Need help with RFE asap

[Becker 17]

We have received an RFE asking us to prove that the marriage is bonafide. 

 

The evidence submitted should cover the entire period of the marriage. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to:

(a) Proof of joint insurance policies or that one party was listed as a beneficiary on the insured spouse’s policy;

(b) Property leases, mortgages, or registrations;

(c) Shared financial obligations and assets such as jointly filed income taxes showing that each return was properly filed with the state or federal government, or jointly held bank accounts, credit card accounts or utility bills;

(d) Testimony or other evidence regarding courtship, wedding ceremony, shared residence and experience. You may submit your own statements or affidavits from others.

If you submit third party affidavits you must submit a sworn statement explaining why the usual supporting documents are unavailable. Additionally, each affidavit must conform to the guidelines cited below:

 

 

We do not have join insurance policies as we do not live in the same country as each other and have never thought into it that deeply. We were only married on December last year and the evidence requested is to cover the entire period of the marriage. We don't have property leases together either and we do not have joint financial obligations. We tried opening an account in US and they won't let us due to one being a UK citizen and pretty much the same with everything else. We are only citizens of our own country and are not able to open such accounts together. 

 

Please any help is really appreciated. 

[Mike E 11,727]

Do either you have jobs? Is there life insurance at work? Name each other as beneficiaries.  
 

Add each other as beneficiaries to financial accounts.  
 

Add each other as authorized users on credit cards.  Not all USA card issuers require an SSN.  
 

[igoyougoduke 1,614]

39 minutes ago, Becker said:

We have received an RFE asking us to prove that the marriage is bonafide. 

 

The evidence submitted should cover the entire period of the marriage. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to:

(a) Proof of joint insurance policies or that one party was listed as a beneficiary on the insured spouse’s policy;

(b) Property leases, mortgages, or registrations;

(c) Shared financial obligations and assets such as jointly filed income taxes showing that each return was properly filed with the state or federal government, or jointly held bank accounts, credit card accounts or utility bills;

(d) Testimony or other evidence regarding courtship, wedding ceremony, shared residence and experience. You may submit your own statements or affidavits from others.

If you submit third party affidavits you must submit a sworn statement explaining why the usual supporting documents are unavailable. Additionally, each affidavit must conform to the guidelines cited below:

 

 

We do not have join insurance policies as we do not live in the same country as each other and have never thought into it that deeply. We were only married on December last year and the evidence requested is to cover the entire period of the marriage. We don't have property leases together either and we do not have joint financial obligations. We tried opening an account in US and they won't let us due to one being a UK citizen and pretty much the same with everything else. We are only citizens of our own country and are not able to open such accounts together. 

 

Please any help is really appreciated. 

 

irrespective of which country you live, if you are working for a organization, they should have insurance policies where you have both spouse names . do you or your spouse have any ?

 

US tax filer can file tax returns and send USCIS a copy of those documents as joint filing . just pre file tax report for last year so you have the documents that you can submit to USCIS 

 

 

[Becker 17]

Just now, igoyougoduke said:

 

irrespective of which country you live, if you are working for a organization, they should have insurance policies where you have both spouse names . do you or your spouse have any ?

 

US tax filer can file tax returns and send USCIS a copy of those documents as joint filing . just pre file tax report for last year so you have the documents that you can submit to USCIS 

 

 

Would that require us to file a joint taxes on the US Citizens tax for this year? We don't have an SSN or ITIN for the UK citizen as we were planning to do married filing separately. 

 

We both have jobs but I believe i do not have life insurance with my job. Or at least i have never been told of such 

[mushroomspore 3,043]

18 minutes ago, Becker said:

Would that require us to file a joint taxes on the US Citizens tax for this year? We don't have an SSN or ITIN for the UK citizen as we were planning to do married filing separately. 

 

We both have jobs but I believe i do not have life insurance with my job. Or at least i have never been told of such 

Do you have a credit card or a bank account where you can add your spouse as an authorized user? What about health/dental insurance through your job (not just life insurance)? You can also try adding your spouse to your vehicle insurance.

[Becker 17]

10 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

Do you have a credit card or a bank account where you can add your spouse as an authorized user? What about health/dental insurance through your job (not just life insurance)? You can also try adding your spouse to your vehicle insurance.

Unfortunately i do not drive. I asked my bank and they require the uS spouse to be a UK resident at the very least. I am unsure of UK or US bank accounts which allow a foreign spouse to be added but i am looking for them at the moment. We just tried discover as that is the USC credit card and they require an SSN.

 

Do you think we can just apply for a joint life insurance right now or is that something not worth doing? 

 

Btw, do you think providing one of these would be enough or are we still being risky just providing one? 

 

Edited March 16, 2021 by Becker

[mushroomspore 3,043]

4 minutes ago, Becker said:

Unfortunately i do not drive. I asked my bank and they require the uS spouse to be a UK resident at the very least. I am unsure of UK or US bank accounts which allow a foreign spouse to be added but i am looking for them at the moment. We just tried discover as that is the USC credit card and they require an SSN.

 

Btw, do you think providing one of these would be enough or are we still being risky just providing one? 

 

Are you the US citizen? Wells Fargo allowed me (Canadian) to open a bank account when I first came to the USA on a student visa. I had no SSN and this was long before I met my husband. We ended up adding him to my US bank account and that's become our joint account. Do you also have any evidence of travel together (pictures, boarding passes, passport stamps, flight/hotel itineraries, anything that proves you were together at the same place and same time)? And has the US citizen filed their most recent US tax returns as "Married"? You probably won't have the tax return in time before responding to the RFE but it is good evidence to present at the interview. Additionally, gathering as much evidence for the RFE would be best.

