ROC - Very much married but husband is out of the country

[blackberryapple 0]

Wow, time sure flies. It has been 2 years since my AOS from F1 got approved.

My Conditional Green Card expires in October, so I am getting ready to file my ROC.

Evidences of bona fide marriage include :

1. Joint Leases (we moved twice)

2. Pictures of us with family members & friends from both side

3. Joint Tax Returns

4. Joint credit card

5. Utility bills under my name

6. Letters sent to our home with both our names

7. Affidavit from Mother in law

8. Receipts of a gifts to each other

Now, I want to be clear that we are still very much married and intend to stay this way. My husband however, has developed health problems that is preventing him from properly walking. He has been limping and walking with a crutch for a few months now. He did some checkups and the doctor said that he needs to undergo treatment. Unfortunately it is rather expensive to go through with the treatments in the USA, and therefore his grandmother wants him to go to China for the treatments instead and she will cover the bill.

I plan to file my ROC in early August, within the 90 day period of my GC expiring. The problem is, he plans to leave the country in late June. The treatment takes at least 3 months, and his relatives apparently want him to stay longer because they claim that once he starts working, he won't be able to visit them that often. As a wife, I want my husband to be healthy so I really don't mind him going to China, and I understand that he misses his relatives so I don't mind him visiting either. I am pretty independent so I don't mind him away since he will return anyways. I am not going with him to China because I just graduated, and already went back to Malaysia for 2 months. And since my husband is not working, I kinda need a job to support both of us. However, I have to admit that I am worried about my ROC.

Lets say that we jointly file my ROC in early August, whilst he is away - will that be possible? Is it fine if we are temporarily separated for the time being? I am just worried that the USCIS will think its a red flag that he is away while I am staying?

Lastly, should I even mention that he is away in our application? The reason being, both of our permanent addresses are his parents house - which we are living in. I will stay there for a month or so longer until I move to NYC first to look for a job. When I have a new apartment in NYC, both me and my husband's name will be in the lease as he will be back after China

[jkelly07 120]

i'll give you some ideas,your permanent card as green card copy front and back,at least three years tax transcripts joint,bank statements jointly,or a letter from your bank.bank letter head.try to put your spouse on some utility bills,some insurance policys for beneficiary.any loans together,driver license showing the same address,some clubs sams.aaa auto. a letter from you church dues.if you have children born in us birthcertificate school records,just a few. if you file the 1-751 don't forget you have to be here for biometrics finger prints at the local support center..

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

1. Getting ready now and tell him to sign every forms he needs to sign before he leaves.

2. USCIS requires all supporting papers under both names, so it won't help your bill has your name only. Adding spouse name to bills or statements for recent months will not help, RFE will occur because they need 2-year spanning bonafide evidences, not just a few recent bills. You can explain why you don't have joint bills on your head letter.

3. ROC is your application so there is no need of your US citizen spouse's presence when you are waiting for the outcome, unless they need you two to be interviewed.

4. Driver licenses with same address, joint car insurance, health insurance, life insurance within last 2 years are really essential. Collect as much as you can, you can call your insurance company, they will provide all certificates of coverage you had with them before.

5. Don't send clumpsy tax returns, RFE is really easy to occur if missing a W2, 1099 or something. Order and Print Tax transcripts within minutes at http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript

6. Believe in God and keep faith. Good luck.

[blackberryapple 0]

1. Getting ready now and tell him to sign every forms he needs to sign before he leaves.

2. USCIS requires all supporting papers under both names, so it won't help your bill has your name only. Adding spouse name to bills or statements for recent months will not help, RFE will occur because they need 2-year spanning bonafide evidences, not just a few recent bills. You can explain why you don't have joint bills on your head letter.

3. ROC is your application so there is no need of your US citizen spouse's presence when you are waiting for the outcome, unless they need you two to be interviewed.

4. Driver licenses with same address, joint car insurance, health insurance, life insurance within last 2 years are really essential. Collect as much as you can, you can call your insurance company, they will provide all certificates of coverage you had with them before.

5. Don't send clumpsy tax returns, RFE is really easy to occur if missing a W2, 1099 or something. Order and Print Tax transcripts within minutes at http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript

6. Believe in God and keep faith. Good luck.

Thank you for your reply

1. No problem at all

2. For our first apartment bills were under his name and for the second apartment, bills were under my name. Will that be fine?

