I-130 questions

[kemal1010 1]

Hi all,

I have a few questions related to form I-130.

A little background - I am a LPR and my wife leaves overseas, neither of us has any prior marriage or kids. We got married at the beginning of June 2015 (without wedding ceremony) and obtained Marriage certificate. We are planning to have a formal wedding ceremony later this year as I could not stay for a long time to have a wedding in June. Normally, around 300-500 people are invited for weddings in our country. Here are my questions:

1. As I understand, the I-130 only requires legal marriage date and I did not find anywhere where it asked for wedding ceremony. Should I wait for wedding ceremony before submitting I-130? I know we are currently legally married, but was not sure if they require a formal wedding. We do have pictures from the day when we obtained the marriage certificate and celebrated afterwards with my and her family.

2. Should I wait a few months before submitting I-130?

3. As we leave apart, we don't have much to prove bona fide of our marriage, with the exception for pictures. Would this be enough evidence? I don't really want to open a bank account merely for the purpose of having a joint bank account since there won't be any activity anyways.

4. The form does not mention to include copies of birth certificate or passport of the beneficiary. Should I include them anyways with English translation?

Appreciate all the help in advance.

[simulation 0]

pictures are enough..don'w wait and delay your priority date...send all your pictures...mutual bank accounts...the money receipts if you sent money (western union)...or any document showing her as your beneficiary in USA ( like 401 K beneficiary) etc....waiting is not a good option I guess

[A&J1119 0]

You can submit your I-130. You will need to include a copy of you and your wife's Birth certificate, Passport & Marriage Certificate. Simulation is right if you have any transaction that you sent your wife a money, you should include a copy of a transaction receipt such as Western Union and also a pictures of you and your wife together, that's what we did on our petition. Also make sure you filled out your G325 form correctly to avoid the delay of your approval. Good luck to you!

[kemal1010 1]

pictures are enough..don'w wait and delay your priority date...send all your pictures...mutual bank accounts...the money receipts if you sent money (western union)...or any document showing her as your beneficiary in USA ( like 401 K beneficiary) etc....waiting is not a good option I guess

Didn't know you could add beneficiaries if they didn't have Social Security Numbers(SSN). Can you actually add without SSN? Thanks for your replies.

[A&J1119 0]

Didn't know you could add beneficiaries if they didn't have Social Security Numbers(SSN). Can you actually add without SSN? Thanks for your replies.

As far as i know you can not add your wife on your 401 K since she don't have SSN.

[kemal1010 1]

You can submit your I-130. You will need to include a copy of you and your wife's Birth certificate, Passport & Marriage Certificate. Simulation is right if you have any transaction that you sent your wife a money, you should include a copy of a transaction receipt such as Western Union and also a pictures of you and your wife together, that's what we did on our petition. Also make sure you filled out your G325 form correctly to avoid the delay of your approval. Good luck to you!

As I looked at the instructions, I could not find anywhere where it stated to include spouse's birth certificate or passport. Could you let me know where does it state to include those? It makes sense, i just don't want to include too much info if not required and confuse them/make it delay. Thanks.

[A&J1119 0]

I'm sorry. but that's what we did on ours and it got approved with in 4 months.

Here's the list that we sent:

1 Form G1145, E-Notificationof Application

2 Check or Money order

3 Passport-style photos of each of you

4 I-130 Petition

5 Form G-325A for each of you

6 Copy of your GC

7 Copu of your Certicate of Marriage

8 Copy of your Birth Cert of each of you

9 Passport ID and entry/exit stamp pages

10 Copy of your Airline itnerary for last trip (if you have it)

11 Copies remittaces receipts such as MoneyGram or Western Union

12 Some of your wedding photos and other photos of you together

of this help.

[simulation 0]

I added my wife as beneficiary in 401k nobody asked SSN

[myao 15]

pictures are actually good. it worked well for us. I even included screenshots of our social media accounts

[kemal1010 1]

I'm sorry. but that's what we did on ours and it got approved with in 4 months.

Here's the list that we sent:

1 Form G1145, E-Notificationof Application

2 Check or Money order

3 Passport-style photos of each of you

4 I-130 Petition

5 Form G-325A for each of you

6 Copy of your GC

7 Copu of your Certicate of Marriage

8 Copy of your Birth Cert of each of you

9 Passport ID and entry/exit stamp pages

10 Copy of your Airline itnerary for last trip (if you have it)

11 Copies remittaces receipts such as MoneyGram or Western Union

12 Some of your wedding photos and other photos of you together

of this help.

Thanks, it is very helpful. How did you include your photos? Printed separately and written on the back the date, place, etc?

I added my wife as beneficiary in 401k nobody asked SSN

Thanks, I will call and try adding to 401K. Since we live apart, we can't have a joint bank account and use it. Did you provide anything else besides 401K confirmation and pictures as a proof of bona fide marriage?

Edited June 25, 2015 by kemal1010

[sandic2009 0]

Hi guys. I had a question. If your i-130 gets approved, what is the next step? Is it just waiting for priority date or? How long does it usually take?

[j&ana 363]

As I looked at the instructions, I could not find anywhere where it stated to include spouse's birth certificate or passport. Could you let me know where does it state to include those? It makes sense, i just don't want to include too much info if not required and confuse them/make it delay. Thanks.

You only have to include the USC petitioner birth certificate, naturlazation or copy of passport to prove US citizenship. The benificary birth certificate is not needed untll petition is approve and sent to the NVC

As far as proof the UScis understands that people married living in diffrent countries might not have a house or bank account together

Some things you could submit pictures of you and spouse and family.receipts of gifts or places spent together.Passport stamps of time you visit. Text and chat message e-mails or anything else that might helo

Edited June 29, 2015 by j&ana

[kemal1010 1]

You only have to include the USC petitioner birth certificate, naturlazation or copy of passport to prove US citizenship. The benificary birth certificate is not needed untll petition is approve and sent to the NVC

As far as proof the UScis understands that people married living in diffrent countries might not have a house or bank account together

Some things you could submit pictures of you and spouse and family.receipts of gifts or places spent together.Passport stamps of time you visit. Text and chat message e-mails or anything else that might helo

Thanks j&ana for clarifying.

Another question regarding Question #21 - The last address which you lived together. Since we just got married, and my wife lives overseas, we were not able to live together yet as I had to return back to work in the U.S. But I visited and we hang out for a couple weeks. So, my question is what to put in response to this question - N/A, None or something else? or leave it blank?

[j&ana 363]

You should put none for the address if you and your spouse did not live together