[Becker 17]

9 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

Are you the US citizen? Wells Fargo allowed me (Canadian) to open a bank account when I first came to the USA on a student visa. I had no SSN and this was long before I met my husband. We ended up adding him to my US bank account and that's become our joint account. Do you also have any evidence of travel together (pictures, boarding passes, passport stamps, flight/hotel itineraries, anything that proves you were together at the same place and same time)? And has the US citizen filed their most recent US tax returns as "Married"? You probably won't have the tax return in time before responding to the RFE but it is good evidence to present at the interview. Additionally, gathering as much evidence for the RFE would be best.

We presented a lot of evidence in our initial filing. Pictures, boarding passes, hotel receipts, certificates etc. The specific RFE is just asking for bona-fide evidence and the stuff listed in the post. I am the Uk citizen writing this now but I have had no luck in TN trying to get an account but i may look into wells fargo if possible. The US tax return my spouse was planning on doing Married Filing Separately as this is the first year of us being married

[majm 20]

40 minutes ago, Becker said:

Would that require us to file a joint taxes on the US Citizens tax for this year? We don't have an SSN or ITIN for the UK citizen as we were planning to do married filing separately. 

 

We both have jobs but I believe i do not have life insurance with my job. Or at least i have never been told of such 

If the US citizen spouse hasn't already filed their tax return, I'd say apply to get an ITIN - it's done at the same time when filing the tax return. Depending on your financial situation, MFJ can potentially benefit the US citizen's tax liability and any potential refund. When I did this last year, it required us to paper file (rather than electronic) which took MONTHS to process... but you could do this now and include a full copy of the MFJ return showing that you filed W-7 for the ITIN. By the time you get to NVC or the interview, the IRS may have already processed the return and the tax transcript will be additional help for you.

[Becker 17]

1 minute ago, majm said:

If the US citizen spouse hasn't already filed their tax return, I'd say apply to get an ITIN - it's done at the same time when filing the tax return. Depending on your financial situation, MFJ can potentially benefit the US citizen's tax liability and any potential refund. When I did this last year, it required us to paper file (rather than electronic) which took MONTHS to process... but you could do this now and include a full copy of the MFJ return showing that you filed W-7 for the ITIN. By the time you get to NVC or the interview, the IRS may have already processed the return and the tax transcript will be additional help for you.

How would this benefit us getting past the RFE? Is there any proof we can show for the RFE as we are submitting it online

[Becker 17]

Further to my post. We are able to take out a life insurance policy but the date will show as of tomorrow as that is the earliest policy start date. Will this be a red flag when the guy comes to look at the RFE when we submit? 

 

[majm 20]

7 minutes ago, Becker said:

How would this benefit us getting past the RFE? Is there any proof we can show for the RFE as we are submitting it online

Include a full copy of the return with said W-7 and all paperwork. It's not as simple as a tax transcript which would show the return has been received and processed, but it shows that you filed MFJ and are waiting for the ITIN.

[Becker 17]

4 minutes ago, majm said:

Include a full copy of the return with said W-7 and all paperwork. It's not as simple as a tax transcript which would show the return has been received and processed, but it shows that you filed MFJ and are waiting for the ITIN.

Okay well the more the better in this case i guess. Did you say we have to file by paper or can we file online also? 

[JKLSemicolon 331]

37 minutes ago, Becker said:

Unfortunately i do not drive. I asked my bank and they require the uS spouse to be a UK resident at the very least. I am unsure of UK or US bank accounts which allow a foreign spouse to be added but i am looking for them at the moment. We just tried discover as that is the USC credit card and they require an SSN.

 

In my experience it's very easy to add Authorized users online (no SSN needed) with credit cards from Barclay's and Chase Bank. If your USC spouse has good enough credit and is responsible enough with their finances, they might consider applying for a new card just for this purpose. You can add authorized users on the application itself, but I know with Chase if you do it afterward they will send a letter in the mail and post it a PDF to your account documents notifying you that the Authorized User was added, which is is perfect to use as evidence.

 

Adding a spouse as a beneficiary to retirement accounts (workplace retirement plans, IRAs, etc.) in the US was mentioned already, and can usually be done without a SSN. Most nonretirement brokerage accounts will also allow this.

[mushroomspore 3,043]

50 minutes ago, Becker said:

We presented a lot of evidence in our initial filing. Pictures, boarding passes, hotel receipts, certificates etc. The specific RFE is just asking for bona-fide evidence and the stuff listed in the post. I am the Uk citizen writing this now but I have had no luck in TN trying to get an account but i may look into wells fargo if possible. The US tax return my spouse was planning on doing Married Filing Separately as this is the first year of us being married

Ok, I'm not a tax expert but so long as your spouse lists their status as "Married" in their taxes, that's what matters.

39 minutes ago, Becker said:

Further to my post. We are able to take out a life insurance policy but the date will show as of tomorrow as that is the earliest policy start date. Will this be a red flag when the guy comes to look at the RFE when we submit? 

 

Good move. No, they won't care about the timing and really, how can that alone be used against a couple? The timing of obtaining this kind of documentation is actually a really minuscule detail that is not enough to reasonably raise suspicions of fraud. They also know that most international couples don't have this kind of documentation before filing the immigration paperwork. 

Edited March 16, 2021 by mushroomspore