Please We need some advice!!!

[Nathan&Cata 5]

Good night to every one....

I am here to ask advice about the evidence my wife and I need to gather for the first package to send. We want to apply for the Cr1 Visa.

We both live in Colombia. We are a young couple, so we don't have join properties or all those things. Here there is a list that my wife and I wrote about the things we can provide. Do you think it is enough to have a strong package? Or If we need more? To be honest, we don't have that much evidence. We haven't want to buy things because we are just trying to save money to move back to America. So the few things we have we got them as gifts for our wedding and other things we just paid in cash without getting any receipt.

· Pictures

· Lease

· Affidavit for my mom, her grandma and her mom

· Affidavit for the school we both work

· Post in the newspaper from family (Need translation)

· Wedding card (Need translation)

· Posts on facebook from family

· Messages with my mom ( We have a group on facebook messanger were we talk)

· The document from comfacesar (need translation)

· Copy of my passport stamps to visit her before the wedding

· Copy of my spouse visa here in Colombia

· Cards copy

· Wedding ring receipt

· Flowers receipt

· Copy of my foreigner ID card here in Colombia

[Boiler 43,582]

You will need evidence of US Domicile.

[99balloons 12]

You may not need this for initial package...but now 14 months into my CR1 journey (yes it takes that long) you will need this later. U.S. citizens are subject to United States income taxes, no matter if you live overseas unless that country has tax reciprocity with the USA. So if one of you is a US citizen you need to file US taxes on your foreign earnings for the years you are married together. If your marriage is new, 2015 is the first time you file together. Or you can file married, filing separately which is much higher tax. If your spouse does not have a social security number, get an ITIN from IRS. If you live overseas, both you and your spouse are Affordable Health Care exempt code C. I had to file our 2014 tax return as joint, with my spouses foreign earnings (not taxable anywhere but U.S) but but he already had a Social security number in the US so I did not have to apply for an ITIN. And my spouse has not been able to come to US for last 2 years!

Edited September 30, 2015 by 99balloons

[mrs thb 331]

my suggestion is best to show pictures over time. its quality not quantity.

anyone can take pictures...like 100+ a day.

the case worker looking at your file doesn't care how many pictures you submit but cares that the pictures submitted reflect love and commitment over time. be sure the settings are varied, as are the people in the pictures and clothes worn. you want to show how the 2 of you have aged, come together and participate in each others lives.

A picture of you 2 at her aunt's house for a birthday celebration, and another one you and her at the beach with friends, another one at a child's christening, or her brother's wedding, or your sister's housewarming, etc all mean something. Include pics of the 2 of you celebrating personal milestones....1st wedding anniversary with a date and time stamp, purchasing an item (something for the house eg lamp, stove, etc) or at the bus station waiting for transit. It shows you are a couple and are living life with family and friends.

to submit 25 pictures of the same event (such as your wedding) shows limited proof of a relationship other than you agreed to marry each other.

if you truly are a couple and live like a real couple then you should represent that...

we submitted many pics of us in airports showing our hellos and goodbyes and then submitted travel itineraries, luggage tags and boarding passes as proof. an officer can see then how you've aged (or hair has changed, etc) over time....and boy did we change over the years....

front loading is a good suggestion....and don't stop collecting evidence once you submitted your application. keep collecting and logging it all. yes, its laborious but will be well worth it in the end.

good luck.

[Ryan H 3,791]

You will need evidence of US Domicile.

True, but not for filing the I-130 which is where the OP is at this point.

[Ryan H 3,791]

USCIS and the Embassy does not require a couple to own property together so do not stress that.

My comments on your items are in bold and red.

Good night to every one....

I am here to ask advice about the evidence my wife and I need to gather for the first package to send. We want to apply for the Cr1 Visa.

We both live in Colombia. We are a young couple, so we don't have join properties or all those things. Here there is a list that my wife and I wrote about the things we can provide. Do you think it is enough to have a strong package? Or If we need more? To be honest, we don't have that much evidence. We haven't want to buy things because we are just trying to save money to move back to America. So the few things we have we got them as gifts for our wedding and other things we just paid in cash without getting any receipt.

· Pictures Good, as long as they span the course of your relationship and are not of the same background.

· Lease Good

· Affidavit for my mom, her grandma and her mom Worthless, these carry little to zero weight in the overall evaluation of a file.

· Affidavit for the school we both work Same as previous.

· Post in the newspaper from family (Need translation) Worthless

· Wedding card (Need translation) Translation is optional

· Posts on facebook from family Just like the affidavits, these won't carry much weight either.

