Getting ready to submit I-130

[MonkunTN 0]

Hello VJ members!

I would greatly appreciate your advice on the package I have assembled for my spouse who lives in Vietnam so far.

From what I've learned from reading the forums and guides so far, I understand it's best to front load my petition for the Vietnam HCMC/Saigon Consulate in order to minimize any potential RFEs and increase our approval chances.

Brief background:

Introduced through email by a member of my local Vietnamese Catholic community (spouse's uncle) in the US. We had a traditional Vietnamese Catholic wedding mass in Vietnam this past January after 18 months of first email (about 1 year after meeting face to face). Dam Hoi and Wedding Reception were held next day with over 500 guests. 8 relatives and friends from the US (total, from both sides) were able to attend. Age difference of 8 years; no past marriages for either of us.

Total of 2 trips to Vietnam; first trip was 4 weeks long, second trip was 6 weeks long (for wedding and honeymoon). I am planning to be in Vietnam to go with my spouse to the interview when we are given the date. There is one more visit to Vietnam planned before our interview.

I-130 Package Contents

Base contents:

• I-130 Form
  
• USCIS Payment $420
  
• Birth Certificate (me)
  
• Certificate of Name Change (me)
  
• Marriage Certificate w/translation
  
• G-325A (me)
  
• G-325A (spouse)
  
• (additional page for G-325A) Family Register Book w/translation (spouse)
  
• (additional page for G-325A) Judicial Record w/translation (spouse)
  
• (additional page for G-325A) Birth Certificate w/translation (spouse)
  
• (additional page for G-325A) Identity Card w/translation (spouse)
  
• Passport photo (me)
  
• Passport photo (spouse)
  
• G-1145
  

Additional Supporting Evidence:

• 1 Letter (Dad couldn't make trip for wedding for health reasons)
  
• 3 Affidavits (1 from witness for wedding, 2 from relative/friend attending wedding)
  
• Emails (60 pages)
  
• Phone Bills (110 pages, double-sided) - with incoming and outgoing calls from/to spouse highlighted with yellow marker
  
• Calling Card Receipts
  
• Yahoo Chat Logs (71 pages, double-sided)
  
• Ticket Stubs for both trips to Vietnam
  
• Passport w/Stamps (me)
  
• Letter from Catholic priest in Vietnam
  
• Letter from Catholic priest in U.S.
  
• Wedding Receipts
  
• Wedding Cards/Checks from guests
  
• Honeymoon Receipts
  
• 401k Beneficiary printout showing spouse as Primary
  
• Life Insurance Beneficiary showing spouse as Primary
  
• ITIN number assigned by IRS when filing taxes jointly in 2011
  
• 60 Pictures total: Wedding, Dam Hoi, Honeymoon, Vacations with family and friends from 2 Trips.
  

* Notes: Phone bills have been reduced down to essential pages only, otherwise this would have added roughly 45 pages (double-sided).

If there's any other information that I could provide that could be useful, please let me know. I think that's just about everything...

Questions:

1. Is this overkill?

2. Is a Relationship Timeline or Statement of How We Met recommended/required?

3. Any red flags here that may cause a delay/denial of petition?

4. Any other recommendations?

Thanks in advance for your response!

[quann 26]

members frontload evidence because they feel there's some glaring red flag(s) they should address right off the bat, ie huge age difference, pre-arranged marriage, fast-moving relationship, limited contact with SO, etc.

looking at your case the only potential red flag i see is the setup by your spouse's uncle, but the CO probably encounter that scenario more often than we think. imo it's a bit of an overkill, but it's better to be overprepared...and you're not going REALLY overboard like some other cases i've read on here. while you're sending all that you might as well include a notarized timeline of your relationship and 10-yr residency, those 2 items seem to pop up more often than not when people get blue (and make copies and save 'em for the interview).