questions about filing a CR1 petition for wife in India

[knicksfan 0]

Hi guys, this is a fantastic community with great information. The I-130 guide has been immensely helpful in starting out but I have a few questions. I got married earlier this month in India. I'm a US Citizen and am filing for my wife.

1) regarding the G325A form, will a scanned copy work or does it have to be the original? What I mean is, can she fill it out, sign it and scan it and send it to me? Or is it best if she sends the original signed form via international courier?

2) While filing the petition, should we have to send the photographs with the package or the photographs are just required during the Visa Interview? Should we also include phone bills and email logs?

3) We have been recently married. What proof can we give of an ongoing maratial relation as we do not possess any joint property and have not co-mingled our financial resources.

4) Can we handle the whole process ourselves (forms, NVC requirements and interview) or would people recommend that we should hire an attorney?

Thanks again for all the help guys.

[caramelwhite 0]

hEllo! best my experienced Im CR1 also. You should to send original copy of all form with signature not scan paper but the other requiremnts u can do photocopy there instruction of that.Yes u can send the copy of ur chat logs.or picture together during ur wedding day.or some other proof that can show that ur relationship is still on going. GOODLUCK

[caramelwhite 0]

Hi guys, this is a fantastic community with great information. The I-130 guide has been immensely helpful in starting out but I have a few questions. I got married earlier this month in India. I'm a US Citizen and am filing for my wife.

1) regarding the G325A form, will a scanned copy work or does it have to be the original? What I mean is, can she fill it out, sign it and scan it and send it to me? Or is it best if she sends the original signed form via international courier?

2) While filing the petition, should we have to send the photographs with the package or the photographs are just required during the Visa Interview? Should we also include phone bills and email logs?

3) We have been recently married. What proof can we give of an ongoing maratial relation as we do not possess any joint property and have not co-mingled our financial resources.

4) Can we handle the whole process ourselves (forms, NVC requirements and interview) or would people recommend that we should hire an attorney?

Thanks again for all the help guys.

[/quote

you try to read this it can help u a lot! goodluck

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

[Ryan H 3,812]

My answers to your questions are in bold:

1) regarding the G325A form, will a scanned copy work or does it have to be the original? What I mean is, can she fill it out, sign it and scan it and send it to me? Or is it best if she sends the original signed form via international courier? Original signature on the form is required, she will need to send you the original form.

2) While filing the petition, should we have to send the photographs with the package or the photographs are just required during the Visa Interview? Should we also include phone bills and email logs? It's best to include pictures, phone records, and email logs when filing the petition.

3) We have been recently married. What proof can we give of an ongoing maratial relation as we do not possess any joint property and have not co-mingled our financial resources. See my previous answer, USCIS will understand that you will not have joint property and co-mingled financial accounts at this point in time.

4) Can we handle the whole process ourselves (forms, NVC requirements and interview) or would people recommend that we should hire an attorney? How comfortable are you filling out all the forms? If you have a straightforward case, all an attorney can really do for you is fill out all the paperwork, you will still have to gather all the required evidence and send it to the attorney. On the flip side, if there are certain issues in either one of your backgrounds that might create difficulty in the process, then legal assistance may be necessary. Ultimately, it's your decision on whether or not you hire an attorney, choose the path that you are most comfortable with.

[msupreme2284 0]

Hi guys, this is a fantastic community with great information. The I-130 guide has been immensely helpful in starting out but I have a few questions. I got married earlier this month in India. I'm a US Citizen and am filing for my wife.

1) regarding the G325A form, will a scanned copy work or does it have to be the original? What I mean is, can she fill it out, sign it and scan it and send it to me? Or is it best if she sends the original signed form via international courier?

2) While filing the petition, should we have to send the photographs with the package or the photographs are just required during the Visa Interview? Should we also include phone bills and email logs?

3) We have been recently married. What proof can we give of an ongoing maratial relation as we do not possess any joint property and have not co-mingled our financial resources.

4) Can we handle the whole process ourselves (forms, NVC requirements and interview) or would people recommend that we should hire an attorney?

Thanks again for all the help guys.

I am USC who got married in India in Feb. We are scheduled for interview next month in New Delhi

1. I submitted scanned copy of the form. They accepted it but I'll advise against it.

2. Photographs can be submitted as other evidence. I didn't submitted then but I did submitted 4 Affidavit letters from my family stating that I was married in XXX date at XXX location and they were present there.

3. You will not be able to submit any proof. The evidence in #2 will be sufficient along with copy of Marriage certificate.

4. If you pay close attention to all instructions and keep an eye out for RFE threads here then you will not need an attorney. There is lot of support available here and the process is fairly simple (in case of regular marriage) just requires close attention to paperwork.

I hope this helps. Best of luck!

