Starting the Process - Newly Married

[JA_Martinez 81]

This is one of the most stressful and terrifying processes I've ever been through in my life. My love and I were just married on Feb 15 in Osaka, Japan....I had to obviously leave him behind (I hate it so much), to return back to Orlando on 2/24.

I've done a great deal of research on all of this, clearly way far away from understanding all of it except to know it's extremely stressful and gut wrenching! While I've been studying the I-130 instructions pages, I'm reading about the Bona Fides and examples we have to capture.....holy moly!

My question here is this.....I realize that the whole intent of the visa process (and bona fides) is to prove that you didn't marry for convenience, and I get that and am thankful there is some level of control. We've only been married for less than a month (we were friends over 40yrs ago when I was in High School)....I need someone to tell me that it's not going to be any harder for us being married for such a short time than it is for others married for over two years?

I'm also looking for assistance with appropriate Bona Fide letter formats if those are out there or others have those to share.

Thank you all so much for being here and sharing your stories and history. God I am not looking forward to this process.

[kmg617 26]

First off, congrats!!

It is a scary process and I went through the same thing not long ago. I recently married Dec 30 and had to return home to the US for work. As long as you have proof of an ongoing relationship, that is what is most important. It will not be any harder for you, but you will just need more creative proof of bonafide marraige.I had no proof of shared finances or insurance policies etc. because it was such a recent marriage. I submitted about 30 pictures detailing our relationship over the last 3 years, including pictures from our wedding with other family members included. I also submitted some e-mails and chat logs between us, as well as proof of flights to and from one another (ticket stubs/itineraries). I photocopied a bunch of things like my passport pages documenting entry/exit stamps, birthday cards, and a handmade photo album with captions he made for me over 2 years ago. To be safe, I also included two letters of affidavits from my mom and dad who were present at the wedding.

What exactly do you mean by a bonafide letter?

It sounds like a lot but if you spend a good weekend organizing it all, you should be good to go! All you need is to convince them of your relationship, as they would not expect you to have co-mingling finances or leases at this point.

Good luck!

[NikLR 13,232]

For newlywed couples they're looking for proof of an ongoing genuine relationship. That's what bona fide means. They want to see photos, emails, messages, phone records, times visited from boarding passes or passport stamps, skype screenshots, co-mingled finances, co-ownership etc...They know that a lot of newlyweds can't provide some of the info they're looking for which is why they give you a broad range. We sent int two affidavits but they're considered pretty low on the totem pole of evidence. If you have enough of the other stuff, they're not that important.

[mfranc68 31]

Congrats!!! Just take deep breaths and take it one day at a time one step at a time. If you have any questions please feel free to ask!