RFE for AOS (K1) Based Questions

[Balamban 113]

RFE's are scary things!  A few questions:

 

RFE asks for  "Documents showing joint ownership of property, such as mortgage agreements or payment, property titles, or property registration; Lease showing the same residence.

 

I (American citizen) own a "triplex."  I have not put my wife's name on the title but am happy to do so, will doing so after the RFE be an issue?  Will it help our case?

 

"Documents showing shared finances and obligations"

 

She is a signor on a few of my credit cards, but we have no "joint" credit card.  This seems odd to me, should I ask one of my credit cards to "add her" as both signor and as person with obligation to pay the card?  On the cards she is a signor, the statement lists only my name.

 

We have no joint insurance.  I cannot add her to my medical insurance so that ends that.  We both have dental insurance with the same company but (as recommended by them) they not be joint because her policy costs 2x as much as mine and allows (after a  6 mnth waiting period) for orthodontic work.  We have no life insurance and don't care to.  Should I get some form of life insurance after the RFE?  

 

We do have two bank accounts (2 checking, and 1 savings) joint.  One was added last year, the other just before our AOS interview, so that seems covered.

 

Everyone seems to focus upon "joint phone" though we do not.  I use prepaid Straight Talk @$35/month.  I bought her a iphone5 for $32 on Ebay and we use H2O which costs (really) less than $5/month (no data, limited minutes/texts.  It irks me that so much seems to be put on "joint phone bills," but, of course, that does not matter.  Will this be an issue?

 

I have added her to my oil bill, and will add to electric and water/sewer, will "late add" be an issue?

 

"Sworn affidavit's" 

 

This is the area I worry most about.  I have no relatives that have ever met her, nor do I care.  My siblings attempted to "write me out" of an inheritance and I responded with legal action so there's hard feelings there.  We are a very private couple, with no close friends so when I ask, who could  have "personal knowledge of the validity of the marriage,"  I'm at a bit of a loss.  We do have a tenant who has seen us and he was introduced to her as my "new wife," upon her arrival and subsequent marriage last July--would that be useful?  He sees us together all the time, but has no "personal knowledge of the validity," only that he sees that we live together and say we are husband and wife.  The only other person that I can think of who know us as "husband and wife" is the teacher of an English class for new immigrants.  This teacher asked me to take the group of students on a woodland walk because I am a bit of an expert on wild mushrooms.  Naturally I was introduced as my wife's husband.  Would this be useful?

 

Any suggestions, please?  

[K1visaHopeful 2,814]

4 hours ago, Balamban said:

RFE's are scary things!  A few questions:

 

RFE asks for  "Documents showing joint ownership of property, such as mortgage agreements or payment, property titles, or property registration; Lease showing the same residence.

 

I (American citizen) own a "triplex."  I have not put my wife's name on the title but am happy to do so, will doing so after the RFE be an issue?  Will it help our case?

 

"Documents showing shared finances and obligations"

 

She is a signor on a few of my credit cards, but we have no "joint" credit card.  This seems odd to me, should I ask one of my credit cards to "add her" as both signor and as person with obligation to pay the card?  On the cards she is a signor, the statement lists only my name.

 

We have no joint insurance.  I cannot add her to my medical insurance so that ends that.  We both have dental insurance with the same company but (as recommended by them) they not be joint because her policy costs 2x as much as mine and allows (after a  6 mnth waiting period) for orthodontic work.  We have no life insurance and don't care to.  Should I get some form of life insurance after the RFE?  

 

We do have two bank accounts (2 checking, and 1 savings) joint.  One was added last year, the other just before our AOS interview, so that seems covered.

 

Everyone seems to focus upon "joint phone" though we do not.  I use prepaid Straight Talk @$35/month.  I bought her a iphone5 for $32 on Ebay and we use H2O which costs (really) less than $5/month (no data, limited minutes/texts.  It irks me that so much seems to be put on "joint phone bills," but, of course, that does not matter.  Will this be an issue?

 

I have added her to my oil bill, and will add to electric and water/sewer, will "late add" be an issue?

 

"Sworn affidavit's" 

 

This is the area I worry most about.  I have no relatives that have ever met her, nor do I care.  My siblings attempted to "write me out" of an inheritance and I responded with legal action so there's hard feelings there.  We are a very private couple, with no close friends so when I ask, who could  have "personal knowledge of the validity of the marriage,"  I'm at a bit of a loss.  We do have a tenant who has seen us and he was introduced to her as my "new wife," upon her arrival and subsequent marriage last July--would that be useful?  He sees us together all the time, but has no "personal knowledge of the validity," only that he sees that we live together and say we are husband and wife.  The only other person that I can think of who know us as "husband and wife" is the teacher of an English class for new immigrants.  This teacher asked me to take the group of students on a woodland walk because I am a bit of an expert on wild mushrooms.  Naturally I was introduced as my wife's husband.  Would this be useful?

