Evidence for entire period of marriage

[DanielParul 50]

Here is the situation and any suggestions will be welcome.

Daniel was deployed 3 months after our wedding and came home a year later. So for the 1st year of marriage we were really not living together (he was in Iraq and I was here). This is what I have to show evidence of bonafide marriage for the 1st year since I know USCIS would like to see the entire period that we have been married and not just the last 9 months that he has been home. Please suggest if there is anything else I can add.

1.Absolute Power of Attorney while he was deployed (its expired now that he is home but I guess its good evidence of bonafide)

2.Living will while he was deployed.

3.Cards and notes to each other while deployed.

4.Health insurance.

5.Military dependants ID.

6.Joint tax returns for 2008-09 and 2009-10.

7.Pictures of us at the hospital with the baby being born while he was here on his 2 weeks leave.

8.All bank accounts are joint since we got married.

9.His Life insurance with me as the beneficiary.

10.Some utility bills in both names at old address. His old house was only in his name since he bought it long before we got married.

11.Mortgate papers for new house in both our names.

12.House in both our names.

13.Our son's passport with our names.

14.Son's Doctors records with both our names.

15.His transfered GI Benefits to me now for further education.

16.Copy of my parents passports and visas showing they visited and stayed with us.

17.Pictures with friends and family. I have lots of pictures with his family but since he wasn't here, its just me in most pics.

Have other ity-bity stuff too. Car insurance for both of us, drivers licenses with same address for both, pictures of trips as family. I am only concerned because he was deployed and so we do not have pictures together for a year almost while he wasn't here. Is there anything else I can include?

[Darnell 8,478]

16 not needed.

[DanielParul 50]

Ok, so no parents passports required.

Also forgot to add

Son's birth certificate

[Okalian 41]

Son's birth certificate

One of the most (if not the most) important forms of evidence

Edited April 14, 2010 by Okalian

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Total overkill. Total overkill. I mean. TOTAL overkill.

Do you really thing any human being, even one with a very small brain has even the slightest doubt that your marriage is real, and not just some under the table agreement between to shady characters?

Seriously, you have a child together, purchased a home together, filed taxes together . . . that alone covers it 100%, and when I mean 100% I mean that's all, absofreakinlutely all you need to enclose. Quality over quantity, and your documents have a quality that is rarely found these days. Like a diamond without any visible inclusions.

You are not looking for a job where you have to beat 100 other applicants; you only have to show that your marriage is real. I think you covered that to a degree that borders on the extreme part of extreme.

[DanielParul 50]

Total overkill. Total overkill. I mean. TOTAL overkill.

Do you really thing any human being, even one with a very small brain has even the slightest doubt that your marriage is real, and not just some under the table agreement between to shady characters?

Seriously, you have a child together, purchased a home together, filed taxes together . . . that alone covers it 100%, and when I mean 100% I mean that's all, absofreakinlutely all you need to enclose. Quality over quantity, and your documents have a quality that is rarely found these days. Like a diamond without any visible inclusions.

You are not looking for a job where you have to beat 100 other applicants; you only have to show that your marriage is real. I think you covered that to a degree that borders on the extreme part of extreme.

Thanks Just Bob. I guess I am being paranoid like everybody else who has to deal with USCIS. I will not send everything I have atleast not all cards, pictures, bills, bank statements maybe not even affidavits. So this is good right? Not too many pictures and trips together?

[DanielParul 50]

Now that I think about it, I actually feel silly It does seem like its more than enough to prove that the marriage is real.

[RebeccaAndPhil 5]

Now that I think about it, I actually feel silly It does seem like its more than enough to prove that the marriage is real.

Just looking at your cute pictures would be enough for me if I was an IO! I'm sure you'll be fine

[DanielParul 50]

Just looking at your cute pictures would be enough for me if I was an IO! I'm sure you'll be fine

[hemmmark 0]

Ok, so no parents passports required.

Also forgot to add

Son's birth certificate

Parents passport copies - Not required. But if you jointly sponsored your parents visa, you can include the (attested) invitation letter. Include this ONLY if you feel you are short on other good(financial) docs., which I don't believe is your case.

If you made a visit to India together, you can include copies of the pages with immigration/customs stamps from your passport.

The way I understand it, the priority is as follows:

1. Financial co-mingling docs - include tax/loan docs

2. Proof of coinhabitance - lease/home deed/bills

3. Any other docs/bills/letters sent to both with same address.

4. Pictures/affidavits.

Good luck !

[Bernie C 24]

Looks to me like you've got everything covered with whipped cream and a cherry on top.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You're good to go. The power of attorney and living will from when he was deployed is very good evidence from the first year of marriage. You have plenty of evidence, although, unlike Just Bob I always feel it is better to err on the side of 'too much' rather than 'too little'. If they are totally satisfied then you won't have an RFE and possibly an interview. Better to make it as easy as possible for the IO to say' yep, this is a valid marriage' than to leave any opportunity for a question. Good luck.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Kathryn

I, too, think it's better to err on the side of "too much" rather than "too little." But why going in any of the "too" directions to begin with if the "just right" margin is so easily to establish? Too much can have as much an adverse effect as too little. Too thin is as bad as too thick. "Too" is the keyword here.

Hence, if I get the order to kill some really bad guy, I put 2 bullets in his head and another one in his chest. One might be too little, but 2 should really do the trick. Three is a bit of an overkill, but . . . hey . . . better safe then sorry.

What I would not do afterward is putting 10 more bullets in the head, cut off the head, burn it, then wrap the body in a carpet and drown it in the lake, hoping the fish will take care of the rest.

I won't do that because the point of a meaningful mission had surely been achieved with 3 bullets. Anything beyond that is just a testimony of my inability to grasp the scope of the mission. And that, as I have outlined on other occasions before, might actually work against the objective.

So, yes, better safe than sorry, no doubt. But it only takes a shoe to kill an ant. Using a rifle is overkill and dropping a bomb to kill an ant simply makes no sense.

Hopefully, I was able to illustrate my point.

[DanielParul 50]

Thanks everyone. I get the point. Some of the things are not really required and I will not be including in the package. I am compiling it right now so I can send it by tomorrow or latest tuesday. Tomorrow Aditya goes to play school for the 1st time and I can get a copy of the registration document showing both of us are on the papers. Thats the last thing I will include. So I am good to go. Hopefully, no interview