Remove of conditions - Evidence

[PaulaCJohnny 713]

Hello everyone, I’m preparing my ROC package and I had different opinions…

some said that I need to send just things that shows our relationship after I arrived on the US because we already sent all proof before that period on our CR1 visa process…

others say to send everything again (starting from the day we married).

 

What is correct?

 

This is my list so far

Marriage certificate 

Copy of passport- both

DL - both

Joint Bank account statements

Deed from our home

Mortgage refinance document 

401k 

Tax returns (2018, 2019, 2020)

Dental insurance 

Health Insurance 

Home insurance 

car insurance 

Credit Card

Bills (phone, internet, water, gas., etc)

Car lease 

photos

Trips

 

(I think this is all)

 

For the bills, bank statements I print quadrimestral.

 

any other tip?

 

thanks

 

 

 

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

@PaulaCJohnny This is the link to the I-751 instructions. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-751instr.pdf Page 5 states "Submit copies of as many documents as you can to establish this fact, to demonstrate the circumstances of the relationship from the date of the marriage to the present date, and to demonstrate any circumstances surrounding the end of the relationship, if it has ended."

 

Per the instructions, we submitted everything - every month of every statement of everything since we got married. Does USCIS approve petitions with minimal evidence? Yes, sure. It is up to you to decide whether you want to follow the instructions or not. Everyone seems to interpret them differently.  

 

Of note: Submit every page of anything that you decide to submit. That creates problems sometimes. If a bank statement has a total of 5 pages. Submit all 5 pages. Sometimes people will only submit page 1/5 . USCIS does not consider that a complete bank statement. If one of those 5 pages is a blank page, and the page is numbered, you would still submit that page. 

 

It is best to print single sided.

 

[PaulaCJohnny 713]

24 minutes ago, USC4SPOUSE said:

@PaulaCJohnny This is the link to the I-751 instructions. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-751instr.pdf Page 5 states "Submit copies of as many documents as you can to establish this fact, to demonstrate the circumstances of the relationship from the date of the marriage to the present date, and to demonstrate any circumstances surrounding the end of the relationship, if it has ended."

 

Per the instructions, we submitted everything - every month of every statement of everything since we got married. Does USCIS approve petitions with minimal evidence? Yes, sure. It is up to you to decide whether you want to follow the instructions or not. Everyone seems to interpret them differently.  

 

Of note: Submit every page of anything that you decide to submit. That creates problems sometimes. If a bank statement has a total of 5 pages. Submit all 5 pages. Sometimes people will only submit page 1/5 . USCIS does not consider that a complete bank statement. If one of those 5 pages is a blank page, and the page is numbered, you would still submit that page. 

 

It is best to print single sided.

 

Great tip. Thanks.

we lived in other country before and all the bills stay there. The bank account was closed.

I have a proof of joint account from that country, rent and police confirmation address. Do you think this is a good thing to include?

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

4 minutes ago, PaulaCJohnny said:

Great tip. Thanks.

we lived in other country before and all the bills stay there. The bank account was closed.

I have a proof of joint account from that country, rent and police confirmation address. Do you think this is a good thing to include?

You're welcome! I think it would be a good idea to include those if you have them.  

[Timona 4,207]

1 hour ago, PaulaCJohnny said:

Hello everyone, I’m preparing my ROC package and I had different opinions…

some said that I need to send just things that shows our relationship after I arrived on the US because we already sent all proof before that period on our CR1 visa process…

others say to send everything again (starting from the day we married).

 

What is correct?

 

This is my list so far

Marriage certificate 

Copy of passport- both  

Copy of immigrant spouse PP

DL - both

Joint Bank account statements

Deed from our home

Mortgage refinance document 

401k 

Tax returns (2018, 2019, 2020)

Dental insurance 

Health Insurance 

Home insurance 

car insurance 

Credit Card

Bills (phone, internet, water, gas., etc)

Car lease 

photos

Trips

 

(I think this is all)

 

For the bills, bank statements I print quadrimestral.

 

any other tip?

 

thanks

 

 

 

 

38 minutes ago, USC4SPOUSE said:

@PaulaCJohnny This is the link to the I-751 instructions. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-751instr.pdf Page 5 states "Submit copies of as many documents as you can to establish this fact, to demonstrate the circumstances of the relationship from the date of the marriage to the present date, and to demonstrate any circumstances surrounding the end of the relationship, if it has ended."

 

Per the instructions, we submitted everything - every month of every statement of everything since we got married. Does USCIS approve petitions with minimal evidence? Yes, sure. It is up to you to decide whether you want to follow the instructions or not. Everyone seems to interpret them differently.  

 

Of note: Submit every page of anything that you decide to submit. That creates problems sometimes. If a bank statement has a total of 5 pages. Submit all 5 pages. Sometimes people will only submit page 1/5 . USCIS does not consider that a complete bank statement. If one of those 5 pages is a blank page, and the page is numbered, you would still submit that page. 

