I'm Filing Form I-130 Online Now -- Some Questions

[D2345 2]

Hi all,

 

I'm working on filing the Form I-130 online now, and I had some quick questions about some of the things it asks.

 

First of all, let me explain my situation. I am a US citizen with a US permanent address and US employment. I travel overseas a lot for hobby, and even more now that I've married a foreigner.

 

My wife is an Indonesian citizen and I am here in Indo with her at a small hotel (we married in Indo). I plan to stay here in Indo with her throughout the whole application process if possible, but if borders open up again we will do some traveling around Asia in the meantime.

 

Here are the questions stumping me from Forms I-130 and I-130A:

 

1) "Where does the beneficiary live now?" Her permanent home address is her parents' home in Indonesia, and she still has this on all of her IDs and documents. But technically we are a married couple staying in a hotel together for the foreseeable future (although we may leave this hotel tomorrow if domestic travel opens up). Is it okay to use her home address for this question, rather than the hotel address? This would be easier than going back and trying to update all her ID cards, etc for an address that is only temporary anyway (the hotel).

 

2) Where in the United States does the beneficiary intend to live? I put my US home address for this. What if that address changes during the application process? Truthfully I have no idea where we will be living when we come back to the US. Will it cause a problem if we decide to live somewhere else?

 

3) Where did you and your spouse last live together? This is the tricky question. How in the world do I answer this? Should I put our hotel address, or her parents' home address? Or should I say we never lived together, since we don't have a permanent address together yet? The problem if I answer with the hotel address, is that it will create a discrepancy with the question in 1) because all of her ID cards and documents show her home address (parents' house). Not to mention we have no idea how long we will be at this hotel address. We've been at this hotel for 3 months now, but may be leaving it next week.

 

4) At which USCIS office will the beneficiary apply for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident? I assume this question does not apply to us since she's outside the US and will become a permanent resident automatically when she uses her visa to enter the country. Correct?

 

5) At which U.S. Embassy or Consulate location will the beneficiary apply for an immigrant visa? I assume this would be the local embassy in her home province where we are staying (Bali), correct? We have a US Embassy/Consulate here in Bali, but I'm not sure if we can do it here or if that would need to be done in Jakarta?

 

6) Additional proof of marriage. Is it good enough to show a bank account statement with both of our names on it, or do I need other documentation too for Form I-130?

 

7 ) Address History (Form I-130A). Again, the next form (I-130A) asks for my wife's address history for the last 5 years. I would much prefer to use her home address and not the hotel address, if this is okay.

[Punisher 40]

With all due respect, the questions on the form (that you pointed out) are very simple and straightforward. If you don't understand the meaning then ask 5 other different married couples (even strangers) what would they answer in their case and then you would understand how to "approach" answering them. These are the simple questions that apply to majority of circumstances people. You travel a lot, I get it, but "traveling" is not "living".

 

1. where benef lives now. nobody asks if it's permanent, if own the place etc. if you are temporarily "stuck" due to travel or covid, it is not the place you "live". similarly, if you are filling up  the form at Starbucks coffee place, you don't put that address, do you? put her parent's house.

2. where do you plan to reside. yes your home address is fine even if it changes in the future.

3. where did you live last together. again, "live" not stayed temporarily. Married couples must "live" together, how are you going to prove your relationship if you did not? If you lived together at her parent's house, put that one in.

4. leave blank

5. enter which embassy she will be going to

6. I-130 is about proving your relationships are genuine. Provide as much proof (pictures, bills, statements, common ownership, trips etc etc).

7. address history for the last x years. simple questions of places she "lived" at.

 

Besides, please do a little searching and reading on the forum and don't come asking to have everything (even simplest of the simplest) handed to you on the silver platter.

 

If you have trouble with such basic questions then it is only going to get much worse down the road (NVC, embassy). Consider hiring someone (like "pushbrk") to help you up.

Edited June 23, 2020 by Punisher

[D2345 2]

39 minutes ago, Punisher said:

3. where did you live last together. again, "live" not stayed temporarily. Married couples must "live" together, how are you going to prove your relationship if you did not? If you lived together at her parent's house, put that one in.

We've never lived together in her parents' house, but I guess I could say that on the application anyways?

 

It's not technically true, but like you said I don't think temporary stays in hotels are what they mean either.

 

 

Quote: "Married couples must "live" together, how are you going to prove your relationship if you did not?"

 

Huh? How are you suggesting I write on the application that I live in the US (which I technically do), while also proving my relationship with my wife by saying that I live with her in a foreign country? Those two things are contradictory.

Edited June 23, 2020 by D2345

[Punisher 40]

15 minutes ago, D2345 said:

We've never lived together in her parents' house, but I guess I could say that on the application anyways.

 

It's not technically true, but like you said I don't think temporary stays in hotels are what they mean either.

 

 

Quote: "Married couples must "live" together, how are you going to prove your relationship if you did not?"

 

Huh? How are you suggesting I write on the application that I live in the US (which I technically do), while also proving my relationship with my wife by saying that I live with her in a foreign country? Those two things are contradictory.

The only "contradictory" here are your statements and the fact that in this thread and others you have very obvious problem of understanding basic questions being asked on the form. Therefore I really suggest hiring someone to help you out.

 

"Normally" married couple live together or at the very least "lived" together before being apart (for one reason or the other). For the purpose of I-130 you have to prove your relationship. It is much harder to convince USCIS you have bona fide marriage if you haven't lived together.

 

Your question #3 suggested it was "tricky question". My reply was simple: put the last address you both lived at together. There is nothing tricky.

