How many Affidavits Evidence of a Bonifide Marriage are required? and other question

[raian 2]

Hi everyone

I just got married in Indonesia a couple of weeks ago.

1) How many affidavits of a bona fide marriage are required?

2) Do these sworn statements by my people have to be ones who have attended my wedding? I'm just worried that if I were to get affidavits from my wife's people in Indonesia that they would have to have it written in Indonesian language, and therefore requiring translation into english.

Thank you in advance,

Ryan

[raian 2]

I forgot to mention in that, it was only my father from my family/friends side who attended my wedding. I will most definitely get an affidavit from him. But how about my other family/friends who did not attend, would an affidavit from them be valid?

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

No affidavits are needed- things like how much time you spent together, photos, phone bills etc are more important. I assume you have photos of the wedding, so if you want to provide affidavits, I'd choose the people who know you two as a couple the longest and have seen you interact, whether they were at the wedding or not.

[Indy&Benji 0]

I forgot the requirement, but I remember I sent 3 affidavits from my sister, brother, and brother in law. They all attended the wedding. They also wrote the affidavits in english, so I did not have to submit the translation. I think it is better to include affidavits from someone that really attended your wedding, just my opinion. Good luck.

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

sorry the one guy is wrong. He got his visa over a year ago. I did have to get affidavits from his family who not attend. Like Brother that was in Spain and his mother who was in the hospital. They also asked for other family and friends who did attend. And one from my mom as to when I told her i was going to marry him. Maybe you will be lucky and not have to do the long RFE I had but I would get these statements now. there are places to translate and certifiy them. Also need 1 copy for USCIS, 1 for NVC and at least 1 of marriage license for yourself. think of all the places you will have to show one in the states.

I forgot to mention in that, it was only my father from my family/friends side who attended my wedding. I will most definitely get an affidavit from him. But how about my other family/friends who did not attend, would an affidavit from them be valid?

[Ryan H 3,812]

I just got married in Indonesia a couple of weeks ago.

Congratulations!

1) How many affidavits of a bona fide marriage are required?

2) Do these sworn statements by my people have to be ones who have attended my wedding? I'm just worried that if I were to get affidavits from my wife's people in Indonesia that they would have to have it written in Indonesian language, and therefore requiring translation into english.

Per the I-130 instructions, these statements are not a requirement. However, USCIS does have and has exercised the discretion of issuing an RFE asking for them. However, based on my own readings of the posts of others, RFE's for such statements are usually one part of a lengthy RFE.

With that being said, I opted to submit statements. If you were to get statements from any member of your wife's family written in Indonesian, they would have to be translated into English. Anybody who writes these statements on your behalf should have interacted with the both of you as a couple on some level or has interacted with your wife on some level. This interaction doesn't necessarily have to have been in-person.

[calibob 73]

We got the witnesses from the license to give affidavits. Worked for us hope you have good luck!!

Bob

[raian 2]

Thank you for the replies. Do these affidavits need to be notarized?

[~happyndinlove~ 540]

Thank you for the replies. Do these affidavits need to be notarized?

As others have said, affidavits are not required. But it ain't gonna hurt you if you'll send some. We did. And yes, they were notarized.

Good luck...

[BocaChicaBabe 6]

Just as others have said, it is not a requirement. I didn't include any affidavits with my petition and it was approved with no RFE. Good luck!

[Indy90 21]

I forgot to mention in that, it was only my father from my family/friends side who attended my wedding. I will most definitely get an affidavit from him. But how about my other family/friends who did not attend, would an affidavit from them be valid?

If they can attest to the validity of the marriage, they will be valid. I am sure that immigration knows that you actually had a wedding due to pictures, etc. What they really want to know is if the marriage is valid, which friends who did not go to the wedding but know you both can attest to.

One thing that I heard, and it may not be too valid, is that it is best not too include to many members of your spouse's family, because their might be an assumption that they wish to immigrate in the future. This probably would not be a factor, but if you want to use extreme caution, it might be best to stick to people that are not immediate relatives of your spouse's family. We used two, from the Colombian minister that married us, as well as a mutual USC friend who did not attend the wedding.

[Glyn and Kathy 288]

This goes back three years ago for us, but we did not send them...and got and RFE (not a long one) asking for 3 sworn affidavits. Its up to you, you could be ok without them...but then you may get an rfe.

[raian 2]

Thank you all once again. I always like to play safe so I will do 3 affidavits. Thank you again

[Casprd 167]

sorry the one guy is wrong. He got his visa over a year ago. I did have to get affidavits from his family who not attend. Like Brother that was in Spain and his mother who was in the hospital. They also asked for other family and friends who did attend. And one from my mom as to when I told her i was going to marry him. Maybe you will be lucky and not have to do the long RFE I had but I would get these statements now. there are places to translate and certifiy them. Also need 1 copy for USCIS, 1 for NVC and at least 1 of marriage license for yourself. think of all the places you will have to show one in the states.

You're forgetting the fact that your petition was for Morrocco which is a high fraud country so the requirements are different. Bottom line is they are not required, but the USCIS may request them so it doesn't hurt. Remember that anything you send to USCIS will go to NVC and on to the consulate also, so you want to show proof of ongoing relationship as well. Pictures, boarding passes, passport stamps, hotel reciepts, pictures with the families and friends, Chat logs, emails, phone logs. Also write an evolution of relationship letter and have this notarized. When you go for the interview, write an updated letter also. If either of you have been divorced, you need to include the divorce papers also. I forgot these and got an RFE for them.

Good Luck.

[pushbrk 12,892]

Hi everyone

I just got married in Indonesia a couple of weeks ago.

1) How many affidavits of a bona fide marriage are required?

2) Do these sworn statements by my people have to be ones who have attended my wedding? I'm just worried that if I were to get affidavits from my wife's people in Indonesia that they would have to have it written in Indonesian language, and therefore requiring translation into english.

Thank you in advance,

Ryan

Read the section again where affidavits are mentioned. When you do so, it is prudent to consider anything mentioned after the words, "In addition to the required..." as NOT REQUIRED. So, the answer to your direct question is zero. If you chose to provide any affidavits, make sure they are about what people have actually observed about your "relationship", not your "wedding". Anything submitted with the petition that is not in English, must be accompanied by a certified translation.

Now that you understand affidavits are optional, you'll probably want to supply at least some "other" (the last on that optional list) evidence. Usually this is in the form of photos together, evidence of time spent together, such as boarding passes, passport stamps etc. If you wish, you can also provide examples of how and how frequently you communicate.