Question About Explaining Evidence

[Kristina&Baz 0]

I'm about to send off our I-751, I'm just waiting on the IRS to send us our tax transcript for 2013 and I'll have everything ready to go.

However, I do feel a bit worried since I feel that our evidence falls a bit short. For example, we have no children (nor do we have plans to), we don't own a house, and we don't have any sort of life insurance policy together. To make up for this, I want to send a letter explaining our relationship and what we've been doing a lot for the last 2 years (mostly traveling a lot).

Here's the proof that we DO have:

• Cover letter explaining our relationship since our marriage

• Lease agreement from April 2014 - April 2015 showing joint residency of apartment

• Certificate of title for an RV bought in full jointly, which serves as our current residence

• Vehicle registration for RV showing joint registration

• Photographs taken together over the course of our marriage, documenting life events and time spent travelling since May 2013 (13 in total)

• Copy of 2013 federal tax transcript showing filing status as “Married” for 2013

• Copy of 2014 federal tax transcript showing filing status as “Married” for 2014

• Photocopies of driver’s license for USC and learner’s permit for beneficiary, showing shared current and previous addresses

• Copies of Chase bank account statements for petitioner and beneficiary, showing a joint account beginning in October 2013, and joint financial obligations and responsibility

• Photocopies of Visa credit card for both, showing a joint account, and joint financial obligations and responsibility

• Copy of Progressive automobile insurance card showing a joint automobile insurance policy on the RV

• Photocopies of Florida Blue health insurance cards showing a joint health insurance policy

In addition, this is the letter explaining our life since marriage, I'd love opinions and thoughts on it, if possible. Is it too wordy, too in-depth? I'm still on the fence about including the PS at the end, it's mostly as a measure of good will to try and give a deeper insight, though I'm not sure it's relevant since none of that evidence would end up in the package. In addition, I'm unsure as to how I should format this explanation letter.

Re: Our relationship since marriage, and basic explanation of evidence

The petitioner and I have been married since May 30, 2013. We had a simple City Hall wedding held in downtown Manhattan that was observed with close family members. We had a small lunch reception following this, after which we took a short honeymoon in Boston, MA (the first picture in our evidence is from this trip).

We lived in New York for the remainder of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, before seeking out a different lifestyle and moving to Orlando, FL in April 2014. During this time we rented an apartment for a year, went on two cruises (for our one year anniversary and for petitioner’s birthday) and getting to spend more time with my parents who live in Florida during the winter.

In 2015, we started wondering where we were going to be living after our lease ended. We did not want to go back to New York, but did not want to stay in Orlando (we learned that we are not Florida people!). We decided that instead of moving someplace else blindly, we would buy an RV and explore the US in it. In February, we bought an RV together and set off in April 2015 (this explains the lack of a lease since April 1). The majority of our pictures show us during our trip, which has been going on for about 6 months now.

Our trip has taken us from Florida, up into the Smoky Mountains, across the midwest, into Colorado and Yellowstone National Park, and we’re currently making our way down along the west coast as of this writing. Along the way we’ve adopted a dog, learned how to live in a tiny space together, and grown to realize that there’s no other people we could ever do this with besides each other.

We’ve travelled fifteen states so far, and are still undecided as to where we’ll end up. We’ve even talked about the possibility of heading back to New York, where we first met! All we know is that wherever we do settle down, we’ll be content and happy as long as we’re together.

Sincerely,

signed by petitioner and beneficiary

PS - It may seem untraditional to include this, but we have an Instagram account where we document our travels and sights. It’s at www.instagram.com/xxxxxxx and has other up-to-date pictures and insights into our lives.

Thank you all so much in advance!

Edited October 29, 2015 by Penguin_ie

[Cheezees 1,514]

Hello,

I don't think you need a letter "explaining" your relationship at all. Also, not everyone has children, life insurance, or a house together so don't sweat it. Your evidence looks solid enough. Good luck!

[Kristina&Baz 0]

Thank you so much for the kind words!

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

You have good evidence. For what it's worth, my husband and I sailed

through ROC even though we did NOT have:

Same last names

House titled in both names

Utilities in both names

Joint health insurance

Children together

Any work related beneficiary status for each other

I attached a signed statement in the evidence section with a short explanation why the house and utilities were in my name only, why we could not share health insurance, and why I chose not to change my name, etc. It wasn't a letter or beautiful narrative, but just reasoning for lack of their suggested evidence. (My reason was that I was a widowed and it took me over a year to get the house title, property taxes, and utilities transferred to my name and I chose not to go through that extreme hassle again to add my new husband. And my health insurance was provided to me as a surviving spouse by my former husband's employer. I could not add another person). I thought a short explanation let them know not to ask for those things in an RFE because I didn't have them and had no plans to get them. Apparently they were satisfied with the many things I did send.

