Sister got the year I met my husband wrong on her affidavit

[caly 48]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post to this forum, which my husband (USC) and I (Singaporean) have been reading for a long time now.

I wonder if anyone can help shed some light or point us in the right direction. Here is our situation:

We got married in Singapore on 1/14/2011. He has since returned to the US and we are gathering the documents for the I-130 petition. As we've only been married for a month and do not have any evidence in the form of documents like joint accounts and proof of joint residency etc, we asked several people to write affidavits for us.

My sister (who is in LA on a student visa) got it notarized before sending it to my husband. After reading what she wrote, we noticed that she said we met 10 years ago... when in reality it's only been 7 years that we've known each other. Otherwise, it's a really good piece with lots of supporting anecdotes about us as a couple.

My question is, should we have her rectify the error and get it re-notarized? Or would it be appropriate to just make a sidenote on her affidavit saying that it seemed that long ago to her but was not actually the case?

In all honesty, my husband and I were friends long before we were a couple. At that point I was even dating someone else! So to a bystander like my sister, the exact time my husband and I first got to know each other is all kind of fuzzy - especially since so many years have passed since then.

Do you think the USCIS will flag an insignificant inconsistency like that if we submitted the affidavit as it is? Or would it be safer to just get it amended?

We would both appreciate any advice or thoughts on this. Thank you.

[Dan and Judy 614]

I think a sidenote would be throwing her credibility out the window. Either have her do it again or just don't use it.

[Amy and Nick 37]

I think a sidenote would be throwing her credibility out the window. Either have her do it again or just don't use it.

[Anh map 2,098]

Affidavits are ok evidence. One or two are more than enough. If you've known each other for 7 years then you ought to be able to present plenty of evidence about the development of your relationship. That

is what a CO will want to see. No one submits affidavits that are not extremely positive. Work on showing the growth of your relationship since you started dating.

[Scott and Mhay 57]

I agree with the above people...either get it redone or dont use it at all. There should be plenty of evidence from a 7 year relationship that you wont even need affidavits. Affidavits are optional...not required. I did an evolution of relationship letter when I sent in the package for my wife. Basically it just stated how we met and how we came to get married. I did the same thing once we got to the NVC stage. No issues here even though we did use affidavits from family and friends that were at the wedding.

[caly 48]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your responses. The point about throwing credibility out the window was something we hadn't even considered!

Scott and Mhay, my husband and I think the letter about our relationship is a wonderful idea and will be adding it to our package too! Thanks!

As for the other evidence, we met online and had a purely online friendship/relationship up till april 2010 when we met for the first time in person to see if we were truly compatible. Very slow going, I know!

So here's the trouble with having known each other for too long.... we only have IMs dating back to 2009 (in which we chat everyday for several hours at a time) and emails dating back to 2006 (the older ones are pretty sparse as we usually use MSN, except to send attachments to each other; or for correspondence when either of us, usually me, were out of town with minimal internet access).

Also, we only started using Pingo in May 2010 for calls he's made to me, so we only have records up to that point.

We have a limited number of undated photos together (only about 25 in total since april 2010, including photos of our marriage registration ceremony) as my husband is extremely camera shy. Some of them with my family, but none of either of us with his family!

Other compelling bits of evidence we can think of are:

• The travel documents (passport stamps, travel itineraries and/or boarding passes we can find!) from trips made by either of us to see each other in the last few months.
  
• a credit card my husband has just applied for with my name and his account number on it
  
• each others names on the list of beneficiaries on our separate insurance policies
  

Secondary evidence we are including in our I-130 petition:

• the phone logs, some chat logs and some emails
  
• copies and photographs of the self-made invitations to our simple signing ceremony at the registry of marriages
  
• receipt from the post-marriage feast with family
  
• receipt from purchase of wedding rings in october 2010
  
• copies of cards and letters received from family and friends, some of them jointly addressed to both of us
  
• the receipt from a gift (engraved from him to me) dating back to 2007
  
• affidavits from his dad or his best friend and possibly my sister
  
• affidavit from my husband describing the evolution of the relationship
  

Do you think this would be sufficient to prove a bona fide marriage/relationship in the eyes of USCIS and NVC?

My husband is not too worried and says we'll probably be fine with the proof we have. But I am extremely perfectionistic and slightly obsessive-compulsive, so I'm going crazy worrying we don't have sufficient compelling evidence or that they'll find something to question our relationship! I just want to get it right the first time and make the journey as smooth and painless as humanly possible. Thankfully there are forums like these to express some of these doubts.

I'd appreciate any comments and would love to hear any ideas you guys have.