3. No problem. If there is indeed an interview he will be present no matter what

4. My drivers license recently expired, it had a different address but since we are living with his parents I will use their address. We are both quite young, I'm only 24 and both of us recently graduated. So we don't have a car, mortgage payment or whatever. Even our health insurance was from our school so I don't know how that works. The insurance company does know we are married though cause in all our papers we listed that we are married

5. I don't think I kept all my w2s omg. Will a tax transcript for 2 years suffice?

As for more evidences of co mingling of finances, is it a good move to show that my husband paid a lot for my bills : like tuition fees, credit card and etc. I have all those records

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

2. I got my RFE and they clearly point out bills with no joint name, so I don't know if your bills will help because they are with one name on.

4. You need to explain that you are don't have much joint property on headletter. Your insurance doesn't cover him so it is no help too. You can provide papers that list your spouse as emergency contact.

5. Tax transcipts for years you two jointly filed.

Collect more evidences, you can explain which you don't have on your head letter. If they RFE you, and you can't provide much more, an interview is unavoidable. Good luck.

Thank you for your reply

1. No problem at all

2. For our first apartment bills were under his name and for the second apartment, bills were under my name. Will that be fine?

3. No problem. If there is indeed an interview he will be present no matter what

4. My drivers license recently expired, it had a different address but since we are living with his parents I will use their address. We are both quite young, I'm only 24 and both of us recently graduated. So we don't have a car, mortgage payment or whatever. Even our health insurance was from our school so I don't know how that works. The insurance company does know we are married though cause in all our papers we listed that we are married

5. I don't think I kept all my w2s omg. Will a tax transcript for 2 years suffice?



As for more evidences of co mingling of finances, is it a good move to show that my husband paid a lot for my bills : like tuition fees, credit card and etc. I have all those records

[Fan_Dancer 171]

I think that if some bills are in your name (water, electricity), and some in his (cable, internet) then it should be ok. Some companies only send the bill in the name of one of the people on the contract, so showing that you share utilities at the same address might be just as good.

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

No it should not be okay, please check attached RFE for reference.

I think that if some bills are in your name (water, electricity), and some in his (cable, internet) then it should be ok. Some companies only send the bill in the name of one of the people on the contract, so showing that you share utilities at the same address might be just as good.

Edited June 6, 2014 by NancyNguyen

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

Fan_Dancer is right. As long as the bills show that say your name is on X, and his name is on Y (hence co-mingling of finances) you should be fine. And I don't personally think you need to mention that he'll be out of the country. If he leaves in June (depending on how your statements roll in) you could possibly only get July statements when he is not around, but that won't change a darn thing when considering how it will be issued. It's not like the banks/PG&E would change the residents name because a spouse left the country. So I would not worry on this issue. Obviously, as others stated, if there's an interview, he'll need to show up, but I read that is fine with you both, so I don't see where you can get any harm from USCIS. If I was working there, I would say you are good to go. If you order tax transcripts from the IRS website you don't need the W-2s. So just get those instead of your own tax copies. All the best!

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

Hmm....that's interesting...I guess then this varies from offices to offices (or IOs to IOs). o.O

No it should not be okay, please check attached RFE for reference.

[kehills 217]

No it should not be okay, please check attached RFE for reference.

Hmm....that's interesting...I guess then this varies from offices to offices (or IOs to IOs). o.O

Actually, it doesn't say that bills in one name are a problem, only that bills in both names are an accepted indication of co-mingling for the RFE. This doesn't mean that if someone submitted a cable bill in one name and a utility bill in the other name that it would be problematic, if they had enough other supporting documentation. (Both people's names on the lease, both having proper ID for the address, etc.)

Or at least this is what I was directly told by the folks at my local office, because one of our whopping two bills will not place two names on an account, and I was worried.

(I was also told my husband's Planet Fitness membership would be an accepted joint bill form, since both our names are on it, and thus it shows mingling of finances. )

Edited June 6, 2014 by kehills

[blackberryapple 0]

Thanks guys for answering

My problem is that : for the first apartment, bills were under his name becaus I was in malaysia that time visiting when he found the apartment. For the second apartment, bills were under my name becaus he was jobless they time and it was easier for me to pay the bills

Other evidences of co mingling of finances include various other things that he paid for me, like my tuition fees etc. is that fine? Should I show that ??

We don't have a joint bank account but we do have a credit card together