Help Filling Form I-130 [merged threads]

[NorthFlatworm495 1]

So, the time has finally come to begin filing the Form I-130 to bring my wife to the United States. I have a few questions and wanted to provide some background information regarding our situation which seems straight-forward and want to make sure I’m filling out the I-130 correctly. To begin, I (27M) born and raised U.S. Citizen just recently married my wife (26F) who is a Canadian Permanent Resident holder, originally born and raised in India and came to Canada in 2016. She currently resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She acquired her B1/B2 visa in March of this year and was able to visit me twice this year so far. We met in February of this year as well through shaadi.com (Indian matchmaking website) and we kicked it off. We decided to move forward and she’s so far, visited me twice in Texas and I’ve visited her twice in Toronto. I had asked a few questions on this website regarding the process and many suggested to get married in a courthouse to start the process so we did that, and got married August 4th, just a few days ago here in Texas. She flew back to Canada because she is currently working still but we plan to visit each other every other month going forward. Hopefully this is enough context for the purpose of these questions I will be asking and can add more if need be, thank you!

 

#1) Is this whole process just able to be done online? I figured Form I-130 and every single item required needed to be mailed in like a packet. I followed the “IR1/CR1 Spouse Visa Step-by-Step Guide on Filing an I-130 for a US Spouse Visa” instructions on this website and it seems like it has to be done via paperwork but on the USCIS website, it drives as if everything can be done online, am I missing something?

 

#2) I am filing for my spouse and was told that since I am petitioning for a spouse, I will need to upload the Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary (I-130A) as part of evidence for this application. My spouse is in Canada so am I able to fill out the form in its entirety and she’s not required to sign since she’s in another country (overseas)? The document states “If you reside overseas, you must still complete Form I-130A, but you do not need to sign the form.”

 

#3) My wife did visit the U.S. so we selected “Yes” to the question “Was the beneficiary EVER in the United States?” The questions they ask are “What is the beneficiary’s Passport number?” which her B1/B2 visa lists on her visa card. Then the next question is “What is the beneficiary’s Travel Document number?” Is that the same as the Passport number?

 

#4) To continue from question #2, the next question is “What is the country of issuance for the beneficiary’s Passport or Travel Document?” I’m guessing this is the United States correct? Or would it be Canada?

 

#5) We now get to “What was the beneficiary’s class of admission?” and there is a drop-down box that gives us all the visa options and she does have a B1/B2 visa so I’m guessing I’d click one of those, maybe B2 since it states “B2 - Temporary Visitor For Pleasure” but on the actual paper form for the Form I-130, it states that these questions will only be answered if the beneficiary is currently in the United States (items 46.a. - 46.d.). Maybe this doesn’t even get answered at all and we leave it blank? 

 

#6) The next questions are follow-ups to #4 and they ask about the beneficiary’s Form I-94 Arrival-Departure Record number, beneficiary’s date of arrival, and when does the beneficiary’s authorized stay expire? These questions fall into that same items 46.a. - 46.d. criteria on the paper form version of Form I-130.

 

#7) The next question is about the Beneficiary’s Family and asks to “provide information about the beneficiary’s spouse and children in this section if they have any.” When I click “Add”, it asks for the beneficiary’s spouse or child’s full legal name. Would I essentially re-fill in the fields again of my own information as the spouse again? Seems redundant since I filled it out earlier but just wanted to make sure.

 

#8) So I’m in the Texas, United States, she’s in Toronto, Canada. I’m guessing we’d go with the U.S. Embassy or Consulate location since she’s outside of the United States correct? If so, I googled embassies/consulates and I typed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for that section.

 

#9) When uploading the 2” X 2” photos of me and my spouse, we essentially went and got passport style photos done at Walgreen’s and all we’ll need to do is just upload these? And I see we just write our names on the back and A-Number but we don’t have this so it applicable.

