For i751 - Affidavit of Support

[Maryyy 8]

5 hours ago, Chocobo said:

Do you have him designated as your emergency contact with your employer?  If you have that, and if he has that with his employer, that would be helpful to include, too.  

 

Car insurance listing you both as drivers?  Any holiday cards from friends/family listing you both on them?  Subscriptions/memberships to things listing you both (Costo?  Sam's Club?  Amazon?)?  Credit cards?  

I came when the covid began a few months later and I didn't get to socialize and we don't have family in the US. 

[pushbrk 12,883]

8 minutes ago, Maryyy said:

My husband doesn't wanna file his taxes yet.

His parents take care of the financial stuff as we live with them so I don't have a joint account with my husband anymore. But we have joint auto insurance. I am covered under his health insurance. He is covered under my critical condition insurance: He was listed as my 401k beneficiary with my past job and my current. Also, He is my bank account and brokerage account beneficiary.  

Putting myself in the place of the immigration officer making a decision about your conditions removal, I would think that if your husband is more about "what he wants and doesn't want" instead of assuring the conditions on your residency status are removed, maybe the relationship is not bona fide after all.   I strongly advise the two of you get the 2020 tax return filed jointly, BEFORE you file your I-751.  This is not a good year to delay filing.  That's my advice.  Take it or don't.  It's up to you.

[Maryyy 8]

6 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Putting myself in the place of the immigration officer making a decision about your conditions removal, I would think that if your husband is more about "what he wants and doesn't want" instead of assuring the conditions on your residency status are removed, maybe the relationship is not bona fide after all.   I strongly advise the two of you get the 2020 tax return filed jointly, BEFORE you file your I-751.  This is not a good year to delay filing.  That's my advice.  Take it or don't.  It's up to you.

How can I make him do that? He doesn't want to do it yet

[Maryyy 8]

8 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Putting myself in the place of the immigration officer making a decision about your conditions removal, I would think that if your husband is more about "what he wants and doesn't want" instead of assuring the conditions on your residency status are removed, maybe the relationship is not bona fide after all.   I strongly advise the two of you get the 2020 tax return filed jointly, BEFORE you file your I-751.  This is not a good year to delay filing.  That's my advice.  Take it or don't.  It's up to you.

What if I do married filing separately? The status would still be married which proves that we are married

[pushbrk 12,883]

4 minutes ago, Maryyy said:

How can I make him do that? He doesn't want to do it yet

You don't "make him".  You tell him how important it is to what you need to do, and why.  If he won't do it, then I would personally have doubts about the bona fides of your marriage.  "I don't want to" is not going to help you remove conditions.

3 minutes ago, Maryyy said:

What if I do married filing separately? The status would still be married which proves that we are married

They know you are married.  Filing separately will hurt your case, not help it.

[Maryyy 8]

1 minute ago, pushbrk said:

You don't "make him".  You tell him how important it is to what you need to do, and why.  If he won't do it, then I would personally have doubts about the bona fides of your marriage.  "I don't want to" is not going to help you remove conditions.

They know you are married.  Filing separately will hurt your case, not help it.

Oh okay. Yeah, We are filing tomorrow as I told him

[Maryyy 8]

What else do you recommend. 

[Villanelle 4,122]

Can I ask what culture you are from? It can help to put things in context. You can also fill out your profile and timeline as it can help people give you advice.... Also can you clarify the dates on your greencard, because you mentioned arriving in the US a few months after COVID (which implies you arrived in the US early 2020). ROC i751 is filed starting in the 90 day window prior to your card expiring. In your other thread you mistakenly titled it as i175 form which shows you may be struggling with the process and seem to be attempting to navigate the paperwork on your own. Your spouse should be involved but I understand that in some relationships the burden of these types of things can fall on one for a variety or reasons. If your husband does not manage his own finances and the parents do- perhaps the parents should be helping you with this? Often times immigrants struggle with various things because they are unfamiliar with "how it all works" in the US and in those cases its important to have someone who is familiar step in and help. There is only so much advice we can give you on a forum- and its going to be general advice. If you need more personalized help you may want to hire an attny. 

