Evidence of a Bonifide Marriage

[HaoRan]

See definition below:

Gosh, we dated or knew each other one way or another for nearly 2 years before getting married. Living together before marriage was not an option as her family is traditional so we've only had about 6 weeks of living together now. I do have her name on Phone and Cable bills that are addressed to my apartment which shows me as the renter (in China). Would this be sufficiant? Of course we also have the Marriage Document issued by the Government of China. Would that be Evidence of a Bonifide Marriage?

TIA,


Note: Evidence of a Bonifide Marriage
The USCIS now requires that when filing an I-130 for a spouse that you include evidence of a bonifide marriage. They list examples of acceptable evidence as:
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 of beneficiary, if any, and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of your marriage); or
6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union.

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

See definition below:

 

Gosh, we dated or knew each other one way or another for nearly 2 years before getting married. Living together before marriage was not an option as her family is traditional so we've only had about 6 weeks of living together now. I do have her name on Phone and Cable bills that are addressed to my apartment which shows me as the renter (in China). Would this be sufficiant? Of course we also have the Marriage Document issued by the Government of China. Would that be Evidence of a Bonifide Marriage?

 

TIA,

 

 

Note: Evidence of a Bonifide Marriage

The USCIS now requires that when filing an I-130 for a spouse that you include evidence of a bonifide marriage. They list examples of acceptable evidence as:

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 of beneficiary, if any, and complete information and details explaining how the person acquired his or her knowledge of your marriage); or

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

 

Marriage documents are NOT proof of a bona fide relationship. Think about it. What the government is trying to do is prevent visa fraud where the American citizen and Chinese partner are creating the illusion of a relationship, in exchange for cash and in the end a green card and ticket to the USA. So, what they look for are on-going communicaiton via email, photos together after many visits. Telephone records of many telephone calls that show an on-going thing where you both talk to one another regulary.

 

If you indeed have a real bona fide relationship, getting this together should not be a problem. Still, even in the end, we've had members who have had problems. The more evidence you have, the better. But again, simply providing a certificate of marriage will NOT serve to prove a bona fide relationship.

[HaoRan]

 

Marriage documents are NOT proof of a bona fide relationship. Think about it. What the government is trying to do is prevent visa fraud where the American citizen and Chinese partner are creating the illusion of a relationship, in exchange for cash and in the end a green card and ticket to the USA. So, what they look for are on-going communicaiton via email, photos together after many visits. Telephone records of many telephone calls that show an on-going thing where you both talk to one another regulary.

 

If you indeed have a real bona fide relationship, getting this together should not be a problem. Still, even in the end, we've had members who have had problems. The more evidence you have, the better. But again, simply providing a certificate of marriage will NOT serve to prove a bona fide relationship.

 

 

Well, phone records are not an option. When I did call her from the states I used a phone card on my cell phone which just shows a local number dialed in the states. Photos too, we have few photos, just because we are not "photo people" I guess. But when we started reading the comments and proceedures on this site and others we started taking photos together. What I do have is a mountian of MSN Chatting records. She has her name on my phone and cable bill at my apartment too. Also, we just took our honeymoon trip to HangZhou last week and called for the records that we stayed there with my passport number and her Citizen number on the receipts. I hope this will be enough.

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

 

Marriage documents are NOT proof of a bona fide relationship. Think about it. What the government is trying to do is prevent visa fraud where the American citizen and Chinese partner are creating the illusion of a relationship, in exchange for cash and in the end a green card and ticket to the USA. So, what they look for are on-going communicaiton via email, photos together after many visits. Telephone records of many telephone calls that show an on-going thing where you both talk to one another regulary.

 

If you indeed have a real bona fide relationship, getting this together should not be a problem. Still, even in the end, we've had members who have had problems. The more evidence you have, the better. But again, simply providing a certificate of marriage will NOT serve to prove a bona fide relationship.

 

 

Well, phone records are not an option. When I did call her from the states I used a phone card on my cell phone which just shows a local number dialed in the states. Photos too, we have few photos, just because we are not "photo people" I guess. But when we started reading the comments and proceedures on this site and others we started taking photos together. What I do have is a mountian of MSN Chatting records. She has her name on my phone and cable bill at my apartment too. Also, we just took our honeymoon trip to HangZhou last week and called for the records that we stayed there with my passport number and her Citizen number on the receipts. I hope this will be enough.

 

Take what you have and get it organized. Add dates and names of those depicted in photos on the back of the photo. Not sure what kind of phone card you were using, but all the records I've seen from calling card companies, will provide the actual number you dialed. Try contacting the calling card company and requesting a record of your calls.

