USC4SPOUSE

@reicakes88, I used this I-751 filing as an example for my AOS and I-751 petition. It's the second post. It is a very comprehensive list and this will give you an example of what I meant by listing in full sentence what the evidence is proof of. You have to connect the dots for USCIS. They won't do it for you even if it is obvious what the evidence is. (Happy Chic posted it ages ago. I do not think that profile is active anymore). Anyway, I hope you find this useful.

@reicakes88, there is no cost associated with getting a living will. Just modify the template on the AARP site and get it notarized. Every UPS Store usually has a notary public. It is not expensive. I think it may be ~$5 per page. Sent you the link on my first message. (This link https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/free-printable-advance-directives/ ) Did you receive a "joint" stimulus check? or several? Guess what, those are evidence of bona fide marriage. You probably received a letter after each stimulus check which has your address, etc. If you've filed married filing jointly and received a refund to your bank account, you can use that as evidence, especially if the refund got deposited to your joint checking or even your personal accounts. You are in Maryland. I do not know if landlord's have to issue you a certificate of rent paid. That certificate is evidence of bona fide marriage. Again, you can show statements from your personal accounts, too but you would need to describe and maybe even highlight or provide the dates of when you made X payment for utilities, bills, trips, etc. Including a list of all the evidence ant explaining in a full sentence to USCIS what the item is evidence of is key,. We did that with every piece of evidence. For example with the leases we stated Lease between Person 1 and Person 2 at the address, City State Zip code is evidence of cohabitation between starting date and end date. We titled that section "Evidence of cohabitation between Month/2017 and May/2021. We did not show any social media, actually. We don't have any and also aren't walking around making videos of our lives thinking that people may be interested in our lives. lol Most people get an RFE after the petition has been pending for a long time and USCIS wants to see updated evidence. You got it right after filing. Again, I would spend some time adding each other as emergency contact with your employer, create an online health insurance account and add each other as emergency contact. I listed all these on my initial message. Do those and you will be fine. Best wishes and keep asking questions.

@reicakes88No worries. Do not stress about it. It does not help that the wording on those RFEs and letters from USCIS is never 100% clear. The solution is to send them as much evidence as you can since the date of your marriage. They want to see a continuum of evidence since the date you got married. Honestly, as I said on my initial message - if nothing else, create two living wills and authorize each other to make health care decisions for each other in the event that either one of you is not able to. USCIS takes that document very seriously. With Covid-19 still lingering around, it makes sense to get one. You are both young. Say something happens and your spouse ends up on a ventilator and you do not know what his wishes are. Affidavits may help but a living will would definitely seal the deal. How long do you have to respond to the RFE? You sent them a joint lease and joint checking account statements. Is that all you sent?

It's entirely up to you @reicakes88. I would personally be concerned because they are asking you for basic evidence of bona fide marriage - joint lease (evidence of cohabitation) and a joint bank account. I would invest some time in showing them more evidence since the date of your marriage. I strongly recommend that you look into the Advance Health Care Directive. USCIS takes that document very seriously. You may also want to show statements from your personal account and describe how you all pay for joint responsibilities (utilities. groceries, etc). It does not matter if only a portion of your paystubs show you are married. I would present them anyway - yours and his. The paystubs will still show the same address for both. At any rate, I would just make it easier for the officer to approve you. I would just take the RFE as an opportunity to send as much evidence as you can and get them to approve you. Best wishes,

@reicakes88, a target debit card is also very easy to get. You link it to a checking account and then get two cards. Of course, you have to use them. If I were you, I would go all out and send evidence from all angles and since the date of the marriage, even if you already sent that evidence for AOS. That's my humble 2 cents.

Thank you @Chocobo. I am glad you thought the suggestions were useful. I truly think the "devil" is in the details. Costco or Sam's club memberships? Sure, why not? We showed Sam's club membership for AOS and I-751. It is not an uber heavy evidence but it all adds up. We printed receipts and screenshots from the account. It shows we religiously go to the same Sam's club once or twice a month. Vet bills are a good one to add, too.

