Recently Married - Proof of relationship to include

[smrowe 12]

My husband and I just got married at the beginning of the month and are finalizing our application package. They ask for evidence of an "ongoing marital union" - since we're just married there isn't much to include, but we have plenty from when we were dating which we plan to include (25,000+ text messages and Facebook chat messages). Is it appropriate to include emails talking about wedding planning with third parties (the florist, for example), or is that unwanted minutia?

Also, how did you package your application? Just a bunch of lose sheets, or something like sheet protectors in a binder? We don't want to go overboard, but we also don't want any of our information to be lost or overlooked. I appreciate any advice

[PaulandHelen 0]

My husband and I just got married at the beginning of the month and are finalizing our application package. They ask for evidence of an "ongoing marital union" - since we're just married there isn't much to include, but we have plenty from when we were dating which we plan to include (25,000+ text messages and Facebook chat messages). Is it appropriate to include emails talking about wedding planning with third parties (the florist, for example), or is that unwanted minutia?

Also, how did you package your application? Just a bunch of lose sheets, or something like sheet protectors in a binder? We don't want to go overboard, but we also don't want any of our information to be lost or overlooked. I appreciate any advice

I was in a similar boat when we got married. Not a lot of evidence to back it up, but a lot of stuff prior to the marriage. We included some correspondance of our talks back in forth, spread those out my friend. Send some printed emails from the beginning, middle, and prior to your marriage. We also send wedding photos. I think about seven or so we did. It sure cannot hurt by throwing some extra bits in there, if you think it could help, why not? Now what I did, I went out and bought individual document protectors and put relevant stuff together. For example, I had my coversheet(in it's own docuement protector) and gave a list of contents of the rest of the document protectors. So I had about seven or eight in all. One had the cover, one had the payment, the others had the relevant forms, and inside the evidence ones, I put all the evidence and on top of it I put a coversheet of it's own explaining what's inside.

For example:

Enclosed is evidence of our ongoign relationship prior to our marriage including emails, printed text messages, yadda yadda yadda.

Also included is our wedding invitations(both of your names should be on it, then again you may not have had it), and pictures from our wedding day.

We also threw in some pictures of us on holiday together in Wales and whatnot. I say it's never too much, just label what's in there. Nobody wants to open up a I-130 application and just see random emails and a few pictures fall out. Be organized.

Edited July 24, 2012 by PaulandHelen

[dwheels76 5,466]

My husband and I just got married at the beginning of the month and are finalizing our application package. They ask for evidence of an "ongoing marital union" - since we're just married there isn't much to include, but we have plenty from when we were dating which we plan to include (25,000+ text messages and Facebook chat messages). Is it appropriate to include emails talking about wedding planning with third parties (the florist, for example), or is that unwanted minutia?

Also, how did you package your application? Just a bunch of lose sheets, or something like sheet protectors in a binder? We don't want to go overboard, but we also don't want any of our information to be lost or overlooked. I appreciate any advice

Okay you are from Canada, which is a good thing. meaning you aren't from high fraud country so you don't have to send everything and the kitchen sink. Yikes 25000+ text (sound like me and my husband). Just maybe a log. You are just showing that you communicate not every word and stuff needs to be sent.

how ever you send it it will be dismantled and put in their folders so con't get fancy. Get evidence and put together. Now for me with husband coming from high fraud country I had over 28 pieces of evidece that toteled 219 pages. each piece of evidece like (visa stamps in pasport, pics with family and friends) each had a coverpage with a brief description.

There will be some of your fellow country people joining in here. You will see its izzy pizzy really. Just the basics really. All the best.

[Calicolom 265]

Use a two hole punch, punch the top of the pages, and us ACE fasteners to hold the pages together.

[sms78 18]

I sent 3 letters from family and friends and 15 pictures of us together. That's it. No texts, or phone logs.

Most of people here recommend using paper clips. Some people say never use staples and that was what I was going for. My husband had his AOS stapled all together though, but it was fine. No problem. I don't recommend using fancy folders though. If I were the person processing many applications all day, I might get annoyed by those folders and organizers. More work for me to remove documents from it and put them back in it so on... It's just my personal idea though...