I-751 questions

[Frider 7]

Preparing to file I-751:

1) So the I-751 instructions says to include “affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people…”

Specifically, do these affidavits have to be notarized?

Can the affidavit be from a relative in another country, or does it have to be from a US citizen/resident?

 

2) Instructions say “if you are the… lawful permanent resident spouse you do not need to include a biometric services fee at the time this petition is submitted…”

So just to verify, I do not have to include $85 with the filing fee?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Timona 4,207]

Affidavits are useless. I'm sure you have other strong evidences like mortgage, lease, taxes etc

 

You have to pay the bio fee

[Crazy Cat 41,887]

2 hours ago, Frider said:

Preparing to file I-751:

1) So the I-751 instructions says to include “affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people…”

Specifically, do these affidavits have to be notarized?

Can the affidavit be from a relative in another country, or does it have to be from a US citizen/resident?

 

2) Instructions say “if you are the… lawful permanent resident spouse you do not need to include a biometric services fee at the time this petition is submitted…”

So just to verify, I do not have to include $85 with the filing fee?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Agree with @Timona:

 

1.  Affidavits are of no use.  They are extremely weak evidence.

2.  The total fee is $680 ...... ($595 + $85)

Edited May 22, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[da95826 387]

2 hours ago, Frider said:

So the I-751 instructions says to include “affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people…”

Specifically, do these affidavits have to be notarized?

Can the affidavit be from a relative in another country, or does it have to be from a US citizen/resident?

Affidavit are not required to be filed at all, but can be helpful in special circumstances, like living with relatives who pay all the household expenses (in place of a lease agreement & bills) when they are effectively your landlords. Affidavits are not as strong evidence like joint tax transcripts, joint bank account statements, joint lease/joint mortgage, joint bills, or birth records of children together; W2/1099, state issue ID with common address and so on. 

 

There is no downside filing affidavit(s) , they are not strong evidence they can be helpful if you are running short on better evidence to make your application stronger. 

 

You can notarize the signatures if you wish.

 

2 hours ago, Frider said:

2) Instructions say “if you are the… lawful permanent resident spouse you do not need to include a biometric services fee at the time this petition is submitted…”

So just to verify, I do not have to include $85 with the filing fee?

 

No. all applicants must pay both fees when filing. You must pay the i751 filing fee together with the biometric fee(s) when filing the i751, if you don't the application will be rejected.

 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

2 hours ago, Frider said:

1) So the I-751 instructions says to include “affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people…”

Specifically, do these affidavits have to be notarized?

Can the affidavit be from a relative in another country, or does it have to be from a US citizen/resident?

They can be useful if you don’t have strong evidence. What evidence will you send?

2 hours ago, Frider said:

2) Instructions say “if you are the… lawful permanent resident spouse you do not need to include a biometric services fee at the time this petition is submitted…”

So just to verify, I do not have to include $85 with the filing fee?

 

Where does it say that? This is incorrect and YOU DO need to include the biometrics fee

[Crazy Cat 41,887]

If you send personal affidavits, you should have them notarized.  There is no way to verify the truthfulness of the content of a personal affidavit.  A notary will, at least, verify that a signature is authentic. 

Edited May 22, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[Frider 7]

I already have a big pile of joint financial documents to submit. Hard for me to believe that’s all they’re interested in. Does anyone submit 2 sided copies? My I-485 petition was 90+ pages, mostly one sided copies. One person on VJ claimed they were going to submit an I-751 petition weighing 3 1/2 lbs!

Quote re: payment fees are on page 2 of the I-751 instructions, so if it is incorrect USCIS needs to clarify it. Very confusing.

Found a good sample I-751 affidavit:

https://citizenpath.com/cpwp/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/I-751-Affidavit-Sample.pdf

Says it doesn’t need to be notarized.

Edited May 22, 2022 by Frider

[Family 3,988]

You are on top of the game w biometric fee current instructions. No, they do not like double sided, there is some USCIS guidance on this but not a mandate….certainly recommended if you want your submission get past the data entry level intact. 
Best way to submit is w cover letter / exhibits points or numbers w short description of each item BUT keeping in mind what a an RFE slammer would ask of you…show us YOUR JOINT LIFE for the period since becoming an LPR…..thus where you lived ( leases, utilities, mail, DMV), how you lived( banks statement, credit accounts, insurance, paycheck and payments, rent paid receipts, gym , ..) justify co-mingling of assets/ credit..so if cars are registered in separate names, explain why ( owned prior to marriage)…and of course the joint taxes with W-2 

 

I agree that your mountain of evidence seems financially …but bloody hell each piece of LIFE seems to be related to either earning a living or paying for it! 
Good luck 

[Family 3,988]

4 hours ago, Frider said:

Specifically, do these affidavits have to be notarized?

