Spouse (Indonesia) Visa questions

[jagsfl 14]

Hey group,

 

I have been doing some research on the things my spouse will need to give me copies of, and forms to sign.  I am flying out to the U.S. in a few days, where I'd like to bring whatever I needed from her so that I can finish up my side of adding documents, and then send off the envelope to USCIS. 

From my gathering, I see what I need from her is:

- To fill out and sign the Form I-130A
- Copy of our Indonesia Marriage Certificate
- Copy of birth certificate
- Passport style photo
- Copies of passport, and the pages within

And then I also see that I need this:
- Evidence of the bona fides of the marriage, if petitioning for a spouse:

• Documentation showing joint ownership of property
• A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence, meaning you both live at the same address together
• Documentation showing that you and your spouse have combined your financial resources
• Birth certificates of children born to you and your spouse together
• Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship. Each affidavit must contain the full name and address of the person making the affidavit; date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit; and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired their knowledge of your marriage
•  Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union
   

The problem is that we just got married recently. We don't have any joint ownership of property. We don't have a lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence (when I am in Indonesia with her, we're usually just staying at her home where she grew up with her parents). I have no document that shows we have combined financial resources. We have no children.

I guess we could get an affidavit, but it would be from the man who married us at the local courthouse? He gave us a marriage book that has his stamp, signature, date etc, but not really his full name, place of birth etc...

It does say:   #6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union

Would the marriage book we got work? If not, I guess I would have to get a specific paper that he needs to fill out and sign again for this?

Also, am I missing anything here? I want to make sure I have what I need from her so I don't forget anything and she doesn't have to ship anything over to the states.

Thanks for your help,
jagsfl

Edited January 17, 2019 by jagsfl

[jagsfl 14]

Btw:  all I have for proof is that marriage book with the courthouse rep's   Stamp, Signature, Date.  It doesn't have the other info.

And I also have pictures in the courthouse of us getting married, (signing the marriage books), and pictures holding them up infront of us signed, inside the courthouse.

[Khallaf 650]

1 hour ago, jagsfl said:

Btw:  all I have for proof is that marriage book with the courthouse rep's   Stamp, Signature, Date.  It doesn't have the other info.

And I also have pictures in the courthouse of us getting married, (signing the marriage books), and pictures holding them up infront of us signed, inside the courthouse.

when I sent in the application for my husband I sent in our marriage lic, with english translation, a copy of my birth certificate, affidavits from friends who were at the wedding, affadavits from my friends in USA who knew we got married photos and the visa pages from when I entered his country.

 

I-130a does not need to be signed if your wife is not with you, do not sign it for her

 

when your newly married they are aware that you wouldn't have any of that other evidence more so when your not living in the same country.

 

you can create a living will naming her as your spouse and sole beneficiary in case something happens to you.

 

I would include any information and proof of trips that were taken together, I know that it likely didn't help but I included a letter from me personally on how we met.

 

as the relationship goes on and you are waiting out this process, you can obtain her passport have her sign a W7 get her ITIN, this will allow you to not only file your taxes married filing joint which is more evidence when you hit the NVC and interview stage, but you can then get her added to your car insurance as married non driver.

you can get her added to your 401K and life insurance as beneficiary for your job. Get her name added on credit cards and bank accounts.

 

Edited January 17, 2019 by Khallaf

[NikLR 13,227]

~~moved to IR1/CR1 process and procedures from K3 process and procedures~~

[Ryan H 3,812]

15 hours ago, jagsfl said:

From my gathering, I see what I need from her is:

- To fill out and sign the Form I-130A
- Copy of our Indonesia Marriage Certificate
- Copy of birth certificate
- Passport style photo
- Copies of passport, and the pages within

 

Only a copy of the birth certificate OR copies of the passport and pages within it are necessary, not both.  The purpose of submitting one or the other is to establish the citizenship of the petitioner and one of those items is sufficient enough to do that.

