London interview - relationship evidence

[lost_at_sea 995]

Hey all,

So our interview is in 2 weeks. I'm naturally in full panic mode for no very decent reason. I think I'm going crazy.

I wanted to ask your advice on whether this looks like a good list of things to take to the interview. I have everything required on the document list specified by the London embassy, and, although it doesn't seem to require it, I also have the USC birth certificate and divorce decree (the list appears to just be for the applicant).

I'm pretty sure we have one red flag, and I'd obviously like to mitigate against that. We were married only 4 days before we submitted the I-130 (for those that don't follow me, we originally started out with the I-129f/K1 and didn't realise we were eligible for the DCF route, so when we found out we jumped on it - else we'd have been done last year!). So, although I know London does not tend to be interested in relationship evidence, I thought it would be prudent to take some anyway. Does this look like a sensible list and would you suggest other things/removal of items:

• Wedding photo album (we had a civil ceremony with just 2 witnesses and then threw a party for friends in the evening)
• Photos of us on holiday from the last couple of years
• Rental agreement for our flat in London with both our names on, since Jan 2012
• Jointly named council tax bills (all the other bills we do separately)
• Receipt for custom engagement ring (Sept 2012)
• Receipt for our custom wedding bands (April 2013)
• His company life insurance policy with payout to me
• His company medical policy with me listed as dependant receiving benefits
• My husband is coming with me to the interview!

Additionally, as we are a DCF case we need to show my husband's domicile in the US. For this, we have:

• US employment contract
• US assignment contract, detailing his temporary assignment in the UK, end date (June 30th) and stipulating his relocation to the US and his repatriation
• A letter from his boss reiterating the details of his assignment and return to post in SF
• Tax returns for 2012, 2011, 2010 (also being used for his affidavit of support)
• Local tax returns for CA that he's continued to pay

We already have a place to live in SF, and technically as his assignment has ended he's supposed to be living there now, but his UK visa gives him 1 months grace period so he's spending it here with me on "vacation" until we move.

I'm super stressed. Any guidance to ease my mind would be very, very appreciated.

Edited July 2, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[lonelywithouthim1 36]

You seem to have everything you need. I don't think getting married 4 days before you started is a red flag. You appear to have all documents to prove a bonafide relationship but you need to RELAX. I know it's easier said than done but find a way to relax, you will be fine. You are almost there.....Good luck to you :-)

[Autumnal 25]

This looks more than complete, Lost_at_Sea. You put together an excellent package. The photo albums are actually quite helpful in my experience; you may not be asked for them, but you will have some powerful backup if you need it. All the receipts, the supportive evidence, and the documentation looks thorough. Also having your husband there will be a plus.

Take a deep breath and smile. You're going in prepared.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Hey all,

So our interview is in 2 weeks. I'm naturally in full panic mode for no very decent reason. I think I'm going crazy.

I wanted to ask your advice on whether this looks like a good list of things to take to the interview. I have everything required on the document list specified by the London embassy, and, although it doesn't seem to require it, I also have the USC birth certificate and divorce decree (the list appears to just be for the applicant).

I'm pretty sure we have one red flag, and I'd obviously like to mitigate against that. We were married only 4 days before we submitted the I-130 (for those that don't follow me, we originally started out with the I-129f/K1 and didn't realise we were eligible for the DCF route, so when we found out we jumped on it - else we'd have been done last year!). So, although I know London does not tend to be interested in relationship evidence, I thought it would be prudent to take some anyway. Does this look like a sensible list and would you suggest other things/removal of items:

• Wedding photo album (we had a civil ceremony with just 2 witnesses and then threw a party for friends in the evening)
• Photos of us on holiday from the last couple of years
• Rental agreement for our flat in London with both our names on, since Jan 2012
• Jointly named council tax bills (all the other bills we do separately)
• Receipt for custom engagement ring (Sept 2012)
• Receipt for our custom wedding bands (April 2013)
• His company life insurance policy with payout to me
• His company medical policy with me listed as dependant receiving benefits
• My husband is coming with me to the interview!

Additionally, as we are a DCF case we need to show my husband's domicile in the US. For this, we have:

• US employment contract
• US assignment contract, detailing his temporary assignment in the UK, end date (June 30th) and stipulating his relocation to the US and his repatriation
• A letter from his boss reiterating the details of his assignment and return to post in SF
• Tax returns for 2012, 2011, 2010 (also being used for his affidavit of support)
• Local tax returns for CA that he's continued to pay

We already have a place to live in SF, and technically as his assignment has ended he's supposed to be living there now, but his UK visa gives him 1 months grace period so he's spending it here with me on "vacation" until we move.

I'm super stressed. Any guidance to ease my mind would be very, very appreciated.

Holy overkill, Batman! London does not care about your photo album, your rings, or any of that. For DCF they care about the I-864 and domicile. Your domicile documents are a must, and all the supporting info for the I-864. When we went for interview, that's all they cared about, and we had a weird-ish timeline (he and I had been together for a while before marrying, but I was separated and living apart from my 1st husband when we met). They asked him three questions IIRC, along the lines of where will you be living, what will you do there and have you been there. Painfree and easy.

Deep breath. You will be fine. Concentrate on the I-864 and domicile. Bring a couple of photos if it makes you feel better but trust me, they will not ask to see them.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Thanks. Yeah. I know it's total overkill, but I would just want to throttle myself if I didn't take one thing I actually knew I had and they had a quibble and that one thing could resolve it, you know? I'd rather go overloaded with things, and not even take them out of the file, than be underprepared.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Thanks. Yeah. I know it's total overkill, but I would just want to throttle myself if I didn't take one thing I actually knew I had and they had a quibble and that one thing could resolve it, you know? I'd rather go overloaded with things, and not even take them out of the file, than be underprepared.