 

Tape receipts to a full 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch paper, with notations as to what they are for. I recommend not overwheming the reader with too many MSN chat records, but take a snapshot of one or two communications every week. Hopefully spread out over a period of several weeks or months.

[HaoRan]

Take what you have and get it organized. Add dates and names of those depicted in photos on the back of the photo. Not sure what kind of phone card you were using, but all the records I've seen from calling card companies, will provide the actual number you dialed. Try contacting the calling card company and requesting a record of your calls.

 

Tape receipts to a full 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch paper, with notations as to what they are for. I recommend not overwheming the reader with too many MSN chat records, but take a snapshot of one or two communications every week. Hopefully spread out over a period of several weeks or months.

 

What about a joint bank account with deposits coming from the US (for her interview part I guess?). While I'm here I can add her to my bank account or she add me to hers. Would this provide any weight?

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

Take what you have and get it organized. Add dates and names of those depicted in photos on the back of the photo. Not sure what kind of phone card you were using, but all the records I've seen from calling card companies, will provide the actual number you dialed. Try contacting the calling card company and requesting a record of your calls.

 

Tape receipts to a full 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch paper, with notations as to what they are for. I recommend not overwheming the reader with too many MSN chat records, but take a snapshot of one or two communications every week. Hopefully spread out over a period of several weeks or months.

 

What about a joint bank account with deposits coming from the US (for her interview part I guess?). While I'm here I can add her to my bank account or she add me to hers. Would this provide any weight?

 

Because I am K1, or finace visa, I cannot comment definitively about the joint bank account thing, but something about it seems that you should emphasize the other evidence like visits, communication, letters, cards, flowers, etc. Photos, are huge. The more the better, meaning not the quantity, but photos spread out over a period of time.

 

I wouldn't get too hung up on the evidence. Use what you already know, and couple it with common sense. Don't overwhelm the immigration officials with too much stuff, just simply a sampling of what you have, over the time you've known each other. Show the evolution of your relationship from first contact until today.

[shanghaigale]

Maybe they have changed things in China since I left over 5 years ago. However, in our case, I tried to set up a joint bank account with my wife and I with the bank of china and it wasn't possible. They didn't recognize joint bank accounts. I lived there for over 4 years and had money transferred to my bank account in the USA to my China Bank account every month.

Gale

 

Take what you have and get it organized. Add dates and names of those depicted in photos on the back of the photo. Not sure what kind of phone card you were using, but all the records I've seen from calling card companies, will provide the actual number you dialed. Try contacting the calling card company and requesting a record of your calls.

 

Tape receipts to a full 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch paper, with notations as to what they are for. I recommend not overwheming the reader with too many MSN chat records, but take a snapshot of one or two communications every week. Hopefully spread out over a period of several weeks or months.

 

What about a joint bank account with deposits coming from the US (for her interview part I guess?). While I'm here I can add her to my bank account or she add me to hers. Would this provide any weight?

[tywy_99]

We were K3 and we didn't show any of that stuff; no phone records or bank accounts. We had no problem getting the visa. But that was before the I-130 changed. The form is more strict than it was before.

 

Just gather what you have. Indeed, that's all you have, and let the consular officers decide. If you are indeed a true and honest couple, you shouldn't have any trouble at all. I don't always agree with their decisions but I feel they know how to spot fraud. That's what they're trained for.

 

-good luck

[shyaushu]

I have the same problem with the bank too. I work in Henan Province, and my wife and I live together in the apartment provided for by the school (so our names are not on the lease).

 

The local banks will not give us a "joint" bank account so that evidence of "co-mingling of money" is not possible. I suppose I may have to get affidavits from school officials that we both actually live in the apartment together as husband and wife. We are taking plenty of photos of ourselves in our pajamas!

 

 

Maybe they have changed things in China since I left over 5 years ago. However, in our case, I tried to set up a joint bank account with my wife and I with the bank of china and it wasn't possible. They didn't recognize joint bank accounts. I lived there for over 4 years and had money transferred to my bank account in the USA to my China Bank account every month.

Gale

 

Take what you have and get it organized. Add dates and names of those depicted in photos on the back of the photo. Not sure what kind of phone card you were using, but all the records I've seen from calling card companies, will provide the actual number you dialed. Try contacting the calling card company and requesting a record of your calls.

 

Tape receipts to a full 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch paper, with notations as to what they are for. I recommend not overwheming the reader with too many MSN chat records, but take a snapshot of one or two communications every week. Hopefully spread out over a period of several weeks or months.

 

What about a joint bank account with deposits coming from the US (for her interview part I guess?). While I'm here I can add her to my bank account or she add me to hers. Would this provide any weight?