Evidance to show marital relationship advice for I-130

[turbocomppro 3]

So we've been married a few years and I've been living with my wife in China since 2009, married on 2012. We honestly don't keep much records of anything because we simply did not on planning to move to the United States. We kept everything separate for the sake of convenience. This is China and adding a foreigner to something is rather a complicated process which we tried to avoid. Everything is in either her name or mine, but never both. So no bills, bank accounts, lease, car, house, etc that have both our names on it.

So with that said, what can I provide? I have provided many photos from different times of us together going to places. She looks very different on most of them. Some long hair, some shot hair, some curly, some strait. And of course, you can see us both aged a little.

I can also provide plane ticket records that we've traveled together. We traveled back to her home town quite a few times. I'd say averaged once a year. I also have Alipay records showing she transfers money to me, and me to her for various things such as paying for bills and running our business.

Other then those, we don't have other records that I can think of. Since we live together, we don't email or make long distance calls. Is it possible to include a letter explaining why we don't have many records? As I said, we didn't plan on moving back when we first got together and so we weren't careful in keeping any records. Heck, we didn't even hire a photographer for our banquet. We're not those "lovie dovie" type couples. We don't need to have both names on everything nor even give each other gifts on birthdays and holidays. We celebrate them of course, but no gifts required.

Anyway, that's it for now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edited March 2, 2016 by turbocomppro

[teeak 224]

Provide whatever evidence you have and can gather. Do you both have life insurance/wills?

Also, are you a resident of China? If so, you can do DCF: http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/i-130-petition-for-alien-relative.html

[turbocomppro 3]

No life insurance or wills. I'm 42 and she's 36 so not really at a point to write our wills yet. As for insurance, my wife helped me purchased a type that is like a savings insurance where after xx years I will get the money back with interest AND it pays like 60% of any medical bills. The insurance policy is a few years old as well and it's active. I just asked her and she said she is the beneficiary! yay! So I guess I will include that. THANKS!

Yes, I did do a DCF. This required a Temporary Residency Permit which was a real PITA to get. I filed at the US Embassy in Guangzhou in person.

Anything else you all can think of that's "out of the norm," please do let me know... thanks again...

Edited March 2, 2016 by turbocomppro

[teeak 224]

You never know when life will throw a curveball so maybe having a general/premature will made could be something you both can talk about. Even though the bills, lease bank etc. are in either yours or her name it might still be a good idea to include it. You can show that you both are living in the same place as a married couple and have the same address.

Did you file US tax returns as married? That would be another good piece of evidence. I don't know how taxes work in China but, is there an official piece of tax document saying you both are married?

[turbocomppro 3]

No. We did not file taxes in China. And I only filed as single for my US Tax because, naturally, my wife isn't a US citizen or legal alien for that matter. Should /Can I still file as married?

Unlike the US, we don't really update our address here with banks or cell phone companies. The most important for them is the telephone number. However, we have purchased stuff from Taobao and have it shipped to the same address. I guess I can use those.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

The CO interviewing you will understand the difficulties foreigners face in China, so you will have that in your favor. You also have proof of living together for 7 years (separate bills, but to the same address etc), and that will count for much.

[teeak 224]

No. We did not file taxes in China. And I only filed as single for my US Tax because, naturally, my wife isn't a US citizen or legal alien for that matter. Should /Can I still file as married? Unlike the US, we don't really update our address here with banks or cell phone companies. The most important for them is the telephone number. However, we have purchased stuff from Taobao and have it shipped to the same address. I guess I can use those.

You can file as married filing separately. You can just get an ITIN for your wife: https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/General-ITIN-Information

and its only for tax purposes.

[turbocomppro 3]

 

You can file as married filing separately. You can just get an ITIN for your wife: https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/General-ITIN-Information

and its only for tax purposes.

 

I see, well I will certainly look into it for the future. But if everything goes well, we will probably be in the US by year end or early next year (finger's crossed).

Thanks again you all for the info. I will try to keep this updated and let you all know how it goes.

[teeak 224]

Yep, DCF is a fairly quick process! Best of luck!

[turbocomppro 3]

Another quick question: I have some Alipay transactions that shows we transfer funds back and forth. The pages are of course in Chinese. Does this need to be translated? If it does, can I do t myself? I also have records of plane tickets we purchased in Taobao that we traveled together. Do those need translations as well?

[Thesmiths2016 117]

If you feel you don't have sufficient evidence, supply all you can PLUS affidavits/stat decs from friends and family about your relationship ... basically them verifying it's real. They should only be used "in addition to" evidence though so definitely collect up all you can. Even when you've gone to events together that you have tickets for, joint bank account statements showing transactions (if you have one), etc. Think outside the box like did you formalise your "in a relationship" on facebook and have you been tagged in a bunch of photos? I can't recall how to access it now but there is a way to display your relationship history on fb which you can print out. We did that for a spousal visa here in australia.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

No life insurance or wills. I'm 42 and she's 36 so not really at a point to write our wills yet. ..

Please please please consider revising this way of thinking. You never know what could happen. Especially with children it's important

[teeak 224]

Another quick question: I have some Alipay transactions that shows we transfer funds back and forth. The pages are of course in Chinese. Does this need to be translated? If it does, can I do t myself? I also have records of plane tickets we purchased in Taobao that we traveled together. Do those need translations as well?

You should be okay since, for visa interviews, NVC states:

All documents not in English, or in the official language of the country in which application for a visa is being made, must be accompanied by certified translations. The translation must include a statement signed by the translator that states that the:

• Translation is accurate, and,
• Translator is competent to translate.

[turbocomppro 3]

Please please please consider revising this way of thinking. You never know what could happen. Especially with children it's important

Luckily, we both decided to not have any Children. I know it's rare in China but this is one reason why she's my wife!

<p>

You should be okay since, for visa interviews, NVC states:

All documents not in English, or in the official language of the country in which application for a visa is being made, must be accompanied by certified translations. The translation must include a statement signed by the translator that states that the:

• Translation is accurate, and,
• Translator is competent to translate.

So I guess I just need to type up a page stating that I am competent to translate and the translation is accurate, then sign it myself, correct? Edited April 21, 2016 by turbocomppro

[teeak 224]

But your documents are in the official language of the country, hence no translation is necessary.

If you want to be safe, you could go ahead and and just translate yourself. http://www.visajourney.com/content/translations