We don't have evidence of a Bonifide Marriage

[TVC 244]

The guide for the visa lists the following as evidence for a Bonefide relationship.

 

Note: Evidence of a Bonifide Marriage  The USCIS now requires that when filing an I-130 for a spouse that you include evidence of a bonifide marriage. They list examples of acceptable evidence as:

1. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or 2. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or 3. Documentation showing co-mingling of financialresources; or 4. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, thepetitioner, and your spouse together; or 5. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties havingpersonal knowledge of the bona fides of the maritalrelationship (Each affidavit must contain the full nameand address, date and place of birth of the person makingthe affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner ofbeneficiary, if any, and complete information and detailsexplaining how the person acquired his or herknowledge of your marriage); or 6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that thereis an ongoing marital union.         Me and my new wife do not have any of these things. We don't own any property. The lease for the apartment we've been living at is in my name only. We cannot open a bank account because my ARC card here in the Phillipines says I am a tourist. No banks will allow us to open a joint account. We do not have any children together. So the only thing that is left is showing affidavits from people who know us. Is it better if these affidavits come not from her family? I know you are supposed to be as specific as possible.     I'm worried we are going to be rejected. I met my wife online in January of 2018. In Feburary I came to the Philippines to meet her and we have been living together since I came. We already got married a week ago in June. I have only known her for 5 months total and we are already married. We didn't take a lot of pictures. The only thing we have is 1 month of chat logs before I came.     I'm also wondering about the DCF process. In August I will have been living here for 6 months on a Tourist visa. I don't know if that qualifies me for DCF. Would we be better off waiting to file in August as a DCF? Would that be faster? I have a ton more questions but that is probably enough for now.

[mrmvkjts 461]

Well first of all, to me, it doesn‘t sound good that you got married so quickly AND you say you don‘t have any proof of fide relationship!

 

But you can include hotel bookings/flight tickets where both your names are included

Do you get Mail to the apartment you are both living in? With maybe both your names on?

Chat logs from before you came are good but also maybe imessage/sms conversation that you had since you live there...like basic day to day concersation that you have with your partner

 

Also, do you still have a bank account in the US? My husband just added my name to the account there

 

 

In general I would say if you are concerned that you don‘t have enough evidence you should maybe wait and establish a little more.

 

Does her family know about you? Did you meet them? Wedding pictures? Pictures with family? all this can be helpful

[Ryan H 3,834]

Think outside the of that box and focus on any evidence you have of the time you have spent together in-person; this is your strongest evidence.  Don't bother with the affidavits, they carry little to zero weight in the overall evaluation of a file and are not actually required.

[TVC 244]

7 minutes ago, mrmvkjts said:

Well first of all, to me, it doesn‘t sound good that you got married so quickly AND you say you don‘t have any proof of fide relationship!

 

But you can include hotel bookings/flight tickets where both your names are included

Do you get Mail to the apartment you are both living in? With maybe both your names on?

Chat logs from before you came are good but also maybe imessage/sms conversation that you had since you live there...like basic day to day concersation that you have with your partner

 

Also, do you still have a bank account in the US? My husband just added my name to the account there

 

 

In general I would say if you are concerned that you don‘t have enough evidence you should maybe wait and establish a little more.

 

Does her family know about you? Did you meet them? Wedding pictures? Pictures with family? all this can be helpful

The hotels have all been in my name only. We haven't flown anywhere. The mail that comes to our apartment lists the landlord's name on all the bills.

 

We do still use facebook messanger to talk day to day while she is at work. So that is good.

 

THANK YOU so much for the idea about the US bank account. 

 

I know her family and see them often. We have tons of wedding pictures. Hopefully that will help.

 

Our situation is very complicated also because we (well she technically) have a 4yo son. She had a child in a previous relationship. She was never married but the child shares his fathers last name. He passed away 2 years ago. 

[geowrian 22,338]

Key item in your list of evidence: "Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union."

 

Contact USEM about what they require for DCF. I am aware of others reporting success there on a tourist visa and a stay of 6 months or longer, although they needed to provide evidence of actual residence there such as a lease, utility bills, etc.

[Apple Bee 272]

Our cases are similar OP. I met my husband online in February. I visited a couple of months later and we got married on the first visit. I sent my petition a month ago. I stayed with him for a month. I sent in a lot of photos of my visit, pictures of us visiting different cities in Morocco, pictures with his family and best friend. I also added him as a beneficiary on my life insurance policy and sent proof of that, including sworn affidavits from my best friend and my mother attesting to the validity of our relationship, samples of chat conversations between us as well as chats he's had with my mother and father, and itinerary of my upcoming trip to show I'm going back to spend another month with him. 

