Affadavits for proof of marriage, DCF London

[weliveyoung 0]

Hi everyone,

I'm about to send in my I-130 to the London office and have a question about affidavits proving our marriage. My husband's parents have both written and signed one, but does anyone know if they need to be stamped/notarized? I can't find anything that says they do but I thought I should check.

Also, how much evidence does the London office like to see? We don't have joint bank accounts since I don't work, and we live with relatives so have no bills in our name. We're sending in 4 pictures, doctors letters sent to the same address, and the 2 affidavits.

Any help is appreciated - thanks!

[Anh map 2,098]

Proof of marriage is the certificate obtained from the appropriate government agency. No affidavits needed to confirm the marriage.

You ought to prepare/gather evidence of a bona fide relationship. 4 photos and a couple of pieces of mail is likely not enough. Personal affidavits are typically seen as weak evidence.

You do not need a job to have a bank account.

Time to get serious and study up on the process. Minimum effort often results in delays and frustrations.

[weliveyoung 0]

Proof of marriage is the certificate obtained from the appropriate government agency. No affidavits needed to confirm the marriage.

You ought to prepare/gather evidence of a bona fide relationship. 4 photos and a couple of pieces of mail is likely not enough. Personal affidavits are typically seen as weak evidence.

You do not need a job to have a bank account.

Time to get serious and study up on the process. Minimum effort often results in delays and frustrations.

[weliveyoung 0]

Thanks for your reply.

We live a very simple life you could say, and don't have bills since all utilities are in the relatives name. I can provide emails from when we were dating but we literally have nothing else. I'm in the UK on a marriage visa so surely this would count as evidence?

In the instructions pages it says affidavits from people who know us would be evidence? Who would it be best to get affidavits from then?

If all of that isn't enough then we're stuck. Can somebody make some suggestions?

[cathy2904 97]

I can't speak with any knowledge of the DCF route but typically London does not require any evidence at the interview stage.

When we submitted our petition to USCIS we had none of the commingling evidence of a bona-fide marriage listed in the I-130 instructions, because we had only been married a couple of weeks. We just submitted three affidavits along with our marriage certificate. We did have them notarised but I'm not sure that counts for much. We were approved without any issues.

Good luck.

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

How about an affidavit from a neighbour who knows you have been living together?

Hotel reservations in both your names

plane tickets in both your names

Is one of you working, and if so is the other listed as next-of-kin?

[JoannaV 174]

No need for notarisation.

With my I-130 (sent through SCF not DCF) we just had marriage certificate, 3 very short affidavits, and a random boat insurance policy that happened to have both your names on. So I wouldn't worry about this overmuch. London is not going to be a hard one. Having said that, it should be very easy to add you to a bank account so you can present that too. I guess to file via DCF you will already be providing the copy of your UK visa, which is evidence too as it shows you qualified for a British marriage visa.

[Holly2234 66]

DCF in London does not actually require proof with the I-130. It says here http://photos.state.gov/libraries/unitedkingdom/164203/dhs/i130-checklist_for_spouse.pdf on the top right in red. DO NOT send those things. They will just send it back to you. That check list tells you everything you need to do in really simple terms. If you need any help, give me a shout

Edited July 14, 2012 by Holly2234

[weliveyoung 0]

Thanks for your answers everyone - this site is such a huge help! Everytime I think I know what I'm doing I find out I don't

[amandaq 0]

We sent in an affidavit from my husband's parents saying that we live with them and we are in a real relationship, and a copy of the ltter from our bank when we opened a joint account. We received an RFE, asking for more affidavits. Sorry if this is a bad thread to ask this question, but does anyone have an idea how long it takes for them to process the additional paperwork?

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

We sent in an affidavit from my husband's parents saying that we live with them and we are in a real relationship, and a copy of the ltter from our bank when we opened a joint account. We received an RFE, asking for more affidavits. Sorry if this is a bad thread to ask this question, but does anyone have an idea how long it takes for them to process the additional paperwork?

Granted this was five years ago, but my own experience was that after we replied to an RFE for similar info, London turned it around the next day and the NOA2 was issued immediately. Hopefully someone with more recent experience through London can back this up. Edited July 22, 2012 by Honey Crumpet