Extra evidence of marriage needed?

[philharmonic 0]

Hello,

 

My wife is a dual US/CAN citizen, and I'm CAN. Both living in Canada. We've been married for 10 years and have two kids together, 3 and 7. I submitted: mortgage statement showing both our names, joint account statement, our marriage license, and the long form birth certificates for both kids. Given the 10 years of marriage, kids and finances, is there anything else required to "strengthen" the application so to speak? Vacation photos, etc?

 

Thank you.

[.yana 586]

Throw in health and life insurances, and you're good.

 

[philharmonic 0]

Thank you!

Does anyone know if just the photo page of the US passport needed for the Evidence section is sufficient, or should the whole passport be scanned in?

 

 

[WeekendPizzaiolo 47]

On 2/10/2022 at 11:44 AM, philharmonic said:

Hello,

 

My wife is a dual US/CAN citizen, and I'm CAN. Both living in Canada. We've been married for 10 years and have two kids together, 3 and 7. I submitted: mortgage statement showing both our names, joint account statement, our marriage license, and the long form birth certificates for both kids. Given the 10 years of marriage, kids and finances, is there anything else required to "strengthen" the application so to speak? Vacation photos, etc?

 

Thank you.

Congratulations on 10 years of marriage! It sounds like you have a very clear cut case and it will likely be considered far from borderline.

 

Here is a list of other materials to consider including:

• photo album: a page or two of photos per year if it's not too hard to find and organize. If it is difficult for the distant past, you can be more thorough in more recent years than in years past. It's very helpful if some of the photos show extended family members (grandpa, grandma, etc) and friends because it shows you are sharing your lives together. Pictures of family birthdays, holidays, graduations are also helpful to show that you are spending significant life events together.
• bookings: A few hotel itineraries, tour bookings, or flight confirmations for vacations or family trips (e.g. thanksgiving, December holidays). One does not have to go overboard by including everything. Including hundreds of pages may delay your case as an officer may decide to sort through it all.
• affidavits: third-party affidavit from close family or friends (consider 2 per spouse, perhaps one family member and one best friend for a total of 4 affidavits) who known the two of you for the longest duration of that 10 years, and who can write a short letter describing the marriage

 

 

 

[philharmonic 0]

Thank you, that's very helpful.

 

On the I-130, does anyone know if just the photo page of my wife's US passport is needed for the Evidence section, or should the whole passport be scanned in?

[WeekendPizzaiolo 47]

16 hours ago, philharmonic said:

Thank you, that's very helpful.

 

On the I-130, does anyone know if just the photo page of my wife's US passport is needed for the Evidence section, or should the whole passport be scanned in?

According to the I-130 instructions here, https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-130instr.pdf :

 

Quote

What documents do you need to show that you are a U.S. citizen?
A. A copy of your birth certificate, issued by a civil registrar, vital statistics office, or other civil authority showing
that you were born in the United States;
B. A copy of your naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship issued by USCIS or the former Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS);
C. A copy of Form FS-240, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), issued by a U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate;
D. A copy of your unexpired U.S. passport; or
E. An original statement from a U.S. consular officer verifying that you are a U.S. citizen with a valid passport.
If you do not have any of the above documents and you were born in the United States, see the What if an official
document is not available section of these Instructions.

However, the VisaJourney IR1/CR1 guide instructions say to include a copy of all pages of the US passport including the biographic page.

My lawyer also asked me to do this as well as submit a copy of my birth certificate.

[Ryan H 3,795]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[philharmonic 0]

Ok, I will scan the whole passport. Thanks. 
 

The VisaJourney guide you linked to also says to include a cover letter. Have people been doing this for online applications?

[WeekendPizzaiolo 47]

17 minutes ago, philharmonic said:

Ok, I will scan the whole passport. Thanks. 
 

The VisaJourney guide you linked to also says to include a cover letter. Have people been doing this for online applications?

Indeed. Though not required, the cover letter provides context around forms, evidence, and materials submitted. The cover letter includes a Table of Contents. In practice, some worker will print your file and organize it into a standard organized 2-punch USCIS file.

 

Here is a sample: https://citizenpath.com/faq/sample-i-130-cover-letter/. The letter is from the petitioner.

 

These VJ posts may provide some context: