Question on Co-Mingling of Finances - Africa - mostly cash based life

[SRS77 4]

My husband and I have been living in his home country of Tanzania for six months. We met last June and stayed in touch via email and phone. I returned five months later and we married three months after I arrived. I sent him money during the first half of our relationship via Moneygram and have been supporting us during our time in Tanzania. He has a small monthly income, all cash based. Life in Tanzania is mainly all cash based so we have no proof that I can think of for financial co-mingling. Will the Moneygram receipts prove previous financial co-mingling? What about my bank statements and ATM receipts during my time here (I've been keeping them for the last month or so)?

I tried to have him added to my US bank acct but of course he needs an SSN first. I need a resident permit in Tanzania to get on his bank account here. I can get residency but I would only be getting it to add my name to his bank account. There would be no other reason. He owns his house and there are no utilities except water that is provided by our neighbor and paid in cash. Electric here is not billed but rather pay as you go, and also purchased only with cash.

We plan to take a trip to Kenya this month and thought to use his MasterCard debit card and I would use my Visa debit card during the trip to show we both paid for things. Is this a good idea? Even finding places that accept Visa and MasterCard will be hard. Are there other ways to have financial co-mingling evidence in a mostly cash based life? I am not leaving Tanzania until the end of June, so I have some time to put together more evidence. I hope to file the I-130 petition upon my return to the states at the end of June.

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moneygram receipts are not evidence of financial co-mingling, they just show that you sent money.

Financial co-mingling is not required to file an I-130 nor is it required for a visa, USCIS as well as the Embassy will not expect a couple living apart in separate countries to have done this.

Evidence you are able to gather during the trip to Kenya should be focused more on time spent together in-person and not financial co-mingling. At this stage of the game, evidence of time spent together in-person is your best and strongest evidence.

[SRS77 4]

Thank you. I see your point. I was going off the vj guides for evidence supporting a bonafide marriage because we don't own property together or have a joint lease. My husband owns his house outright. However, this also goes back to your point about being in separate countries and not living together therefore not having a joint lease of joint or joint property ownership.

So for the I-130 petition they just want evidence of time spent together? Such as plane ticket receipts, boarding passes, my passport stamps showing I was in his home country? What about my certificate showing I converted to his religion? Should I send a copy of his house and land deed and a letter from the street ambassador saying I lived here for six months? The ambassador lives across the street from us. I see him daily. We took a trip to Kenya in February together. We both have passport stamps leaving and entering Tanzania and entering into Kenya. He also was required at the border to have one vaccine done and we have the receipt of that as well as the vaccine stamp and entry in his international (yellow) vaccine card, but no other receipts. Paid cash for our guesthouse, food, etc.

One other question, since we got married in Tanzania does USCIS require an international marriage certificate or will a Tanzania gov issued certificate be adequate? I haven't saw anywhere requiring a certified one. Not sure if they offer certified ones here. The US embassy website for Tanzania states "Once you are married in Tanzania, you do not have to register or confirm your marriage at the Embassy for it to be recognized in the United States."

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

They need an official document to state that you are married. All the guides are written as though you live in the US where certified copies are the norm. Each embassy knows what is the norm for the country. Look up others that have gone through the same place to see what they list as having submitted. As to co mingling and other things on the list of evidence. DOn't go out of your way manufacturing stuff because it looks just like manufactured evidence.