I-130 checklist; What other evidence to include?

[life-journey 7]

1. Payment as required by USCIS. (which is best a Personal check or Money order?)

2. Cover letter/table of contents

3. Form I-130

4. Proof of citizenship (I became a U.S citizen when my dad became a U.S citizen while I was a minor, I have not obtain a certificate of citizenship yet but I do have my U.S Passport, will that be enough? Do I just scan then print my passport or does it have to be certified? Do I need a copy of ALL pages? Do I still need to include a copy of my birth certificate? I was born abroad. Does it have to be notarized or a copy of the original is enough?)

5. A copy of my husbands birth certificate and Passport (is a copy enough or does he need to get the birth certificate copy notarized? Does he need to copy ALL the pages of his passport? certified or a regular copy is enough? If ALL pages is needed do we have to get all of it certified?)

6. A certified copy of our marriage certificate (Will it be best to include an original instead? when we obtained our marriage certificate we purchased about 3-4 original)

7. G-325A filled out by the US Citizen, signed and dated.

8. One passport/type photo of US Citizen, name written on the back, place on a bag label it, attach on a sheet of paper and place behind corresponding G325a

9. G-325A filled out by the foreign spouse signed and dated.

10. One passport-type photo of my husband, his name on the back, place on bag label with his name, attach on a sheet of paper and place behind corresponding G325a

​11. Evidence of a bonafide marriage. Now this is a bit complicated for us. We got married two weeks after I gave birth to our daughter. Scheduled an appointment at the courthouse, drove there on the same day with my aunt and cousin as witness, my parents stayed home to take care of our then 2wk old baby, got married inside the courthouse, few hours later and we are home! No pictures! well my cousin did take a video but other than the wedding officiant being there it really didn't look like a wedding lol! All we wanted was to get back home to our baby! My husband only had a one month off from work and we didn't want to spend most of it for our wedding when we have a newborn. Although we did not have a "traditional" wedding, we're happy to be legally married. But we are planning to get married again, this time at a church in my husbands hometown (in the philippines) where his father, and aunt that raised him lives.

Now my question is, for the evidence is it enough that we provide a marriage certificate (got married in US), apartment lease in canada with both of our names ( he lived there for 1yr, i stayed for 6months as tourist via USC passport, he listed my name although I was only a tourist in canada because it was required in order for the manager to give me my own keys) another apartment lease in canada with both of our names (he lived there for 1.5yr, daughter and I lived there for 10months we did not have a PR status only tourist via USC)

- our daughters' US birth certificate

- photos of our daughters first birthday in Canada (with his side of the family and friends)

-photos of our daughters baptism in US (with my side of the family and friends)

-photos of christmas, and other holidays/occasions with family

Will those be enough evidence? How many photos should I include?

Edited July 2, 2015 by life-journey

[NikLR 13,227]

1. Payment as required by USCIS. (which is best a Personal check or Money order?)

2. Cover letter/table of contents

3. Form I-130

4. Proof of citizenship (I became a U.S citizen when my dad became a U.S citizen while I was a minor, I have not obtain a certificate of citizenship yet but I do have my U.S Passport, will that be enough? Do I just scan then print my passport or does it have to be certified? Do I need a copy of ALL pages? Do I still need to include a copy of my birth certificate? I was born abroad. Does it have to be notarized or a copy of the original is enough?)

5. A copy of my husbands birth certificate and Passport (is a copy enough or does he need to get the birth certificate copy notarized? Does he need to copy ALL the pages of his passport? certified or a regular copy is enough? If ALL pages is needed do we have to get all of it certified?)

6. A certified copy of our marriage certificate (Will it be best to include an original instead? when we obtained our marriage certificate we purchased about 3-4 original)

7. G-325A filled out by the US Citizen, signed and dated.

8. One passport/type photo of US Citizen, name written on the back, place on a bag label it, attach on a sheet of paper and place behind corresponding G325a

9. G-325A filled out by the foreign spouse signed and dated.

10. One passport-type photo of my husband, his name on the back, place on bag label with his name, attach on a sheet of paper and place behind corresponding G325a

​11. Evidence of a bonafide marriage. Now this is a bit complicated for us. We got married two weeks after I gave birth to our daughter. Scheduled an appointment at the courthouse, drove there on the same day with my aunt and cousin as witness, my parents stayed home to take care of our then 2wk old baby, got married inside the courthouse, few hours later and we are home! No pictures! well my cousin did take a video but other than the wedding officiant being there it really didn't look like a wedding lol! All we wanted was to get back home to our baby! My husband only had a one month off from work and we didn't want to spend most of it for our wedding when we have a newborn. Although we did not have a "traditional" wedding, we're happy to be legally married. But we are planning to get married again, this time at a church in my husbands hometown (in the philippines) where his father, and aunt that raised him lives.

