advice for spouse visa needed (bonafide evidence)

[VJmember2020 32]

hello all , due to the pandemic we had to postpone our wedding which would of been this month. We continued onward with our legal registered marriage so we can continue filing for the spouse visa. For the evidence of bonafide marriage, should we include contracts for the vendors of our wedding day such as photography/videography, wedding invitations, venue contract etc.? We cant show joint bank accounts etc. as she isn't able to come to US yet. Curious as to what other ppl think on here. We decided to postpone our celebration (religious blessing) to next year June. 

 Thank you! 

[Boiler 45,467]

Not normally an issue, assume you will be going through London.

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

34 minutes ago, VJmember2020 said:

hello all , due to the pandemic we had to postpone our wedding which would of been this month. We continued onward with our legal registered marriage so we can continue filing for the spouse visa. For the evidence of bonafide marriage, should we include contracts for the vendors of our wedding day such as photography/videography, wedding invitations, venue contract etc.? We cant show joint bank accounts etc. as she isn't able to come to US yet. Curious as to what other ppl think on here. We decided to postpone our celebration (religious blessing) to next year June. 

 Thank you! 

I wouldn't.  Those contracts don't verify your marriage.  Right now, your best evidence when living in different countries is that of time actually spent together, your marriage certificate,  and continued communication.  Later, you will need more legal evidence, joint financial documents, etc.  if applying for removal of conditions.

Edited August 12, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[retheem 564]

42 minutes ago, VJmember2020 said:

hello all , due to the pandemic we had to postpone our wedding which would of been this month. We continued onward with our legal registered marriage so we can continue filing for the spouse visa. For the evidence of bonafide marriage, should we include contracts for the vendors of our wedding day such as photography/videography, wedding invitations, venue contract etc.? We cant show joint bank accounts etc. as she isn't able to come to US yet. Curious as to what other ppl think on here. We decided to postpone our celebration (religious blessing) to next year June. 

 Thank you! 

Life insurance, joint account, rental agreements will do.

[VJmember2020 32]

19 minutes ago, retheem said:

Life insurance, joint account, rental agreements will do.

how can we get this if she cant physically be in America? 

29 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

I wouldn't.  Those contracts don't verify your marriage.  Right now, your best evidence when living in different countries is that of time actually spent together, your marriage certificate,  and continued communication.  Later, you will need more legal evidence, joint financial documents, etc.  if applying for removal of conditions.

thanks 

[retheem 564]

1 hour ago, VJmember2020 said:

how can we get this if she cant physically be in America? 

thanks 

It doesn't have to be in AMerica- life insurance you can open one and have her as the beneficiary. Credit cards and bank accounts you can out her as an authorized user. Rental agreement you can have your landlord put her as co-renter. You can also send money remittance receipts, car insurance with both your names etc etc

[Boiler 45,467]

I would not buy Insurance specifically, but if one of you has it then you can name the other as a beneficiary.

 

Term Insurance is dirt cheap.

[arken 4,197]

I wouldn’t worry about adding your spouse on the rental agreement. The whole point of showing rental agreement with both persons name is to show both are living together which is not the case here.

Adding the spouse as beneficiary in your banking or retirement accounts, adding as authorized user in banking accounts is beneficial.

 

[carmel34 3,621]

5 hours ago, VJmember2020 said:

hello all , due to the pandemic we had to postpone our wedding which would of been this month. We continued onward with our legal registered marriage so we can continue filing for the spouse visa. For the evidence of bonafide marriage, should we include contracts for the vendors of our wedding day such as photography/videography, wedding invitations, venue contract etc.? We cant show joint bank accounts etc. as she isn't able to come to US yet. Curious as to what other ppl think on here. We decided to postpone our celebration (religious blessing) to next year June. 

 Thank you! 

Evidence of time spent together in person, backed up with passport stamps, original boarding passes, hotel receipts, a few photos together, plus the legal marriage certificate and other required documents should be sufficient for London unless there are any red flags in the relationship, big age gap, citizenship of banned or problem countries, past issues with US immigration, criminal records, etc.  Each situation is different.  Good luck!

[Juliet57 304]

I did include contracts of our wedding venue, rings, photography+video, but also pictures with a caption of the place and date, affidavits from people who know us, I dont remember what else. 

 

No RFE. We were approved after 6 months.

[VJmember2020 32]

3 minutes ago, Juliet57 said:

I did include contracts of our wedding venue, rings, photography+video, but also pictures with a caption of the place and date, affidavits from people who know us, I dont remember what else. 

 

No RFE. We were approved after 6 months.

thank you 

[Babu Frik 1,162]

11 hours ago, retheem said:

Rental agreement you can have your landlord put her as co-renter.

So you want them to lie?

[Babu Frik 1,162]

You don't need financial co-mingling, most won't have that.

This is asked all the time.

Evidence that portrays a bonafide marriage.

You want to submit evidence that tells a story, boarding passes, passport stamps, photos, but photos with others and maybe identifiable landmarks are more valuable.

[pushbrk 12,876]

11 hours ago, retheem said:

It doesn't have to be in AMerica- life insurance you can open one and have her as the beneficiary. Credit cards and bank accounts you can out her as an authorized user. Rental agreement you can have your landlord put her as co-renter. You can also send money remittance receipts, car insurance with both your names etc etc

Contrived evidence like what is mentioned above is meaningless and BECAUSE it IS "contrived", it hurts more than helps.  

[PTA petitioner 20]

I did not have any of those mentioned above - joint accounts, life insurance, credit card authorized user, lease, and joint property. It is difficult to add a spouse to US accounts if the spouse does not live in the US. I have tried multiple times to add him to my capital one account but couldnt. And it is also the same (kind of overseas, at least for India). They ask you for so many things to open an account in another country if you are a US citizen and some banks straight out say no. This has been my experience. 

 

I have been married 6 years and we have a daughter together. Even I did not have those kind of documents. It's hard because even as a married couple we don't have that much financial resources to mingle right away. (Again, this is just my situation). My I-130 has not been approved yet but just saying. I recently applied. 

 

This is what I submitted to give you an idea--

1. Marriage certificate

2. Daughter birth certificate

3. My husband sponsoring my visa to come live with him in his country. 

4. Photos timeline. From marriage to current.

5. Short 1 sentence timeline with years ex: 2014-2020 of our relationship. 

6. My husband paying for my hospital and delivery costs in his country when our daughter was born.

7. Written affidavit from 2 family members. Please don't brush this off, I believe this is important too. I stuck a passport size photo of the person on their written affidavit...their picture is also on our wedding photos.  ( my brother and my husband's father)

8. My husband's visa renewal application for Germany which has my name and daughter's name on it. He went to study abroad. 

 That's it. 

Again it is different for each couple but I hope this helps you. 

 

Good luck to you.

Edited August 13, 2020 by PTA petitioner