@reicakes88, I bolded keywords throughout your post to make sure I address everything. My main general recommendation is to always follow the I-751 instructions and send evidence of bona fide marriage since the date of the marriage - and not since the date of your last filing or since you got your conditional green card. (Our package was 35% evidence we sent for AOS and 65% of evidence that developed since then). Lease - send any lease(s) you may have had since the date of your marriage. Make sure to cover the entire span of time. Joint bank account - send statements since the date of your marriage. Make sure to include images of the checks. If you only use this account to pay for rent, then briefly explain that on your cover letter. Joint tax returns since the date of your marriage. I would just get transcripts of all the joint filings you've made. Affidavits - there is no limit to how many you may send. I would make sure that there is substance (detail) to them and that you get them notarized. Notarizing them simply tells USCIS that a notary public checked the ID of the person who signed it. Ask your friend(s) to be detailed and to hopefully cover the entire span of your relationship by referencing dates, addresses and maybe even pictures. Work for the same employer - if your employer has an HR system where you can create profiles and view your benefits, then: I would list each other as emergency contacts. Print or screenshot those pages showing that you are each other's emergency contact at work. Make sure that you are listed as married. Print all your and his paystubs. This may seem redundant but the paystubs should show the same address for both of you. Print them since the date of your marriage. (We did this to show the same address and that I am paying for health insurance for both of us. In your case, you are just showing that you are listed at work as married and that you are both at the same address. And that is fine. Right now, USCIS may be wondering if you two live together. You want to show by preponderance of evidence that you do live together and that you entered the marriage in good faith. Screenshots from your streams - sure, why not? Again, this would not be super heavy evidence, but it all adds up. It will help even a little bit to show by preponderance of evidence that you two are a bona fide marriage. You do not have to pay another fee. Utilities - I understand that the utilities are not in both names. Some companies do not allow you to have two names on the bill, but they will allow you to create an online account and add an authorized user. I would do that. This will show that you trust each other with the account and also that you are at the same address. This should also show where the payments are coming from. If you are paying for electric and he pays for gas, then show those payments. Those are joint responsibilities even though you are not making those payments from a joint checking account. For the sake of making your lives easier, I would start making those payments from your joint checking account. His life insurance is in the UK - ask your husband to add you as his beneficiary. Print that and include it. Your health insurance is separate - that is fine. Go online and create online accounts for both. You should have each other listed as emergency contacts. Print those two pages and include that. Trips - I would include anything that you can from those trips. Pictures, boarding passes, receipts, credit card statements. Credit cards - add each other as authorized users on credit cards. 401k - I would open 401ks at work and list each other as beneficiaries. You do not have to contribute a lot to it. Anything will do. USPS informed delivery - consider creating separate accounts with USPS informed delivery and print screenshots from your daily mail. This will show that you two trust each other with your mail and you receive mail at the same address. Husband does not have a driver's license - I would suggest getting one or at least getting a state ID. Health Care Directive/ Advance Directive/ Living will - If you do nothing else, do this. Get it notarized. USCIS takes this document very seriously. You are after all authorizing each other to make health care decisions in the event either one of you is not able to. (you would need two of these). https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/free-printable-advance-directives/ Last but not least, anytime I print anything off the internet or online account, I include "headers and footers" which will show the URL. That's all I have. Hopefully, you find something useful in my humble advice. Best wishes, USC4SPOUSE.

@markymark89 I find it very misleading that the letter does not state your spouse has to be present. Definitely bring her in.

@lusiaan, my husband did an early walk in for biometrics after filing for AOS. That was all precovid. It was fine. The attendant did not even look at the date. She just cared that he had his letter and valid ID. It's worth a shot.

@ros88 only an immigration judge may determine that you have abandoned your LPR status. Even if a CBP officer asks you to fill out and sign form I-407, you may just say "no, thank you. Please give me an NTA (Notice to appear) and you would then get a hearing before an immigration judge. But you do not have to worry about any of that because you are nowhere near that point. You should be fine returning to the US after your projected 4 month absence.

Well, I think you should still be fine because you applied for the Re-entry permit and you will only have been outside of the US for 4 months by the time you return.

@ros88, did the officer say that because you had been outside of the US for longer than 1 year?

@ros88 you only need a re-entry permit if you are planning on being outside of the US for longer than 1 year.

@ros88, I do not think that you will run into any issues. You did not leave the US before completing your biometrics. You are fine.

@Ophelia83 we used Fedex overnight for AOS and ROC. Had no issues.