Need help!!! I-130

[PoojaCh 56]

Hello guys, 

 

I am in need of help. I would really appreciate your feedback/suggestions. I got married to my husband(USC) on Nov 30 2018. We’ve been together for the past two years. I met him when I was working in the US. I had to come back to my country(India) cause my work visa extension was denied due to some document issue. So now we are planning to apply for I-130 and we’ve hired a lawyer. As an evidence, we are submitting below documents: 

 

1. marriage certificate 
2. Proof of my husband’s citizenship( birth certificate)
3. His moms ID (lawyer asked for it)
4. My husband’s bank statements, pay stubs, w2.
5. My bank statements, paystubs, Income tax return form.
6. Our wedding pictures, a few pictures from when I was in the US with him, a few more pictures from his last trip to India( when we got married), 
7. We are planning to include his tickets to India in March( he is coming to visit me) but my lawyer says that’s not going to help.
8. We’re planning to include our daily chats(not the whole conversation cause it’s too long) but my lawyer says either upload the whole chat or don’t upload it at all cause the government might ask why did you add only a few screenshots and would want to know our conversation.
9. Our call logs (audio and video) cause we are always on the phone but my lawyer says that’s not a proof of marriage and even friends can talk every day and night( that was so weird). 
10. Life insurance: he added me as his beneficiary.
11. We managed to create a joint bank account but that doesn’t have any transaction so we are planning to do it every month from now on but my lawyer said that can be used at nvc stage but not now.
12. He is going to file his taxes this time as married so we can include that as well.

 

My lawyer says your case is weak since we haven’t lived together and he comes to visit me for only 10 days. I can’t ask my husband to quit his job and come stay with me cause we need to show financial support and it’s not possible for him to find a job here. I don’t know what to do. Please help me!!

 

[geowrian 22,337]

1. Required
2. Required
3. No idea why he asked for this...it's not required and isn't evidence of a bona fide marriage
4. Not needed at this time and will be outdated by the time they are needed (~7-10 months from I-130 filing). These are provided at the NVC stage along with the I-864.
5. Not needed or relevant at all. As noted above, the I-864 comes into play later. But furthermore, your income cannot be included unless it will continue from the same source upon entry into the US on the immigrant visa.
6. That's good as part of the supporting evidence.
7. Not helpful right now (he could cancel the tickets anytime or just not board the flight), but you can "side load" evidence of more visits at the NVC stage, or provide them at the interview. More visits is good, but planned visits aren't helpful until they actually occur.
8. Highly disagree. Sending a representative subset of your chats is fine. We sent 1 page of chats for each month we knew each other. No IO or CO is going to look through the entire chat logs unless they are very short.
9. Disagree...call logs are fine supporting evidence. It's not primary evidence, but certainly better than nothing.
10. Good
11. I wouldn't include a joint account without activity. Once you have activity showing that you use it together, then I would submit evidence of it. Otherwise it just looks like you're having the account to bolster your case, not for real marriage use.
12. He must file as either married filing jointly or married filed separately (or Head of Household with a non-spouse dependent in his household). Tax filing status is not evidence of a bona fide marriage.

 

Personally, it sounds like you might be a little weak on the evidence side of things, but if you throw in more evidence of the time spent together (places you've gone, visits, etc.) then it sounds like a pretty typical case (assuming no red flags). Time spent in person is the best evidence, and it sounds like you've spent a decent amount of time in person. Correct me if I'm wrong..that's just how I read it.

 

The lawyer's advice sounds flakey at best IMO. Some items he wants are not relevant or useful at this time, and others he suggests not sending that are at the very least better than nothing (and are commonly provided by others).

I highly suggest looking at the guide on VJ (https://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1), reading all instructions, asking questions, and seeing what others from India have provided as bona fide marriage evidence. Or at the very least, get a consult with somebody else.

