Beginning of Immigration, Sponsored, Long Dist.
- Thread starter ZebraJCH
- Start date
There's now the next problem on my mind.
In the Spousal Sponsorship application, I've heard that we have to prove our relationship. This I believe was done by others by including a whole ton of randomly taken photos and documenting all these random trips that they take and the development of their relationship and so forth.
We're going to be waiting a full year before submitting the application (as we must live together for 12 months before being able to do so), however should we start preparing it as soon as possible when I get there?
The problem is that since we started as long distance, we do not have any photos or anything, all we have are emails up to this point. This means that if I'm going to need any photos at all, they would have to be taken with the direct intention of them being used solely for the application, as we are not 'photo happy' people who circle ourselves with friends so that we can be photographed. We're not really 'outside' kind of people, we're software and hardware people who work on things together. We don't really show off our relationship to a lot of people, the only one who knows is my sponsor's supervisor at work at the moment and soon, his parents.
That's the scary thing about this part, because it seems designed for those who are really flashy about their relationship and do lots of things everywhere with photos of them covering every moment. Exactly the opposite of our lifestyle. It concerns us greatly, and we're not sure how to prepare ourselves.
In the Spousal Sponsorship application, I've heard that we have to prove our relationship. This I believe was done by others by including a whole ton of randomly taken photos and documenting all these random trips that they take and the development of their relationship and so forth.
We're going to be waiting a full year before submitting the application (as we must live together for 12 months before being able to do so), however should we start preparing it as soon as possible when I get there?
The problem is that since we started as long distance, we do not have any photos or anything, all we have are emails up to this point. This means that if I'm going to need any photos at all, they would have to be taken with the direct intention of them being used solely for the application, as we are not 'photo happy' people who circle ourselves with friends so that we can be photographed. We're not really 'outside' kind of people, we're software and hardware people who work on things together. We don't really show off our relationship to a lot of people, the only one who knows is my sponsor's supervisor at work at the moment and soon, his parents.
That's the scary thing about this part, because it seems designed for those who are really flashy about their relationship and do lots of things everywhere with photos of them covering every moment. Exactly the opposite of our lifestyle. It concerns us greatly, and we're not sure how to prepare ourselves.
Isometry
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- Aug 18, 2011
- 494
- 11
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- Buffalo-->Seattle
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- Oct 28 2011
- File Transfer...
- Jan 9 2012-->Feb 9 2012
- Med's Done....
- Sept 19 2011
- Passport Req..
- March 21 2012
- VISA ISSUED...
- April 21 2012
- LANDED..........
- May 17th 2012
The emails and phone records up to now will be useful. I highly recommend collecting other evidence as you go along. It'll be a lot easier than trying to piece it together all at once in a year.
My spouse and I are not 'photo happy' people either. We always made absolutely sure to take a couple photos each visit, but they were really silly. Many of the photos were myspace angle shots of the two of us standing in some store while we were out doing errands, for example, and we only included about 20 total. Now that we've been living together for a couple weeks, we've completely stopped taking pictures again.
Over the course of a year, you'll probably celebrate at least a couple holidays. These will be a good opportunity for taking pictures, especially if you celebrate anything with family. There's always at least one aunt who takes 1000 pictures of everyone, you know?
You'll also want to keep copies of things like:
Joint leases
Mail addressed to one/both of you at the same address, to help prove cohabitation
Joint bank accounts
Cards you've send each other (if applicable)
Phone/skype records (collect these as you go along, some people have reported trouble accessing really old records)
Insurance paperwork (for example, if you're named as his beneficiary on his life insurance)
More unusual things people have used:
Pet adoption paperwork showing both partners
Portraits that one partner drew of the other
Screenshots showing both partners playing video games together
Screenshots of Facebook updates showing development of the relationship
Etc
Even if you don't have a ton of photos, the application is considered as a whole, not on the strength of pictures alone.
My spouse and I are not 'photo happy' people either. We always made absolutely sure to take a couple photos each visit, but they were really silly. Many of the photos were myspace angle shots of the two of us standing in some store while we were out doing errands, for example, and we only included about 20 total. Now that we've been living together for a couple weeks, we've completely stopped taking pictures again.
Over the course of a year, you'll probably celebrate at least a couple holidays. These will be a good opportunity for taking pictures, especially if you celebrate anything with family. There's always at least one aunt who takes 1000 pictures of everyone, you know?
You'll also want to keep copies of things like:
Joint leases
Mail addressed to one/both of you at the same address, to help prove cohabitation
Joint bank accounts
Cards you've send each other (if applicable)
Phone/skype records (collect these as you go along, some people have reported trouble accessing really old records)
Insurance paperwork (for example, if you're named as his beneficiary on his life insurance)
More unusual things people have used:
Pet adoption paperwork showing both partners
Portraits that one partner drew of the other
Screenshots showing both partners playing video games together
Screenshots of Facebook updates showing development of the relationship
Etc
Even if you don't have a ton of photos, the application is considered as a whole, not on the strength of pictures alone.