[Maryyy 8]

6 hours ago, Villanelle said:

Can I ask what culture you are from? It can help to put things in context. You can also fill out your profile and timeline as it can help people give you advice.... Also can you clarify the dates on your greencard, because you mentioned arriving in the US a few months after COVID (which implies you arrived in the US early 2020). ROC i751 is filed starting in the 90 day window prior to your card expiring. In your other thread you mistakenly titled it as i175 form which shows you may be struggling with the process and seem to be attempting to navigate the paperwork on your own. Your spouse should be involved but I understand that in some relationships the burden of these types of things can fall on one for a variety or reasons. If your husband does not manage his own finances and the parents do- perhaps the parents should be helping you with this? Often times immigrants struggle with various things because they are unfamiliar with "how it all works" in the US and in those cases its important to have someone who is familiar step in and help. There is only so much advice we can give you on a forum- and its going to be general advice. If you need more personalized help you may want to hire an attny. 

Do you understand that attorney's are expensive? I never forced anyone to answer. Also, that was a typo. I filed my petition and NVC documentation all by myself when I was back home. My husband is not good at this stuff.

Just now, Maryyy said:

Do you understand that attorney's are expensive? I never forced anyone to answer. Also, that was a typo. I filed my petition and NVC documentation all by myself when I was back home. My husband is not good at this stuff.

I am from Asian culture and muslim. We live in a joint family unit and his parents take care of the bills and groceries. We don't pay for anything

[Villanelle 4,122]

Im sorry if my previous comment came off as offensive, it was not meant to be. I was trying to keep my post brief to determine what resources might be available for you- if hiring an attny is not an option thats OK.  You are going to need some help from the parents though but we can limit it to telling them exactly what you need them to provide to you. I sympathize with your situation of your husband not being good/interested in these things. Mine is the same way. (However I am the USC so for us its reversed, any issues in his country paperwork related are always a struggle because I dont speak the language and he struggles to explain what it means). You also want to find someone you trust (in real life) to look over the paperwork for typos and to make sure you are in fact including the correct documents and whatnot that we will go over below. You do not want to send your personal info to anyone online- way too risky! 

 

You also did not clarify exactly when your ROC is due. This will impact what tax returns you are going to need to send. Again, ROC is able to be filed starting 90 days before the card expires. Taxes for 2020 are due April 15th 2021. So if you are sending your package after that date they will expect your 2020 taxes to be included. If you file ROC before that date you can include the 2020 taxes if you have them. If not you may get an RFE later asking for them or you may not. For your taxes it doesnt matter if they are filed joint or married filing separately, as long as you both claim married and not single- you can handle your finances any way you want. It sounds like you do both work in some capacity and if I am reading correctly you each have your own bank accounts where your respective pay goes right? However you do not use the money to directly pay for expenses-  the parents do. Do either of you give any money to the parents? If not what exactly are you doing with the income you earn? Accumulating savings? Spending on personal items? (You do not have to answer any of these questions but the more information you provide the better advice you will get).   

 

I am asking these questions because for ROC you want to show 4 basic things.

1) lived together,

2) shared financial responsibilities 

3) shared life experiences 

4) planned for the future together 

 

Everyones situation is different and yours is especially unique so you are going to need to be a bit creative on what you send to establish each point above. Many items can be used for multiple purposes as well. Now number 1 is the easiest. You both have drivers licenses (or non driver IDs) with the same address right? So include copies of them. The copy of the DL also acts as a way for them to 'verify' the signatures on the 751 form. You can also include mail as proof of living together. Junk mail is OK, magazine subscriptions, etc. If you dont get any bills in either of your name then look for other types of mail you may get like things from your health insurance or banks. Something from a company is preferred over personal mail from friends and family in demonstrating shared residence while personal mail is more #3 a shared experience- ie Christmas card addressed to you and your spouse or personal correspondence acknowledge your relationship. Your tax returns and bank statements will also show number 1 but are used primarily for #2.

 

#2 is where you are going to need help from the parents. Now you must submit your tax returns for the last 2 years at a min and should ideally include tax returns for the entire marriage. As explained above depending on when you are going to be filing for ROC the last 2 years may be 2020 and 2019 or it can be 2019 and 2018. If you have 2018-2020 send them all. Tax transcripts are preferred but if you send the 1040 return then you must include all the pages and W2s/schedules/etc. You may already be familiar with what is required for taxes as you went through the initial process already. You are also going to want to include bank statements from any accounts you or your husband have regardless if they are joint or not. With out knowing exactly how you are using the bank accounts I can not really advise you on how to explain such besides saying you are going to need to provide an explanation of what they are looking at. Your main piece of evidence for #2 is going to be statements from both you and the parents. 

