I-130 Proof of bonafide marriage

[pjandrachel 0]

Hello

Wondering if you can help! Me and my fiance are planning to marry soon and file for I-130 petition very soon afterwards so I am preparing the petition as much as I can in advance. Myself and my fiance have been in a relationship for three years now, our situation is that he is 17 years older than me so I am concerned that officials may think it is not a bonafide marriage. We love each other very much and long for the day we can live together.

As we plan to file for I-130 soon after marriage we wont have lots of evidence since the wedding but we have compiled lots of evidence to show the the relationship is genuine.

My question is is it possible to supply too much information in the initial petition??

We are thinking about-

The marriage certificate (of course)

Reciepts from wedding rings

Booking confirmation from place we got married

affidavits from people that know our relationship is genuine and can testify we are married

a copy of 2 cards from early in our relationship that refer to our future marriage

a letter from our bank in the UK and the US where we have joint accounts stating opening dates etc

a letter summarizing how the relationship developed, when we visited each other, when we met each others family and how we sustain our relationship despite the distance

social network messages from the start of the relationship to show the development of the relationship

skype logs to show how we sustain our relationship when we are apart

itemised telephone bills highlighting calls to each other to show how we sustain our relationship when we are apart

some copies of cards we sent each other to show how we sustain our relationship when we are apart

boarding passes and other flight documents to each others country

photos of us throughout the whole 3 years and with other family members

Obviously the evidence such as the pictures, flight documents, skype logs etc will act as proof for the letter summarizing how the relationship developed, when we visited each other, when we met each others family and how we sustain our relationship despite the distance

I plan to put the pictures and evidence such as boarding passes in chonological order of when they occured in our relationship with headings in an attempt to make it easier to go through.

Does anyone think this is too much? Or would doing this strengthern the value of our relationship and help to prove that our pre-marriage relationship is genuine therefore the marriage is also?

[jkelly07 120]

it look s good,after your married try to get a joint banking or checking, and a itin number to file joint incometaxes when the time comes,don't worry about the age.you have all the evidence.about your relationship,

[KLS2010 30]

Firstly - don't be too concerned about the age difference. My husband is 20yrs older than me - and I was never questioned about the age difference at any time. Just be prepared to answer them truthfully if it does come up at interview.

Secondly, there are differing opinions on whether or not you should 'front-load' a petition with all your relationship evidence. Some people say yes, some say no. I have seen people have their petition approved with very little evidence, whereas my package was about an two inches thick lol. Some people say that all your evidence isn't required at the petition stage, and that it should be presented at interview. While this is probably strictly true, that isn't always the case with some Embassies. For example, Sydney Consulate in Australia, where I had my interview, never asked me for further evidence, and I have rarely read of any other members here on VJ going through Sydney being asked to show any either. So obviously the decision on our case was based on what we provided in with the intial petition (and as was the case with me and many others I have seen go through Sydney - they already had the approval slip in the file before they even asked a single question at the interview).

The best thing you can do is check out the threads and talk to people that have gone throught the same Embassy you will. They will know how things usually work for your country. But in general, your list of evidence is pretty comprehensive and I don't think you will have much trouble proving your relationship, whether that is now with the petition, or later at interview.

Good luck

[pjandrachel 0]

Thankyou for your input. I guess it cant do any harm to front-load. Its better then starting out the immigration journey with the officials having doubt in their minds about our relationships authenticity then having to convince them at a latter stage. I suppose if we illustrate the relationship therefore the marriage is genuine then they may not need convincing at a later stage! And if they do we will still take the evidence along to the interview to do so!