speaking_softly

Ant,

OF COURSE it's helps your case to include affidavits. I think everybody missed the sarcasm in my post directed at James.

I still say your case is as good as approved. You're hitting them with a tidal wave of hard, factual evidence that would make the affidavits look like nothing more than a tiny ripple. 50-100 pages is impressive and overwhelming.

And I reiterate, while affidavits can only help one's case, flaming immigration officials NEVER does and can only hurt it.

Good luck to you and especially Cassie. I know you've been waiting a long time and I do empathize, regardless of whether you believe it or not.

No James,

I did not "tell everybody off." I told you and others who were flaming USCIS and low-level officials to knock off the petty name-calling, as it probably doesn't help things much. Then you started channeling all that anger towards me and suggested I step in front of a bus.

Grow up.

We had both sworn/notarized affidavits and strong financial evidence. I believe that affidavits should come from people who TRULY know you. Ours were from my mother and sister, who are around us all the time.

I say that affidavits can't hurt you, only help further your case along. If you can provide them, provide them. If you can't, then don't. But remember this, your whole purpose to this application is to give them considerable evidence to decide if you two are in a bonafide relationship. You sure as hell better have plenty of info that represents that, and if you don't, be prepared for an RFE.

Good luck...with USCIS you're going to need it.

I agree with your assessment Staashi. Affidavits can't hurt, but I don't think they help much either in most cases. I guess it's kind of like filling your 4-banger Toyota Corolla with premium gas...nice, but probably not necessary. If you've had a baby together, are paying off a mortgage, and have your foreign spouse listed as a beneficiary on insurance, that's pretty damn solid.

I think USCIS would tend to give a closer look at relationships where there is considerable age difference between the spouses. In cases such as these, affidavits would certainly be helpful.

Like a previous poster said, affidavits are probably not even an issue if you have overwhelming documentary evidence. In most cases you won't need them as all they are is a statement requiring no underlying proof. There's no way to prove anything an affiant says is false unless USCIS vigorously pursues it (and I doubt they have the interest or resources to do so unless someone is charging $$$ for their sworn statements).

My wife got approved without affidavits no problem. We just ignored it because we had ample docs that supported our case. I would think affidavits would be most useful as substitutes for birth certificates from places such as Somalia or Cambodia where the vital stats were destroyed by warlords or the Khmer Rouge. In cases such as proving a bona fide marriage however, they're pretty worthless.

Short answer --- Don't worry about it.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Affidavits are statements "requiring no underlying proof"??? Affidavits are indeed a form of proof in and of themselves. Witness statements (and of course any subsequent testimony from those witnesses) are probative evidence.

Now, it may well be that the majority of people who send in I-751s without affidavits are approved. But the fact remains that CIS regs and the I-751 instructions expressly mention affidavits as one form of proof that may be included. Plus there have been more than a few people here on VJ who thought they had strong evidence, did not send in affidavits, and received RFEs. They responded to the RFEs with affidavits among other things and were approved. Would you know that? Of course not. You're a newbie whom nobody has ever seen or heard of before.

The only thing worse than an ignorant newbie is an ignorant newbie passing off misinformation.

An affidavit is a sworn statement and nothing more. It does not prove a bona fide marriage. It is essentially one person's word that because it is done under oath supposedly carries some sort of powerful evidenciary weight. In the absence of strong first-hand evidence, it's probably useful, but it is certainly no substitute for strong tangible evidence establishing a valid marriage.

Give the kindergarten name-calling a rest James. You only show your own immaturity and insecurities in so-doing.

*SIGH*

Ignore him Marilyn. He tried to throw his weight around with me on another thread without success.

My wife also got approved without affidavits, and her evidence was less strong than yours or AntandD (no baby). If AntandD submitted the evidence he says he did, it's a lock. Don't stress yourself over it.

The only lock is the one that should be on your padded cell, psycho-newbie.

I rest my case. Knock off the bullying James. It serves no purpose.

Marilyn's case and my own had strong factual evidence without affidavits and both were approved. Yours supposedly had affidavits and is still pending. I filed at the same location as you yet mine was approved faster. Nuff said.

Your obsession and pejorative feelings towards immigration is scary, in addition to your condescension towards new members here. Give it a rest.

Ignore him Marilyn. He tried to throw his weight around with me on another thread without success.

My wife also got approved without affidavits, and her evidence was less strong than yours or AntandD (no baby). If AntandD submitted the evidence he says he did, it's a lock. Don't stress yourself over it.

Like a previous poster said, affidavits are probably not even an issue if you have overwhelming documentary evidence. In most cases you won't need them as all they are is a statement requiring no underlying proof. There's no way to prove anything an affiant says is false unless USCIS vigorously pursues it (and I doubt they have the interest or resources to do so unless someone is charging $$$ for their sworn statements).

