Family classification
I-130 Petition for Alien Relative — Marriage Based
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)
- Denial rate after RFE
- 12.1%
- Median processing
- 241 days
- Form
- I-130
- Initial RFE rate
- 18.9%
- Median exhibit pages
- 175
- Manual assembly
- 9 hrs
- On Docket Build
- 24 min
Statutory criteria
What the record has to establish.
Each element below is a mapped criterion in the Docket Build criteria pack, with its citation and the evidence types that satisfy it.
Legally valid marriage
204.2(a)(1)(i)
- Marriage certificate
- Termination of all prior marriages
Petitioner status
204.2(a)
- Birth certificate
- Naturalisation certificate
- Green card
Bona fides — commingled finances
204.2(a)(1)(i)(B)
- Joint accounts
- Joint tax returns
- Shared insurance and beneficiary designations
Bona fides — cohabitation
204.2(a)(1)(i)(B)
- Joint lease or deed
- Utility accounts
- Mail addressed to both
Bona fides — shared life
204.2(a)(1)(i)(B)
- Photographs with dates and context
- Travel records
- Affidavits from people with direct knowledge
Failure modes
What actually draws a request on a I-130.
Compiled from the request language our customers record on their own matters and from published AAO decisions in this classification.
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
Document checklist
What a complete filing carries.
Full printable checklist →Relationship and status
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
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
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
Form I-130 and I-130A
Cross-checked against the exhibits for addresses and dates
Form G-28
Executed by petitioner and attorney
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