New member in need of advice! I-130

[Evee 1]

Hi I'm new to the forum and in need of any advice that you guys may have. A bit about me.. I married the love of my life last year in Bangladesh and have since returned to the United States as my visa was only for 3 months. He has never been here in the United States and remains in Bangladesh. Since my return I have done a bit of research on how I can start this process of getting my husband here with me and was told to start by filing a i130 form along with 2 g325a forms. I printed all of the forms and my husband also printed a g325a to fill out and parcel to me since his signature is required on the form for him. I've gathered copies of our birth certificates, our most recent passports, marriage certificate translated to English, passport sized photos to go with the g325a forms, wedding photos etc. I'm lacking a few things such as affidavits of bona-fide marriage (working on getting but unsure how exactly they're expected to be or requirements), letter from the translator of documents we had translated, and we don't have an 'a number' to provide. Is the translation letter mandatory? Will not having an 'a number' affect things? Any tips on the affidavits or advice on other steps I need to take or what's the next step after I file the i130? My only want in this world is to not have to be apart from my husband anymore so any advice and information on this process I'm beginning would be greatly appreciated.

[Kastrs 723]

Hi I'm new to the forum and in need of any advice that you guys may have. A bit about me.. I married the love of my life last year in Bangladesh and have since returned to the United States as my visa was only for 3 months. He has never been here in the United States and remains in Bangladesh. Since my return I have done a bit of research on how I can start this process of getting my husband here with me and was told to start by filing a i130 form along with 2 g325a forms. I printed all of the forms and my husband also printed a g325a to fill out and parcel to me since his signature is required on the form for him. I've gathered copies of our birth certificates, our most recent passports, marriage certificate translated to English, passport sized photos to go with the g325a forms, wedding photos etc. I'm lacking a few things such as affidavits of bona-fide marriage (working on getting but unsure how exactly they're expected to be or requirements), Do not bother with these affidavits letter from the translator of documents we had translated, and we don't have an 'a number' to provide. Is the translation letter mandatory If you are providing translated documents, it is necessary to have a statement from the translator stating that they are fluent in both languages and competent to translate and it should be signed and dated? Will not having an 'a number' affect things Of course not, no one has an A number during initial filing ? Any tips on the affidavits or advice on other steps I need to take or what's the next step after I file the i130? My only want in this world is to not have to be apart from my husband anymore so any advice and information on this process I'm beginning would be greatly appreciated.

Good proof to provide will be any tickets or passport stamps you have from visiting him, money transfer receipts if you have them, and proof of ongoing communication from before your marriage until now-fb chats, whats app chats, ect

After you assemble your package and mail it (dont forget to include the fee) you need to wait for USCIS to approve your petition ~5 months, then its on to the NVC

Read the guides to familiarize yourself with everything

[outkasst 2]

With i130

For bona-fide marriage :

1. Send pictures of your marriage ceremony( a couple of pictures where it shows your husbands family and yourself together would be good)

2. Send call logs(ph calls) , you can ask your husband to prepare a letter from one of the relatives that were present at the marriage to confirm that it was a legitimate marriage

You dont need any translation since all the marriage document can be obtained in ENGLISH in bangladesh. Since these are in english you DONT need a translation.

1. Marriage certifcate in English (Can be obtained fro kazi office in BANGLADESH)

2. Nikah-nama in English can be obtained.

3. Your husbands birth certificate in english can be obtained in Bangladesh)

4. If there are any prior divorce, that also can be obtained in English in Bangladesh)

Just ask your husband to send GOOD scanned photocopy of these documents to you by e-mail. You need only his signature on his g325 , looks like you already have it.

Thats all you need to file i-130.You dont need any original documents , just photocopy is enough which he can scan out to you. You dont need ANY translation since everything can be obtained in english version in bangladesh.

Hope this is clear..

thx

[TBoneTX 45,831]

Welcome to the forum.

[Evee 1]

Thank you so much for your responses and helping clear up some of my confusion. It will be difficult to get phone records but I can likely dig up some history of calls, texts, & video chatting through fb, Skype, and viber and possibly one outstanding bill from when viber and whatsapp were banned in Bangladesh. I am a bit worried I won't be able to dig up enough or go far enough back since new phone obtained at the end of 2014 I lost all of our texts from before Dec 2014. We will get a letter from a relative that attended our wedding also - once again thank you so much for your responses.

