RFIE on I-751 - Suggestions on which documents to send

[gborghesi 7]

Hi VisaJourney friends,

 

I am a combo I-751 / N400 filer (San Francisco Field Office). I filed my I-751 two and a half years ago (December 2018) and I just received an RFIE asking for documentation to prove that my marriage is a bona fidae one. I would appreciate if you could give some advice on which documents to send to USCIS. Some details about my situation:

 

- me and my wife have always lived together. We rented three different apartments - we have signed leases for all of them dating back to 2015 - and we recently bought a home. By recently, I literally mean last month;

- we always filed taxes together;

- the title on the home is in both name - common tenancy with right of survivorship. The mortgage, however, is in my name only because my wife has not been working over the last two years and a half. Given that she has a lower credit score than mine - low 700s - having her on the mortgage could have resulted in a higher mortgage rate with no real benefit. Could this be a problem from USCIS perspective?

- we do have a shared bank account, which however we use mostly for savings and some small expenses; otherwise, we have separate bank accounts. Again, can this be a problem? 

- most of the bills are in my name only. We do have joint car insurance and joint medical insurance. We also have life insurances with each of us listed as the sole beneficiary in case of death.

 

I am planning to send the following documentation:

 

- leases for each year since I became a permanent resident;

- tax returns with W2s and tax transcripts for each year since I became a permanent resident;

- title on house showing tenancy in common with right of survivorship;

- quarterly balance from shared bank account since I became a permanent resident;

- car insurance documents since I became a permanent resident;

- joint medical insurance through my employer;

- life insurance documents;

- pictures and two or more affidavits from friends.

 

Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help! 

[Bob in Boston 734]

26 minutes ago, gborghesi said:

Any suggestion would be appreciated

Your drivers license , mail addressed to both of you. joint utility bills

[gborghesi 7]

45 minutes ago, Bob in Boston said:

Your drivers license , mail addressed to both of you. joint utility bills

Thanks Bob. Yep, will add drivers licenses and some mail addressed to both of us. We don’t have joint utility bills unfortunately 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

It is important to send documents from each year you have been married. 

 

You can also add documents regarding the 401k.

[gborghesi 7]

2 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

It is important to send documents from each year you have been married. 

 

You can also add documents regarding the 401k.

Thanks. Yes, I have documentation for each year. One question: I’d prefer sending official IRS transcripts, but the USCIS letter mentions tax returns plus W2. I’ll send those as well, is it ok to send the transcripts on top of it as well? I’ll also send the 401k documentation 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

6 minutes ago, gborghesi said:

Thanks. Yes, I have documentation for each year. One question: I’d prefer sending official IRS transcripts, but the USCIS letter mentions tax returns plus W2. I’ll send those as well, is it ok to send the transcripts on top of it as well? I’ll also send the 401k documentation 

Everyone in the forum suggests sending just the transcripts, but if the USCIS is specifically requesting tax returns and W2's, send them and also include the transcripts.

[Ecaen87 43]

10 hours ago, gborghesi said:

Thanks Bob. Yep, will add drivers licenses and some mail addressed to both of us. We don’t have joint utility bills unfortunately 

It is ok if you don’t have joint utility bills, most companies only allow one person as the account holder. As long as you have some bills under your name and other bills under your wife name showing service at the same address that should be enough, sent every four months since you received your conditional permanent residence. Costco or sams club cards, gym membership, boarding passes, any mail addressed to both of you would be good to include.

[gborghesi 7]

8 minutes ago, Ecaen87 said:

It is ok if you don’t have joint utility bills, most companies only allow one person as the account holder. As long as you have some bills under your name and other bills under your wife name showing service at the same address that should be enough, sent every four months since you received your conditional permanent residence. Costco or sams club cards, gym membership, boarding passes, any mail addressed to both of you would be good to include.

Thanks Ecaen87. I have Verizon bills under my wife name, and electricity bills under my name. Both are for the same address. Will include these as well

[Pinkrlion 2,724]

They want to see documents from the time you got married to present, not the time after you got your green card.

[gborghesi 7]

Thanks to everybody for the advices / suggestions. I finished preparing the cover letter, which I am pasting below:

 

Dear Sir / Madam,

 

On April 30, 2021, I received a Request For Evidence (RFE) on Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. The RFE asks for evidence to show that I entered my marriage in good faith and not for immigration purposes. To satisfy the requests in the RFE, I am sending you the following evidence:

 

1. Leases (in both mine and my petitioning spouse’s names) for the period of time between October 2015 and May 2021 showing joint occupancy of a common residence;

2. Deed (in both mine and my petitioning spouse’s names) showing joint ownership (with right of survivorship) of our recently bought home;

3. Copies of mine and my petitioning spouse’s driver’s licenses, showing that we resided at the same address over the years;

4. Car purchase contract in both mine and my petitioning spouse’s names;

5. DMV vehicle registration cards for purchased car showing both mine and my petitioning spouse’s names on it;

6. 401k documents showing my petitioning wife as the sole beneficiary;

7. Federal and state tax returns with W-2 records for the tax years between 2017 and 2020;

8. IRS tax transcripts for the tax years between 2017 and 2020;

9. Joint health insurance tax documents for tax years 2019 and 2020;

10. Joint cars insurance for the years between 2018 and 2021;

11. Quarterly statements of joint bank account for the years between 2017 and 2021;

12. Receipts showing travels made together during the time period between 2018 and 2020;

13. Various pictures showing our lives as a married couple, covering the span of our marriage.

 

I would also like provide the following commentary on the submitted evidence:

 

• Prior to 2019, me and my petitioning spouse had separate health insurances through our employers: joint health insurance documents are thus not available for years before 2019;

• On top of our shared bank account, me and my wife have also maintained separate bank accounts. The shared bank account has been used over the years for expenses such as paying off student loans and buying furniture.

 

As instructed, the documents provided are copies of the original, and cover the period of time after I became a permanent resident of the United States of America. I am also submitting a copy of all pages of the RFE. 

 

Thank you for the opportunity to correct the deficiencies of the petition.

 

Sincerely,

 

I have a few last minute questions, hope any of you can answer:

 

- the RFE explicitly states that "the evidence should cover the period of time after you were admitted to the United States". What does this mean exactly? I interpret it as the time since I became a permanent resident, is that correct? Just to clarify, I entered the US with an H1-B visa and met my wife after one year of living in the States;

 

- since we rented until recently, the only utility bill that I have is for gas/electricity (single provider) which is in my name only. My wife pays for the phone bill, but from what I understand this is not considered a utility, is that correct? The bills show the same address, so I could potentially include them. 

 

Thanks again for any last minute advice!

 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

8 minutes ago, gborghesi said:

- since we rented until recently, the only utility bill that I have is for gas/electricity (single provider) which is in my name only. My wife pays for the phone bill, but from what I understand this is not considered a utility, is that correct? The bills show the same address, so I could potentially include them. 

It wouldn't harm if you include them as shared residence evidence. 

I think with an RFE, the more, the better.