Married living under the same roof!

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peace_of_mind

Registered Users (C)
It looks like, in the recent past, this question is being asked more frequently by USCIS.
I get wild is somebody express such a doubt or question. When two men or women or a man and a woman (not married) can live under the same roof for sharing the expenses, why not a married couple live in two different cities for employment purpose. Marriage certificate alone does not suffice in such situations.
Its better to be prepared to answer the above question rather being shocked to hear one…
There may be many situations why this question is being triggered. I have 2 situations here and some points that would help to keep the documents in tact.

First:
It may be simply due to a trigger in address change. I think 485 waiters should take a little extra effort to see that the primary and all secondary applicants have the same mailing address, even after an address change is triggered.

Second:
In case after receiving EAD, if the dependent applicant has got a job in a different city or state etc.
a. Make sure that the dependent applicant’s address on his/her payroll, credit cards, drivers license etc., still remains the same as the primary applicant.
b. If one of the spouses is travelling in the weekends, make sure that all your travel information is preserved until your GC is approved.
c. If you have children going to school, fill out every form with both spouses name and phone numbers, if each of you carry cell phones, add them as emergency numbers in your child’s application form. If you have not done previously do it now.
d. The vehicle/property you own let the title have both spouses’ names.
e. At least on joint bank account with status active.
f. If you have not yet got a chance to file taxes together, at least add your spouse’s name in the W4. You may get more returns at the end of the year by not adding your spouse’s name in W4 but by adding the name in W4, you have one more document to say you share financials together.

Please add points and/or situations where such a question could be raised.
 
This same question was asked to a friend of mine. In addition to the above, the lawyer also suggested the following:

1. Joint lease for an aparment (or ownership of a house)
2. Joint auto insurance
3. Joing financial documents (bank account as mentioned above, brokerage account, State and Federal IT returns)
4. Employer documents showing spouse as beneficiary (insurance, health, AD&D etc.)
5. Affidavit's from people who were present in marriage (my friend had another para in his birth affidavit with his parents vouching for marriage as well ...)

The lawyer told him not all documents are necessary (the more the merrier off course) and that a combination of the above might satisfy USCIS's curiosity as well.
 
When you say questions are being asked ..

can you be more specific ?

Is this an RFE or are these questions asked during an interview ? Shouldn't a genuine marriage certificate be enough ?
 
I meant in an RFE. Apparently a genuine marriage certificate is not enough ... particularly if you have been married recent to filing an RFE or if you don't have children as proof of cohabitation.
 
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From what I understand, the intent of USCIS is to rule out fraudulent marriages for GC. So even if you have genuine proof of marriage, USCIS also wants to verify that the spouses have been living together, have commingled finances etc just to ensure that the marriage was not for the purposes of GC only. ... particularly if they married recent to filing 485 or don't have any kids.
 
Yes, fraudulent marriages exist especially in family based applications. Maybe USCIS feels that this phenomenon is creeping into employment based applications.

Ever seen the movie 'Green Card'?.......
 
It happened to me too. I recently was called for an interview in Nebraska and asked for living together proof. I showed them the marriage certificate, driver license with same address, and even 2002 Tax filings done jointly and that was not enough (go figure)....

So, later I sent

1. Apartment Rental Agreement
2. Car Insurance
3. Medical Bills
4. Health Insurance from Employer (showing that its for family)
5. Credit Card Checks and Credit Card copies
6. Bank Statements
7. Beneficiary Document (Employer given)

I am awaiting the officer response on this and hope this is enough.

In my case, she told me at the interview that the time difference between our marriage and the date I filed for my green card (beginning with labor certification) was too short...


Oh well, it is interesting and IRONIC that in a country where divorce rate is so high, will ask living together proof from a person whose country's divorce rate is so low....
 
Is it only for marriages done around filing time

Is is possible USCIS is sending these inquiries only if the marriage happened very near to the date of filing I485 or after filing I485. in my opinion - If the marriage happened long before the I485 filing then it happened before the intent to immigrate and hence should not be doubted.
 
Srirangam,
".......Intent to immigrate...."
Unfortunately, intentions cannot be explained nor understood, until implimented. May be, in future, USCIS will hire 3rd party astrologers to read horoscopes, and make decision on a married couple that after recieving citizenship the couple would apply for divorce, so GC need not be approved today. Who knows...
 
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