USCIS interview failed because of lack of documentation showing joint assets and liabilities

[RLA 323]

3 minutes ago, arken said:

I believe the OP just wanted to hear “yes, whatever you submitted were very very good and clearly sufficient and USCIS definitely made a mistake by denying your case”.

I can understand the OP's frustration to some degree.  You could argue that USCIS's instructions are a bit misleading regarding the supporting evidence required.  The marriage is bona fide, but the USCIS officer refused to acknowledge any of the evidence and seems to have been rude on top of that.  That sucks. 

 

But so what?  The whole immigration process is designed to suck.  If you want to immigrate you need to embrace the suckiness and find a way to work with it. 

[thepanda 87]

1 hour ago, Farrah Lawson said:

Rusty72, joint assets are not an official requirement. Joint assets or liabilities are not mandatory. There is no such thing stated anywhere.

I sold my properties many years ago and now I'm enjoying my retirement (hopefully it will be better after the surgery). My spouse is the beneficiary of my life insurance, there are joint credit cards and many other proof of a legitimate / real / valid marriage.

USCIS cannot force me to buy again a house and cars. We have a place in Europe, a car and watercraft. In the US we stay at the hotel and at our relatives. We use their cars. Why should we need a lease or properties? 

I read the whole thread and saw this post. With all due respect, I really do not mean to be impolite or offensive in any way but may I ask if there is a significant age gap between you and your husband? Because that could be a reason why the IO insisted on the documents requested. I hope I am not starting a war right now with this question.

 

If I was the IO I would also wonder why you guys aren't getting an own place if you are planning on getting your spouse a permanent resident card.

[Going through 5,671]

1 minute ago, thepanda said:

With all due respect, I really do not mean to be impolite or offensive in any way but may I ask if there is a significant age gap between you and your husband?

Three people have asked this question now, with no response from OP.  

[Ash.1101 1,756]

1 minute ago, RLA said:

I can understand the OP's frustration to some degree.  You could argue that USCIS's instructions are a bit misleading regarding the supporting evidence required.  The marriage is bona fide, but the USCIS officer refused to acknowledge any of the evidence and seems to have been rude on top of that.  That sucks. 

 

But so what?  The whole immigration process is designed to suck.  If you want to immigrate you need to embrace the suckiness and find a way to work with it. 

 

Usually when they refuse to look at things it’s because they’ve made up their mind based off what they see in the package.

 

if they ask about lease and they say no, then they ask about joint finances and they say credit cards no bank, and if they ask about residence and they say they live in a hotel and sometimes families house, USCIS probably has made up their mind by then.

 

These are considered to be basics, unmarried people can consider these basics if they’re committed enough.

 

 

i truly believe the lack of wanting to reside in the US and having no US residence is going to be the reason for denial.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

4 minutes ago, Going through said:

Three people have asked this question now, with no response from OP.  

 

The OP doesnt understand that sending in what they sent in isn’t the only thing they’re getting judged off of. They’re getting judged on looks, age, nervousness level, reactions they may have had, and even judged on the things they didn’t send in.

[Talako 785]

After reading through this thread, it seems rather obvious for the rejection.  They are basically vagabonds with little to no connections between themselves and the US.  GC isn't appropriate.

 

The unwillingness to understand this and rectify the inherent problems of their situation by establishing legitimate, provable, and documented ties means this will end in nothing but tears and anger.

 

Anger, arrogance, and stubbornness will doom them.

 

I would wish them good luck, but it would be wasted.  

[javadown2 308]

1 hour ago, payxibka said:

It is not solely about a bonafide marriage but a bonafide marriage and proof that you intend to RESIDE in the USA which you have failed to demonstrate

I was thinking the same thing, there doesn't appear to be any proof that the spouse will be residing in the US as an LPR. Since he is from Europe why even worry about getting him a green card, especially if you plan on moving there once your surgery is done? You do know that he can't live outside the US for longer then 6 months at a time or else he will lose his LPR status. 

[Ash.1101 1,756]

10 minutes ago, javadown2 said:

I was thinking the same thing, there doesn't appear to be any proof that the spouse will be residing in the US as an LPR. Since he is from Europe why even worry about getting him a green card, especially if you plan on moving there once your surgery is done? You do know that he can't live outside the US for longer then 6 months at a time or else he will lose his LPR status. 

I don’t think they’ll are if he looses his LPR status.

 

Spouse came with OP to do medical, spouse realized visa is only good for 6 months, spouse applies for AOS simply to stay. Once the medical is done, they’re out of the US.

[Going through 5,671]

@Farrah Lawson have you considered a Plan B should the AOS be denied a second time?

 

 

 

 

[javadown2 308]

8 minutes ago, Going through said:

@Farrah Lawson have you considered a Plan B should the AOS be denied a second time?

 

 

 

 

Live happily ever after in Europe? Wonder why she can't just get on his medical there?

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

3 hours ago, Ash.1101 said:

 

Honestly I think the hotel is a big red flag. Even for DCF you’re suppose to provide proof that your spouse has a place to live.

 

remember that every officer is different and if they even have a feeling that there’s not enough proof then all they have to do is find a scapegoat and run with it (which could be the lack of permanent housing). That’s why it’s always better to come over prepared than under.

 

Most embassys (aside from high fraud) are usually more lienent than the local offices. If you have been doing everything right, from what I can see that helps you in the future for ROC and such. Again it comes down to the person looking at your case and any prior info they may or may not have.

