Appropriate Amount of Bona Fide Evidence

[fosterfication 2]

Hi All!

 

I just got married in Switzerland to a Swiss citizen and we're going to begin the CR1 process to bring him over here. I'm a U.S. citizen. I'm wondering if anyone can provide a general guideline on the amount of evidence I should expect to provide to prove our relationship. Since we both have strong work ties in our home countries, we haven't lived together, don't have children together, and haven't been able to fully combined our finances yet (because banks make that surprisingly difficult for non-residents & residents). I have boatloads of pictures, travel documents (airplane & train tickets, hotel reservations etc...), chat logs etc..., and I'm wondering approximately how many pages of evidence should be sufficient? This is just for a ballpark estimate so I know I'm not going overboard.

 

Thanks! 

[millefleur 5,039]

You can find a sample list of evidence ideas here at the bottom of the page:

 

https://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php?title=EZGuideSpouse

 

There really isn't a page number requirement. In terms of proof of travel, I was lucky enough to file in person (DCF) so I was right there face-to-face with USCIS when they looked over our evidence. The IO did not care about any hotel or ticket copies, he only took copies of our passport pages that showed the same travel dates/destinations. I don't think anything bad will happen if you send all of it, but it seems like passport stamps are the strongest proof of travel together.

Edited March 14, 2019 by millefleur

[Crazy Cat 39,945]

I would concentrate on quality evidence such as time spent together and continued communication.  That is the best evidence you can provide at this point.  Newly married international couples don't usually have much financial co-mingling right away. 

[Ryan H 3,798]

47 minutes ago, fosterfication said:

I'm wondering approximately how many pages of evidence should be sufficient?

 

There is no set number, what an individual or individuals consider sufficient or insufficient will inevitably vary.

 

As others have already suggested, focus on sending evidence of time spent together in-person, that is your strongest evidence.  Couples living apart in separate countries will not be expected nor required to have things like joint finances or own property together.

[fosterfication 2]

I'm aware that there isn't a required number of pages of evidence, just trying to get a sense of whether I should be aiming closer to 10 or 100, because I have quite a lot available to me :-). Generally I understand "the more the better", but is there a point at which they'll get annoyed by how many documents I'm asking them to review and store?

 

Additionally, we'll have to rely on travel documents as opposed to matching passport stamps, since we've never gone anywhere where we BOTH need our passports stamped since we've only traveled in the US and Europe.

[LilyJ 1,258]

I wouldn't send more than around 20-30 pages, if you send 100 they're likely not even going to look at it all. Overflooding the petition won't be necessary coming from Switzerland. You can still use the passport stamps as proof that you really did travel and that you have entered the EU/he has entered the US with dates matching the tickets into the EU/US to visit each other

Edited March 15, 2019 by LilyJohansen

[fosterfication 2]

Great! Thank you everyone!

[Mike445 28]

If I recall correctly we sent about 20 photos screen captured from facebook with dates and places form the various places we traveled. We sent a good number of wedding photos showing us with both our families. We do have joint bank accounts so I sent that proof as well. We sent copies of my work insurance showing her as my beneficiary and that she is on my work insurance with copies of dental receipts she had done under my insurance.  We sent cards that were addressed to both of us at both my Canadian address and her US address. We obviously sent the marriage certificate.  I think that's about all we sent in.  that being said we still haven't heard anything past NOA1 which was May 18 2018.  Good ol Nebraska.  I'm heading down there for out wedding anniversary (april 7 will be one year) in 2 weeks for a few weeks.  I'm SO excited!  Good luck to you!!

[Mr. Data 26]

The important thing is not that you must have x, y, or z piece of evidence. The important thing is that you can clearly demonstrate that your relationship is bone fide.