[Scott and Mhay 57]

That is way more than enough...We didnt have that much. I dont know how the singapore embassy is, but I dont suspect it to be to difficult. The biggest evidence is you marriage certificate and pictures of you 2 together. For most people it is hard to have much evidence when you just get married. We applied after being married for about 2 months.

Really read the instructions to the forms and the guide here. Read about the consulate in singapore. USCIS isnt that strict with information, but the consulate may want to see more. As far as not having much before 2009, I dont see that being a problem as you guys were just talking online during that time and the thought of getting married and immigration probably never crossed your guy's mind.

[pushbrk 12,894]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post to this forum, which my husband (USC) and I (Singaporean) have been reading for a long time now.

I wonder if anyone can help shed some light or point us in the right direction. Here is our situation:

We got married in Singapore on 1/14/2011. He has since returned to the US and we are gathering the documents for the I-130 petition. As we've only been married for a month and do not have any evidence in the form of documents like joint accounts and proof of joint residency etc, we asked several people to write affidavits for us.

My sister (who is in LA on a student visa) got it notarized before sending it to my husband. After reading what she wrote, we noticed that she said we met 10 years ago... when in reality it's only been 7 years that we've known each other. Otherwise, it's a really good piece with lots of supporting anecdotes about us as a couple.

My question is, should we have her rectify the error and get it re-notarized? Or would it be appropriate to just make a sidenote on her affidavit saying that it seemed that long ago to her but was not actually the case?

In all honesty, my husband and I were friends long before we were a couple. At that point I was even dating someone else! So to a bystander like my sister, the exact time my husband and I first got to know each other is all kind of fuzzy - especially since so many years have passed since then.

Do you think the USCIS will flag an insignificant inconsistency like that if we submitted the affidavit as it is? Or would it be safer to just get it amended?

We would both appreciate any advice or thoughts on this. Thank you.

This is one reason why I discourage the use of such affidavits. Do it over or throw it away.

Another opportunity to point out that in the I-130 instructions, (or anywhere else for that matter) whatever you read about FOLLOWING the words, "In addition to the required....." is NOT required. Generally, newlyweds use a marriage certificate, photos together and evidence of the time they've spent together as relationship evidence at the petition stage.

[caly 48]

That is way more than enough...We didnt have that much. I dont know how the singapore embassy is, but I dont suspect it to be to difficult. The biggest evidence is you marriage certificate and pictures of you 2 together. For most people it is hard to have much evidence when you just get married. We applied after being married for about 2 months.

Really read the instructions to the forms and the guide here. Read about the consulate in singapore. USCIS isnt that strict with information, but the consulate may want to see more. As far as not having much before 2009, I dont see that being a problem as you guys were just talking online during that time and the thought of getting married and immigration probably never crossed your guy's mind.

Thanks for your quick reply. I feel better after hearing your feedback and experience.

I am trying to read up as much as I can on people's experiences at the Singapore consulate. So far, things seem to be very positive. However, a large majority of the reviews posted about it are for K1 visas. And information is few and far between.

Once again, thanks for all your feedback and help.

[caly 48]

This is one reason why I discourage the use of such affidavits. Do it over or throw it away.

Another opportunity to point out that in the I-130 instructions, (or anywhere else for that matter) whatever you read about FOLLOWING the words, "In addition to the required....." is NOT required. Generally, newlyweds use a marriage certificate, photos together and evidence of the time they've spent together as relationship evidence at the petition stage.

Hi Pushbrk,

We are aware that it is not a required document, but decided to do it anyway. Thanks for pointing it out though.

[Ser-Adam 0]

We submitted marriage cerf, 3 affidavits and some pictures.

It was enough for them.

[caly 48]

We submitted marriage cerf, 3 affidavits and some pictures.

It was enough for them.

Hi,

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! By the way, which stage are you guys at in your petition/application?

[Ser-Adam 0]

Hi,

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! By the way, which stage are you guys at in your petition/application?

Final stage! Interview at the embassy in 2 weeks time.

[Nataliya-Ron 7]

Good LUCK

[caly 48]

Final stage! Interview at the embassy in 2 weeks time.

Nice! All the best! Hope it's quick and easy.

If you have the information handy, how long did it take to get from mailing out the DS-230 packet to getting the interview date in your case?

Also, I've been wondering which stage in the process to apply for the police certificate in Singapore. It's my understanding that they will send the police cert to the embassy directly, so should I wait till just before the interview date to do it (maybe 2 weeks prior?) or should I try to get it done immediately after sending in the DS-230? Would be great if you could share your experience!

Thank you, and sorry if I'm asking too many questions!