I-130 for recently married couple

[americanjetset 0]

I apologise for posting so much! When I began putting papers together for the I-130, I never realised it would be this overwhelming!

Background:
American student came here on a tier 4 student visa in 2010
Before I came to the UK, began talking to another UK student on a student forum
Met him shortly after I arrived in the UK, we immediately hit it off and visited each other from Sept to Dec (we were at different universities)
He quit his degree (nothing to do with our relationship) and he later moved in with me in Jan

We have lived together for going on 3 years since and have tied the knot in April in the UK

Although we have just gotten married, I wanted to start the visa process asap, so we are not separated for too long after I return to the US.

I originally was only going to submit what the I-130 asks for. However, now that I have come across several posts where the petitioner was denied on the basis that they were too recently married and the evidence has not been sufficient, I don't know whether I should front-load.

If I were front-loading, I would include facebook wall posts (I put all the ones between us on a Paint Document and it looks sort of like a collage - from 2010- oct 2011). I don't know whether to include this or not?

Here's what I have so far (I have italicized the ones I am unsure about submitting)

I-130 Checklist:

-completed G-1145
-cover letter (expressing intent to petition and listing contents)
-$420 fee as a cheque or money order
-completed signed and dated I-130
-completed and signed G-325a (1 for petitioner, 1 for beneficiary)
-proof of US citizenship (petitioner birth certificate and passport info page) (copy)
-beneficiary birth certificate and passport bio page (copy) [note- I have heard that they sometimes erroneously request this, so I'm covering all my bases]
-proof of marriage - marriage certificate (copy)
-passport style photo (1 for petitioner, 1 for beneficiary)
-proof of bona fide relationship (joint tenancy for two properties - 1 from 2011, 1 from 2012)
-proof of bona fide relationship (council tax with both our names)
-proof of bona fide relationship (joint bank account that we are opening this weekend)
-proof of bona fide relationship (affidavits from mutual friend [present at wedding], mother in law [present at wedding] and my father [had health issues so didn't make it to wedding but writing in awareness of marriage)]
-proof of bona fide relationship (letter of relationship evolution)
- joint trip abroad including e-mail of flight itinerary, luggage receipt, passport stamps on both petitioner and beneficiary passports
-photographs together - pictures of just us, pictures with friends and family, and pictures of wedding.
-wedding invite
-letters from friends and family and to each other [i don't know whether to include these as we exchanged them all in person = no date stamps, and one card just says 'to the happy couple']

Is there anything a recently married couple should be including? My maiden name is on everything except the marriage cert. Thank you!

[speedwell 224]

We were married in late September and filed our I-130 in mid-October with NO supporting documentation (just the basic stuff they asked for). I was fully expecting to be asked for more documentation and I was able and willing to supply it. However, I was NOT asked and the I-130 was approved. I do not recommend you do the same, even though we are both UK filers!! I wound up sending my supplementary information later to the National Visa Center in the Immigrant Visa packet.

Your information that you list is sufficient. Make sure the pics are in the correct format. Carry on!

Edited April 30, 2013 by speedwell

[NikLR 13,227]

To be honest, you have a lot of evidence. Joint accounts and tenency is awesome. Affidavits are low on the evidence list and are good to include if you're low on other evidence. We submitted 2, but I had better stuff in reserve for an RFE if needed. (Hubs wasn't keen on sending emails if not necessary.)

Remember the fee has to come from an american bank as a cheque.

You do not need the petitioner's bio page of their passport. You either include their birth certificate (as a born american) or their entire passport. Whichever shows they are a US Citizen. Same with beneficiary if you're choosing to include their info.

You'll be great. Have you considered filing DCF in London asap vs waiting?

[speedwell 224]

To be honest, you have a lot of evidence. Joint accounts and tenency is awesome. Affidavits are low on the evidence list and are good to include if you're low on other evidence. We submitted 2, but I had better stuff in reserve for an RFE if needed. (Hubs wasn't keen on sending emails if not necessary.)

Remember the fee has to come from an american bank as a cheque.

You do not need the petitioner's bio page of their passport. You either include their birth certificate (as a born american) or their entire passport. Whichever shows they are a US Citizen. Same with beneficiary if you're choosing to include their info.

You'll be great. Have you considered filing DCF in London asap vs waiting?

She is returning to the US, and DCF is taking a few months. She probably should file DCF if she can stay in the UK until the process is complete. Otherwise our answers to her questions about documentation and her name change are the same.

[NikLR 13,227]

Honestly I would try to DCF if possible. A few months is better than 10! Lol

[americanjetset 0]

Thank you for your answers! I wish that I could file for DCF, but I don't think that I am eligible as a student (I am not in the UK with indefinite leave to remain), however I have been in the UK for 3 years. I will e-mail the London Embassy as their website http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html

is making me optimistic!

[lost_at_sea 995]

DCF is definitely better, particularly in London. They explicitly ask you *not* to send extra evidence, like tenancy etc., in the initial I-130 filing. They try to make it super simple and straight forward, and they literally tell you exactly what you should send, so you don't waste time sending them lots of stuff at the start.

Keep all that extra proof for the interview, if you do DCF - but you'll no doubt see from pretty much all the London interviews people have left feedback on that they pretty much never ask for relationship evidence there - mostly just a chat to ascertain if you seem genuine

They do only call out tourist visas as not acceptable, but I know once upon a time student visas weren't either - I guess they removed that restriction? Anyway - you can email them on this address to check. I did - and I got a reply only a couple hours later: USCIS.London@uscis.dhs.gov

[sba.rsa 10]

Hey, my Hubby is in India, and I filed the paperwork less than a month after we got married. We included all the things you have mentioned, plus I designed the I-130 into a booklet, i.e. punched two holes on the top of the page, slid it in pendaflex. I also included a coversheet to say what I included, and colored tabs to show the location of particular paperwork.

You will be just fine!

[Karabas 0]

That really sounds like a lot of evidence.

In our case, we didn't date, so our evidence was limited to wedding photos, affidavits (from our parents...), and an explanation of why we didn't date, etc. We got approved without a problem, so it shouldn't be a problem in your case.