Form I-130 Documents Checklist & Is including an affidavit letter from my sister a good idea?

[maryam9824 0]

Hello,

 

I'm almost finished preparing our form I-130 application, so I wanted to share what I have so far to get any feedback from the community here. I will be submitting the form I-130 online along with the scanned I-130a in PDF format. To prove my U.S. citizenship, I will be providing scanned copies of all passport pages. And I will also include the 2 passport-style photos.

 

So far we have the following:

 

- Our marriage certificate along with an authentication certificate

- Photographs together throughout from when we first met in 2021 until after we got married in 2024 (including Facetime screenshots, my visits to him, photos with family, wedding photos, our trip after we got married)

- Our WhatsApp messages from 2021 until 2024. I included 1 screenshot with the date & time stamp from about every month with translations below each screenshot. I also included a notarized certificate of translation.

- Evidence of travel. I included stamps and boarding passes to show my visits to him in 2022 & 2024 and our trip together after we got married.

 

That is pretty much all we have. I know the officers will understand that since we currently live in separate countries, we won't have evidence showing a joint lease and/or combined financial resources. But I still am wondering if our evidence is too little. I wanted to include an affidavit letter from my sister, but I keep seeing mixed answers online. Some recommend adding it anyway, but others recommend against it because anyone can write an affidavit letter and it doesn't really prove anything. 

 

If you have any suggestions on how I can further strengthen our evidence documents or any feedback, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

Thank you  

[pushbrk 12,876]

2 hours ago, maryam9824 said:

Hello,

 

I'm almost finished preparing our form I-130 application, so I wanted to share what I have so far to get any feedback from the community here. I will be submitting the form I-130 online along with the scanned I-130a in PDF format. To prove my U.S. citizenship, I will be providing scanned copies of all passport pages. And I will also include the 2 passport-style photos.

 

So far we have the following:

 

- Our marriage certificate along with an authentication certificate

- Photographs together throughout from when we first met in 2021 until after we got married in 2024 (including Facetime screenshots, my visits to him, photos with family, wedding photos, our trip after we got married)

- Our WhatsApp messages from 2021 until 2024. I included 1 screenshot with the date & time stamp from about every month with translations below each screenshot. I also included a notarized certificate of translation.

- Evidence of travel. I included stamps and boarding passes to show my visits to him in 2022 & 2024 and our trip together after we got married.

 

That is pretty much all we have. I know the officers will understand that since we currently live in separate countries, we won't have evidence showing a joint lease and/or combined financial resources. But I still am wondering if our evidence is too little. I wanted to include an affidavit letter from my sister, but I keep seeing mixed answers online. Some recommend adding it anyway, but others recommend against it because anyone can write an affidavit letter and it doesn't really prove anything. 

 

If you have any suggestions on how I can further strengthen our evidence documents or any feedback, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

Thank you  

Looks good.  I would not add any affidavits.

[maryam9824 0]

On 10/29/2024 at 4:48 PM, pushbrk said:

Looks good.  I would not add any affidavits.

We won't be adding any. I also had a question for you about one of the questions on form I-130a:

"Last physical address outside the United States - provide your last address outside the United States of more than one year (even if listed above)

 

If the beneficiary has never been in the United States, would I just list his last address abroad that was for more than one year? That's how I have it now. I listed his address in his home country and wrote "None" in the street number and name section and just listed city, country and dates.  He has only been in his current address in Malaysia for less than a year so far. 

 

Please let me know if that's correct. Thanks!

 

 

 

[pushbrk 12,876]

Interpret literally.  Last address outside the USA for more than one year.

[maryam9824 0]

On 11/12/2024 at 12:40 AM, pushbrk said:

Interpret literally.  Last address outside the USA for more than one year.

Ok I did that. Thank you!

 

I have a couple of other questions for you if you have time to answer. 

For the online I-130 application:

1. For the passport-style photos, would I only need to upload one online? the directions on the pdf say two but I wasn't sure if that refers to just paper applications. And I can skip the section about beneficiary passport-style photo since he isn't in the US, correct?

2. The online application doesn't let me write "N/A". Is it okay to leave certain places that don't apply blank? 

3. Certain places that require dates don't allow me to write "present" such as for my current address. What do I do here?

4. For one of my jobs I listed employer name as "Self-employed". Can I list my home address as the employer address? Occupation is independent contractor interpreter. 

 

As always, thank you for your help!

 

 

 

 

[pushbrk 12,876]

21 minutes ago, maryam9824 said:

Ok I did that. Thank you!

 

I have a couple of other questions for you if you have time to answer. 

For the online I-130 application:

1. For the passport-style photos, would I only need to upload one online? the directions on the pdf say two but I wasn't sure if that refers to just paper applications. And I can skip the section about beneficiary passport-style photo since he isn't in the US, correct?

2. The online application doesn't let me write "N/A". Is it okay to leave certain places that don't apply blank? 

3. Certain places that require dates don't allow me to write "present" such as for my current address. What do I do here?

4. For one of my jobs I listed employer name as "Self-employed". Can I list my home address as the employer address? Occupation is independent contractor interpreter. 

 

As always, thank you for your help!

 

 

 

 

For most of your questions the advice to interpret literally and answer accurately covers it.  The form allows you to type Not Applicable.  Only needed once per subject.  Current residence  has no end date.  If you cannot proceed leaving it blank, enter the current date.  These glitches are why I still recommend filing on paper.