Recommendations for supporting documentation of relationship?

[Rac2012 0]

Hi there,

I found this forum because last week my boyfriend of 3 years was denied renewal of his student visa. We have been living together in LA for the past year.

We have decided to get married, and I am filing for the I-130 petition through a lawyer.

Are there any suggestions for additional documentation of our relationship? I am including photos, lease agreement, pink slip (we own a car together), and phone records.

I would also appreciate any other advice people have--I am feeling VERY overwhelmed by this whole process. Thank you!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hi there,

I found this forum because last week my boyfriend of 3 years was denied renewal of his student visa. We have been living together in LA for the past year.

We have decided to get married, and I am filing for the I-130 petition through a lawyer.

Are there any suggestions for additional documentation of our relationship? I am including photos, lease agreement, pink slip (we own a car together), and phone records.

I would also appreciate any other advice people have--I am feeling VERY overwhelmed by this whole process. Thank you!

Get married first, obviously.

They don't generally expect a lot of documentary evidence from the period of time before the marriage. People who aren't married don't comingle their finances, for example, so they wouldn't have stuff like insurance policies or joint bank accounts. This is where your photos and other secondary evidence will be useful. Sworn affidavits from people with a first hand knowledge of your relationship can also be useful. Affidavits are especially helpful if they are from people who have good standing in the community, and are not family members of the USC or immigrant. These people would be perceived as more credible because they have no motive to lie on behalf of the immigrant. For example, your landlord, a local business person, an elected official, a police officer, etc.

It would also help if you can take your time and plan the best wedding ceremony and reception you can afford, and hire a professional photographer. A lot of people have said that the IO spent a lot of time looking at the wedding album at their AOS interview.

You've been together for a while, so the IO is going to to expect that you know each other pretty well. If they are at all suspicious about your relationship then they might begin asking some very detailed questions. If either of you have any skeletons in your closets that the US government might uncover then now would be a good time to discuss them with each other.

[Rac2012 0]

Get married first, obviously.

They don't generally expect a lot of documentary evidence from the period of time before the marriage. People who aren't married don't comingle their finances, for example, so they wouldn't have stuff like insurance policies or joint bank accounts. This is where your photos and other secondary evidence will be useful. Sworn affidavits from people with a first hand knowledge of your relationship can also be useful. Affidavits are especially helpful if they are from people who have good standing in the community, and are not family members of the USC or immigrant. These people would be perceived as more credible because they have no motive to lie on behalf of the immigrant. For example, your landlord, a local business person, an elected official, a police officer, etc.

It would also help if you can take your time and plan the best wedding ceremony and reception you can afford, and hire a professional photographer. A lot of people have said that the IO spent a lot of time looking at the wedding album at their AOS interview.

You've been together for a while, so the IO is going to to expect that you know each other pretty well. If they are at all suspicious about your relationship then they might begin asking some very detailed questions. If either of you have any skeletons in your closets that the US government might uncover then now would be a good time to discuss them with each other.

Thank you so much for your reply!