MummaLitt

Trust me, I had no intention on spending the money on the "sworn affidavits". I even TOLD the guy I just needed him to Notarize the stupid docs. But because the letter from the Embassy said "SWORN" he insisted on doing it the more expensive way. So essentially, I paid 75 quid to hold a book I don't believe in and swear to an entity I don't believe in so this guy I'd never met before could say that Yes, my letter is true.

He originally wanted me to send him the information that would be put into the affidavit and HE would "create" the affidavit. I figured "Why should I pay this guy to put together a doc that I can create myself?" I also figured if I created the docs, we could get away with just paying the fee for the notary service. Freakin' Lawyers! :curse:

Folinskyinla

Hi:

What do you have against lawyers? You obviously didn't consult with one and did something totally unecessary and paid for it.

Did you or did you not want a notarization or not? I can't tell. Also, you still have not answered the question I posed, why did you wast your money on the most expensive way of doing it? The instructions are crystal clear to me that you did not need to spend anything at all.

Also, I'm pretty sure the list you got is for suggested evidence -- there is that a pesky little "or" in the list. My feeling is that those declarations are worth less than the paper they are printed on. You had a child together -- that is the strongest possible piece of evidence short of graphic video tapes from the bedroom.

MummaLitt

I did exactly what the RFE asked for. I received a letter from the Embassy asking for three "sworn affidavits" from third parties. I took the letter from the Embassy to a Notary/Solicitor and asked "What do you suggest?" He "suggested" doing it the most expensive way. I disagreed after consulting the numerous forums I've been reading. I wrote up the letters myself and asked him to simply notarize them. However, because the letter from the Embassy said "sworn", he insisted that we HAD to do the whole bible/swear before god and therefore had to pay the 75 quid for taking up 45 minutes of his time.

If you read the entire thread, you will see that I did not send my son's birth certificate because the instructions from the London DCF say NOT to send anything extra.

If the instructions were "crystal clear" I would not have needed to post on these forums asking for help.

I have nothing against lawyers in general. I was making a joke, thus the at the end of my sentence.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

You read the FILING instructions from London. However, it is clear that you did NOT read the instructions for the form itself -- see http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130instr.pdf . On the required documents to show the bona fides of the marriage, there is multiple use of the word "or."

Under United States law, a "declaration under penalty of perjury" IS the legal equivalent of an "sworn affidavit." The I-130 form has the required language at the end:

"I certify, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America, that the foregoing is true and correct."

It is followed by a date and signature.

Also, look at the I-864 "AFFIDAVIT of Support" -- it is not notarized but does have what I call the "magic language."

If you had put the "magic language" at the end of the statements followed by a date and signature -- it would have satisfied US law and would have been NO COST to you.

By the way, it is not uncommon for people in this forum to post a question based upon misreading or misunderstanding the instructions. There is a lot of good information here. And it is not uncommon for attorneys, like yours truly, to intervene when mis-information gets out there. [I try to avoid direct advice under the rubric of "I may be an attorney, but I'm not YOUR attorney" despite the fact that some of the "regulars" here take that as an opportunity for mild flame throwing for the sake of mutual amusement.]

Further by the way, and you have learned this already -- don't fall into the trap of assuming that the information from government sources is correct.

Good luck. I hope the rest of the process goes smoothly. I would suggest that you be very clear on the I-864 requirements NOW.