 

When one has a unique situation like you do its important to send a letter of explanation with your ROC. There are various ways to draft this. You can do it in a timeline sort of fashion where you start at the beginning of the relationship describing briefly how you met, married, immigrated, and then go on to describe your present living situation and financial set up referring to evidence you attach as you go. Label the evidence as see on TV court shows- Exhibit A or attachment A, B, C etc. So in your letter when you say we moved in with his parents you would direct them to attachment A the moving company receipts of your belongings being shipped there. Or refer to the fact that you did not ship a lot of stuff and show items on the bank statements where you made purchases for things you needed once relocated. The important thing to remember is you want to include as much context as you can that directly relates to the evidence you are sending. Like for a magazine subscription- if you were to include it as part of proof of shared residence and the magazine is a fitness type one you can talk in your letter about fitness being a shared hobby hence one partner subscribes to it and perhaps you guys also use a local gym so you would send proof of the membership (if you signed up together great or if he was already enrolled and now you are too). You would also show where the membership fees are being paid from. And to address #3 as well you could include a bit about your daily routine, how you go to the gym every week and on the way back routinely stop for a juice bar drink afterwards showing receipts or charges on respective bank statements supporting such. 

 

For #2 you also need a statement from the parents. #2 requires you to show things like a lease or mortgage as well as bills. You do not have this and thats OK. You just need a letter from them stating that they provide housing for you guys and pay all the utilities and such. Do not create a 'pretend' lease or agreement document if you dont have one- creating stuff like that wont help. Just tell the truth. Mention in the letters the cultural customs as well. The parents letter should both be a statement about finances and a personal statement about the relationship. If you need a template I can probably find one for you but you need to be careful when using templates to not simply edit it, you want it to be genuine. This is where having a trusted friend or relative is useful so they can review what you have. 

 

#3 is shown various ways. Photos are useful for #3 but only if you provide context as describe previously. You want to print on the photo (or page its printed on) date, people in it, and location. Photos including others are often more helpful then those of just the 2 of you or even photos of one of you that the other took. So if you have a group photo from your first Thanksgiving that can be sent as an example of a shared experience. You would talk in your letter about the event (and if possible have others in the photo address the event as well- if it was the parents then it would be great for them to talk about the event in their letter, if it was other friends or family then you could ask them to write a statement supporting your relationship where they can discuss how they spent Thanksgiving with you guys. Again look to tie as many things together as you can. If the photo was of just you then you may need to match it up with other things. For example a photo of you at the Statue of Liberty taken by your spouse (because you guys went there alone) and another photo of your spouse  there taken by you. A receipt or bank transaction from either of you for an expense related to the trip (meal, travel, souvenir)  If you ever gifted each other an item like jewelry or a hat or a scarf- whatever is meaningful- look to see if you have evidence of purchase and subsequent use of the item in photos. Everyone has their own story. You just need to tell yours. This can be his grandma knitted you a scarf and gave it to you for your birthday (letter from grandma, pictures of the birthday, pictures showing you using the scarf at various times, a mention in the parents letter about how pleased they are to have you in the family and that grandma knitted you a scarf that they know you treasure since you wear it often with pride).  

 

#4 is about showing long term goals or plans. This is different for everyone. So what are your plans? If its for everything to stay the same and continue to reside with the parents thats OK, you just state such. If the living situation is temporary and either of you are in the process of obtaining a degree or job advancement you would explain that.  There is no right or wrong when discussing what your long term goals and plans are, whatever you have decided is what you decided, you just explain. Long term goals and plans also includes things like retirement plans  or life ins with the other named as beneficiary and wills. 

 

A few notes-

You do not need to get the affidavit statements notarized but its better if you do. Most banks provide notary services for free to account holders but if not there are plenty of places you can find on google and it only costs a few dollars. Notarizing a statement doesnt make the contents true, it simply verifies the signature on it is accurate. So in the statement the person needs to write a brief "I swear the above or following is true to the best of my knowledge' and sign and date it in ink. It also needs to include their name and relationship to you and  discuss their direct knowledge. You can submit statements from those not in the US but they do not have as much direct knowledge generally. If you have a weekly video chat with your family or otherwise correspond with them on a steady basis then that can be considered useful. 

