Evidence of bona fide marriage

[MyHeartWillGoOn93 8]

I have my AOS interview coming up on May 6th. I am really worried because I don't think we have enough evidence to prove that we have a bona fide marriage. When we sent off our application, we included copies of cards people sent us when we got married, a copy of a birthday card from me to him when I was in England and a sworn affidavit (his mother). Because I had no SSN, we could not open up a joint bank account and I am not on any lease as we don't pay rent (we live with my MIL at the moment).

I just recently got my EAD and I'm going to apply for an SSN very soon. I know it takes up to 2 weeks for me to receive my SS card, but will the people at the office be able to tell me what my SSN number is BEFORE I receive the card? I'm worried that we will not be able to get a joint bank account in time for the interview because they gave us quite an early date and if we don't have one by then, I'm not sure what else we can bring to the interview apart from photos of us to prove that we have a bona fide marriage.

EDIT: For Valentine's Day, we got 2 key chains of a heart split in to 2 with his name on one heart and my name on the other lol do you think we could bring those with us to the interview?

Edited April 4, 2014 by MyHeartWillGoOn93

[LmmL 46]

SSA officer will not tell you what your SSN number is

you have almost a month to get your SSN since you have your EAD with you so you and your spouse could open a joint account once you get the SSN.

my spouse always told me that he believe that the main thing uscis will see as the evidence is our marriage certificate. But it's a good thing too to provide as much as we can as the proof.

good luck on the interview

[MyHeartWillGoOn93 8]

SSA officer will not tell you what your SSN number is

you have almost a month to get your SSN since you have your EAD with you so you and your spouse could open a joint account once you get the SSN.

my spouse always told me that he believe that the main thing uscis will see as the evidence is our marriage certificate. But it's a good thing too to provide as much as we can as the proof.

good luck on the interview

Thank you but if we don't get a joint bank account in time, does it matter if we only have photos? I heard for some people, getting an SSN can take a few months.

[LmmL 46]

You haven't tried it yet, you could go to the SSA office today and check if you could get the SSN as soon as possible. I don't think getting a SSN will take months, mine took only 5 days until it arrived by mail.

Rings we wear, marriage certificate, wedding invitation, photos plus cards our family and friends sent us could be the evidence. But remember, once you get the SSN you could open a joint bank account to add as an evidence

so don't lose hope. Have faith and confidence. Good luck on the interview

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

USCIS understands newlyweds don't have a lot of evidence. Just bring what you can, and worst case scenario, they will ask you about your lives and you will answer. That's all.

[Erica & L 50]

Is there any way for you to be added to any health, life or car insurance policies?

Can you get a few more affidavits from other family members or friends?

Receipts from rings?

Boarding passes or itineraries from any trips taken together?

Do you guys have a cellphone plan together?

When you're trying to think of evidence, analyze your life a bit and you might remember a few things that could be used as proof of a bona fide marriage that you wouldn't have initially thought of. But all and all, I wouldn't be too worried being that England isn't considered a high-risk country anyways.

[aussie_jason 195]

USCIS understands newlyweds don't have a lot of evidence. Just bring what you can, and worst case scenario, they will ask you about your lives and you will answer. That's all.

Exactly! I think a lot of folks must read the ROC forum confuse that with AOS as somehow the myth has started that you need mountains of paperwork to prove your marriage is bonafide during AOS.

[k212 0]

i think you can have a bank account without SSn. as long has one of your have ssn all you need to do is to go to the bank with your marriage certificate any id you have,even your EAD and your spouse SSN, and prove of address. they don't have to ask your for more evidence to open an account that should do. we open our joint account on 13 January and i don't have any ssn. all i had was my passport and and our marriage license and my wife SSN and Drivers license. just know how to talk to them. SSN is not a requirement to open an account.at first the guy at the bank told me no we cant open account but i asked him what he mean we cant cuz its a joint account and we want to add only one SSN...i have 2 account in my name i didnt use any SSN to open it from BOA and chase. just know how to talk to them and if they tell you they cant tell them you want to talk to their manager and as long has you show them you know what you talking about they would help you out. if not go to another bank. Good luck

[f&c 50]

Thank you but if we don't get a joint bank account in time, does it matter if we only have photos? I heard for some people, getting an SSN can take a few months.

You don't need a SSN to open a bank account. I added my wife to my account without one with only her passport. You just have to try different banks.

[Converts 9]

You know, I think it will raise a little bit of red flag when you open joint bank account 2-3 weeks for evidence before your interview. During my interview, I brought pictures with my spouse's family and friends, house lease, wedding pictures with my spouse's family, Affidavit of Bona fide marriage from my spouse's friends and family, and that's basically it. We didn't have any join bank accounts, and I was not in my spouse's health benefits even though we were married for 4 months before our interview.

The interview took around 15 to 20 minit and we were approved. Like what other posters have said, they understand that you don't have a lot of evidence as newlyweds.

Good luck!

Edited April 15, 2014 by Converts

[Snag 57]

I didn't get a SSN until after my greencard was issued. It really was no big deal. I got placed on my husband's credit union account using my international tax number. The bank had procedures for foreigners, and asked for my passport and some sort of tax ID number. We filed a copy of that, ring receipts, photographs, two letters from our parents saying that our relationship was legit, airline tickets - anything to prove we had a relationship. Probably overkill, but it's better to overprepare, not stress, and just collect what you can.

[mblessed2004 4]

anyone can give some samples of affidavit letters? Also can my husband daughter write an letter she is 17?

[aussie_jason 195]

http://www.visajourney.com/examples/USCIS_I751_Affidavit.doc

That's for ROC but should give you an idea.

[jdh 103]

You should get a bank account. Evidence of a bonafide marriage should be in the form of things that actually legitimize a marriage...lockets, and text messages, and letters back and forth don't really do that in the same way that shared bills and contracts do. In fact my interviewer didn't want anything aside from pictures and official documents. He said the other things can be faked too easily and don't really prove anything.

You can open a bank account at several banks without an SSN, you can also get your name on insurance policies and cell phone contracts.