Don't worry, I did it too. My tote bag was heaving with evidence, none of which they cared about. They DID go over my domicile paperwork very carefully, since I had been living in the UK for 12 years and had never had a US driving license, didn't have any credit cards over there, no 401ks, pretty much nothing except a brand new US bank account and a Social Security future benefits statement. Your domicile paperwork is exactly what they'll be looking for, and you have that squared away.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Don't worry, I did it too. My tote bag was heaving with evidence, none of which they cared about. They DID go over my domicile paperwork very carefully, since I had been living in the UK for 12 years and had never had a US driving license, didn't have any credit cards over there, no 401ks, pretty much nothing except a brand new US bank account and a Social Security future benefits statement. Your domicile paperwork is exactly what they'll be looking for, and you have that squared away.

And was that still enough for you? You managed to prove it?

Do you think I should have him get some bank statements? We don't have proof of housing because we'll be staying with a friend while we flat hunt.

[mindthegap 2,599]

Total overkill and almost certainly London will not care or ask to see any of it for a CR-1.

We had been married just a few months and it wasn't mentioned at any point. If they wanted relationship evidence from you they would have given an RFE while doing the I-130.

Keep all that stuff for a couple of years time when removing conditions from CR-1 to IR-1.

regarding domicile, if the US citizen has maintained US bank accounts, credit cards, drivers licence, voted, etc, you can put on the I-864 place of domicile USA and you need very little additional paperwork apart from tax returns- especially if it was a temporary overseas assignment. That letter, tax returns, and the I-864 will probably be all they ask to see.

Relax- the interview is the easiest bit and a total anti-climax.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Total overkill and almost certainly London will not care or ask to see any of it for a CR-1.

We had been married just a few months and it wasn't mentioned at any point. If they wanted relationship evidence from you they would have given an RFE while doing the I-130.

Keep all that stuff for a couple of years time when removing conditions from CR-1 to IR-1.

regarding domicile, if the US citizen has maintained US bank accounts, credit cards, drivers licence, voted, etc, you can put on the I-864 place of domicile USA and you need very little additional paperwork apart from tax returns- especially if it was a temporary overseas assignment. That letter, tax returns, and the I-864 will probably be all they ask to see.

Relax- the interview is the easiest bit and a total anti-climax.

Well, yeah - I know we'll need stuff for RoC so I sort of don't mind doing the research to see what we already have in place (and what we should have more of - we'll do joint bank account when we move, and we're hoping to buy a place this year).

Thanks for the message - glad to hear of someone else doing the same after a recent marriage. I guess I wasn't sure whether they'd RFE for evidence via the DCF route at I-130 stage, simply because London expressly says "do not send additional evidence", so figured they saved all that scrutinising to the interview.

He doesn't have his voter record current, but I'm getting him to find me some bank account statements for the last few months, his phone contract (he maintains his US phone still) and he has his driver's licence current.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

I'll dig up what I called my "domicile dossier" for you later today and post it. I had a bit more than what I listed and it worked just fine, even though I had effectively abandoned my domicile in 1996.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Being married for "only" four days before submitting paperwork is NOT a red flag at all. What purpose would it serve to twiddle your thumbs and wait around to file?

[lost_at_sea 995]

Being married for "only" four days before submitting paperwork is NOT a red flag at all. What purpose would it serve to twiddle your thumbs and wait around to file?

I dunno! Seems sane to us, but I'm not an immigration officer.

Of course we didn't want to dally, especially after wasting all that time on the k1 path (if we'd known about DCF last year, we'd have been married in October!).

I'll dig up what I called my "domicile dossier" for you later today and post it. I had a bit more than what I listed and it worked just fine, even though I had effectively abandoned my domicile in 1996.

Thanks. That's really kind of you.

Edited July 3, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Okay, here's a few things I posted in the past:

I had lived in the UK for 12 years and had had no intention of ever moving back to the US so I had abandoned just about everything -- no bank account, no driver's licence (never drove in the US), no credit cards, nothing except my voter registration at my parents' house and that address on file with the Social Security Administration. What I did was open a bank account in the US, and then provide proof that I was taking steps to re-establish domicile -- the bank account, a recent letter from the SSA, a few emails I had from prospective employers in the US and a letter from me to the Immigrant Visa unit stating I was intending to move back to the US but that that decision was incumbent upon my husband's visa approval.

I also included a letter from my manager saying I had resigned contingent on my husband's approval, and included in my letter to the Immigrant Visa Unit a statement that we were planning to live with my parents upon arrival.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Thanks. That's really kind of you.

It's no problem! Also, if they had any questions about your timeline, they would have asked you before approving the I-130. This happened to us -- my divorce took forever to come through, and in the end I only had 12 days between my divorce becoming final and getting re-married. That looks like a red flag, but when you've been separated for almost 2 years before your divorce comes through... not so much. I got an RFE for our timeline of the relationship, which I gave and I was approved the same day it arrived at the consulate.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Okay, here's a few things I posted in the past:

I also included a letter from my manager saying I had resigned contingent on my husband's approval, and included in my letter to the Immigrant Visa Unit a statement that we were planning to live with my parents upon arrival.

Ok, so yeah. Your case differs, but I think we have equivalent proofs. I guess it helps a lot that my husband is only here on a temp visa and we have made zero efforts to renew it.

I feel a lot better about the domicile requirement now. I'm confident we have lots of proof, plus being DCF we're only presenting it direct to a human, rather than mailing it anywhere, which I assume is a plus.

Thank you for your infos, I appreciate it a lot.