Family · document checklist
I-130 document checklist
A marriage-based I-130 must establish a valid marriage and, critically, that it was entered in good faith rather than to obtain an immigration benefit. Matter of Chawathe confirms the preponderance standard. The strongest packets are chronological: commingled finances, cohabitation and shared life documented continuously from the date of marriage forward, rather than a pile of screenshots.
Governing standard
Bona fide marital relationship by a preponderance of the evidence
8 CFR 204.2(a)(1)(i); Matter of Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369 (AAO 2010)
Top RFE trigger: Bona fides evidence clustered around the filing date
Criteria and evidence mapping- Documents listed
- 15
- Always required
- 7
- Median exhibit pages
- 175
- Initial RFE rate
- 18.9%
The checklist
Grouped by the purpose each document serves.
Documents marked as always required belong in every filing of this type. The rest apply where the fact pattern calls for them.
Relationship and status
3 required of 4
Marriage certificate
Certified copy with translation if required
Divorce decrees or death certificateswhere applicable
Terminating every prior marriage for both spouses
Petitioner citizenship or LPR evidence
Passport, naturalisation certificate or green card
Beneficiary identity documents
Passport, birth certificate with translation
Financial commingling
1 required of 4
Joint bank statements
Twelve months, showing genuine shared use
Joint tax returnswhere applicable
Every year of the marriage
Insurance policies and beneficiary designationswhere applicable
Health, life, auto and retirement
Joint loans or credit accountswhere applicable
With both names on the account record
Cohabitation and shared life
1 required of 5
Joint lease or property deed
Both names, covering the period claimed
Utility and service accountswhere applicable
Showing the shared address over time
Dated photographswhere applicable
Across the relationship with captions for context
Affidavits of bona fide marriagewhere applicable
From people with direct personal knowledge, signed
Travel and correspondence recordwhere applicable
Establishing continuity of the relationship
Forms
2 required of 2
Form I-130 and I-130A
Cross-checked against the exhibits for addresses and dates
Form G-28
Executed by petitioner and attorney
This page prints cleanly — use it as a client-facing document request list.
Failure modes
What draws a request on a I-130.
Having every document on the list is necessary and not sufficient. These are the structural problems that produce requests even when the evidence is present.
Full RFE trends hub- Joint account opened shortly before filing with minimal activity
- Photographs with no dates and no captions establishing context
- Address history on the forms conflicting with the lease or utility exhibits
- Affidavits that are visibly templated across signatories
- Gaps in the chronology between the marriage date and the filing date
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