Question about proof of Bona Fide marriage/relationship

[Just Paul 4,591]

The other post is about sponsorship.   That is only 1 element of a "successful" petition.  You are young and newly married.  Sounds like essentially married on the first visit which is a red flag.  You don't have your own finances.

 

You should be prepared to spend more time together and have a petition that is "Front Loaded" with as much possible.  

 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

We married on the first visit.  My comment is - so what.

 

OP:

 

In addition to your main package this is what I would suggest:

 

Put a cover letter with the timeline for your relationship together - starting with how you met

 

Put evidence of your trip together.  Itinerary, boarding passes, passport stamps, etc

 

Add a handful of photos for your trip, including a couple of wedding photos, photos with family/friends.  Label them.

 

Find a couple of very early communications (pre-marriage) and current communications (post-married), label them as example methods of communication

 

That’s way more than I sent.

 

Good luck!

 

 

[ES0603 9]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

Nothing in this post covered the topic of coming to the US with intent to adjust status. It covered other aspects of the case.

The coming to the US as a tourist to file the I-130 + I-485 is the fraudulent part, not the relationship.

 

I meant I asked about the length of our relationship causing a problem; NOT about the tourist visa. I did not post the link to the website I found about coming on a tourist visa and filing the I-130 and 1-485. The link I posted was for my other post about my case in regards to the length of our relationship and indeed has nothing to do with him coming on a tourist visa because our plan has NOT been for him to come here on a tourist visa. Our plan has been for him to come here after we file the I-130. I simply asked about the tourist visa process that I read about on another site because I was curious if that was a legitimate way for him to come here, but I was skeptical about it from the start myself. Neither of us want to do anything that would make this any more difficult than it has to be so we are doing as much research as we can before starting the process.

 

I am getting mixed answers about the length of our face-to-face time causing an issue, which I don’t understand because we have years of daily call logs and chats and tons of pictures from our 3 months together. 

[ES0603 9]

25 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

We married on the first visit.  My comment is - so what.

 

OP:

 

In addition to your main package this is what I would suggest:

 

Put a cover letter with the timeline for your relationship together - starting with how you met

 

Put evidence of your trip together.  Itinerary, boarding passes, passport stamps, etc

 

Add a handful of photos for your trip, including a couple of wedding photos, photos with family/friends.  Label them.

 

Find a couple of very early communications (pre-marriage) and current communications (post-married), label them as example methods of communication

 

That’s way more than I sent.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Thank you so much!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[carmel34 3,531]

The call logs and chat logs don't show time together so they don't help your case that much.  Only include a few, representative pages of the digital communication.  The strongest evidence of a bona fide marriage relationship is time spent together and financial co-mingling.  So focus on those two areas as you prepare your documentation for the I-130 petition.  If you were together for three months show evidence of that--passport stamps showing your entry and exit from Japan, boarding passes for your flights in and out of Japan, and a few photos from those three months, plus a few wedding photos.  For financial co-mingling, you could get a joint credit card, add your husband to your health insurance, as a beneficiary for your retirement plan, etc.  I was able to do all those things even though my husband lives in Brazil.  And I assume you have considered the financial requirements to sponsor him?  Either you need a history of sufficient stable income in the US for the last three years or you will need a joint sponsor.  Good luck with filing the I-130!

[Hank_ 9,173]

9 hours ago, ES0603 said:

I have questions about 4 things:

 

1) to use our call logs on Skype and text messages on an app called Line Messenger as proof for on the I-130 form, would I have to show some sort of proof or explanation of our names/usernames on those apps?

 

2) I went to stay with my husband & his family in Japan for 3 months and his sister ended up coming to stay there for 2 months in the middle of my visit.

Would a screenshot of a text message I received from my sister-in-law serve as proof of my relationship with my husband and his family? The day I went home she sent something along the lines of “since I came to stay here 2 months ago I’ve had a lot of fun with you. Please come to Japan again, me & my daughter & my mom & (my husbands name), we all love you!”

 

3) Would screenshots of Facebook/Instagram posts from our friends and family congratulating us on our wedding and posting pictures of/with us be a good thing to include? 

 

4) would text messages between my mom and my husband be a good thing to include?

Documentation is proof.  Pictures are not.. they are just evidence of being together.     This proof is always difficult to obtain without your spouse having been in the USA .   You could talk to your bank about adding his name to your bank accounts (with a pending SSN)  add to utility bills, etc  < that is all proof.

 

types of documentation that may prove you have a bona fide marriage:

•  Documentation showing joint ownership of property;
•  A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence, meaning you both live at the same address together;
• Documentation showing that you and your spouse have combined your financial resources;
•  Birth certificates of children born to you and your spouse together;
•  Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship. Each affidavit must contain the full name and address of the person making the affidavit; date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit; and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of your marriage; or
• Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union.

Edited August 11, 2019 by Hank_

[ES0603 9]

5 hours ago, carmel34 said:

The call logs and chat logs don't show time together so they don't help your case that much.  Only include a few, representative pages of the digital communication.  The strongest evidence of a bona fide marriage relationship is time spent together and financial co-mingling.  So focus on those two areas as you prepare your documentation for the I-130 petition.  If you were together for three months show evidence of that--passport stamps showing your entry and exit from Japan, boarding passes for your flights in and out of Japan, and a few photos from those three months, plus a few wedding photos.  For financial co-mingling, you could get a joint credit card, add your husband to your health insurance, as a beneficiary for your retirement plan, etc.  I was able to do all those things even though my husband lives in Brazil.  And I assume you have considered the financial requirements to sponsor him?  Either you need a history of sufficient stable income in the US for the last three years or you will need a joint sponsor.  Good luck with filing the I-130!

