

NOA Date : 17 Sept 2012

Bio. Appt.. : 12 Oct 2012

EAD in Production: 14 Nov 2012

EAD Received : 24 Nov 2012

Interview Date : 12 February 2013

Approved : 13 February 2013

GC in Production: 19 February 2013

GC Received: 25 February 2013

Petition to Remove Conditions (I-751)

Date of I-751 = 28 Jan 2015

NOA Date = 29 Jan 2015

Biometrics = 26 Feb 2015

Approved = 25 June 2015

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