I got an RFE (July 2016 Filer)

[PEEKABOO561 2]

Hi All,

I'm looking for some opinions about what to include. In my original 751 package I included a statement sheet showing that my spouse was the benefactor on my bank account and I showed that my spouse had added me to their bank account (once they had a good standing account about 1.5 years after marriage) with the copies of ATM cards. 

 

RFE is asking for a number of things including bank statements with "withdrawals, deposits, and shared responsibility of the residence". My spouse is IRRESPONSIBLE with money and has bad credit therefore we've been together since 2012, married in 2014 and as soon as I had my SSN everything was switched in my name and I paid majority of the bills. My spouse worked part time, went on short term disability, didn't have a job for the longest time, etc. 

 

My question is this my spouse added me to their (new)  bank account back in Feb of 2016 and we have their direct deposit tied to that account as well as a few bills per month including rent on some months being paid out of that account. The utilities from that account (Comcast, power, gas) are all in my name, but they come out of that joint account and rent is paid out of that account 60% of the time. Should I include my bank statements (I've had the same account since 2012) proving that the other half of our bills since 2012 have come out of my account or don't bother since my spouse is only a benefactor on this account and was never fully added? When we got married in Jan. 2014 we went to my bank to add my spouse, but my spouse was in bad standing with every local bank and told me that they had a current "fraud investigation" on their fifth/3rd account. My bank associate heard this and told me it would be best to not add them to the account since if there is a legit investigation that my assets could be frozen so that's how my spouse is the benefactor, but not on the account. 

 

The bank statements with both of our names would cover Feb 2016-Now so there would be almost 2 years post marriage with no bank statements, should I just include mine? My spouse did end up quitting their job and I was the sole provider for the first two years so everything would be coming out of my account for that time. 

[Lemon23 400]

18 minutes ago, PEEKABOO561 said:

Hi All,

I'm looking for some opinions about what to include. In my original 751 package I included a statement sheet showing that my spouse was the benefactor on my bank account and I showed that my spouse had added me to their bank account (once they had a good standing account about 1.5 years after marriage) with the copies of ATM cards. 

 

RFE is asking for a number of things including bank statements with "withdrawals, deposits, and shared responsibility of the residence". My spouse is IRRESPONSIBLE with money and has bad credit therefore we've been together since 2012, married in 2014 and as soon as I had my SSN everything was switched in my name and I paid majority of the bills. My spouse worked part time, went on short term disability, didn't have a job for the longest time, etc. 

 

My question is this my spouse added me to their (new)  bank account back in Feb of 2016 and we have their direct deposit tied to that account as well as a few bills per month including rent on some months being paid out of that account. The utilities from that account (Comcast, power, gas) are all in my name, but they come out of that joint account and rent is paid out of that account 60% of the time. Should I include my bank statements (I've had the same account since 2012) proving that the other half of our bills since 2012 have come out of my account or don't bother since my spouse is only a benefactor on this account and was never fully added? When we got married in Jan. 2014 we went to my bank to add my spouse, but my spouse was in bad standing with every local bank and told me that they had a current "fraud investigation" on their fifth/3rd account. My bank associate heard this and told me it would be best to not add them to the account since if there is a legit investigation that my assets could be frozen so that's how my spouse is the benefactor, but not on the account. 

 

The bank statements with both of our names would cover Feb 2016-Now so there would be almost 2 years post marriage with no bank statements, should I just include mine? My spouse did end up quitting their job and I was the sole provider for the first two years so everything would be coming out of my account for that time. 

What are the evidences that you sent on your initial filing? This would determine us and help you for the evidences you can provide to response on your RFE.

[Going through 5,671]

1 hour ago, Lemon23 said:

The bank statements with both of our names would cover Feb 2016-Now so there would be almost 2 years post marriage with no bank statements, should I just include mine?

USCIS wants to see evidence of co-mingling of finances, so I would send both the joint account statements and your own individual statements (which would at least show the same living address and same types of bills coming out of both accounts, and your spouse being listed as a benefactor on that account).

 

 

[PEEKABOO561 2]

My original packet included: 

• 15-20 photos spanning from 2012-2016 
• 2 letters-1 from friend and 1 from spouse's sister 
• 2 leases: One from July 2015-2016 and a renewed lease for July 2016-2017 (they said this wasn't enough)....I wasn't on the 2014-2015 lease because I didn't have SNN at the time of signing that lease
• Utility Bills in my name for the 2014-2015 year that I wasn't on the official lease 
• Bank Print out listing spouse as benefactor (I didn't include statements) 
• Copies of ATM cards for Joint Account (didn't include statements) 
• IRS Transcripts (Filed Jointly) 2015 
• Copies of Renter Insurances with Spouse (They said there wasn't proof it was ever used or active...sorry I didn't have a house fire or get robbed?) 
• Copies of Insurance Cards (They said no proof I ever used it)

 

 

 

