questions about the interview CR1 visa

[Noam D 0]

hi guys, recently joined Vj. i've heard its a great place to ask questions that bother most of us through this exhausting process. would appreciate some help.

so, me and my wife married on august 17th 2018, until now we're still waiting for the interview- i'm living and working in canada(on a work permit) and she's in the states.

  we only get a chance to meet with each other when she's flying to canada to see me(i've never been to the states)

so i have several of questions about the interview itself according the circumstances: 

- if we're living in two different countries for now, is there any point doing joint accounts/health insurance/taxes/rental agreement  etc'?

- does she have to be with me in the interview?

- whats the best advice you can give us for the interview?

 

 

i'll appreciate any help thank you

[Ate 180]

11 hours ago, Noam D said:

so, me and my wife married on august 17th 2018, until now we're still waiting for the interview- i'm living and working in canada(on a work permit) and she's in the states.

 

When did your wife file the petition for you?  I'd be surprised if a petition filed after Aug 2018 has already been approved.  You still have many months of waiting until interview time.  In case you're not up to date on estimates, the CR1 process currently takes about 12 to 14 months from filing to visa in hand.

 

11 hours ago, Noam D said:

so i have several of questions about the interview itself according the circumstances: 

- if we're living in two different countries for now, is there any point doing joint accounts/health insurance/taxes/rental agreement  etc'?

 

If you don't have proof of commingling finances, what other evidence of bona fide marriage did your wife submit with the petition?

 

[Ate 180]

Doh, I forgot to answer your questions...

 

You don't have to have joint accounts if you don't plan to use them yet anyway.  Nor do you have to have joint rental agreements if you don't live together.  But even if you don't have proof of commingling finances, your wife did submit other evidence of bona fide marriage with the petition, right?

 

As for taxes, your wife should file as Married (either MFS or MFJ) for 2018, if she hasn't filed already.

 

Re: interview advice -- I don't know if there's any one "best" advice that applies to everyone except "Be honest".  Other than that, we'd need more information about your circumstances.  Like, do you have any red flags about your relationship that you're concerned about?

 

I assume you'll be interviewing at Montreal?  I'll defer to others who have dealt with that embassy to advise you on having your wife present at the interview.

 

Welcome to VJ and good luck on your journey!

 

[Noam D 0]

hi, thank you for responding first of all.

i'm aware we still have time until the interview. my wife petitioned for me on september 21th so it been almost 6 moths.

in the petition the only bona fida proof is our marriage certificate- we did everything assisting a lawyer of course(all the rest of the document pictures flight tickets etc we're gathering toward the interview.

-as  of "red flags" i don't know exactly what you mean, but i can say this- most of our relationship so far is through face time and texting unfortunately, even before we got married the first 3 months of our relationship were face-timing so us living in two different countries makes it harder for us, obviously, to gather proofs like a married couple that lives together that is my concern so far asside from that everything is perfect 🙂

about what you mentioned taxes/rental agreement/banking etc' that exactly what i thought but if we're not going to have all that so the only things that are left are pictures of us(we have a ton!) and flight tickets/hotels etc'

the question is, if they understand that we don't have the rest because of our circumstances?

 

thank you again   

   

 

[Ate 180]

1 hour ago, Noam D said:

in the petition the only bona fida proof is our marriage certificate- we did everything assisting a lawyer of course(all the rest of the document pictures flight tickets etc we're gathering toward the interview.

 

Um, your lawyer didn't tell you to submit evidence of ongoing marital union with the petition?

 

From the Instructions for Form I-130 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-130) --

 

NOTE:  In addition to the required documentation listed above, you should submit one or more of the following types of documentation that may prove you have a bona fide marriage:

(1) [...]

(6) Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union

---

 

USCIS and the embassy understand that newly-married couples who live apart will not have a lot of evidence of commingling finances.  But that doesn't mean it's ok not to submit any evidence of being in a genuine relationship.  A marriage certificate is not enough.  Two strangers with valid ID can get one easily in Vegas.  I doubt USCIS will think your petition is perfect 🙁

 

I hope for your sake that other people will chime in to tell me I'm wrong...

 

[carmel34 3,529]

OP, I would suggest that if you did not submit any evidence of your time spent together, boarding passes, passport stamps, hotel receipts, photos together, with the petition when it was filed, that instead of waiting until the interview to present it, that you submit it with the NVC stage documents, sometimes called "side-loading."  That way the CO will have it before your interview to review.  Sometimes they form a strong opinion about a relationship based on what they have in the file BEFORE your interview, and often do not even look at evidence you bring with you to the interview.  So gather everything you have to show time spent together and side-load it at the NVC stage, either by mail or uploading.  Good luck!

[Noam D 0]

6 hours ago, Ate said:

Um, your lawyer didn't tell you to submit evidence of ongoing marital union with the petition?

no i guess he didn't. i don't know why but ill definitely ask him and ill see what we can do about it thank you for bringing it to my attention.

 

5 hours ago, carmel34 said:

hat you submit it with the NVC stage documents, sometimes called "side-loading."

that's something ill do for sure thank you!

 

thank you guys you've been very helpful!!!  

[Noam D 0]

5 hours ago, carmel34 said:

sometimes called "side-loading.

is it something that we can do now while its been processed at uscis? 

[carmel34 3,529]

4 hours ago, Noam D said:

is it something that we can do now while its been processed at uscis? 

It would be unlikely that they could match it up with your file, and it's not needed for USCIS petition approval anyway.  They only need the required documents.  It's for the interview abroad that the CO will look at relationship evidence, which is why NVC stage is ideal to submit everything, then the CO will get it to review before the interview.  There are lots of examples of interviews where the spouse took additional evidence of the relationship to the interview, the CO refused to look at it, and then they were denied and asked to submit additional evidence of the relationship.... so it basically ends up adding weeks or months to an already lengthy process.  NVC stage is the ideal time to submit evidence of visits since hopefully you have seen each other a few more times since filing the petition.  Good luck!!

[NikLR 13,220]

Quick question, what is your home country? 

2nd, the best evidence is time spent together.  

Your wife can add you to her car insurance and make you the beneficiary of her life insurance and 401k. 

[Noam D 0]

2 hours ago, NikLR said:

Quick question, what is your home country? 

2nd, the best evidence is time spent together.  

Your wife can add you to her car insurance and make you the beneficiary of her life insurance and 401k. 

my home country is israel.

and about the insurance sounds like a good idea ill look into it thank you

12 hours ago, carmel34 said:

NVC stage is the ideal time to submit evidence of visits since hopefully you have seen each other a few more times since filing the petition.  Good luck!!

wow thats such a relief thank to so much for the information its very helpful!!