[ms_bobdog 501]

Shouldn't be hard to add either of you to each other's life insurance and bank accounts. Also, lots of wedding photos will not be that helpful. It's just one day. Photos showing you having an ongoing marital union would be better. So whatever events you attended together, wherever you have travelled together etc.

[mtempelaar 190]

Suggestions:

 

1) Beneficiaries on each other's life insurance, and if you don't have, get it.

2) Add spouse as an authorized user on a credit card.  Then print out something from the website showing both cards.  I did this with Amex.

3) Wills, living wills, etc.

4) Cell phones - can you share a family plan and have the cell company bill show both?  

5) Beneficiary of retirement funds (401k)

6) If you own any stock, some stock allows you to add a joint owner.  I added my husband.

7) Wait until you file a joint tax return for additional evidence.

8) Do you have a car and insurance in Phillipines? Car insurance showing both of you could be useful.

 

[pushbrk 13,259]

As you read form instructions, do so carefully, then interpret literally and answer accordingly and accurately.  For example, anything that appears after the words, "In addition to the required...." should be literally interpreted as "not required".

[j&ana 380]

You should not worry so much about having joint bank or financial accounts. Me and my wife did not have a joint bank account when I file the I-130 petition for her. Most married couples that went thru the process on here probably did not either. 

the wedding pictures are good. Also include  Pictures of you, your wife and her family. However you do not want to overload with pictures 5 to 10 pictures is good. Some chat logs are good too, but not to many, and not the lovely dovely ones but the ones that shows everyday life between the both of you

Copies of passport stamps, any kind of receipts like dining, gifts, wedding ring, or any other jewelry, stay at  hotels, etc., etc. 

The Philippines is one of the easier countries to get approve for CR-1 and K_1 visas . You should not worry to much now. It is  about a year process and as it goes on. You will start to get worry and frustrated

What I listed above is what I send in when I file the petition for my wife. I did not include any affidavit from friends and relatives. You can include them but they do not carry that much weight and are not consider that strong of evidence

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by j&ana

[TVC 244]

4 minutes ago, j&ana said:

I will not worry so much about having joint bank or financial accounts. Me and my wife did not have a joint bank account when I file the I-130 petition for her. Most married couples that went thru the process on here probably did not either. 

the wedding pictures are good. Also include  Pictures of you, your wife and her family. However you do not want to overload with pictures 5 to 10 pictures is good. Some chat logs are good too, but not to many, and not the lovely dovely ones but the ones that shows everyday life between the both of you

Copies of passport stamps, any kind of receipts like dining, gifts, wedding ring, or any other jewelry, stay at  hotels, etc., etc. 

The Philippines is one of the easier countries to get approve for CR-1 and K_1 visas . You should not worry to much now it is still about a year process and as it goes on. You will start to get worry and frustrated

What I listed above is what I send in when I file the petition for my wife. I did not include any affidavit from friends and relatives. You can include them but they do not carry that much weight and are not consider that strong of evidence

 

Thanks very much for this post. It seriously makes me feel better. I am definitely a worrier.

[j&ana 380]

my wife is from the Philippines also and I worry a lot too while going thru this process with my wife  but it was not as bad as I thought it would be. The Hardest part is the waiting time.  This is a really good site for info and good people that will answer questions for you. 

 Also make sure you send a copy of the PSA marriage certificate and not the local registry copy or you will get an RFE  (Request for more evidence notice) 

 

[TVC 244]

9 minutes ago, j&ana said:

my wife is from the Philippines also and I worry a lot too while going thru this process with my wife  but it was not as bad as I thought it would be. The Hardest part is the waiting time.  This is a really good site for info and good people that will answer questions for you. 

 Also make sure you send a copy of the PSA marriage certificate and not the local registry copy or you will get an RFE  (Request for more evidence notice) 

 

What is the PSA marriage certificate?

[Just Paul 4,595]

8 hours ago, TVC said:

What is the PSA marriage certificate?

The Philippines Statistics Authority / NSO (National Statistics Office of the Philippines) marriage certificate printed on safety paper just like the birth certificate.

[Bethany123 56]

We submitted our i-130 a few months after getting married. We didn't have any joint finances whatsoever. We got my mother to write a letter of affidavit, claiming she knew my husband and that she knew that marriage was going to take place, then she signed it. I think it would help to have letters from both sides of your family. If you have any pictures together, that will definitely help you. If you have history of your calls or text messages, add some of that. They don't need your entire chat history, but sections are good. If you've visited each other, include your flight history, such as stamps on your passports or flight receipts.