Proof of common residence

[NUSHka 0]

Hi everybody,

first let me tell u our story,I got in the states on a j1(2yr rule does not apply) in 2008 got married while my visa was still valid,but couldnt file for AOS then,now 3 yrs later we r finally doing it...

my question is about the proof of common residence -

my husband and I and our 1 yr old baby currently live with my husband's dad's family(they own the house),we pay them rent every month,which includes utilities.the problem is all the utility bills come in my father-law and his wife's names, the only legit letter me and my hubby get in the mail with our names on it is our bank statement.

Im thinking to type up a Rental Agreement between my in-laws and us,showing that we live in their house,and make copies of some major bills they pay with their names on them to show that they live here too.. does that sound good enough? does anybody have a better idea of a good way to prove common residency in our case?? thank you for ur time guys!!

p.s. we also use to live with my husband's mom last year,but we dont have any proof to show it,since she is close family we didnt have a lease or rental agreement... and before that when we were still dating we moved in with some friends who were already living together,and we didnt think to put my hubbys and mine name on the lease...so there is no proof at all that we've been living together,but actually we have ,we moved in together a month after we first met in person and have been inseparable and living together ever since..just no way to prove it since its in the past

p.s.s. LOL... we have filed joint tax refunds every year so maybe the address on them will show that we lived together?? is that enough??

Thank u so much to whoever took their time to read/answer my post!!!

[Oshun 3]

The fact that you have a child together is almost absolute proof that you are in a true marriage, but that alone will not be enough. Get a letter from your father stating your living arrangement and exactly how and when you pay the rental fee. DO the same for the people you have lived with prior. Also show the canceled checks you use to pay the rent to your father (hopefully out of a joint bank account). The joint returns with common address will help tremendously.

DEFINITELY show the baby's birth certificate. I have heard some people even bringing the child to the interview so the IO can see you as a family. Unfortunately it may be too much to have a small child in a waiting room for many hours if there is a long wait.

You have more than you think,, Good Luck!

[NUSHka 0]

The fact that you have a child together is almost absolute proof that you are in a true marriage, but that alone will not be enough. Get a letter from your father stating your living arrangement and exactly how and when you pay the rental fee. DO the same for the people you have lived with prior. Also show the canceled checks you use to pay the rent to your father (hopefully out of a joint bank account). The joint returns with common address will help tremendously.

DEFINITELY show the baby's birth certificate. I have heard some people even bringing the child to the interview so the IO can see you as a family. Unfortunately it may be too much to have a small child in a waiting room for many hours if there is a long wait.

You have more than you think,, Good Luck!

!!! thank u for the quick answer! u guys on VJ r great!

...unfortunately we pay my father-in-law in cash since its a small amount,therefore we cant show any canceled checks..but we have the contract with our bank stating both of our names and the address we stay on now,,so hopefully that plus a rental agreement with my in-laws will be enough.

as a proof of a bone fide marriage Ive prepared our babys birth certificate as well as our marriage cert. of course,joint tax returns,some pictures,jont account bank statement, I was thinking about printing some messages between me and my hubby from myspace where we use to talk before we met.. so Im not really worried proving our marriage is true,cause i think its obvious from just 1 or 2 proof,its just I want to send all the possible proofs so that they wont even have a tiny doubt about it..

And bringing our son to the interview could be possible if he was a quiet child and could keep still for even a minute LOL,,thats a good idea though I didnt think people would come up with the idea to bring their children..

thank u so much again for the reply!

[faithinGod 8]

!!! thank u for the quick answer! u guys on VJ r great!

...unfortunately we pay my father-in-law in cash since its a small amount,therefore we cant show any canceled checks..but we have the contract with our bank stating both of our names and the address we stay on now,,so hopefully that plus a rental agreement with my in-laws will be enough.

as a proof of a bone fide marriage Ive prepared our babys birth certificate as well as our marriage cert. of course,joint tax returns,some pictures,jont account bank statement, I was thinking about printing some messages between me and my hubby from myspace where we use to talk before we met.. so Im not really worried proving our marriage is true,cause i think its obvious from just 1 or 2 proof,its just I want to send all the possible proofs so that they wont even have a tiny doubt about it..

