Simple I-130 Package Questions

[Camson 3]

Hello everyone! I'm in the middle of assembling my I-130 package for CR-1 Visa, choosing the best evidence, etc. but I have a few questions that I may just be overthinking but would like some clarification...

(I am a U.S. citizen in the states petitioning for wife living in Japan)

1.) According to the guide, under the "IMPORTANT" header it says: "All Forms that you submit must be originals with original signatures. Supporting Evidence that you submit may be photocopies."

Am I safe in assuming that I will send in original forms I-130, G-325a (plus photos required) etc., and "supporting evidence" will let me scan/print my birth certificate, as well as the evidence of a bonafide marriage I will be sending in? Just for the sake of keeping the package neat and orderly.

2.) If I choose to obtain affidavits of bona fides from family/friends, does it matter if its from my family or my spouses side? I know it's a weak form of evidence to begin with, but if it's my side I won't have to bother with translation and it will be easier to get notarized if necessary.

3.) Unrelated to the package, but my wife has 6 months after our marriage date to choose whether or not she will take my last name. For simplicity she was thinking of taking my name, but it may make her life a hassle while she's still living in Japan and we were wondering if it could become a hassle with the visa process if her name changed half-way through? The priority is living together ASAP so maybe we should wait on it?

I apologize if these kind of questions have been repeated before.. But I appreciate any advice you have to offer.

Thanks.

[daigo 39]

1) Yes.

2) It doesn't matter; affidavits can be supplied from members of either spouse's family.

3) It would probably be easier for her to keep her current name for now, but I don't know how quickly the name change process after marriage works in Japan. Someone else can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the DS-260 has to reflect the name in the applicant's passport. if she can easily take your name and have her passport updated quickly to reflect your name, then go with the name change.

After arriving in the U.S., she can use her marriage certificate as a name change document and get a SSC and DL with your last name.

[afortunada 182]

1) Yes.

2) It doesn't matter; affidavits can be supplied from members of either spouse's family.

3) It would probably be easier for her to keep her current name for now, but I don't know how quickly the name change process after marriage works in Japan. Someone else can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the DS-260 has to reflect the name in the applicant's passport. if she can easily take your name and have her passport updated quickly to reflect your name, then go with the name change.

After arriving in the U.S., she can use her marriage certificate as a name change document and get a SSC and DL with your last name.

^ Yep.

As an extra note, my lawyer advised on waiting until name change (for me, the USC petitioner) until my husband is in the U.S. as well. Having a name change in the middle of the process can potentially cause issues and delays and IMO is not worth the risk. Also, it does not make your marriage appear more bona-fide to have the same name, so don't let that influence your decision if you were thinking so

Like daigo said, though, if you think you can get everything changed quickly enough for her, it's perfectly acceptable, too.

[Camson 3]

Understood! Thanks for clarifying those points for me

[NikLR 13,227]

Hello everyone! I'm in the middle of assembling my I-130 package for CR-1 Visa, choosing the best evidence, etc. but I have a few questions that I may just be overthinking but would like some clarification...

(I am a U.S. citizen in the states petitioning for wife living in Japan)

1.) According to the guide, under the "IMPORTANT" header it says: "All Forms that you submit must be originals with original signatures. Supporting Evidence that you submit may be photocopies."

Am I safe in assuming that I will send in original forms I-130, G-325a (plus photos required) etc., and "supporting evidence" will let me scan/print my birth certificate, as well as the evidence of a bonafide marriage I will be sending in? Just for the sake of keeping the package neat and orderly.

2.) If I choose to obtain affidavits of bona fides from family/friends, does it matter if its from my family or my spouses side? I know it's a weak form of evidence to begin with, but if it's my side I won't have to bother with translation and it will be easier to get notarized if necessary.

3.) Unrelated to the package, but my wife has 6 months after our marriage date to choose whether or not she will take my last name. For simplicity she was thinking of taking my name, but it may make her life a hassle while she's still living in Japan and we were wondering if it could become a hassle with the visa process if her name changed half-way through? The priority is living together ASAP so maybe we should wait on it?

I apologize if these kind of questions have been repeated before.. But I appreciate any advice you have to offer.

Thanks.

1) correct.

2) No it doesn't matter nor does it need to be notarized

3) green card comes in visa name, visa is in passport name. If your wife wants to have her green card in her married vs maiden name, she should make sure her passport reflects this by interview. It's $450 to change the green card after the fact.

[Camson 3]

Apologies for the thread bump but I had another simple question about the I-130 cover letter.

I've seen great guides on cover letter format, but I couldn't find an answer on if the cover letter can be two pages or not...? It seems like I can't include the fully detailed contents of the package if it's only one page.

