Proving lawful marriage

[seadull]

Folks,

I will be a US citizen (hopefully by September) and want to apply for my wife's GC. I live in Seattle but she lives in Dallas and works on H1B visa. We met in 2008 through common acquaintance and dated for 1.5 years in a long distance relationship. We pretty much flew back and forth every other weekend before getting married in May 2010.

I looked at the list of documents required to prove a lawful marriage. But as you might have guessed, we don't have any common documents. No bank accounts, credit cards, lease that have both our names. What we have are tons of pictures, emails and phone bills from AT&T for past 1.5 years.

Is our case difficult to prove so that we need to hire a lawyer? How much does a good lawyer cost for GC through marriage?

 

[Concerned4us]

You don't sound very married to me. It sounds like a sham marriage for a GC.

 

[myredskins]

I suggest yo u open a joint bank account, credit cards, have common property. The kind of stuff that married people do. Then file for your wife's gc. So wait for 6 months generate this history then file. It will be cheaper than getting a lawyer, because with a lawyer they will still ask for these docs.

So forget about a lawyer, that wont help much!!

 

[seadull]

You don't sound very married to me. It sounds like a sham marriage for a GC.

It would appear so on the surface. That's why I am seeking help from veterans on this forum. I am sure this is not all that uncommon situation. Since we have been maintaining separate residences, we didn't have joint accounts. I am thinking of adding her name to all my accounts and vise versa.

 

[tabaliya]

You don't sound very married to me. It sounds like a sham marriage for a GC.

How did you arrive at such a jaw droppingly brilliant conclusion? You are really concered for us all.

To answer the original poster's question: a good lawyer will run you anywhere from $1000 on the low side
to $3500 or so on the high side, assuming you will be doing the so called one-stop application (I-130 + I-485
plus all the associated papers (parole, EAD etc.)).

It is not that hard to open join bank accounts, add names to utilities and credit cards - are you guys still living
separately? it is definitely harder to prove in cases where you live separately but not impossible. With some
thought and planning you should be able to do it.

AP

 

[Jackolantern]

I looked at the list of documents required to prove a lawful marriage. But as you might have guessed, we don't have any common documents. No bank accounts, credit cards, lease that have both our names. What we have are tons of pictures, emails and phone bills from AT&T for past 1.5 years.

Keep those phone bills, along with proof of traveling to each other's cities.

Open the joint accounts, put her on your health/life insurance, credit cards, and build up some joint history like that for about 6 months before applying for the GC (unless she loses her H1B job, in which case she should move in with you and apply immediately).

 

[seadull]

Keep those phone bills, along with proof of traveling to each other's cities.

Open the joint accounts, put her on your health/life insurance, credit cards, and build up some joint history like that for about 6 months before applying for the GC (unless she loses her H1B job, in which case she should move in with you and apply immediately).

Jackolantern - I must say that I was hoping you would reply. So, thanks.

Her H1B is the biggest kicker. She is working as a research assistant in biomedical field and she's tried hard since 2008 to get a job on west-coast. But with her H1B, there aren't many jobs in her field. So in effect, only thing that is keeping her back in Dallas is her H1B.

So we decided to wait until I become a US citizen to get married. And we did marry last month. Now I am ready apply for USC next week ( 5 years rule) and hope to get it in September.

I am certainly starting to build history like bank account, insurance and what not.

Is 6 month a period required? Because I was hoping I would apply for her case in Sep/Oct, which is 3-4 months away.

You said something interesting about her losing H1B and be able to move immediately. What if she resigns in September and move with me? I think she will be out of status, won't she?

hey - thanks again.

 

[Jackolantern]

Is 6 month a period required? Because I was hoping I would apply for her case in Sep/Oct, which is 3-4 months away.

6 months of history isn't absolutely required, but your separation creates an obstacle with convincing USCIS, and 6 months looks better than 3 months. However, given that it will already be another 3-4 months before you become a citizen, and then the GC interview will likely be about 2-3 months after that, you probably will have that 6 months of history by the time the interview occurs.

You said something interesting about her losing H1B and be able to move immediately. What if she resigns in September and move with me? I think she will be out of status, won't she?

If she resigns after filing the I-485, she would not be out of status. But it would likely be a better career move if she kept working with her H1B until she has an EAD, so she can more easily line up a new job and remain continuously employed. But that's up to the both of you to decide, whether quitting her job without another job lined up is worth the risk to her career and finances.

 

[seadull]

6 months of history isn't absolutely required, but your separation creates an obstacle with convincing USCIS, and 6 months looks better than 3 months. However, given that it will already be another 3-4 months before you become a citizen, and then the GC interview will likely be about 2-3 months after that, you probably will have that 6 months of history by the time the interview occurs.

yep. makes sense.

If she resigns after filing the I-485, she would not be out of status. But it would likely be a better career move if she kept working with her H1B until she has an EAD, so she can more easily line up a new job and remain continuously employed. But that's up to the both of you to decide, whether quitting her job without another job lined up is worth the risk to her career and finances.

