Bonafide Marriage Evidence

[DannyT1991 3]

Hey Guys we need some advice 

 

so me and my wife got married on the 9th of February 2019 in Long beach and now i am back in the UK and we will start the visa process I-130 (CR1) soon.

Now we want some help

 

* we have a ton of photos from when we met 2016 to now 2019 (Wedding photos, trips to Rome, Edinburgh, Seville, Los Angeles (Disneyland) and Las Vegas, London and San Francisco) and also pictures with family members and friends

* call records from facetime and whats app

* we can get affidavits from family members from both sides

* flight itineraries with both our names on it for our trips 

 

but what we don't have is 

 

* a joint bank account

* joint tenancy since she lives in the USA and i live in the UK

 

will this be enough? or would we need more we are bit worried because we saw people talking about joint accounts and joint tenancy for evidence 

 

 

 

 

[Precisely 95]

13 minutes ago, DannyT1991 said:

Hey Guys we need some advice 

 

so me and my wife got married on the 9th of February 2019 in Long beach and now i am back in the UK and we will start the visa process I-130 (CR1) soon.

Now we want some help

 

* we have a ton of photos from when we met 2016 to now 2019 (Wedding photos, trips to Rome, Edinburgh, Seville, Los Angeles (Disneyland) and Las Vegas, London and San Francisco) and also pictures with family members and friends

* call records from facetime and whats app

* we can get affidavits from family members from both sides

* flight itineraries with both our names on it for our trips 

 

but what we don't have is 

 

* a joint bank account

* joint tenancy since she lives in the USA and i live in the UK

 

will this be enough? or would we need more we are bit worried because we saw people talking about joint accounts and joint tenancy for evidence 

 

 

 

 

This is fairly usual and completely fine.

 

I am CR1 too and am at the interview stage now. We only had 4 personal meets over a 2 and a half year period, no bank account or join tenancy. Ergo, we got i130 approval, NVC approval, and I hope this coming Monday, full approval. 

[DannyT1991 3]

1 minute ago, Apelcina said:

This is fairly usual and completely fine.

 

I am CR1 too and am at the interview stage now. We only had 4 personal meets over a 2 and a half year period, no bank account or join tenancy. Ergo, we got i130 approval, NVC approval, and I hope this coming Monday, full approval. 

what did you send in your package if you don't mind me asking?

[Precisely 95]

My wife is also from the states (married March 2018 and filed April 2018). Besides the required documentation (i.e. i130, i130a etc), she sent an affidavit from her parents and photos of our meets. That was it really. Of course if you have more, the better. Flight itineraries and tickets and anything to show its bonafide is helpful, but just reading your brief description it sounds stronger than ours.

 

The affidavit her parents wrote was pretty good, about a page long, and even threw this at the end for good measure (without me knowing), "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge."

 

Let me know if you need a hand with anything else.

Edited February 19, 2019 by Apelcina

[DannyT1991 3]

2 minutes ago, Apelcina said:

My wife is also from the states (married March 2018 and filed April 2018). Besides the required documentation (i.e. i130, i130a etc), she sent an affidavit from her parents and photos of our meets. That was it really. Of course if you have more, the better. Flight itineraries and tickets and anything to show its bonafide is helpful, but just reading your brief description it sounds stronger than ours.

 

The affidavit her parents wrote was pretty good, about a page long, and even threw this at the end for good measure (without me knowing), "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge."

Thanks Apelcina and all the best on your interview

[Precisely 95]

By the way, out of "Rome, Edinburgh, Seville, Los Angeles (Disneyland) and Las Vegas, London and San Francisco" the only place me and my wife haven't been to together is Edinburgh  

 

Congratulations and good luck.

[pushbrk 12,898]

41 minutes ago, DannyT1991 said:

Hey Guys we need some advice 

 

so me and my wife got married on the 9th of February 2019 in Long beach and now i am back in the UK and we will start the visa process I-130 (CR1) soon.

