CR1 NOW Include Evidence of Bonifde Marriage w I-130?

[JA_Martinez 81]

@ justoleme..... i bought a couple of immigration books and read them front to back (http://www.nolo.com/products/us-immigration-made-easy-imez.html ). if you do this make sure they are newly published since laws change often. both books state pretty clearly that unless you believe your case will be complicated for any reason, and you should know that without having to ask if it will be, then hiring an atty will not speed up the process any faster. i also consulted with three attys for information purposes and asked a ton of questions...one of them i contacted three times. They promise you the moon that's for sure. Using them will typically ensure that you have the correct forms and SHOULD anything go wrong that would cause the government to stop your application because you failed to answer questions correctly or omitted information of which they will tell you anyway, an atty is good for helping you get through denial appeals and issues of that nature. otherwise, they're doing the forms for you, providing clerical support etc.....all of which you can do yourself. they won't make it move faster. also, remember, attys get paid a flat fee for their service...but they also charge by the hour for anything outside of what is definded in your contract with them. if they don't get anything out of an email conversation with you, you will probably not get many responses....they would prefer to meet you in person or on the phone so they can charge appropriately for their time. (sorry just have atty bruises totally unrelated to my visa journey!)

[Darnell 8,478]

a coupla things:

1. the I-130 is a multi-purpose form.

2. the bits you've quoted from the VJ guide are actually from the I-130 instructions. minus points for missing that.

3. re: lawyer - who cares? It's your petition, not the lawyer. It's on you to 'be complete'.

4. Variances on evidence abound, based on duration of time after marriage. examples:

--a. you file 2 weeks after marriage, sending the file in after your arrival back in the USA. hardly anyone has evidence listed in the I-130 instructions save for trip receipts and wedding photos.

--b. you filed 4 years after marriage date. You have a pile of evidence, 11 inches thick

[JA_Martinez 81]

http://www.nolo.com/products/us-immigration-made-easy-imez.html

[dwheels76 5,468]

Here's a nice list you can give to your lawyer for examples to think of for evidence.

1. Evidence of Communication Before and After Marriage

• Phone bills showing who called whom
• Letters
• Greeting cards
• Chat logs
• Emails / PM’s
• Delivery receipts (of gifts you send each other)

2. Evidence of Visits / Vacations / Meeting in Person

• Boarding passes
• Passport stamps
• Hotel receipts with both your names
• Vacation / honeymoon photos
• Receipts or bank statements showing remote ATM withdrawals (to show you were pulling money from that location at such time)

3. Evidence of Co-habitation During Marriage

• Birth certificates of any children born to you together
• Mortgage loan contract or lease contract with both partners’ names in it
• Utility bills with both partners’ names
• Receipts with both partners’ names in shipping/billing address
• Pictures of you two living together

4. Evidence of Joint Ownership of Assets and Shared Financial Responsibility

• Joint bank account statements
• Proof of joint credit card use
• Money transfer receipts
• Power of Attorney
• Wills (never used this)
• Utility bills
• Life insurance policy showing spouse as beneficiary
• Health insurance
• Car insurance

5. Photographic Evidence

• Photos of you two together
• Photos of you two with family (such as wedding, parties, kids’ graduation, etc.)
• Photos of you two in various locations and times

6. Evidence from Others in Support of Bona Fide Marriage

• Sworn affidavits of friends and/or family
• Letters/cards from friends and/or family

[ermacdude999 0]

Here's a nice list you can give to your lawyer for examples to think of for evidence.

1. Evidence of Communication Before and After Marriage

• Phone bills showing who called whom
• Letters
• Greeting cards
• Chat logs
• Emails / PM’s
• Delivery receipts (of gifts you send each other)

2. Evidence of Visits / Vacations / Meeting in Person

• Boarding passes
• Passport stamps
• Hotel receipts with both your names
• Vacation / honeymoon photos
• Receipts or bank statements showing remote ATM withdrawals (to show you were pulling money from that location at such time)

3. Evidence of Co-habitation During Marriage

• Birth certificates of any children born to you together
• Mortgage loan contract or lease contract with both partners’ names in it
• Utility bills with both partners’ names
• Receipts with both partners’ names in shipping/billing address
• Pictures of you two living together

4. Evidence of Joint Ownership of Assets and Shared Financial Responsibility

• Joint bank account statements
• Proof of joint credit card use
• Money transfer receipts
• Power of Attorney
• Wills (never used this)
• Utility bills
• Life insurance policy showing spouse as beneficiary
• Health insurance
• Car insurance

5. Photographic Evidence

• Photos of you two together
• Photos of you two with family (such as wedding, parties, kids’ graduation, etc.)
• Photos of you two in various locations and times

6. Evidence from Others in Support of Bona Fide Marriage

• Sworn affidavits of friends and/or family
• Letters/cards from friends and/or family

Thank you all so much for your replies. I am going to start creating a packet of information with a bunch of evidence. My concern is that it will be too much info. Maybe I will have to offer my lawyer more money to ship all of these documents. I think I am going to anyway so he can maybe overnight it to the USCIS office anyway.

Dont you guys think that i will be ok if I create alot of evidence, make 2 copies of everything and send it all to my lawyer? he will email e a scanned copy of everything before he sends it out. I should be ok dont you think?