[PoojaCh 56]

29 minutes ago, geowrian said:

1. Required
2. Required
3. No idea why he asked for this...it's not required and isn't evidence of a bona fide marriage
4. Not needed at this time and will be outdated by the time they are needed (~7-10 months from I-130 filing). These are provided at the NVC stage along with the I-864.
5. Not needed or relevant at all. As noted above, the I-864 comes into play later. But furthermore, your income cannot be included unless it will continue from the same source upon entry into the US on the immigrant visa.
6. That's good as part of the supporting evidence.
7. Not helpful right now (he could cancel the tickets anytime or just not board the flight), but you can "side load" evidence of more visits at the NVC stage, or provide them at the interview. More visits is good, but planned visits aren't helpful until they actually occur.
8. Highly disagree. Sending a representative subset of your chats is fine. We sent 1 page of chats for each month we knew each other. No IO or CO is going to look through the entire chat logs unless they are very short.
9. Disagree...call logs are fine supporting evidence. It's not primary evidence, but certainly better than nothing.
10. Good
11. I wouldn't include a joint account without activity. Once you have activity showing that you use it together, then I would submit evidence of it. Otherwise it just looks like you're having the account to bolster your case, not for real marriage use.
12. He must file as either married filing jointly or married filed separately (or Head of Household with a non-spouse dependent in his household). Tax filing status is not evidence of a bona fide marriage.

 

Personally, it sounds like you might be a little weak on the evidence side of things, but if you throw in more evidence of the time spent together (places you've gone, visits, etc.) then it sounds like a pretty typical case (assuming no red flags). Time spent in person is the best evidence, and it sounds like you've spent a decent amount of time in person. Correct me if I'm wrong..that's just how I read it.

 

The lawyer's advice sounds flakey at best IMO. Some items he wants are not relevant or useful at this time, and others he suggests not sending that are at the very least better than nothing (and are commonly provided by others).

I highly suggest looking at the guide on VJ (https://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1), reading all instructions, asking questions, and seeing what others from India have provided as bona fide marriage evidence. Or at the very least, get a consult with somebody else.

Thank you for your response. Yes we did spend time with each other when I was living in the US but there is no evidence of it other than a few pictures. we did not live together. I moved to India in October 2017 and we met directly in 2018 nov cause of money issues. Now that the issue has been resolved, my husband would be visiting me in March and then we will meet in London in July( his sister lives there so we will visit her). But that’s in future. I am not sure if the evidence we have currently is enough or should we wait till he visits me in March. 

[pushbrk 12,898]

15 hours ago, PoojaCh said:

Thank you for your response. Yes we did spend time with each other when I was living in the US but there is no evidence of it other than a few pictures. we did not live together. I moved to India in October 2017 and we met directly in 2018 nov cause of money issues. Now that the issue has been resolved, my husband would be visiting me in March and then we will meet in London in July( his sister lives there so we will visit her). But that’s in future. I am not sure if the evidence we have currently is enough or should we wait till he visits me in March. 

The evidence of time spent together in the US is your passport stamps showing entry and exit dates, as well as your declaration of your residence addresses being in the same area, etc.

[PoojaCh 56]

7 hours ago, pushbrk said:

The evidence of time spent together in the US is your passport stamps showing entry and exit dates, as well as your declaration of your residence addresses being in the same area, etc.

Thank you! So his tax return includes his office address and my rental agreement would be a proof. Also, could you please let me know if we should wait till March until he visits me again to make our case stronger or whatever we have for now is fine and those things can be shown at the nvc stage?

[pushbrk 12,898]

1 hour ago, PoojaCh said:

Thank you! So his tax return includes his office address and my rental agreement would be a proof. Also, could you please let me know if we should wait till March until he visits me again to make our case stronger or whatever we have for now is fine and those things can be shown at the nvc stage?

I don't see any reason to wait, but his tax return showing a business address doesn't seem to be evidence of anything.  He is declaring on a signed form, where he lived, and you will sign your visa application declaring your address history.  Yes, your rental agreement would be helpful.

[PoojaCh 56]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

I don't see any reason to wait, but his tax return showing a business address doesn't seem to be evidence of anything.  He is declaring on a signed form, where he lived, and you will sign your visa application declaring your address history.  Yes, your rental agreement would be helpful.

Is is true that they if I provide a few screenshots( just to prove we chat/talk daily) of whatsapp and text messages, they are going to get a hold of our entire conversation (from whatsapp and service provider) and read each and every line? That’s what my lawyer said when I asked him to add our chat history also. He said it’s better not add at all. I would really appreciate your response.