 

Any suggestions, please?  

My question....you received an RFE for these things or you are anticipating an RFE for these things?

That won't happen as all of these documents can be brought to the interview. You can get a "checklist" to fulfill after the interview but that wont be an RFE. 

[C90 376]

3 hours ago, Balamban said:

RFE's are scary things!  A few questions: As asked before, did you actually get an RFE that states this all? 

 

RFE asks for  "Documents showing joint ownership of property, such as mortgage agreements or payment, property titles, or property registration; Lease showing the same residence.

 

I (American citizen) own a "triplex."  I have not put my wife's name on the title but am happy to do so, will doing so after the RFE be an issue? Wouldn't see why. My husband bought a house right before I moved and I'm not on the mortgage. We're not going to get a new mortgage just to put my name on it. Will it help our case? If you can put her on the title easily then sure.

 

"Documents showing shared finances and obligations"

 

She is a signor on a few of my credit cards, but we have no "joint" credit card.  This seems odd to me, should I ask one of my credit cards to "add her" as both signor and as person with obligation to pay the card?  On the cards she is a signor, the statement lists only my name. Joint cc's are tricky. Does she have a good credit score? If one of you messes up once, both of your credit scores are going to be affected. If her credit score is low, I wouldn't even think about it, since it will affect your credit.

 

We have no joint insurance.  I cannot add her to my medical insurance so that ends that.  We both have dental insurance with the same company but (as recommended by them) they not be joint because her policy costs 2x as much as mine and allows (after a  6 mnth waiting period) for orthodontic work.  We have no life insurance and don't care to.  Should I get some form of life insurance after the RFE?  If you didn't have your interview yet you can just explain this to the officer. They can't expect from you to #### yourself over just to show that your marriage is legit. If you lose money by adding her to your insurance, that seems a darn good reason not to do it.

 

We do have two bank accounts (2 checking, and 1 savings) joint.  One was added last year, the other just before our AOS interview, so that seems covered.

 

Everyone seems to focus upon "joint phone" though we do not.  I use prepaid Straight Talk @$35/month.  I bought her a iphone5 for $32 on Ebay and we use H2O which costs (really) less than $5/month (no data, limited minutes/texts.  It irks me that so much seems to be put on "joint phone bills," but, of course, that does not matter.  Will this be an issue? My husband is part of his dads family plan. Since there are already 5 people on there, we decided not to burden my FIL with my name on there too. So I have my own plan

 

I have added her to my oil bill, and will add to electric and water/sewer, will "late add" be an issue? Don't think so. I recently added myself to a few bills (we got married in September 2018) cause I don't see the use of it before I have my EAD. Since my date is getting closer I felt it was time to add myself. I'm pretty sure USCIS understands that moving and getting married in a short period of time is very overwhelming and that adding your spouse to stuff takes a little time.

 

"Sworn affidavit's" 

 

This is the area I worry most about.  I have no relatives that have ever met her, nor do I care.  My siblings attempted to "write me out" of an inheritance and I responded with legal action so there's hard feelings there.  We are a very private couple, with no close friends so when I ask, who could  have "personal knowledge of the validity of the marriage,"  I'm at a bit of a loss.  We do have a tenant who has seen us and he was introduced to her as my "new wife," upon her arrival and subsequent marriage last July--would that be useful?  He sees us together all the time, but has no "personal knowledge of the validity," only that he sees that we live together and say we are husband and wife.  The only other person that I can think of who know us as "husband and wife" is the teacher of an English class for new immigrants.  This teacher asked me to take the group of students on a woodland walk because I am a bit of an expert on wild mushrooms.  Naturally I was introduced as my wife's husband.  Would this be useful? You guys have 0 friends or co workers that know you guys as a couple? (not trying to judge here, legitimate question)  If you have enough other supporting evidence this is not even necessary. It's also considered secondary evidence.

 

Any suggestions, please?  

 

[Balamban 113]

Thank you for your input C90.

I checked today with a lawyer, cost to put her name on our house is $200 + ~$50 fee so I’m doing that.

About credit cards, what new immigrant with an EAD that is exactly ten days old would have any credit score at all?  And I agree my FICO is 767 and I have worked a decade to bring that up from 625 and don’t want it hurt.
Yes, we have 0 friend that know us as a couple.  I’m full-time in college and she is taking English and an Office Skills class.  No co-workers as I am not working now since I’m in college (and income has not been an issue, my 2016/2017 income was excellent.  2018 = zero.  But USCIS does not seem to care about that.

