RFE for form I-751

[gelincik 0]

Hello all! This is my first time posting on an immigration forum, so please let me know if I've left any important information out.

 

My husband had gotten his 2-year permanent residence card in August 2017, and we had absolutely no issues with that process. We didn't even use a lawyer! The interview was a breeze and the USCIS case worker who interviewed us even commented that we had left her with a stack of paperwork almost 2 inches thick because we had submitted more evidence than she really needed. We figured that removing the conditions on his permanent residence would be just as easy.

 

At the time that we submitted the I-751, we were living in my parents' house so that we could save money. We had been married for over two years at that point, and submitted a variety of evidence to support our bona fide marriage, including:

 

our joint credit card statement

2017 and 2018 joint tax returns

auto insurance showing both of our names

a statement showing both of us on the same health insurance policy through my employer

a statement showing him as the beneficiary on my 401k

a statement showing him as the beneficiary for my stock account

affidavits from my spouse and I swearing to a bona fide marriage

an affidavit from my mother swearing to the bona fide nature of our marriage (she also was a joint sponsor for his first green card since at the time my income was not high enough)

dozens of photos of my spouse and I with dates, locations, and names of other people pictured 

 

Now on to the complicated part- shortly after my spouse and I sent in the form I-751, he made the decision to move to MA because he got a job opportunity that we both agreed would be good for his career. He moved in June of 2019. We agreed that I would stay with my parents instead of moving with him because it would be cheaper for him to live in an apartment with roommates and for me to live rent-free with my parents rather than pay rent on a one-bedroom apartment. At that time, I also had a well-paying job with good benefits that we agreed I should keep. The plan was for us to work and save money, and I would move to MA to be with him sometime in Summer 2020 because I was planning to attend (and have now been accepted and paid a deposit to) a graduate program in MA that starts in September 2020. Since then, we visit each other once every 2 months on average, we call and FaceTime every day, and are still fully committed to living as a married couple once I move to MA for school. We have begun looking for apartments, but haven't signed a lease yet because we aren't sure what will happen our jobs during the current pandemic.

 

Today, we received an RFE on the basis that we have not submitted sufficient evidence to prove a bona fide marriage. I'm not sure what else I can submit to support our case. I plan to write the details of our situation in an affidavit that we will both sign and have notarized. We are no longer on the same health insurance as I have since quit my job to focus on school. He is uninsured and I am on my mother's plan (I am under 26).

 

The only other evidence that I can think of would be to convert my individual brokerage account (this is a separate stock account from the one listed in the evidence above) to a joint account and add his name, and also open a joint savings account (although we really don't make a lot of money so I don't know how much help that would be if we can't show that we're consistently using the account). We can also submit our 2019 tax return once we have it in hand. 

 

Ultimately, I suspect we'll have to just explain the situation in the most detailed and honest way we can, and then throw ourselves on the mercy of USCIS, unless anyone has any other suggestions? PLEASE HELP!! I can answer any questions about details that are unclear in my post

[Nitas_man 3,100]

Common items that you didn’t mention

 

1.  Bank account

2.  Shared car insurance

3.  Drivers licenses with matching addresses

4.  Other things that show you both at the same address such as:

Utilities

Memberships

Bills mailed to either of you to a matching address

W2’s from employers - yours and his with address

School records to same address

Records showing you are emergency contacts for each other

 

 

Edited March 30, 2020 by Nitas_man

[tu2008 97]

 

37 minutes ago, gelincik said:

At the time that we submitted the I-751, we were living in my parents' house so that we could save money.

You did not provide clear conclusive evidence of cohabitation. Did you explain your living situation when you filed that you were living with parents and did the affidavit from the parent explain this? If not, how else is USCIS going to figure this out?

 

Please put yourself in the officer's shoes and understand why they may have asked for more evidence.

[gelincik 0]

5 minutes ago, tu2008 said:

 

You did not provide clear conclusive evidence of cohabitation. Did you explain your living situation when you filed that you were living with parents and did the affidavit from the parent explain this? If not, how else is USCIS going to figure this out?

 

Please put yourself in the officer's shoes and understand why they may have asked for more evidence.

Hi tu2008! 

 

I actually went back into our file of documents that we had sent. My mother specifically spoke about our having moved back home in her affidavit. We also provided copies of both of our drivers licenses when we filed the I-751, which were from the state where my parents live and showed the same residential address. 