What would you suggest? Should I keep the content list brief or go full into detail?

Thanks again for your advice.

[afortunada 182]

Apologies for the thread bump but I had another simple question about the I-130 cover letter.

I've seen great guides on cover letter format, but I couldn't find an answer on if the cover letter can be two pages or not...? It seems like I can't include the fully detailed contents of the package if it's only one page.

What would you suggest? Should I keep the content list brief or go full into detail?

Thanks again for your advice.

That's totally fine. Our cover letter was three pages. Just make sure to keep your cover header on all three pages and number them. For example, the header on ours stated:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Re: Marriage-Based I-130 Petition

Beneficiary: Husband's first names LAST NAMES; DOB MM/DD/YYYY

USC Petitioner: My first name LAST NAME; DOB MM/DD/YYYY

Date of filing (ex. May 12, 2016)

Page # (for mine 1, 2, 3)

[NikLR 13,227]

Apologies for the thread bump but I had another simple question about the I-130 cover letter.

I've seen great guides on cover letter format, but I couldn't find an answer on if the cover letter can be two pages or not...? It seems like I can't include the fully detailed contents of the package if it's only one page.

What would you suggest? Should I keep the content list brief or go full into detail?

Thanks again for your advice.

Do you really need fully detailed? Saying "affidavit of support of relationship" is better than some lengthy explanation of who it is from and why. The cover letter is generally thrown out anyhow, don't fuss about it too much.

[Camson 3]

That's totally fine. Our cover letter was three pages. Just make sure to keep your cover header on all three pages and number them. For example, the header on ours stated:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Re: Marriage-Based I-130 Petition

Beneficiary: Husband's first names LAST NAMES; DOB MM/DD/YYYY

USC Petitioner: My first name LAST NAME; DOB MM/DD/YYYY

Date of filing (ex. May 12, 2016)

Page # (for mine 1, 2, 3)

I see! I had something similar to that in mind, thank you!

And to NLR, I guess I should have clarified on what I meant by fully detailed. I only meant to ask if it would be better to submit a cover letter that lists contents such as:

"9. Evidence of a bona-fide marriage"

as opposed to:

"9. Evidence of a bona-fide marriage"

a. brief explanation of our relationship

b. affidavit of support

c. selection of photographs from wedding, etc.

I guess I'm just sweating the small stuff at this point haha. But thank you for your replies!

[NikLR 13,227]

9 a b c etc is better. Mostly its for you to know what you sent.

[mbunband 2]

Hello everyone! I'm in the middle of assembling my I-130 package for CR-1 Visa, choosing the best evidence, etc. but I have a few questions that I may just be overthinking but would like some clarification...

(I am a U.S. citizen in the states petitioning for wife living in Japan)

1.) According to the guide, under the "IMPORTANT" header it says: "All Forms that you submit must be originals with original signatures. Supporting Evidence that you submit may be photocopies."

Am I safe in assuming that I will send in original forms I-130, G-325a (plus photos required) etc., and "supporting evidence" will let me scan/print my birth certificate, as well as the evidence of a bonafide marriage I will be sending in? Just for the sake of keeping the package neat and orderly.

2.) If I choose to obtain affidavits of bona fides from family/friends, does it matter if its from my family or my spouses side? I know it's a weak form of evidence to begin with, but if it's my side I won't have to bother with translation and it will be easier to get notarized if necessary.

3.) Unrelated to the package, but my wife has 6 months after our marriage date to choose whether or not she will take my last name. For simplicity she was thinking of taking my name, but it may make her life a hassle while she's still living in Japan and we were wondering if it could become a hassle with the visa process if her name changed half-way through? The priority is living together ASAP so maybe we should wait on it?

I apologize if these kind of questions have been repeated before.. But I appreciate any advice you have to offer.

Thanks.

1. Yes, that's correct. I am petitioning for my wife and daughter who are from Japan as well. I made the mistake of sending in my originals of everything since I was under the impression that USCIS would send it to the NVC (this didn't happen). My case was still recently approved at the NVC and told my wife to obtain originals again just to be safe even though the NVC stated I could provide a letter stating where the original documents were to the CO.

2. I believe that will suffice. Doesn't hurt if you can provide any pictures, travel itineraries if you or her visited each other, letters, etc. We had professional photos done, so I sent those in along with pictures with dates written on the back, boarding passes to correspond with travel, and letters we had written to each other. Also, for the cover letter, sub sections under the bonafide marriage explaining what each piece of evidence would help.

3. I understand where you are coming from with this since my wife kept her last name as well. As everyone else has been stating, it'd be best for your wife to keep it as is since changing it mid-process would probably affect it in some way.

Hopefully this helps. Best of luck!