Got married together in PH using Utah last month. Form i130 advice

[TO285 1]

Online Form i130 is asking for asking for lists of evidence on the page with the 2x2" photo upload. I still need to start looking over I130A for the wife to help fill out.

 

It mentions things like affidavits from family and friends stating our relationship is real, joint bank accounts, joint rent leases etc.

 

Issue is, since I'm a tourist here in the PH I don't believe I can open a joint bank account, particularly without a PSA marriage certificate, feel free to educate me if I'm wrong on this. I have been sending her rent, phone load, and some grocery money via Remitly for over a year and have online records of this, could I submit pictures of this as some proof?

 

Pictures of our wedding reception with friends? (her family couldn't travel to attend as their health is not so good.)

 

I could get typed/written statements from our mutual friends in the PH, some of her family members stating that our relationship is genuine along with personal experiences and copies of their photo IDs.

 

I could also ask some US family and friends that haven't met her personally but know me very well and have conversed with me many times about our relationship, plans to get married, and so on over the last twoish years. My US friends and family have not met the wife in-person but have spoken to her over videocalls many times prior to and after getting married.

 

I can also attach photos of this on-going trip in the PH, my trip before covid, and my trip back in 2018 to see her.

 

Any advice, and resources would be greatly appreciated. I can't really afford to pay someone to help organize/prepare things, so I'm trying to do it all myself. 

 

Thank you and God bless.

[Adventine 3,196]

You don't really need the affidavits from family and friends. You've got some very strong evidence already:

 

- all your boarding passes, passport stamps and tourist visa extensions from 2018 to present, which prove that you're spending a significant amount of time in the Philippines

 

- photos of events (ex. wedding, reception, other social gatherings)

 

 

Other suggestions:

 

- what's your living situation like? Are you living in her house or do you have a long term Airbnb? If Airbnb or similar, you can download something from their website as proof of your booking. It's more proof that you're spending a lot of time in her home/close to her home 

 

- you're correct that it's tough for a foreigner on a tourist visa to open a bank account in the Philippines. USCIS understands that international couples don't necessarily have joint accounts. Instead, consider making your wife a beneficiary on your existing accounts or making her an authorized user on your US credit cards. 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Adventine

[TO285 1]

On 9/6/2022 at 9:59 PM, Adventine said:

You don't really need the affidavits from family and friends. You've got some very strong evidence already:

 

- all your boarding passes, passport stamps and tourist visa extensions from 2018 to present, which prove that you're spending a significant amount of time in the Philippines

 

- photos of events (ex. wedding, reception, other social gatherings)

 

 

Other suggestions:

 

- what's your living situation like? Are you living in her house or do you have a long term Airbnb? If Airbnb or similar, you can download something from their website as proof of your booking. It's more proof that you're spending a lot of time in her home/close to her home 

 

- you're correct that it's tough for a foreigner on a tourist visa to open a bank account in the Philippines. USCIS understands that international couples don't necessarily have joint accounts. Instead, consider making your wife a beneficiary on your existing accounts or making her an authorized user on your US credit cards. 

 

 

She has an apartment in the PH that she's been staying in for about a year, I've been staying with her since I arrived. I've also been paying for her apartment since she moved in, but I've been paying for it by sending her remittances and then she pays the landlord.

 

We spoke to her landlord and her landlord is willing to provide an affidavit stating how long she's been there, how long it's been paid for indirectly by me, and that she witnessed me staying in the apartment with her for two months following arrival and marriage. Would that be something that is appropriate to get, scan and submit to USCIS? I can also submit images of my remittances over the year to the wife before we got married.

Edited September 11, 2022 by TO285

[Adventine 3,196]

@TO285 If it's not too much of a hassle to get that from the landlord, you can go ahead and do that. A simple 1 page thing should be more than enough. But again, you've got strong evidence without it already.