A few questions regarding I-130 petition (file version, passport, birth certificate and proof)

[azeemguy 4]

Hello guys, first of all great forum and thank you to everybody for their contribution and valuable input as it is a big help to anybody looking for assistance with their cases.

Little Background :

I am a Canadian citizen (was born and raised in Saudi Arabia and also have Pakistani citizenship) living in Toronto at the moment. My wife is in Houston, TX and she is a US citizen (previously Pakistani citizenship). Got married in Toronto about 8 years ago and didn’t get around putting in the paper work due to some family issues until now. I am putting together my package for the I-130 petition for the IR-1 visa for myself so my wife can sponsor me.

I have a few questions pertaining to filing the petition and would appreciate your assistance :

Q1 : When filling in I-130 petition form I see on the top right “OMB No. 1615-0012; Expires 12/31/2015”. Does that mean that, that form version will not be accepted ? or do I have to wait for a newer one to be posted online ?

Q2 : Just want to verify the Passport/Birth Certificate requirements for filing the petition. Is below accurate? :

Petitioner (my wife) :

• Passport – Only Bio page is required to establish citizenship
• Birth Certificate – Not required (may be asked at later stage)

Beneficiary (myself) :

• Passport – Not required (may be asked at later stage)
• Birth Certificate – Not required (may be asked at later stage)

Q3 : With regards to evidence for bona fide marriage, I have a lot of them and I know that too much of it is not good. Can you guys please provide feedback as to what should I include and what not to include? My goal is quality and not quantity:

Background:

• Do I really need to provide any background or future plans ?

Marital proof:

• Copy of the marriage certificate in Toronto, Canada.
• Copy of the divorce decree for my wife.

Financial intermingling proof:

• Copy of the 2 power attorneys I provided over the years when my wife was selling a couple of houses in USA.
• Copy of bank statements from last 6 months from the joint checking account in Canada.
• Copy of bank statements from last 6 months from Canadian visa card my wife uses in USA.
• Copy of the internet service bill in Canada for last 6 months for my wife.
• Copy of my USA checking account bank statements for last 6 months showing wife’s address.
• Copy of Beneficiary summary from work in Canada showing Wife and step-daughter as dependants and their names in the life insurance and accidental death.

Photographs proof :

• A few (like 5-6) photographs of the court marriage ceremony.
• A few photographs (like around 20-30 in total) of each time when I visited USA or when my wife and step-daughter visited Canada.
• Copy of family portrait (like 3-4) of myself, wife, step-daughter and her parents.

Communication proof :

• Copy of skype call logs for last 6 months when calling my wife.
• Copy of phone logs from my wife’s phone call history for last 6 months when she called me.

Travel proof :

• Copy of e-Tickets, boarding passes and parking when I travelled to USA
• Copy of e-Tickets when my wife and step daughter travelled to Canada.
• Copy of my passports (will be 1 Canadian and a couple of expired Pakistani) showing stamps.
• Copy of my wife’s US passport showing stamps.
• Copy of my step-daughter’s US passport showing stamps.

Affidavits :

• Notarized affidavit statement from my father in law about the knowledge of the marriage.
• Notarized affidavit statement from my mother in law about the knowledge of the marriage.

I know that I am asking a lot of questions so please bear with me. Just want to make sure that I do this properly. Again, your feedback is greatly appreciated !

Edited February 5, 2016 by azeemguy

[JFH 12,190]

It's your wife that files the petition for you, just to clear that up. Although you can prepare everything, do all the photocopying, printing, etc, it will be her that signs it.

Here are your answers.

1. That version is the one to use.

2. Correct. Just the bio page from your wife's passport or her naturalisation certificate. Nothing for you at this stage.

3. Sounds good - more than we had.

[Kastrs 723]

Hello guys, first of all great forum and thank you to everybody for their contribution and valuable input as it is a big help to anybody looking for assistance with their cases.

Little Background :

I am a Canadian citizen (was born and raised in Saudi Arabia and also have Pakistani citizenship) living in Toronto at the moment. My wife is in Houston, TX and she is a US citizen (previously Pakistani citizenship). Got married in Toronto about 8 years ago and didn’t get around putting in the paper work due to some family issues until now. I am putting together my package for the I-130 petition for the IR-1 visa for myself so my wife can sponsor me.

I have a few questions pertaining to filing the petition and would appreciate your assistance :

Q1 : When filling in I-130 petition form I see on the top right “OMB No. 1615-0012; Expires 12/31/2015”. Does that mean that, that form version will not be accepted ? or do I have to wait for a newer one to be posted online ?

Use this version of the form, unless/until another more recent version is available

Q2 : Just want to verify the Passport/Birth Certificate requirements for filing the petition. Is below accurate? :

Petitioner (my wife) :

• Passport – Only Bio page is required to establish citizenship You need to provide a complete copy from the front to the back of her passport to establish citizenship
• Birth Certificate – Not required (may be asked at later stage)

Beneficiary (myself) :

• Passport – Not required (may be asked at later stage)
• Birth Certificate – Not required (may be asked at later stage)

Q3 : With regards to evidence for bona fide marriage, I have a lot of them and I know that too much of it is not good. Can you guys please provide feedback as to what should I include and what not to include? My goal is quality and not quantity:

Background:

• Do I really need to provide any background or future plans ? No, although a brief statement from your wife which would include some of that info could be helpful

Marital proof:

• Copy of the marriage certificate in Toronto, Canada.
• Copy of the divorce decree for my wife.

Financial intermingling proof:

• Copy of the 2 power attorneys I provided over the years when my wife was selling a couple of houses in USA.
• Copy of bank statements from last 6 months from the joint checking account in Canada.
• Copy of bank statements from last 6 months from Canadian visa card my wife uses in USA.
• Copy of the internet service bill in Canada for last 6 months for my wife.
• Copy of my USA checking account bank statements for last 6 months showing wife’s address.
• Copy of Beneficiary summary from work in Canada showing Wife and step-daughter as dependants and their names in the life insurance and accidental death.

Photographs proof :

• A few (like 5-6) photographs of the court marriage ceremony.
• A few photographs (like around 20-30 in total) of each time when I visited USA or when my wife and step-daughter visited Canada.
• Copy of family portrait (like 3-4) of myself, wife, step-daughter and her parents.

Communication proof :

• Copy of skype call logs for last 6 months when calling my wife.
• Copy of phone logs from my wife’s phone call history for last 6 months when she called me.

Travel proof :

• Copy of e-Tickets, boarding passes and parking when I travelled to USA
• Copy of e-Tickets when my wife and step daughter travelled to Canada.
• Copy of my passports (will be 1 Canadian and a couple of expired Pakistani) showing stamps.
• Copy of my wife’s US passport showing stamps.
• Copy of my step-daughter’s US passport showing stamps.

Affidavits : Forget these, you have other better evidence

• Notarized affidavit statement from my father in law about the knowledge of the marriage.
• Notarized affidavit statement from my mother in law about the knowledge of the marriage.

I know that I am asking a lot of questions so please bear with me. Just want to make sure that I do this properly. Again, your feedback is greatly appreciated !

[azeemguy 4]

Thanks JFH and Kastrs for your feedback.

I just want to make sure that I am not giving "too much" evidence as it looks a lot to me

Any other comments from members are welcomed.

[mallafri76 1,012]

Looks good but ditch the affidavits, as you have plenty of bona fida evidence as it is.

Good luck on your visa journey.

[azeemguy 4]

Thanks all for your feedback . I'll try to add as much evidence as possible from my list.