My wife got approved without affidavits no problem. We just ignored it because we had ample docs that supported our case. I would think affidavits would be most useful as substitutes for birth certificates from places such as Somalia or Cambodia where the vital stats were destroyed by warlords or the Khmer Rouge. In cases such as proving a bona fide marriage however, they're pretty worthless.

Short answer --- Don't worry about it.

I know I'm a just despicable newbie troll who said he was going to take the high road and walk away but I am in desperate need of attention. So I'm back. Please flame me so I can bask in your focus on me, increase my virtually nonexistent sense of self-worth, and feel that I'm better than all of you.

No dice.

You only roll snake eyes distorting my posts like that James. I never made any disparaging remarks towards you or anyone else. It seems it's you that needs the attention, not me, as I don't pound my chest and stomp my feet whenever I don't get my way and then sling mud. Get over your bitterness.

I still think this is a great site where the majority of participants are fabulous people eager to resolve their paperwork, none of whom are any better or worse than I, notwithstanding James' personal comments and attack on me above.

Good luck to all of you.

Now...a previous poster commented about exorbitant costs and how many other developed countries process immigrants at little or no cost. Well thats just grand! But the real question is, why isn't the U.S. citizen spouse emigrating to the foreign spouse's country? Seems like it would be easier and lot less stressful given that the developed country's is so immigration-friendly, no? The fact is that your spouses all wanted to come here to live and not the other way around. I think that says a lot about the good ol' U.S.A. Yes, things take longer, but here in the States we run a lot more security checks on any prospective immigrant (and rightly so) than any other country. Personally, I didn't enjoy dealing with the bureaucracy of petitioning to get my wife here but I'm all for it if it means avoiding another 9/11.

1). Being British, they have security checks there, but who carried out the 7/7 London bombings? Yeah, British born Citizens. Who carried out the Oklahoma bombing? Yeah, a US born citizen. Also, FBI checks take a couple of months at best, so how are USCIS avoiding another 9/11 by letting our petitions sit in a dusty room for the other 12 months? Maybe if the FBI didn't have to do this second check on us in 2 years, they may have more spare time to find the next 9/11...

2). How many US citizens move to their spouse's home country? Any figures? Of course not. Just because the 'foreigners' on this site came here doesn't necessarily mean it was because of the US. No, we came here to be with the person we want to spend our lives with. Maybe your wife chose the place over the person, but I can pretty much guarantee we didn't. If my wife was from Outer Mongolia, I'd have moved there if she wanted me to. Moron.

3). Would you have moved to your wife's home country if she wanted you to? Doubt it.

4). Are you Lou Dobbs?

Thanks for your questions. Happy to reply to you KC...

Actually I already have moved to my wife's home country in a sense as we have a house there and spend about three months out of the year living abroad. Once she obtains her citizenship, we'll be splitting our time evenly between the U.S. and abroad.

And no, she did not choose "the place over the person" as you surmise. In fact, she's made it very clear to me she doesn't want to live in the U.S. full-time, which is great as my employer has offices in her homeland. My grandparents also emigrated to the States from my wife's country so I guess you could say I'm going home in a way. It's a great place to live. We both look forward to going back every year. Maybe we'll see you there one of these days.

And no, I'm not Lou Dobbs, but I just might be Sean Hannity!

Good luck with your petition KC.

Good Grief!

I post a thoughtful comment on delays in processing and I'm met with juvenile name-calling terms such as "troll" and "ignorant." Gee, thanks so much for the warm welcome!

Sorry if many of you took it as lecturing, it wasn't. In the toneless Internet, I could very much say the same of many of your responses towards me.

My guess is that many of the "problems" some of you are encountering are isolated and not typical. My wife was never questioned by her employer when her green card expired, nor was she shaken down by officials at the border (she entered on three separate occasions at separate entry points) when she crossed after the initial card expired.

If your employer has questions about the validity of your status, calmly and coolly explain your situation and have hard documentation handy to explain the law (which is always on your side in cases like this). If the employer still doesn't buy into it, then I have to say he's probably not worth working for nor does he likely value you as an employee.

If an official at the border hassles you notwithstanding proper documentation of your status, then ask to see some rank (supervisor)! I've done it before and it works! The long and the short of it is that virtually every foreign spouse will have to undergo expiration of their green card (unless somehow it gets processed before the two year anniversary) but there are rules in place to avoid all the aforementioned nastiness.