[outkasst 2]

Thank you so much for your responses and helping clear up some of my confusion. It will be difficult to get phone records but I can likely dig up some history of calls, texts, & video chatting through fb, Skype, and viber and possibly one outstanding bill from when viber and whatsapp were banned in Bangladesh. I am a bit worried I won't be able to dig up enough or go far enough back since new phone obtained at the end of 2014 I lost all of our texts from before Dec 2014. We will get a letter from a relative that attended our wedding also - once again thank you so much for your responses.

1. A few picture that shows the marriage ceremony (Or even with your husbands family should be good enough)

2. A letter from a close relative that attended the ceremony(with your husbands relatives passport number and ph number on the letter)

This should be enough.. Adding viber/whatsapp call logs just streanghtens your case. You do not need to do this.

Let me know if any other questions..

[Pitaya 2,577]

Welcome to the forum.

[Bharat stha 0]

Welcome to the forum.

Hi

Every one. I am green card holder from Nepal and I have applied i130 for my wife. I am wondering how long the whole process takes. And I even hear the rumor of the processing time being less than before. Please help me with the information or experience you guys have . And do I have to do it through lawyer?

Thank you

[Evee 1]

Thank you & everyone for your responses and welcomes. I do have a few more questions regarding the letter from a relative that attended our wedding - must it be notarized? I have asked my husband's cousin (that is like a sister) that came to Bangladesh from London to attend our wedding to write one since most of my husband's relatives struggle in English, but his cousin is fluent in English. She was more than happy to write one, but wanted to know how to address the letter if "dear sir/madam" was fine? Thank you once again for taking the time to clear up my confusions!

[outkasst 2]

Thank you & everyone for your responses and welcomes. I do have a few more questions regarding the letter from a relative that attended our wedding - must it be notarized? I have asked my husband's cousin (that is like a sister) that came to Bangladesh from London to attend our wedding to write one since most of my husband's relatives struggle in English, but his cousin is fluent in English. She was more than happy to write one, but wanted to know how to address the letter if "dear sir/madam" was fine? Thank you once again for taking the time to clear up my confusions!

Hi,

I am giving a sample, you can add onto it.. Just put it within one page and dont add too many details. The person giving you the reference should put his/her contact number along with passport number(I dont see a reason why anyone would disagree on this since the person has personal knowledge about the marriage)..

Date: mm/dd/2011

Name (name as in passport)

Passport number:

Address:

Tel:

To whom it may concern:

I, xxxxx was born on Month xx, xxxx in place, xxxx District, State, Country. My address is xxxxx.

Mr . is my ………., born on in Dhaka, Bangladesh to

I know --------- personally

How the marriage/relationship started and got into a marriage: 2/3 lines

How the person providing the affidavit knows you?

* Was that person a witness to the marriage?

*I have the personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship

Sincerely,

*Signature*

Sworn and subscribed to before me this _____day of month…………., 2016.

Notary

[Evee 1]

Thank you so much! I just sent her a text showing the example of how to write it and told her also to keep it within one page. She said she would send it by Saturday so looks like I may have my i130 and evidence ready to send in soon! She's in almost all of our photos too which is a plus. I asked her if she could attach a copy of her airline tickets from when she traveled to attend our wedding also - is that too much or will that be good to help further provide proof of her being witness? Once again thank you so much for your help!

[hellraiser 42]

Hello,

Assuming you are USC, I would recommend that follow the documents list that is on the I-130 instruction as the bare minimum. For the reference someone (preferably two relatives from each side) from Bangladesh can send copy of notarized document on a govt stamp. That's common over there. For I-130, USCIS will basically try to determine the authenticity of the marriage and privide additional documents, whatever you can, apart form the bare minimum. If you are an USC the approval may take 3 - 6 months but can get further delayed if there is any hole with your documentation. You would want to avoid RFE from USCIS as its just wastage of time. And finally don't expect this process to be perfect and anything can happen. Also starting from now you can start read about the NVC process and start collecting necessary documents while you will be waiting for I-130 approval.

Good luck

[Evee 1]

Thank you for your response! Out of curiosity what else would be wise to include other than what the list asks for and the letters & photos? I definitely want to avoid rfe so do you have any tips on how I can avoid it?

[outkasst 2]

Nothing else.. just keep it simple and precise and send only the documents they asked, photocopies are enough on the documents side..

thx

[Evee 1]

Thank you very much once again.

As soon as I send everything off I'll make a timeline and prepare for the next step in case things go fine with step one. I can't thank you all enough for sharing your knowledge and answering my questions.

I have been so tensed and worried about not doing things properly. When is the best time for me to go back to Bangladesh? After I hear back from the uscis or after step 2? I really want to go back as soon as possible to be with my husband, but I also don't want to go back too soon if anything further is required of me here in usa.