[slvrfx576 15]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I am going to start creating a packet of information with a bunch of evidence. My concern is that it will be too much info. Maybe I will have to offer my lawyer more money to ship all of these documents. I think I am going to anyway so he can maybe overnight it to the USCIS office anyway.

Dont you guys think that i will be ok if I create alot of evidence, make 2 copies of everything and send it all to my lawyer? he will email e a scanned copy of everything before he sends it out. I should be ok dont you think?

You can not send too much ! You can only send too little ! Don't be afraid to send too much...sending too little will only get you delays because of RFE's. (then the lawyer starts charging hourly) Unless you have some unusual circumstances, you do not need a lawyer.

[justoleme 5]

ermacdude999 We have to keep asking them what is happening with the case, or phone up USICS / NVC . My husband got our case number from NVC and in fact the attorney still to this day didnt tell us they had recieved it !!! As for charging us for e-mails etc i sure do hope not because when they email me it is very sketchy so i always have to ask in between the lines questions. They barely give us any information. I got asked last week for some paperwork that they should have asked me for weeks ago !!! so wish we hadn NOT used them and wont be recommending them to anyone. We shall send them here to VJ

Edited August 25, 2013 by justoleme

[_RMC_ 2]

As for me, I sent wedding ceremony pictures w/c includes the signing of the marriage contract, the priest signing too,pics with my relatives, pics my wife's relatives. Also sent pictures of the wedding reception.

[Sukie 1,463]

I had brought heaps of evidence of our bonafide relationship to my attorney's office when I met with her in person. The only thing she submitted was our marriage certificate. It made me nervous, but this attorney and her firm have been in the news with their recent successes (this law firm specializes in same-sex relationships), so I'm going to trust her.

If I were going it alone, I would have front-loaded like crazy.

Sukie

[ermacdude999 0]

Well I guess I am going to start putting a whole bunch of stuff together. I will probably use very thin paper as to cut down on the weight of the packet.

If your lawyer only used a little evidence, and mine is pretty well known and suggests the same, there must be a reason they are doing it. I am just nervous because we are talking about delaying my wife from coming here.

I can't do that. I can't risk that at all.

[NikLR 13,227]

Do they get paid more if they have more paperwork to do or is it a set amount for the whole process? You know it doesn't go any faster with a lawyer right? They can't do anything to speed up the process. All they're doing is mailing paperwork and filling it out from the information you give them. If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, that's okay and a it's a good reason to hire a lawyer.

[rylforever 18]

Hi, Everyone here is right. I sent my i130 with basic evidence not very much and I received an rfe with an intent to deny based on lack of evidence and we have been together a long time. I had to submit more evidence which was no problem at all along with an evolution of relationship letter also and then I was approved right after I sent it. I had originally just sent my marriage cert and a few photos. So everyone is right you need evidence. My take on attorneys is that there are some that will try to get documentation sent in ASAP because they understand that the wait is very difficult and there are others that know there is for example 90 days to submit documents and they procrastinate until the last minute not taking in to consideration that although they are following legal procedure, they are prolonging your case unnecessarily. I work with attorneys so I see it all of the time. Good luck

[ermacdude999 0]

Hi, Everyone here is right. I sent my i130 with basic evidence not very much and I received an rfe with an intent to deny based on lack of evidence and we have been together a long time. I had to submit more evidence which was no problem at all along with an evolution of relationship letter also and then I was approved right after I sent it. I had originally just sent my marriage cert and a few photos. So everyone is right you need evidence. My take on attorneys is that there are some that will try to get documentation sent in ASAP because they understand that the wait is very difficult and there are others that know there is for example 90 days to submit documents and they procrastinate until the last minute not taking in to consideration that although they are following legal procedure, they are prolonging your case unnecessarily. I work with attorneys so I see it all of the time. Good luck

I see, I am really contemplating doing this on my own and just being out of the $2000 I paid him. I doubt I will get it back.

1) Is there a special binding that I should use to bind all of the documents together for the packet?

2) I am looking at the CR1 Guide and it says NVC shortcuts by Ling Che and James. Does anyone know if that applies to me? We are married and she lives in Peru.

3) Could it really be sped up? My lawyer says 6-9 months on average.

4) Anyone have it done sooner? If so, do you have any tips?

[rylforever 18]

I didn't use special binding, organization is key so they know what they are looking at. A table of contents is good and tab dividers too maybe. If you decide to do it yourself who knows if you get your money back, I wouldn't bet on it though unless maybe a portion of fee since it hasn't been filed. I think some attorneys send the least evidence at first to see if they can get by with just that bc an rfe is not as big of a deal to them as it is for us. When my petition went to the nvc I read the same short cut pages and they were extremely helpful. The 6-9 months sounds about right, mine took 10 1/2 months almost to be approved then about a little over a month at nvc.

[Darnell 8,478]

James' Shortcuts not apply to you yet, that's for NVC processing.

You need to 'get through' USCIS first, before NVC comes into play - so for now, disregard James' Shortcuts.

I suggest you compile as much evidence as you wish to do, remembering that whatever you 'give' to yer attorney, he's supposed to put it into the casefile for the submittal.