Question for newlyweds not living in the same country

[Imua 0]

I know this question has been touched up on before, but any newlyweds who have never resided with your spouse and filed since July please tell me what evidence you actually included with your I-130, if any - wedding photos? receipts? travel documents? Phone or chat logs? Thanks!

[Mononoke28 135]

I only included a copy of the marriage certificate along with 2 affidavits from my mom and sister, that's all.

Diana

[*Snowdrop* 604]

We included the marriage cert, 3 affidavits from friends and family, wedding photos, and a list of flights over the last three years printed off from the airline website (sort of like a receipt of all the flights - we'd racked up about 25 visits between us)

[Mohgli 0]

I know this question has been touched up on before, but any newlyweds who have never resided with your spouse and filed since July please tell me what evidence you actually included with your I-130, if any - wedding photos? receipts? travel documents? Phone or chat logs? Thanks!

in our case:

we included the marriage certificate, affidavits from our relations, marriage invites, photographs from the marriage and a cover letter.

The photos covered both of us as couples and also marriage ceremony photos.

hope this helps,

Mahesh

[Marlita 0]

I know this question has been touched up on before, but any newlyweds who have never resided with your spouse and filed since July please tell me what evidence you actually included with your I-130, if any - wedding photos? receipts? travel documents? Phone or chat logs? Thanks!

in our case:

we included the marriage certificate, affidavits from our relations, marriage invites, photographs from the marriage and a cover letter.

The photos covered both of us as couples and also marriage ceremony photos.

hope this helps,

Mahesh

I only included pictures. I had about 3 pages of Word document images and I just typed a caption under each. Pictures showed us at wedding, holding marriage certificate, pics with each others family, and pics of different occassions in which I visited my husband. You should note that the I-130 form is used for more cases than just initial marriages...its also used for AOS which can be for people who have been living together for awhile. I think USCIS understands that you won't have much other proof when you are newlyweds living in 2 seperate countries. Many VJ'ers have sent nothing to satisfy this bonafide marriage request and it was fine. I wouldn't stress about it too much.

[vbtbmrt 2]

you basicly need marriage lic. to prove marriage that was all i sent beside the other forms g-325 and passport photos and copy of both birth certificates and copy of divorce papers from last mariage

[rjp44 1]

you basicly need marriage lic. to prove marriage that was all i sent beside the other forms g-325 and passport photos and copy of both birth certificates and copy of divorce papers from last mariage

In addition to the above we sent the CENOMAR, the NBI report, copy of the marriage certificate copies of biometrics page of both our passport and page with stamps from Philippine customs of mine, copies of airline itinerary, proof of joint bank account and 6 pictures of us at wedding and with her family. I figured too much is better than not enough.

[Nutty 2]

All that you mentioned. Chat logs, telephone bills, travel documents (airline ticket receipts, entry/exit stamps on passport), photos, email print outs....Every and all items that show ongoing relationship.

Edited December 5, 2007 by Nutty

[Imua 0]

All that you mentioned. Chat logs, telephone bills, travel documents (airline ticket receipts, entry/exit stamps on passport), photos, email print outs....Every and all items that show ongoing relationship.

Thanks - I checked out your timeline(thanks for making such a thorough one, helps us newbs out) and I noticed you got RFE'd - what documents were missing, if you don't mind my asking? I just don't want to make the same mistake - I have delayed this process long enough...

Also, for the travel documents, did you submit originals or copies? I assume the originals would be included with the evidence presented at the interview...?

Dhanyavaad + Shukran!!

[mikeandlani 0]

you basicly need marriage lic. to prove marriage that was all i sent beside the other forms g-325 and passport photos and copy of both birth certificates and copy of divorce papers from last mariage

I agree! these were the only documentary evidences we sent in together with our I130.

[Jigi 0]

hi,

pics, marriage certificate, copy of emails, chats, phone bills, love letter etc

Jigi

[Imua 0]

Thanks All -

very helpful - hope to file as soon as my Maya can get his signed forms back to me.

[LadyJane 1]

I think that the USCIS asks for more evidence of a bona fide relationship now with their I-130 application. So something a bit more than just the marriage license. That nebulous "any other documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union"!

We included a bit to address each section.

1. Documentation that my husband is an 'occupant' on my lease

2. Documentation from our bank showing a joint account

3. An affidavit from my best friend who was at the wedding and know us both.

4. Copies of a few pictures, some postcards, a couple months' phone bills, copies of train tickets, receipts from the wedding. The key word here is representative, don't include 2 years' worth of phone bills, chats...I think it'd overwhelm the reviewer!

Good luck!

[Nutty 2]

Yes, I misread the instructions on "certified copies." I thought I could have a notary public certify our original marriage license and registration as a "true and accurate" copy.

But the DS-230 instructions actually specified, "a copy certified by the issuing authority." Translated: the copy has to be certified as a "true copy" by the government department that issued the original document. No other entity could do this.

Since, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs was the original issuing authority on our marriage papers, we could not fly over to Thailand to have them certify the copies. So we were forced to send the original marriage license and registration to NVC to fulfill the request.