Evidence of Bono Marriage

[Kammo 2]

Seems that all we need for our situation is our daughters birth certificate, however I see a lot of people on these threads gathering tons of evidence (pics, chat history, travel documents). Should we gather these documents as well? Is this something USCIS will want to see even with our child?

[Done--Really 331]

You just never know. We went with financial records, a handful of pictures, one month phone call log, and one month email log. We'll find out soon enough if that is enough. You will find as many people here who went with the absolute minimum while others have hundreds of pages of information and a zillion pictures, and they all speak with the utmost authority about which way is best, when in reality, no one knows.

You cast your lot and then wait to see if they want more--at least that is the way we think about it.

[Inky 1,110]

Having a child does not help immigration, it just means you have a child.

You need all the evidence requested. You will be RFEd if you do not send evidence of bon marriage.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Seems that all we need for our situation is our daughters birth certificate, however I see a lot of people on these threads gathering tons of evidence (pics, chat history, travel documents). Should we gather these documents as well? Is this something USCIS will want to see even with our child?

What i'm going to say is gunna seem mean but it's not.. anyone can have sex and produce a child, this doesn't mean their relationship is a bonafide relationship, it just means they had sex. There actually was a thread I read once where the woman had twins with this guy but he KNOWS the relationship was fake (for her) because he found emails about it. It was all planned, the kids too to make the relationship appear "real". It was horrible.

Anyway the birth certificate alone will not get you a visa. You will need to show the rest of the stuff to prove your relationship is real. Emails, phone records, financials, proof of filing taxes jointly, etc etc.

Edited January 17, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

For evidence you will need your marriage certificate and two letters from friends or family memebers whom can attest that you are in a bono married. Thisn is nfor the initial filing of a CR1, now if you are talking about ROC, then all of the other evidence as stated above will be needed to show that you have been living together as a bono married couple.

Edited January 17, 2011 by LIFE'SJOURNEY

[Kammo 2]

Hi again.

I am becoming frustrated and somewhat confused after hours of going through this... I have made some copies of travel itineraries and copied a few pictures. Plus marriage cert and babys birth cert.

While I am sure all of you have been through this and know what your talking about, I become confused when on THIS very website in the guide for filling I come across the following

Note: Evidence of a Bonifide Marriage

The USCIS now requires that when filing an I-130 for a spouse that you include evidence of a bonifide marriage. They list examples of acceptable evidence as:

1. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or

2. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or

3. Documentation showing co-mingling of financialresources; or

4. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, thepetitioner, and your spouse together; or

5. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties havingpersonal knowledge of the bona fides of the maritalrelationship (Each affidavit must contain the full nameand address, date and place of birth of the person makingthe affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner ofbeneficiary, if any, and complete information and detailsexplaining how the person acquired his or herknowledge of your marriage); or

6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that thereis an ongoing marital union.

Am I reading this right when it is saying "OR"? Meaning one or the other right? Not everything listed?

I am fully willing to provide EVERY scrap of evidence if it is needed (I have about 200 emails in our year and a half of togetherness and several chat logs, calls, ticket stubs and hundreds of pictures, but on the other hand I think there has to be a fine line to overdoing it.

Is there anyone in my situation (married with a child) who has gone through this procedure? What did you provide.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I am becoming frustrated and somewhat confused after hours of going through this... I have made some copies of travel itineraries and copied a few pictures. Plus marriage cert and babys birth cert.

While I am sure all of you have been through this and know what your talking about, I become confused when on THIS very website in the guide for filling I come across the following

Note: Evidence of a Bonifide Marriage

The USCIS now requires that when filing an I-130 for a spouse that you include evidence of a bonifide marriage. They list examples of acceptable evidence as:

1. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or

2. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or

3. Documentation showing co-mingling of financialresources; or

4. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, thepetitioner, and your spouse together; or

5. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties havingpersonal knowledge of the bona fides of the maritalrelationship (Each affidavit must contain the full nameand address, date and place of birth of the person makingthe affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner ofbeneficiary, if any, and complete information and detailsexplaining how the person acquired his or herknowledge of your marriage); or

6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that thereis an ongoing marital union.

Am I reading this right when it is saying "OR"? Meaning one or the other right? Not everything listed?

I am fully willing to provide EVERY scrap of evidence if it is needed (I have about 200 emails in our year and a half of togetherness and several chat logs, calls, ticket stubs and hundreds of pictures, but on the other hand I think there has to be a fine line to overdoing it.

Is there anyone in my situation (married with a child) who has gone through this procedure? What did you provide.

You are correct. They say "or" because not everything is required and if they said "and" then you would think it was all required. Not everyone can provide all that stuff but if you have it, your case will be a lot quicker and simpler to process.