 

The only suggestion I have for you is to hire someone to help you out, seriously. Otherwise please READ I-130 INSTRUCTIONS.

 

You are either living in US and therefore never lived with your spouse

OR

you are living abroad with or without your spouse.

 

Nobody can decide here for you where you live and where you do not, as it seems like you have trouble determining it by yourself. 

Edited June 23, 2020 by Punisher

[D2345 2]

Just now, Punisher said:

The only "contradictory" here are your statements and the fact that in this thread and others you have very obvious problem of understanding basic questions being asked on the form. Therefore I really suggest hiring someone to help you out.

 

"Normally" married couple live together or at the very least "lived" together before being apart (for one reason or the other). For the purpose of I-130 you have to prove your relationship. 

 

Your question #3 suggested it was "tricky question". My reply was simple: put the last address you both lived at together. There is nothing tricky.

 

The only suggestion I have for you is to hire someone to help you out, seriously.

 

You are either living in US and therefore never lived with your spouse

OR

you are living abroad with or without your spouse.

 

Nobody can decide here for you where you live and where you do not, as it seems like you have trouble determining it by yourself. 

Right. We don't have a "normal" living arrangement though, so of course I want to be absolutely sure my answers on the form are correct and whether it might cause any problems for our application.

 

You yourself said -- Married couples must "live" together, how are you going to prove your relationship if you did not? 

 

You also seem incredibly butthurt over something so minor.

 

There's a sticky at the top about bad attitudes. Maybe you should go look at it. Or use the search function if you have trouble finding it, genius.

 

You can always back out of my thread if it bothers you so much.

[Punisher 40]

14 minutes ago, D2345 said:

You yourself said -- Married couples must "live" together, how are you going to prove your relationship if you did not? 

 

You also seem incredibly butthurt over something so minor.

 

There's a sticky at the top about bad attitudes. Maybe you should go look at it. Or use the search function if you have trouble finding it, genius.

Married couples must live together "at some point". At least to have good proof of bona fides of the marriage. So if you lived together (at any point) then that's the answer you are supposed to provide.

 

Who seems to be "hurt"? I provided you with all the answers one can give you without getting into your special "arrangement". I also provided you with the best IMO suggestion (seeing your questions on this forum) to hire someone to get it done for you (like user "pushbrk" on this forum).

 

Is it minor? Well, I would like to see the look on the face of AO (at consulate or otherwise) when you are trying to explain him your special "arrangement". Anything out of ordinary usually adds scrutiny. Again, it is only going to get much harder for you down the road, if it is not already.

 

Interesting that you had time to read sticky yet you haven't read I-130 Instructions (it doesn't take a "genius" to find it but I will happily send you a link if you need it) that clearly and in detail explain some of the issues you asked about. Do yourself a favor and hire someone to get it done for you. 

 

You are right though, you or your situation does not bother me (why should it?) and I will happily leave your thread. Good luck.

[Melc 138]

3 hours ago, D2345 said:

We've never lived together in her parents' house, but I guess I could say that on the application anyways?

When it comes to US immigration, never "say something anyways" if it's not true. It can make a foreign national permanently ineligible to enter the US. 

If you did not live together, you did not live together and the relevant field would therefore be filled in with N/A.

 

There is no legal requirement to have lived together. There is a legal requirement to be in a bona fide marriage.

 

Given that you're staying in a hotel, in your situation, I'd be inclined to say you don't live there. However, you could attach a copy of the invoice/a hotel statement to help prove that you're in a bona fide marriage. 

Edited June 23, 2020 by Melc

[Carlcayl 8]

Hi! I, the beneficiary, live in Canada and my husband is a USC living in the USA and we had a quickly approved CR-1. Here's what I did.

1) "Where does the beneficiary live now?" I'm the beneficiary, and my husband put down my current home address, in Canada. This is the spot where I have all my records attached and would like to receive mail. My ID, taxes and everything is attached to this address. 

 

2) Where in the United States does the beneficiary intend to live? We wrote down where my husband currently lives in the USA, which is most likely where we will continue to live. If plans change I believe you can adjust your documents by contacting USCIS. 

 

3) Where did you and your spouse last live together? We never lived together. 'Living together', with my status, would be illegal. It's perfectly fine to have never lived together but this may mean it's harder to prove a bonafide relationship with official US documents involved. 

 

4) At which USCIS office will the beneficiary apply for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident? This is for people doing an AOS or adjustment of Status, I did a CR-1 so this didn't apply to me.

 

5) At which U.S. Embassy or Consulate location will the beneficiary apply for an immigrant visa? Her embassy/consulate is the one of the country she's a citizen of. So mine is Montreal because there's only the Montreal consulate in Canada. 

 

6) Additional proof of marriage. You need a lot more than a bank statement. Bank statement is great, but include more. Some ideas I did- If you can, add her to your apartment lease. Definitely add her onto any bank cards you can. Add her onto bill payments. You might need an ITIN for this stuff but ya should get one anyways for tax purposes. We also used a few affadavits from people who know both of us, explaining straightforwardly how they knew us, what they'd done with us etc, with photos of their IDs and swearing they were true under penalty of perjury within the letters. Receipts of gifts purchased by one partner and sent to the other, mail back and forth, trip itineraries,  travel tickets like planes or trains, phone call logs, online chat logs, etc. They want to see that you are actually interacting and having a relationship. 

 

7 ) Address History (Form I-130A). I personally don't think you should use a hotel address unless it's a permanent residency. A residency is where your documents are attached and you normally would recieve mail IMO. 


Good luck!

Edited June 23, 2020 by Carlcayl