Questions about divorce, co-sponsors, and evidence

[wallofgemstones 1]

Hey everyone, Bailey here a new member to VisaJourney. Firstly, bless this place for existing. A serious weight has been lifted off my shoulders after coming here. Thank you guys. I am definitely reconsidering whether or not we need a lawyer anymore.

Alright, here's the short and sweet of it. My fiancee and I are women. She, Gemma, is from the UK, England specifically. I have a couple of questions regarding our specific situation and how severely this will influence whether or not we're approved.

First: me.

- I am unemployed as a university student and living with my parents. My mother makes enough to cover the 125% now. However, this is only within the latest tax year because of a raise and a second job. Will that matter a whole lot or does her salary now weigh the most?

- I have been married once before. The marriage is definitely over. I have copies of the divorce case with the number, dates, all that. Will this effect us?

Secondly: her.

- She has only just recently gotten off government benefits. She was unable to find a job for about a year and a half.

Finally: evidence.

I've read in the UK specific forum that London doesn't really need a whole lot of evidence of an ongoing/legitimate relationship. Does anyone know if this still true as of 2015? Also, how valid are Facebook statuses considered? Not only do we have a few of us talking about being in the same room as each other, but we also have friends and family doing the same or otherwise affirming that we're in a relationship. (For example, I have my dad talking about Gemma coming to visit, my little sister celebrating that Gemma and I could get married in all 50 states, etc.) And, of course, we have lots of photos of us together as well as us with each other's families.

Any advice or stories you guys have to give would be greatly appreciated. Mods, if I should re-ask the last question in the UK forum, let me know.

Edited August 2, 2015 by wallofgemstones

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Your case is the same as any male/female case.

For the petition, prove you--

Are a U.S. CITIZEN

Are free to marry--every page of your divorce decree. Must have judge's signature. Photocopy of course.

Intend to marry within 90 days of her entry-- both write statement saying that

Have met in person during the last two years. Hard evidence like passport stamps, boarding passes. Things that prove Gemma was in your state or town like credit card charges. We each bought something in BestBuy on credit cards so we had proof of being in the same store, same day, same time. Dig around for what you might have. I personally think Facebook status is just extra fluff. You don't need it. A few photos together are nice.

The money part will not be provided until Gemma takes it to the interview. Mom's current income matters more than last year's tax return. London will approve an I-134 without a tax return if you have other proof. Gemma's income is not a factor at all.

Yes, it is still true in 2015 that London does not want additional photos, relationship proof brought to the interview.

Edited August 2, 2015 by Nich-Nick

[wallofgemstones 1]

Thanks for that speedy response. It put my mind at ease for a lot of stuff.

I totally forgot to mention, as proof we've seen each other in the last two years: I have a police report. I was assaulted (don't worry, I'm okay) here in the UK. We filed a police report where Gemma was used as my contact. It has our names, her address, the date, and very clearly from the UK. Should we need anything beyond that, you think?

If it's not, I'm not sure about our other stuff. We're not certain of our purchases and the timing but we'll have a dig in our bank accounts. We're pretty sure we both made a purchase at the Tower of London earlier this summer.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Thanks for that speedy response. It put my mind at ease for a lot of stuff.

I totally forgot to mention, as proof we've seen each other in the last two years: I have a police report. I was assaulted (don't worry, I'm okay) here in the UK. We filed a police report where Gemma was used as my contact. It has our names, her address, the date, and very clearly from the UK. Should we need anything beyond that, you think?

If it's not, I'm not sure about our other stuff. We're not certain of our purchases and the timing but we'll have a dig in our bank accounts. We're pretty sure we both made a purchase at the Tower of London earlier this summer.

Passport stamps. Boarding passes. Those are pretty standard. Then whatever else you can find. I was amazed by what I was able to piece together when we started looking. I was in Oxford (his town) and used an ATM machine that showed up on my bank statement. We went to London and each of our credit card statements had Harrod's, the date, etc. I used just the pages with the transactions which I highlighted to show them what to look at. I also made notes right on the photocopy evidence to stitch together the story.

John purchase in Harrod's London Date

Jane purchase in Harrod's London Date

Jane ATM withdrawal in Oxford Date

Those are better evidence than friends talking on Facebook in my opinion, or reams of Skype logs people tend to send. When there are different languages involved, those conversations may show an ability to communicate with each other. You and your fiancé are both native English speakers, so I don't think anybody will wonder how well you communicate.

The petetition says to prove meeting in person. It doesn't say write how much you love each other and show us 1000 times you said "I love you" on Skype and FB. That is strictly my personal logic and how I successfully approached the process. Add a little of the fluff after you have documented meeting if you wish...a very few pages. My logic also tells me a 5 pound submission would make eyes roll and officers push back the big one as long as they could because it is too cumbersome to wade through. Think about it, which one would you pick out of the box to adjudicate first...something that looked like War and Peace or a short story? Seriously, some people send in 1000 pages in a box!

[yuna628 9,530]

Here's a suggestion: did you go anywhere where you may have kept a receipt showing that two people dined at a specific location? Bank statements that show withdrawing on a certain date? Do you have any photographs showing you outside of those specific locations? Do you have passport stamps and boarding passes?

