Evidence for i-130 for spouse living abroad | CONCERN

[Rianna623 0]

I apologize for the length.

 

I am currently petitioning/filing form i-130 for my spouse living Egypt. 

 

Background:

• My spouse lives in Egypt and I live in the US
• I was born in Egypt and immigrated to the US when I was 4. My entire family is Egyptian.
• Me and my husband met in 2019.
• We are both 28 years old.
• I have traveled to Egypt 4 times since meeting my husband.
• On my last visit, I was there for a month and we had a civil marriage on 1/15/2023. I traveled back to the US January 20, 2023 because of my job.
• I have 3 more visits planned. 1 of those visits is for our Wedding ceremony in 2024.
  • We got legally married earlier this year because of religion/Egypt laws regarding cohabitation of opposite sexes and because my husband has not fulfilled his military conscription which prevents him to travel until he turns 30.
    • Egypt law states that men aged between 18 and 30 are required to undertake military service in the armed forces and they can not travel abroad without travel permit from the ministry of defense. 
    • Males cannot be enlisted when they turn 30 because they are considered unfit for the service and can receive exemption by paying a penalty when they turn 30.
  • Getting married would now 
    1. allow us to stay together when I visit and
    2.  be able to start the paperwork for his Green Card and hopefully have it approved by the time he turns 30/is finally able to get his exemption to travel. (My husband turns 30 in July 2024 and plans to pay the penalty to the ministry of defense then

 

Concern/Question:

As of now we have only been married for 5 months and have not lived together. Because of this my concern is USCIS questioning why we got married instead of going the fiance visa route or waiting until I am able actually take time off from work to get married and live with him (which would be in 2024). 

 

Should i include the reasoning/explanation in the evidence for when I go to submit the i-130 Petition or just submit the evidence I listed below without the explanation? 

 

The evidence I currently have and will provide:

1. Stamps on my passport of my visits to Egypt
2. Hotel Iten of my stays when I visited -my name only. He was not able to stay with me until after our Civil marriage. I was only in Egypt for 5 days after so it's not much time spent after the marriage.
3. Flight purchases to egypt for my 4 visits

Prior to Civil Marriage:

1. Photos of us together and friends/fam. during my visits to Egypt
2. Photos of when My husband proposed to me/ The Proposal
3. Photos of us with family at our Engagement party.

After Civil Marriage:

1. Proof he is my primary beneficiary on for my Life insurance/retirement
2. Chat/call logs of our calls after our marriage (we communicate regularly)

Additional:

1. Gift receipts from 2019 to current
2. A quick timeline of our relationship and the explanation above regarding why we chose marriage.

 

 

THANK YOU AGAIN!

 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,467]

I would ditch the gift receipts but the rest seem fine.

 

Just include a cover letter explaining your relationship.  Keep it short and to the point.  I would state your background bullet points 1,3,5 and 6.  The rest do not address the relationship.

 

[JeanneAdil 6,554]

No need to explain why u do fiancee visa 

no need to show gifts and do not show any money exchanged

boarding passes are better than receipts for tickets as tickets can be cancelled at any time

 

u have plenty of proof 

i would do the petition as soon as u have the marriage certificate in hand /it will be about 2 years to get to interview (and if stage 1 goes to fast, u can delay stage 2 NVC for a year by holding off on the needed documents 

2 years will give u that needed 30 age and allow him to come on his spouse visa

allah yekbel

[Chancy 6,241]

24 minutes ago, Reham Riad said:

my concern is USCIS questioning why we got married instead of going the fiance visa route or waiting until I am able actually take time off from work to get married and live with him (which would be in 2024).

 

That's a non-issue.  US immigration agencies will not question your choice of visa process.  No need to explain.  You're married, so CR1 is the appropriate path for your spouse.  End of story.  Focus on providing quality evidence that your relationship is genuine, primarily evidence of your time spent together in person.  I agree with the others above that you should drop the gift receipts.

 

[nastra30 2,288]

55 minutes ago, Reham Riad said:

USCIS questioning why we got married instead of going the fiance visa route or waiting until I am able actually take time off from work to get married and live with him (which would be in 2024). 

USCIS won't question this. Don't overthink this. 

[Sammy_2496 116]

When a couple does the consular processing route, USCIS understands that most couples wont have many financial co-minglings. What you have for proof is great and you made the right decision going with the CR1! Good luck and congratulations! 

[JeanneAdil 6,554]

Your commingling and evidence that u have started to to do this will come next spring when u file taxes for 2023 as Married (MFJ or MFS)

whether u choose to do the ITIN is up to u but know the process from IRS 

the form and rules for this can change so if u decide to do apply and do the W7 for  MFJ  look up to read the site 

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse

• My spouse lives in Egypt and I live in the US

all of us who do a CR1 for spouse have a spouse in a foreign country 

[JeanneAdil 6,554]

never have to say sorry for a long post when it helps the VJ community  know the circumstances to better answer your query

the civil ceremony of signing the marriage document is all u need for the I 130

as soon as u receive it,  get it translated into English and petition for the spouse visa