Online I-130 filing requirements

[Oriol Reinoso 1]

Hello

 

I am Spanish and my wife is from USA and we are currently residing in Spain. My wife is going to file form I-130 online, we are providing the following:

1. I-130 online petition.
2. Spanish spouse data
3. Photos 1 of each of me and my wife according to the requirements 
4. Marriage certificate
5. I-130A
6. Collection of photos (wedding, honeymoon, vacations, family...)
7. Wife's U.S. passport
8. Registration of joint cohabitation in the country of residence (Spain)
9. Explanatory letter of relationship explaining how we met until we got married, etc. 
10. Flight purchases with our names on them.

 

Is it enough? 

 

At the moment we do not have a joint bank account, is it strictly necessary? 

The marriage certificate is in Spanish, does it have to be translated and notarized into English? Does a multilingual certificate (issued in several languages) work?

 

Thank you very much

[OldUser 7,236]

5 hours ago, Oriol Reinoso said:

The marriage certificate is in Spanish, does it have to be translated and notarized into English?

No notarization is needed, but you need translation for any documents that are not in English. I'd pay online translation agencies to do translation, they can do it pretty cheaply and they do it well. The translator must speak both languages (English and Spanish or whatever other language document is in). Translator must also include statement (Google it, I don't remember exact wording).

 

5 hours ago, Oriol Reinoso said:

Does a multilingual certificate (issued in several languages) work?

 

I've seen USCIS issuing RFE for such documents if not accompanied by translation. I understand there is English there already, but since there is foreign language next to it, it needs to be translated even if it says exactly the same.

[OldUser 7,236]

You don't need joint accounts now. You may need to open some when you move to the US. It would not only help with immigration, but also with family budgeting. For example, many choose to contribute money to joint account to pay rent / mortgage, bills and large purchases. Get the tax refund money there. You can still have personal accounts to cover for smaller things like credit card purchases.

 

Also, you need to understand, your wife should have filed taxes as a US citizen no matter where she lives. If she didn't, it's time to file those missing taxes.

 

At some point, she should also reestablish US domicile to have your visa issued. This means she has to get an address in the US (leas, parents). Register to vote at that address. Have bank accounts in the US, get library card, start job search, register with primary care doctor. Unless she can provide proof of domicile, no visa will be issued.

 

Also, she may need a joint sponsor, a US LPR or US citizen, not necessarily a family member, who needs to have enough good income to exceed 125% poverty guideline https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p. It's different depending how many dependants on taxes joint sponsor has. With no dependants, I'd recommend at least 30K income a year.

 

Good luck!

[SpainToCalifornia 1]

Hi, I'm from Spain and when we filed the I-130 in 2018 I used https://www.translateday.com to translate all Spanish documents without any problems. I hope this helps.

 

Good luck!!

[S2N 4]

If you’re fluent in English or your wife is fluent in Spanish, you should be able to translate the acta de matrimonio (or any other government records) on your own — the words on vital records aren’t particularly hard.

 

If you or your wife is C1 on the CEFR scale (even if you haven’t passed the DELE or Cambridge exams in the other’s language) that’s more than enough. I can send you the template I’m using the certify my own translations. Copied and pasted it from the Justice Department’s translation certification template used in immigration courts.

Edited December 25, 2024 by S2N

[Oriol Reinoso 1]

2 hours ago, S2N said:

If you’re fluent in English or your wife is fluent in Spanish, you should be able to translate the acta de matrimonio (or any other government records) on your own — the words on vital records aren’t particularly hard.

 

If you or your wife is C1 on the CEFR scale (even if you haven’t passed the DELE or Cambridge exams in the other’s language) that’s more than enough. I can send you the template I’m using the certify my own translations. Copied and pasted it from the Justice Department’s translation certification template used in immigration courts.

 

Yes, can you please send me the template? 🙏

Thank you very much 

[S2N 4]

1 hour ago, Oriol Reinoso said:

 

Yes, can you please send me the template? 🙏

Thank you very much 

DM’d

[Ryan H 3,819]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[Nena Lis 1]

Hi guys, I have a question regarding I 130A form. 
I am filing online my I 130 form, but not sure how to add I 130 A form(supplemental information about foreign spouse). Do I print it out, fill it out by hand, scan it and attach it? Or, is there a way to fill it out online and save it to my case?

[Oriol Reinoso 1]

12 hours ago, Nena Lis said:

Hi guys, I have a question regarding I 130A form. 
I am filing online my I 130 form, but not sure how to add I 130 A form(supplemental information about foreign spouse). Do I print it out, fill it out by hand, scan it and attach it? Or, is there a way to fill it out online and save it to my case?

Hi! I have filled it out online and in my case I am outside the US, so I don't have to sign the document. So I filled it out online, saved it as a PDF and uploaded it to the USCIS web. In the case that you have to sign, well fill it out online, then print it out to sign and then scan it. 

[pushbrk 13,043]

Note that your wife can upload a photocopy of her complete passport as evidence she is a US Citizen.  But, if she has a copy of a certified copy of her birth certificate, that is much easier.

Edited 19 hours ago by pushbrk

[Nena Lis 1]

19 hours ago, Oriol Reinoso said:

Hi! I have filled it out online and in my case I am outside the US, so I don't have to sign the document. So I filled it out online, saved it as a PDF and uploaded it to the USCIS web. In the case that you have to sign, well fill it out online, then print it out to sign and then scan it. 

Hi, thank you for your reply. Would you mind giving me an Idea as to how to fill it out online and save it as pdf? I click on the link to the I-130A form and it takes me to the form to print it out but doesn’t give the option to edit it/type on it and save it.