Our thinking on providing a lot of relationship evidence changed after thinking about it a lot. The government probably has access to things you've never even thought about in the online world, why give them an open door to it by providing records of online communications? If that's the only thing you've got to prove it fair enough - but they want to know more about your face to face time, rather than virtual time. And after a while I got to thinking that someone at the USCIS wouldn't want to see years worth of our goofy babbling online and in love letters. That might be a different story if you had a very difficult consulate to go through - but London didn't ask to see one bit of any of the extras he brought with him nor did they barely ask him any questions directly related to our relationship.

In the 34a supplement sheet, we listed all the dates he had been to America, the dates I had been to London, including the most recent. We mentioned the evidence we had provided linking back to those dates. I put sticky notes on his passport(s) photocopy pages pointing out the recent visit dates, and listed clear photocopies of movie stubs and food receipts. Boarding passes showed the flights taken back and forth and the seats we sat next to each other. We listed the dates on the backs of photos too and provided a photocopy of the ring receipt. This honestly, in hindsight was probably overkill.

So don't overthink it too much, but make sure it links back nicely and covers the basics.

Personally I don't think a police report would help, in fact it might just make them confused and some business they don't need to be in you know?

You got to admit though Nich-Nick, when she asked him how our relationship had progressed over ten years, it would of been so hilarious for him to dump a stack of 2000 pages of communications in front her.

Edited August 2, 2015 by yuna628

[wallofgemstones 1]

Passport stamps. Boarding passes. Those are pretty standard. Then whatever else you can find. I was amazed by what I was able to piece together when we started looking. I was in Oxford (his town) and used an ATM machine that showed up on my bank statement. We went to London and each of our credit card statements had Harrod's, the date, etc. I used just the pages with the transactions which I highlighted to show them what to look at. I also made notes right on the photocopy evidence to stitch together the story.

John purchase in Harrod's London Date

Jane purchase in Harrod's London Date

Jane ATM withdrawal in Oxford Date

Those are better evidence than friends talking on Facebook in my opinion, or reams of Skype logs people tend to send. When there are different languages involved, those conversations may show an ability to communicate with each other. You and your fiancé are both native English speakers, so I don't think anybody will wonder how well you communicate.

The petetition says to prove meeting in person. It doesn't say write how much you love each other and show us 1000 times you said "I love you" on Skype and FB. That is strictly my personal logic and how I successfully approached the process. Add a little of the fluff after you have documented meeting if you wish...a very few pages. My logic also tells me a 5 pound submission would make eyes roll and officers push back the big one as long as they could because it is too cumbersome to wade through. Think about it, which one would you pick out of the box to adjudicate first...something that looked like War and Peace or a short story? Seriously, some people send in 1000 pages in a box!

Yeesh. I don't think we'd have that much even if we tried. We'll have a look through our bank statements and see what we can find. In addition to the boarding passes and passport stamps. Thanks again.

[wallofgemstones 1]

Here's a suggestion: did you go anywhere where you may have kept a receipt showing that two people dined at a specific location? Bank statements that show withdrawing on a certain date? Do you have any photographs showing you outside of those specific locations? Do you have passport stamps and boarding passes?

Our thinking on providing a lot of relationship evidence changed after thinking about it a lot. The government probably has access to things you've never even thought about in the online world, why give them an open door to it by providing records of online communications? If that's the only thing you've got to prove it fair enough - but they want to know more about your face to face time, rather than virtual time. And after a while I got to thinking that someone at the USCIS wouldn't want to see years worth of our goofy babbling online and in love letters. That might be a different story if you had a very difficult consulate to go through - but London didn't ask to see one bit of any of the extras he brought with him nor did they barely ask him any questions directly related to our relationship.

In the 34a supplement sheet, we listed all the dates he had been to America, the dates I had been to London, including the most recent. We mentioned the evidence we had provided linking back to those dates. I put sticky notes on his passport(s) photocopy pages pointing out the recent visit dates, and listed clear photocopies of movie stubs and food receipts. Boarding passes showed the flights taken back and forth and the seats we sat next to each other. We listed the dates on the backs of photos too and provided a photocopy of the ring receipt. This honestly, in hindsight was probably overkill.

So don't overthink it too much, but make sure it links back nicely and covers the basics.

Personally I don't think a police report would help, in fact it might just make them confused and some business they don't need to be in you know?

You got to admit though Nich-Nick, when she asked him how our relationship had progressed over ten years, it would of been so hilarious for him to dump a stack of 2000 pages of communications in front her.

See, I'm not very sure if we have much evidence of two of us going on dates face to face. Definitely where one of us used our debit card to pay, but not the receipt. Like I told Nich-Nick, I'll take an in depth look at both our bank accounts for our London trip to see if we have any charges within close times. We've never travelled together on a plane and any pictures we have together in London are only selfies. I think we have one of us in the interior of Chirk castle from this UK trip.

We do have a few pics of us with either one of our families, both from her trip to the US and my trip to the UK.

We didn't consider bringing her to the US until after the SC hearing about same sex marriage across all 50 states, so we didn't think to save any of that stuff. In fact, we only just decided to bring her to the US rather than me to the UK. It was only just recently this became a possibility for us.

You think so about the police report? It's all said and done, and of course I'd explain why I included it. I mean, if anything proves we were face to face, it's certainly that. But, if there's a chance it will confuse them, we'll leave it out.