RFE Received: Particularly Unique Issue

[Luckyrice 0]

Hello,

My Wife was successfully brought to the U.S. in February of 2014. The process has been great up until now. Long story short we have had no income as we were simply living with my folks for over 2 years and were assisting them in business without pay. Now that that work has paid off and our businesses are doing well, we just recently managed to buy a home, but that was not bought under our name, but my parent's names as we did not have enough credit to get the best terms.

When we got to the removal of conditions part of our time together in the states, I sent whatever I could. I didn't have that much, but I did include things they asked for. I had a lot of photos of us together with my parents dated with names of our friends and family. We also sent affidavits from some close friends and my father saying how happy we are together and happily "really" married. Also, a statement saying that we don't have any bills or accounts in each other's name because we didn't need them. Foolish thing to do, but really, can they really send my wife back because we were being honest?

We are happily married, but now we are really worried because we received an RFE stating that they wanted more evidence financially. None of that was ongoing and now that we've finally gotten on our own feet, we are facing this.

The only thing I could think of that would be on that list would be us sending them photos of our driver's licenses and also just recently she was added to my bank account, which makes it joint, however, it's less than a week! Just recently we both are getting paid from our family businesses on salary every month just starting May and I do not know how to show that it's been a ongoing thing, which it's not.

I am not even sure how to go about explaining this to the officer. I really don't want this to take up my nights as sleepless. Please help me community!

Edited May 23, 2016 by Luckyrice

[Schlaire 2]

Sounds to me like you were compensated in lodging, or in some kind of non-monetary compensation. You may be able to file back taxes on that "income" but as with most everyone here, I'm not a lawyer (and I'm sure that even the lawyers would say that they don't have a client relationship with you).

I'd suggest calling an immigration attorney and a tax attorney and ask the two of them to help straighten this one out.

[Luckyrice 0]

Thanks for your help, however, that sounds prohibitively expensive. I would like to draw as much from the well as possible before needing to go that route. I think that is the reason why we use VJ in the first place, after all, I got my wife here already using it without a single drop going to a slimy scummy lawyer.

[Kastrs 723]

Provide joint health insurance, proof that you are beneficiaries on each others retirement accounts ect if you have them, wills and medical power of attorney are also helpful

Do you have a joint car, joint car insurance, have you taken trips together that you could provide evidence from those

[NikLR 13,227]

~~moved to ROC from IR1/CR1 process and procedures~~

[NMK94 4]

Hi Luckyrice,

This is from the USCIS website:

If you believe your situation to be unique, explain it fully in an attachment to the packet, not as a cover letter.

So perhaps write a document explaining your situation.

Hope that helps!

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

Thanks for your help, however, that sounds prohibitively expensive. I would like to draw as much from the well as possible before needing to go that route. I think that is the reason why we use VJ in the first place, after all, I got my wife here already using it without a single drop going to a slimy scummy lawyer.

One thing any competent immigration lawyer would have advised would be to use the 2 years prior to Removal of Conditions to generate as much evidence as possible of a bonafide marriage. They probably would have advised to open a joint bank account on day one. They probably would have advised to move into an apartment separate from any parents with both of your names on the lease. And they probably would have told you that pictures could be submitted as secondary or lesser evidence to the primary financial evidence.

I consulted two different lawyers at different points of the process to get consultative advice. Cost me $400 in total and was very well worth it.

[Pinkrlion 2,724]

You will have to write a lengthy letter explaining all that you stated here. It is too late to come up with evidence. Since you are not looking for legal assistance be prepared to have a face to face interview.

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

Cheap and Immigration do not rhyme together. If you wanted the cheap way then a foreplanning would have prevented this outcome as stated by Russ&Caro.. You should probably ditch the DIY at this point and use an immigration lawyer to help you get the letter together.

[Cathi 5,771]

you made the choice to not co-mingle a single thing in your lives since the day you were married and now you want free advice to help you come up with evidence you don't have. Am I understanding this correctly?

[Unshakable Faith 493]

Just a side note, you can put property in your name without the loan/mortage in your name due to credit reasons or other reasons.

If it's truly your property, get the house put in both of your names and continue to have the loan in whoever's name it's in.

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

Do you have any bills at all? If let's say the cell phone bill was sent to one of you, but the credit card was paid by the other... that is at least something with the same address on it.

Edited May 24, 2016 by N-o-l-a

[mallafri76 1,012]

Personally, I don't understand it myself but in the US, co-mingling of finances is HUGE. Since joint everything is part of American culture and you live in America, USCIS is expecting to see it when you do your ROC.

You should have started preparing for ROC once your wife was in the US, it's a little late to do it now when you got an RFE. Do you own car/cars and are you both put as owners or both names appear on insurance? What about life insurance or medical insurance, do you have that together? You should have some bills, like phones, credit cards or store cards?! USCIS is looking for anything financial that you're both jointly responsible for.

[Stevephoto 230]

Provide joint health insurance, proof that you are beneficiaries on each others retirement accounts ect if you have them, wills and medical power of attorney are also helpful

Do you have a joint car, joint car insurance, have you taken trips together that you could provide evidence from those

You can download a will from many legal aide websites for little money and have your bank act as notary. Helpful in ROC and in life. Good luck.

[nitehero 6]

Hello,

My Wife was successfully brought to the U.S. in February of 2014. The process has been great up until now. Long story short we have had no income as we were simply living with my folks for over 2 years and were assisting them in business without pay. Now that that work has paid off and our businesses are doing well, we just recently managed to buy a home, but that was not bought under our name, but my parent's names as we did not have enough credit to get the best terms.

When we got to the removal of conditions part of our time together in the states, I sent whatever I could. I didn't have that much, but I did include things they asked for. I had a lot of photos of us together with my parents dated with names of our friends and family. We also sent affidavits from some close friends and my father saying how happy we are together and happily "really" married. Also, a statement saying that we don't have any bills or accounts in each other's name because we didn't need them. Foolish thing to do, but really, can they really send my wife back because we were being honest?

We are happily married, but now we are really worried because we received an RFE stating that they wanted more evidence financially. None of that was ongoing and now that we've finally gotten on our own feet, we are facing this.

The only thing I could think of that would be on that list would be us sending them photos of our driver's licenses and also just recently she was added to my bank account, which makes it joint, however, it's less than a week! Just recently we both are getting paid from our family businesses on salary every month just starting May and I do not know how to show that it's been a ongoing thing, which it's not.

I am not even sure how to go about explaining this to the officer. I really don't want this to take up my nights as sleepless. Please help me community!

Write a letter explaining your situation to USCIS, but I'd say be prepared for an interview. You should have nothing to worry about since you both know each other well already

Edited May 25, 2016 by nitehero