Bonafide marriage?

[pushbrk 12,260]

if i am not mistaken the USCIS wants you to prove a bonafide relationship which goes beyond the marriage which is proven by a marriage certificate

a bonafide relationship is proven by evidence of ongoing interaction between petitioner and beneficiary (travel evidence, pictures, co-ownership of assets, etc)

i don't think its possible to open an account in the US without a SSN however if you can open an account in the country of the beneficiary, that would serve as evidence of co-ownership of assets

Actually, USCIS does not require evidence of a bona fide relationship in order to approve an I-130 petition for a spouse in a visa case. The decision on bona fides is left to the Consular officer. The primary evidence is the interview itself. The strongest other evidence is documented time spent together. Spending time together and learning about each other is what happens in bona fide relationships. It happens in fraudulent relationships too but Consular officers are trained to see the difference. Usually, they get it right but not always.

[KristiAnn 0]

We're sending in our marriage certificate obviously, and as for supporting documents, we have some mortgage information for when we put an ofer in on a house in Canada before we were married, a letter from the bank in the US stating that we have a joint account and both have full access to it, copies of bills, car insurance and house insurance in both our names, copies of each other as beneficiaries on life insurance, etc. Pretty much anything that would show that we have co-mingled our lives. Our situation is a little different though in that we have been married for 3 years now, so we had some time to accrue these things. Oh, we also have some friends and family, 3 total, writing affidavit letters of support for us.

As for getting a joint account without a SSN, we used US Bank and had absolutely no troubles. They had me fill out a small form, and they photocopied my passport for their records. We've had a joint account there for a couple of years without any hassle. So maybe give them a try if you can!

[sachinky 464]

A marriage certificate indicates that you are legally married.

A BONA-FIDE marriage on the other hand include but is not limited to, the reasons you entered the bond of the marriage, evidence of co-mingling of assets and lives, and continuation of a viable relationship.

Hope this helps. It's something my husband doesn't understand either when I explain it to him. He keeps saying "But we're married!"

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Regarding being added to a US Bank account without having a SSN, look-up IRS Form W8-BEN it is just for that purpose. Then on your first joint tax filing you will need to apply for an ITIN if you still don't have a SSN.

[SONG41 15]

We had the same issue in Florida... We were married for 6 years and tried at 5 banks (Wachovia, B of America, Bank Atlantic, First Federal and one other I cant remember) they all said no... There are others here who have been successful in getting their SOs on the accounts without a SSN??? Someone said HSBC but we do not have one around us...

When do I include the proof of Bona Fide Marriage? When I file or at the interview?

When do I include the proof of Bona Fide Marriage? When I file or at the interview?

On the bank question my husband has a Suntrust and BBT bank account joint and in his own name without a SSN he had to sign some forms and produce all ID but no problem once he explained the situation?

Hope that helps?

[pushbrk 12,260]

When do I include the proof of Bona Fide Marriage? When I file or at the interview?

Providing evidence (not proof) of bona fides is optional with the petition but you'll want written evidence for the visa interview. Again, the most important evidence is going to be how the interview questions are answered. Interview preparation is key.

[road417king 7]

We had the same issue in Florida... We were married for 6 years and tried at 5 banks (Wachovia, B of America, Bank Atlantic, First Federal and one other I cant remember) they all said no... There are others here who have been successful in getting their SOs on the accounts without a SSN??? Someone said HSBC but we do not have one around us...

The guy I talked with at Bank of America in WA told me that I could add my wife to my account but I need her to sign the signature document, provide copies of her passport and drivers license etc. They use the number 300000000 to indicate a person from another country with no tax id. They also wanted her mother's maiden name, probably for security purposes.

I'm waiting for Seiko to mail me the signed form, I sent her a scan of it in email yesterday.

My credit union said pretty much the same thing.

Good luck!

Mike

Edited January 9, 2010 by road417king

[christeen 966]

Perhaps they have clarified the rules recently, when we were trying (between 2005 - 2007) they did not allow us... Some banks I think are still pretty sticky about it and do not know the rules allow for an account to be opened without a SSN??? Glad to hear that it is possible because it was a real pain for us for many years!!!

[Darnell 8,478]

Hey - Jonswifey - any update ?

[Bern. 3]

If he's in the US Army, get him to add you to his DEERS.

[OBX 51]

Providing evidence (not proof) of bona fides is optional with the petition but you'll want written evidence for the visa interview. Again, the most important evidence is going to be how the interview questions are answered. Interview preparation is key.

Wise advice!

[British_Cupcake 1]

thanks for all your replys.. i am already enrolled in deers, i have my dependant ID which says that he is my sponser so i shall use that too...

Im going to send a copy of previous plane tickets, marriage certificate, copy of my dependant id and some photos and the rental agreement that we both signed when we started renting the house after getting married. That will be enough right?

[Canadiandggal 49]

I would just like to add that I am on my husbands Wachovia account as well as His M&T Bank account. We had no problems, Just my passport, and A marriage certificate.