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Common Law Marriage valid for i-485?
My husband (US citizen) and I (Indian citizen in US on F-1 visa, going to be graduating this December) have filed both I-130 and I-485, along with I-765. He and I do not have a marriage certificate; we established a common law marriage on June 3, 2017. USCIS has made a request for initial evidence, in which they asked for a marriage certificate (after we didn't send one, and we sent proof of common law marriage), a birth certificate, and a proof of arrival; we prepared and sent our package of evidence of our common-law marriage (which is legal in Iowa - our place of residence and jurisdiction), I have included my birth-certificate with an official translation, and all the proof for my proof of arrival into the US. Our package includes tax forms, affidavits, photographs, and other evidence of our public declarations of marriage. While we realize that getting a marriage certificate is the much easier path, doing so would be a violation of my husband's conscience and beliefs, which he and I have explored together, and which I fully support. To give you better understanding of our decision, I have copied a portion of our RFE response below.
In response to your request for primary evidence of our marriage, namely, a marriage certificate:
We established a common law marriage on June 3, 2017, and therefore, primary evidence of the marriage does not exist and is not available. Per Title 8 of Code of Federal Regulations (8 CFR) \ 8 CFR PART 103.2(b)(2)(i), (1) we respectfully submit secondary evidence in support of the validity of our marriage.
In accordance with our sincerely held belief that our marriage is a sacred covenant between husband, wife, and God; and a belief that the holy vows of marriage must be entered into directly with God, without intercession, we solemnized our vows and committed ourselves to marriage without intervention by an officiate, according to the tradition in which my husband was raised.
Iowa law guided the means through which my husband and I established our marriage, which is deemed valid by the State of Iowa and therefore, is valid for immigration purposes.
USCIS policy manual, Volume 12, Part G, Chapter 2, Section A(1): “The applicant must establish validity of his or her marriage. In general, the legal validity of a marriage is determined by the law of the place where the marriage was celebrated (“place-of-celebration rule”). Under this rule, a marriage is valid for immigration purposes in cases where the marriage is valid under the law of the jurisdiction in which it is performed.” (2)
USCIS policy manual, Volume 12, Part G, Chapter 2, Section B: “The concept of common law marriage presupposes an honest good-faith intention on the part of two persons, free to marry, to live together as husband and wife from the inception of the relationship. Some states recognize common law marriages and consider the parties to be married. In order for a common law marriage to be valid for immigration purposes:
•The parties must live in that jurisdiction; and
•The parties must meet the qualifications for common law marriage for that jurisdiction.
Other states may recognize a common law marriage contracted in another state even if the recognizing state does not accept common law marriage as a means for its own residents to contract marriage.
USCIS recognizes common law marriages for purposes of naturalization if the marriage was valid and recognized by the state in which the marriage was established. This applies even if the naturalization application is filed in a jurisdiction that does not recognize or has never recognized the principle of common law marriage.” (3)
Adjudicator's Field Manual - Redacted Public Version, Appendix 21-1 List of States Recognizing Common Law Marriages and their Requirements.
“BASIC CRITERIA: Merely living together is NOT enough to validate a common law marriage. The four basic requirements for a valid common law marriage are:
· The parties must live together
· The parties must present themselves to others as a married couple. Some ways of doing this are by using the same last name, referring to one another as husband or wife, and filing a joint tax return.
· Although not defined, the parties must have been together for a significant period of time.
· The parties must intend to be married.
JURISDICTION: There are a limited number of states which currently have statutory provisions allowing for common law marriages. (However, under Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution, every state is required to recognize as valid a common-law marriage that was “celebrated” in another state.) The following states, sometimes with restrictions, recognize common law marriages performed by parties living together within their jurisdiction and meeting certain other criteria:
Iowa - The requirements for a common-law marriage are: (1) intent and agreement to be married; (2) continuous cohabitation; and (3) public declarations that the parties are husband and wife.” (4)
We have included this letter, proof of our living together, several affidavits, and even a certificate signed and stamped by the university we attend saying that I received in-state tuition because I am a spouse of a graduate student.
Since, this is completely legal and legitimate, I am still not sure USCIS has ever seen a case like this and might reject it simply out of convenience because they didn't see a marriage certificate. What are the expected outcomes of this case? If it is denied, would an appeal show any hope?
In response to your request for primary evidence of our marriage, namely, a marriage certificate:
We established a common law marriage on June 3, 2017, and therefore, primary evidence of the marriage does not exist and is not available. Per Title 8 of Code of Federal Regulations (8 CFR) \ 8 CFR PART 103.2(b)(2)(i), (1) we respectfully submit secondary evidence in support of the validity of our marriage.
In accordance with our sincerely held belief that our marriage is a sacred covenant between husband, wife, and God; and a belief that the holy vows of marriage must be entered into directly with God, without intercession, we solemnized our vows and committed ourselves to marriage without intervention by an officiate, according to the tradition in which my husband was raised.
Iowa law guided the means through which my husband and I established our marriage, which is deemed valid by the State of Iowa and therefore, is valid for immigration purposes.
USCIS policy manual, Volume 12, Part G, Chapter 2, Section A(1): “The applicant must establish validity of his or her marriage. In general, the legal validity of a marriage is determined by the law of the place where the marriage was celebrated (“place-of-celebration rule”). Under this rule, a marriage is valid for immigration purposes in cases where the marriage is valid under the law of the jurisdiction in which it is performed.” (2)
USCIS policy manual, Volume 12, Part G, Chapter 2, Section B: “The concept of common law marriage presupposes an honest good-faith intention on the part of two persons, free to marry, to live together as husband and wife from the inception of the relationship. Some states recognize common law marriages and consider the parties to be married. In order for a common law marriage to be valid for immigration purposes:
•The parties must live in that jurisdiction; and
•The parties must meet the qualifications for common law marriage for that jurisdiction.
Other states may recognize a common law marriage contracted in another state even if the recognizing state does not accept common law marriage as a means for its own residents to contract marriage.
USCIS recognizes common law marriages for purposes of naturalization if the marriage was valid and recognized by the state in which the marriage was established. This applies even if the naturalization application is filed in a jurisdiction that does not recognize or has never recognized the principle of common law marriage.” (3)
Adjudicator's Field Manual - Redacted Public Version, Appendix 21-1 List of States Recognizing Common Law Marriages and their Requirements.
“BASIC CRITERIA: Merely living together is NOT enough to validate a common law marriage. The four basic requirements for a valid common law marriage are:
· The parties must live together
· The parties must present themselves to others as a married couple. Some ways of doing this are by using the same last name, referring to one another as husband or wife, and filing a joint tax return.
· Although not defined, the parties must have been together for a significant period of time.
· The parties must intend to be married.
JURISDICTION: There are a limited number of states which currently have statutory provisions allowing for common law marriages. (However, under Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution, every state is required to recognize as valid a common-law marriage that was “celebrated” in another state.) The following states, sometimes with restrictions, recognize common law marriages performed by parties living together within their jurisdiction and meeting certain other criteria:
Iowa - The requirements for a common-law marriage are: (1) intent and agreement to be married; (2) continuous cohabitation; and (3) public declarations that the parties are husband and wife.” (4)
We have included this letter, proof of our living together, several affidavits, and even a certificate signed and stamped by the university we attend saying that I received in-state tuition because I am a spouse of a graduate student.
Since, this is completely legal and legitimate, I am still not sure USCIS has ever seen a case like this and might reject it simply out of convenience because they didn't see a marriage certificate. What are the expected outcomes of this case? If it is denied, would an appeal show any hope?
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