Advice . Evidence

[Pitaya 2,576]

Recent similar-themed thread: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/550585-helpthey-are-requesting-more-evidence-form-i-751/.

After our recent RFE we sent sent in a copy of all available receipt, shred of paper that had both of our names on it. As TBoneTX noted, and as I mentioned in the thread above; we included our new wills, DPOAs, living wills in the RFE response. Those documents are also quite helpful later on in life.

Good luck on your immigration journey.

Edited May 30, 2015 by Pitaya

[Gosia & Tito 199]

So I'm with the December filers to remove conditions . Today I got a letter stating that they need more evidence ... What does that mean ? What else do they want ? This is what I sent in my firt package .

Pictures of us ...

Car insurances together

Bills

Bank statements

Joint accounts

Cars under both our names

Letter of where we live

By the way I'm pregnant now .. But I didn't send any of that back then ..

Tax return of 12 and 13 I stop working on 2014 ..

What else can I do if that's all I have .. ? Advice

Would you have medical coverage thru his job.employer?

How about 401k or other benefits where it shows you are beneficiary (for example, life insurance)?

Lease or title of home showing joint ownership?

[KokiLulu 8]

I work as an assistant for an immigration attorney and my job is to review the documents our clients bring in to be sent to USCIS to reapond to their RFE (request for Evidence). Read your RFE letter thoroughly because sometimes there is something CIS is asking for specifically. If they specifically tell you what they need, then that is what you send. If they are not asking for 1 or 2 specific things, they are wanting to see more evidence to show you have a joint life together. DO NOT RESEND what you already sent as suggested by another poster. CIS even states in their RFE not to resend what you already sent. They did not lose your original docs. They want additional docs.

[KokiLulu 8]

Here is what we tell the clients to bring to us to respond to an RFE.

1. tax TRANSCRIPTS vs. returns because anyone can draft up a return but a transcript shows your returns were actually filed with the IRS. You can request your transcripts online at IRS.gov or at your local IRS office. Your tax returns are only helpful if you are both listed on the taxes. It doesn't matter if you worked or not, as long as both spouses names are on the return. You can also submit w-2s and 1099s showing you each have the same address on file. Send your 2014 tax return/transcript if you filed them. It may be difficult to get the transcript for 2014 if you just filed recently but some of our clients have gotten them. If you can't get the transcript for 2014, send the return.

2. Bank statements...even though you already sent some statements up until the end of 2014, send some for 2015. Send a couple, 2 or 3 should be sufficient to show the account is active and being used. You dont need every month. Just a sampling of months throughout the duration of your marriage.

3. A letter from your bank showing the date the account was opened, and the names on the account. The letter alone is not enough. It must be accompanied by the statements showing the usage of the account.

4. Joint bills- electric, water, cable, cell phones, gas, etc...if you are not jointly on the bills, are you an authorized user? If so, try to get something showing you are an authorized user on the account. I think Comcast has a page online that shows the name of the authorized user.

5. Credit cards- either joint statements or something showing you are authorized on each others accounts

6. Insurance policies- life insurance, health insurance, car insurance.. You can send a page or two from the policies showing both your names and the page that shows you or your spouse as the beneficiary of the policy

7. Insurance cards with both names on it

8. Any receipts for purchases made together for anything.

9. Paystubs showing your marital status as Married

10. Something from your jobs showing your spouse as the Emergency Contact

11. If you have step children: something from their schools showing the step parent as an Emergency Contact

12. Hospital bills showing each others names and your address

13. Copies of your drivers licenses or state IDs showing the same address

14. If you don't have a lot of evidence with BOTH of your names on it, you can send bills with only one name but showing you have the same address

15. Send a sonogram report showing the due date for your baby, or doctor report

16. More photos

17. Affidavits from friends, relatives, neighbors, clergy,etc attesting to your marital relationship. The affidavits should be VERY DETAILED and should say how the person knows you, how long they have known you, what they know about your marriage and life together and how they know this information. People have a tendency to write about what a great couple you are and what a great person you are. This is NOT what immigration is looking for. Immigration is looking to see that the affiants have witnessed your life together as husband and wife so it is important for the affiant to share details that show they have been a witness to your ongoing marriage. For example, the affiant should say what they do together with you and your spouse, such as go out to dinner, go to movies, bar b cues, see you in church, visit your home, playdates with each others children. The affidavits should be individualized and different from one another. They must contain the affiants name, status (citizen or permanent reaident) and how they know you or are related to you.