And if she moves after she gets an EAD and later for god-knows-reason her application is denied, will she be in pickle? Or can we reapply for her GC again? I know I am sounding very negative and calculating But I guess that's how things with USCIS go ..

 

[Jackolantern]

And if she moves after she gets an EAD and later for god-knows-reason her application is denied, will she be in pickle?

Yes, after having lost H1B status she would be deportable if the I-485 is denied. However, denial is not immediately the end of the world. First you can file a Motion to Reopen, and then if that fails you can appeal.

Or can we reapply for her GC again?

Yes you can reapply if they haven't initiated removal proceedings before you reapply, and if the reason for denial doesn't prevent reapplying. But unless there is some dark secret you're not telling us about, if you're denied it will be because USCIS did something wrong or you made a critical mistake with the paperwork. If they did something wrong, challenge it with an MTR and appeal as I mentioned above. Take a copy of the filled-out forms before you send them in, and if you discover a mistake after applying, correct it in the interview (with supporting evidence if necessary).

 

[seadull]

Yes, after having lost H1B status she would be deportable if the I-485 is denied. However, denial is not immediately the end of the world. First you can file a Motion to Reopen, and then if that fails you can appeal.


Yes you can reapply if they haven't initiated removal proceedings before you reapply, and if the reason for denial doesn't prevent reapplying. But unless there is some dark secret you're not telling us about, if you're denied it will be because USCIS did something wrong or you made a critical mistake with the paperwork. If they did something wrong, challenge it with an MTR and appeal as I mentioned above. Take a copy of the filled-out forms before you send them in, and if you discover a mistake after applying, correct it in the interview (with supporting evidence if necessary).

No dark secrets, only a bag full of paranoia. Thanks, again.

 

[VisaNutz]

OP, you got good advice already. I just want to point out one thing - the requirement you are trying to satisfy is not "lawful marriage" requirement. Yes, your marriage must be lawful, meaning it is a valid marriage from legal perspective. It is the "bona-fide marriage" requirement that you are trying to satisfy - which means the marriage was NOT entered for the purpose of obtaining immigration benefit.

 

[smiriyal]

Hello,
Assuming it’s a real marriage not lawful but bonafide (All marriages are lawful if you a have a marriage certificate)
I will give you an example of a very good friend of mine. His was an arranged marriage, so no dating whatsoever. He was on H1B and she was a naturalized citizen.
He was working in PA and she was in LA .After marriage in India, she immediately filed his papers meanwhile both were working at their respective places for two months ..They gave the address of his wife as a place for interview.
What they provided with package were pics of the grand wedding he had, joint bank account opened only a couple of weeks back .. and her name on his credit cards .. and medical insurance .. and affidavits ..once he got the workpermit , he moved to LA and started looking for jobs and got one soon.
Two months later, the interview was very smooth as both were from same race, culture and the wedding pics showing hundreds of people at their wedding and he was totally in status through out his stay in USA.
They did not hire any lawyer as my friend insisted that there is nothing to worry about as he was never illegal and was almost making twice as his wife and would have got green card through his employer anyway so for INS to believe the marriage was solely for gc would be absurd. Both being highly educated and confident to tackle INS helped too J
I think for your case, I don’t know too many details about culture, race, financial situation about both of you but as others have said add her on everything, keep records of everything and just be on safe side wait atleast till she gets her work permit that leaves atleast couple of months for you to stay together and be prepared to answer the stokes kind of questions if any.
What I know is at the time of application .. only couple of things of your bonafide marriage is needed most importantly marriage certificate and few documents if any .. I have know many people who got married and immediately applied leaving them nothing but marriage certificate and car insurance and bank account with almost nothing in it ..A lot more documentation is needed at interview where an officer will check them personally.

 

[seadull]

We are both from the same country and were introduced through a common acquaintance. We dated about a year or so before deciding to get married. We both have advanced degrees and work at reputable jobs. I design gaming systems for a famous company in Redmond (not Microsoft ;-) and she is a veterinarian who is currently doing cancer research. We have marriage pictures with our relatives and friends , phone records for last two years, itineraries for travel between dallas and seattle for last two years, pictures of trips taken together.

I saw a lawyer today in seattle and she told me that our case is very clean. as long as we gather evidence like above it's going to be smooth. I don't know if I should hire going further because she would charge me $2500 (plus USCIS's fees) for pretty much same info I receive from this forum (thank you all again, first time was with my struggle with GC in 2005)

Your friend's case is a good example and thanks for providing that.

 

[Jackolantern]

You'll be fine, as long as you recognize you are up against an obstacle due the separation, and you gather your evidence accordingly. If you just nonchalantly walked into the interview without the appropriate evidence and without a good explanation, that's when you'd have some problems.

 

[peterjakkson]

I suggest yo U to open a joint bank account, credit card, have a common property. The kind of things married people do. Your wife, and then file the GC. So, after waiting for 6 months produced this history file. It will be cheaper than getting a lawyer, because they will get a lawyer also requested those documents.