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

****** Op edited to remove full names. For your own safety and privacy, please never post online/ publicly your full names, case or phone numbers, email or postal addresses. ********

[Villanelle 4,122]

Well I disagree with Cheeze- not about the quality of your evidence but about needing the letter of explanation.

Everyone has a different lifestyle therefore there is no one size fits all when it comes to evidence. There are plenty of lists online stating things you can submit, but again not all of it applies to all couples.

ROC evidence traditionally include Financial (assets and liabilities) and Personal relationship (photographs, affidavits, kids). A good ROC submission will include both. Your evidence seems to cover both but ONLY when combined with your explanation. Because looking at just the list the first thing that jumps out is the apartment lease doesnt cover the full marriage. How are they suppose to know you currently live in the RV so thats why the lease stopped? Just because you showed proof of owning one? LOL> Immigration doesnt like to and shouldnt have to connect the dots.

IMO if you send it with out the letter of explanation you will get an RFE along the lines of no proof submitted covering entire period of marriage such as leases, home ownership etc. You'll just end up submitting the letter of explanation then. So why wait? On that note where were you from May 13 (marriage) until the lease April 14? A lease in your name only? Did you not put him on the existing lease or was it a home you owned? Try to avoid having gaps.

Otherwise the letter is well written. Simple and direct. The instagram at the end is very much worth including. They can access things online so they may take a look at it, however they wont review flash drives/CDs. So submitting the instagram gives them a way of verifying your story (we live in an RV and travel). You can address the letter to USCIS. Dont forget to include a copy of the GC.

[TBoneTX 46,194]

Despite your lack of property ownership et al., consider crafting wills, medical powers of attorney, and similar documents. These make excellent evidence for ROC, and they're even more crucial to have in "life."

[Cheezees 1,514]

Well I disagree with Cheeze- not about the quality of your evidence but about needing the letter of explanation.

Everyone has a different lifestyle therefore there is no one size fits all when it comes to evidence. There are plenty of lists online stating things you can submit, but again not all of it applies to all couples.

ROC evidence traditionally include Financial (assets and liabilities) and Personal relationship (photographs, affidavits, kids). A good ROC submission will include both. Your evidence seems to cover both but ONLY when combined with your explanation. Because looking at just the list the first thing that jumps out is the apartment lease doesnt cover the full marriage. How are they suppose to know you currently live in the RV so thats why the lease stopped? Just because you showed proof of owning one? LOL> Immigration doesnt like to and shouldnt have to connect the dots.

IMO if you send it with out the letter of explanation you will get an RFE along the lines of no proof submitted covering entire period of marriage such as leases, home ownership etc. You'll just end up submitting the letter of explanation then. So why wait? On that note where were you from May 13 (marriage) until the lease April 14? A lease in your name only? Did you not put him on the existing lease or was it a home you owned? Try to avoid having gaps.

Otherwise the letter is well written. Simple and direct. The instagram at the end is very much worth including. They can access things online so they may take a look at it, however they wont review flash drives/CDs. So submitting the instagram gives them a way of verifying your story (we live in an RV and travel). You can address the letter to USCIS. Dont forget to include a copy of the GC.

Good catch! I didn't notice the lapse in living arrangements!

[Kristina&Baz 0]

A lease in your name only? Did you not put him on the existing lease or was it a home you owned? Try to avoid having gaps.

Thank you so much for pointing this out!! I did not put him on the lease because the living situation was strange - myself and a former co-worker split a lease because NYC is incredibly expensive and income proof trumps all (something my partner and I couldn't provide due to him not having tax records in the US). There was a space to put him in, but that starts raising red flags since you legally can't have more than three unrelated people living in an apartment together, so we didn't want to risk it with the rental company.

I'll be sure to make a note of it.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Errr.. okay so lets see...

The best and really only policy when it comes to USCIS is to be completely honest. With that said there are ways to do that with out shooting yourself in the foot. I mean Im reading here I didnt put my husband on the lease because 3 unrelated people living together raises flags. So we purposely omitted him from lease documents. Yikes. Theres got to be a better way to word that because that sounds mighty suspicious. I mean if Im the adjudicating officer reading that Im thinking what else are these people omitting because it causes a red flag? Are you dishonest? Are you into bending laws? And how is that 3 unrelated people when 2 are married?

