Evidence of Bona Fide Marriage

[Joe30 17]

Hi Guys!

 

I am new to this forum so excuse my “not knowing” beforehand. 
But I want to know if there is a good list of evidence of Bona Fide Marriage documents or anything that anyone can share?

 

I am sure this question may have been asked so if you can also direct me to a link, I’d appreciate it

[oneoftheunderdogs 93]

Strong evidence generally includes (not limited to):

 

- Joint lease/mortgage

- Joint bank account

- Joint credit card

- naming your spouse as a beneficiary on your HSA or life insurance

- car titles in both names

- shared insurance (renter's, health, auto, etc)

- utility bills with both names on them

- joint Costco membership

...

 

Basically anything that shows that you have commingled your assets, share bills, live together, etc.

You can/should also include photos of you two together with friends/family. Better to include 10 photos taken over 2 years than 50 photos taken over two months.

You can also include affidavits from friends/family, although that's generally not considered very strong evidence.

 

This list is not exhaustive, but it's a start, I'm sure other VJ members have more examples to share!

[Trish and Oli 28]

I sent pictures of myself and my husband over 5 years with dates and captions as to where we were. There were probably a total of 10-12 pictures and some included family and friends. 

[Joe30 17]

How much is usually enough? I can find lots of stuff but i also don't want to send hundreds of pages of things 

[oneoftheunderdogs 93]

20 minutes ago, Joe30 said:

How much is usually enough? I can find lots of stuff but i also don't want to send hundreds of pages of things 

Hard to say, depends on how substantial your evidence is. 200 photos of just the two of you? Probably unnecessary and might not help your case. Bank statements showing constant activity by both you and your spouse? I'd say the more the better (to an extent). Use your own judgement to build the strongest case possible.

 

[mushroomspore 3,044]

24 minutes ago, Joe30 said:

How much is usually enough? I can find lots of stuff but i also don't want to send hundreds of pages of things 

Best bet is to lean towards financial/legal/cohabitation documents. For monthly/regularly-scheduled items (bank statements, bills, etc), the general rule of thumb is to provide 1 statement per quarter, starting from when you first married up to the present. Anything showing proof of joint ownership and/or joint accounts and/or both of your names/addresses is fair game.

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

Check the following links:

 

https://www.visajourney.com/guides/removing-conditions-permanent-residency/

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/763220-roc-evidence-checklist/?tab=comments#comment-10456118

 

Though both are about Removal of Conditions, they contain a comprehensive list of bona fide marriage evidence. 

 

[Joe30 17]

You guys are just amazing... seriously. 
so glad I found this site

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

But please no Costco membership. That is not strong evidence 😉

[Claireh703 18]

My lawyer sent a list of everything we needed and this is what they said for the bona fide marriage (sorry about the formatting!):

 

6. Evidence of the bona fides of the marriage such as:
a. Documentation showing joint ownership of property;

b. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence, meaning you both live at the same address together;

c. Documentation showing that you and your spouse have combined your financial resources;

d. Birth certificates of children born to you and your spouse together;

e. Photographs of wedding day and other various occasions (identify the date, place, and persons in the photographs)

f. 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 their knowledge of your marriage. Include with each affidavit a copy of their government identification document. I have included an affidavit template for family and friends. I have also included a affidavit template for spouse and beneficiary to fill out.

g. Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union.

[Chancy 6,241]

22 minutes ago, Claireh703 said:

My lawyer sent a list of everything we needed and this is what they said for the bona fide marriage

 

Just a note for other readers who may be deciding whether to hire a lawyer or not.  You don't really need to pay a lawyer to provide such a list, as most of the items listed were just directly copied from the USCIS instructions for the I-130 form here -- https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-130instr.pdf

 

Also, if a lawyer ever tells you that 3rd-party affidavits are good evidence of bona fide marriage, drop that lawyer.

 

[Skyman 324]

12 hours ago, Letspaintcookies said:

But please no Costco membership. That is not strong evidence 😉

Dang, I was relying on that one.  Sam's Club maybe?  Hahahahaha  Kroger's cards?

 

I've always avoided putting more than one name on a vehicle title as it makes it an additional PITA when you go to sell.  I did make sure we're both on the lease this time for this evidence reason but wouldn't have otherwise.  She has a couple credit cards of mine and would have more but can't get them without her having a SSAN.  We're both on some land titles but those aren't in the US so I wonder if it might be better not to show them.  Vacation pics and passport stamp will probably be most of it.

[oneoftheunderdogs 93]

1 hour ago, Skyman said:

I've always avoided putting more than one name on a vehicle title as it makes it an additional PITA when you go to sell.

Don't know if that varies from state to state but in Alaska you can add a second person to your title as an "OR", so only one of the two owners needs to sign. Again, might not be possible everywhere.

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

On 5/13/2021 at 12:54 PM, Joe30 said:

Hi Guys!

 

I am new to this forum so excuse my “not knowing” beforehand. 
But I want to know if there is a good list of evidence of Bona Fide Marriage documents or anything that anyone can share?

 

I am sure this question may have been asked so if you can also direct me to a link, I’d appreciate it

I would include evidence since the time you met or started dating. I understand that it makes sense to start the evidence since the date of the marriage. The issue with that is that it may look like you met on Monday, married on Wednesday and filed for AOS on Friday. The more longevity that you can show the better. This is, of course, my non-legal opinion. 

 

Best wishes.