Now we want some help

 

* we have a ton of photos from when we met 2016 to now 2019 (Wedding photos, trips to Rome, Edinburgh, Seville, Los Angeles (Disneyland) and Las Vegas, London and San Francisco) and also pictures with family members and friends

* call records from facetime and whats app

* we can get affidavits from family members from both sides

* flight itineraries with both our names on it for our trips 

 

but what we don't have is 

 

* a joint bank account

* joint tenancy since she lives in the USA and i live in the UK

 

will this be enough? or would we need more we are bit worried because we saw people talking about joint accounts and joint tenancy for evidence 

 

 

 

 

You've got other good answers already.  I would skip any affidavits.  Flight itineraries are helpful in understanding copies of passport stamps, but are not actual evidence of travel.  Matched up with the stamps in each of your passports, the combination is evidence of travel together.

[KayMFrench 19]

I am a US citizen and applied for my English husband as well. We applied back November (2018)

 

Below is what I  included in his petition:
x2 Passport Photos (Petitioner)
x2 Passport Photos (Beneficiary)
Form I-130
Form I-130a
Petitioner’s Birth Cert
Petitioner’s Passport
Beneficiary’s Birth Cert
Beneficiary’s Passport
Marriage License
Marriage Certificate
Facebook Chat/Call Log
Photos (20)
Past Flight Details/Passport Stamps 

 

[Precisely 95]

10 hours ago, pushbrk said:

You've got other good answers already.  I would skip any affidavits.  Flight itineraries are helpful in understanding copies of passport stamps, but are not actual evidence of travel.  Matched up with the stamps in each of your passports, the combination is evidence of travel together.

Out of interest, why would you skip any affidavits?

[pushbrk 12,898]

2 hours ago, Apelcina said:

Out of interest, why would you skip any affidavits?

Because at best, they are useless and at worst they make you look desparate.  This "option" has been around for more than a decade and has been useless for just as long.

[Chummu 19]

I would suggest giving affidavits because on i30 instructions by USCIS it's mentioned in one of the evidences to prove bona fide marriages. Why would they mention something which is not of importance to them?

[Ate 180]

1 hour ago, Chummu said:

I would suggest giving affidavits because on i30 instructions by USCIS it's mentioned in one of the evidences to prove bona fide marriages. Why would they mention something which is not of importance to them?

 

Because it's an option for people who can't provide more evidence of time spent together.  For example, newly-married couples who reside in different countries and can't make frequent visits.

 

But anyone can write an affidavit and say whatever they want with little consequence.  So it is weak evidence.  Keep the focus on your strong evidence and avoid clutter by skipping weak ones.

 

[Angelica&Jerry 1]

A joint bank account is not necessary because you need to be in the US to open one. The government wants to know if your marriage is authentic so if you have tickets, photos, chats, email is fine ... today I had my interview was fast they only asked me for photos ... good luck with your journey  

[Duncan21 202]

It's been 3 years since we sent in i-130, but we included the following:

 

* Notarized statement from petitioner describing how we met, relationship etc

* Years worth of phone call records from calling cards
* Facebook conversations and whatsapp conversations (not every single chat; more or less every other month or so to show continued communication)
* Pictures from all trips and, our engagement and our wedding.  Most pictures were with other people in them.  Pictures included family members and friends of both sides
* Flight itineraries and boarding passes of all trips to see each other, and hotel reservations/bills along with copies of both passports to show stamps matching up to trips
* Greeting cards to each other (Birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's Day etc)
* Life insurance policy showing applicant as beneficiary (social security number was not required)
* Retirement (401K) statement showing applicant as beneficiary (social security number was not required)
* Receipts of gifts bought for each other
* Confirmation of delivery for flowers bought for birthdays and Valentine's day
* Copy of same credit card of both beneficiary and petitioner (spouse was added as an authorized user [social security number is not needed for this])

 

Good luck!

[DannyT1991 3]

On 2/20/2019 at 5:03 AM, KayMFrench said:

I am a US citizen and applied for my English husband as well. We applied back November (2018)

 

Below is what I  included in his petition:
x2 Passport Photos (Petitioner)
x2 Passport Photos (Beneficiary)
Form I-130
Form I-130a
Petitioner’s Birth Cert
Petitioner’s Passport
Beneficiary’s Birth Cert
Beneficiary’s Passport
Marriage License
Marriage Certificate
Facebook Chat/Call Log
Photos (20)
Past Flight Details/Passport Stamps 

 

you know the passport bit is that photocopys of the passport and photocopys of the birthcert