 

#10) The biggest question of all, it is now asking to upload proof of marriage. So we don’t live together, don’t have any joint ownership of property, bank accounts/financial resources commingled, etc. Our marriage is legit, 100%. So in the case of uploading evidence, I was thinking uploading upwards of 25 pictures of us and my family, wedding pictures, call records from my mobile provider statement(s), cards we received from friends when we got married, we could maybe get affidavits of support, we visited each other in Canada and Texas so travel itineraries and receipts of things we did, and receipts of gifts we sent each other ( I sent her a necklace that has our names engraved on 2 hearts intertwined and she sent me a fossil watch as I’m a lover of watches) and I also added her as a beneficiary on all my brokerage accounts. Anything else or is this sufficient?

 

Thank you so much! I’m hoping our case is straight forward as we have all the pertinent information readily available and no complexities whatsoever and this community has really helped a lot!

[Lemonslice 4,831]

Congratulations on your recent marriage!  A few answers:

 

#4) To continue from question #2, the next question is “What is the country of issuance for the beneficiary’s Passport or Travel Document?” I’m guessing this is the United States correct? Or would it be Canada?
Her passport has probably been issued by India.  

 

#8) So I’m in the Texas, United States, she’s in Toronto, Canada. I’m guessing we’d go with the U.S. Embassy or Consulate location since she’s outside of the United States correct? If so, I googled embassies/consulates and I typed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for that section.
All interviews for spousal visas take place at the Consulate in Montreal, Quebec .

 

#10) The biggest question of all, it is now asking to upload proof of marriage. So we don’t live together, don’t have any joint ownership of property, bank accounts/financial resources commingled, etc. Our marriage is legit, 100%.

Other ideas: You can already add each other as beneficiaries to financial accounts (banking, retirement, insurance, etc.); most credit card providers will also let you add your spouse as an authorized user.  Wills/living wills are also good documents to have, for immigration, but more importantly, in life. 

[pushbrk 12,868]

8 hours ago, Lemonslice said:

Congratulations on your recent marriage!  A few answers:

 

 

 

#10) The biggest question of all, it is now asking to upload proof of marriage. So we don’t live together, don’t have any joint ownership of property, bank accounts/financial resources commingled, etc. Our marriage is legit, 100%.

Other ideas: You can already add each other as beneficiaries to financial accounts (banking, retirement, insurance, etc.); most credit card providers will also let you add your spouse as an authorized user.  Wills/living wills are also good documents to have, for immigration, but more importantly, in life. 

All good but most important is evidence of time spent together in person.  For air travel between US and Canada, that will be the stamps in each of your passports, and some photos together over time.

 

A person either has a passport or a travel document in lieu of a passport.  Your spouse has a passport, so no travel document.  Leave it blank.  Yes, really.  Yes, I'm sure.

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by pushbrk

[NorthFlatworm495 1]

Hello everyone,

 

For Part 3. Information About Your Employment Outside the United States, it says to “provide your last occupation outside the United States if not shown above”. I provided her last 2 employers in the page prior and then also added all her employer information in the additional section page Part 7. What would I put here? Maybe her current job? Reason I’m confused is because it’s already stated above.

 

Thank you!

[Verrou 1,962]

45 minutes ago, NorthFlatworm495 said:

Hello everyone,

 

For Part 3. Information About Your Employment Outside the United States, it says to “provide your last occupation outside the United States if not shown above”. I provided her last 2 employers in the page prior and then also added all her employer information in the additional section page Part 7. What would I put here? Maybe her current job? Reason I’m confused is because it’s already stated above.

 

Thank you!

One is the past 5 years ( inside and outside US doesn’t matter as long as it’s within the past 5 years )

 

the other one is the last job she had outside US. 

[NorthFlatworm495 1]

Just now, Verrou said:

One is the past 5 years ( inside and outside US doesn’t matter as long as it’s within the past 5 years )

 

the other one is the last job she had outside US. 

Gotcha, all her jobs have been outside of the United States. She has had jobs in Canada, which is where she currently lives. Sorry, forgot to add that in.

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Merged related threads.  Please post your questions related to the I-130 form in this thread to keep the discussion in one place. ***

 

[pushbrk 12,868]

Proper concept is to answer each question independently.  That the form seems repetitive, is because it is.  So will your answers be.