Now...a previous poster commented about exorbitant costs and how many other developed countries process immigrants at little or no cost. Well thats just grand! But the real question is, why isn't the U.S. citizen spouse emigrating to the foreign spouse's country? Seems like it would be easier and lot less stressful given that the developed country's is so immigration-friendly, no? The fact is that your spouses all wanted to come here to live and not the other way around. I think that says a lot about the good ol' U.S.A. Yes, things take longer, but here in the States we run a lot more security checks on any prospective immigrant (and rightly so) than any other country. Personally, I didn't enjoy dealing with the bureaucracy of petitioning to get my wife here but I'm all for it if it means avoiding another 9/11.

And yes Jethro, employment immigration certainly does take longer in most cases than marriage petitions, which is why I offered the example of my Indian friend who has been waiting longer than most of you ever will. Thank you for that Jethro and for not piling on like the others.

There seems to be odd sense of entitlement among a lot of those who post here (i.e. expecting USCIS to handle the 751 inside of three months). Most of those of you who are griping have cases that are still inside the posted processing times. To me, that means it's not your turn yet so just chill and relax. If I could I'd give up my wife's approval and go back in line and wait for a few more months just to accommodate one of you. It's really not a concern to me or my wife because we know it will eventually get done and she keeps all the rights of privileges of any other permanent resident.

I'll stop now. This "troll" will walk away by way of the high road wishing all of you all the best and hoping that your cases are processed soon. Feel free to fire away and flame as much as you wish.

Quick edit to the above reply...

It appears that even if the 751 is delayed, you can still file for citizenship. So really, you are not losing out on *anything* by waiting a few extra months.

To perhaps give you some perspective, I have an Indian acquaintance that I know with a permanent residency application that's been pending over four years, yet he doesn't stress over it because he understands the system and realizes it takes time. I think his case is held up because of numerical restrictions or something to that effect, but he really doesn't care, because he knows that eventually it'll get done and he'll have his card.

Patience folks and hang in there.

I'd be more open to the above if it seemed that you had some modicum of understanding of what our particular group (the TSC Losers) has gone through.

Well no, I guess I have no understanding of what you or others have "gone through," other than waiting perhaps.

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the foreign-born spouse retain all rights and privileges that he/she had before the 751 was filed while it is pending with USCIS? The couple doesn't get separated or lose the right to travel or work as far as I know. What is it exactly that you must endure until immigration gets to your particular case? If the relationship is legit, then why all the fuss? I guess I could empathize a little more if it were the initial I-130 that they were dragging their feet on because that keeps the couple separated in most cases. The 751 however, does not, so why all the anger?

The only thing I can think of that you may be losing out on is waiting a few extra months in filing for citizenship but again, that's really pushing it IMHO, and doesn't even become an issue until you've been waiting more than a year (which most have not, or at least not significantly more than a year anyway).

The reasons for the delay may be political. Perhaps USCIS prioritized the naturalization cases over the 751's because it's an election year and many people filed just to get the chance to vote after becoming citizens. I know there's been quite a public uproar over the delay in processing citizenship cases, but understandably so because citizenship grants distinct privileges, among them the right to vote. The 751, on the other hand, grants no particular benefit other than removing conditions on your residency status. Essentially, you are exactly what you were before you submitted the 751 upon approval of said case.

Good luck to one and all with your cases. I know this sounds trite and I don't mean it to sound condescending, but a watched phone never rings. Exercise patience. There will always be some who get their stuff approved a little more quickly than others. It doesn't mean they've forgotten about the rest.

Hello to all!

This is a really great and informative website which I'm sorry I didn't find sooner.

I posted here in this section because I recently got my wife's I-751 approved after waiting about six months which I felt was fantastic.

Just an editorial comment here if you'll allow me...Have any of you who've been waiting for an extended period of time for this form to be processed considered that perhaps your rhetoric on this site might be contributing to the delay?

Seriously, I don't think mocking immigration employees and stomping your feet will get your application approved any sooner, and if anything, I would think it would delay it. I would guess that immigration officials are aware of this and other websites and probably check in from time to time.

No the system isn't perfect and I think the feds would be the first to admit it. But then again, there's something to be said for *respectfully* waiting your turn in line and not resorting to playground name-calling while so doing. I work hard in my line of work and certainly would resent being called a *loser* or some other disparaging insult by someone outside my organization who had no concept of how my company did business. These people are human beings, they make mistakes (as do all of us). Can we please show them a little respect perhaps?

I guess my suggestion is that you all tone down your rhetoric and keep yourselves occupied with other things while you're waiting. There are also seems to be a great deal of clock-watching here which likely just fuels the resentment and bitterness ever further. CHILL PEOPLE AND RELAX! It's gonna get done and will probably happen faster if you're not obsessing over it so much.

Good luck to all of you with your paperwork and thank you for the opportunity to participate in your site.