I751 RFE

[ram1009 43]

In Jan 2023 my wife & I filed our I751.  In a cover letter I explained to USCIS that my wife & I had long ago decided that we would not mingle our assets, past or future and that neither of us had any debt to share.  Therefore we would not be able to furnish any of their suggested documents of shared responsibility for indebtedness.  We did furnish several documents I thought should be sufficient to lift the restrictions including our marriage documentations which (as of this writing) are currently almost 5 years old.  That's right, we've been married and living in the same house every day for almost 5 years.  In Sept 2024 we received an RFE requesting the same documents we were unable to provide with the original filing.  It sounds to me like they are requesting us to open joint accounts and create joint loans so as to be able to provide documents to prove their existence.  I really don't know what else to do.  I'm hoping someone here has some better ideas.  Thanks for listening.  BTW, the RFE is from the service center in Irving, Tx, not California.

Edited October 14 by ram1009
added BTW....

[EatBulaga 316]

4 hours ago, ram1009 said:

In Jan 2023 my wife & I filed our I751.  In a cover letter I explained to USCIS that my wife & I had long ago decided that we would not mingle our assets, past or future and that neither of us had any debt to share.  Therefore we would not be able to furnish any of their suggested documents of shared responsibility for indebtedness.  We did furnish several documents I thought should be sufficient to lift the restrictions including our marriage documentations which (as of this writing) are currently almost 5 years old.  That's right, we've been married and living in the same house every day for almost 5 years.  In Sept 2024 we received an RFE requesting the same documents we were unable to provide with the original filing.  It sounds to me like they are requesting us to open joint accounts and create joint loans so as to be able to provide documents to prove their existence.  I really don't know what else to do.  I'm hoping someone here has some better ideas.  Thanks for listening.  BTW, the RFE is from the service center in Irving, Tx, not California.

Is there a question?

 

Can you provide the exact wordings from the RFE?

Edited October 14 by EatBulaga

[Dashinka 24,593]

I agree, there is not really a question there.  When my wife filed her I751, we were in a similar boat, we did not open a joint bank account, instead, my wife opened her own account and we put each other as co-owners of the two separate accounts.  We also did wills and living wills for each other beyond the other joint items like life insurance, and 401k beneficiary documents.  Are you saying you have absolutely no comingled finances/benefits?

[carmel34 3,639]

6 hours ago, ram1009 said:

we've been married and living in the same house every day for almost 5 years.

Surely you have more documents showing that you lived together in the same house for five years--utility bills, driver's licenses, health insurance, car insurance, warehouse memberships, tax return transcripts (married filing jointly), mutual beneficiaries on retirement/investment/bank accounts, anything.  You could also submit each spouse's separate bank statements for five years, with the same residential address and showing who pays for household bills and living expenses.  Include a letter explaining your separate financial situation and as much documentation as you can get your hands on to show that your marriage is bona fide.

[Lemonslice 4,886]

Wills, living wills?

Without sharing accounts, aren't you beneficiaries on each other's accounts? 

[Bob in Boston 734]

My Wife has her bank accounts and I have mine. We did do a joint checking account to pay house bills. She deposits her share and I deposit mine. We pay the bills and there we have it. That was good enough for USCIS. Sometimes you just have to play the game and give them what they want till you dont have to answer to them anymore. Makes life easier.

[OldUser 6,881]

8 minutes ago, Bob in Boston said:

My Wife has her bank accounts and I have mine. We did do a joint checking account to pay house bills. She deposits her share and I deposit mine. We pay the bills and there we have it. That was good enough for USCIS. Sometimes you just have to play the game and give them what they want till you dont have to answer to them anymore. Makes life easier.

In general, joint accounts for common expenses make a lot of sense, even with immigration out of picture. With bills and rent / mortgage being biggest expenses in most families, it just gives a good overall picture where the money goes...

 

How do you file taxes @ram1009 and which account do you get tax refund to (if you get any)?

[ram1009 43]

1 hour ago, Bob in Boston said:

My Wife has her bank accounts and I have mine. We did do a joint checking account to pay house bills. She deposits her share and I deposit mine. We pay the bills and there we have it. That was good enough for USCIS. Sometimes you just have to play the game and give them what they want till you dont have to answer to them anymore. Makes life easier.

I have come to the same conclusion, but surely you must have submitted more evidence than a joint bank statement???  I have already submitted much evidence that would be more convincing to me.  I have already opened a joint savings account and I plan to add her name to all my utility accounts but I'm afraid USCIS will say that recent statements ONLY do not prove anything for the past 5 years.

[Bunninuts 27]

2 hours ago, Bob in Boston said:

My Wife has her bank accounts and I have mine. We did do a joint checking account to pay house bills. She deposits her share and I deposit mine. We pay the bills and there we have it. That was good enough for USCIS. Sometimes you just have to play the game and give them what they want till you dont have to answer to them anymore. Makes life easier.

@Bob in Boston I'm glad this worked because this is exactly what I want to do with my partner. Thank you for sharing your experience

[ram1009 43]

16 hours ago, Dashinka said:

I agree, there is not really a question there.  When my wife filed her I751, we were in a similar boat, we did not open a joint bank account, instead, my wife opened her own account and we put each other as co-owners of the two separate accounts.  We also did wills and living wills for each other beyond the other joint items like life insurance, and 401k beneficiary documents.  Are you saying you have absolutely no comingled finances/benefits?

None

[SalishSea 17,928]

10 minutes ago, ram1009 said:

None

Wow.  You have a lot to overcome.

 

Rushing to open accounts/name beneficiaries now won't fix the problem, because they'll see that for what it is.  

 

Do you not even have joint Costco/health insurance/auto insurance etc?  Did you not do any reading about the ROC requirements/expectations?

[OldUser 6,881]

21 minutes ago, ram1009 said:

None

Do you get tax refunds? If yes, do they just go into your account? How do you file taxes? Married Filing Separately or Married Filing Jointly?

[Bob in Boston 734]

I did it all. Put her on life ins policies, utility bills,holiday greeting cards addressed to both of us. Ids and licenses  with same address, pictures of us on vacation and with each other's families. Use your imagination.  Like I said it's a game, play it. Once you are done with them you can go back to your old ways. For the record a little on our background. Wife was a 24 year overstay and they had us set up for a stokes interview. Once the officer seen how prepared we were he thanked me for making this easy for him and my wife and him came out laughing and joking. Card produced 3 hours later. Play the game and give them what they want. Put some effort into it and take it seriously. 4 years almost to the day  to citizenship.

[Lemonslice 4,886]

58 minutes ago, ram1009 said:

None

Are you against adding each other as beneficiaries on financial documents?

 

What about wills, living wills?  Those things are important in life, not just for immigration... Are yours set up to someone else, or did you simply forget to set it up (wills, beneficiaries)?

[Lyubov 117]

Joint phone accounts? Car loans? When I was buying my car, my husband was required to co-sign, since I didn’t have 2 years of employment history in the US