Interview soon - are we in trouble?

[jamesuk113 5]

Hi everyone,

We just received our AOS interview letter and we're a little concerned.

I had my biometrics last week and the interview is dated for 27 May (a lot sooner than I expected)! So we have two problems,

1. My USC wife sent her passport off just last week to get the name updated, current processing times for the passport are about 6 weeks so we're not expecting that back before the interview. This is a problem because;

a) the invite letter asked us to bring originals of all evidence submitted in the AOS pack (in which we included a copy of her passport), and

b) the invite letter asks for the USC birth certificate AND proof of USC status (so is the birth certificate not enough?), and

c) stamps in her passport (including a denial stamp from the UK) are missing vital evidence to support our commitment to the relationship.

2. We lack a lot of the evidence requested for proving a bona fide relationship, such as;

• we live in her parents house - so no rental agreements or mortgages, and
• her parents (very generously) pay all the bills - so no bills in our name, and
• I haven't got my EAD yet - so I can't get a DL, and therefore can't get on her car insurance, and
• we can't get a joint account, and
• only my parents and her parents attended the court wedding & we did not exchange rings (we are planning to have a more substantial 'wedding' when we can afford it with both sides of the family, in which we will exchange rings), and
• zero birthday, Christmas, valentines day cards (we're both kind of logical anti-tat types, two Spocks... it works).

The evidence we do have is as follows;

• three years of Skype chats, and
• 10 or so months (accross three years) of pictures from living here & in England and touring the USA and Europe, and
• plane tickets that evidence her 2 trips to the UK and my 4 trips here, and
• about $5K ish of spending money transferred into her account from me via TransferWise over the years,
• a bag of random receipts from across the ages, and
• we know each other very well and we're good on our dates.

Evidence the IO could cite against us:

• why have neither you, nor your spouse mentioned your wedding on Facebook? (because her grandma is a traditional type, and in the words of my SO's mother, "it would kill her if she found out she wasn't invited", everyone else on both sides knows about it)
• why wasn't she invited? why wasn't anyone except parents invited? (because me and my wife want to be together now not wait until we can afford to blow $10k+ on a single day - therefore we had a court wedding in which no one else got to attend, only the parents, no exceptions to avoid fighting / resentment later).

Needless to say we are and have always been very much in love, the relationship is genuine and we'd do anything for one another. Living together is non-negotiable, we'll do it at any cost, but we're 27 & 25 so saving money on things like renting, bills and weddings is not something we can afford to turn down.

Are we in trouble?

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Are we in trouble?

I doubt it. How long have you been married?

If K1 people like us who didn't interview can get a greencard with zero evidence submitted except a marriage certificate, then surely you can. Got photos of the wedding day?

Edited April 30, 2016 by Nich-Nick

[jamesuk113 5]

@Nich-Nick, ah man! So lucky, we're very jealous! Probably because we listed a co-sponsor

We're K1's as well, yes we have some pictures from the wedding day, here's one of us and our beautiful baby girl (sorry, couldn't resist)

https://imgur.com/V9Ce7OM

[SanneW 30]

I have no clue, if you have to worry or not. I think it also depends on who interviews you... I wish you both a lot of luck and hope you get accepted!

Edit: isn't a state ID or drivers lisence kr military ID also proof of citizenship? Not sure myself...

Edited April 30, 2016 by SanneW

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

@Nich-Nick, ah man! So lucky, we're very jealous! Probably because we listed a co-sponsor

We're K1's as well, yes we have some pictures from the wedding day, here's one of us and our beautiful baby girl (sorry, couldn't resist)

https://imgur.com/V9Ce7OM

Nice! Print a few photos. (You can't just show them on your phone).

Take one with her parents at the house. ("This is where we live with Mom and Dad.") Mom or Dad can write an affidavit saying you live with them rent free, and confirm your marriage and they attended.

Try again for a joint bank account. Did you not get a SSN when you arrived? Try another bank even.

