Evidence of a bonafide marriage + Other info from foreigner

[neoseo1300 0]

Hi everyone,

I know this topic has been discussed in the past but it seems that rules change from time to time and I would like your confirmation and opinion.

My wife (us citizen) and me (french citizen) are currently preparing our package for I130 - CR1 visa and I have a few questions:

1. It seems that they don't request any legal paper from the foreigner at this stage of the process (no birth certificate, passport, ID, etc,) like they used to in the past, do you confirm ? Should I send a photocpo of my birth certificate just in case ?

2. My wife and I are young adults (27 and 25 years old) and we have no strong evidence of a bonafide marriage (i.e no joint property, no shared bank account, and no kid yet, etc.. you see the picture of young people). I understand that in that case, my only option is to provide information such as photos of our engagement, of our different trips, plane tickets, conversations etc.. Do you know how much information should be provided (I could put all our photos from vacations, and our skype logs for the last 2 years but i don't think they would appreciate having too much pages of raw data like that) ? So basically, How much info is clearly not enough and how much is way too much ?

3. Apart from photos, tickets, etc, they say we can provide affidavits from third parties. Can any third party be elected for that ? (family members ? friends ?etc). Are they worth something ? And most importantly, do the letters have to be notarized or a signed document is enough ?

Thanks in advance for your help and sorry if the question has already been asked. I just want to be really sure of what i'm doing.

Nicolas

[JFH 12,190]

1. Correct. At this stage no birth certificate or passport details/copies are required for the immigrant. The I-130 stage is all about the petitioner and whether he or she is able to petition for a visa for you.

2. Many people are in this situation, young and old. Most of us here have not lived together so have no joint property or bank accounts. Don't worry. Focus on evidence of time spent together. Passport stamps, tickets, hotel receipts, photos of the two of you together and with each othet's family. You're never to young to write a will and name each other as your beneficiary. Anything can happen. Don't overdo it with emails and chat messages. They don't want to spend hours going through pages and pages of flirty talk such as "I love you" and "you're so cute". It doesn't provide evidence of a bona fide marriage. Send a sample of conversations over a period of time that shows you have ongoing communication like any other married couple. I sent messages where we talked about work, money, health, what to buy someone for their birthday, where to spend thanksgiving, what colour curtains to buy for the bedroom, etc. I also sent ones where we had a minor disagreement and how we worked it out. I also included cards sent to both of us as a couple.

3. Affidavits from friends and family carry very little weight. Don't bother with them if you have plenty of evidence of time spent together.

Relax. You're going through a very easy embassy so you don't need to over-think the process.

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

Depending on embassy

i had to send in all originals at this stage

you are doing CR 1 for spouse although site says K1

so you do need marriage certificate and translation into English

[JFH 12,190]

Depending on embassy

i had to send in all originals at this stage

The I-130 instructions make no distinction between embassies. It says "copy of marriage certificate" on page 2. If you sent the original to USCIS, what did you send to NVC or take to the embassy?

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-130instr.pdf

[neoseo1300 0]

Thanks for your answers.

Adil: I got married in the US so I don't need a translation.

Regarding the documents, if I'm not mistaken, it is specifically said that USCIS does not request originals of documents and that photocopies are good enough a this stage so it's a bit weird. You have to provide originals at a later stage or if they make the specific request.

Thanks again for the help

[JFH 12,190]

Thanks for your answers.

Adil: I got married in the US so I don't need a translation.

Regarding the documents, if I'm not mistaken, it is specifically said that USCIS does not request originals of documents and that photocopies are good enough a this stage so it's a bit weird. You have to provide originals at a later stage or if they make the specific request.

Thanks again for the help

You are not mistaken. USCIS does not require originals of any civil documents at this stage. Maybe they did in the past, I don't know. But as of now, November 2016, copies only are required by USCIS.

[neoseo1300 0]

Another question regarding the evidence of bona fide relationship. Is there a specific way personal photos have to be sent ? Do they have to be printed like real photos (i.e by a professional service) or can I just add digital files into a word document explaining each photo and print the document myself ?

Thanks again for the help !

[JFH 12,190]

or can I just add digital files into a word document explaining each photo and print the document myself ?

Thanks again for the help !

That's exactly what we did. Two photos to a page in a Word document with a one-line caption underneath to say who, when and where.

[pushbrk 12,910]

Another question regarding the evidence of bona fide relationship. Is there a specific way personal photos have to be sent ? Do they have to be printed like real photos (i.e by a professional service) or can I just add digital files into a word document explaining each photo and print the document myself ?

Thanks again for the help !

I recommend printing up to 9 per page, in color on full sheets of plain white paper.

Regarding originals. The only "originals" sent in the I-130 package is the I-130 and G325a forms for each of you. A cover letter is nice but not required. It's customary for the petitioner to sign any cover letter.

For most Embassies, at this point in time, original civil documents are taken to the interview, in case they want to see them, but they are handed back to the applicant.

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

you are right the instructions do not specify about different embassies but all of us going thru high fraud countries do have to provide more than others

and our RFE from USCIS said originals please

so, although it is not country specific, it is

they do not accept copies of birth or marriage if country is high fraud

my attorney, at that time, said it was not fair but we had to do it

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

you are right the instructions do not specify about different embassies but all of us going thru high fraud countries do have to provide more than others

and our RFE from USCIS said originals please

so, although it is not country specific, it is

they do not accept copies of birth or marriage if country is high fraud

my attorney, at that time, said it was not fair but we had to do it

The location of the OP is France, so specific to France, the evidence they have is probably adequate and copies are fine at this stage. No one wants USCIS to lose their originals in the first stage.

[JFH 12,190]

you are right the instructions do not specify about different embassies but all of us going thru high fraud countries do have to provide more than others

and our RFE from USCIS said originals please

so, although it is not country specific, it is

they do not accept copies of birth or marriage if country is high fraud

my attorney, at that time, said it was not fair but we had to do it

Please don't confuse the OP. He is filing from France and is only just starting out on this journey. He doesn't need to concern himself with may or may not have happened to people in the past at completely different embassies. For now he just needs to focus on what the I-130 asks of him. We filed this year and I am in the UK - pretty similar to France in terms of high/low-fraud and at no point were originals required. No need to scare the OP unnecessarily with things that are not likely to happen to him.

[Ryan H 3,812]

it is

they do not accept copies of birth or marriage if country is high fraud

The implication that the above statement is universal is grossly incorrect. Just because it was necessary in ONE case does not mean that's how it always works.

[pushbrk 12,910]

The implication that the above statement is universal is grossly incorrect. Just because it was necessary in ONE case does not mean that's how it always works.

Correct. In my experience USCIS rarely feels the need to see an original civil document. When they do, it is for a specific reason connected a specific case, which may or may not have anything to do with the country from which the beneficiary lives or from which they originated.

[neoseo1300 0]

Hi guys,

 

Quick update on this topic. I'm still waiting for the feedback from the USCIS, feels like it takes so long !

 

In the mean time, my job (I work for a french company with offices in Europe and US) offered me a job in the US. Is it a problem to accept a job in the US (and getting the visa for internal transfert) while waiting for the husband visa which request was sent end of last year ?

 

Best