Proof of Bonafide Marriage

[Elphie 0]

luckysprite, your post in another thread got me to thinking. We all have to send in the I-130 so that our spouses can receive an IR-1 or a CR-1 visa. Most of the information we include with this is pretty much the same. The coversheet, application, passport type photos, payment, copy of petioner's birth certificate, etc. We also have to include proof of a Bonafide Marriage.

1. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or

2. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or

3. Documentation showing co-mingling of financialresources; or

4. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, thepetitioner, and your spouse together; or

5. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties havingpersonal knowledge of the bona fides of the maritalrelationship (Each affidavit must contain the full nameand address, date and place of birth of the person makingthe affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner ofbeneficiary, if any, and complete information and detailsexplaining how the person acquired his or herknowledge of your marriage); or

6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that thereis an ongoing marital union.

What if...I know I may be going out on a limb here guys...what you send in for your proof of bonafide marriage has something to do with how quickly your I-130 is approved. This is something that I have never seen anything posted about so maybe if some of you would like to share what you used we could find out some information about this.

I used option #1 ~ documentation showing joint ownership of property. I added my husband to my car title and waited for it to come in the mail. I ended up sending off the I-130 packet later than I wanted to, but I figured it was the easiest way to go.

# of days I waited for approval... going by priority date ~ 107 going by NOA1 date ~ 81

[trailmix 77]

I sent nothing - number of days to approval: 80

[RandyandRina 2]

sent none of that, except for our son's birth certificate born in the US

[Elphie 0]

I sent nothing - number of days to approval: 80

You sent nothing to show a bonafide marriage, even though it states in the instructions to do, and got approved in 80 days!?! wow

[pushbrk 13,108]

I sent nothing - number of days to approval: 80

You sent nothing to show a bonafide marriage, even though it states in the instructions to do, and got approved in 80 days!?! wow

Which part of, "NOTE: In addition to the required documentation listed in1) through 4) above, you should submit one or more of thefollowing types of documentation that may evidence thatbona fides of your marriage:" did you not understand?

The I-130 is a multiple purpose form often used by people who have lived together or are now. Sometimes it is just in support of a status adjustment, where the couple has been together for some time, abroad or in the US. When the form is used by newlyweds, who have never lived in the same country, let alone together, USCIS cusomarily defers the bona fide relationship adjudication to the Consular Officer at the interview.

Those filing for AOS with I-130 and I-145 together, are well advised to send plenty of bona fide evidence because they may be approved without an interview. Newlyweds don't need to stress about it so much.

[luckysprite 0]

Eresh - I have thought the very same thing in the past, I just thought it was a far stretch at the time. We sent in joint bank acct statements, car insurance papers and our son's birth certificate, and various photographs from the past 4 years - so #'s 3, 4 and 6. We just didnt have any evidence of our joint tenancy or ownership.

We are 107 days from the time it was received and 93 days from NOA1 - and still waiting for an approval. I hope it we hear something soon.

So - even though I have thought too that it may be in regards to how strong/what type of evidence you submit - I am thinking now that thats not necessarily the case. Interesting to hear others thoughts on it though.

[trailmix 77]

I sent nothing - number of days to approval: 80

You sent nothing to show a bonafide marriage, even though it states in the instructions to do, and got approved in 80 days!?! wow

Which part of, "NOTE: In addition to the required documentation listed in1) through 4) above, you should submit one or more of the following types of documentation that may evidence that bona fides of your marriage:" did you not understand?

The I-130 is a multiple purpose form often used by people who have lived together or are now. Sometimes it is just in support of a status adjustment, where the couple has been together for some time, abroad or in the US. When the form is used by newlyweds, who have never lived in the same country, let alone together, USCIS cusomarily defers the bona fide relationship adjudication to the Consular Officer at the interview.

Those filing for AOS with I-130 and I-145 together, are well advised to send plenty of bona fide evidence because they may be approved without an interview. Newlyweds don't need to stress about it so much.

In an earlier discussion on this subject (sending proof with the I-130) I mentioned the same thing. The form only recently changed and when I read the instructions I read the old form. So although I submitted the current I-130 - I didn't even realize we were supposed to send anything in - I would have, had I known.

As you mentioned perhaps newlyweds don't need to stress about it so much, on the other hand maybe people who have been married for a while don't need to worry about it too much either (we aren't 'newlyweds' just as an aside).

