How much do affidavits help as evidence, and are they worth it?

[Hawksquill 151]

Hi everyone!  It's been a while since I've been on VJ but my husband is eligible to apply for ROC in September, so we're beginning to prepare now.  I've started reviewing the guides on the USCIS website and VJ, and compiling a list of the evidence we'll be able to submit come September.  I was wondering if affidavits from friends and family members are still commonly used as evidence for the ROC process, and if so, how helpful they are?  We have members of my family and a couple friends who I'm sure would be happy to make an affidavit for us, but I don't necessarily want to put them through the hassle if the evidentiary value is minimal.  

 

Here's the evidence we'll be submitting: 

 

-Various photos - our wedding and honeymoon, vacations, leisure time, anniversaries, family weddings and reunions with both of our families

-Mortgage documents proving we are co-owners of our house

-Home insurance documents in both our names

-Joint bank account statements, checking and savings 

-Life insurance documents proving we are the beneficiaries of one another's life insurance policies

-Retirement account documents proving we are the beneficiaries of one another's retirement accounts

-Scans of health insurance cards proving we are on the same account

-Utility bills in both our names

-Copy of joint federal and state tax returns - multiple years. 

 

 

Is this enough that affidavits aren't necessary/recommended?  If affidavits are still generally recommended, what's the timeline for getting them signed/notarized?  Most of our family and some of our friends live out of state, so they'd need to go to a notary local to them and then send it to us...if it's dated a couple months before we submit, would that be okay? 

[Crazy Cat 39,256]

Personally, I had similar evidence....I didn't send any affidavits.  My opinion is that they carry such little weight for the trouble they are to create......I could pay ANYONE to get a notarized statement saying ANYTHING...meaning they are meaningless in the presence of good evidence.......co-mingling finances, joint ownership of property, and legal documents normally created a part of a marriage are much more valuable, in my humble opinion.  

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

7 minutes ago, Hawksquill said:

Hi everyone!  It's been a while since I've been on VJ but my husband is eligible to apply for ROC in September, so we're beginning to prepare now.  I've started reviewing the guides on the USCIS website and VJ, and compiling a list of the evidence we'll be able to submit come September.  I was wondering if affidavits from friends and family members are still commonly used as evidence for the ROC process, and if so, how helpful they are?  We have members of my family and a couple friends who I'm sure would be happy to make an affidavit for us, but I don't necessarily want to put them through the hassle if the evidentiary value is minimal.  

 

Here's the evidence we'll be submitting: 

 

-Various photos - our wedding and honeymoon, vacations, leisure time, anniversaries, family weddings and reunions with both of our families

-Mortgage documents proving we are co-owners of our house

-Home insurance documents in both our names

-Joint bank account statements, checking and savings 

-Life insurance documents proving we are the beneficiaries of one another's life insurance policies

-Retirement account documents proving we are the beneficiaries of one another's retirement accounts

-Scans of health insurance cards proving we are on the same account

-Utility bills in both our names

-Copy of joint federal and state tax returns - multiple years. 

 

 

Is this enough that affidavits aren't necessary/recommended?  If affidavits are still generally recommended, what's the timeline for getting them signed/notarized?  Most of our family and some of our friends live out of state, so they'd need to go to a notary local to them and then send it to us...if it's dated a couple months before we submit, would that be okay? 

The documentation that you have right now looks to be more than enough that affidavits will not be needed at this point in time. 

[Boiler 43,437]

For a small fee I will provide an affidavit, what would you like it to say?

[Pitaya 2,576]

15 minutes ago, Boiler said:

For a small fee I will provide an affidavit, what would you like it to say?

🤣  

 

 

 

[Lemon23 400]

19 minutes ago, Boiler said:

For a small fee I will provide an affidavit, what would you like it to say?

This really got me big time. LOL! 

[Russ&Caro 1,548]

Your evidence is very similar to what my wife and I submitted. We did not use affidavits from friends or family. However, we did use a couple of our friends as witnesses for ROC evidence in the form of Living Wills and Power of Attorneys. Wills and PoA's are good to have no matter what for married couples. Might as well do them now and submit them as extra evidence for your ROC application. Search the internet for templates for the State you reside in. Easy enough to do it yourself and have them notarized.

[Junior-sfo 9]

Your file is strong, you don't really need affidavits..... they are usually better when filing with waivers.... best wishes

[Ash.1101 1,755]

Very similar evidence as us and we did not provide affidavits. Approved with no RFE or interview.

[Sukie 1,439]

Affidavits are best when the following situations are present:

 

1.  You live with a relative or a friend, and do not have a formal lease or mortgage to show that you live together, or utility payments to prove you live together.

 

2.  You have a marriage that is "unusual" in that you are of mixed races, have an unusual age gap, are not of the same religion, don't live together for reasons of work or school, or are a same-sex couple.  It is often helpful to have family, religious leaders, or school professors submit affidavits saying that they know of the perceived differences, but that the couple has their support.