Now my question is, for the evidence is it enough that we provide a marriage certificate (got married in US), apartment lease in canada with both of our names ( he lived there for 1yr, i stayed for 6months as tourist via USC passport, he listed my name although I was only a tourist in canada because it was required in order for the manager to give me my own keys) another apartment lease in canada with both of our names (he lived there for 1.5yr, daughter and I lived there for 10months we did not have a PR status only tourist via USC)

- our daughters' US birth certificate

- photos of our daughters first birthday in Canada (with his side of the family and friends)

-photos of our daughters baptism in US (with my side of the family and friends)

-photos of christmas, and other holidays/occasions with family

Will those be enough evidence? How many photos should I include?

1 - payment type doesn't matter.

4 - All the pages of your passport. Does not need to be a certified copy. Everything for the I-130 is a regular photocopy except the petition, the G-325As, and the passport photos.

5 - is not needed. Do not include

6 - photocopy only.

11 - Also send a photocopy of your daughter's birth certificate with both names on it (the long copy.)

Edited July 2, 2015 by NLR

[life-journey 7]

1 - payment type doesn't matter.

4 - All the pages of your passport. Does not need to be a certified copy. Everything for the I-130 is a regular photocopy except the petition, the G-325As, and the passport photos.

5 - is not needed. Do not include

6 - photocopy only.

11 - Also send a photocopy of your daughter's birth certificate with both names on it (the long copy.)

5. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2 but on here it says provide birth certificate and or passport of the intending immigrant?

11. so marriage certificate, daughter's birth certificate(long copy), apartment lease in canada, and family photos right? how many photos should we provide?

thank you for responding.

[NikLR 13,227]

wrong guide. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

I meant the passport photos.. as for normal photos... it doesn't matter.. print out a couple per page of paper. Also I'd sent proof of communication when you're apart as well.

[life-journey 7]

wrong guide. http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

I meant the passport photos.. as for normal photos... it doesn't matter.. print out a couple per page of paper. Also I'd sent proof of communication when you're apart as well.

thank you for directing me to the updated guide!

I don't know how I will provide proof of communication since we use FaceTime, and we rarely email each other. Even before FaceTime we use Skype to avoid intl charges.

Should I provide evidence that I am his life insurance and retirement account beneficiary?

I can provide copies of cards that we sent to each other since 2011, and receipts from western union when he sends money.

[NikLR 13,227]

Yes to the life insurance. Yes to the western union receipts. Don't worry about it for the cards. Screenshot and print a few records of the calls if you want. Its not really necessary but I was asked at my interview over 2 years ago about how we kept in communication when we did not live together. The CO seemed happy with my explanation but in hindsight it may have been easier to include skype screenshots and emails.

Since your husband was an immigrant to Canada (you said hometown in the Philippines?) His case will need a little more evidence then mine did. However the two leases are extremely beneficial. All evidence you lived together is useful. You should be fine with that.

[life-journey 7]

Yes to the life insurance. Yes to the western union receipts. Don't worry about it for the cards. Screenshot and print a few records of the calls if you want. Its not really necessary but I was asked at my interview over 2 years ago about how we kept in communication when we did not live together. The CO seemed happy with my explanation but in hindsight it may have been easier to include skype screenshots and emails.

Since your husband was an immigrant to Canada (you said hometown in the Philippines?) His case will need a little more evidence then mine did. However the two leases are extremely beneficial. All evidence you lived together is useful. You should be fine with that.

Yes his parents sponsored him to canada 15yrs ago.

I thought since we have a 2yr old daughter (soon to be 3) providing a lot of evidence of a bonafide marriage is not necessary, but based on what I have read about other people's story better to be sure than sorry lol!

[NikLR 13,227]

Having a child together proves you've had sex, and that's about it. They take it as evidence, however, you need more than just a birth certificate of a child. Time spent together is best, followed by financial co-mingling, and finally regular communication.

[NikLR 13,227]

The first two are interchangeable depending on location of the beneficiary. Montreal is a fairly easy going consulate but is very strict for domicile. However anyone who is not multi-generational Canadian should take care to send more evidence than someone who is. The US government is, unfortunately, biased. Some of which is for good reason (high fraud from known areas) and some of which depends on who they're getting along with.

[life-journey 7]

Having a child together proves you've had sex, and that's about it. They take it as evidence, however, you need more than just a birth certificate of a child. Time spent together is best, followed by financial co-mingling, and finally regular communication.

Hahaha I definitely did not think about it that way! I'm glad I am doing lots of research before starting this process, before reading about other couples immigration story i was overly confident thinking hey we're real, we've been married for a few years, has a 3yr old child together, easy process! I also thought that since he has been living in canada for 15years as a citizen, and not abroad then it's even an easier process. Unfortunately that's not how it goes. (should have been more realistic with my expectations)

I also hope that although I have never been employed before, since my dad meets the household income requirements that there will be no problem whatsoever with the affidavit of support

oh the stress...the stress of all this I hope this will be over in less than a year