Got an I-485 RFE for 'Evidence of shared marital life' [merged threads]

[Daisy.Chain 317]

38 minutes ago, Letspaintcookies said:

Good question but it's AOS from K1 so there was probably none of it ( which is ok ) except for the certificate and that might got lost with USCIS.

When my husband adjusted from k1 we sent as much evidence as possible trying to avoid an RFE (and we didn't get one!). People can send evidence in for AOS. We didn't have a ton but sent what we had.

 

I can't tell from the initial post whether they sent the evidence listed originally or not. If they sent all of that in and still got an RFE they might have a problem. The OP's timeline section for AOS is blank, so it's hard to tell. If they sent just the application in then they are probably fine with sending in the new evidence.

[TinNhi 22]

9 hours ago, Daisy.Chain said:

I'm curious too..this RFE is for more evidence. Did you submit all of these things already for the initial application and they are asking for more or is it that you didn't submit much evidence with the initial application?

Thanks all.  I may have muddied the water a bit by posting this separate thread about the one pager.   I see the admin/mod merged my two threads, so hopefully you're able to read my original thread explaining what we received in the RFE and what we've prepared as a response.

 

In September we received an RFE asking for two things:. Marriage certificate and evidence of shared marital life after our wedding date. It gives examples of what we should reply with and by when. (later part of Dec)

 

Our response 'package' includes:

 

- Copy of the RFE (it literally states send a COPY of the RFE)

- Cover letter listing contents of whats included

- Certified copy of our marriage certificate

- Copy of our joint  lease from 2021 -2022

- Copy of our joint lease from 2022 - 2023

- Shared internet bill (both our names)

- Shared mobile phone bill (both our names)

- Copy of Visa card statement with our names

- Copy of Mastercard statement with our names

- Copy of our ID'S (front & back) with same address

- Notarized affidavit from family member attesting to our address from the day my then-fiance and I lived until we got our new apartment

- Joint utilities bill (water, sewer, trash)

- Joint electric bill

- Joint renters insurance policy

- Receipt of her AR11 address change

- Receipt of my i865 address change 

- My employer provided health care coverage with wife covered as spouse (med, vision, life insurance w/ her as beneficiary)

- My employer -provided 401k with her as beneficiary

- My employer-provided dental plan covering her

- Her recent bank statement highlighting payments to our utilities from above

- My bank statement highlighting me covering our apartment and internet bill

- Certificate of rent paid for each of us

- Copy of flight receipt for a trip we took together

** I will also soon have and will include my 2021 tax return papers showing married filing jointly

~ 20-25 photos of us and our puppy, including a couple of our court wedding (during Covid)

 

I posted a second thread asking if I should include a few paragraphs describing our day to day life, just for the officer to get a better sense of who we are

 

Thanks and hope this clears up confusion.  Btw, we are not sending big binders, simply folders that have little bendable metal tabs that keep our clear protective sheets in place 

 

 

[Family 3,988]

4 minutes ago, TinNhi said:

Thanks and hope this clears up confusion.  Btw, we are not sending big binders, simply folders that have little bendable metal tabs that keep our clear protective sheets in place 

 

Your Exhibit List / Cover Letter is impressive and you are well prepared.
 

Adding  something like “ Statement/Affidavit Re the bonafides of Marriage “ is actually an excellent idea and will contain important easy to read relevant info that will be supported by the evidence submitted. 

Just think of describing A Forest ( example : in our married life we make all the big decisions jointly .and even make time to shop together at Costco twice a month.) not the Tree ( a typical day ..) 

 

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

2 hours ago, Daisy.Chain said:

When my husband adjusted from k1 we sent as much evidence as possible trying to avoid an RFE (and we didn't get one!). People can send evidence in for AOS. We didn't have a ton but sent what we had.

 

I can't tell from the initial post whether they sent the evidence listed originally or not. If they sent all of that in and still got an RFE they might have a problem. The OP's timeline section for AOS is blank, so it's hard to tell. If they sent just the application in then they are probably fine with sending in the new evidence.

We applied 3 days after getting married. There was nothing to send 🤣 of course you can but you don't have to and it's not advised to wait just to gather evidence that's expected at the interview. 

[Daisy.Chain 317]

4 hours ago, Letspaintcookies said:

We applied 3 days after getting married. There was nothing to send 🤣 of course you can but you don't have to and it's not advised to wait just to gather evidence that's expected at the interview. 