 

It is best to print single sided.

 

Quarterly bank statements would suffice. Some bank statements are lengthy.

[eckoin 211]

And yet some people sent quarterly bank statements and USCIS sent RFEs for a full collection of dead trees. 

 

I personally would send absolutely everything, including the marriage certificate and the bio passport pages (we did); with that said, I sent: 

 

* Every single joint account statement since Sept. 2019 because we didn't have one before that - married in 2017.  I included a one-sentence explanation that we joined accounts when purchasing our home together. 

* Almost nothing related to us living together prior to Sept. 2019, because my spouse also owned his home outright and we never bothered with adding me to the deed or utility bills.  Similar situation during AOS, where we just had half the bills in his name, and half the bills in my name. 

* Included the homeowners/auto/health/dental/etc. insurance current as of the submission date only.  Did include the title documents together for the new home, obviously, but the data goes back to two years into our marriage is my point, but I explained why. 

* The first bill for utilities (2019), and the last bill for utilities, which were in both names.  Not printing every bill even if I could get each one.  Some companies show the last X bills only, or you have to request them and no one has time for that. 

 

So I say, if you have it, include it; if you don't have it, explain why and move on.  But don't just skip things without clarifying why.  My interview was waived and I was approved without issues, but everyone's mileage will vary, clearly. 

Edited July 27, 2021 by eckoin

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

On 7/26/2021 at 3:20 PM, Timona said:

 

Quarterly bank statements would suffice. Some bank statements are lengthy.

Probably, but I wouldn't risk it.  

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

@PaulaCJohnny it sounds like you have plenty of joint items. However, not everything needs to be joint. If X bill is on your name and Y bill is on your husband's name, you would still include them as both bills likely show the same address. There is not set rule. Some get away with sending less, some don't. You have to decide if you are good to sleep at night with whatever you're sending. That's what it comes down to. 

 

[PaulaCJohnny 713]

6 hours ago, USC4SPOUSE said:

@PaulaCJohnny it sounds like you have plenty of joint items. However, not everything needs to be joint. If X bill is on your name and Y bill is on your husband's name, you would still include them as both bills likely show the same address. There is not set rule. Some get away with sending less, some don't. You have to decide if you are good to sleep at night with whatever you're sending. That's what it comes down to. 

 

Thanks so much. I added some bills some you said. Internet is in my name and Gas&Electricity in his name.

I will add more of the bank statements and credit card too. 
Have a great weekend 

[Deric&Alicia 11]

Getting to file roc soon too! Thanks his post has been super helpful! Thanks to all

[RLA 323]

15 hours ago, USC4SPOUSE said:

Probably, but I wouldn't risk it.  

TBF, the risk is very limited.  The worst that could happen is that you get an RFE and that your approval is delayed a little.  Which is not really a problem in the RoC stage since you maintain your residence status during the whole process.

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

16 minutes ago, RLA said:

TBF, the risk is very limited.  The worst that could happen is that you get an RFE and that your approval is delayed a little.  Which is not really a problem in the RoC stage since you maintain your residence status during the whole process.

We all assess and manage risk differently. I see little benefit in trying to find out whether I can get away with sending minimal evidence or quarterly statements or printing two sided to save paper, etc.

In the eyes of USCIS not all humans were created equal. We see it every day. So I followed the directions and sent everything and the kitchen sink. Did the same for AOS and it worked beautifully. If you did differently, and it worked, awesome.  

[RLA 323]

1. The I-751 instructions say: "Submit copies of as many documents as you can ..."  You could always send more — affidavits, photos, letters, transcripts, whatnot ...  So, everybody has to make a judgement call where the cut-off is.  Your claim — that you followed the instructions while somebody only sending quarterly statements does not — that claim does not really hold.
2. The I-751 is not adjudicated based on how well you followed the official instructions.  It is adjudicated based on how convincing your case is.  The case officers might not even know those instructions; they work off of their own set of instructions, based on the actual immigration laws.
3. Nobody says you should send minimal evidence.  Everybody says you should send comprehensive and well-rounded evidence.  The discussion is about whether one regular envelope full of paper is enough or whether you need to send a box or even a crate full of paper.

Quote

We all assess and manage risk differently.

I agree.  Luckily we have VisaJourney to help each other make informed assessments.

Edited July 29, 2021 by RLA

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

@PaulaCJohnny you will be fine. Your evidence looks really good.  

[PaulaCJohnny 713]

4 hours ago, USC4SPOUSE said:

@PaulaCJohnny you will be fine. Your evidence looks really good.  

@USC4SPOUSE and @RLA thanks so much for those amazing tips. I will be sending everything on Monday. As soon as I get any news I will let y’all know!! 😊💕