Need help with RFE asap

[Dashinka 24,513]

Maybe have your USC spouse create a will/living will with you as the beneficiary.  I know it looks sort of like manufactured evidence, but it is something a married couple should consider.

 

Good Luck!

[hannysgrammy@gmai 13]

20 hours ago, Becker said:

Unfortunately i do not drive. I asked my bank and they require the uS spouse to be a UK resident at the very least. I am unsure of UK or US bank accounts which allow a foreign spouse to be added but i am looking for them at the moment. We just tried discover as that is the USC credit card and they require an SSN.

 

Do you think we can just apply for a joint life insurance right now or is that something not worth doing? 

 

Btw, do you think providing one of these would be enough or are we still being risky just providing one? 

 

U can use american express and citibank is who my daughter  used

[lgb2015 51]

I'm from the UK, my husband added me to Chase and American Express credit cards, as well as his Chase Checking Account without SSN. They just put my passport number instead. 

[majm 20]

8 minutes ago, Becker said:

You say it takes a whole to acquire, but as i have asked others and some responded. I can include a copy of the submitted W7 form to show we are in the process of claiming an ITIN? If i waited for the ITIN it would probably go past the deadline we have to respond to the RFE. Do you also think this is okay? 

Just to clarify, I suggested that you send a complete copy of the joint return with all documentation, W-7, etc. instead of waiting for a tax transcript / receipt (that part will take months). The part that will take you time right now is gathering the documentation required to apply for the ITIN, if you choose to do this with the tax return. You don't just file form W-7, you also submit documentation with the W-7.

See page 3: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw7.pdf

 

In our case, my wife had to take her passport to the US embassy in Colombia to get a certified copy of it. This took time to reserve an appointment (during Covid lockdown) but it was a simple process. She then FedEx'd it to me and I included the certification from the embassy with my return. It was all accepted.

 

Your spouse may be able to apply for an ITIN in the UK by going directly to an acceptance agent (I provided a link to this previously), but I do not know about that process. Either way, applying for an ITIN will take some time. Be sure that you read the instructions on form W-7.

[SalishSea 17,837]

20 hours ago, Becker said:

What are your thoughts on doing MFS and showing that in the RFE. Do you think it would help as it proves marriage or not?

IRS filing status doesn’t not “prove” any bonafides.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

4 hours ago, Becker said:

You say it takes a whole to acquire, but as i have asked others and some responded. I can include a copy of the submitted W7 form to show we are in the process of claiming an ITIN? If i waited for the ITIN it would probably go past the deadline we have to respond to the RFE. Do you also think this is okay? 

You may have no choice.  In the case of tax records if you send a copy of the return send copies of the W2’s, 1099’s, and everything used to fill out the return

Hope everything goes well for you guys

[Becker 17]

2 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

IRS filing status doesn’t not “prove” any bonafides.

Filing a joint tax return doesn’t prove anything? Why would they ask for it? 

[Becker 17]

1 hour ago, Nitas_man said:

You may have no choice.  In the case of tax records if you send a copy of the return send copies of the W2’s, 1099’s, and everything used to fill out the return

Hope everything goes well for you guys

So are you suggesting we file a joint tax return and then wait forever the ITIN to be issued? I’m a little confused 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

On 3/17/2021 at 6:02 PM, Becker said:

So are you suggesting we file a joint tax return and then wait forever the ITIN to be issued? I’m a little confused 

I concurred with what you said but noted that your copies of your filed return should include every backup document that goes with the return.

[Teazyrn 10]

On 3/16/2021 at 4:01 PM, Becker said:

We have received an RFE asking us to prove that the marriage is bonafide. 

 

The evidence submitted should cover the entire period of the marriage. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to:

(a) Proof of joint insurance policies or that one party was listed as a beneficiary on the insured spouse’s policy;

(b) Property leases, mortgages, or registrations;

(c) Shared financial obligations and assets such as jointly filed income taxes showing that each return was properly filed with the state or federal government, or jointly held bank accounts, credit card accounts or utility bills;

(d) Testimony or other evidence regarding courtship, wedding ceremony, shared residence and experience. You may submit your own statements or affidavits from others.

If you submit third party affidavits you must submit a sworn statement explaining why the usual supporting documents are unavailable. Additionally, each affidavit must conform to the guidelines cited below:

 

 

We do not have join insurance policies as we do not live in the same country as each other and have never thought into it that deeply. We were only married on December last year and the evidence requested is to cover the entire period of the marriage. We don't have property leases together either and we do not have joint financial obligations. We tried opening an account in US and they won't let us due to one being a UK citizen and pretty much the same with everything else. We are only citizens of our own country and are not able to open such accounts together. 