 

You will want to begin by gathering up as much evidence as you can at first and then build off it filling in what may be lacking for each numbered item above. Again, look for things you can tie together. USCIS generally places more weight on official type documents. This means tax returns, IDs, DMV car registrations, etc as those were issued/created by /filed with a government agency so you either established something with said agency or otherwise provided said agency with accurate information. Bank statements, bills, interactions with private companies/entities etc are also generally viewed favorably as weight of evidence goes falling just below government paperwork . At the bottom is self created evidences like photos and statements and such.  You are going to be relying primarily on self created evidence and with such they will be looking at the totality of circumstances (hence needing to try to tie together as much as you can). In general ROC is adjudicated in a checklist type fashion and at the end of it they need to have more positive then negative to approve- but remember not all the items on the checklist are counted evenly. The four concepts listed are what you need to establish.

 

When you submit your ROC package they will accept it and you will get the NOA that also serves as an extension. Your file will then sit until someone gets to it. They may send you an RFE when they do (if the tax year has changed then often they send it requesting current years taxes). RFEs are generic so you may get one thats poorly worded asking for things you either sent or dont have (like childrens birth certificates). If you do get an RFE you have to try to figure out why (was it you sent an incomplete tax return or is it they are looking for additional evidence of shared financials). So if you do get an RFE you can post it on VJ (blacking out your info) along with a list of what you sent for advice on how to respond. If they are not satisfied with your response you will be set for an interview where they can resolve any concerns they may have. ROC can be approved w/o interview and a certain number of cases are interviewed for quality control so dont freak out if you get an interview notice. If after the interview they are still not satisfied you would get a NOID (notice of intent to deny) which would outline in very specific detail the issues. You would respond to such accordingly and then they may set a second interview or deny you and send you to court which would give you yet another chance to prove your case. I dont think you are going to end up in court or denied though, I just am outlying the process in general for you.

[da95826 387]

18 minutes ago, Villanelle said:

For your taxes it doesnt matter if they are filed joint or married filing separately, as long as you both claim married and not single- you can handle your finances any way you want.

Overall a great overview from  @Villanelle of the evidence needed for the ROC application, but I do disagree with the idea that filing taxes married filing separately is equivalent to filing married filing jointly. While both provide some proof of a marriage a joint tax return is much stronger proof of commingling in money.  

 

Filing married filing separately good proof of be married but  no proof of commingling of finances.

Filing married filing jointly is good proof of being married and good proof of paying taxes together (proof of commingling of money).

 

With a weak case of not paying expenses together as a couple a joint tax return is much better hard evidence than a non-joint tax return for joint finances (Item 2 above).

[Maryyy 8]

1 hour ago, Villanelle said:

Im sorry if my previous comment came off as offensive, it was not meant to be. I was trying to keep my post brief to determine what resources might be available for you- if hiring an attny is not an option thats OK.  You are going to need some help from the parents though but we can limit it to telling them exactly what you need them to provide to you. I sympathize with your situation of your husband not being good/interested in these things. Mine is the same way. (However I am the USC so for us its reversed, any issues in his country paperwork related are always a struggle because I dont speak the language and he struggles to explain what it means). You also want to find someone you trust (in real life) to look over the paperwork for typos and to make sure you are in fact including the correct documents and whatnot that we will go over below. You do not want to send your personal info to anyone online- way too risky! 

 

You also did not clarify exactly when your ROC is due. This will impact what tax returns you are going to need to send. Again, ROC is able to be filed starting 90 days before the card expires. Taxes for 2020 are due April 15th 2021. So if you are sending your package after that date they will expect your 2020 taxes to be included. If you file ROC before that date you can include the 2020 taxes if you have them. If not you may get an RFE later asking for them or you may not. For your taxes it doesnt matter if they are filed joint or married filing separately, as long as you both claim married and not single- you can handle your finances any way you want. It sounds like you do both work in some capacity and if I am reading correctly you each have your own bank accounts where your respective pay goes right? However you do not use the money to directly pay for expenses-  the parents do. Do either of you give any money to the parents? If not what exactly are you doing with the income you earn? Accumulating savings? Spending on personal items? (You do not have to answer any of these questions but the more information you provide the better advice you will get).   

 

I am asking these questions because for ROC you want to show 4 basic things.

1) lived together,

2) shared financial responsibilities 

3) shared life experiences 

4) planned for the future together 

 

Everyones situation is different and yours is especially unique so you are going to need to be a bit creative on what you send to establish each point above. Many items can be used for multiple purposes as well. Now number 1 is the easiest. You both have drivers licenses (or non driver IDs) with the same address right? So include copies of them. The copy of the DL also acts as a way for them to 'verify' the signatures on the 751 form. You can also include mail as proof of living together. Junk mail is OK, magazine subscriptions, etc. If you dont get any bills in either of your name then look for other types of mail you may get like things from your health insurance or banks. Something from a company is preferred over personal mail from friends and family in demonstrating shared residence while personal mail is more #3 a shared experience- ie Christmas card addressed to you and your spouse or personal correspondence acknowledge your relationship. Your tax returns and bank statements will also show number 1 but are used primarily for #2.

