How much evidence of bonafide marriage is necessary for I-130 Petition?

[kmbeeman 0]

Hi, I will be mailing out our I-130 at the end of this month. For evidence of a bonafide marriage, my husband and I have the following:

1) Our marriage certificate (with a photocopy of a legal, certified translation)

2) My special-purpose visa (needed to marry in Bolivia, where my husband is from)

3) Flight itineraries and passport stamps

4) 50+ photos of us together (we have MUCH more than that, but we were thinking that 50 would be sufficient)

5) Emails sent back and forth (only during our engagement were we separated, we have been living together since we got married and therefore have little communication by email)

6) The lease to our apartment (where we have been living together since Oct 2011) with both of our name and signatures (by the way, do I need to translate this? It is in spanish)

7) Rent receipts (with both names)

8) A notarized letter from my mother, swearing that she attended our wedding

9) Photos from our wedding and honeymoon

10) Correspondence with friends and family referring to our getting married, wedding, etc.

11) My tax returns (I changed my status from single to married, but filed separately since my husband hadn't received his TIN yet)

Could anyone tell me if this is adequate? I could gather more documentation, but if what we already have works, I'd like to go ahead and file. Anyway, we'd always have the opportunity to show more at the interview, right?

Thank you!

Edited September 26, 2012 by kmbeeman

[kstrozyk 13]

Hi, I will be mailing out our I-130 at the end of this month. For evidence of a bonafide marriage, my husband and I have the following:

1) Our marriage certificate (with a photocopy of a legal, certified translation)

2) My special-purpose visa (needed to marry in Bolivia, where my husband is from)

3) Flight itineraries and passport stamps

4) 50+ photos of us together (we have MUCH more than that, but we were thinking that 50 would be sufficient)

5) Emails sent back and forth (only during our engagement were we separated, we have been living together since we got married and therefore have little communication by email)

6) The lease to our apartment (where we have been living together since Oct 2011) with both of our name and signatures (by the way, do I need to translate this? It is in spanish)

7) Rent receipts (with both names)

8) A notarized letter from my mother, swearing that she attended our wedding

9) Photos from our wedding and honeymoon

10) Correspondence with friends and family referring to our getting married, wedding, etc.

11) My tax returns (I changed my status from single to married, but filed separately since my husband hadn't received his TIN yet)

Could anyone tell me if this is adequate? I could gather more documentation, but if what we already have works, I'd like to go ahead and file. Anyway, we'd always have the opportunity to show more at the interview, right?

Thank you!

I think you have plenty of evidence. I had less than a half of what you have, when I filed for my wife.

[Gracenp2 14]

Hi, I will be mailing out our I-130 at the end of this month. For evidence of a bonafide marriage, my husband and I have the following:

1) Our marriage certificate (with a photocopy of a legal, certified translation)

2) My special-purpose visa (needed to marry in Bolivia, where my husband is from)

3) Flight itineraries and passport stamps

4) 50+ photos of us together (we have MUCH more than that, but we were thinking that 50 would be sufficient)

5) Emails sent back and forth (only during our engagement were we separated, we have been living together since we got married and therefore have little communication by email)

6) The lease to our apartment (where we have been living together since Oct 2011) with both of our name and signatures (by the way, do I need to translate this? It is in spanish)

7) Rent receipts (with both names)

8) A notarized letter from my mother, swearing that she attended our wedding

9) Photos from our wedding and honeymoon

10) Correspondence with friends and family referring to our getting married, wedding, etc.

11) My tax returns (I changed my status from single to married, but filed separately since my husband hadn't received his TIN yet)

Could anyone tell me if this is adequate? I could gather more documentation, but if what we already have works, I'd like to go ahead and file. Anyway, we'd always have the opportunity to show more at the interview, right?

Thank you!

Welcome to Vj.. you have a lot of proof which is good. Remember that you are really gonna need all this during your interview. I only submitted a photocopy of one picture of our wedding along with the marriage certificate.. If you feel comfortable sending this then I would. Looks like you have all your bases covered.

Good luck to you!

Edited September 26, 2012 by Gracenp2

[Anh map 2,098]

Hi, I will be mailing out our I-130 at the end of this month. For evidence of a bonafide marriage, my husband and I have the following:

1) Our marriage certificate (with a photocopy of a legal, certified translation)

2) My special-purpose visa (needed to marry in Bolivia, where my husband is from)

3) Flight itineraries and passport stamps

4) 50+ photos of us together (we have MUCH more than that, but we were thinking that 50 would be sufficient)

5) Emails sent back and forth (only during our engagement were we separated, we have been living together since we got married and therefore have little communication by email)

6) The lease to our apartment (where we have been living together since Oct 2011) with both of our name and signatures (by the way, do I need to translate this? It is in spanish)

7) Rent receipts (with both names)

8) A notarized letter from my mother, swearing that she attended our wedding

9) Photos from our wedding and honeymoon

10) Correspondence with friends and family referring to our getting married, wedding, etc.

11) My tax returns (I changed my status from single to married, but filed separately since my husband hadn't received his TIN yet)

Could anyone tell me if this is adequate? I could gather more documentation, but if what we already have works, I'd like to go ahead and file. Anyway, we'd always have the opportunity to show more at the interview, right?

Thank you!

You want to show the development of your relationship from beginning to present. It's not about proving there was a ceremony. Your marriage certificate is all you need to prove that you were married. Mom's statement that she was there isn't needed.

Letters between you and friends about the ceremony don't do much about proving the relationship is legit.

50 pics is much more than enough.

Time spent together with family and friends is good to show. Passport stamps, travel receipts, correspondence, the lease, etc. are all good to show a bona fide relationship.

[kmbeeman 0]

You want to show the development of your relationship from beginning to present. It's not about proving there was a ceremony. Your marriage certificate is all you need to prove that you were married. Mom's statement that she was there isn't needed.

Letters between you and friends about the ceremony don't do much about proving the relationship is legit.

50 pics is much more than enough.

Time spent together with family and friends is good to show. Passport stamps, travel receipts, correspondence, the lease, etc. are all good to show a bona fide relationship.

Thank you! Do you know if I should bother translating the lease, receipts, and correspondence?

[Ryan H 3,790]

Thank you! Do you know if I should bother translating the lease, receipts, and correspondence?

No, an explanation of what those items are is sufficient.