To whom it may concern,

I, Laurie Martin, am a citizen of the USA, and have known _______ for 10 years. We met in college in 2005 and quickly became great friends spending much of our free time together going to baseball games and friend's parties. In 2011_____told me he had met _____and they began dating. We went out together on many occasions to the movies/dinner/etc. In 2013 I attended ______ and _____ wedding. We continue to see each other frequently and get together on special occasions. I go to their home for dinner/ birthday parties/ Christmas, and our children have playdates often. _____and ____are very excited to be expecting their first child to be born in _____....... Etc etc etc

[Pitaya 2,576]

Sounds like reasonable advice, yet, as we found out with our recent RFE, sometimes the adjudicator is not reasonable. We didn't send in enough "marriage bona fides," to satisfy the adjuducator

We sent in two years 2012, 2013 MFJ IRS tax transcripts, no other docs. The instructions are a bit vague, We got an RFE for ALL W2s and 1099MISC. We complied, and sent copy of the 2014 MFJ tax return (filing date had just passed, tax transcript not available from IRS) with ALL schedules, worksheets, W2s, 1099MISC . Sent in four months of joint bank statements, RFE for ALL statements since the inception of the marriage, same for credit card statements, joint insurance cards, statements, joint policy declarations, retirement plans beneficiary, requested more information, sent in EOBs, etc., etc..... As a matter of fact, if I was going to characterize the depth of the RFE, the adjudicator wanted everything we had amassed from the inception of the marriage, not just a sampling of the statements, evidence.

As I previously mentioned, our family's initial petition with evidence weighed in at just under six pounds. Our RFE response weighed in at three pounds, 11 ounces of paper, basically everything 'cept the kitchen sink.

YMMV (hopefully, for your sakes),

Good luck on your immigration journey.

++++++

~As an aside, please be very careful about the giving out of legal advice as it pertains to the VJ Terms of Service.~

Edited May 31, 2015 by Pitaya

[Golden Gate 530]

They don't need to send evidence from before the beneficiary was physically living in the US. Relationship evidence prior to living here was sent before his visa was issued.

Not sure what you are talking about. I was not talking about their situation before they were together. We got an RFE at removal of conditions after we sent all our evidence of living together in U.S. Had to re-send evidence and make sure to have evidence from all the years living together in U.S.. That is what I was telling the OP as seems to be a similar situation as they already sent in their evidence the first time, as we had. I think it is understood when you send in for removal of conditions it is evidence from living together here.

Edited May 31, 2015 by Golden Gate

[ala_tika 16]

Very well said and couldn't agree with you more. There's something(s) that they're looking for specifically that wasn't included in the original paperwork op sent.

I work as an assistant for an immigration attorney and my job is to review the documents our clients bring in to be sent to USCIS to reapond to their RFE (request for Evidence). Read your RFE letter thoroughly because sometimes there is something CIS is asking for specifically. If they specifically tell you what they need, then that is what you send. If they are not asking for 1 or 2 specific things, they are wanting to see more evidence to show you have a joint life together. DO NOT RESEND what you already sent as suggested by another poster. CIS even states in their RFE not to resend what you already sent. They did not lose your original docs. They want additional docs.

[Kimmi19902 0]

Thank you so much for the advice !! I'll go over all the documents I sent and I'll see what I can't send again .. That was very helpful .. You're the best .. It's good to have people like you around ..

[Dawnnette 1]

Did you send notarized affidavits from people who know the both of you? People who are not family but have been yo your home and people you have done things with?

[NikLR 13,220]

Did you send notarized affidavits from people who know the both of you? People who are not family but have been yo your home and people you have done things with?

Affidavits are very low on the evidence scale. They also do not need to be notarized.

[TBoneTX 43,058]

Somewhere above #15 on the immigration attorney's list should be Wills and Medical Powers of Attorney. It mystifies me that people (allegedly even including an immigration attorney) seem to focus on affidavits instead of acknowledging and stressing the crucial importance of these "blended-life" documents. Ask any attorney what bedpan one will fall out of if a spouse dies intestate (= with no will).

Edited June 1, 2015 by TBoneTX

[Dawnnette 1]

Affidavits are very low on the evidence scale. They also do not need to be notarized.

Instructions for form I-751: Evidence of Relationship

5. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people who have known both of you since your conditional residence

was granted and have personal knowledge of your marriage and relationship. (Such persons may be required to testify

before an immigration officer as to the information contained in the affidavit.) The original affidavit must be submitted

and also contain the following information regarding the person making the affidavit: his or her full name and address;

date and place of birth; relationship to you or your spouse, if any; and full information and complete details explaining

how the person acquired his or her knowledge. Affidavits must be supported by other types of evidence listed above.

Submitting an affidavit instead of a sworn statement... An affidavit is notarized which makes it a more exceptable form of evidence.and if the affidavit includes how they now you, things you have done together it says way more than a bill that has both of your names on it.

[NikLR 13,220]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/220440-i-751-evidence/

[metsphan23 2]

The thing that bothers me is that me and my wife sent our evidence in October and thought we were ok. Now we get a letter last week saying we need more evidence. 7 months passed and now it's rush rush rush to send more evidence by August.

[aurpol 17]

The thing that bothers me is that me and my wife sent our evidence in October and thought we were ok. Now we get a letter last week saying we need more evidence. 7 months passed and now it's rush rush rush to send more evidence by August.

I have read here in VJ and other immigration-related websites some cases reaching more than one year before getting approved. With this, I believe youre still ok.