Edited February 13, 2019 by PoojaCh

[LilyJ 1,258]

4 hours ago, PoojaCh said:

Is is true that they if I provide a few screenshots( just to prove we chat/talk daily) of whatsapp and text messages, they are going to get a hold of our entire conversation (from whatsapp and service provider) and read each and every line? That’s what my lawyer said when I asked him to add our chat history also. He said it’s better not add at all. I would really appreciate your response.

They are very busy and want to get through as many cases as possible as they are already extremely backed up. I doubt that they are going to go through each and every message you have exchanged the past 2+ years that you have been together, they will only look at what you give them

[PoojaCh 56]

37 minutes ago, LilyJohansen said:

They are very busy and want to get through as many cases as possible as they are already extremely backed up. I doubt that they are going to go through each and every message you have exchanged the past 2+ years that you have been together, they will only look at what you give them

Ok thank you! So we will provide screenshots of our everyday conversation(not the entire but enough to prove that we are in touch every day). One more question, we have created a joint bank account(savings) but have not done any transaction yet. We are planning to transfer a small amount of money every month going forward. Should we include bank account details which has only one transaction while filing the petition or do this when we reach the nvc stage? Im sorry if I’m bombarding so many questions but my lawyer is of no help. Thanks to the person who created this forum. The process is so stressful 😓

[pushbrk 12,898]

11 hours ago, PoojaCh said:

Is is true that they if I provide a few screenshots( just to prove we chat/talk daily) of whatsapp and text messages, they are going to get a hold of our entire conversation (from whatsapp and service provider) and read each and every line? That’s what my lawyer said when I asked him to add our chat history also. He said it’s better not add at all. I would really appreciate your response.

Your lawyer is full of horse feathers.  I suppose it might be possible under some set of circumstances but it is pretty standard to provide examples of how and how frequently you communicate.

[PoojaCh 56]

15 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Your lawyer is full of horse feathers.  I suppose it might be possible under some set of circumstances but it is pretty standard to provide examples of how and how frequently you communicate.

Thank you so much! We will go ahead and file it with whatever we have. Lawyer scared me by saying it’s not going to be on us if they deny cause our case is weak since I have two prior denial (work permit due to document issue). He was saying you should live together for 2-3 months and my husband cannot quit his job and start living with me. We need his paystubs and all for the process. I don’t know why he said that. I hope everything goes well. 🙏

[KayMFrench 19]

Everything you're planning to submit and were told to submit seems about right.

The mother's ID thing is a bit odd, but who knows?

Don't forget to also include TWO passport-sized photos of Petitioner and TWO passport-sized photos of Beneficiary! That IS required.

Wish you all the best!

 

(Also in my husband's I-130 packet, I included his passports stamps showing that he has entered the US to visit me, and my passports stamps showing all of the times I have visited him in the UK. I also attached letters from our family and friends validating our relationship. These are just suggestions to help strengthen your case!)

Edited February 14, 2019 by KayMFrench

[geowrian 22,337]

7 minutes ago, KayMFrench said:

and TWO passport-sized photos of Beneficiary! That IS required.

Only if in the US. The OP is not in the US.

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-130instr.pdf

"You must submit two identical color passport-style photographs of yourself and your spouse (if he or she is in the United States) taken within 30 days of filing this petition. "

[PoojaCh 56]

21 hours ago, KayMFrench said:

Everything you're planning to submit and were told to submit seems about right.

The mother's ID thing is a bit odd, but who knows?

Don't forget to also include TWO passport-sized photos of Petitioner and TWO passport-sized photos of Beneficiary! That IS required.

Wish you all the best!

 

(Also in my husband's I-130 packet, I included his passports stamps showing that he has entered the US to visit me, and my passports stamps showing all of the times I have visited him in the UK. I also attached letters from our family and friends validating our relationship. These are just suggestions to help strengthen your case!)

Thank you very much for your suggestion  we will include his passport stamp when he came to visit me in India and also the ticket to India(though that’s in future but still we will include it). 

[PoojaCh 56]

21 hours ago, geowrian said:

Only if in the US. The OP is not in the US.

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-130instr.pdf

"You must submit two identical color passport-style photographs of yourself and your spouse (if he or she is in the United States) taken within 30 days of filing this petition. "

Thank you for your response! VJ has been so supportive  I’m glad I’ve joined. It will get me through the long and frustrating process. All the best to everyone who is going through the same thing I am going through and everyone get to be with their loved one.