I-130 Evidence-- affidavits from friends and family?

[shallot343 116]

[ I have posted here before under @shallott343 but can't seem to get back into my account, hence the new username]

 

Hey guys! you have been so helpful before, I am hoping you don't mind giving me some more advice even though I know this topic has been discussed to death!

 

 

I will be submitting my I-130 packet in about a month and I want to frontload as much as I can at this stage. I am the petitioner and my partner, the beneficiary, is a UK citizen. We will be submitting the packet very shortly after marriage (beneficiary will be coming into the US under VWP, we will marry, and then they will return to the UK for duration of CR-1 process). We are both over 18, very close in age, no criminal records, and never married before ,so I don't think there will be too many red flags!

 

Because we are submitting right after marriage I am a bit worried about the strength of our evidence of bona fide marriage (to note, we have been together well over 5 years and I was previously living in the UK for the majority of that time, though we never signed a lease together for a variety of reasons) I know that affidavits from family and friends are considered the weakest form of evidence but I was wondering if any of you thought they would be worth including? 

 

currently in our packet we have (or will have)

• marriage certificate (there is no ring and no "formal" wedding, we are just doing a city hall marriage) 
• required forms (I-130, I-130A, G-1145/check for $535/passport sized photos of myself and the beneficiary)
• my proof of US Citizenship (birth certificate and Passport scans)
• evidence of joint bank account (though this is a UK account and so I only use it when I am visiting)
• bank statements/official letters to each of us at the same UK address (we don't have a formal, signed lease but we have lived together on and off)
• boarding passes/trip confirmations/passport stamps from trips we took together and to see one another going back the entire length of the relationship (some of these are just flight confirmations as the boarding passes have long been lost)
• photographs of the two of us and the two of us with friends/family (these do not really have identifying local information, like local landmarks, so I don't know if they will be convincing)
• cards/notes/letters addressed to us as a couple from family and friends, and to each of us individually from the other's family and friends
• some selected chat logs/emails from various messaging apps showing us communicating daily going back the length of the relationship

 

Given the lack of joint assets and finances and the timeline for submission, I was wondering if anyone thought it would be worth it to include some affidavits from family and friends about our relationship? I know this is considered very weak evidence, but I'm not sure if it might be necessary given what we are currently working with?  

 

Could it hurt our application more than help?

 

Is there anything else I should include that I haven't mentioned here?

 

Thank you so much!

 

 

I will keep my timeline updated and make sure not to get locked out of this account too!

 

 

[zahra33 1]

On 2/6/2019 at 6:50 PM, shallot343 said:

[ I have posted here before under @shallott343 but can't seem to get back into my account, hence the new username]

 

Hey guys! you have been so helpful before, I am hoping you don't mind giving me some more advice even though I know this topic has been discussed to death!

 

 

I will be submitting my I-130 packet in about a month and I want to frontload as much as I can at this stage. I am the petitioner and my partner, the beneficiary, is a UK citizen. We will be submitting the packet very shortly after marriage (beneficiary will be coming into the US under VWP, we will marry, and then they will return to the UK for duration of CR-1 process). We are both over 18, very close in age, no criminal records, and never married before ,so I don't think there will be too many red flags!

 

Because we are submitting right after marriage I am a bit worried about the strength of our evidence of bona fide marriage (to note, we have been together well over 5 years and I was previously living in the UK for the majority of that time, though we never signed a lease together for a variety of reasons) I know that affidavits from family and friends are considered the weakest form of evidence but I was wondering if any of you thought they would be worth including? 

 

currently in our packet we have (or will have)

• marriage certificate (there is no ring and no "formal" wedding, we are just doing a city hall marriage) 
• required forms (I-130, I-130A, G-1145/check for $535/passport sized photos of myself and the beneficiary)
• my proof of US Citizenship (birth certificate and Passport scans)
• evidence of joint bank account (though this is a UK account and so I only use it when I am visiting)
• bank statements/official letters to each of us at the same UK address (we don't have a formal, signed lease but we have lived together on and off)
• boarding passes/trip confirmations/passport stamps from trips we took together and to see one another going back the entire length of the relationship (some of these are just flight confirmations as the boarding passes have long been lost)
• photographs of the two of us and the two of us with friends/family (these do not really have identifying local information, like local landmarks, so I don't know if they will be convincing)
• cards/notes/letters addressed to us as a couple from family and friends, and to each of us individually from the other's family and friends
• some selected chat logs/emails from various messaging apps showing us communicating daily going back the length of the relationship

 

Given the lack of joint assets and finances and the timeline for submission, I was wondering if anyone thought it would be worth it to include some affidavits from family and friends about our relationship? I know this is considered very weak evidence, but I'm not sure if it might be necessary given what we are currently working with?  

 

Could it hurt our application more than help?

 

Is there anything else I should include that I haven't mentioned here?

 

Thank you so much!

 

 

I will keep my timeline updated and make sure not to get locked out of this account too!

 

 

affidavits are not weak if you could include them with all of the great evidence u have then do it

[GraceJ21 70]

Hey there, we just filed some weeks ago and we included 4 affidavits per request of our lawyer. Two close friends who were present during the ceremony and both my spouse's parents who we have lived with for months when I've visited the US. She recommended we notorize all four of them, and include a copy of the person's passport or driver's license. It certainly can't hurt, especially if you already have pictures and tickets and everything else. 

[Duncan21 202]

It will only strengthen your application by including affidavits from friends/family.  We also submitted a notarized statement on our relationship (written by the petitioner), how we met, etc.  Not sure how long ago you were married, but if you ever filed taxes while married, then perhaps including a copy of your joint tax return, with foreign spouse as a non resident alien (NRA).  Other strong pieces of evidence may include spouse as beneficiary to life insurance, 401K etc.  Also, if you are planning to send gifts/flowers etc for Valentine's Day this week, be sure to include those receipts/confirmations of delivery.  Good luck!

[shallot343 116]

Thank you all so much for your help!

We are going to ask friends on both sides of the pond to write affidavits (notarizing won't be possible for the UK half because notaries aren't really a thing there!)

 

Unfortunately we won't be married until March 2019 so I won't be able to file taxes as married this time around.  

 

Best of luck to you as well! 

 

 

[John & Rose 7,239]

Affidavits are very weak on their own but they can be OK secondary proof.  They generally don't get looked at even if notarized since the notary verifies the signature not the statement.  Anybody and write anything they want so it is not considered compelling proof.  Adding other proof like photos, passport stamps, shared leases, insurance cards, utility bills in both names...are good primary proof.