Sworn affidavit for I-751

[ChicagoTowGirl 0]

Hello everyone,

Sorry if this is a repeat question, but I cannot find another topic with it anywhere (I might be blind). I am applying to remove the conditions on my green card (I-751) and I am struggling a bit with the affidavit part. How do they have to be written? I have never written one before, nor has my friends/coworkers either. Also, is it absolutely necessary that it has to be notarized?
Any help would be much appreciated. This is the only thing holding me back on sending everything in at this point and it's stressing me out.

[Shauna&Wael 211]

Search "affidavit sample" here on VJ. For a notary, some banks have them, but your best bet is the UPS store. Pretty cheap, easy, and official.

[tuckin14 58]

The affidavit should state what the affiant knows about you as a couple. For example, "I have known John and Mary Jones since May, 2013. We attend the same church, and I have seen them at Sunday worship frequently, and also occasionally at social gatherings sponsored by the church. John helped me repair my backyard deck last summer and Mary came with him and chatted with my wife while we were working on the deck."

Whether notarization matters is unclear. The I-751 instructions say that the affiant must be available to appear at an interview, if there is one.

Affidavits are probably relatively unimportant unless other documentation is missing. For example they would be important if a couple lives with family and don't have proof of cohabitation, or if they don't actually live together. For example, "I have known John Jones since May 2011, and I frequently interacted with him at work. He told me that he got married to a foreigner, and he would get very excited on Fridays if he was going to see his wife Mary. We occasionally worked late and I would go to see him in his office and he would be on the phone, and then he would come back to my office and say "Sorry, I was talking to Mary." I met Mary once when she and Hank were coming into the office on a weekend as I was leaving, and the three of us went out to dinner once." (That's an actual affidavit that one of my co-workers could have written.)

[Pitaya 2,577]

Hello everyone,

Sorry if this is a repeat question, but I cannot find another topic with it anywhere (I might be blind). I am applying to remove the conditions on my green card (I-751) and I am struggling a bit with the affidavit part. How do they have to be written? I have never written one before, nor has my friends/coworkers either. Also, is it absolutely necessary that it has to be notarized?

Any help would be much appreciated. This is the only thing holding me back on sending everything in at this point and it's stressing me out.

Welcome to the forum.

Check out the Example Forms section, easily accessible at the top of the forum page. In particular, the Lifting of Conditions Example Forms. Yes, they should be notarized.

Good luck on your immigration journey.

[Hypnos 6,576]

The affidavit should state what the affiant knows about you as a couple.

Whether notarization matters is unclear.

An affidavit that isn't notarised isn't an affidavit, but a simple declaration or statement. The act of being notarised turns it into a sworn affidavit.

OP, affidavits aren't required, but are often used to shore up a weaker case that lacks better primary evidence. Only you can say if you need them or not. With a good amount of primary evidence (shared liabilities and assets) then affidavits are not going to be particularly important.

[ChicagoTowGirl 0]

Thank you everyone for your resposes and welcomes! The only reason I ask about the affidavit is because it is listed under "Evidence of the Relationship" in the I-751 instructions. So I was under the impression that it absolutely NEEDED to be done. I have a ton of supporting paperwork to prove our marriage, so if I don't need affidavits, that makes my life much easier.

[General Buhari 46]

I did not send any affidavits but have much commingling of finances, retirement, life insurance, medical authorization and we minted a little American in the 2 years.

Hope no rfe.

[NikLR 13,227]

I am unsure how a notarized document is suddenly a sworn affidavit when someone witnesses a signature. I get what you're saying "it's an affidavit beforehand but now it's a sworn affidavit" but it doesn't make the information therein more accurate just because qualified someone watched someone else sign their name and verified their ID. I would think an actually sworn affidavit would have to be in front of a judge or lawyer or someone who is qualified to accept sworn testimony that facts are truthful, after swearing an oath.

It is not absolutely needed to have one. They can accompany other more important documentation such as wills, joint ownership, joint debt, etc... Financial co-mingling seems to be the strongest evidence. You wouldn't just do a mortgage, a car loan, etc with a stranger.

Edited August 14, 2015 by NLR

[Hypnos 6,576]

Because generally there are penalties for making a false sworn statement which you knew to be false at the outset (it's considered perjury in many states). The affiant would usually be required to produce ID to the notary confirming their identity, too, so USCIS (or whoever) would know that Jim Bob McSweeney who has submitted a sworn affidavit is actually Jim Bob McSweeney and not some guy you found on Craigslist to do it for $10. Not saying that doesn't happen, but that's at least the reasoning behind it.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Hypnos

[ChicagoTowGirl 0]

Understandable, and I apologize, I am guessing I got a "sworn" affidavit mixed up with a notarized affidavit. I don't do these .... ever, so I was not sure of the difference.

[NikLR 13,227]

It's not a big deal and they're low on the list of evidence because well, people lie. If you have other evidence, they can be sent as supplemental, but I wouldn't base a petition on them nor are they required.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Third party affidavits are not a requirement. They are a weak form of evidence, and unnecessary if you have plenty of evidence showing co-mingling of finances, joint accounts/ownership, and co-habitation.

If including them, they are also not required to be notarized.

[Hypnos 6,576]

As I said above, an affidavit that isn't notarised isn't an affidavit. So if you include affidavits, they should be notarised. I think I've also seen some RFEs here for people to get them notarised that didn't initially.

[NikLR 13,227]

really... first I've heard of that.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

As I said above, an affidavit that isn't notarised isn't an affidavit. So if you include affidavits, they should be notarised. I think I've also seen some RFEs here for people to get them notarised that didn't initially.

Links? I have never heard of anyone getting an RFE because their affidavits were not notarized. As far as I know, people send them without notarization all the time.

They are really so low on the totem pole of evidence, it doesn't really matter much whether or not the person signing had their signature witnessed or not. The instructions state the people providing them could be required to testify before an IJ about the statements they provide, so perhaps that is another reason it doesn't make much of a difference.

I understand what makes a sworn affidavit, so I get where you are coming from. I would personally get them notarized, if I included any. And someone using this example would need to > http://www.visajourney.com/examples/USCIS_I751_Affidavit.doc

But I have seen people state they just included statements signed by third parties without the notarization/sworn affidavit/oath bit.