Affidavits from friends, text logs: necessary/useful when we have stronger evidence?

[SJinCA 22]

Hello all! I'm hoping for some advice regarding the proof of relationship I plan to submit for my spouse's I-130 petition. For context, we've been legally married for just over a year now, we currently live together in spouse's home country (where our marriage took place) and plan to do so until they receive their visa.

 

Here's what I'm currently planning on submitting as evidence:

 

• Copy of marriage certificate with certified English translation
• Evidence of living together: lease from Aug 2023-Jul 2024 and current lease, along with a sworn statement from our landlord that spouse and I live together at the property (I'm only including the latter because my spouse isn't listed on the lease, only me)
• Evidence of comingled finances: most recent CC statement which shows spouse as an authorized user
• Evidence of international travel together on several occasions, consisting of passport stamps, airline ticket stubs, and hotel reservations
• Collection of ~30 pictures of us together at various points in our relationship, including pictures documenting that we've both met each other's parents/family

 

I was also planning to ask two of my close friends, both of whom have met spouse in-person and one of whom attended our wedding reception, to prepare a sworn statement that our relationship is genuine. However, I understand that these types of affidavits are generally considered among the weakest evidence. Given what we already have, do you think these would be unnecessary, or would it be beneficial to include them anyways? It certainly can't hurt to do so, right?

 

I also know that many people submit chat logs with their spouse as evidence. My spouse and I text in a mix of English and their native language, and it would be tedious to not only collect the necessary screenshots, but to then translate them, let alone pay a third party to do so and provide a certified translation. Would this help our application, or do you think the evidence listed above (with or without statements from friends) would get the job done?

Edited August 16 by sjrobertson

[Dashinka 24,487]

I would not worry about texts and affidavits for filing the I130.  You can bring those to the interview in case the CO asks you to provide more evidence.  I should note though that it wouldn't hurt to include them with the filing, and make sure the affidavits are notarized.

 

Good Luck!

[pushbrk 12,872]

11 hours ago, sjrobertson said:

Hello all! I'm hoping for some advice regarding the proof of relationship I plan to submit for my spouse's I-130 petition. For context, we've been legally married for just over a year now, we currently live together in spouse's home country (where our marriage took place) and plan to do so until they receive their visa.

 

Here's what I'm currently planning on submitting as evidence:

 

• Copy of marriage certificate with certified English translation
• Evidence of living together: lease from Aug 2023-Jul 2024 and current lease, along with a sworn statement from our landlord that spouse and I live together at the property (I'm only including the latter because my spouse isn't listed on the lease, only me)
• Evidence of comingled finances: most recent CC statement which shows spouse as an authorized user
• Evidence of international travel together on several occasions, consisting of passport stamps, airline ticket stubs, and hotel reservations
• Collection of ~30 pictures of us together at various points in our relationship, including pictures documenting that we've both met each other's parents/family

 

I was also planning to ask two of my close friends, both of whom have met spouse in-person and one of whom attended our wedding reception, to prepare a sworn statement that our relationship is genuine. However, I understand that these types of affidavits are generally considered among the weakest evidence. Given what we already have, do you think these would be unnecessary, or would it be beneficial to include them anyways? It certainly can't hurt to do so, right?

 

I also know that many people submit chat logs with their spouse as evidence. My spouse and I text in a mix of English and their native language, and it would be tedious to not only collect the necessary screenshots, but to then translate them, let alone pay a third party to do so and provide a certified translation. Would this help our application, or do you think the evidence listed above (with or without statements from friends) would get the job done?

My advice is to avoid any affidavits from third parties.  At best they do not good and most often make  you look desperate.  If you've been living together and have evidence of that, it trumps any other kind of evidence you might dream up or contrive.

[powerpuff 6,697]

Hijack post removed. Please do not ask questions about your own case on other members’ threads.

 

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