Preparation for Lifting Conditions Procedure

[andy desai 3]

Hello everyone

My wife came to the US as a K1 fiancee. We got married and filed for AOS. We also received the greencard without any interviewing. I am done with USCIS for sometime from now. However, we will face them again for lifiting conditions procedures. I was checking the check list for all the items they need as proof. One of the items states that we have to provide them with proof of co-habitation. SO we need to give them a lease. However, my lease terms have already expired and we dont know if we will stay in the same apartment for the next 12 months. I cant renew the lease now because we may have to relocate depending on my spouses college admission. What do we do???

[wexford65 0]

Relax. Wherever you do end up you will likely have a lease, right?

Simply get the lease in both names. If there is a gap it wont make any difference in 2 years time.

Just try to ensure things like utility bills and marital assets etc are in both names.

Take a few photos ate various intervals of the two of you. If your digital camera can insert a date stamp even better although it obviously isn't solid proof of date.

In two years they will simply be looking for evidence that the two of you are living together and sharing things that most couples share, nothing more.

You will be fine...

[ELW 5]

I agree with what wexford65 said above. We are in the same situation as you. The one year required lease was up and we have been renting month to month for over a year now. I saved the rental receipts they gave us when we paid the rent (with both names on it) and sent some of them in for Removing Conditions. I also sent a few canceled checks and money orders showing our names and address and the name and address of the apartment complex (proving we were indeed living there together and paying the rent each month). Not only that, I also got the apartment manager to write an affidavit stating how long we had been there, how we are both living there and how she sees us often, etc.

[mozplay 29]

Fact is, you have two years to gather evidence and it's great that you are thinking ahead at this point. If you simply type in "evidence" or "list of evidence" in the search function, you will see what many many members sent in. Take a look at that so that you can plan accordingly. Many members aren't on a shared lease or mortgage and get approved - there are other ways of proving co-habitation. Just make sure you have a evidence ranging the span of your conditional green card/marriage. From what I understand, what USCIS really likes to see is financial co-mingling too.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

When I rented a house almost 10 years back, I--for obvious reasons--didn't brag to my landlord that I was out of status. Who would?

Years later, when I got married and my newly-wed wife eventually moved in, I did't change the lease in order to put both of our names on it. I at some point wrote a letter, informing the landlord that I got married, at which point he asked for my wife's name, DOB, SSN, and cell phone number. That's it.

For that reason I also did not produce a house lease in both our names when submitting the original AOS, nor when sending the I-751. If the IO in charge wonders about the lease and really asks for it, I'll explain, truthfully. Otherwise, there are plenty of other documents that can prove you are living together as husband and wife when the time comes to get the conditions lifted.

I maintain, if a marriage is real, there's nothing to be fearful about. It's not about who has the most documentation or the biggest folder; it's about showing that the reasons they approved your intial request by issuing a GC still exist. If you are still happily married two years from now, don't lose sleep over some lease papers.

[milesinfront 2]

Our apartment is solely in my name. I submitted bank statements for every three months spanning the two years, from our joint checking account, a tax return, correspondence from the IRS, one photo, two emails, a greeting card sent to both of us, cellphone bills and an electricity bill.

Simply make sure that you have evidence that shows sharing of finances or assets. There is no single item that is mandatory (people seem to think that affidavits are so important) but USCIS looks at it all collectively.

[richa 0]

also you can add you car registration,car title on both names. and add health insurance, car insurance on both names. air tickets or itineryfor the place you vist together

[JeremyR 8]

Our apartment is solely in my name. I submitted bank statements for every three months spanning the two years, from our joint checking account, a tax return, correspondence from the IRS, one photo, two emails, a greeting card sent to both of us, cellphone bills and an electricity bill.

Thanks for this. My wife is the sole name on the mortgage (since she's had it a good ten years or more). We have looked into adding me to it but realised it would be a bad idea for three very strong reasons. One, it's prohibitively expensive (we're talking a four figure number + a renegotiation of the interest rate based on my credit history which is obviously very short). Two, we were warned that it would probably harm my credit rating because my wife's is erm... not that great. And lastly, it was pointed out to us by the mortgage company that if we ever wanted a second mortgage in the future for example on a second property, me having no existing mortgage to my name would be very advantageous. So, we're not going to do that to ourselves just for the benefit of one piece of evidence for USCIS at ROC time

Honestly, I would that the result of the adjudicator feeling the supplied evidence wasn't sufficient would simply be a request for interview rather than a denial.