Can the affidavit be from a relative in another country, or does it have to be from a US citizen/resident?

Notarized Affidavits ( with a JURAT not Acknowledgment form from the Notary) do carry more value than one without, but good either way as long as a copy of their ID or / matricula consular is included …it’s worth the effort, especially with the new guidance on Risk Based Approvals without an interview, so YUP , go ahead and help your people ( they DO NOT need to be USC or LPR to write the Affidavit in Support of Happily Married Couple) write it up and talk u up! 

[Family 3,988]

2 hours ago, Frider said:

re: payment fees are on page 2 of the I-751 instructions, so if it is incorrect USCIS needs to clarify it. Very confusing.

I think I may have added to your confusion: so let’s shed light… You (/the CR conditional resident ) DOES pay the $85 biometric fee. 
The instructions you quoted ( and I presumed were clear );are not to include biometric fee for your spouse , 

date.

Filing Fee

$595.

You must pay a $85 biometric service fee for each person applying to remove conditions on their residence on the same form. Use our Fee Calculator to help determine your fee. We will reject forms submitted with incorrect or incomplete fees.

You may pay the fee with a money order, personal check or cashier’s check.  When filing at a USCIS lockbox facility, you may also pay by credit card using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions. If you pay by check, you must make your check payable to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 

When you send a payment, you agree to pay for a government service. Filing and biometric service fees are final and non-refundable, regardless of any action we take on your application, petition, or request, or if you withdraw your request. 

Checklist of Required Initial Evidence (for informational purposes only)

 

[Frider 7]

Thanks Family. Makes more sense now. At this point the conditional resident is housewife and the American citizen/spouse is retired schoolteacher. We are living comfortably on savings, pension and social security, and buying a new home. So at this time employment is not a major concern as we are happy with a more traditional marriage.

Edited May 23, 2022 by Frider

[Family 3,988]

38 minutes ago, Frider said:

Thanks Family. Makes more sense now. At this point the conditional resident is housewife and the American citizen/spouse is retired schoolteacher. We are living comfortably on savings, pension and social security, and buying a new home. So at this time employment is not a major concern as we are happy with a more traditional marriage.

Lovely to hear that and wishing you best of days. You have plenty of joint paper life to include , don’t forget to add pictures of the two of you. You may just get this approved without an interview! 

[Scandi 4,166]

14 hours ago, Frider said:

Preparing to file I-751:

1) So the I-751 instructions says to include “affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people…”

Specifically, do these affidavits have to be notarized?

Can the affidavit be from a relative in another country, or does it have to be from a US citizen/resident?

 

2) Instructions say “if you are the… lawful permanent resident spouse you do not need to include a biometric services fee at the time this petition is submitted…”

So just to verify, I do not have to include $85 with the filing fee?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Just here to say that the person filing an i751 is the lawful permanent resident, NOT the lawful permanent resident SPOUSE (ie the spouse of the LPR) . Big difference. 

[Mike E 11,739]

17 hours ago, Frider said:

Specifically, do these affidavits have to be notarized?

No they don’t.  To the point that these can be faked if not notarized, USCIS considers federal laws against perjury combined with its access to databases on every person living in the US to be sufficient to obviate the need for notarization.  If USCIS thinks a statement might be fake it can easily dispatch a pair of officers to the alleged place of work or residence of the person who allegedly signed the statement.  

Besides which, notarized statements can be faked too.  Instead of verifying the person who signed the statement now USCIS has to verify the notary. 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.  
 

As to whether three statements are useless, a statement that says it appears the couple resides same home based on seeing their clothes hanging in the same closet has some power. Or a statement from a next door neighbor starting they see the couple coming and going several times  a week and even have conversations with the couple is powerful.  
 

17 hours ago, Frider said:

Can the affidavit be from a relative in another country, or does it have to be from a US citizen/resident?

Affidavits from US citizens  are preferred because the the legal system has more practical leverage over perjurers who are citizens.  

[Thunderbolt 172]

Hi,

 

We'll be submitting our I-751 in 2 weeks. This is what we are attaching to the form. (besides the usual as DL with the same address, copy of the passport pages)

 

- Joint W2s and 1099

- 3 different bank statements (saving, checking and checking)

- Joint car insurance policy

- Health insurance

- Credit cards with my wife as second card holder

- Our boarding passes from the overseas trip which we took in December

- Couple of pictures of us together from our travel

 

House and car was owned by me before she moved to US. I can't think of anything else to add to the package. 

We wont be submitting any affidavits as I don't see the point. Is there anything else to add to it?