Filing I-751 and change of address

[Philosykos 0]

We are about to file for ROC, and I realize that I cannot remember if I filed the AR-11 or not after we bought our house in April 2010. I am almost certain I did, but I am not 100% sure. I do have a record of my husband filing his sponsor change of address form, but not of the AR-11.

Anyway, besides my worry about whether there might be consequences should I indeed have forgotten to file the AR-11, I am wondering if I should simply file AR-11 again in order to be sure they have the correct address for their responses to the I-751, or if putting the new address on the I-751 and assuming that I did file AR-11 will be enough, because they will use that address. I don't want to stir anything up if I indeed filed the address change as I was supposed to.

What would you do? Thanks in advance.

And another question: Will joint ownership of the house, joint health insurance, me as a beneficiary of his life insurance, and joint tax returns be enough for initial evidence? We didn't join bank accounts simply because we haven't made the effort to do so, and I can pay my credit cards out of his checking account regardless. He could add me to his main account now (it's something we should probably do anyways), but I personally feel the other evidence should be enough for this. Overall, I don't understand the piling of evidence in this process. Doesn't a substantial joint asset such as a house, along with the demonstration of the currency of the marriage by, say, joint health insurance, already prove that we are not a scam? Why burden them with a huge pile of papers?

Edited February 8, 2012 by Philosykos

[God fearing 13]

We are about to file for ROC, and I realize that I cannot remember if I filed the AR-11 or not after we bought our house in April 2010. I am almost certain I did, but I am not 100% sure. I do have a record of my husband filing his sponsor change of address form, but not of the AR-11.

Anyway, besides my worry about whether there might be consequences should I indeed have forgotten to file the AR-11, I am wondering if I should simply file AR-11 again in order to be sure they have the correct address for their responses to the I-751, or if putting the new address on the I-751 and assuming that I did file AR-11 will be enough, because they will use that address. I don't want to stir anything up if I indeed filed the address change as I was supposed to.

What would you do? Thanks in advance.

And another question: Will joint ownership of the house, joint health insurance, me as a beneficiary of his life insurance, and joint tax returns be enough for initial evidence? We didn't join bank accounts simply because we haven't made the effort to do so, and I can pay my credit cards out of his checking account regardless. He could add me to his main account now (it's something we should probably do anyways), but I personally feel the other evidence should be enough for this. Overall, I don't understand the piling of evidence in this process. Doesn't a substantial joint asset such as a house, along with the demonstration of the currency of the marriage by, say, joint health insurance, already prove that we are not a scam? Why burden them with a huge pile of papers?

Just put the current address you live in now when completing the current application. They will update their system with that address.

[markiweiss49 4]

put your new address on the 751 application. also, you can do the ar-11 again and call uscis and do it over the phone. bank statements in both of your names will help. also you would need two letters from friends and family stating that they know both of you being husband and wife and for how long thay had know you. get the letters noterized.

[Philosykos 0]

Thank you for your responses. I would also believe that they update their system with the address I use on the I-751, but can anybody else confirm that?

I know that joint bank statements would help, but I was asking if what we can present (see above) would be sufficient. We could join bank accounts now, but haven't done so yet because there was no need (I already had a US bank account before I moved here on the my K1 visa, so I just kept that, but I pay my credit cards out of his account, because there is more money in it).

I certainly know that I do not NEED letters from friends or family - if you read Gary's post about his chat with the director, those kinds of affidavits don't carry a lot of weight. Financial assets do, and I am hoping that a jointly owned house (which trumps all other assets in magnitude) should be plenty of evidence, especially if accompanied by joint insurance etc.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Thank you for your responses. I would also believe that they update their system with the address I use on the I-751, but can anybody else confirm that?

I know that joint bank statements would help, but I was asking if what we can present (see above) would be sufficient. We could join bank accounts now, but haven't done so yet because there was no need (I already had a US bank account before I moved here on the my K1 visa, so I just kept that, but I pay my credit cards out of his account, because there is more money in it).

I certainly know that I do not NEED letters from friends or family - if you read Gary's post about his chat with the director, those kinds of affidavits don't carry a lot of weight. Financial assets do, and I am hoping that a jointly owned house (which trumps all other assets in magnitude) should be plenty of evidence, especially if accompanied by joint insurance etc.

I am in the same boat as you, except for now the wife is on the joint accounts with all the investments, but not the house. When we decide the stock market has gone up enough, (fingers crossed for the first quarter of 2012) we will sell off the stocks and pay off the house. At that time she will not be on any of the financial assets, but I will put her on the house. I tend to agree that a substantial asset that is co-owned is worth more than all the phone bills and affidavits from friends. I also am not going to let someone in an office at some federal agency dictate how I should invest my money. So we are living our lives and trying to keep the marriage together, and my feeling after our first anniversary is that if we are still married that should be good enough, but we will have some things co-mingled for the USCIS.

As far as the address, just put your current address on the form. I saved the on-line AR-11 confirmation and have a copy of my I-865 NOA for changing the address of the sponsor. You did change the address of the person who filed the I-864 did you not?! If not, that is the form I would submit ASAP.

Good luck and congrats on reaching this part of the journey.

Dave

[Philosykos 0]

I am in the same boat as you, except for now the wife is on the joint accounts with all the investments, but not the house. When we decide the stock market has gone up enough, (fingers crossed for the first quarter of 2012) we will sell off the stocks and pay off the house. At that time she will not be on any of the financial assets, but I will put her on the house. I tend to agree that a substantial asset that is co-owned is worth more than all the phone bills and affidavits from friends. I also am not going to let someone in an office at some federal agency dictate how I should invest my money. So we are living our lives and trying to keep the marriage together, and my feeling after our first anniversary is that if we are still married that should be good enough, but we will have some things co-mingled for the USCIS.

As far as the address, just put your current address on the form. I saved the on-line AR-11 confirmation and have a copy of my I-865 NOA for changing the address of the sponsor. You did change the address of the person who filed the I-864 did you not?! If not, that is the form I would submit ASAP.

Good luck and congrats on reaching this part of the journey.

Dave

Thanks for your response, Dave - yes, we did file the I-865 and I believe I have the NOA for that somewhere. My files aren't very organized because we've been renovating the house for almost two years... I agree that the government shouldn't be able to dictate how couples manage their finances. I bet there are a ton of US couples who keep separate bank accounts. I will join his now, but I'll send the I-751 off before that. If they don't think the evidence we present is enough, they can send an RFE. I was just hoping to hear from someone who might not have gone by the "the more ammo the better" strategy either. I think that strategy is more justified when you don't have anything really substantial to show for. We'll try quality rather than quantity and hope for the best.

Best wishes to you and everyone else!

[Philosykos 0]

As a side note: As I was browsing the guides, I saw that VJ recommends to submit evidence of bona fide marriage for AOS as well. I wasn't consulting VJ much when we filed for AOS, and we did not submit ANY such evidence with that application, only the required forms and documents. I received the Green Card quickly and without an interview. I believe for AOS, the official instructions do not not call for bona fide evidence (but maye I overlooked something).