 

3.  Your financial co-mingling is tentative, perhaps for very good reasons, but the evidence you can show is very weak.

 

If you have really strong financial co-mingling evidence, as well as living-together evidence, the affidavits are truly secondary evidence.

 

Best of luck to you!

 

Sukie in NY

[xillini 71]

22 hours ago, Boiler said:

For a small fee I will provide an affidavit, what would you like it to say?

I totally agree with you if affidavit is written just general information as it is but how about this? 

 

Yes if i am requesting your affidavit for financial compensation, i would ask you followings to boost credibility that USCIS takes your affidavit as serious as possible and in case USCIS believe your affidavit is suspicious, they can go and track you down. 

 

1) your state ID (i.e driver license) with birth certificate as a proof that you are a USC or USCIS's approved documents that you are a US person 

 

2) In your statement, it includes all information is provided truthful and correct under penalty of perjury if falsely provided 

 

3) your address and written signature

 

Everything else is upto you as long as it is good information to prove good faith marriage and leave it to you. How much do you request for writing the affidavit? 

 

No offense to you or anyone but affidavit written attached with perjury and ID can strengthen the case. Plus, it will even give more credibility when you send group photos or other circumstantial evidences (i.e your boss or co-worker or family members who attended your wedding or party). 

[dilip 187]

If evidences are strong , there is not need for two affidavits, but if it not to much pain, adding two more pages to bulky ROC file will not harm and might give peace of mind.  I did

 

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by dilip

[Boiler 43,437]

36 minutes ago, xillini said:

I totally agree with you if affidavit is written just general information as it is but how about this? 

 

Yes if i am requesting your affidavit for financial compensation, i would ask you followings to boost credibility that USCIS takes your affidavit as serious as possible and in case USCIS believe your affidavit is suspicious, they can go and track you down. 

 

1) your state ID (i.e driver license) with birth certificate as a proof that you are a USC or USCIS's approved documents that you are a US person 

 

2) In your statement, it includes all information is provided truthful and correct under penalty of perjury if falsely provided 

 

3) your address and written signature

 

Everything else is upto you as long as it is good information to prove good faith marriage and leave it to you. How much do you request for writing the affidavit? 

 

No offense to you or anyone but affidavit written attached with perjury and ID can strengthen the case. Plus, it will even give more credibility when you send group photos or other circumstantial evidences (i.e your boss or co-worker or family members who attended your wedding or party). 

My small fee would not include all this, so that would be an up charge.

 

This is after all a subjective issue.

 

I am amused that you think USCIS would have the time or the inclination to track someone down. What would the issue be? They did not like my opinion?

Edited May 30, 2019 by Boiler

[cute_pretzel 49]

I sent three. Two are from my husband's colleagues and one from our neighbor. 

 

At least two affidavits are required as listed in the I-751 filing instructions, under the initial evidence of relationship. However, I do see that many people got approved without submitting affidavits, and I agree that affidavits don't carry much weight in evidence. Still, if it's not that much effort for you to get affidavits, then submit a couple. If for some reason it's not convenient to get one, then don't bother, instead submit a bunch of evidence of joint ownership & assets etc. 

Edited May 30, 2019 by cute_pretzel

[yuna628 9,530]

On ‎5‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 3:22 PM, Hawksquill said:

Hi everyone!  It's been a while since I've been on VJ but my husband is eligible to apply for ROC in September, so we're beginning to prepare now.  I've started reviewing the guides on the USCIS website and VJ, and compiling a list of the evidence we'll be able to submit come September.  I was wondering if affidavits from friends and family members are still commonly used as evidence for the ROC process, and if so, how helpful they are?  We have members of my family and a couple friends who I'm sure would be happy to make an affidavit for us, but I don't necessarily want to put them through the hassle if the evidentiary value is minimal.  

 

Here's the evidence we'll be submitting: 

 

-Various photos - our wedding and honeymoon, vacations, leisure time, anniversaries, family weddings and reunions with both of our families

-Mortgage documents proving we are co-owners of our house

-Home insurance documents in both our names

-Joint bank account statements, checking and savings 

-Life insurance documents proving we are the beneficiaries of one another's life insurance policies

-Retirement account documents proving we are the beneficiaries of one another's retirement accounts

-Scans of health insurance cards proving we are on the same account

-Utility bills in both our names

-Copy of joint federal and state tax returns - multiple years. 

 

 

Is this enough that affidavits aren't necessary/recommended?  If affidavits are still generally recommended, what's the timeline for getting them signed/notarized?  Most of our family and some of our friends live out of state, so they'd need to go to a notary local to them and then send it to us...if it's dated a couple months before we submit, would that be okay? 

Hi OP,

 

Affidavits can be useful in some situations, especially if you live in someone else's home, live with family, or have a lack of other evidence. We did have a lot of evidence similar to yours, but we live in a family home. We provided affidavits from those family members. They were not notarized. I can't say that it had an impact, but we certainly did get approved without interview.