So you have to find a balance between being transparent in disclosing the facts and painting yourself as someone who can be corrupt. I would think (if possible) a letter from the ex-roommate saying he lived there with you as a married couple and mail or other proof of that being his address along with your statement should be sufficient. You dont have to get into the explanation of why you never added him to the lease- simply say you currently held that lease- you had it for X amount of time before he arrived/you got married/moved in together and it ran until X date (Im assuming Apr 14) and while he wasnt added you are submitting proof of co-habitation for that period.

I really really doubt they will hone in and harass you about the "why" he wasnt added. It seems all the AOS paperwork went to that address and he was approved with no issue of them thinking he wasnt physically present there! But if they do get picky-you have the logical explanation that he was unable to pass the credit/background check due to not having taxes etc etc. A question like this would really only come up in an interview and most ROCs are approved with out.

Its pretty much expected for them to ask during the adjudication for items covering the entire marriage so submit it all at the very beginning. Its very common to see postings about RFEs for specifically that. By being proactive (submitting proof of joint addresses for the entire marriage) you can eliminate them asking for it in an RFE.

If you reword it some of the verb tenses change as well...

We lived in New York for the remainder of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 at XXX location in an apartment lease I had since (either) XXXdate / (or simply) before we were married and while Husband name was not added to the lease we are submitting documents for proof of co-habitation for that time. At the conclusion of my lease / (or) I was able to break the lease (?) in April 2014, we sought out a different lifestyle and moved to Orlando. During this time we rented an apartment for a year at XXX....

[Kristina&Baz 0]

Errr.. okay so lets see...

The best and really only policy when it comes to USCIS is to be completely honest. With that said there are ways to do that with out shooting yourself in the foot. I mean Im reading here I didnt put my husband on the lease because 3 unrelated people living together raises flags. So we purposely omitted him from lease documents. Yikes. Theres got to be a better way to word that because that sounds mighty suspicious. I mean if Im the adjudicating officer reading that Im thinking what else are these people omitting because it causes a red flag? Are you dishonest? Are you into bending laws? And how is that 3 unrelated people when 2 are married?

So you have to find a balance between being transparent in disclosing the facts and painting yourself as someone who can be corrupt. I would think (if possible) a letter from the ex-roommate saying he lived there with you as a married couple and mail or other proof of that being his address along with your statement should be sufficient. You dont have to get into the explanation of why you never added him to the lease- simply say you currently held that lease- you had it for X amount of time before he arrived/you got married/moved in together and it ran until X date (Im assuming Apr 14) and while he wasnt added you are submitting proof of co-habitation for that period.

I really really doubt they will hone in and harass you about the "why" he wasnt added. It seems all the AOS paperwork went to that address and he was approved with no issue of them thinking he wasnt physically present there! But if they do get picky-you have the logical explanation that he was unable to pass the credit/background check due to not having taxes etc etc. A question like this would really only come up in an interview and most ROCs are approved with out.

Its pretty much expected for them to ask during the adjudication for items covering the entire marriage so submit it all at the very beginning. Its very common to see postings about RFEs for specifically that. By being proactive (submitting proof of joint addresses for the entire marriage) you can eliminate them asking for it in an RFE.

If you reword it some of the verb tenses change as well...

We lived in New York for the remainder of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 at XXX location in an apartment lease I had since (either) XXXdate / (or simply) before we were married and while Husband name was not added to the lease we are submitting documents for proof of co-habitation for that time. At the conclusion of my lease / (or) I was able to break the lease (?) in April 2014, we sought out a different lifestyle and moved to Orlando. During this time we rented an apartment for a year at XXX....

You're absolutely right on this. It does sound super fishy, and I don't mean for it to come across as such. I think it's mostly that the lease was signed before we got married (and we weren't planning on getting married at that point yet) and while my husband was on the scene only a couple of months later, my roommate's girlfriend was also living there at the start (which is why it would end up being more than 3 people, all with different last names).

What I'm going to do is submit his driver's license from that time, along with a copy of the lease showing the same address and my name + signature on it. I wish I could show my learner's permit as well, but the Florida DMV had me trade it in when I switched out for a Florida learner's license. Didn't do that with him when he switched his driver's license, for some reason though.

Your explanation is pretty much perfect though, and answers all the questions without getting into unnecessary detail.