It is our opinion that the USCIS interview is the most crucial stage of the process. At the interview, the USCIS officer will request detailed documentation in order to determine the legitimacy of your marriage. If the USCIS officer concludes that you and your foreign spouse have a bona fide marriage then the marriage petition will be approved. Then the USCIS officer will decide the application for permanent residence.
The USCIS officer’s determination is based on questioning as well as documentation. Please note that the sample documents below are the result of our years of experience with this type of case and are intended as a basic guide only. Each USCIS officer will request different documents as the circumstances dictate.
- Joint Income tax returns
- Joint Bank statements
Checking
Savings
Signature card from bank indicating both names and signatures - Joint credit card statements
- Joint leases/mortgages
- Joint loan documents (i.e. car, furniture, installment)
- Joint financial/investment statements
Retirement plan
IRA’s
CD’s
Credit Lines
Stock/Bond/Mutual Fund - Joint medical/dental insurance plan or indicating that spouse is part of main policyholder’s plan
- Joint life insurance indicating spouse as beneficiary
- Joint utility statements
- Joint title(s) to property(ies)
- Birth certificates of child(ren) to the marriage
- Photographs of couple together and with family members (not simply at the wedding but later at different times and places)
- Identification(s) with photograph indicating common address
- Will(s) indicating spouse as beneficiary
