penguinbar

My landlord is still giving me problems about adding my husband to the lease. Last year as I had written he had given me a lease with my husanads name but it had alot of illegal riders on it and I would not sign. Since the economy is so bad and so many people are moving out I am trying again. My super had written me a letter but when we have our removal next year she might not be here. If I have enough joint evidence will I still be ok? I was going to add him to my renewal lease but since I had my super/building manager promise to write a letter I thought we would be ok but she is probably leaving.
We have
Joint savings and checking accounts,
I have him on my health insurance and we have cards with the same ID number and a statement that I added him.
We are both on cable, phone and Con Edison bills.
I added him as an authorised credit card user
I added him as beneficiary to my IRA
We have NY State ID's with the same address.
Numerous pictures with family and friends from wedding and pre wedding parties in NYC and Scotland.
One years of Joint tax returns and tax transcripts which will be two by the time we file.
Mail in both our names and cards addressed to both of us.
E tickets and boarding passes to a trip to Florida since we've been married.
and pictures of that.
We are going to get affidavits as well.

My attorney insists that if we are not on the lease together or do not have a letter from my suer verifying he lives with me we won't get approved.

Noorah101

Having both names on the lease (or mortgage, or deed) is not a requirement. It is but one of many forms of proof of your joint life together. In my layman's opinion, you have enough other evidence to support this, so I wouldn't worry about the lease thing.

If by some chance you happen to get an RFE for it, you can deal with it then...either try to get a letter at that point, or explain to USCIS that they simply won't add his name.

Rene

Rete

We're in NY as well and Jim's name was not on the lease. We were approved without interview.

ian-mstm

Your attorney is an idiot. She's been an idiot since day 1... and she'll be an idiot long after you're finished with immigration.

Ian

lostlove

Ian.

Over stressing on 2 names on the lease shows fear on his side. BTW you have some very good evidence. A confident counselor will smile, not asking you more, he will instill confidence in you. Seems like your fellow is lowly learned, who fears himself, and will bring paralyzing fear to his clients.

P:

Sorry you have to go through this. Maybe get more creative, see if the apartment maintenance head can give you an affidavit attesting your stay as a couple on the location. I had one with my 751 package.

Good Luck, I am sure the end will be fine, do not worry.

jeffreyhy

pb,

Interesting. I was the sole owner of our house when my wife adjusted status, and when I sold that house and bought another I was again the sole owner for her removal of conditions.

Beyond that, your list of evidence is a lot longer that hers was. Affidavits is another item we didn't use.

Probably your attorney is just being extremely cautious, engaging in CYA. One of the things an attorney should do for you is minimize the possibility of failure, and who are you going to be blaming if you do fail? Not yourself, having paid those big bucks for an attorney's work on the case.

Regards, JEff

penguinbar

Thanks everyone. I know my attorney has made several mistakes as well. I just don't want another RFE. I know that Rete understands that I do not want to jeapordise my rent stabilised lease. There are alot of viloations that my landlord has and I reminded him of that in my letter and added that I did not reprt him. My super had asked months ago if he would just write a letter saying that my husbnad lives in the apartment with me and he won't. The economy is bad and he is losing tenants by the minute. 10 out of 60 apartments are empty in his buildings . My suoer who wrote aletter for us last year in case we had an AOs interview as I mentioned might be getting fired. I recently renewed my lease but rent stabilisation law in NYc says that the lease must be given no less than 120 days before it expires and he gave me mine less thatn 90 and I could have repoerted him for that.

Anyway, I am hoping for the best and if he won't do it or tries to give me the same type of lease as before I will just leave it and hope my super or the next super will write a letter. As mentioned we have a lot of evidence.

Thanks again,
P.

TimNiceBut

Maybe I'm a little naive here but if you still have the "suggested" lease with the illegal clauses and your husband's name on it, would it be worth taking that one and explaining to the officer why you wouldn't sign it?

penguinbar

That's why I kept it just in case. Hopefully we won't have an interview. We didn't for our AOS but I know one doesn't necessarily have to do with the other. My landlord has spent a bunch of time in landlord tenant court and is a total schmuck.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Out of idle curiosity, what is a "souer?" I've heard of the NYC term "super," but "souer" is a new one.

