Will they contact my wife's family members? I'm a US citizen, she is Peruvian

[inplace 1]

We're just beginning this process, and our marriage was far from conventional, so I'm a little concerned about the visa process even though we've been married for over a year and have a ton of photos and tickets of us traveling together.

We're getting  statements from some of her family members, but like I said, our marriage was not conventional so her family wasn't really involved. I'm wondering, will they want to talk to her family members in validating whether or not our marriage is bona fide?

 

Thanks!

Edited July 20, 2020 by inplace

[Just Paul 4,591]

3 minutes ago, inplace said:

We're getting  statements from some of her family members,

This is rarely advisable unless you have no other bonafides.

3 minutes ago, inplace said:

will they want to talk to her family members in validating whether or not our marriage is bona fide

Not typically.

[Cg2008 16]

At my husbands interview they asked him if anyone from my side went to the wedding. Only my sister in law did, but I did have 4 statements. Two from my family and two from his...they did not verify though. 

[kris&me 572]

not sure what you mean by unconventional but immigration wants to see a marriage certificate

[Crazy Cat 39,324]

56 minutes ago, inplace said:

but like I said, our marriage was not conventional

It must be legal where it took place...that means official documentation.

Edited July 20, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[SteveInBostonI130 3,319]

In our marriage only our dogs attended.  Immigration has not asked them for statements....

 

Sorry, just a bit of Monday humor.

 

Co-mingling of finances, the spouse being on healthcare and beneficiary of insurance policies, photos of you together, especially with each other's family, is typically more important than third party statements.  Oh, and wedding photos.

 

And, as others have stated, you need a valid marriage certificate.  Ours was from the town clerk (we got married at our town hall).

[inplace 1]

59 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

This is rarely advisable unless you have no other bonafides.

Not typically.

Hey thanks for the reply. Why is it not advisable?

[Crazy Cat 39,324]

Just now, inplace said:

Hey thanks for the reply. Why is it not advisable?

Affidavits are weak evidence. 

[inplace 1]

18 minutes ago, kris&me said:

not sure what you mean by unconventional but immigration wants to see a marriage certificate

Yes, we have a legal marriage certificate. I meant that we didn't have a conventional marriage ceremony with family.

Edited July 20, 2020 by inplace

[JFH 12,189]

It’s not usual because they are not impartial. Your family members are very unlikely to say anything negative about you and your wife. And how do they know you married for genuine reasons? They can’t read your mind. 
 

My mother didn’t even meet my husband until we had been married for almost 4 years and I had been living here for 18 months. My siblings (except one) have never met him and we have been married almost 6 years now. Not an issue at all. 

[JeanneAdil 6,209]

11 minutes ago, inplace said:

Hey thanks for the reply. Why is it not advisable?

An affidavit done in the US by a USC is signed in front of a notary who has a government (usually county) license and has to verify the ID of the person

At the end where the person signs is a statement saying "i sign this under the rule of law and can be prosecuted if i lie" (close enough)  and it is easy for the person to be in trouble with the law

no way the US government is  going to  chase a person from a foreign country down to verify or prosecute for lying (even if they could) 

so, they just discard this type of evidence as it is not realiable especially in the high fraud countries where documents are faked

Think about it "would you believe what is written by a total stranger in a foreign land?"

 

Get an original marriage license and provide evidence that you have been together with airline boarding passes/ hotel receipts showing the 2 of you/use the best evidence 

[Mrs. DPK 66]

Hi! 
 

I’m a Peruvian citizen married to a US Citizen. My husband and I married w/o witnesses and kept it a secret for almost a year.

 

I’m a female and only child, so the norm/expected for me would have been a big celebration and religious ceremony with parents and extended family included but it didn’t happen. This was no issue when submitting my application or during my interview.

 

IMO they only care for your marriage license and the ‘strong’ evidence that others have listed above. Instead of affidavits I would recommend listing the marriage in Peru, so your spouse’s National ID ( called DNI) can be updated to ‘Married.’ This is something I did too as an extra. This is something that can’t be so easily faked (unlike affidavits made/signed in Peru).

 

The only question I was asked during the interview was when/how did we meet.

[Just Paul 4,591]

8 hours ago, inplace said:

I meant that we didn't have a conventional marriage ceremony with family.

Any "legal" marriage is valid.  We had a judicial wedding and my parents came to Hong Kong (and were our witnesses).  Mary's mother didn't have a passport.  I finally met her a week later.

[inplace 1]

16 hours ago, Mrs. DPK said:

Hi! 
 

I’m a Peruvian citizen married to a US Citizen. My husband and I married w/o witnesses and kept it a secret for almost a year.

 

I’m a female and only child, so the norm/expected for me would have been a big celebration and religious ceremony with parents and extended family included but it didn’t happen. This was no issue when submitting my application or during my interview.

 

IMO they only care for your marriage license and the ‘strong’ evidence that others have listed above. Instead of affidavits I would recommend listing the marriage in Peru, so your spouse’s National ID ( called DNI) can be updated to ‘Married.’ This is something I did too as an extra. This is something that can’t be so easily faked (unlike affidavits made/signed in Peru).

 

The only question I was asked during the interview was when/how did we meet.

Hey, thanks so much for the response :). We got married in Peru, and her DNI is updated with my last name on it. We're also going to get a bank card from my account with her name on it, and we have lots of photos and proof of us traveling together. The main thing that worried me is that we had a judicial wedding with only two friends, and dressed pretty casually, and we don't have many photos. The wedding itself just wasn't that important to us. It makes me feel better that you didn't have a big ceremony either and didn't have any problems.

[Crazy Cat 39,324]

6 minutes ago, inplace said:

The wedding itself just wasn't that important to us. It makes me feel better that you didn't have a big ceremony either and didn't have any problems.

Nowhere is there a requirement to have a big ceremony.......my wife and I were married simply by stamping our marriage agreement form during lunch at a restaurant.  We had 2 witnesses also stamp it.....that was it.   Once we submitted it to our housing registration office in Taipei, we were legally married.

Edited July 21, 2020 by Lucky Cat