[knicksfan 0]

This is big help! Thanks for replying. We have decided to go at this ourselves and not hire an attorney. Two quick questions:

1) My wife and I have to fill out the G325A forms. Her part is fairly straightforward. She just puts in all her information. When I fill out the G325A form, the first part is my name, address etc. The other part refers to applicant information. Should I put in my wife's information in the 'Applicants residence,' 'Applicants employer' parts or should it be my information in that part? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

2) Can the affidavit letters be from our parents or do they have to be from others as well, as in brother, sister, uncle etc?

[caly 48]

This is big help! Thanks for replying. We have decided to go at this ourselves and not hire an attorney. Two quick questions:

1) My wife and I have to fill out the G325A forms. Her part is fairly straightforward. She just puts in all her information. When I fill out the G325A form, the first part is my name, address etc. The other part refers to applicant information. Should I put in my wife's information in the 'Applicants residence,' 'Applicants employer' parts or should it be my information in that part? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

2) Can the affidavit letters be from our parents or do they have to be from others as well, as in brother, sister, uncle etc?

1) Your own G325A will be filled in with your information.

2) Yes, that's fine. Affidavit of support letters can be from anyone you choose... friends or family are fine.

[Deep2009 18]

Smart move for not hiring attorney... you can do it yourself.

Good Luck.

This is big help! Thanks for replying. We have decided to go at this ourselves and not hire an attorney. Two quick questions:

1) My wife and I have to fill out the G325A forms. Her part is fairly straightforward. She just puts in all her information. When I fill out the G325A form, the first part is my name, address etc. The other part refers to applicant information. Should I put in my wife's information in the 'Applicants residence,' 'Applicants employer' parts or should it be my information in that part? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

2) Can the affidavit letters be from our parents or do they have to be from others as well, as in brother, sister, uncle etc?

[knicksfan 0]

Thanks so much caramelwhite, Ryan H, msupreme2284, caly and Deep2009. I'm going to start putting this thing together now. Hopefully I can get it out sometime this week.

[knicksfan 0]

I have a question about the G325A & I-130 regarding the Alien Registration Number. I'm a USC but not US born. I have a certificate of Naturalization. The certificate has a INS Registration number that starts with the letter 'A'. The G325a in two places and the I-130 in one place has a field that asks for a A number. The first field on the G325a is titled 'File Number' and in the second place its asking for an Alien Registration Number. The I-130 asks for an Alien Registration number as well.

- Should I put the A number from my 'Certificate of Naturalization' on the G325A and the I-130?

- Is there any reason for my wife to include my A# on her G325a?

[Ryan H 3,812]

- Is there any reason for my wife to include my A# on her G325a?

No, that's her form for her information.

[knicksfan 0]

Thanks Ryan. Any suggestions on the first question?

[Navyk 78]

I have a question about the G325A & I-130 regarding the Alien Registration Number. I'm a USC but not US born. I have a certificate of Naturalization. The certificate has a INS Registration number that starts with the letter 'A'. The G325a in two places and the I-130 in one place has a field that asks for a A number. The first field on the G325a is titled 'File Number' and in the second place its asking for an Alien Registration Number. The I-130 asks for an Alien Registration number as well.

- Should I put the A number from my 'Certificate of Naturalization' on the G325A and the I-130?

- Is there any reason for my wife to include my A# on her G325a?

Go ahead and use it - I used it in Item 10 of I-130 and also in my G-325A. A foreign spouse do not have one unless, she was in US.

[knicksfan 0]

Thanks NavyK

[BBCC 16]

Hi,

For evidence of a marital relationship, we used our apartment lease as we reside together outside the US.

Any ONE of the docs listed in the instructions will work.

I can't imagine a newly wed couple having any joint property. I can only suggest this option is available for a married couple that has resided outside the US for some time before beginning this process. My wife and I don't even have joint back accounts yet either.

A sworn affidavit from friends having personal knowledge of your relationship was used by friends here without any problems. Beyond that, phone bills and emails work fine.

Has anyone on this forum ever had a problem with this? The only problems I have heard with this proof is for marriages from countries rife with abuses of the system from marriage brokers, however, India is not such a country so I think you'll be fine with at least either of the last two proofs above.

As for the G325A, yes it must be original including signature.

The photos along with the other docs go in a single envelope in one mailing so one of you will need to gather all of the documents into one place a mail it all in one envelope. While this might not be an explicit rule, if they receive an incomplete package they will respond with a Request For Evidence (ROE) and this will significantly delay the processing of your petition (you don't want that I suspect).

One mistake we made was to go to a local post office in a foreign country and buy a US$ Money Order. Even though the money order was drawn on US funds, it was drawn from a non-US bank which the USCIS does not allow so they returned it and we had to start all over again.

It is NOT necessary to hire an attorney unless you don't have the time to do the study here and to fill out the forms yourself (i.e. you make so much money that it is of no financial consequence to pay for the service). This forum can make the whole process work for you on your own. Just be willing to do the research at uscis.gov, state.gov and this forum.

Hope this helps.

Edited October 3, 2011 by BBCC