Also, out of curiosity, have you discussed this with the "lawyer" or one of her staff. Actually, I wonder if you are dealing with a UPL'r holding herself out as a lawyer.

Rete

Penguin

As long as you have mail that is addressed to him and is delivered to your apartment, telephone bill with his address on it, credit card bill with his address on it, and even his driver's license (if he has one) with the address on it, you are safe. It is not just lack of one piece of evidence that will do you in, but lack of evidence period that will do it. He works, right? The company has his known address as the one you live in together so a letter from his company stating who is beneficiary of his shared benefits written to him at the home address is good.

Also since you are stablized, you must have received the form in the mail last year from the housing department. The form requested information on who LIVES in your apartment. The form was sent to those who live in rent controlled and stablized units in New York because the right to remain in the apartment after the death of a tenant depends on who is currently NOW living in the apartment. The remaining tenant does not have to have their name appear on the lease in order for the apartment to be "inherited" by the surviving tenant.

When you completed that form you must have placed your husband's name on it and hopefully you retained a copy for your records. This is perfect proof of who is currently living in the apartment with you since it is a state government form that you completed.

penguinbar

I meant super. This info was from my lawyer herself. Not her paralegal.

penguinbar

The only form I received was a rent registration form. It has my maiden name on it.My lease is still in my maiden name . I was going to change it when I asked for my husbnad to originally be put on it but that s when my landlord sent the other lease with the illegal riders on it so I kept the lease as is. Since he sent me my renewal lease a month late and it doesn't start till December I hope he will draw up another one. I never received any form asking who lives in the apartment. We have private health insurance but I do have a statement that I added him to my account from last year and I keep monthly statements saying that it is a husband and wife plan and our cards have the same insurance ID number. His insurance wouldn't start for a while and mine is actually cheaper than his company's! Besides they offer HIP which is awful.We don't have drivers licences but we both have NY State ID's with the same address. Plenty of cards and mail addressed to us both. Xmas cards and anniversary cards.

jmood

Hi,
i'm coming into this thread way too late - and also am going to comment on an aside, and not the main topic - hopefully won't annoy anyone

PB: I read somewhere recently that landlords of rent stabilized apartments HAVE to add the name of the spouse to the lease. It's the law
Also, it's no hair out of their nose, deosn't make the lease more favorable to you or anything. They even don't have to issue a new one.
We also have a rent stabilized apt in NYC. The landlord, who by the way is awful - sleazelord - compared to my previous 2 nice ones - took their sweet time, but when we eventually just turned up at the office, simply added the 2nd name by hand to the lease.

And the renewing within 120/90 days thing: Both my previous landlord and this one have been lax about that and it din't occur to me to worry either. I ended up signing renewal lease about 2 months after expiry with my previous landlord and this one, it's actually been 4 months now that they did send the lease, we didn't sign (sheer laziness) and they being who they are haven't followed up. They did follow up to demand the extra security $ though. So what I'm saying is, don't stress over when the renewal is signed. If they're cashing your cheques you're good.

Meuxna: That yearly form you refer to. I've been in this rent stabilized apartment for over 2 years now, and I haven't had one either. Is it something I can call 311 and ask for? It might be useful for our 751 when the times comes too.

penguinbar

I actually got my landlord to finally add my husbands name to my renewal lease in December. I wrote another letter and sent in a copy of the law stating that he had to add my husbands name to the lease upon request and that it is against the law to add any new riders to a rent stabilised lease in NYC that were not part of the original lease agreement. I also mentioned that I hoped that I would not have to take legal action on this matter. By the way even if your landlord is late sending you the lease you still need to send the lease back and he needs to sign it and send it back to you as well. I am not stressing over my lease not being good. I have been in my apartment over 17 years. I just wanted my husbands name on it for our removal of conditions that's all.