 

Thank you. I don’t have regular health insurance right now and don’t have a retirement plan either but I’ll have to look into the credit card I guess. Would he have to be using the credit card for it to count? There aren’t many places that take credit cards in Japan.

we’re definitely considering all of the money it will take for me to sponsor him. We’ve been saving for the entire 3 years but not knowing if I’ll need to end up getting a lawyer which I heard can end up costing over $4,000 and then it looks like it’s going to cost thousands for filing fees and other fees which is why I really don’t want to dip into what I’ve saved up for this...

[ES0603 9]

5 hours ago, Hank_ said:

Documentation is proof.  Pictures are not.. they are just evidence of being together.     This proof is always difficult to obtain without your spouse having been in the USA .   You could talk to your bank about adding his name to your bank accounts (with a pending SSN)  add to utility bills, etc  < that is all proof.

 

types of documentation that may prove you have a bona fide marriage:

•  Documentation showing joint ownership of property;
•  A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence, meaning you both live at the same address together;
• Documentation showing that you and your spouse have combined your financial resources;
•  Birth certificates of children born to you and your spouse together;
•  Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship. Each affidavit must contain the full name and address of the person making the affidavit; date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit; and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of your marriage; or
• Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union.

 

How would he get a pending SSN?

 

i can easily get affidavits from both our friends and family but I heard they don’t carry much weight either and are actually more of a burden for the person who has to read everything but is that true? How many affidavits would be good? I could easily get 6+ but I’m sure that would be overdoing it

[Hank_ 9,173]

2 hours ago, ES0603 said:

 

How would he get a pending SSN?

 

i can easily get affidavits from both our friends and family but I heard they don’t carry much weight either and are actually more of a burden for the person who has to read everything but is that true? How many affidavits would be good? I could easily get 6+ but I’m sure that would be overdoing it

 

He doesn't get a "pending SSN" ,  I am saying that the bank adds your spouse to your bank account "pending getting the SSN"  later.   Many banks will do this

[JISnJRS 22]

3 hours ago, Hank_ said:

 

He doesn't get a "pending SSN" ,  I am saying that the bank adds your spouse to your bank account "pending getting the SSN"  later.   Many banks will do this

I asked about this to my bank, water co. and the electric co. I was told she to be here and show her ID and other info AND they need her signature to add her name..

[OlayemiLoray 172]

20 hours ago, geowrian said:

Nothing in this post covered the topic of coming to the US with intent to adjust status. It covered other aspects of the case.

The coming to the US as a tourist to file the I-130 + I-485 is the fraudulent part, not the relationship.

I was just about to say the same..I read nothing in their response to OP to have spouse come to America to adjust status once he is here in America... 

[oceanborn 33]

Don't panic too much. I had limited information by way of commingling at the beginning (when we filed the I-130) so we did rely more on communications, photos and such. We did however get a joint credit card and used it often, provided those statements -- that's perhaps the easiest thing for you. 

 

Our application was approved within 25 minutes at interview and I had the GC in-hand a week later. YMMV.

Edited August 12, 2019 by oceanborn

[Hank_ 9,173]

7 hours ago, Luk Dit Mo said:

I asked about this to my bank, water co. and the electric co. I was told she to be here and show her ID and other info AND they need her signature to add her name..

 

I added my wife to the water & electric bills over the phone, no S.S.     

 

Not all banks are as "friendly" as others, but you won't know without asking   

[JISnJRS 22]

On 8/11/2019 at 8:38 AM, Hank_ said:

Documentation is proof.  Pictures are not.. they are just evidence of being together.     This proof is always difficult to obtain without your spouse having been in the USA .   You could talk to your bank about adding his name to your bank accounts (with a pending SSN)  add to utility bills, etc  < that is all proof.

 

types of documentation that may prove you have a bona fide marriage:

•  Documentation showing joint ownership of property;
•  A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence, meaning you both live at the same address together;
• Documentation showing that you and your spouse have combined your financial resources;
•  Birth certificates of children born to you and your spouse together;
•  Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship. Each affidavit must contain the full name and address of the person making the affidavit; date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit; and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of your marriage; or
• Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union.

The last 2 are the ones I need to work on.. the top 4 I tried already but to no avail. What should I consider as the other relevant documents? Curious.. should she add MY name to her bank account in the Philippines after we get married there (if possible)? Thanks Hank!

[Hank_ 9,173]

23 minutes ago, Luk Dit Mo said:

The last 2 are the ones I need to work on.. the top 4 I tried already but to no avail. What should I consider as the other relevant documents? Curious.. should she add MY name to her bank account in the Philippines after we get married there (if possible)? Thanks Hank!

 

Adding your name to the bank acct in the Phils would be a joint bank acct.   BUT .. that isn't easily done for us "kanos"  you need an ACR card at the minimum for ID, and if you are only there for a short time getting the ACR card won't happen.

 

I always find that list of documents proving your bona fide marriage a bit crazy, make me wonder if who made the list was trying to make a list of documents you CAN'T get until after the visa is issue and your spouse is in the USA.