I-130 Evidence of Bonafide Marriage

[A & F 35]

Dear All,

 

i just want to ask a simple question about the (evidence of bonafide marriage) required for filing the I-130 form. I filed a petition for my spouse last month and we did include everything on the checklist of this link: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2 except the Evidence of a bonafide marriage.

 

We thought that the 6th example (Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union.) could be established by providing an original copy of the "Family Extraction of civil registration" which includes my name and my spouse's name along with his date of birth in a table where if we had any children they could be added to the table (note that this paper is different from the Marriage certificate we included).

 

Others have been advising on providing other documents and that the above is not enough. Documents as the below:

 

- ticket stubs from trips to see each other/passport stamps/etc anything that will prove time spent together.

- any shared bills receipts

-  And lastly include evidence of an ongoing relationship ie chats that you two have (a selection of whatsapp chats spanning your relationship or FB chats spanning your relationship)

 

Is the above in red really needed? and if so, can we solve this problem before getting an RFE, by sending them a letter adding some more evidence with it in order not to get an RFE that could delay the process?

 

Thank you.

 

 

Edited March 2, 2017 by A & F

[ameise 25]

I think all cases are different and the same formula might not work for everyone (different relationships, different contexts). We didn't provide any of the items in red, and still got approved without RFE. We did have photos to prove our time together, including photos of the wedding.

Edited March 2, 2017 by ameise

[A & F 35]

8 hours ago, ameise said:

I think all cases are different and the same formula might not work for everyone (different relationships, different contexts). We didn't provide any of the items in red, and still got approved without RFE. We did have photos to prove our time together, including photos of the wedding.

Thank you ameise, unfortunately we didn't include any photos of us together, we are from Lebanon, i don't know if this is different from country to another.

[JBMG 890]

On 3/2/2017 at 7:18 AM, ameise said:

I think all cases are different and the same formula might not work for everyone (different relationships, different contexts). We didn't provide any of the items in red, and still got approved without RFE. We did have photos to prove our time together, including photos of the wedding.

Hi. Please join our forum. We all submitted documents via mail and have scan dates in April. 

 

NVC - April 2017 Scan Dates - Method 4: Mail processing

[pushbrk 12,883]

Everything following the words, "in addition to the required" is "OPTIONAL".  No worries if you including nothing but the last item, which is "anything else...."

[agripa 100]

 

Is the above in red really needed? and if so, can we solve this problem before getting an RFE, by sending them a letter adding some more evidence with it in order not to get an RFE that could delay the process?

 

Thank you.

Is it absolutely necessary? Of course not! You provided a single document establishing an ongoing marital relationship. You have technically satisfied the requirements.

 

The problem is what ultimately constitutes sufficient evidence of a bonafide marriage ultimately comes down to the officer who will adjudicate your application. They may feel that this single document is not sufficient. The reason why people provide a LARGE amount of VARYING evidence is to essentially cover our bases. An officer may not believe a single piece of evidence, but if you include a large amount of different types of evidence, the chance he sends an RFE goes down dramatically. Everyone wants to avoid an RFE (as it can potentially add MONTHS of extra time wasted), so most people try to include as much evidence as possible (including stuff you wrote in red).

 

The other problem you face is that you will interviewing at the Lebanon embassy. Most embassies/consulates in the Middle East and North Africa are hard! The consular officers in these locations are used to many people trying to game or cheat the system. Typically these officers have MADE up their mind on whether to approve/deny your application BEFORE they even talk to your spouse. Thus, the only chance you have to make an impression on them is to add AS much evidence as you can in your initial application (what people on this website call "front-loading" your petition).

 

In any case, there's nothing you can do now. Trying to send in additional evidence before they look at your application is a total waste of time. There's zero chance any more documents you send in now will be added to your application. You'll just need to wait and see if they ask for additional evidence.

 

 

Edited May 6, 2017 by agripa
More information

[ayuness 39]

Don't worry, they will let you know if they need more evidence. I did include everything because my lawyer suggested that, marriage book (since I'm from Indonesia and we don't do certificates), wedding pictures, vacation pictures, copy of plane ticket confirmations, hotels booking, skype pictures and our conversation logs.

[pushbrk 12,883]

On 5/5/2017 at 8:12 PM, ayuness said:

Don't worry, they will let you know if they need more evidence.

 

This is a dangerous and somewhat misleading statement.  USCIS will definitely send a request for initial evidence if you have not met their requirements for petition approval, but an approved petition is not a visa.  Most "additional" evidence is provided to influence the decision of the Consular Officer, you want leaning in the right direction before the interview.  When they ask for more evidence, you are fighting an uphill battle to overcome an initial visa denial.  That request will come as part of a notice saying the visa applicant has been found "ineligible".

 

[ayuness 39]

2 hours ago, pushbrk said:

 

This is a dangerous and somewhat misleading statement.  USCIS will definitely send a request for initial evidence if you have not met their requirements for petition approval, but an approved petition is not a visa.  Most "additional" evidence is provided to influence the decision of the Consular Officer, you want leaning in the right direction before the interview.  When they ask for more evidence, you are fighting an uphill battle to overcome an initial visa denial.  That request will come as part of a notice saying the visa applicant has been found "ineligible".

 

Actually it happened to me. They asked for more evidence, which is why my case probably took longer. I sent the additional evidence like conversation logs, skype calls and screenshots of our video call, pictures of gifts. We didn't include those types of evidence before, even though we had sent a lot of pictures, including wedding pictures with family and friend, tickets, vacation pictures, hotel bookings, etc.

 

Like agripa said as quoted "Trying to send in additional evidence before they look at your application is a total waste of time. There's zero chance any more documents you send in now will be added to your application. You'll just need to wait and see if they ask for additional evidence."

[pushbrk 12,883]

Once the petition is filed, yes, it is too late to add additional evidence, but USCIS not requesting additional evidence, is no assurance it shouldn't have been included with the petition when filed.  Sorry if I missed the "after filing" context.