And bringing our son to the interview could be possible if he was a quiet child and could keep still for even a minute LOL,,thats a good idea though I didnt think people would come up with the idea to bring their children..

thank u so much again for the reply!

How about health insurance, life insurance or car insurance with both names? Also any big assets that you guys both together like a car?

[NUSHka 0]

How about health insurance, life insurance or car insurance with both names? Also any big assets that you guys both together like a car?

don't have any of those... our car (now totaled) was in my name only...we r getting a new one this time in both of our names,but I might have sent the packet b4 we get the car...

but thanks for the advise

[juliava 80]

How about copies of your driver licenses?That would show the same address!

Also, I believe if you go to Office Depot you can buy a standard rental agreement for about $2, so you don't need to type one. Have your in laws fill that out for you, sign it and it's done!

[NUSHka 0]

How about copies of your driver licenses?That would show the same address!

Also, I believe if you go to Office Depot you can buy a standard rental agreement for about $2, so you don't need to type one. Have your in laws fill that out for you, sign it and it's done!

I don't have a license,I had one when my J1 was valid but it was valid only for the period of my visa,sooo..yeah..that wont be an option for me...thanks though..

but we'll definitely get a rental agreement! Do u think we should notarize it?? or just our signatures will be sufficient?

[NUSHka 0]

oh and one more thing...since we've stayed with my mother-in-law before for like a year,can I have her write a statement or a letter or something like that to show that we've lived in her house together? we didn't have a rental agreement with her or anything like that..How do I show proof that we've lived there since it's in the past? Or should I just not bother about it..

On our tax return papers there are both of our names with the address we were staying at at that time,since we moved a lot on each year's taxes we have a different address.and on the last years tax return paperwork there is my mother-in-laws PO box, not her physical address(where we were currently living)...

[faithinGod 8]

oh and one more thing...since we've stayed with my mother-in-law before for like a year,can I have her write a statement or a letter or something like that to show that we've lived in her house together? we didn't have a rental agreement with her or anything like that..How do I show proof that we've lived there since it's in the past? Or should I just not bother about it..

On our tax return papers there are both of our names with the address we were staying at at that time,since we moved a lot on each year's taxes we have a different address.and on the last years tax return paperwork there is my mother-in-laws PO box, not her physical address(where we were currently living)...

I think notarized statements from both his parents that you live/lived there would be good!

[juliava 80]

You don't need to notarize anything for your AOS package, nor the rental agreement or the affidavits.

Yes, an affidavit from your mother in law would be very useful.

[NUSHka 0]

thanks guys...i wish i can wake up tomorrow and my whole package is all ready to be sent!!

[faithinGod 8]

thanks guys...i wish i can wake up tomorrow and my whole package is all ready to be sent!!

I KNOW, RIGHT!!!!!! i wish that every night but didn`t happen yet lol

[NUSHka 0]

Sooo I just thought of something else, idk if its going to help any or not...since me and hubby met on myspace and got married pretty quick after I arrived in the states, the only evidence we have of our LOVE is the myspace messages between us before we met and after we met..do you guys think I should include some of them???

[juliava 80]

Sooo I just thought of something else, idk if its going to help any or not...since me and hubby met on myspace and got married pretty quick after I arrived in the states, the only evidence we have of our LOVE is the myspace messages between us before we met and after we met..do you guys think I should include some of them???

you may, but it won't count as relevant evidence of bona fide marriage.

Don't stress too much about producing evidence for your initial AOS package. Send as much as you have for now. Remember, you will have an interview anyway and you will be asked to bring all this evidence then. The good thing is you will have plenty of time to generate more proofs of your marriage until interview as you will be getting your EAD. With your EAD you will be able to find work, apply for a DL or a non driving picture ID, open bank accounts, etc.

[LIndsay1811 0]

Perhaps you could take out a life insurance policy and name each other as the beneficiary. It's a great thing to have and relatively cheap. We just completed our AOS interview last week and I didn't think about the life insurance until AFTER we were already on our way to the interview... wish I had taken one out before. Also, I would think that anything you have from maybe a daycare or your child's school with both of your names on it (i.e. persons allowed to pick the child up, etc) would also be some sort of evidence. (maybe the kind you actually take to the interview, not send with your packet).

Best of luck with your journey

lindsay