 

For AOS we had joint bank account, my daughters school registration showing my husband could pick her up, car insurance in both our names, rent insurance in both our names, 20 pics or so, and that was it. I had already filed taxes prior to Marriage so he wasn’t on it and I never added him to my lease but we lived at the same location I provided during the K1 process. We were married for a month prior to sending AOS. My mother joint sponsored.

 

also at over a year of marriage they should have more than a credit card, affidavits, and a hotel bill together.

 

 

A lot of people have this, but in the OP's defense at one year married and the entire time living together, we only had 2 joint bank accounts and that was only because my husband had a SSN and was working legally in the US.  

 

We didn't have any of this joint tenancy, joint insurance, joint cards, joint assets else than the accounts, etc.

 

Gosh, it wasn't until 1 - 2 years that we got joint health insurance and life insurance.

 

We still don't have joint ownership or lease of a house and we've been married more than 5.5 years.  I own the house.

 

The only reason we jointly own a car is a misunderstanding at the car dealership and my laziness in fixing that.  Otherwise, again, it'd be just mine.

 

Otherwise, pretty much everything would be in my name.

 

In defense of the OP, I could see that a person might not assume that you need those things, because some of us don't.   Frankly, I think it is kind of stupid to put an immigrant spouse on all of your assets.  That isn't the reason I haven't, it is just my pre-marriage money and I'd rather not co-mingle it.  USCIS has never had a problem with that.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

7 minutes ago, N-o-l-a said:

In defense of the OP, I could see that a person might not assume that you need those things, because some of us don't.   Frankly, I think it is kind of stupid to put an immigrant spouse on all of your assets.  That isn't the reason I haven't, it is just my pre-marriage money and I'd rather not co-mingle it.  USCIS has never had a problem with that.

This is totally understandable but like everyone else and myself has said it is just one more block in a relationship that may or may not be needed/wanted by USCIS. I didn't put my wife on all of my assets when she got here either and still to this day I have better credit than she does so if I get a loan it's in my name not hers. But if you do not have one single iota of evidence then it looks highly unfavorable to you and the IO must deny. Not to mention that when the OP came on here saying stuff then is given advice on how to fix it, then rebuffs that advice then it pisses people off.

1 hour ago, Ash.1101 said:

 

The OP doesnt understand that sending in what they sent in isn’t the only thing they’re getting judged off of. They’re getting judged on looks, age, nervousness level, reactions they may have had, and even judged on the things they didn’t send in.

This is so very true and I could not have said it better myself.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

1 hour ago, thepanda said:

I read the whole thread and saw this post. With all due respect, I really do not mean to be impolite or offensive in any way but may I ask if there is a significant age gap between you and your husband? Because that could be a reason why the IO insisted on the documents requested. I hope I am not starting a war right now with this question.

 

If I was the IO I would also wonder why you guys aren't getting an own place if you are planning on getting your spouse a permanent resident card.

This is not being rude or impolite but just asking a simple legitimate question.

[Farrah Lawson 9]

2 hours ago, Going through said:

If you are filing AOS from within the US, then yes she has an "official US address"---the address where she physically lives with you.  

 

We went to the bank for joint accounts ownership thing, they saw on the passport the admission stamp as visitor (non-immigrant) and it didn't help. That was before submitting the paperwork. We told them that we needed joint accounts ownership (after reading online about AOS) and they asked for SSN and utility bills on my spouse's name. We told them that this was a catch 22 as we would not get those without having joint bank accounts ownership. They apologized and said that that was the policy. We did not look for other banks to check their policies. My medical condition doesn't really let me run too much.

 

So we sent our AOS package (concurrent filing) without joint bank accounts, no lease and taxes filed on my name alone as per IRS instructions received over the phone. We did call USCIS and IRS before doing that as we wanted to do everything that is required officially.

 

Now, after filing and after the interview, how can we prove the official US address to a bank or any other institution? With the copies of the USCIS forms submitted where we have the physical address and the mailing address? They are just photocopies without any stamp or authorized USCIS signatures... With the Forms I-797C, Notice of Action?

How can we make the bank accept those? We just called the bank and they confirmed that a SSN and utility bills on my spouse's name are required. We can have utility bills on my name only. We didn't say anything about having copies of the USCIS forms submitted and  Forms I-797C, Notice of Action.

We also looked for leases and rental agreements, made phone calls... They would not put my spouse's name on the lease until we have something issued by the US Government such as SSN, EAD, etc. 

 

Thank you for you assistance with this matter. We are grateful and appreciate all the advice received from all the VJ members here.Took notes and trying to fix things now. So far we get the same answers (from the bank and about leases).

[Illiria 980]

2 hours ago, cyberfx1024 said:

Then you haven't been here awhile there have been some killers on here before that are searchable if you know what to look for. Such as the balcony meeting thread.

Ohhh that one was my favorite, along with her follow up of ‘so they gave me this young girl to bring into the US with no legal custody and I went along with it’. 

 

OP I was put on the lease before I moved here as a registered habitant (not as a lease holder but someone permitted to reside there), I didn’t have and still don’t have a joint checking account just a joint saving account as it makes it easier to transfer money between us for rent/mortgage. I have my citizenship now with no real issues at any stage (other than a photo of us at someone else’s wedding which made the Interviewer think we had gotten married years ago but our interviewer had language comprehension issues)

Edited May 17, 2018 by Illiria
Apparently my language comprehension sucks as well