 

Please any help is really appreciated. 

I submitted photos of us and friends, added him as my beneficiary on my life insurance and printed that. I also had a couple family members write "letters of relationship". You can Google examples of that. I added him as the beneficiary of my bank account and srmt that info. Hope that helps. 

[Mezyan 149]

I was able to add my moroccan fiancé to my American Express credit card without a social security number when he still lived in Morocco. This was very easy to do. I’d see if the us fiancé can do this for you. Good luck. 

[Wayne- 11]

On 3/16/2021 at 2:01 PM, Becker said:

We have received an RFE asking us to prove that the marriage is bonafide. 

 

The evidence submitted should cover the entire period of the marriage. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to:

(a) Proof of joint insurance policies or that one party was listed as a beneficiary on the insured spouse’s policy;

(b) Property leases, mortgages, or registrations;

(c) Shared financial obligations and assets such as jointly filed income taxes showing that each return was properly filed with the state or federal government, or jointly held bank accounts, credit card accounts or utility bills;

(d) Testimony or other evidence regarding courtship, wedding ceremony, shared residence and experience. You may submit your own statements or affidavits from others.

If you submit third party affidavits you must submit a sworn statement explaining why the usual supporting documents are unavailable. Additionally, each affidavit must conform to the guidelines cited below:

 

 

We do not have join insurance policies as we do not live in the same country as each other and have never thought into it that deeply. We were only married on December last year and the evidence requested is to cover the entire period of the marriage. We don't have property leases together either and we do not have joint financial obligations. We tried opening an account in US and they won't let us due to one being a UK citizen and pretty much the same with everything else. We are only citizens of our own country and are not able to open such accounts together. 

 

Please any help is really appreciated. 

 

The  RFE is frustrating especially when it was a piece of paper photocopied 85 times and highlighted as the one I got, it is just a step in the process.   Here is how we handled our RFE

1. Provide whatever proof you have the bonafide marriage, emails, text message receipts, pictures, absolutely anything you can think of.
2. For the parts you can’t provide don’t worry, but explain.   Be explicit, these people are ticking off boxes in a form, so provide an answer for EVERY ITEM they asked for.  Just like you can’t leave a box in a form blank even if you write N/A in it.  I even when back an reread the original form instructions and add back a page addressing every item – even if all it was was “This does not apply to us because of . . . “ 

 

I am not an expert but here are some of our examples:

 

For every item I did not have, I labeled a separate piece of paper with the Title of the item, my explanation and our signatures & data at the bottom attesting to the truth

 

Property leases, Mortgages.

To whom it may concern, 

We do not have Property leases, Mortgages, or registrations in our joint name.  I purchased the house we live in before we were married, it does not make final sense refinance the mortgage.  The mortgage is in one name only.  We do lived together..

 

Car registration. 

We do not have car registrations in our joint name.  I purchased the car we live in before we were married.    I have attached our insurance card with both of use having coverage for the car. 

 

And so on, for every single item I created a page of the item and explained in as much detail as I could why I either had it or do not have the item. 

 

 

Our green card process went from the RFE to no interview required as the green card just arrived in the mail after that. 

[Becker 17]

7 hours ago, Wayne- said:

 

The  RFE is frustrating especially when it was a piece of paper photocopied 85 times and highlighted as the one I got, it is just a step in the process.   Here is how we handled our RFE

1. Provide whatever proof you have the bonafide marriage, emails, text message receipts, pictures, absolutely anything you can think of.
2. For the parts you can’t provide don’t worry, but explain.   Be explicit, these people are ticking off boxes in a form, so provide an answer for EVERY ITEM they asked for.  Just like you can’t leave a box in a form blank even if you write N/A in it.  I even when back an reread the original form instructions and add back a page addressing every item – even if all it was was “This does not apply to us because of . . . “ 

 

I am not an expert but here are some of our examples:

 

For every item I did not have, I labeled a separate piece of paper with the Title of the item, my explanation and our signatures & data at the bottom attesting to the truth

 

Property leases, Mortgages.

To whom it may concern, 

We do not have Property leases, Mortgages, or registrations in our joint name.  I purchased the house we live in before we were married, it does not make final sense refinance the mortgage.  The mortgage is in one name only.  We do lived together..

 

Car registration. 

We do not have car registrations in our joint name.  I purchased the car we live in before we were married.    I have attached our insurance card with both of use having coverage for the car. 

 

And so on, for every single item I created a page of the item and explained in as much detail as I could why I either had it or do not have the item. 

 

 

Our green card process went from the RFE to no interview required as the green card just arrived in the mail after that. 

Thank you for the answer!