We were advised to and did. Worked out for us! We did have to move quickly to get evidence right after getting married. I think we waited 3 weeks though to have the marriage certificate. (Lease, will, powers of attorney, pictures, bank statements etc etc)

 

OP, your list looks easily approvable! Best of luck.

[TinNhi 22]

17 hours ago, Letspaintcookies said:

We applied 3 days after getting married. There was nothing to send 🤣 of course you can but you don't have to and it's not advised to wait just to gather evidence that's expected at the interview. 

That's similar to our situation.  We applied for AoS very soon after we got married so there wasn't much shared or accumulated at that point. We did however ensure to include our marriage certificate, but apparently, they lost or misplaced it. 

 

I have several more questions, if I may:

 

• On our cover letter, should I include my wife's alien registration # and last 4 of my SSN near our printed names, the date and our signatures? 
• Should we highlight our documents to direct the reviewing officer's attention to where both our names appear together on each document? Or will they scrutinize each document so thoroughly that it's not necessary?  (We have already been highlighting lines on our bank statement that show money went out to a particular utility or service)
• Should we include our most recent paystubs to not only confirm our address and part of our SSNs, but also because I'm sending a lot of documents regarding my employer-provided benefits?
• We've been given until middle of Dec for our response to arrive at USCIS.   I know ASAP is always best, but is there a positive/negative to sending it this week versus say, later, like in November so we can gather even more evidence - like more photos?
• Lastly, it's either an approve or deny based on this RFE's response, right?  They will not be sending any more RFE's on this matter given, correct?  This is truly our last shot?

Thanks as always!

Edited October 17, 2022 by TinNhi
Spelling and rephrasing

[Rocio0010 5,579]

On 10/17/2022 at 11:36 AM, TinNhi said:

On our cover letter, should I include my wife's alien registration # and last 4 of my SSN near our printed names, the date and our signatures? 

Yes.

 

On 10/17/2022 at 11:36 AM, TinNhi said:

Should we highlight our documents to direct the reviewing officer's attention to where both our names appear together on each document?

No, don't use highlighters because they scan your documents and highlighters can cover the information.

 

On 10/17/2022 at 11:36 AM, TinNhi said:

Should we include our most recent paystubs to not only confirm our address and part of our SSNs, but also because I'm sending a lot of documents regarding my employer-provided benefits?

No. Don't you have letters that certify said employer- provided benefits?

 

On 10/17/2022 at 11:36 AM, TinNhi said:

like more photos?

Photos are very weak evidence and plus, in this situation, they might seem staged. I wouldn't even bother with pictures. Send whatever you have now.

 

On 10/17/2022 at 11:36 AM, TinNhi said:

Lastly, it's either an approve or deny based on this RFE's response, right?  They will not be sending any more RFE's on this matter given, correct?  This is truly our last shot?

Hard to tell. I have seen people getting more than one RFE.

They are not going to deny it, but even if they did, she's not going to be deported. You can always file again (and pay, of course!)

[TinNhi 22]

14 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

Yes.

 

No, don't use highlighters because they scan your documents and highlighters can cover the information.

 

No. Don't you have letters that certify said employer- provided benefits?

 

Photos are very weak evidence and plus, in this situation, they might seem staged. I wouldn't even bother with pictures. Send whatever you have now.

 

Hard to tell. I have seen people getting more than one RFE.

They are not going to deny it, but even if they did, she's not going to be deported. You can always file again (and pay, of course!)

 

Thank you!  Ok, we've sent it off and now the waiting game.  Not sure how long it takes for us to see any updates but at least we can breathe easy knowing we sent as robust of a response as possible to this RFE.  

 

Can't thank everyone enough and will surely let you know how things go!   Take care all.

 

[TinNhi 22]

Question...

 

If we don't see an update on the USCIS website to our mailed RFE response a few days before the deadline they gave us (Dec 22nd, 2022), should we upload the information we mailed by USPS Express directly to USCIS's website so we at least have a paper trail that we submitted the RFE evidence in time?

 

All we have currently is a USPS Express Mail receipt that says someone signed for it.

 

Thank you.

[TinNhi 22]

Thank you to everyone who helped and supported us through one of the most stressful times of our lives! 

We received the I-485 AOS approval letter online today, on Tet (Vietnamese New Year) no less!