RFE! HELP!

[Riya 30]

I moved to the USA in September 2017 and got married in October 2017. My husband and I filed for permanent residency in December 2017 which got approved in April 2018. We filed I751 (AOS) in January 2021. We submitted Lease, Joint Auto Application (November 2019) , Joint Bank Statement (2017-2020), Income Tax Returns (2018-2019), my 401K showing my husband as beneficiary since August 2018, utility bills (2019-2020) among others. We have now got an RFE stating the documentation is insufficient and does not prove bonafide marriage precisely because most of the documents that we submitted except Income tax returns and bank statements are from 2019.  According to the USCIS letter pay stubs showing same addresses, 401K, photographs and flight tickets do not prove bonafide marriage.

 

USCIS wants  financial documents and proof of shared residency from September 2017- December 2018 but the problem is that when I moved my husband did not add me on his lease or utility bills because he had already been living in the same house for 7 years. Only when we moved to another house in March 2019, we got a joint lease. During the same time period we have bills that show shared utilities, joint car loan, and renters insurance. My husband was in the military and gets his health insurance from VA while I have my insurance through my employer. My MIL added me to the family group and got me a phone when I first moved here. We pay her money every month for the phone bill so that too is not in my name. We don't have any documents other than what we have already submitted (Income tax and Bank Statement) from 2017-2018. In hindsight I should have asked my husband to add me on the lease and utility bills but I can't change that. We don't even have life insurance.

 

Can someone please advise what should I do next? 

 

 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

If you definitely do not have more documents from what you've sent already, the only thing I can think you could send are:

-affidavits that state you have shared a residence with your spouse since you moved and,

-a letter explaining why you cannot provide the documents they are asking for. 

 

And a note: you're filing for removal of conditions (ROC). You can ask the mods to move your thread to the right subforum, in order to get more answers. 

[Ontarkie 14,221]

~~Moved to ROC, from AOS family~~

[Pinkrlion 2,719]

For ROC they want documents from the time you got married until you filed ROC

[Riya 30]

1 hour ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

If you definitely do not have more documents from what you've sent already, the only thing I can think you could send are:

-affidavits that state you have shared a residence with your spouse since you moved and,

-a letter explaining why you cannot provide the documents they are asking for. 

 

And a note: you're filing for removal of conditions (ROC). You can ask the mods to move your thread to the right subforum, in order to get more answers. 

Thank you. I went back and looked at every single document we have. I found couple of documents from 2018 like gym contract, emails, letter from DMV, and a couple of miscellaneous letters. I also found a life insurance letter from my husband's employer with me added as a beneficiary. I am not sure if it will help but that's all I could find. I may call an attorney on Monday.

[yuni_yuni 59]

21 minutes ago, Riya said:

Thank you. I went back and looked at every single document we have. I found couple of documents from 2018 like gym contract, emails, letter from DMV, and a couple of miscellaneous letters. I also found a life insurance letter from my husband's employer with me added as a beneficiary. I am not sure if it will help but that's all I could find. I may call an attorney on Monday.

maybe if you and your husband might to send copy of the old ID Card/driving license that show your old address that proof you living together before moving in 2019

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

1 hour ago, Riya said:

Thank you. I went back and looked at every single document we have. I found couple of documents from 2018 like gym contract, emails, letter from DMV, and a couple of miscellaneous letters. I also found a life insurance letter from my husband's employer with me added as a beneficiary. I am not sure if it will help but that's all I could find. I may call an attorney on Monday.

It will definitely help, especially the life insurance document. 

I don't think calling the attorney will help, unless it makes you feel less stressed. 

Does your RFE list everything you already sent? Sometimes documents are lost during the process, so it would be advisable to send some documents again.

[Riya 30]

1 hour ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

It will definitely help, especially the life insurance document. 

I don't think calling the attorney will help, unless it makes you feel less stressed. 

Does your RFE list everything you already sent? Sometimes documents are lost during the process, so it would be advisable to send some documents again.

Yes, it does list everything we sent. The only document not listed is the lease from March 2019-March 2020. I will make sure to send it again. I am also thinking of asking my husband's mom and his best friend to write a letter on our behalf. 

[carmel34 3,626]

14 hours ago, Riya said:

got an RFE stating the documentation is insufficient and does not prove bonafide marriage precisely because most of the documents that we submitted except Income tax returns and bank statements are from 2019

You filed the ROC package in January 2021 and the financial documents were only for 2019?  They will wonder why you don't have any financial documents for 2020.  Do you have your 2020 IRS tax transcript or return plus W2, showing married filing jointly?  No shared bank account or credit cards from 2020?  Focus on gathering more financial co-mingling evidence from 2020, plus the first five months of 2021, to show support for your claim that your marital relationship is ongoing and bona fide.  Good luck!

Edited May 9, 2021 by carmel34

[Riya 30]

2 hours ago, carmel34 said:

You filed the ROC package in January 2021 and the financial documents were only for 2019?  They will wonder why you don't have any financial documents for 2020.  Do you have your 2020 IRS tax transcript or return plus W2, showing married filing jointly?  No shared bank account or credit cards from 2020?  Focus on gathering more financial co-mingling evidence from 2020, plus the first five months of 2021, to show support for your claim that your marital relationship is ongoing and bona fide.  Good luck!

List of documents I submitted. I will add IT returns from 2021 along with the lease renewal. We applied for ROC in January 2021, so I didn't get a chance. 

[da95826 387]

You should go to the IRS website and get your IRS transcripts for 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 (hopefully you have filed your 2020 joint tax return). Pull them even if you filed married but filed separately. You could amend old tax returns to joint if you have time. (You may wish to amend tax returns if needed for n400 anyway).

Get all 1099 and w2 throughout marriage for both of you they show income but they also show addresses.

Photos together during the marriage

Tickets and itineraries for travel together during the marriage.

Any documents mailed to each of you at older address (showing same address)

Letters addressed to each of you, and both of you at all addresses (postcards, holiday cards)

 

[cosmonauts 125]

I think I had a similar case. I also moved in to a house my husband owned and I wasn't in the bills, still am not. This is what we sent for ROC in July 2019 and we didn't get an RFE. I later sent more documents for 2019-2020 with my N-400 application. I hope this helps.

For the bank and credit card statements, I think we sent 1 per quarter from when the accounts were opened. You could also send the previous lease just in your spouse's name and explain why that was.
 

Copy of marriage certificate

Copy of house deed showing joint ownership of community residence (this happened right before ROC, didn't have it for GC)

Copy of car title showing joint ownership

Copy of car insurance showing joint coverage

Statements from X Bank showing joint checking and savings account

Statements from X Credit Union showing joint checking and savings account

Statements from X Bank showing joint checking account

Statements and transaction history from X credit card showing applicant as account owner and spouse as authorized user

Statements and transaction history from X credit card showing spouse 1 and spouse 2 as account owners

Joint federal and state tax returns for the years 2017 and 2018

Employer benefits summary from spouse showing applicant as beneficiary

spouse's life insurance policy showing applicant as beneficiary

spouse's retirement plan showing applicant as beneficiary

Applicant's pension beneficiary election showing spouse as beneficiary

Utility bills as proof of shared address (not joint, one had my name, one had his)

Copy of spouse and applicant driver licences as proof of shared address

Printed pictures of the couple and friends at different social events

Edited May 9, 2021 by cosmonauts