Letters from friends

[roscove 0]

Hello,

The I-751 instructions state the following

Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people who have known both of you since your conditional residence was granted and have personal knowledge of your marriage and relationship. .....

Does this mean it needs to be notarized or not? I cannot make it out. I see others have had it notarized.

Thanks,

Dave

[YuAndDan 153]

Should be notarized, to prove that your friends signed them.

SEE: http://www.visajourney.com/examples/I-751_support.doc

[roscove 0]

OK, but section 7.8.1 of the FAQ says it does not need to be notarized. I am confused.

http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k1k2visa-re...conditions.html

Should be notarized, to prove that your friends signed them.

SEE: http://www.visajourney.com/examples/I-751_support.doc

[YuAndDan 153]

OK, but section 7.8.1 of the FAQ says it does not need to be notarized. I am confused.

http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k1k2visa-re...conditions.html

Should be notarized, to prove that your friends signed them.

SEE: http://www.visajourney.com/examples/I-751_support.doc

The instructions included with I-751 also do not indicate notarization requred, so it is your option, getting having the notarized signatures just helps certify the affidavit.

I-751 instructions:

Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people who have known both of you since your conditional residence was granted and have personal knowledge of your marriage and relationship. (Such persons may be required to testify before an immigration officer as to the information contained in the affidavit.) The original affidavit must be submitted and also contain the following information regarding the person making the affidavit:his or her full name and address; date and place of birth;relationship to you or your spouse, if any; and full information and complete details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge. Affidavits must be supported by other types of evidence listed above.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

[Yodrak 7]

Dave,

Not.

Some people like to notarize everything, as if it were a magical silver bullet.

Yodrak

Hello,

The I-751 instructions state the following

Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people who have known both of you since your conditional residence was granted and have personal knowledge of your marriage and relationship. .....

Does this mean it needs to be notarized or not? I cannot make it out. I see others have had it notarized.

Thanks,

Dave

[xbox 0]

I never got my letters notarized.. I had them place the following before they signed the letter:

"I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the foregoing is true and correct."

It worked for us!!

[ladybird216 2]

Didn't have mine notarized (but it's too early to tell if it made any difference) but I have to agree with Yodrak on this one.

Jen

[Kez/JWolf 6]

You do not have to send letters with your application to remove conditions..... it is only an example of what evidence you can send.....

Kez

[Doyle 0]

You do not have to send letters with your application to remove conditions..... it is only an example of what evidence you can send.....

Kez

You don't have to send letters. I didn't with my original I-751, but then got RFE'd, and sent letters in with my RFE repsonse. They were not notarized, and it worked for me.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

You do not have to send letters with your application to remove conditions..... it is only an example of what evidence you can send.....

Kez

You don't have to send letters. I didn't with my original I-751, but then got RFE'd, and sent letters in with my RFE repsonse. They were not notarized, and it worked for me.

You got an RFE for letters from family and friends??????

Kez

[lucyrich 20]

Look up the definition of the word "affidavit". If they're not notarized, or at least sworn to in front of SOME court official authorized to take affidavits, then they're not affidavits.

If your reason for sending them it to try and meet the suggestion for "Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people..." as found in the I-751 instructions, then you had better notarize them. Un-notarized letters aren't affidavits.

But, as others have said, those affidavits are optional, and many people are approved without them. If you have reasonable other documentary evidence, they may not be worth the trouble to send.

Including un-notarized letters is unlikely to hurt your case, but it's unlikely to help very much, either. I really doubt it's worth the trouble.

[Yodrak 7]

lucyrich,

How do you explain why I-864 does not need to be notarized, or be sworn to in front of a court official authorized to take affidavits?

Yodrak

Look up the definition of the word "affidavit". If they're not notarized, or at least sworn to in front of SOME court official authorized to take affidavits, then they're not affidavits.

....

[lucyrich 20]

I dunno, I don't make the rules. At the time it was given its name, the I-864 DID have to be notarized or signed in front of a consular officer (ours did, when we went through the process). They only changed the rules recently, and my guess is that it was easier to continue calling it an affidavit than to change all the places where it was referred to as an affidavit. Sort of like the I-129F claims it's a petition for fiancee (originally, it was) even though it's often used for spouses these days.

Anyway, here are a number of definitions of affidavit. An un-notarized letter that's not affirmed before any public official doesn't seem to fit any of them.

lucyrich,

How do you explain why I-864 does not need to be notarized, or be sworn to in front of a court official authorized to take affidavits?

Yodrak

Look up the definition of the word "affidavit". If they're not notarized, or at least sworn to in front of SOME court official authorized to take affidavits, then they're not affidavits.

....

[Yodrak 7]

lucyrich,

Good reply.

Actually, it's the use of the 'magic words' posted by xbox that eliminates the need for notarization. See this thread, in particular post #5 by folinskyinla:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=321518

With regard to the affidavits from friends and family as supporting documentation for I-130 or I-751, it may well be that USCIS is misusing the word 'affidavit'. But the anecdotal evidence seems clear that the affidavits, or statements if that's all they are, do not need to be notarized even if the 'magic words' are not used.

Yodrak

I dunno, I don't make the rules. At the time it was given its name, the I-864 DID have to be notarized or signed in front of a consular officer (ours did, when we went through the process). They only changed the rules recently, and my guess is that it was easier to continue calling it an affidavit than to change all the places where it was referred to as an affidavit. Sort of like the I-129F claims it's a petition for fiancee (originally, it was) even though it's often used for spouses these days.

Anyway, here are a number of definitions of affidavit. An un-notarized letter that's not affirmed before any public official doesn't seem to fit any of them.

lucyrich,

How do you explain why I-864 does not need to be notarized, or be sworn to in front of a court official authorized to take affidavits?

Yodrak

Look up the definition of the word "affidavit". If they're not notarized, or at least sworn to in front of SOME court official authorized to take affidavits, then they're not affidavits.

....

[j-manu 0]

Considering how easy it is to get a documnet notarized, it would only help to get it notarized.