 

#2 is where you are going to need help from the parents. Now you must submit your tax returns for the last 2 years at a min and should ideally include tax returns for the entire marriage. As explained above depending on when you are going to be filing for ROC the last 2 years may be 2020 and 2019 or it can be 2019 and 2018. If you have 2018-2020 send them all. Tax transcripts are preferred but if you send the 1040 return then you must include all the pages and W2s/schedules/etc. You may already be familiar with what is required for taxes as you went through the initial process already. You are also going to want to include bank statements from any accounts you or your husband have regardless if they are joint or not. With out knowing exactly how you are using the bank accounts I can not really advise you on how to explain such besides saying you are going to need to provide an explanation of what they are looking at. Your main piece of evidence for #2 is going to be statements from both you and the parents. 

 

When one has a unique situation like you do its important to send a letter of explanation with your ROC. There are various ways to draft this. You can do it in a timeline sort of fashion where you start at the beginning of the relationship describing briefly how you met, married, immigrated, and then go on to describe your present living situation and financial set up referring to evidence you attach as you go. Label the evidence as see on TV court shows- Exhibit A or attachment A, B, C etc. So in your letter when you say we moved in with his parents you would direct them to attachment A the moving company receipts of your belongings being shipped there. Or refer to the fact that you did not ship a lot of stuff and show items on the bank statements where you made purchases for things you needed once relocated. The important thing to remember is you want to include as much context as you can that directly relates to the evidence you are sending. Like for a magazine subscription- if you were to include it as part of proof of shared residence and the magazine is a fitness type one you can talk in your letter about fitness being a shared hobby hence one partner subscribes to it and perhaps you guys also use a local gym so you would send proof of the membership (if you signed up together great or if he was already enrolled and now you are too). You would also show where the membership fees are being paid from. And to address #3 as well you could include a bit about your daily routine, how you go to the gym every week and on the way back routinely stop for a juice bar drink afterwards showing receipts or charges on respective bank statements supporting such. 

 

For #2 you also need a statement from the parents. #2 requires you to show things like a lease or mortgage as well as bills. You do not have this and thats OK. You just need a letter from them stating that they provide housing for you guys and pay all the utilities and such. Do not create a 'pretend' lease or agreement document if you dont have one- creating stuff like that wont help. Just tell the truth. Mention in the letters the cultural customs as well. The parents letter should both be a statement about finances and a personal statement about the relationship. If you need a template I can probably find one for you but you need to be careful when using templates to not simply edit it, you want it to be genuine. This is where having a trusted friend or relative is useful so they can review what you have. 

 

#3 is shown various ways. Photos are useful for #3 but only if you provide context as describe previously. You want to print on the photo (or page its printed on) date, people in it, and location. Photos including others are often more helpful then those of just the 2 of you or even photos of one of you that the other took. So if you have a group photo from your first Thanksgiving that can be sent as an example of a shared experience. You would talk in your letter about the event (and if possible have others in the photo address the event as well- if it was the parents then it would be great for them to talk about the event in their letter, if it was other friends or family then you could ask them to write a statement supporting your relationship where they can discuss how they spent Thanksgiving with you guys. Again look to tie as many things together as you can. If the photo was of just you then you may need to match it up with other things. For example a photo of you at the Statue of Liberty taken by your spouse (because you guys went there alone) and another photo of your spouse  there taken by you. A receipt or bank transaction from either of you for an expense related to the trip (meal, travel, souvenir)  If you ever gifted each other an item like jewelry or a hat or a scarf- whatever is meaningful- look to see if you have evidence of purchase and subsequent use of the item in photos. Everyone has their own story. You just need to tell yours. This can be his grandma knitted you a scarf and gave it to you for your birthday (letter from grandma, pictures of the birthday, pictures showing you using the scarf at various times, a mention in the parents letter about how pleased they are to have you in the family and that grandma knitted you a scarf that they know you treasure since you wear it often with pride).  

