Dated materials...Expiration Date??

[Aya820 33]

Is there an "expiration date" for materials that are to be sent with the I-130? Such as the affidavits (as part of the proof of bona fide) and pictures? I received the affidavits from my husband in April this year, but I still have not been able to send the documents in, due to unforeseen circumstances. Should I try to get more recent affidavits before I send the documents in, or is the April date okay?

Thanks in advance.

[ao_cons 1]

Strictly speaking, the affidavits don't expire so long as there's nothing in the documents that say they have an expiration date. So the documents will actually be legal. But since they are over a year old, the person reviewing it may want to see newer evidence that you two are still together.

You don't need affidavits, by the way. You can use marriage certificate, birth certificates of children born to you, joint bank statements, money transfers and joint lease contrats, car insurance, etc. Only in the absence of these will you need affidavits. For the I-130 petition, we used only our marriage certificate and bank statements. Most of your evidences will be needed later for NVC and especially the interview.

Good luck!

[Aya820 33]

Thanks. I was really concerned about this. The affidavits do not say there is an expiration date. Unfortunately, we need them because we don't have any of the other items listed, i.e joint bank accounts or any children together. For evidence that we are still together I plan on sending current IM messages/phone call log records, and hopefully current pictures, if I get to visit him again.

[Darnell 8,478]

The police certificate (filed during NVC processing ) is the only document that I know about, that has a 'validity duration' to it. This varies by embassy, but can span from 6 months to 1 year.

If ya don't have a police certificate yet, get one when the NOA-2 arrives - you'll need it for the DS-230 submittal (2nd part of NVC submittal ).

Good Luck !

[ao_cons 1]

Those phone call logs are important. And send postcards, love letters and greeting cards by snail mail. These take more time (and money) to do than IM chat. Why not send text messages to each other half the time? The US petitioner may have a post-paid mobile phone subscription that can be accessed online. If so, send text messages to each other and print the log from the online account. That's what we did. We didn't have any records of phone calls, but had several months' worth of text messages from the petitioner to beneficiary.

Make sure the police clearance will be valid by the time of the USEM interview. I once asked an NVC operator when to get it. She said, "You'll have to time it [for the interview]." If the beneficiary's country takes a long time to process PCC requests, then get it sooner. Ours took less than 2 weeks, if I recall. We got it a few months ahead of the interview date.

[pushbrk 12,885]

Thanks. I was really concerned about this. The affidavits do not say there is an expiration date. Unfortunately, we need them because we don't have any of the other items listed, i.e joint bank accounts or any children together. For evidence that we are still together I plan on sending current IM messages/phone call log records, and hopefully current pictures, if I get to visit him again.

You also don't need affidavits either. They are virtually useless unless the affiant has personal knowledge of the actual relationship, not just that you're a good person and that you ARE married. If I were going through Lagos, I'd provide any MEANINGFUL evidence possible WITH the petition though.

There are four levels of fraud used to classify Consulates and Embassys, low, medium, high and Lagos. If I were the Consular officer, I would give no weight whatsoever to affidavits signed so long ago. Remember, the Consulate isn't going to see them for several months after you submit the petition, and frankly, USCIS doesn't care at all about them in visa cases.

Edited November 17, 2009 by pushbrk

[ao_cons 1]

Thanks. I was really concerned about this. The affidavits do not say there is an expiration date. Unfortunately, we need them because we don't have any of the other items listed, i.e joint bank accounts or any children together. For evidence that we are still together I plan on sending current IM messages/phone call log records, and hopefully current pictures, if I get to visit him again.

You also don't need affidavits either. They are virtually useless unless the affiant has personal knowledge of the actual relationship, not just that you're a good person and that you ARE married. If I were going through Lagos, I'd provide any MEANINGFUL evidence possible WITH the petition though.

There are four levels of fraud used to classify Consulates and Embassys, low, medium, high and Lagos. If I were the Consular officer, I would give no weight whatsoever to affidavits signed so long ago. Remember, the Consulate isn't going to see them for several months after you submit the petition, and frankly, USCIS doesn't care at all about them in visa cases.

How about specifying what "meaningful" evidences they might use then? OP has already said they don't have joint bank accounts, BCs of children, etc. And yes, ideally affidavits should come from people who have some personal knowledge of the relationship. For instance, they may have attended the wedding, met the couple in person, etc. But why would anyone get an affidavit from people who've never known the couple in person?

[Aya820 33]

Thanks all for the feedback. Whenever he gets the interview date I will probably just have him take everything that has to do with our relationship (whether needed or not).

[GordonMatet 0]

I am curious why this is part of the initial criteria asked of petitioners to provide for filing if it means nothing?

You also don't need affidavits either. They are virtually useless unless the affiant has personal knowledge of the actual relationship, not just that you're a good person and that you ARE married. If I were going through Lagos, I'd provide any MEANINGFUL evidence possible WITH the petition though.

There are four levels of fraud used to classify Consulates and Embassys, low, medium, high and Lagos. If I were the Consular officer, I would give no weight whatsoever to affidavits signed so long ago. Remember, the Consulate isn't going to see them for several months after you submit the petition, and frankly, USCIS doesn't care at all about them in visa cases.

Edited November 28, 2009 by GordonMatet