· Messages with my mom ( We have a group on facebook messanger were we talk) This is OK.

· The document from comfacesar (need translation) Is this the marriage certificate? If so only a photocopy will be needed for the I-130 submission (translation required)

· Copy of my passport stamps to visit her before the wedding Good

· Copy of my spouse visa here in Colombia Good

· Cards copy Greeting cards to each other? This is OK.

· Wedding ring receipt Worthless

· Flowers receipt Worthless

· Copy of my foreigner ID card here in Colombia Good

Your best evidence is time spent together in-person, this is your best and strongest evidence. Since you are living together in Columbia, you shouldn't have any shortage of such evidence.

[Nathan&Cata 5]

You will need evidence of US Domicile.

We know we have to prove domicile in the USA... But right now we want to worry about the first package.... ?

[Nathan&Cata 5]

You may not need this for initial package...but now 14 months into my CR1 journey (yes it takes that long) you will need this later. U.S. citizens are subject to United States income taxes, no matter if you live overseas unless that country has tax reciprocity with the USA. So if one of you is a US citizen you need to file US taxes on your foreign earnings for the years you are married together. If your marriage is new, 2015 is the first time you file together. Or you can file married, filing separately which is much higher tax. If your spouse does not have a social security number, get an ITIN from IRS. If you live overseas, both you and your spouse are Affordable Health Care exempt code C. I had to file our 2014 tax return as joint, with my spouses foreign earnings (not taxable anywhere but U.S) but but he already had a Social security number in the US so I did not have to apply for an ITIN. And my spouse has not been able to come to US for last 2 years!

Thanks.... We have read about it. My wife lived in the USA for 2 years and she got a social security number... Do you think I can still use that number to file my taxes on my foreign earnings as joint?

[Nathan&Cata 5]

my suggestion is best to show pictures over time. its quality not quantity.

anyone can take pictures...like 100+ a day.

the case worker looking at your file doesn't care how many pictures you submit but cares that the pictures submitted reflect love and commitment over time. be sure the settings are varied, as are the people in the pictures and clothes worn. you want to show how the 2 of you have aged, come together and participate in each others lives.

A picture of you 2 at her aunt's house for a birthday celebration, and another one you and her at the beach with friends, another one at a child's christening, or her brother's wedding, or your sister's housewarming, etc all mean something. Include pics of the 2 of you celebrating personal milestones....1st wedding anniversary with a date and time stamp, purchasing an item (something for the house eg lamp, stove, etc) or at the bus station waiting for transit. It shows you are a couple and are living life with family and friends.

to submit 25 pictures of the same event (such as your wedding) shows limited proof of a relationship other than you agreed to marry each other.

if you truly are a couple and live like a real couple then you should represent that...

we submitted many pics of us in airports showing our hellos and goodbyes and then submitted travel itineraries, luggage tags and boarding passes as proof. an officer can see then how you've aged (or hair has changed, etc) over time....and boy did we change over the years....

front loading is a good suggestion....and don't stop collecting evidence once you submitted your application. keep collecting and logging it all. yes, its laborious but will be well worth it in the end.

good luck.

Thanks for your advice. We have selected like 20 pictures with her family and my family. Most of the pictures have family in them and they go during the time we have been together. But I am gonna recheck them again to make sure I have the right ones ?

[Nathan&Cata 5]

USCIS and the Embassy does not require a couple to own property together so do not stress that.

My comments on your items are in bold and red.

Your best evidence is time spent together in-person, this is your best and strongest evidence. Since you are living together in Columbia, you shouldn't have any shortage of such evidence.

What we have is a lot of pictures with her family and my family. A lot of facebook posts my family has posted on her page and my page. We were just worried about that we don't have a bank account together, a house, car, no material things. We just live together with the gifts we got from family and stuffs my wife had already.

[Ryan H 3,791]

What we have is a lot of pictures with her family and my family. A lot of facebook posts my family has posted on her page and my page. We were just worried about that we don't have a bank account together, a house, car, no material things. We just live together with the gifts we got from family and stuffs my wife had already.

As I said before, don't worry about the things I placed in bold and red, it's not a requirement. Facebook posts on your pages from family members fall into the same category as affidavits, will carry little to zero weight in the overall evaluation of a file.

[Anh map 2,098]

You need to show the history of your relationship, not just that a wedding ceremony occurred. Newlyweds don't have many of the comingling of finances. You can't show what you don't have. That's where showing the history up to the present lets the consular officer see that a bona fide relationship exists.

Yes, her Social Security number is for life. Use then when filing your taxes.