My tenant knows us as a couple, since I introduced him to “my new wife,” and naturally he sees us coming and going all the time—though we are not social friends.   The reality is that I’m much closer to her family (and extended family) in the Philippines.  I wonder if a sworn affidavit from her previous employer in the Phils would be useful.  I proposed to her at their house in Cebu, have spent a good deal of time, and they are in weekly contact with my wife and naturally see me if only to wave hi and say Kumusta ka (they speak predominantly in Bisayan).  Would USCIS even look at a an affidavit of an overseas person/couple?  The former employers are not true relatives.

Thanks again
 

[Balamban 113]

K1Visa Hopeful, we DID just receive a RFE, today.  Our interview was just a week ago.

 

It seemed positive but the agent brought us in separately, not together at all.  I was in with him about 30 minutes the same for my wife, we were not interviewed together.  Now, after reading I’m wondering was this a “Stokes interview?”

Oddly, we thought, we had everything in file folders including a photo album which could be looked at together.  The only thing he asked for and took was a copy of our marriage license and copies of bank statements—nothing else.

My wife when stressed blinks her eyes repeatedly almost like a twitch and I’m sure that occurred and that may be thought of as a negative thing.

Short take: We had every document that they asked for (if it existed) except affidavits in hand.
 

[Lemonslice 4,836]

Will, living will, or medical directives?  State ID/Driver's licences with the same address? Tax transcripts?

 

Are you listing each other as beneficiaries on your checking/savings/retirement or pension individual accounts?

Edited February 5, 2019 by Lemonslice

[Balamban 113]

Will done.  Medical directives--good idea!  

State Driver's License, she only became eligible to take the test not too many days ago.  NH requires an EAD in hand but that will be good evidence.

 

Taxes, she only came here last summer so 2018 is not yet done, I'll do joint takes and have copies by the time the package has to be sent in.

 

Don't need to list as joint beneficiaries if the checking/savings is joint account--or am I wrong?

 

She is survivor benefit on my 401k.   

 

Nice ideas, thank you.

[C90 376]

2 hours ago, Balamban said:

Thank you for your input C90.

I checked today with a lawyer, cost to put her name on our house is $200 + ~$50 fee so I’m doing that.

About credit cards, what new immigrant with an EAD that is exactly ten days old would have any credit score at all? Put her on your credit card as an authorized user (if you didn't do that yet) My husband did that right before I got here in August 2018 and my credit score went from zero to good in about 4-5 months. And I agree my FICO is 767 and I have worked a decade to bring that up from 625 and don’t want it hurt.yeah, don't get a joint credit card. You prob would get denied for that based on her non existing score and if it would be granted it could hurt your score.
Yes, we have 0 friend that know us as a couple.  I’m full-time in college and she is taking English and an Office Skills class.  No co-workers as I am not working now since I’m in college (and income has not been an issue, my 2016/2017 income was excellent.  2018 = zero.  But USCIS does not seem to care about that.

My tenant knows us as a couple, since I introduced him to “my new wife,” and naturally he sees us coming and going all the time—though we are not social friends.   The reality is that I’m much closer to her family (and extended family) in the Philippines.  I wonder if a sworn affidavit from her previous employer in the Phils would be useful.  I proposed to her at their house in Cebu, have spent a good deal of time, and they are in weekly contact with my wife and naturally see me if only to wave hi and say Kumusta ka (they speak predominantly in Bisayan).  Would USCIS even look at a an affidavit of an overseas person/couple?  The former employers are not true relatives. I would not go with the employer, but you could try her family (please someone correct me if I'm wrong) If your wife is not fluent in English and you're not fluent in her language, you would need to have it translated by someone that is fluent in both languages. That person also needs to provide a sworn explanation that he/she is.

Thanks again
 

 

[Lemonslice 4,836]

21 minutes ago, Balamban said:

Will done.  Medical directives--good idea!  

State Driver's License, she only became eligible to take the test not too many days ago.  NH requires an EAD in hand but that will be good evidence.

 

Taxes, she only came here last summer so 2018 is not yet done, I'll do joint takes and have copies by the time the package has to be sent in.

 

Don't need to list as joint beneficiaries if the checking/savings is joint account--or am I wrong?

 

She is survivor benefit on my 401k.   

 

Nice ideas, thank you.

You can usually get a state ID faster than a driver's licence.  Most people I know have individual accounts in addition to their joint accounts; I meant for yours and hers individual accounts. 

Edited February 6, 2019 by Lemonslice

[SB5130 88]

5 hours ago, Balamban said:

K1Visa Hopeful, we DID just receive a RFE, today.  Our interview was just a week ago.

 

It seemed positive but the agent brought us in separately, not together at all.  I was in with him about 30 minutes the same for my wife, we were not interviewed together.  Now, after reading I’m wondering was this a “Stokes interview?”