 

15 hours ago, jagsfl said:

• Documentation showing joint ownership of property
• A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence, meaning you both live at the same address together
• Documentation showing that you and your spouse have combined your financial resources
• Birth certificates of children born to you and your spouse together
• Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship. Each affidavit must contain the full name and address of the person making the affidavit; date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit; and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired their knowledge of your marriage
•  Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union

 

USCIS as well as a CO at the Embassy or Consulate will not expect nor require a couple living apart in separate countries to have joint finances, own or lease property together, or have children.  In addition, those affidavits carry little to zero weight in the overall evaluation of a file.  As for the line in the quote that I placed in bold, gather any evidence of time spent together in-person, this will be your strongest evidence.

[pushbrk 12,892]

23 hours ago, jagsfl said:

Hey group,

 

I have been doing some research on the things my spouse will need to give me copies of, and forms to sign.  I am flying out to the U.S. in a few days, where I'd like to bring whatever I needed from her so that I can finish up my side of adding documents, and then send off the envelope to USCIS. 

From my gathering, I see what I need from her is:

- To fill out and sign the Form I-130A
- Copy of our Indonesia Marriage Certificate
- Copy of birth certificate
- Passport style photo
- Copies of passport, and the pages within

And then I also see that I need this:
- Evidence of the bona fides of the marriage, if petitioning for a spouse:

• Documentation showing joint ownership of property
• A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence, meaning you both live at the same address together
• Documentation showing that you and your spouse have combined your financial resources
• Birth certificates of children born to you and your spouse together
• Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship. Each affidavit must contain the full name and address of the person making the affidavit; date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit; and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired their knowledge of your marriage
•  Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union
   

The problem is that we just got married recently. We don't have any joint ownership of property. We don't have a lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence (when I am in Indonesia with her, we're usually just staying at her home where she grew up with her parents). I have no document that shows we have combined financial resources. We have no children.

I guess we could get an affidavit, but it would be from the man who married us at the local courthouse? He gave us a marriage book that has his stamp, signature, date etc, but not really his full name, place of birth etc...

It does say:   #6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union

Would the marriage book we got work? If not, I guess I would have to get a specific paper that he needs to fill out and sign again for this?

Also, am I missing anything here? I want to make sure I have what I need from her so I don't forget anything and she doesn't have to ship anything over to the states.

Thanks for your help,
jagsfl

Read those instructions again carefully and then follow them.  Before your list of various types of evidence, you will find the words, "In addition to the required..." When you read carefully, and interpret literally, you will understand that anything following the quoted words above, is simply NOT REQUIRED.  Newlyweds don't have most of those things.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

On 1/17/2019 at 3:46 AM, jagsfl said:

Hey group,

 

I have been doing some research on the things my spouse will need to give me copies of, and forms to sign.  I am flying out to the U.S. in a few days, where I'd like to bring whatever I needed from her so that I can finish up my side of adding documents, and then send off the envelope to USCIS. 

From my gathering, I see what I need from her is:

- To fill out and sign the Form I-130A
- Copy of our Indonesia Marriage Certificate
- Copy of birth certificate
- Passport style photo
- Copies of passport, and the pages within

And then I also see that I need this:
- Evidence of the bona fides of the marriage, if petitioning for a spouse:

• Documentation showing joint ownership of property
• A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence, meaning you both live at the same address together
• Documentation showing that you and your spouse have combined your financial resources
• Birth certificates of children born to you and your spouse together
• Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties having personal knowledge of the bona fides of the marital relationship. Each affidavit must contain the full name and address of the person making the affidavit; date and place of birth of the person making the affidavit; and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired their knowledge of your marriage
•  Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union
   

The problem is that we just got married recently. We don't have any joint ownership of property. We don't have a lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence (when I am in Indonesia with her, we're usually just staying at her home where she grew up with her parents). I have no document that shows we have combined financial resources. We have no children.

I guess we could get an affidavit, but it would be from the man who married us at the local courthouse? He gave us a marriage book that has his stamp, signature, date etc, but not really his full name, place of birth etc...


