Help with IR-1 what to include

[Spink 0]

Hi there,

My wife and I are hoping I can join her in the USA and we're looking at what we're wanting to include with our initial packet.

At the moment we have plans to include:

• Cover Letter

• Personal check in the amount of $420

• I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

• Copy of birth certificate, front and back (Petitioner)

• Copy of unexpired U.S. passport (Petitioner)

• Copy of dissolution of marriage from previous marriage (Petitioner)

• G-325A (Petitioner)

• Passport Style Photo (Petitioner)

• G-325A (Beneficiary)

• Passport Style Photo (Beneficiary)

Evidence of Bona Fide Marriage

• Letter explaining our relationship history, marriage, and our future plans together

• Copy of Marriage Certificate from New Zealand

• Copy tenancy agreements of places lived together

• Copy of bank statement showing joint account

• Photos as evidence to our bona fide relationship and marriage (15-20)

• Copies of flight information for our time spent together in person

• Copies of wedding and Christmas cards from relatives

• Wedding program that we designed together and sent to our guests

We are wondering about a few things, the indented seal on her US Birth Certificate won't copy and there is no information able to be photocopied from the back of it, but we thought it wanted both sides of her birth certificate. The indented seal on her divorce paper had the same issue too.

We were also wondering about the letter explaining our relationship history, marriage, and our future plans together - is this required, does it help? What sort of things would you want to include for future plans? eg. school/employment/housing arrangement? How much detail would be appropriate to include, is there a point where it gets too long?

Does this seem like enough stuff to be sending? We have emails and skype logs and other things from before we got married when we were originally going to do the fiance visa which we never submitted but are worried about sending too much information.

[Ryan H 3,903]

If a copy of the petitioner's birth certificate is submitted, then the copy of the passport is not needed. Since you are concerned about the indented seal not copying, I suggest you submit a copy of all pages of the passport and skip the birth certificate copy altogether.

The letter explaining your relationship history is not required. If you choose to write one, I would suggest focusing more on this history of your relationship. IMO, such a letter should not exceed two pages.

There is no such things as sending too much information (unless it is of an intimate nature); if you feel including a piece of evidence makes your case more compelling, than by all means include it.