Evidence of a bonafide marriage

[drblues 0]

Hi, 

    I am filling up the I-130 for my spouse who is in India. One of the lawyers I consulted said that initially I only need to submit a marriage certificate as the evidence of marriage, however the instructions for filling the form say that in addition to the marriage certificate I also need to provide additional evidence of a bonafide marriage. From the list of documents they are willing to accept as evidence, the only thing that I can provide is an affidavit from my brother and sister who were present for the wedding, and pictures of the wedding and honeymoon. I have a few questions regarding that-

 

- Is the lawyer right that I just need the marriage certificate, or is it necessary to provide additional evidence. 

- If I should provide additional evidence, should I provide affidavit or pictures, or both. 

- Affidavits from how many people should be fine. Is it ok if it comes from my siblings?

- is there a proforma for the affidavit that I can use?

Thanks. 

[ALittleBritish 91]

20 minutes ago, drblues said:

Hi, 

    I am filling up the I-130 for my spouse who is in India. One of the lawyers I consulted said that initially I only need to submit a marriage certificate as the evidence of marriage, however the instructions for filling the form say that in addition to the marriage certificate I also need to provide additional evidence of a bonafide marriage. From the list of documents they are willing to accept as evidence, the only thing that I can provide is an affidavit from my brother and sister who were present for the wedding, and pictures of the wedding and honeymoon. I have a few questions regarding that-

 

- Is the lawyer right that I just need the marriage certificate, or is it necessary to provide additional evidence. 

- If I should provide additional evidence, should I provide affidavit or pictures, or both. 

- Affidavits from how many people should be fine. Is it ok if it comes from my siblings?

- is there a proforma for the affidavit that I can use?

Thanks. 

Our lawyer also advised us to only include the marriage certificate and we were approved. That being said, however, I would personally advise including some additional proof just to be on the safe side because other people have received RFE's. 

 

Affidavits, proof of joint bank account, pictures, proof of shared bills, proof that one or both of you are the beneficiary for each others pensions, life insurance, etc. are all good ways to prove you have a legitimate relationship. 

 

I'm not sure about your third and fourth question, but hopefully this helps!

[kris&me 572]

samples of affidavit are online

actual proof you were in same country at this time (sounds silly but send itinerary or copy of airline tickets around the time of marriage)

[pushbrk 13,836]

4 hours ago, drblues said:

Hi, 

    I am filling up the I-130 for my spouse who is in India. One of the lawyers I consulted said that initially I only need to submit a marriage certificate as the evidence of marriage, however the instructions for filling the form say that in addition to the marriage certificate I also need to provide additional evidence of a bonafide marriage. From the list of documents they are willing to accept as evidence, the only thing that I can provide is an affidavit from my brother and sister who were present for the wedding, and pictures of the wedding and honeymoon. I have a few questions regarding that-

 

- Is the lawyer right that I just need the marriage certificate, or is it necessary to provide additional evidence. 

- If I should provide additional evidence, should I provide affidavit or pictures, or both. 

- Affidavits from how many people should be fine. Is it ok if it comes from my siblings?

- is there a proforma for the affidavit that I can use?

Thanks. 

Perhaps English is not your first language, or you are not reading carefully and interpreting literally.  The operative word is "required".  You are only required to submit a marriage certificate.  Submitting photos together, documenting time spent together in person with passport stamps and examples of how and how frequently you communicate are usually all the additional evidence newlyweds have.  Note that the instructions you are reading listing possible types of evidence appear AFTER the words, "In addition to the required....".

[drblues 0]

36 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Perhaps English is not your first language, or you are not reading carefully and interpreting literally.  The operative word is "required".  You are only required to submit a marriage certificate.  Submitting photos together, documenting time spent together in person with passport stamps and examples of how and how frequently you communicate are usually all the additional evidence newlyweds have.  Note that the instructions you are reading listing possible types of evidence appear AFTER the words, "In addition to the required....".

Have you read the document that I am talking about? 

[pushbrk 13,836]

5 hours ago, drblues said:

Have you read the document that I am talking about? 

Many times.  Each time it has been updated since December, 2005.  

[NikLR 13,234]

You arent required to send additional marriage evidence unless asked but it's a good idea to send evidence of regular communication, photos, evidence of time spent together plus any financial co-mingling etc...  

We sent some photos, 2 affidavits, joint car insurance, joint bank account, boarding passes, etc.. that was in 2012. 

[pushbrk 13,836]

On 2/9/2018 at 5:42 PM, kris&me said:

samples of affidavit are online

actual proof you were in same country at this time (sounds silly but send itinerary or copy of airline tickets around the time of marriage)

The real operative word is evidence, not proof.  It's a distinction with a very real difference.  However, itineraries are not evidence of actual travel.  Passport stamps and boarding passes ARE actual evidence of travel, so evidence of time spent together in person.  Newlyweds who have only visited each other are not expected to have most of the items on the additional suggested list.  Most concentrate on the last item which is "any other....".