Advice: RFE for I-751

[SandM 0]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I received a RFE in August 2015 after petitioning for the I-751 in November 2014. He is a graduate student in CT, but is currently doing a year-long fellowship in NY that began in September 2015 so we have moved in with my parents for the academic year.

In the RFE letter we received from USCIS, they state:

"Your supporting evidence does not sufficiently establish that you and your spouse entered the marriage in good faith and continue to share a life together. You submitted for evidence as follows:

-Identification documents

-2012 and 2013 income tax return transcripts

-recent bank account statements

-recent utility bills

-affidavits

-2013 lease agreement and extension

-photos

You have not provided enough sufficient examples of shared assets and liabilities spanning the period of the marriage to show that you and your spouse have shared and continue to share a life together. The recent documents provided appear to only cover the immediate period of your marriage prior to submission of your I-751 petition. Overall, further evidence covering the full range of your marriage may prove helpful to your case to prove a legitimate and good faith marriage."

They go on to request evidence such as, but not limited to:

-"Children as a result of marriage

-Evidence that you and your spouse have resided together and shared responsibility for a common residence

-Evidence that you and your spouse have combined financial resources may include financial records showing joint ownership of assets and joint responsibility for liabilities

-Evidence that you and your spouse have made estate, health and financial planning arrangements with each other

-Affidavits from third parties who have knowledge of the bona fides of your marital relationship."

Here's what we have as our response to the RFE:

-Cover letter detailing our situation to provide context.

-2014 IRS transcripts.

-New joint apartment lease in CT (2015 through 2016), which we are currently subleasing as a result of our moving back home temporarily for my husband's fellowship.

-More bank statements from our joint checking account, covering our submission of I751 until present. We did not have a joint bank account until summer 2013 (we were married in June 2012) because we were working to figure out the next steps, moving for his PhD, etc. We started seriously joining our finances and other stuff when we moved to CT.

-Three credit card accounts in which either my husband or I am the primary cardholder and the other is an authorized user on the account. We are requesting documentation from the banks verifying the authorized user in the account, but in the event that we do not receive the verification letters in time, we will include scans of our credit cards showing the same credit card number under our own names.

-Joint car insurance (I started owning a car in March 2015 and my car insurance shows that we are both insured since March and I had my insurance renewed for both of us through February 2016.

-Joint health insurance.

-Photos from our summer trip to Paris and Venice.

-Affidavit from my parents regarding our residence in their home for the year-long fellowship and from a college advisor/friend of my husband's.

- He will secure power of attorney for healthcare and authorize me (spouse).

Our deadline is Oct. 29. Things like children etc. are not applicable. But what else do you think we could or should include? Any suggestions would be very helpful! It's clear that USCIS would like to see more material for the initial period of our marriage, but given that we stayed with my parents in NY (again, as a convenience until my husband's PhD applications received a response one way or another that winter), there's not really a lot there. We had already provided evidence of travel, trips, etc. between June '12 and summer '13. Really our case gets a lot stronger after we moved to CT. How can we best address this?

Edited October 20, 2015 by SandM

[Sukie 1,460]

You write them a cover letter and you EXPLAIN what you have explained here...

From 20xx to 20xx we were both students and.....

We did not have joint accounts until 20xx because...

We moved in with xxxxx's parents from 20xx through 20xx because....

And then key your evidence to each of your statements.

I think a lack of a clear picture of the twists and turns of the (financial) relationship over time, and the related evidence over that time is the main reason people are getting RFEs.

I'll give you an example. I'm the USC. I've owned my house since 2002 - long before I met my spouse. She is not yet on the deed. We are waiting until she becomes a citizen, because as an LPR, she is not afforded the spousal benefit for home ownership. She is on the insurance for the house, but not on the deed. But she will be eventually. I will explain this in my cover letter so I don't get an RFE about why she is not on the deed!

So use your cover letter to explain the time frames and why you don't have evidence from parts of those time frames.

Good luck!

Sukie in NY

[SandM 0]

@ Sukie: Thanks very much! Yes, we will be sure to outline the relevant points in our cover letter.

@ Happy Chic: Thanks! We took our advice and are ensuring healthcare power of attorney for each other.

Please help out with any other suggestions or bits of advice. How does the fresh stack of financial documents + other materials look? Most of this is from between the time of our filing and the present, since the RFE does advise not repeating evidence/material.

[Stevephoto 230]

I think what you have looks good. How about adding life insurance policies and wills. TBoneX is known for the correct comment that wills are good for ROC, but better in life. Good luck!

[SandM 0]

@Happy Chic: Merci beaucoup. We had wondered if it matters that a few of these documents have been added recently, but it seems that would almost *have* to be the case since USCIS specifically looks for non-repeated additional evidence.

We'll draft the cover letter along with everything else mentioned, and hope for the best. My understanding is that if it isn't enough, they can require an interview? Have there been people on this forum who had removal proceedings initiated after a "failed" RFE?

[SandM 0]

Hey all,

Thanks so much for all the assistance so far--we're really grateful! Just a few last-moment questions before we send it off.

1. Is it fine if we FedEx overnight the RFE package? In a standard manila envelope?

2. There are no specific forms or payments due for the RFE, I think? Other than including the original RFE document from USCIS, that is.

3. Is it alright to provide copies of all our documents, or is there anything that we should send in the original? I think the prevailing advice is to send in copies, but just wanted to double-check.

Thanks again.