Be yourselves and do your best. I truly think the officers are pretty good at their jobs and can get a sense of who is real and who acts like strangers committing fraud.

Where's your timeline? When did you enter the U.S. When did you marry?

[Valor 131]

If I were you, I would be more concerned about the ROC process in two years. I heard they usually don't expect newlyweds to provide tons of evidences plus you can explain your scenario to the IO in person during the interview. ROC would probably be much more difficult if you don't have enough evidence. A friend of mine is going through the process and she has a lot more evidences than you do now but was still asked to provide more, which she literally has almost nothing to provide. With that being said, you're definitely not too late to prepare those things, so giddy up and good luck!

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Cute picture!

Try Wells Fargo or Bank of America for a joint account. You should be able to.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Some people that are USC were not born in the US, so their birth certificate doesn't show their status. If your wife was born here, then her bc is proof enough.

I don't think you have anything to worry about. USCIS knows that newlyweds don't have a ton of evidence. Have her parents write affidavits about the living arrangement.

Sanne, a state ID in the US does not show citizenship status, fyi.

[toxicatta 10]

Hi everyone,

We just received our AOS interview letter and we're a little concerned.

I had my biometrics last week and the interview is dated for 27 May (a lot sooner than I expected)! So we have two problems,

1. My USC wife sent her passport off just last week to get the name updated, current processing times for the passport are about 6 weeks so we're not expecting that back before the interview. This is a problem because;

a) the invite letter asked us to bring originals of all evidence submitted in the AOS pack (in which we included a copy of her passport), and

b) the invite letter asks for the USC birth certificate AND proof of USC status (so is the birth certificate not enough?), and

c) stamps in her passport (including a denial stamp from the UK) are missing vital evidence to support our commitment to the relationship.

2. We lack a lot of the evidence requested for proving a bona fide relationship, such as;

• we live in her parents house - so no rental agreements or mortgages, and
• her parents (very generously) pay all the bills - so no bills in our name, and
• I haven't got my EAD yet - so I can't get a DL, and therefore can't get on her car insurance, and
• we can't get a joint account, and
• only my parents and her parents attended the court wedding & we did not exchange rings (we are planning to have a more substantial 'wedding' when we can afford it with both sides of the family, in which we will exchange rings), and
• zero birthday, Christmas, valentines day cards (we're both kind of logical anti-tat types, two Spocks... it works).

The evidence we do have is as follows;

• three years of Skype chats, and
• 10 or so months (accross three years) of pictures from living here & in England and touring the USA and Europe, and
• plane tickets that evidence her 2 trips to the UK and my 4 trips here, and
• about $5K ish of spending money transferred into her account from me via TransferWise over the years,
• a bag of random receipts from across the ages, and
• we know each other very well and we're good on our dates.

Evidence the IO could cite against us:

• why have neither you, nor your spouse mentioned your wedding on Facebook? (because her grandma is a traditional type, and in the words of my SO's mother, "it would kill her if she found out she wasn't invited", everyone else on both sides knows about it)
• why wasn't she invited? why wasn't anyone except parents invited? (because me and my wife want to be together now not wait until we can afford to blow $10k+ on a single day - therefore we had a court wedding in which no one else got to attend, only the parents, no exceptions to avoid fighting / resentment later).

Needless to say we are and have always been very much in love, the relationship is genuine and we'd do anything for one another. Living together is non-negotiable, we'll do it at any cost, but we're 27 & 25 so saving money on things like renting, bills and weddings is not something we can afford to turn down.

Are we in trouble?

Aww guys! My husband and I are so much like you!

I'm not sure about your wife's passport (you can just show the copy and explain about the original being updated?), but your evidence should be okay, I think. I mean, you haven't had much time to accumulate a lot of joint stuff, right? When did you get married?

I have my AOS interview very soon too. We also don't have as much evidence as a lot of other couples do. No joint leases or rents or bills... But we are fairly confident. If you want, I could message you here after my interview and tell you how it went. It's only in a few days.