The easiest way (if there ever was one :S) to decide what to send is to think like an IO. They don't know you or your relationship. It's your job, using evidence, to show them that you are together, in love, and have an honest relationship. For my ROC I need to include proof of relationship, here's my list so far:

o Copy IRS transcripts 2009, 2010 & 2011 showing joint filing

o Copy Car Insurance cards (showing joint names)

o Copy Wells Fargo joint account

o Copy First Trust & Savings joint account

o Copy Verizon cell phone bill (showing joint names)

o Electricity bills (showing joint names)

o Health Insurance showing joint names

o Copy Drivers licenses showing same address

o Photos from wedding & various occasions

I also have the following in my "maybe" list because I don't have it yet but I might get it between now and ROC:

o Wills & Powers of Attorney showing each other as beneficiaries

o Flight records showing both travelled together

o Birth certificate of any children

o Lease/Mortgage agreement (we just bought a house and because I'm not on the mortgage because of no credit history, I'm not allowed on the title)

o Affidavits from at least two (2) people who have know both of us since obtaining LPR

I took the list from the ROC documents (like the list above) and started to fill it in with anything I could think of. Because you're applying for a CR-1 you would have evidence of phone calls, texts, emails, skype records, photos together, evidence of trips to visit each other, whatever else you can think of. With my K1 back when you could show "wall to wall" on FB I did a screen shot of Tony and my conversations back and forth. I did ANYTHING I could think of that involved "us". I didn't want to give them even a second of doubt we were an honest relationship. I didn't want an RFE and I didn't want the pain some people are going through hoping they can show enough.

Hope that gives you some ideas. Good luck!

**Edit - for those that didn't get what I was saying, this is my ROC list. I know the OP is CR-1 but I still need to provide a list of ongoing relationship for ROC so I thought my ROC list would help her CR-1 process

Edited January 17, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[giamimigio 21]

i was advised by someone who has finished the process that you can either front load (USCIS) the evidence or back load (interview at the embassy)

what i sent to the CIS was the birth certificate of our daughter(which is in the list so YES IT ADEQUATE EVIDENCE) plus our marriage cert.

all the other evidence we have will be brought to the interview.

[Val and Gary 29]

Edited January 17, 2011 by Val and Gary

[JustAnotherID 0]

i was advised by someone who has finished the process that you can either front load (USCIS) the evidence or back load (interview at the embassy)

what i sent to the CIS was the birth certificate of our daughter(which is in the list so YES IT ADEQUATE EVIDENCE) plus our marriage cert.

all the other evidence we have will be brought to the interview.

Those were what I sent - marriage cert and birth cert for the kid, and the I-130s were just approved.

[amykathleen2005 441]

i was advised by someone who has finished the process that you can either front load (USCIS) the evidence or back load (interview at the embassy)

what i sent to the CIS was the birth certificate of our daughter(which is in the list so YES IT ADEQUATE EVIDENCE) plus our marriage cert.

all the other evidence we have will be brought to the interview.

A birth certificate of a child between you is EVIDENCE yes, but to say that it is adequate evidence seems to imply that is all you need. The birth certificate should be a part of a collection of varied evidence to show the true nature and duration of your relationship.

As Vanessa said, having a child means you were together one day (or evening, whatever your preference ) what about the other hundreds or even thousands of days of your relationship?

[Lisamarie 79]

I would make sure you include your birth certificate and all pages of your passport, some affidavits from family or friends, phone records, emails, and chats...Itinerary, plenty of photos (with family inc) and anything else that you have for proof of your marriage.

Seems that all we need for our situation is our daughters birth certificate, however I see a lot of people on these threads gathering tons of evidence (pics, chat history, travel documents). Should we gather these documents as well? Is this something USCIS will want to see even with our child?

[coraliesolms 47]

We sent a marriage cert and birth cert... the rest I brought to my interview and they didnt even really look at that. He saw that I had pictures of me and my spouse and said "oh, are those pictures of you 2?" I said "Yes, would you like to see them" and he said "no, I dont"...And yet some people have been asked to provide them. Its really best to have it all and not need any of it, than not have it and have them request it.

[Kammo 2]

I ended up sending 4 photos (wedding, birth of our baby, thanksgiving and one from 2009).

I included some of the many receipts for my ferry rides over to him. I didn't want to send ALL of them but we indicated on the cover letter that we have ALL of them if they require them.

I have every email he's ever sent and a chat history of Skype too. I hope it doesn't come to that though. I would feel a little violated.

We do have a joint bank account that we created after we got married.

We don't "share" anything else though since we (of course) do not live together. It would seem silly for him to add me to his Comcast bill or At&t in my opinion. He is however, working on adding me to his health insurance.

Thanks for all the replies to this matter

[J e n n y 26]

I ended up sending 4 photos (wedding, birth of our baby, thanksgiving and one from 2009).

I included some of the many receipts for my ferry rides over to him. I didn't want to send ALL of them but we indicated on the cover letter that we have ALL of them if they require them.

I have every email he's ever sent and a chat history of Skype too. I hope it doesn't come to that though. I would feel a little violated.

We do have a joint bank account that we created after we got married.

We don't "share" anything else though since we (of course) do not live together. It would seem silly for him to add me to his Comcast bill or At&t in my opinion. He is however, working on adding me to his health insurance.

Thanks for all the replies to this matter

I sent in only a few things- photos of the ceremony, the marriage certificate and the form that the witnesses signed. I guess that's the bare minimum needed.