{"id":27045,"date":"2017-11-29T10:16:45","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T18:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.us-immigration.com\/blog\/?p=27045"},"modified":"2024-11-28T04:30:30","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T12:30:30","slug":"affidavit-of-bona-fide-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/blog\/affidavit-of-bona-fide-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"Affidavit of Bona Fide Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some immigration forms require proof that a marriage is authentic or bona fide. Two of the most common petitions that require such proof are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/I-130-immigrant-petition-green-card.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Form I-130<\/a>, Petition for Alien Relative. Form I-130 establishes the relationship between a petitioner and the beneficiary seeking a Green Card, or permanent resident status.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/form-i751-remove-conditions-green-card.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Form I-751<\/a>, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. Form I-751 allows petitioners who obtained conditional permanent resident status through marriage to remove those conditions and gain full permanent resident status.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instructions for each of these forms list a number of documents that can serve as proof that a marriage is authentic. An Affidavit of Bona Fide Marriage or Letter of Support is one of them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Evidence Proving a Spousal Relationship<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A marriage certificate alone is not sufficient evidence that a spousal relationship is genuine. USCIS details a number of third-party documents that can help to establish the authenticity of a marriage. Evidence includes<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">documents demonstrating joint ownership of property;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a lease proving cohabitation, that the couple has been living together;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">documents showing jointly held or combined financial resources such as banking accounts;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">birth certificates for children born to the applicant couple;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">other relevant documents demonstrating joint financial responsibilities like joint utility bills, insurance bills or tax returns; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">affidavits, or letters of support, from a third party vouching that the marriage is a bona fide one.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Affidavits as Letters of Support<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Applicant couples use affidavits or letters of support for a number of reasons. Some couples may not yet have many of the other, more specific documents listed, particularly the financial evidence. Too, a couple may simply want to submit additional evidence to ensure that their application is as strong as possible. In those cases, applicants can submit affidavits swearing to the validity of their marriage. This is called an <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Affidavit of Bona Fide Marriage<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, often referred to as a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">letter of support<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>How To Write an Affidavit Letter of Support for a Bona Fide Marriage<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Affidavits or letters of support are not based on a specific form per se, and the applicant couple does not write them. Instead, they are a letter written to USCIS by someone who knows the couple well and who is willing to swear that the marriage in question is authentic. To write a letter of support or affidavit that USCIS will recognize, the affiant, the writer, must include specific information.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The writer must use a subject line to indicate that the letter is an Affidavit Letter of Support and is for the specific couple named.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is an <em>Affidavit Letter of Support<\/em> and<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is for the specific couple named.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The writer must clearly state their identifying information. They must provide their own<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li>full legal name,<\/li>\n<li>complete address,<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">date of birth, and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">place of birth.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, the writer must provide<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A clear history of their relationship with the couple:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how the writer came to know them,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how long they\u2019ve known them, and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how frequently they continue to see them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Details. This can include specific dates, events or other relevant facts that indicate that the couple\u2019s marriage is genuine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The writer must swear to the letter\u2019s validity and truthfulness by signing the document. A great deal of debate centers on whether a letter of support or an Affidavit of Bona Fide Marriage must be notarized. Optimally, the writer will include a statement swearing to the truthfulness of the letter and sign it in the presence of a notary, who will also sign and affix their imprint seal upon the letter.\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">USCIS affidavit guidelines state that the writer \u201cshould sign the affidavit under oath and the signature should be witnessed by an official, such as a notary public.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If that is not possible, the writer should at the very least include a statement indicating that the information is factual and accurate: \u201c I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge,\u201d for example.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4><b>Who To Choose for a Letter of Support<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When deciding who to ask to write an Affidavit of Bona Fide Marriage or Letter of Support, applicant couples should consider people who know them and have observed behaviors that indicate that they are a genuine married couple. In some cases, the writers of letters of support may be able to act as substitutes for some of the evidence otherwise lacking; for example, a landlord may be able to write a letter certifying that a spouse has been living at a residence even though that spouse\u2019s name may not appear on the lease. What is most important is that the account given in the affidavit is truthful, factual and accurate, as USCIS may summon the affiant, the affidavit writer, to testify before an immigration officer.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some immigration forms require proof that a marriage is authentic or bona fide. Two of the most common petitions that require such proof are: Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. Form I-130 establishes the relationship between a petitioner and the beneficiary seeking a Green Card, or permanent resident status. Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27045"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44806,"href":"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27045\/revisions\/44806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.us-immigration.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}