We don't have:

A Car

Kids/StepKids 

Loans

Mortgage 

Wills/Power of Attorney (No True Assets)

[PEEKABOO561 2]

What I'm including in this RFE packet

 

• Lease from 2014-2015 with Spouse's name with all utilities in my name for this address (my ID, bank, pay stubs, etc all matched this address too)
• Bank Statements for 16 months from Joint Account, Joint account wasn't established until Feb 2016 (about 2 years after filing for green card)
• Bank Statements from 2014-2016 from my personal account highlighting me paying for insurance, rent, gas bill, internet bill (spouse was unemployed for 6 months out of this year and then on disability for 4 months so our finances were mainly through my account.
• Sprint Bills from 2014-2017 in my name for both our numbers and pay statements attached to my bank account. 
• Insurance Claim (from the cards they claimed I had no proof we ever used) from April 2015 
• Disability Claim from Spouse using insurance from 2014. 
• New Insurance Cards from 12/2016-Present
• Claim from Spouse Car Accident using insurance April 2017 
• Lease for 2015-16 and 16-17 again (I'm wondering if they maybe got confused and thought it was one year?) 
• Lease for July 2017-July 2018 
• Credit Card Statements (my personal cards) paying for moving fees, bills, etc 
• Official Documents sent to the address I wasn't on the lease for from 2014-2015 
• IRS Transcripts for 2016 
• Payment Transcripts for IRS 2015 (payments come out of my personal account) 
• Copies of New Insurance Card 
• Proof Renter's Insurance was STILL in effect up until June 2017 

[Lavazza_K 9]

17 minutes ago, PEEKABOO561 said:

My original packet included: 

• 15-20 photos spanning from 2012-2016 
• 2 letters-1 from friend and 1 from spouse's sister 
• 2 leases: One from July 2015-2016 and a renewed lease for July 2016-2017 (they said this wasn't enough)....I wasn't on the 2014-2015 lease because I didn't have SNN at the time of signing that lease
• Utility Bills in my name for the 2014-2015 year that I wasn't on the official lease 
• Bank Print out listing spouse as benefactor (I didn't include statements) 
• Copies of ATM cards for Joint Account (didn't include statements) 
• IRS Transcripts (Filed Jointly) 2015 
• Copies of Renter Insurances with Spouse (They said there wasn't proof it was ever used or active...sorry I didn't have a house fire or get robbed?) 
• Copies of Insurance Cards (They said no proof I ever used it)

 

 

 

We don't have:

A Car

Kids/StepKids 

Loans

Mortgage 

Wills/Power of Attorney (No True Assets)

1. IRS transcripts for the other years? including 2016

2. Send any statements you have with transactions with both your names. You can mark certain transactions like rent, utility etc. 

3. travel itineraries?

4. Any claims/bills on your health insurance? include those with your insurance card

5. 401k or retirement plan beneficiaries?

6. Phone bills?

7. I'd suggest on top of that include a cover letter explaining your situation

 

Your evidence of finance co-mingling is a bit thin, I would suggest adding anything that spreads through your marriage, even prior to your marriage. One year of tax transcript and no bank statements showing the account's active usually raise questions. 

 

Best of luck!

Edited August 15, 2017 by Lavazza_K

[PEEKABOO561 2]

I also thought about adding a copy of my spouse's credit report showing it was in the 400s when we were married which is why we don't have joint assets (car, mortgage) and with my credit being so new it just didn't make sense to try to get a car when I was a waitress and spouse had bad credit. 

 

 

[PEEKABOO561 2]

4 minutes ago, Lavazza_K said:

1. IRS transcripts for the other years? including 2016

2. Send any statements you have with transactions with both your names. You can mark certain transactions like rent, utility etc. 

3. travel itineraries?

4. Any claims/bills on your health insurance? include those with your insurance card

5. 401k or retirement plan beneficiaries?

6. Phone bills?

7. I'd suggest on top of that include a cover letter explaining your situation

 

Your evidence of finance co-mingling is a bit thin, I would suggest adding anything that spreads through your marriage, even prior to your marriage. One year of tax transcript and no bank statements showing the account's active usually raise questions. 

 

Best of luck!

Yes definitely including 2016 taxes, I didn't file in April 2014 as I had no SSN. 

 

I've got phone bills dating from Nov. 2014-Present (Same company) and I've paid those out of my personal bank account, phones are in my name.

I was also paying the phone bills from 2013-Nov. 2014 from my personal bank account and that was both of our phones under my spouse's name.

 

A few weeks after I got my SSN, (May, 2014) spouse went on disability/workers comp due to an injury and then was ultimately laid off and not working until early 2015 so that's why all of the bills, etc were coming out of my account.  

 

I did call the doctor I visited back in 2015 using spouse's insurance and they are faxing me that bill/claim we also have 1 claim from this year of my spouse using the insurance that I'm the primary for. 