 

#4 is about showing long term goals or plans. This is different for everyone. So what are your plans? If its for everything to stay the same and continue to reside with the parents thats OK, you just state such. If the living situation is temporary and either of you are in the process of obtaining a degree or job advancement you would explain that.  There is no right or wrong when discussing what your long term goals and plans are, whatever you have decided is what you decided, you just explain. Long term goals and plans also includes things like retirement plans  or life ins with the other named as beneficiary and wills. 

 

A few notes-

You do not need to get the affidavit statements notarized but its better if you do. Most banks provide notary services for free to account holders but if not there are plenty of places you can find on google and it only costs a few dollars. Notarizing a statement doesnt make the contents true, it simply verifies the signature on it is accurate. So in the statement the person needs to write a brief "I swear the above or following is true to the best of my knowledge' and sign and date it in ink. It also needs to include their name and relationship to you and  discuss their direct knowledge. You can submit statements from those not in the US but they do not have as much direct knowledge generally. If you have a weekly video chat with your family or otherwise correspond with them on a steady basis then that can be considered useful. 

 

You will want to begin by gathering up as much evidence as you can at first and then build off it filling in what may be lacking for each numbered item above. Again, look for things you can tie together. USCIS generally places more weight on official type documents. This means tax returns, IDs, DMV car registrations, etc as those were issued/created by /filed with a government agency so you either established something with said agency or otherwise provided said agency with accurate information. Bank statements, bills, interactions with private companies/entities etc are also generally viewed favorably as weight of evidence goes falling just below government paperwork . At the bottom is self created evidences like photos and statements and such.  You are going to be relying primarily on self created evidence and with such they will be looking at the totality of circumstances (hence needing to try to tie together as much as you can). In general ROC is adjudicated in a checklist type fashion and at the end of it they need to have more positive then negative to approve- but remember not all the items on the checklist are counted evenly. The four concepts listed are what you need to establish.

 

When you submit your ROC package they will accept it and you will get the NOA that also serves as an extension. Your file will then sit until someone gets to it. They may send you an RFE when they do (if the tax year has changed then often they send it requesting current years taxes). RFEs are generic so you may get one thats poorly worded asking for things you either sent or dont have (like childrens birth certificates). If you do get an RFE you have to try to figure out why (was it you sent an incomplete tax return or is it they are looking for additional evidence of shared financials). So if you do get an RFE you can post it on VJ (blacking out your info) along with a list of what you sent for advice on how to respond. If they are not satisfied with your response you will be set for an interview where they can resolve any concerns they may have. ROC can be approved w/o interview and a certain number of cases are interviewed for quality control so dont freak out if you get an interview notice. If after the interview they are still not satisfied you would get a NOID (notice of intent to deny) which would outline in very specific detail the issues. You would respond to such accordingly and then they may set a second interview or deny you and send you to court which would give you yet another chance to prove your case. I dont think you are going to end up in court or denied though, I just am outlying the process in general for you.

Thanks for your detailed answer but it's common in our culture that financial setup that I mentioned. It might not come off as a weak case when they know the country I am from. I am not mentioning dates and country for keeping it private but I do know when to file ROC. We are filing taxes together. We have car insurance together. I am covered under his health insurance. I can also get a letter from his dad that they take care of the expensis. We don't pay them anything at least not that I know of. I can add my husband to my credit card but he won't. His mom controls his financial stuff. He likes to keep everything with his mom. 

I don't know why is this case weak if I have been working since then and my address has never changed. My car ownership and DL everything has the same address. We have pictures together. We don't have children because my husband didn't wanna have kids during covid and of course not right after I came in. So is having kids necessary? Many couples choose to wait before having kids. Isn't it normal? 

[da95826 387]

I think your overall case will be strong with joint tax returns, joint insurance (car health), 401k beneficiary, supplying all the w2 and 1099 during marriage,  life insurance, drivers licenses, mail address to you both, any joint savings or any joint property ownership like a car. 

 

Your case is  only a bit weak because of lack of a joint lease or joint home ownership that is where the cover letter and affidavit explaining your living situation with your inlaws will make your case stronger. 

 

Also your case is a bit weak because of a lack of joint bills and joint living expenses; showing that you and husband are paying whatever expenses you do have will be helpful even if it is through your mother-inlaw once again explaining the situation with USCIS will help your case. 

 

An affidavit from your spouse's parents indicating that they own the property you and your husband live at and can attest to your marriage and that you and your spouse live together at the address you live at.

 

Other affidavits from friends and family that can attest to your marriage with your spouse and that you and your husband live together at your home address.

 

Not having children does not hurt your case but having a child with your spouse strengthens your case alot for sure.