Oddly, we thought, we had everything in file folders including a photo album which could be looked at together.  The only thing he asked for and took was a copy of our marriage license and copies of bank statements—nothing else.

My wife when stressed blinks her eyes repeatedly almost like a twitch and I’m sure that occurred and that may be thought of as a negative thing.

Short take: We had every document that they asked for (if it existed) except affidavits in hand.
 

quick question. are there transactions on your bank statements? Not sure if a joint account "for show" would help. 

 

back then when i did my AOS. we submitted the following: 

-bank statements from joint bank account (this is our only checking account and so the bank statement shows it all)

-joint bills (internet, water, electricity, phone)

-Joint insurance (health, dental, vision)

-Joint Tax Returns 

-Receipts for gifts for my in-laws (flower addressed to my mother in law, cake for my father in law, etc)

 

My husband got our home prior to our wedding. The mortgage is still under his name. We chose not to add me in the mortgage. 

As for the credit card, my husband doesnt have one. I applied for credit card to build credit score and added my husband as a registered user. This doesn't made the cut for AOS. Im planning to submit it for ROC. 

 

Other evidences I was planning to add for my ROC:

-evidences of trips together

-pics of us attending social gatherings with family and family 

- joint car insurance

-proof that i am my husband's beneficiary and he is my beneficiary 

 

[SB5130 88]

6 hours ago, Balamban said:

Thank you for your input C90.

I checked today with a lawyer, cost to put her name on our house is $200 + ~$50 fee so I’m doing that.

About credit cards, what new immigrant with an EAD that is exactly ten days old would have any credit score at all?  And I agree my FICO is 767 and I have worked a decade to bring that up from 625 and don’t want it hurt.
Yes, we have 0 friend that know us as a couple.  I’m full-time in college and she is taking English and an Office Skills class.  No co-workers as I am not working now since I’m in college (and income has not been an issue, my 2016/2017 income was excellent.  2018 = zero.  But USCIS does not seem to care about that.

After moving here from Philippines, I didn't have a credit history as well. I applied for a credit card and a year after my FICO score got up to 727. Not bad for an immigrant. I think she can apply for a credit card. There are banks that offer credit cards to folks who doesnt have a credit history and whats to build/re-build credit. Bank of America for example. 

Edited February 6, 2019 by SB5130

[SalishSea 17,824]

5 hours ago, Balamban said:

K1Visa Hopeful, we DID just receive a RFE, today.  Our interview was just a week ago.

 

It seemed positive but the agent brought us in separately, not together at all.  I was in with him about 30 minutes the same for my wife, we were not interviewed together.  Now, after reading I’m wondering was this a “Stokes interview?”

Oddly, we thought, we had everything in file folders including a photo album which could be looked at together.  The only thing he asked for and took was a copy of our marriage license and copies of bank statements—nothing else.

My wife when stressed blinks her eyes repeatedly almost like a twitch and I’m sure that occurred and that may be thought of as a negative thing.

Short take: We had every document that they asked for (if it existed) except affidavits in hand.
 

Is there a large age difference?  Do either of you have kids?

[Balamban 113]

SB5130 you asked "quick question. are there transactions on your bank statements? Not sure if a joint account "for show" would help."

 

Plenty, but we haven't used a check for payment in ages.  So almost all payments are simply done online and that does not show who initiated the transaction.  I'm not sure how to differentiate a "for show," and not for show account.  She could go down and empty both accounts and walk away with quite a lot of cash.  If that doesn't prove something, I'm not sure what would.

 

Jorgedig, yes there is a significant age difference, from the Philippine forums that does not make (nor did it) a difference at the Phil embassy.  Perhaps that is the reason why the RFE?  A big age difference does not mean marriage fraud, or is that a big red flag when it comes to AOS in America? 

[SalishSea 17,824]

1 hour ago, Balamban said:

SB5130 you asked "quick question. are there transactions on your bank statements? Not sure if a joint account "for show" would help."

 

Plenty, but we haven't used a check for payment in ages.  So almost all payments are simply done online and that does not show who initiated the transaction.  I'm not sure how to differentiate a "for show," and not for show account.  She could go down and empty both accounts and walk away with quite a lot of cash.  If that doesn't prove something, I'm not sure what would.

 

Jorgedig, yes there is a significant age difference, from the Philippine forums that does not make (nor did it) a difference at the Phil embassy.  Perhaps that is the reason why the RFE?  A big age difference does not mean marriage fraud, or is that a big red flag when it comes to AOS in America? 

I have heard that a significant age diffference does not create issues at the consular level for PH, but I’m really not sure for AOS.

 

I would say it’s not too late to add her to whichever bills/utilities will allow it.  We added my husband to the power/gas, garbage/recycling, cell phones and cable/internet. The water/sewer wouldn’t allow as he’s not on the house deed yet.

 

Best of luck!