 

Unfortunately, nothing has been too consistent. Spouse opened and closed accounts frequently due to poor spending habits so I've had to be the solid bookkeeper. Spouse would get a job and we would have insurance coverage only for spouse to lose/quit the job a few months later. 

 

[Lavazza_K 9]

13 minutes ago, PEEKABOO561 said:

Yes definitely including 2016 taxes, I didn't file in April 2014 as I had no SSN. 

 

I've got phone bills dating from Nov. 2014-Present (Same company) and I've paid those out of my personal bank account, phones are in my name.

I was also paying the phone bills from 2013-Nov. 2014 from my personal bank account and that was both of our phones under my spouse's name.

 

A few weeks after I got my SSN, (May, 2014) spouse went on disability/workers comp due to an injury and then was ultimately laid off and not working until early 2015 so that's why all of the bills, etc were coming out of my account.  

 

I did call the doctor I visited back in 2015 using spouse's insurance and they are faxing me that bill/claim we also have 1 claim from this year of my spouse using the insurance that I'm the primary for. 

 

Unfortunately, nothing has been too consistent. Spouse opened and closed accounts frequently due to poor spending habits so I've had to be the solid bookkeeper. Spouse would get a job and we would have insurance coverage only for spouse to lose/quit the job a few months later. 

 

I see. Was the 2014 injury claim applied to your spouse's insurance that only has his/her name on it? if so I probably wouldn't include it unless the claim has any connections to you. Any life insurance that has you/your spouse as the beneficiary?

 

Drivers license with the same address, company paycheck sent to your address can also be used as evidence.

 

I think your RFE package looks good given what you have. Just that I would suggest not to include anything that comes out of your or your spouse only account, or only has your, or your spouse name, unless somehow they can be tied to you both. You can add the credit report as proof like you mentioned if you plan on including an explanation. if your spouse had applied any accounts with your name on it, include those as well, doesnt matter if they were closed. 

[Sukie 1,463]

Your cover letter this time will be your greatest asset.  You have given us lots of information here that explains a lot of the "whys" of your money situation.  Unfortunately, without this info, the person working on your file cannot guess what is going on behind the scenes.

 

Be very organized this time.  If you have a paragraph in your cover letter that describes what happened when your spouse was on disability, then cross-reference that paragraph to the evidence you are sending (such as, "See Appendix C for evidence").

 

Also be sure to explain how money works --> as an example- your salary goes to this bank account (See Appendix X for statements showing your salary being deposited); you then transfer funds to this bank account (See Appendix X for statements showing the transfers from your personal account).  Bills for groceries, utilities, etc come from this account (See Appendix X for statements showing where the bills get paid).  Show them the money trail.  That's what they are looking for.

 

And yes - you don't have to have claims for your renter's insurance or medical insurance, but if you DO have claims, include them.  And if you have had renter's insurance for 3 years, then include the policy cover sheet (showing both your names) for all three years.

 

You are telling a story - and you need to include all the chapters - not just the first and the last ones.

 

Best of luck.  Remember - organized and cross-referenced!

 

Sukie in NY

[f f 725]

how is the car owned? are you both on the title? and listed on the loan if any?

 

uscos wants to see you both putting money in an account then both of you using that account. or some good reasons as to why it is kept separate. the other things they like to see are joint liabilities/responsibility where you will cover each other in  times of emergency. this can be co signing loans to getting medical records of the other spouse to being given the power to make choices if the other one is in a coma.

[Ketsuban 1,034]

10 hours ago, PEEKABOO561 said:

I didn't file in April 2014 as I had no SSN.

You are able to amend tax returns. I don't recall how far back you can go, but in 2015 we amended my husband's 2013 return (when I wasn't even living in the country, but we were married that year) to married filing jointly and got a nice refund as a result, plus the evidence for ROC. You can exclude your foreign earned income with form 2555 or 2555-EZ.

 

Unfortunately it does take a few months for the IRS to get around to looking at amended returns...

[Going through 5,671]

13 hours ago, Sukie said:

Your cover letter this time will be your greatest asset.  You have given us lots of information here that explains a lot of the "whys" of your money situation.  Unfortunately, without this info, the person working on your file cannot guess what is going on behind the scenes.

 

Be very organized this time.  If you have a paragraph in your cover letter that describes what happened when your spouse was on disability, then cross-reference that paragraph to the evidence you are sending (such as, "See Appendix C for evidence").

 

Also be sure to explain how money works --> as an example- your salary goes to this bank account (See Appendix X for statements showing your salary being deposited); you then transfer funds to this bank account (See Appendix X for statements showing the transfers from your personal account).  Bills for groceries, utilities, etc come from this account (See Appendix X for statements showing where the bills get paid).  Show them the money trail.  That's what they are looking for.

I agree with this.  You are going to have to include an explicit cover letter explaining why certain pieces of evidence was submitted (when that evidence does not include both of your names) and what they are relating to.