I think we probably just don't know - however thought I would throw my info in there to maybe help answer the OP's question

Edited September 10, 2007 by trailmix

[ShellyFco 0]

luckysprite, your post in another thread got me to thinking. We all have to send in the I-130 so that our spouses can receive an IR-1 or a CR-1 visa. Most of the information we include with this is pretty much the same. The coversheet, application, passport type photos, payment, copy of petioner's birth certificate, etc. We also have to include proof of a Bonafide Marriage.

1. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or

2. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or

3. Documentation showing co-mingling of financialresources; or

4. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, thepetitioner, and your spouse together; or

5. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties havingpersonal knowledge of the bona fides of the maritalrelationship (Each affidavit must contain the full nameand address, date and place of birth of the person makingthe affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner ofbeneficiary, if any, and complete information and detailsexplaining how the person acquired his or herknowledge of your marriage); or

6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that thereis an ongoing marital union.

What if...I know I may be going out on a limb here guys...what you send in for your proof of bonafide marriage has something to do with how quickly your I-130 is approved. This is something that I have never seen anything posted about so maybe if some of you would like to share what you used we could find out some information about this.

I used option #1 ~ documentation showing joint ownership of property. I added my husband to my car title and waited for it to come in the mail. I ended up sending off the I-130 packet later than I wanted to, but I figured it was the easiest way to go.

# of days I waited for approval... going by priority date ~ 107 going by NOA1 date ~ 81

This provides lots of useful information...

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/ty...types_2991.html

[Elphie 0]

I sent nothing - number of days to approval: 80

You sent nothing to show a bonafide marriage, even though it states in the instructions to do, and got approved in 80 days!?! wow

Which part of, "NOTE: In addition to the required documentation listed in1) through 4) above, you should submit one or more of the following types of documentation that may evidence that bona fides of your marriage:" did you not understand?

The I-130 is a multiple purpose form often used by people who have lived together or are now. Sometimes it is just in support of a status adjustment, where the couple has been together for some time, abroad or in the US. When the form is used by newlyweds, who have never lived in the same country, let alone together, USCIS cusomarily defers the bona fide relationship adjudication to the Consular Officer at the interview.

Those filing for AOS with I-130 and I-145 together, are well advised to send plenty of bona fide evidence because they may be approved without an interview. Newlyweds don't need to stress about it so much.

In an earlier discussion on this subject (sending proof with the I-130) I mentioned the same thing. The form only recently changed and when I read the instructions I read the old form. So although I submitted the current I-130 - I didn't even realize we were supposed to send anything in - I would have, had I known.

As you mentioned perhaps newlyweds don't need to stress about it so much, on the other hand maybe people who have been married for a while don't need to worry about it too much either (we aren't 'newlyweds' just as an aside).

I think we probably just don't know - however thought I would throw my info in there to maybe help answer the OP's question

Now that you mention it, I think I do remember a post from a few months ago where someone said they didn't include the evidence of bonafide marraige because the didn't read it in the instructions. I'm just happy it didn't cause you any delays as we all wait long enough, some more than others.

On a side note...I just wanted to gather this information as it could prove to be helpful in the future if we can find out if the evidence of bonafide marriage has anything to do with how quickly the I-130s are approved. Ya know...saving some future filers from having to wait so long or whatever.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

We are doing DCF - and did not present any sort of bona fide stuff @ the approval of our I-130 in Calgary. I will bring some stuff to my interview just in case, even when my packet four does not require it at all:

1. Banking statements

2. Health insurance plans

3. New lease in US

4. Photos

I guess maybe it's different for folks going through NVC.

Best, L.

[pushbrk 13,108]

We are doing DCF - and did not present any sort of bona fide stuff @ the approval of our I-130 in Calgary. I will bring some stuff to my interview just in case, even when my packet four does not require it at all:

1. Banking statements

2. Health insurance plans

3. New lease in US

4. Photos

I guess maybe it's different for folks going through NVC.

Best, L.

So far, the only actual requests for the "additional" evidence mentioned in the new I-130 instructions, we've seen so far are for DCF cases in London. There may be others but they haven't been reported here. We've seen several I-130s approved domestically for people who never even noticed the request for additional evidence.

My personal opinion is that it is intended for AOS only cases but I wouldn't bet anybody else's future on it.

[questworldz 0]

Well, I may have gone a bit overboard, but I did not want any delays or RFE's. So, I sent them pictures of my wedding, and DVD copies of my wedding ceremony which comprised of 5 events over 5 days. I sent notarized copies of my marriage certificate, and nuptials. I sent 2 passport size portraits to the embassy. I figured, heck the whole damn thing is gonna be compiled and sent to the Embassy anyway, this way I'll have less information to have to wrroy about taking to the embassy for my wife's interview.