 

[JFH 12,191]

*~*~*duplicate thread removed. Please post each question only once*~*~*

[Phoenix777 73]

Hi, what is the service center and when did you apply? 
I would recommend to submit some letters form friends confirming your marriage, may be get dental insurance together, it’s not expensive. Some previous Hotel reservations if you traveled.

[tu2008 97]

46 minutes ago, gelincik said:

Hi tu2008! 

 

I actually went back into our file of documents that we had sent. My mother specifically spoke about our having moved back home in her affidavit. We also provided copies of both of our drivers licenses when we filed the I-751, which were from the state where my parents live and showed the same residential address. 

 

That is a great start. 

 

In your reply to RFE, create a time line of residential addresses you lived at since marriage till now and provide clear explanation of the situation. Hopefully you will be approved soon.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

55 minutes ago, gelincik said:

Hi tu2008! 

 

I actually went back into our file of documents that we had sent. My mother specifically spoke about our having moved back home in her affidavit. We also provided copies of both of our drivers licenses when we filed the I-751, which were from the state where my parents live and showed the same residential address. 

 

Joint car insurance to match?

[gelincik 0]

2 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

Joint car insurance to match?

Nitas_man:

 

auto insurance is the third item in the list of evidence in the original post

[gelincik 0]

54 minutes ago, Phoenix777 said:

Hi, what is the service center and when did you apply? 
I would recommend to submit some letters form friends confirming your marriage, may be get dental insurance together, it’s not expensive. Some previous Hotel reservations if you traveled.

We definitely need affidavits from friends. I had mentioned on this thread my mom has already done one. I think the difficulty right now is getting them notarized, as everyone we would ask to use is self-quarantining and won't go to the bank for notary services.

The hotel reservations are a great idea! We did take a couple of trips together since living apart, although our reservations are typically under one person's name. I guess we can just include the receipts and attest to them in new affidavits?

[Nitas_man 3,100]

12 minutes ago, gelincik said:

We definitely need affidavits from friends. I had mentioned on this thread my mom has already done one. I think the difficulty right now is getting them notarized, as everyone we would ask to use is self-quarantining and won't go to the bank for notary services.

The hotel reservations are a great idea! We did take a couple of trips together since living apart, although our reservations are typically under one person's name. I guess we can just include the receipts and attest to them in new affidavits?

Your evidence should reflect your life together from the beginning of your marriage, not just the last few months.  
 

Buying joint insurance now or setting up a joint bank now probably won’t help.

[Phoenix777 73]

Google notary who provide services to your location. Or I think notaries at bank should work as always. And answer please from which crevice center did you receive RFE? Texas, California, Nebraska?

and when did you file?

[gelincik 0]

8 minutes ago, Phoenix777 said:

Google notary who provide services to your location. Or I think notaries at bank should work as always. And answer please from which crevice center did you receive RFE? Texas, California, Nebraska?

and when did you file?

Hi there, 

Vermont Service Center, we filed May 29 2017

[carmel34 3,650]

From my experience in reading all the ROC posts, the two most common pieces of evidence they look for are a joint checking account, used for all the time since married, for joint household expenses.  You didn't provide that.  The other big one is a joint lease or joint mortgage or deed.  You didn't provide that either.  So try to fix those two things if you can and send the evidence with everything else you are gathering to bolster your case.  Good luck!

[angelbrown 195]

21 hours ago, gelincik said:

We definitely need affidavits from friends. I had mentioned on this thread my mom has already done one. I think the difficulty right now is getting them notarized, as everyone we would ask to use is self-quarantining and won't go to the bank for notary services.

The hotel reservations are a great idea! We did take a couple of trips together since living apart, although our reservations are typically under one person's name. I guess we can just include the receipts and attest to them in new affidavits?

You don’t need notarized affidavits. I sent affidavits from my mom, daughter, and niece. None of them were notarized. My husband was just approved with no RFE. And it seems you don’t need anymore secondary evidence.  From what you’ve shown us here, you need primary evidence, proof of cohabitation. It looks like the only evidence you submitted showing you live together is licenses with the same address.
-Joint bank account statements will be addressed  to both of you along with showing you both use the account

-W2 should show same address 
-bills or something showing you both receive mail at the address.

You could also maybe write a letter stating why you didn’t have certain evidence. For instance, with the package, I submitted a letter detailing why he wasn’t on certain things such as the house and bills - because I had those long before I met him and didn’t see a need to add him to those. However, I don’t think the letter will suffice as a replacement but in conjunction with. Good luck!

Edited March 31, 2020 by angelbrown