Would the marriage book we got work? If not, I guess I would have to get a specific paper that he needs to fill out and sign again for this?


Thanks for your help,
jagsfl

I’m assuming you mean I-130.  Are you just filing?

You need to get that marriage book translated dude.  It’s your official record of marriage.  They have a couple of really good translation services over by the US embassy Jakarta.  I’d have a couple of certified translations made. Send a copy of the book and a copy of the translation with the petition.

Embassy’s gonna want to see the originals.

If you (either)were previously married you need divorce decrees.  File copies, embassy’s gonna want to see the originals.

Other than that, your list was all we had and all we sent in.

 

If she’s on your health insurance (sometimes they’ll enroll a spouse pending getting a SS card) get a record of that for interview

 

If you’ve made her a beneficiary on anything send a record of that - but they usually want a SS number too.  If you did, get a record of that for interview also

 

Good luck

[jagsfl 14]

Thank you all for the help. I've decided to go ahead and get a lawyer to help me out on this as I just want it done right the first time and don't want to mess anything up. Thanks so much though as it is still good guidance going through this.

 

If any of you can recommend a good one, that would be amazing. Thanks.

Edited May 17, 2019 by jagsfl

[Mr.Jose 64]

On 5/17/2019 at 6:37 AM, jagsfl said:

Thank you all for the help. I've decided to go ahead and get a lawyer to help me out on this as I just want it done right the first time and don't want to mess anything up. Thanks so much though as it is still good guidance going through this.

 

If any of you can recommend a good one, that would be amazing. Thanks.

Getting a lawyer doesn't mean everything will go smooth, and it's been proven lawyers make huge mistakes. Like one person here mentioned, lawyer used old I-130 forms and his case got rejected. Learn and study the process, and follow official USCIS guidelines. I did everything myself, and I read USCIS guidelines maybe 40 times. 

[Mr.Jose 64]

On 1/18/2019 at 11:05 PM, Nitas_man said:

I’m assuming you mean I-130.  Are you just filing?

You need to get that marriage book translated dude.  It’s your official record of marriage.  They have a couple of really good translation services over by the US embassy Jakarta.  I’d have a couple of certified translations made. Send a copy of the book and a copy of the translation with the petition.

Embassy’s gonna want to see the originals.

If you (either)were previously married you need divorce decrees.  File copies, embassy’s gonna want to see the originals.

Other than that, your list was all we had and all we sent in.

 

If she’s on your health insurance (sometimes they’ll enroll a spouse pending getting a SS card) get a record of that for interview

 

If you’ve made her a beneficiary on anything send a record of that - but they usually want a SS number too.  If you did, get a record of that for interview also

 

Good luck

You don't need to translate marriage book it comes already translate, Indonesian - English. 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

On 6/12/2019 at 12:12 AM, Mr.Jose said:

You don't need to translate marriage book it comes already translate, Indonesian - English. 

Yes, It’s partially translated.  

 

Sending in that partially translated document risks rejection.

 

It was a before-you-leave item.  In the US it’s gonna cost per page what two copies of the whole thing would have cost to translate in Indo.

[jagsfl 14]

On 6/13/2019 at 3:00 AM, Nitas_man said:

Yes, It’s partially translated.  

 

Sending in that partially translated document risks rejection.

 

It was a before-you-leave item.  In the US it’s gonna cost per page what two copies of the whole thing would have cost to translate in Indo.

I called the US Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia and they said that the marriage book I have would be fine.

I figured they would know right?

It still worries me. But I clearly asked, do I need to have the marriage book translated? And they said No.

[jagsfl 14]

On 6/11/2019 at 11:12 PM, Mr.Jose said:

You don't need to translate marriage book it comes already translate, Indonesian - English. 

Thanks Jose!

[Nitas_man 3,100]

7 hours ago, jagsfl said:

I called the US Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia and they said that the marriage book I have would be fine.

I figured they would know right?

It still worries me. But I clearly asked, do I need to have the marriage book translated? And they said No.

Up to you