 

For my wife and I, who are both in our early- to mid-twenties, we didn't have any financial co-mingling or joint holdings/accounts of any kind. Instead, we thoroughly documented our three year relationship with 10 pages of photos and about a 5 page chat transcript sample. With the photos, we paid special attention to the times that we visited each others families and traveled together. I also included photocopies of entry / exit passport stamps from both of our passports to show that we had traveled together, and newspaper clippings from the wedding announcement I had published in my local newspaper in the States. Even though none of these were legal or financial documents, they proved beyond doubt that we were a legitimate couple and our marriage was bone fide. 

[dwheels76 5,463]

13 hours ago, fosterfication said:

I'm aware that there isn't a required number of pages of evidence, just trying to get a sense of whether I should be aiming closer to 10 or 100, because I have quite a lot available to me :-). Generally I understand "the more the better", but is there a point at which they'll get annoyed by how many documents I'm asking them to review and store?

 

Additionally, we'll have to rely on travel documents as opposed to matching passport stamps, since we've never gone anywhere where we BOTH need our passports stamped since we've only traveled in the US and Europe.

How a couple presents their evidence is truly based on the couple and the country the interview will be in.

 

1. One must consider if your country is considered high fraud

2. Difficult (like the MENA's and West Africa, India and Pakistan)

3. Does the couple have Red flags, i.e (large age gap, not common in the countries norm)

4. Previous other petitions

 

When one considers all that that show you go about presenting your quality presentation and showing you are a real true bonafide couple.

 

I have seen petitions from 10 pages to 5000 pages approved. It just depends on the length of the relationship, what the couple is presenting to show bonafide relationship.

 

Now saying all that I can say that your husband is in Sweden not a difficult place at all, you are on the Visa Waiver Program not third world so scrutiny won't be that deep.

 

Keep it light and simple. You don;t live together so they aren't expecting co mingling of finances and bills and such. Focus on the visits and time together showing communications and letters and gifts and whatever ever else you want to show you are a loving in love married couple looking forward to the future.

[Debzib88 85]

All We sent was 5 pictures. Which was some from our wedding and a couple others. And a letter of how we met. And we got approved. 

[millefleur 5,039]

21 hours ago, fosterfication said:

I'm aware that there isn't a required number of pages of evidence, just trying to get a sense of whether I should be aiming closer to 10 or 100, because I have quite a lot available to me :-). Generally I understand "the more the better", but is there a point at which they'll get annoyed by how many documents I'm asking them to review and store?

I don't think they will be annoyed by sending in tons of documents. I wouldn't worry about it. Just send what you feel reflects your relationship. Don't worry about the storage, they scan everything and it's all stored digitally nowadays. They probably bin the paper and just keep it all on the computer. By the way, since you're doing CR-1 and you are recently married, they will probably want to see things related to that. Do you have receipts from wedding related things, such as wedding rings, clothing purchased for wedding, flowers, reception? We submitted docs like this related to the wedding and the CO took all of them.

 

21 hours ago, fosterfication said:

Additionally, we'll have to rely on travel documents as opposed to matching passport stamps, since we've never gone anywhere where we BOTH need our passports stamped since we've only traveled in the US and Europe.

Oh right, good point. In that case, send everything related to travel that you mentioned. I think boarding passes/tickets would be strong, especially if it has both names/dates on it. Send anything honeymoon related for sure.

[fosterfication 2]

We had a fairly small wedding, so I don't have a ton of receipts, but I do have them for the wedding rings. I also have a lot of photos as well as a nice letter from the mayor that performed the service, the reception menu (with our names on it), cards, FB posts in our family's Facebook group congratulating us, and plane and train tickets from our honeymoon (plus more photos). This is in addition to all of the photos, boarding passes, passport stamps, hotel/AirBnB receipts etc... from our various travels, chat logs, docs showing we're each other's beneficiaries on life insurance & retirement funds, and photos of our matching tattoos. 

 

Now that I've listed all that out, I'm feeling fairly confident, but also overwhelmed at how much scanning and printing I have to do lol! 

 

Thanks all!